SPF 15 moisturiser from Antipodes

New from New Zealand brand Antipodes is Immortal Performance Plus SPF15, $49.90 for 50ml. It contains raspberry oil, hyaluronic acid, and vinanza grape and kiwi extracts.

Juice Beauty is here!

Finally, Juice Beauty has reached New Zealand. A large amount of the range is available at Life Pharmacy stores. Brace yourself for this long list:

Antioxidant Serum 50ml $79.00
Apple Age Defying Solutions kit $89.00
Blemish Be Gone 8ml $29.00
Blemish Clearing Serum 50ml $59.00
Cleansing Gel 150ml $39.00
Cleansing Milk 150ml $39.00
Exfoliating Cleanser 100ml $39.00
Green Apple Antioxidant Moisturizer 50ml $89.00Green Apple Antioxidant Serum 30ml $79.00
Green Apple Cleansing Gel 100ml $45
Green Apple Extra Firming Body Moisturizer 300ml $59.00
Green Apple Hydration Mask 50ml $65.00
Green Apple Moisturiser SPF15 50ml $79.00
Green Apple Mousse Body Cleanser 280ml $55.00
Green Apple Nutrient Eye Cream 15ml $69.00
Green Apple Peel Full Strength 50ml $75.00
Green Apple Peel Sensitive 50ml $75.00
Green Apple Repair Mask 30ml $65.00
Green Apple Repair Moisturiser 50ml $79.00
Hydrating Mist 150ml $39.00
Lip Plumper 15ml $29.00
Nutrient Moisturiser 50ml $69.00
Oil-Free Moisturiser 50ml $55.00
Organics To Go Clear Skin kit $79.00
Organics To Go Kit $69.00
Smoothing Eye Concentrate 15ml $59.00
Soothing Serum 50ml $69.00

Nice! I have the Juice Beauty Tinted Lip Moisturizers (got them in Australia), which are great. These are not available over here, but I am keen to try some of the products listed above, like the Lip Plumper.

New skincare range for guys

Trilogy has a new range of skincare, Natural Actives for Men, containing pure plant oils, and zinc, copper and magnesium. The products in the range are:

Face Wash + Scrub 150ml $27 (comes with a free golf tee!)
Smooth Shave Cream 150ml $21.90
After Shave Balm 100ml $32.90
Moisturiser with SPF15 150ml $36.90

New range from Trilogy

New from Trilogy is Age Proof, a range to combat the signs of aging. The products are:

- Daily Defence Moisturiser with SPF15 50ml $52.99
- Nutrient Plus Firming Serum 30ml $45.99
- Replenishing Night Cream 60g $58.99

Moisturisers with SPF

I don't use a moisturiser with SPF myself, (I just use regular moisturiser, then sunblock over that) but there are a lot of them out there.

The most affordable ones I have found are Avalon Organics Lavender Moisture Plus Lotion with SPF 18, $31.30 for 200ml, and Vitamin C Moisture Plus Lotion SPF 15, $27.25 for 100ml.

Then there's Living Nature Daily Defence with SPF 15. It's $55 for 100ml, and is suitable for all skin types. Or Evolu Moisturising Day Cream with Sunscreen SPF 15, $47 for 75ml, also suitable for all skin types.

Or, for something more high end, Aveda Tourmaline Charged Protecting Lotion SF15/Oil Free, $132 for 75ml. Another Aveda moisturiser with SPF is Inner Light™ Tinted Moisture SPF 15, $88 for 50ml, which I have mentioned in a post about tinted moisturisers.

Sunblock

Wearing sunscreen is majorly important. I am pretty militant about it. I live under a gigantic ozone hole (or near it anyway; I think it's directly above Antarctica), so I slather it on all year round.

It's now officially spring, so I'm wearing SPF 30. I was using Natural Instinct Natural Mineral Sunblock Cream SPF 30+, but it is quite drying. Although my skin is oily/combo, it can also dry out quite easily, and this sunscreen was also causing a dry patch/rash thing on my neck, and causing my hands to get dry, with cracks on my knuckles. However, I slathered it all over myself when I was in Australia, and it's great on everything apart from hands, face, and neck.

