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.

Priti Nail Products

I’ve mentioned Ikigai before - it’s an Australian online natural beauty boutique. Ikigai have recently added Priti products to their store. Priti is a brand which specialises in nail products which are free from potentially harmful chemicals such as toluene, formaldehyde, and DBP. The Priti products available on the Ikigai website are:

Non-Toxic Soy Polish Remover 56ml $16.95
Non-Toxic Cuticle Remover 12.6ml $17.95
Almond Cuticle Oil 12.6ml $17.95
Non-Toxic Speed Dry Topcoat 12.6ml $17.95
Non-Toxic 2-in-1 Base & Top Coat 12.6ml $17.95
Non-Toxic Nail Polish in 29 shades 12.6ml $17.95
Bean Nail Brush in Flax Pouch $9

The people at Ikigai offered to send me one of the Priti products to try, so I chose the nail polish in Peekaboo Rose (pictured above) Review follows:

Packaging: A clear bottle with a silver flower on the front and a silver lid.
Price: AUD$17.95
Size: 12.6ml
Suitable for: Anyone, including pregnant women
Available at: Ikigai
Pros: Pretty colour, free of harmful chemicals, good value for money.
Cons: None I can think of.

The verdict: Peekaboo Rose is a lovely luminous pink shade that’s subtle enough for the office. It’s a great colour for spring. Very nice! I took a picture of my hand when I was wearing it (shown below), but it doesn’t really do the colour justice - it's a bit brighter than it looks in this picture. Check out the Priti products at http://www.ikigai.com.au/hands-feet-polis/ .

For every budget: Moisturising shampoos

For dry hair, a moisturising shampoo is essential.

Low-cost: Ecostore Shampoo for dry/damaged hair 220ml $10.95, 1L $35.95 , and 5L $175








Mid-range: Living Nature Nourishing Shampoo 200ml $27.50





High-end: Aveda Dry Remedy Moisturizing Shampoo 200ml $63, and 473ml $113

Karen Murrell range

A new brand has popped up at Farmers recently – Karen Murrell. I’m not sure if this is the same Karen Murrell who founded the Skinfood brand (there is an Auckland address on the bottom of the product boxes, so it’s therefore a New Zealand brand, and could well be the same Karen), but the products look pretty good. They are:

Nature’s Essense Body Scrub 200ml $45
Pure Honesty Cleansing Gel 100ml $34
Absolute Luxury Moisturiser 50ml $45
True Miracle Moisture Balm 50ml $39
Aqua River Face Cream for Men 50ml $36
Moisture Stick Lip Balm $24.99
Lipstick in four shades $24.99

All the products are 99.5% natural, and have EcoCert certification and environmentally friendly packaging. Nice!

Stuff that smells like mandarin

Mandarin smells yummy and fresh. Try these products to smell like a mandarin!

Evolu Refreshing Face and Body Mist 100ml $25 – to vitalise and hydrate skin






Global Soap Lip Smoothie in Carrot and Mandarin 10ml $5 – contains olive and castor oil to moisturise






Akin Mandarin Shampoo 225ml $14.50 and 500ml $27.50 – for all hair types

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.

Article on cosmetic ingredients in Consumer magazine

The latest issue of NZ’s Consumer magazine has an interesting article about cosmetic ingredients. Apparently, since July 24 this year, it’s required that all cosmetics sold in New Zealand have the ingredients listed (if they’re not already listed on the back of the product bottle/jar/box/whatever, there needs to be a list of the ingredients in the nearby area). The reason for this is that people with allergies to certain cosmetic ingredients can know what exactly is in everything. Anyway, the Consumer went to several stores where cosmetics were being sold with no ingredients listed. There is also the story of a woman who had an allergic reaction to dianzoydinyl urea, a cosmetic preservative.

Anyway, the consumer discovered that some stores were still selling cosmetics which did not have the ingredients listed. They also found a hair dye at a $2 shop, which contained m-phenylenediamine, which has been banned from being used in hair dyes from some time. It is therefore illegal to sell this product.