Top ten products of 2009

I meant to post between Christmas and New Year’s, but didn’t get around to it. Hope you all had a great Christmas and Happy New Year! Anyway, these are my favourite products of 2009, in no particular order. I tried a lot of really great products, and it was difficult to narrow them down!

e.l.f Mineral Eyeshadow $12.99 – these eyeshadows are really affordable, and comes in 12 colours. I have four of these (Celebrity – shimmery pale gold, Sassy – shimmery bronze, Confident – shimmery dark brown, and Temptress – matte warm pink). These were available at Bling stores, but I’m not sure if they are stocking them anymore.


Trilogy Energising Face Lotion 100ml $46.90 – technically I bought this right at the end of last year, but never mind that. This is a light but nourishing moisturiser, and a little goes a long way. Doesn’t seem to clog pores, which is great.

Saya Body Butter 200g AUD$26.95 – Thick, rich, moisturising, smells great, and handmade in Noosa. Order from http://www.sayaskin.com/.

Aveda Lip Shine $44 – Yummy taste, moisturising, and comes in five shades.

Pai Echium Eye Cream 15ml £24 – rich, nourishing eye
cream. Order at http://www.paiskincare.com/.






Sustainable Youth® Technologies Immune Performance™ Revitalizing Serum 30ml USD$80 – Nice and light, with a yummy ginger beer scent. Order at http://www.sustainableyouthproducts.com/.

Bloom Minerals Plus Lip Butter $31 – Cute little pots of moisturising lip colour, available in eight shades. I have Natural Woman (brownish nude), and had Shiver (nudey pink), which I have now used up.




ecostore Shampoo and Conditioner for Dry and Damaged Hair 220ml $9.99 – technically two products, but let’s just forget that for the moment. They work well, are very affordable, and smell great.

Pangea Organics Egyptian Geranium with Adzuki Bean & Cranberry Facial Scrub 110ml AUD$39.95 – Yummy-smelling fine-grain scrub with plantable packaging. Order from http://www.ikigai.com/.


Trilogy Botanical Moisture Masque for dry hair 95ml 29.95 – Good for a weekly treatment.

Product review: Pai Echium Eye Cream

In December, I got an email from the people at Pai skincare, wondering whether I would like to try one of their products. Pai is a UK-based brand founded by Sarah Brown, but has a Maori name (‘Pai’ means 'goodness'), and some of their products contain Manuka oil (a New Zealand ingredient). Good to see some New Zealand influences all the way across the world! The people at Pai were nice enough to send me one of their products to try free of charge. I chose the Echium Eye Cream.

Review

Packaging: A glass jar with a plastic lid, in a cardboard box
Price: NZD $45.05 (£16)
Size: 7ml
Suitable for: All skin types
Available at: Pai’s website - http://www.paiskincare.com/
Pros: Organic ingredients, smells nice, very thick and rich, has a best before date
Cons: None

Verdict: I have only recently started using eye creams, so I’m not really an expert on them, but I really like this one. It’s very moisturising, but not at all greasy. The best before date lets you know when you need to use it up by. Very grateful to the people at Pai for sending it to me!