NEW GENERATION DIVINE FROM L'OCCITANE

It's no secret that I have a soft spot for the French brand L'Occitane and over the past 5 years that it has been in South Africa, I have tried many of their great products. Shea Hand Cream is perhaps what springs to mind when anyone mentions this brand and rightly so, as a tube sells somewhere in the world every 3 minutes, other great products include the Almond Shower Oil and their Shea liquid hand soaps are without question the best around. 
Oh! I mustn't forget to include the Lavender Purifying Hand Gel...

I could go on and on mentioning my "faves".

But are you aware that L'Occitane produce a best selling and International award winning 

Anti-Ageing cream?

The "Divine Ultimate Anti-Ageing Cream" was very aptly named, as it truly is Divine.

Here are some of the international awards that have been bestowed upon this cream:

1. Voted best anti-ageing cream by the UK’s Anti-ageing Beauty Bible in 2011
2. Winner of the Santé Magazine “Prix Beauté Santé France”,health & beauty award in 2011 
3. Voted best beauty buy by Style Singapore magazine in 2011
4. Awarded UK’s Good Housekeeping Reader Recommended in 2012. 

Originally the range consisted just of the one cream, which I have been using since its 
launch in 2010, but gradually they have developed more products to create this brands 

"Creme de la Creme" 
range.

  L'Occitane have a great understanding of plants and their effects on the skin and are continually  looking to nature for ways in which to combat ageing, based on this ongoing research L'Occitane have just launched their "new generation" of Divine Skincare.

With a new formulation, L’Occitane have introduced a new complex

of 7 naturally derived active ingredients that have been proven to efficiently combat metabolic and replicative cellular ageing, which dramatically boosts the already

impressive properties of immortelle plant extracts.
This complex enhances the complete anti-ageing action of immortelle at the very heart of cells,
 to help fight and correct the signs of ageing better than ever.

The Divine product range includes:

Divine Lotion

Divine Lotion R655 (200mls)

The first step of this anti ageing beauty regime is to use the Divine Lotion, which helps maintain the skin's balance and accelerate cellular renewal, to optimise the action of the extract and cream.

~~~~~

Divine Extract

Divine Extract R1360 (30mls)

This Ultimate Youth face Serum has a fresh velvety gel texture which absorbs quickly into the skin and contains a high concentration of active ingredients which boosts the effectiveness of the cream.

~~~~~

Divine Cream

Divine Cream R1390 (50mls)

This anti-ageing cream melts into you skin to provide complete rejuvenation of the skin by lifting the features, redefining facial contours and brightening dark spots as well as the skin’s tone to ensure that the skin retains its youthful glow.  

~~~~~

Divine Eyes

Divine Eyes R865 (15mls)

A fresh gel-cream eye contour with anti dark circles and puffiness benefits that helps to fight the signs of ageing and enhances your eye contour area. 

~~~~~

*These 4 products are designed to be used both morning and evening. 
Apply all over the face and neck in upward movements, avoiding the eye area.
Divine Eyes apply using the ring finger and gently tap around the eye area.

The Divine skincare range is my personal favourite, of all  that I have used in my 35 years of being in the beauty business. Not only does my skin respond well to the products, I find it to be an easy regime to follow as  all the products are to be used both morning and evening. I even derive enjoyment from the packaging, as they are little pots of Corsican sunshine that I get to experience everyday.

 However I have to admit, that I was somewhat worried that these additional ingredients would detract from "Divine..ness" of this anti-ageing range. After trying all four products with the new formulation my concerns were unfounded, as the additional ingredients have enhanced this range without changing the light texture, yet provide wonderful nourishment for my dry mature skin.
 I did notice that the distinct fragrance from the Immortelle flower is less prominent than before. 
Again I was a little sceptical about the inclusion of a Lotion, but after trying, I found it enhanced the luminosity of my skin, whilst providing the first layer of softness that only improves as you apply each of the following products in the regime. 

At no stage does your skin feel overloaded. 

If I had one complaint, it would be the non inclusion of an SPF.

This range, as a "50 something", provides me with all the benefits and advantages that I am looking for in products that will, with a little help from nature, fight the signs of ageing.

Has it lost any of its "Divine..ness"....most definitely NOT and I personally cannot wait for L'Occitane to research some more into the magic of nature!


