Miranda Kerr inspired ~ Noni Juice

Hello darlings,

I don't have time to surf the internet a lot lately but I am all over the Kora Organics blog by the lovely Victoria's Secret model Miranda Kerr. The beautiful lady herself and many other fantastic guest bloggers contribute to spread her passion for a healthy and mindful life style. I noticed that when I first started my little blog I had something very similar in mind: getting together with all those wonderful people I know to share their insights on the beauty and fashion industry on this blog. Until I finally get going with that I am following her blog instead!! There, Miranda states that she drinks Noni juice ever since she was twelve years old and that it is a key ingredient to her Kora Organics skin care line (that I desperately wanna try btw!!).

In my local organic supermarket I found 100% Cook Islands Noni Juice for about 12 Euros. I deliberately chose a gross color to highlight this juice because it taste unlike anything I would normally drink!! Despite the awful taste I managed to drink two sips each morning for two weeks now.

This is what the GSE - Cook Islands web side writes about Noni:

"We are the first company in Europe to be able to offer a certified organic juice from the Noni fruit in accordance with the European Law, the Council Regulation. The product is
sold by the name Cook Islands Noni® and is certified organic. The Cook Islands claim to be „the only fully organic farming region in the world“. The use of pesticides and herbicides is not allowed on any of the islands. Cook Islands Noni® is a product of the intact environment of this small group of islands."

What I found on Wikipedia did not sound that positive. Repeated studies did not find any positive effect on the well-being of people volunteering to take part in validating examinations. That's why all manufacturers are prohibited to label the juice as "health-promoting". Nonetheless, I am drinking the juice for a fortnight and I have to say that I feel like my body craves the juice despite the taste!! It's really hard to describe but I haven't skipped a single intake since I started!! Anyone help me explain that, please?! Did you ever had a similar experience?

My personal theory to make sense of that oddity is that the Noni juice does contain some minerals that other fancy juices and foods in every day life may not have to that extend. Even though it might not "heal" anything, it does contribute to get all the various nutritions a healthy body needs. What do you think on that matter?! Am I just superstitious??

Much love,
Sam xx

Chasing the Last Sunrays - Natural (Elemental Herbology) vs. Drug Store (Garnier) Self-Tan Lotions

Hello my dear bloggers & blog readers,

I've sadly come to the realization that Autumn isn't around the corner anymore - it most definitely has begun! Although this is a lovely season I can't quite give up on cozy summer dreams just yet... at least my hard-earned tan should remind me as long as possible of sandy beaches and hours-long outdoor barbecues :)

I usually get the Garnier Summer Body (for fair/normal skin- yes, thanks to the vampire hype my unintended pale look's finally become appropriate all year round). A big 400ml bottle costs only a couple of Euros and does its job quite well (the bottle in the picture shows German writing as I bought it in a German supermarket but the design looks the same everywhere). It has a fruity scent and sinks into the skin right away, leaving a soft feel for hours. It takes about 3 days until I notice the tanning effect. If I apply it daily, though, some areas can get yellow such as the shin bones. Luckily, I'm a lazy bum and do almost everything on an irregular basis, so I didn't have to care that much about any yellow streaks, lol ;-) For a list of ingredients please see codecheck.info. It contains silicons and parabens, which made me wanna try a new natural alternative... 

As I am finally riding my natural and organic wave ~ that I've believed in for years but hesitated to take action for too long ~ I purchased the UK-based Elemental Herbology Sun Kiss body hydrator with self-tan for all skin tones. This 200 ml bottle, though, costs 29 Euros/22.50 British Pounds!! The eco-cert quality of the ingredients justify this steep price for me at least for this time: organic and fair-trade watermelon seed oil, macadamia oil, lavendar oil, water lilly, aloe vera, and pomegranate extract - just to name a few (see full ingredients list at codecheck.info)! I can tell that the smell derives from the actual essential oils as opposed to an artificial fragrance. I can imagine that some people might need to get used to it, though. To me this is great! The consitency of the Sun Kiss is not as fluid as the Summer Body but my skin absorbs the lotion very well. The tan is more immediate and results in more of a brown shade than the Garnier one.

