Tag Archives: Dermalogica

Dermalogica Pamper party

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Last Thu evening I totally got spoilt at the Dermalogica on Wembley.  BIG SMILE.

Wembley Square also happens to be the home of my gym.  I will admit, as I was sipping on champers I did feel slightly bad as I watched people walking by in their workout gear, looking all fit and healthy… and smug and stuff. ;)   But at glass number three the guilt melted away faster than your make-up in extreme humidity.  Hehe.

Not only were we treated to some (OK lots of) bubbly, we were also served amazing sushi & snacks.  I was totally helpless… the temptation was way too strong… I had to cave…

OK OK, maybe just one… one platter that is…

My invite to this evening of bliss was thanks to the lovely Leozette from Red Carpet Concepts.  This chica is seriously one of the nicest PR people I’ve met to date.  Absolutely love her.

Me & Leozette

Other ladies on the scene included Tori from Kiss Blush and Tell  & of course you should know my friend Clouds from And Lollipops already:

Tori, me & Clouds

As well as Allison from Skinny bitches in the Making:

Allison was worried about showing too much boob in this pic. I said – “Phulease lady… there’s no such thing as too much boob! Boob = double the hits!”

Turns out the flowing champers was to soften the blow of the Dermalogica Face Mapping to follow.  Just in case there was bad news like “Don’t worry you don’t look a day over 45 daahling” :)    Just kidding!  The face mapping was actually quite fun.  Basically they inspect your skin with this sci fi looking headset with magnifying lenses to see if you have any areas on your face & neck which needs some special TLC.  Dermalogica divides your face into 14 sections.  Each section to them has its own quirks and special care needs and you need to treat it accordingly.  They also chat to you about your concerns so they can factor that in when they make their recommendation of which products you should be considering to get you to beautiful looking skin.  My concerns were anti aging (because I’m now in my 30s… gawd that still hurts everytime I have to admit that little fact) and also hyper pigmentation / sun damage.  Aren’t we all?  Sunscreen is such a must these days.

Here you can see my face mapping results…  It’s quick & easy, only took about 15min. 

After completing our face mappings we then moved onto the DIY facial area where we could get hands on with the Dermalogica products:

We kicked off by taking off our make-up with the Dermalogica PreCleanse product.  Then moved on to a good wash with their Special Cleansing Gel.  What I liked about both these products were that they didn’t leave your skin feeling tight.  I so hate that feeling.

Then we were given their Daily Resurfacer finger glove to give our skins a good scrub:

Ta da!

This one was a total hit with everyone.  Clouds and I joked about taking it to work and whipping it out while sitting in meetings.  How would that be for multi-tasking…

Oh, don’t mind me… continue with your feedback on that blah thing I wasn’t really listening too in any case…

Another office winner was definitely the AGE Smart Antioxidant Hydramist which is something you can spritz onto your face throughout the day to give you some extra moisture & oomph.  This is especially awesome if you work in a highly airconditioned environment (like me):

And the really great thing is that it doesn’t mess with your make up.

Next we treated our skins with a AGE Smart MultiVitamin Power Recovery Masque:

You can barely see mine. That’s because I am THAT pale at the moment. Sunshine, where are you!?!  Soon I will be totally see-through…

Two key things we learnt during this skin pampering session were: 

  1. Double cleanse ladies!  Yup, use a pre-cleanse product to ensure you’re taking of your day properly.
  2. AND after you exfoliate, you must always pop on a masque.  You see the exfoliator resurfaces and such and then it’s the perfect time to give your skin a boost of vitamins and all that other good stuff.  (I’m horrible at skin stuff – so that’s about as technical as you’re gonna get from me. ;) )

As if we weren’t already spoilt enough, we ended off with some herbal tea & crème brûlée: 

Yum!

You too can enjoy a pamper party like this with your girls.  They can accommodate up to 10 people at a time, it costs R100 per person and they usually do it on Wed/Thu evenings from 6 – 9pm.  So why not get your mom, sister, girlfriends, whoever really, together and treat yourselves.

Then there are also a few good specials to take note of:

  •  Buy a Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque (R585) and get a MultiVitamin Thermafoliant & a MultiVitamin Hand & Nail treatment for free:

  • They also have a “Bye-Bye Breakout” kit for teens for R480 which includes a night treatment, hydramist & cleanser:

  • Then if you buy 2 products, you get free microZone treatment (valued at R240 – a 20min treatment to suit your specific skin needs) plus a free Anti Aging kit consisting of a MultiVitamin Thermafoliant (a scrub that gets a hot when it reacts with your skin – it’s very cool), a MultiVitamin Power Firm (eye cream) & a MultiVitamin Hand & Nail Treatment:

I couldn’t resist this deal. I was really impressed with that Multivitamin Power Recover Masque & then I also got their Pure Light day cream with 30 SPF, so those were the 2 products I bought and then I got all that other stuff for FREE.