To read other L'Occitane reviews:

One Minute Hand Scrub
Sublime Essence
Lavender Hand Purifying Gel
Almond Shower Oil
Summer In A Bottle
Verbena Sorbet

You can now order L'Occitane online in South Africa

www.loccitane.co.za

WIN WITH RAIN

I have decided to celebrate my Blog passing 70,000 views (I did want to do it at 60k views but that slipped passed me) by doing a little Give Away to say "Thank You" to all those that either follow, read regularly or just pop by every now and then. What I began 18 months ago has blossomed and matured ,but its time to move on, so a revamp is on the cards as is my first ever and maybe my last attempt at doing a video blog...so watch this blog space!

This prize has been kindly supplied by the lovely people at Rain, a brand which has really become one of my favourites.....

Just follow the Rafflecopter instructions below and good luck to all those that enter and if you don't..

well you are missing out on a chance to win these 4 fantastic Rain products from their Biologie Range:

1.Biologie Exfoliating Foot Scrub (90ml)

2.Biologie Hair Conditioner (50ml)

3.Biologie Hand & Body Wash (200ml)

4.Biologie Shampoo (50ml)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

www.rainafrica.co.za

SUNDAY SAMPLE

What came out of my jar this week?
I am excited for the next Sunday Sample review as my "hubby" will be giving his opinion on this recently launched fragrance AZZARO CLUB MEN and no doubt I will be adding my input also.

CHOCOLATE MEMORIES

I came across Chocolate Memories whilst visiting the Decorex Durban recently and even though I profess to be a chocoholic I hadn't heard of them, but like many good success stories, a passion and desire for a change of lifestyle resulted in the creation of something sweet!

It was started by husband and wife team Tammy & Edi who started the business after leaving their careers behind in search of a quiet,simple life. They moved into a tiny mountain cottage in the foothills of Champagne Valley in the Central Drakensberg and started making chocolate.

Learning to make chocolate was not without its challenges, but after some time they perfected the art and started to make chocolate bars that are etched with the surrounding mountains.

          These artisan chocolates are made using only the finest ingredients - pure cocoa butter & natural                                                                           bourbon vanilla. No modified fats or palm oil are used!

The slabs of chocolate are hand wrapped in gold foil and rustic brown boxes which makes for a very reminiscent and refreshing form of presentation.

Simple packaging

Gold foil wrapped chocolate

I decided to buy and try the three types of chocolate below:

80gms Bar R40

1. The "Milk no added sugar" intrigued me, as all previous attempts of trying to find a decent slab of chocolate, that has had no sugar added, have failed miserably. Finally I have found not only a decent bar but a good bar!

2. Having a weakness in particular for "White" chocolate I was really impressed with Chocolate Memories version. It wasn't sickly sweet as white choc can often be and this was my "fave" of the three.

3. The slab of "Milk" was also a good smooth chocolate, with good taste. The exclusion of modified fats was evident, as you were not left with any fatty residue in your mouth, which is normally a tell tale sign of a poor quality chocolate.

They also make a "Dark 40%" and a "Dark 70%" and new varieties are in the pipeline.

My overall impression of this chocolate range is one of surprise, as it just goes to show that locally there are artisans that can produce, in this case a chocolate, that can hold its own amongst some of those Belgian and Swiss chocolatiers.

You can visit their website for more info and to order online

     www.chocolatememories.co.za     

DECOREX DURBAN 2014

Not having visited a Decorex show before I was quite excited when I received complimentary tickets for the Trade Day. Decorex is KZN’s finest décor, design and lifestyle expo and this years theme is "bliss". As soon as I walked in I was struck by the colours and vibrancy of the exhibitors stands, whether they were proudly showcasing their latest decor trends or keen to enlighten you with practical know-how, you definitely leave with plenty of design and décor ideas and inspiration.

What I also enjoyed was the Gourmet Cuisine area with its trendy pop-up restaurants. 
Chocolate often appears in my posts and I couldn't resist buying some slabs
 of hand made chocolate from Drakensberg Chocolate Memories.
I must admit I totally "lost" myself whilst slowly wandering from one stand to the next,
 so much so, that I ran out of time and didn't get to see it all, which means another visit is on the cards this weekend.

If you cannot make it to this years Decorex Durban then you can view some of the show through my many photos below.

Decorex Durban 2014

20 March - 23 March

10am-8pm daily (Sunday 10am-6pm)

Adults R65

Enjoy!