In sum:

I was very hesitant at first to try a natural product for tanning but I was proven wrong:
I like the Elemental Herbology Sun Kiss better because my skin darkens more into a brown shade (not yellow) and the ingredients are very natural BUT the difference in price is huge!! In consequence, I will probably end up buying the Sun Kiss and Summer Body on a rotating basis to save money.

What do you think of Elemental Herbology? Do you think it's worth the price? Do you guys self-tan at all?!

Much love,
ur gypsy Sam xx

Rouge Bunny Rouge - Glide Concealer vs. Luminous Skin Wand (& Outfit)

Hello my dears,

it took me a little longer to create this post because I tried to do another video but it turned out so badly that I figured for days whether to put it up or leave it! As I had taken no pictures to substitute the purpose of the video I decided to include it after all... you don't know what I'm talking about? How could you :)

So, I better start from the beginning:

I was kindly sent the newest release by Rouge Bunny Rouge, the 'Naked Disguise' Glide Concealer crayon (shade: thalia). As I already own the standard concealer, the 'Fine-Spun Light' Luminous Skin Wand (shade: orionis; see previous post), I decided to compare the two with each other.

Here's what they look like:

As you can read on the official RBR web-page, the Luminous Skin Wand has by far more active ingredients than the crayon and I must say that there is a lot of paraffin in the Glide Concealer (see ingredients' list on Zuneta). The Luminous Skin Wand is, of course, more creamy in texture than the stick but neither of them leave me with a dry feeling or settle into my wrinkles. I hate it how bad concealers make wrinkles even more visible! I think the crayon is a little faster to apply because you can just dot in onto the skin, whereas, when using the Luminous Skin Wand, you have to push out the concealer first and then apply it with the brush end (as you do with the Touche Eclat by Ives Saint Laurent).

Trial phase:

I put both concealers to a test and applied one under the right eye and the other one under the left eye in the morning and waited till late at night to compare the two. That being said, when I came home after a long day at university and having one glass of champagne with my friends (we celebrated the results of our theses in a café/bar/restaurant on a Monday night, lol), both concealers had faded almost entirely. I would've definitely needed a touch-up during the day!! The shadows under my eyes showed through like crazy: you can see that in the video, I look like I've been robbing a bank or some other draining activity like that... At least I could show that they came off without leaving any nasty residues. To me this is crucial: I don't wanna feel and look masked by any "beauty" products.

So, this video shows the dreadful late-night test result, beware:



Conclusion:
I would say that the Glide Concealer crayon is good for traveling and for actually doing those quick'n easy touch-ups I should've been doing (!!) and it's definitely more suitable for buildable coverage.
The Luminous Skin Wand is the better choice for every-day treatment and concealing as it has a lot of nourishing components and is very light-weight.


Last note on my outfit:

This is what I wore on Monday - it was sunny but windy and a little chilly outside. I'm definitely preparing for Autumn already :( Sorry for the weird pose, I couldn't quite squeeze into my photo booth!!

Jacket - Dunlop (one of my best friends gave this to me. The jacket has a lot of details, very nice! She got it from a model wear sale where they sell the runway clothes very cheaply. It was such a great surprise present!)
Shirt - Mustang (a Christmas gift from my dad - well done, daddy!)
Jeans - Killah (this pair has been "customized": I removed the big Killah logo because I loath looking like a moving advertisement and one fine day I decided that I have too many blue jeans (am I nuts?!), so I dyed 'em black. Now they're my blue/black no-logo "Killah" jeans...)
Shoes - Jumelles (no story, just bought them :) lol)

What do you think of the concealers, would you prefer one over the other? Do you have days when you tell yourself: "bad hair, bad brows, bad everything!" and is it intimidating to you when people watch you doing touch-ups in public? Have you ever felt like turning your outfits into something completely new?!

Great to hear from you,
Sam xx

P.S.: I included the option of answering questions via Formspring. Hope to see you there, too!!