A huge thank you to the ladies at Dermalogica for teaching me a few new skin tricks.  I’m usually super lazy when it comes to my skin care routine, but I’m now totally amped to look after my skin properly and avoid looking like freakin’ raisin at 50. :)

xxx

My COCO bikini loot

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So initially I wasn’t sure I would be able to attend the COCO Lifestyle bikini sale I told you guys about here.  BUT THEN, I entered a competition they were running on my My City By Night where you could win a R500 voucher to use at the sale… and I won!!!  (I never win anything… OK well not never ever… I once won R70,000.00 on an Afrikaans game show on kykNET – true story – it only cost me my dignity. hehe).

Here's my lovely prize... with Love from the COCO people.

To win this baby I had to leave a comment telling them where my favourite place is to wear my bikini.  This was my totally genius answer:

Anywhere where I can totally flaunt it! Be it Clifton, Camps Bay, a swanky pool party or next to the pool at The Bay hotel. Hard work in the gym paired with a super hot bikini needs to be celebrated in style.

I know what you’re thinking… pure talent like mine is just so rare these days. :)   So I shuffled some things around and headed over to St Yves bright and early on Sat because I wanted to be the first person there.  ** Bikini shopping is no joke people – you have to bring your A game **

My plan worked well because there were rails and rails of goodies for me to browse through (even including some cute beach cover up items) and as it was still nice & quiet, I could take my time in choosing the perfect items.

For the record, that girl in the pink arrived after me... I WAS the first customer.

There were lovely COCO girls standing by to help you with your purchase:

This pic's for the boys. You're welcome.

As well as some tempting snacks & drinky-poos to give you an energy boost:

I stayed far away... trying on bikinis with a pot belly is never a good idea... trust me.

And after about 40min of trying things on and contemplating options, I finalised my purchase.  What did I end up getting?   Check it out:

Left: Bikini from the Mermaid range; Right: From the Catch of the Day range.

I decided to get two alternative bottoms for the white bikini – the white bottom being more sexy & slinky and the pink one being more playful.  When showing it off to my girlfriends they were like “You’ll probably get more wear out of the pink one…”.  Then when showing it to the boyfriend, he was like “You’ll never use the pink one, it’s got way too much fabric.”  Go figure. :)

I have to tell you guys that the fit of the COCO swimwear is absolutely stunning and the quality of the fabric & stitching is top notch. I was really really impressed.  Now I’m gonna have to spend a lot of time at the beach or poolside because they deserve to be seen. (Holding thumbs that this CT weather will improve soon)  Anybody want to invite me over for a fancy pants pool party? Anybody?

All together it only came to R800 (thanks to the unbeatable sale prices), which meant with my R500 voucher I only had to pay in a little bit extra.  Such an awesome deal!

And to top it all off, I also got a free Chinese fan which is totally going to come in handy for my MCQP Maid in China outfit this coming weekend:

Ta da!

The ladies from Dermalogica were also on hand to advise you on some crucial items for your summer skin care routine – cause you can only do so much in the gym ladies & gents – the rest comes down to prevention & care. ;)

At first I was like “Ja ja, I love your products, but they’re just a bit pricey” – they quickly set me straight, comparing my usual skin care product prices to similar items in the Dermalogica range and proving that I’m actually already spending pretty much the same, if not more.  I guess it’s just easier to forget about it when you’re putting it on that Edgars account…

They took me through some options which would allow me to slowly transition into the range without blowing the bank and I got a voucher to use at their concept store in Wembley Square on a Microzone treatment.  So that was a really nice surprise.  Thanks girls!  I’m seriously considering making the move now.

Before I ran off I got to chat to COCO Lifestyle owner & designer, Clarisa Nel.  She’s an absolute doll and a regte Afrikaanse meisie like myself.

Clarisa & Karisa - wearing totally colour coordinated outfits. How weird is that!

I’m so glad I was able to pop by in the end.  It totally made my day.  A huge thanks again to Clarisa and co for my awesome voucher.  I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for new ranges in the future.

xxx

The COCO Summer launch sale

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I’m constantly in search of that perfect bikini… you know the one… the one that highlights all the right curves but at the same time cleverly disguises your not-so-great bits.  I know that’s kinda like searching for a unicorn, but these bikinis do exist… I believe it! :)

This is why I’m so sad that I’m likely gonna have to miss out on this COCO Lifestyle summer launch sale on 10 Dec at the St Yves Beach Club in Camps Bay:

I'm frantically trying to see if I can shuffle some things around to somehow still fit this in... aarrggh...

Who/what is COCO? It’s a proudly South African swimwear brand brought to you by a girl by the name of Clarisa Nel.   Side note:  People can never properly pronounce or spell my name.  Nine times out of ten I’m called Clarisa as well.  I get tired of correcting people, so most of the time I just roll with it.  So if anybody is reading this right now thinking “What? But I’ve been calling her Clarisa for yonks…” – it’s K-A-R-I-S-A, no “l” and spelt with a “K” cause ek is Afrikaans. ;)

Anyhoo,COCO is actually quite a big deal brand.  Clarisa’s swimwear has been featured in Sports Illustrated, FHM and most recently in the Cosmo Swimwear fashion show.