Cuisine area

Drakensberg Chocolate Memories

Caesarstone

Spoon Chandelier

U M O Y A Outdoor

Lineage Coffee

Smart Car covered in Easigrass

Tradesecret

Bella & Boo Tuk Tuk

St Leger & Viney

St Leger & Viney

Plascon

Plascon

St Leger & Viney

Plascon

Scott Dogs - Gourmet Hot Dogs

GREEDY BUDDHA

Asian Fusion Tapas style is what Greedy Buddha describe their food as being. Since opening in Durban North I have been hearing lots of great things and last week I got to try for myself.We were greeted and seated by enthusiastic waiters who patiently explained the menu. Basically it's order any combination of the dishes that you both like and just tuck in and share the Tapas style taste moments. This suits me as I love to taste lots of dishes, so I was in my element, unfortunately hubby was not, as he doesn't enjoy Tapas. You need to know that my hubby enjoys his food and large portions, therefore Tapas doesn't "do it" for him. Even though they say that the each dish serves two for tasting, which it does, be warned that lots of dishes need to be ordered in order to satisfy any decent hunger.

(thinking about this my hubby and I are little piggies)

Everything on the menu sounded like a real taste sensation and that was certainly true for the dishes we chose. Greedy Buddha only use the freshest seasonal ingredients and all the dishes are prepared by a team of passionate chefs. Utilising various cooking methods including steaming, pan frying, deep frying, stir frying and oven roasting, this care and love comes through in the food.

7 Spiced Tempura mushroom and Pea Purée 

Malaysian Peanut Chicken

Tamarind peanut infused sauce with subtle hints of Chilli, Ginger ,Coriander and Mint

The Wok dishes can be cooked choosing protein options of beef,chicken,calamari or halloumi, but there is also a stir fried Vegetable choice.

We decided on Calamari with Black Bean and Green Pepper sauce

Black Bean infused with garlic,Ginger and soft cooked Green pepper.

I really suggest that you visit their website to just check out their menu beforehand, as they have several set "Tasting" menu options for 2

 9  Tastings R318 

10 Tastings R364 
11 Tastings R394

This casual eatery may be minimal on decor, but its certainly big on taste and a return visit is definitely on the cards "sans" hubby!

Apologies for the lack of photos, but hubby ate the one meal before I had chance to photograph and the two above had also been semi eaten, but I managed to rescue some of the remains.

59 Adelaide Tambo Drive (Kensington Drive)

Durban North

4051

(031) 5631919

Closed all day Monday

Tuesday to Saturday 12pm til 8:30pm

Sunday 12pm til 2:30pm

Selected Take Away's are available.

SUNDAY SAMPLE DERMALOGICA HYDRATING BODY CREAM

After using a sample of the Dermalogica Conditioning Body Wash a couple of weeks ago, I was quite looking forward to trying another dermalogica product that forms part of their Body Therapy system, which is an aromatherapeutic Spa range that you can customise for home use. I was impressed with the Conditioning Body Wash as the fragrance of the essential oils reminded so much of a visit to a Spa.

I was slightly confused initially with this product as its name says its a hydrating cream, whereas their website mentions this product as being an advanced body lotion. My personal opinion, it's a body lotion/gel as opposed to a cream. This non greasy formula is absorbed rapidly giving the skin a hydrated look and feel. It certainly leaves no oily residue on the skin and even the most delicate of clothes can be worn immediately without any concern for staining. As you would expect from Dermalogica its formulated without artificial fragrances and colours.

My skin felt soothed and softened thanks to the inclusion of Lavender, Patchouli and Orange essential oils combine with Green Tea.Lactic Acids and natural hydroxy acid extracts from Sugar Cane and Apple smooth and relieve skin dryness. This product is at the high end of most peoples budget, but again I would highly recommend if your skin is dry and prone to sensitivity. In my experience people spend far more money on trying various cheaper options hoping to remedy a dry sensitive skin when sometimes a leap of faith has to be taken with regard to increasing that spend, which often results in a success. Remember that with a quality product you will need to use less and in most cases it will last longer, making it more cost effective.

The natural clean Spa like fragrance is again a "hit", now I just need to get my hands on more samples from the Dermalogica Body Therapy system, as 2 out of 2 products tried, so far have impressed me.

