{Tried and Tested} Skoon Skincare

As you all know now, I have been searching for a local skin care brand that I can use in the future not just as an attempt to support locally produced product but also to save on costs and lastly to know what ingredients are found in these products. After all, we are putting these products onto and into our skin and bodies daily.

My first attempt at local skin care products started with a post on Skin Creamery. To be honest, I was a little nervous at turning my back on an international brand I had been faithful to for a while, so i started with the everyday cream and although I thoroughly enjoyed it my skin needed more. This is why i turned to Skoon Skincare as my second attempt at Local South African Skincare products. This time around I pretty much ordered the full range in travel sizes so I could decide which products worked for me and which products didn't. 

Skoon Skincare gets major brownie points from me. Why I say this is it is a big deal for me to place an order online and have to wait 7 days before the parcel gets delivered. I wont lie, it sucks! However, I was thrilled to have my parcel arrive 2 days after I placed my order (round of applause) so I got to test these lovely products sooner than I expected. 

I loved the packaging!

Isn't this a lovely sight? 

Since I received my parcel at work I couldn't wait to get home. Part of my winding down routine is to take my make up off  and have a hot bath. I immediately dove right in and went with the lovely creamy cleanser along with the face cloth in my picture below, what an experience! I loved the cleanser and the little travel face cloth will most definitely come in handy on holidays and small getaways. 

 

I am impressed with this moisturiser, it is fast becoming my "the one". I could certainly see the difference before I applied the moisturiser and after I had given my skin time to absorb the cream. I also decided to add a few drops of the glow drops and WOW, when  combined with the Glow drops, i think this combination becomes a force to be reckoned with.  

I am not the type of girl who will easily try a face mask so i took a big risk buying this Ruby Marine Hydrating Mask. Like the Super Moisturiser, when I applied the face mask, I could immediately feel and see the difference. I generally have a dry complexion and even more so this time of the year (winter in South Africa) which was also why I bought this hydrating mask. Although this product's purpose is to hydrate over night, i found i didn't need to keep this ruby marine mask on over night,a few hours was enough for me. 

These glow drops are a gem! This little sample removed all doubts and now i am sorry I didn't buy the actual bottle. With the harsh dry conditions we have had in winter, this Skoon Glow Drops concentrate has been an answer to prayers. I have added drops to my moisturiser (not just my Super Moisturiser from Skoon but also other moisturisers) i have in my make up and even my foundation! 

I chose the travel sizes as my testers. I loved that Skoon Skincare gave me this option, it took away the stress of buying a product I might not like and in doing this it has encouraged me to buy all their products in the future!

 I am so excited to try out their eye creams when they are available for purchase, I'm hoping Skoon Skincare will release these soon!  

Have you tried out this local Skin Care brand and what stood our for you?

♥

{Tried and Tested} Skin Creamery

I follow a number of local South African blogs which focus solely beauty. I spend a lot of time taking their advice and reading up on the products they have tried and tested. because after all, beauty is something that means the world to a woman. It defines who we are and of course I am no different.

I noticed a few of the wonderful blogs I follow (some linked in my Instagram posts {1} & {2}) have recently mentioned quite a few local beauty brands in South Africa and it definitely made me consider the beauty products I spend my money on. I am finding now more than ever that EVERYTHING is just.so.expensive! There has also been a fair amount of discussions on the positives and negatives of some of these products; are they organic, is it really making your skin look better and are you saving any money? These are the questions I have been asking myself lately and the biggest one is how do I get more out of my product and can I save money at the same time? I have also felt that I just want to try and simplify my life a little more, make healthier decisions for the sake of later on and not for the sake of now.  These questions are also the reasons why I have pushed myself to try something different, to try something natural, more affordable and specifically something local. 

What was my reason for choosing Skin Creamery and what did I hope to get out of the product? There were so many options for me to choose from but I decided to try Skin Creamery as my first local natural skincare test (what a mouthful). 

I loved the minimalistic feel of this brand; the packaging seems quite simple on the outside but has an element of surprise when you open the box with the botanical illustrations on the inside. I also loved the glass bottle which holds this soft beautiful minty feeling cream. 

After using this SC day and night (mainly for my face), I found my skin was softer and smoother and i would even go as far as saying i noticed some of my problem pimples gradually started to fade away. I also loved the beautiful minty like fragrance after applying the SC cream to my face. In some ways I felt I had just ended a long day at the spa. 

Don't you just love the beautiful botanical illustrations in the packaging?

Would I buy Skin Creamery again? Absolutely, no questions asked. Skin Creamery ticked all the boxes I mentioned above. I look forward to adding it into my skin care routine in the future! This time around i bought the Everyday Cream, next time i'll get the Cleansing Facial powder and Facial Hydrating oil  just because I enjoyed the Everyday Cream so much! 

What local products are you investing your time and money into lately? 

X

{Day Out} Pretville

South Africa over the past few years has undergone a change in the music and film industry and slowly there has been more recognition of what is available locally. 

A while back, a friend of mine went to Pretville, located in Hartebeesport for an engagement photo-shoot and told me, knowing I love all things old fashioned and vintage that this is a spot i have to go to! From what I understood at the time this was a spot that had a museum a milkshake cafe and was inspired by the 50's (I was already sold). But when I went to Pretville for myself I discovered that Pretville is the location where the Afrikaans musical based in the 50's "Pretville" was filmed by Paul Kruger who happens to be the owner of Hartiwood Films (you may recognise other movies of his; French Toast and Liefling). This Film set has now been opened to the public where you can visit a museum, watch the Pretville or French Toast movie at the bi-scope or have a milkshake or two! 

This was my first visit and will certainly not be the last! I will wait to watch the Pretville movie in Pretville with a chocolate milkshake for my next visit!

 I look forward to seeing this theme park grow and what Pretville has to offer in the future. 

♥

Until next time!

Mentions in this post:

Pretville │Hartiwood Films │ French Toast │Liefling

Local is Seriously Lekker

I am having a real "proud mom" moment with all the wonderful local musicians in South Africa up-ing their standard and becoming world class artists. 

Just to mention a few; 

One that really made an impression was Matthew Mole. He was the first artist in South African to have a No.1 Album on its release date in 2013. His song "Take yours and I'll take mine" has stolen the hearts of South Africans and lovers of the Folk/ Electronica genre.

~*~

~*~

~*~

~*~

If you haven't already discovered these talented artists... which one really stood out to you and which song would you listen to on repeat?