I’ve spent some time studying the various collections on the COCO website and have already selected my favourites:

Prices range from R450 to R950, but remember you can score up to a 35% discount on the day of the sale.  Plus you’ll walk away with some Dermalogica goodies with your purchase – total score!

For more info on COCO happenings, stockists and such, you can also check out Clarisa’s blog here.  Or go and check out their Facebook page and Like away.

And try to get there early ladies.  I know the invite says you’ve got from 10am to 3pm, but trust me, this is something you’ll want to get to early.  The more options you have to try on, the greater your chances of finding that unicorn…

xxx

The Diligo Summer launch fashion show

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Last night I braved a crazy/scary Cape storm to go and check out Diligo’s Summer Launch Fashion show.  Now that might seem a bit strange to some… but I’m a total shopaholic dammit! And if there’s an opportunity to check out new stuff, nothing will get in my way. ;)

For those who have not heard of Diligo before:  They’re an online fashion store, selling mainly womens fashion with a small selection of mens shirts as well.  The company was actually started by two Port Elizabeth born ladies, Lauren Graham & Kimberley Wood.  I have to give a  “big up” to the PE people hitting it on the Cape Town scene! (gotta give my home town some love every now and again as well you know…)

OK, so to me there are 3 key things that make an event awesome:

  1. A goodie bag:

    Goodie bag... check!

  2. Free drinks:

    Selection of fabulous drinks... check!

  3. Free snacks:

    Yummy savoury & sweet snacks... check!

This event did not disappoint!  Nice… very very nice… Location is also of importance.  We were lucky enough to be housed in one of the beautiful conference rooms at the oh-so-impressive The Bay Hotel in Camps Bay:

Front row seat... that's how I roll...

Before we got on with the main event, Dermalogica (one of the sponsors for the evening) told us about their FITE program.

FITE stands for Financial Independance Through Entrepreneurship and they help woman all over the world to start and grow their own businesses.  Powered by Kiva.org (a nonprofit leader in microfinance), they provide women entrepreneurs access to small loans and business training and their aim is to help at least 25 000 women within their first 2 years of operation.

We got to watch a short video clip about the program and it really struck a cord with me, just check out some of these stats:

  • women’s hands perform 66% of the world’s work, produce 50% of the world’s food and invest 90% of their income in their families…
  • Yet… they bear 70% of the world’s poverty, earn only 10% of the world’s income and own only 1% of the world’s land…

Now by purchasing your favourite Dermalogica products, you can make a difference by giving these woman a real start of their own.  They get a micro loan which they then use to build their business, then when they can eventually pay it back, the loan goes back to FITE who then hands out a loan to another woman in need.  How’s that for “paying it forward”.  :)

It's so easy... buy your Dermalogica goodies, just make sure they have the FITE sleeve on. Then use the activation code inside to register your donation!

Want to be part of this amazing initiative?  Register at http://joinfite.org.  We were each given a card with an activation code linked to a small donation to get us started.  It is really cool actually because I’ve already received an email telling me about the lady that my donation went to and what she plans on doing with it!  Such a brilliant initiative…

Then it was time for the Diligo Summer fashion show to start.  The show kicked off with a selection of crisp whites:

Shirt (R380) / Shorts (R420) / Skinny belt (R150) ; Cotton day dress (R850); Day dress with tassle belt (R480); Oversized clutch (R450)

Then it changed over to some lovely nudes:

Tennis dress with belt (R450); Jumpsuit (R500); Safari dress (R550)

And it finished off with some great pops of colour:

Maxi dress (R450); Jumpsuit (R650); Striped short jumpsuit (R450); Green ruffle front dress (R500)

Overall, I thought that the range definitely gives one some good summer staples.  They’ve hit some of the big trends for this season without going over the top and forcing you into buying something that isn’t going to have much of a lifespan.  Most of these items I predict wil likely still be fashionable for the next spring/summer season as well.

It sure did go down well with the crowd, just look at the shopping frenzy that ensued after the show:

Lots of women with those "I must have it" crazy eyes... ;)

The new range will be available on the Diligo website (www.diligo.co.za) from Mon, 5 September.  So go check it out for yourselves.  They delivery country wide.

So wanna see what was inside that goodie bag?

Ta da! Check out my awesome loot... Pongracz sparkly, Lindt choccie, Katjes sweeties, Dermalogica goodies & spa discount vouchers. Yay!

Thanks so much to the Diligo girls for a fantastic evening!  Mwah.  And also to Jade Allen from Red Carpet Concepts, who coordinated the event.  I thought everything went down flawlessly.

xxx