R350.00 
237ml

R590.00 
473ml

    

                               

dermalogica

AFRO'S CHICKEN

What a little gem Afro's Chicken is down on Durban beachfront. The brainchild of Emil Venter, Afro's operated for 18 months from a trailer on the South Beach car park.
You will now find them operating from a yellow kiosk on the Durban beachfront path.

Alfresco Afro's Chicken

The menu is small, very small and don't expect cutlery or plates, as Afro's Chicken is delightfully simple,  expect to eat with your hands and out of a cardboard box, but this all adds to the charm.

Menu window

Afro's Chicken Burger n Tjips

 The chicken burger, which is actually a braai'd lean chicken breast comes with the option of peri peri or garlic, lemon marinade and is served on a fresh Portuguese style roll.The tjips (chips) are fresh, home made, hand cut and have the skins left on. Afros uses only the freshest,locally sourced ingredients making this a different fast food takeaway option.

 I made the mistake of venturing from what Afro's Chicken is famous for and ordered a breakfast bacon roll, which was crammed with streaky bacon, but should have been called a fat roll, as it really was a case of hunt the lean bacon bits.
My hubby did rather begrudgingly let me taste his burger and yes...I missed out this time and ordered the wrong thing, which is highly amusing, as its normally the other way around.
I can't wait to return to have my own box of chicken "yummieness"

My "fat" roll

The view has to be the best on the beachfront while eating burger and chips out of a box, but this ain't any burger...it's an Afro's Chicken burger.

A Burger with a view

For more info

afroschicken.co.za

LUSH GUSH

Well finally I get to "gush" over the opening of a Lush store in the Gateway theatre of Shopping in Durban KZN (Situated next to Woolworths on the ground floor) and is only the third store to open in South Africa.
Lush was born in 1994 and since then has flourished into an international brand under the control and guidance of husband and wife team Mark & Mo Constantine.

Tonight saw the official launch, with the opening to the public tomorrow and it allowed me to spend time to really browse amongst the brightly coloured displays many of which look good enough to eat.

Lush is a fun yet resposible cosmetic brand and you cannot help but be drawn into loving all aspects of it, whether it be the fact they use fresh natural ingredients, their clever play on words with regards to the product names, the effectiveness of their products or just the "feel good" factor that you get when you walk into any of their shops.

The evening was happy and full of enthusiasm for the brand so, next time you are in the Gateway area pop in to experience the brand through the help of their enthusiastic staff, who are always on hand to demonstrate their large product offering.
If you cannot make it into a Lush shop... don't despair as you can order online in South Africa

To order Lush online

Their famous "Honey I Washed the Kids" Soap

A local adaptation to the shop visuals

Miranda Soap makes you feel fresh and fruity all day!

I've used several products over the years and I have had great success with products for my acne troubled "Kiddiewinks"

To read my previous Lush reviews

Lushcious
Lush Lips
Lush for Teenagers
Lush Volcano Foot Mask
Mask of Magnaminty
Lush Grease Lightening Spot Treatment
Lush Aqua Marina Facial Cleanser
Lush Tea Tree Toning Tablets
Lush Grease Lightening Spot Treatment

ANTI - AGEING BEAUTY BIBLE

I wrote about this book when I first started my blog eighteen months ago and guess what... its still very relevant today, even though it was published in 2011. The reason I rate this, as the best "go to" book for anti ageing advice is the fact that the reviews on the products are not "paid" for reviews and are completely independent of any cosmetic or skincare companies

Health and beauty experts Josephine Fairley and Sarah Stacey bring together everything a woman needs to know about feeling great, looking gorgeous and being fabulous from top to toe in their Anti-Ageing Beauty Bible! This book truly lives up to its name and has so many interesting facts and tips and for the over 35's , it's a "must have" book. 

Available from all leading book stores and online.

SUNDAY SAMPLE

I didn't do a dip into my sample jar last week, but here's what I pulled out today.

Its the Dermalogica Body Hydrating Cream and after enjoying the Dermalogica Conditioning Body Wash a couple of weeks ago I am really looking forward to trying this sample and my views will be up on my blog on Sunday.

To read my Conditioning Body Wash Review

WEIRD SHOES RETURN

It's been a while since I did a "Weird" post, but these shoes certainly qualify to appear on today's post.

Do you agree?

Enjoy!

Meringue Shoe

Confused Heel

Rivet Shoe

Spider Shoe

TipToe Shoe

To view more Weird Shoe posts