It costs $14.99 for 125g, $24.99 for 250g, and $35.99 for 500ml. It's the most affordable natural sunblock I've found, although it isn't really all that natural compared to a lot of other sunblocks.

So, for my face, neck and hands, I use UV Natural Sunscreen SPF 30+, $36 for 200g. Yes, it is quite expensive, but a little goes a long way. It's not drying at all. It feels very thick, greasy, and heavy, but it hasn't given me any pimples. It makes my face look all shiny when I first put it on, but that goes away after a while.
In the colder months (May, June, July, and August), I go for a lower SPF. For my face and neck, I like Weleda Edelweiss Sun Cream SPF 20, $18.90 for 50ml. Yes, Edelweiss, like the song in The Sound of Music! I get that song stuck in my head whenever I buy this sunblock. It doesn't clog my pores or make my face white; instead it gives me nice glow (but not in a tanned sort of way, obviously). It also smells great.

For the rest of me, I use the gorgeous-smelling NOM (No Ordinary Moments) SPF 15 Sunscreen, $22.90 for 177ml. This also comes in SPF 25, also 177ml, for $23.50.

I also like Alba Hawaiian Green Tea SPF 30+ Sunscreen, $20.25 for 118ml, and Alba Organic Lavender Sunscreen SPF 30, $21 for 118ml. These use chemical sun filters rather than mineral ones, but a lot of the ingredients are quite natural.

If you want a face-specific sunblock, you could try Nature's Gate Organics Advanced Care Be Solective Sunscreen For Face SPF 30, $25 for 88ml. It is a chemical rather than a physical sunblock. For a lower SPF, try Alba Facial Sunscreen SPF 20, 118ml for $21, Aveda Dual Nature Face Protection SPF 15, $59 for 50ml, or Dr Hauschka Protective Face Cream SPF 8, $54 for 30ml.

Some other options (not just for face-specific sunblocks, for sunblocks in general).

$25 and under: Alba Fragrance Free Sunscreen SPF 15 118ml $21, Alba Sports Sunscreen SPF 30+ 118ml $21

$30 and under: Soleo Organics All-Natural Sunscreen SPF 30 75g $29.95

$35 and under: Dr Hauschka Sunscreen Lotion SPF 15 Sensitive 100ml $34, Weleda Edelweiss Sun Lotion SPF 15 $34.90

$45 and under: Aveda Daily-Light Guard™ SPF 15 150ml $44

$50 and under: Dr Hauschka Sun Spray SPF 15 150ml $45.90

Tinted lip balms

Like tinted moisturiser, tinted lip balm gives a bit of colour without being too full-on. A really good, affordable tinted lip balm I like is Alba Botanica Terratints, $8.99 for 4.2g, from Commonsense Organics and Homestead Health. It's available in six shades - Blaze, Bloom, Dawn, Garnet, Sienna, and Sunset, though I have only seen it in Blaze, Bloom and Sienna. I have tried Bloom, a nice shimmery pink, and also Sunlit, a bronze, which has now been discontinued. It has a yummy peppermint smell. It also has an an SPF of 8, although the ones I've seen say 18 - maybe it's been reformulated and the new ones haven't reached New Zealand yet? Anyway, while this gives the lips a really good amount of colour, I don't find it all that moisturising, so I put it on over another lip balm.

Aveda Lip Tint SPF 15, however, moisturises the lips really well, I've found. It's $27 for 4.25g, and comes in eight shades - Apricot, Copper, Coco Plum, Berry, Frosted Tulipa, Spice, Peony, and Verbena. The amount of colour it gives is awesome, as much as you'd get from a sheer lipstick. I used to have it in the peachy shade Apricot, now long used up, and I'd definitely like to try it in other shades. It lasts a really long time on the lips (like a few hours, which I consider to be a long time, at least), and it smells and tastes great.

For a much more subtly tinted balm, you could try Kereru Lipsalve in Geranium - pink, or Natural Rose - pink. Both $4.50 from Commonsense Organics. The balms are coloured with carmine, so vegetarians and vegans may wish to go for another tinted balm instead of this one.