4 REASONS WHY I USE AROMATHERAPY + SOME OF MY FAVOURITES

For a few months I was sleep deprived, anxiety-ridden and extremely stressed. I did both meditation and Yoga, they were calming but was not able to turn my mind off before bed time. That's when I started to experience with Aromatherapy. A few years ago, I would've brushed off the concept and think "As if that will work". Now I use essential oils on a daily basis, I like to try different blends from different companies because every blend is different and have different effects.
As with anything, you really need to allow your olfactory system to take in the full effect of how the scents can alter your state.


MOOD

Every now and then I would come home from work in a foul mood. I become anxious, paranoid, angry or restless. I'd slip into a mood that may take days to escape from. I found the right aromatherapy concoction to alter my mood almost instantly - from being head down, bogged in a hole to a more lifted and positive outlook. I often feel more productive and tend to come up with more ideas rather than ruminating on bits of rubbish. I am currently using Yuni Zenicure Facial Oil (skincare infused with essential oils) + Uma Energy as well as Aromattherapy Associates Support Equilibrium for my mood.

RELAXATION AND STRESS RELIEF

Have you ever felt so restless and jittery that you just want to sit down, sit calm and empty your mind? I have been using aromatherapy to assist with relaxation and micro meditation/self awareness. I practised meditation (30minute blocks) for a month, it was an experience but it wasn't for me. I found micro meditation/relaxation blocks (2-3 minutes) after my yoga practise to be extremely beneficial. For a few weeks in a row, our yoga instructor massaged our temples with aromatherapy during the relaxation period. I felt calmed, more stable and more grounded. At the moment, I have been using a Oil Garden Stress Relief  + Uma Pure Calm and Pure Bliss on rotation.

BETTER NIGHT'S SLEEP

Sleeping has been tough in the past couple of months. I can't seem to adjust my body clock. Going to bed at midnight, unable to sleep and getting up at 6am during mid cycle sleep. I felt constantly tired and constantly sluggish. I have started applying aromatherapy oil on my temples, wrists, behind my ears and on my neck to help me relax and fall asleep. My favourite blends before bed is Uma Rest, Uma Calm and Oil Garden Sleep Assist.

MIGRAINES

My partner suffers from horrendous migraines, it can get so bad that he throws up and become almost bed bound. After I have been using aromatherapy for a while, I decided he should try it when he is in pain. One day, I laid him down on a yoga mat and applied a Aromatherapy Associates Support Equilibrium on his wrist, behind his ears and on his temple. Note that it won't stop or magically cure the migraine but it did help him to deal with the symptoms and relax.

The products I have featured are items that I have been using on rotation:

Aromatherapy Associates Support Equilibrium
Uma Wellness Oil Trial Kit
Oil Garden Sleep Assist
Oil Garden Stress Relief
Yuni Zenicure

WHERE YOUR BEAUTY BEATS BY SEPHORA (NEW LAUNCHES) @ AUSTRALIAN TECHNOLOGY PARK

One of the most anticipated events of the year - Sephora's Showcase.
I always take time off work for this glorious day and this year was no exception. It just keep getting better, event after event. This year, Danny the Dog stole our hearts and hit the spotlight. Making us feel warm and fuzzy as we first entered, before doing our rounds at individual brand stands to check out what's new.

Let me tell you, there's a lot and here's a peak.
Hold on to your wallets guys, cos you will want your hands on some of the newbies!

CAUDALIE

Caudalie is a beautiful paraben-free skincare brand that uses active ingredients. Their latest launch is Caudalie Vinopure Skin Perfecting Serum. This is a pore minimising serum that can be used to treat blackheads breakouts and excess oil. What's amazing about this product? The use of natural salicylic acid.

You can purchase this from Sephora Australia for $65 AUD

 STARSKIN 

StarSkin's newest release is their Orglamic Pink Cactus range. The entire range uses organic prickly pear, to allow your skin to look beautiful and glow. The highlight of the launch is actually their Pink Cactus Serum Mist!

Find StarSkin on Sephora Australia's Website

ZOEVA

Zoeva's newest is their Heritage Collection. A beautiful range of smooth and long lasting eyeliner paired with smooth, pigmented and buttery eyeshadow palette + highlighter. The holographic-shimmer is real! This collection is a jaw dropper!

You can shop for Zoeva via Sephora Australia's Website

VOTARY 

Votary launched a beautiful pillow spray, a mixture of lavender and chamomile. This spray smells divine and soothing. This spray is also anti-bacterial!!

You can purchase this little pray via Sephora's website for $60AUD

 INDIE LEE

Indie Lee recently hosted their launch party and have already started to take Australia by storm in becoming a cult brand. Indie herself was at the event and is the most beautiful person, inside and out. Indie's products focus on clean ingredients.

You can purchase Indie Lee's range via Sephora Australia's Website

BRIOGEO

A fun new range of hair care - Brio means liveliness and Geo means earth. Briogeo brings 100% organic and nasty-chemical-free haircare products. Their Be Gentle, Be Kind Shampoo smells like fresh apples!

You can now shop for Briogeo products via Sephora Australia's Website  

 OLE HENRIKSEN

Ole Henriksen is back with a dark spot reducing product - Glow2OH Dark Spot Toner. Aimed to reduce acne spots, freckles, pigmentation... you name it. It was advised that results will appear after just a couple of weeks of use!

You can purchase Glow2OH Dark Spot toner from Sephora Australia's Website for just $38

 WANDER BEAUTY

This is the first time I've been introduced to Wander Beauty, their philosophy is "less is more" and have a knack for travel friendly/versatile products. Their On The Go Blush and Illuminator stick is my top pick.

You can purchase Wander Beauty from Sephora Australia's Website

 BYBI

Bybi Beauty is a green, vegan and cruelty free range. Bybi also have a heavy focus on being eco-friendly, their plastic looking packaging is carbon neutral. I tried their mist and one of the serum on my hand but yet to learn more.. So far, I love their philosophy!

BYBI will launch in Sephora on 20th of March 2019 - yay!

 MARC JACOBS

Marc Jacobs is bringing out an extension to their mechanical eyeliners, a beautiful palette and a new mascara/primer.

You can purchase Marc Jacobs from Sephora Austraia's Website

 NUDESTIX

Nudestix have some stunning cream cheek colours and cream highlighters. The sticks include bronzer and blushes, we received a demo of the beautiful coral shade being used. The new shades are Sunset Strip and Sun Kissed by Mary Phillips.

You can shop for Nudestix via Sephora Australia's Website

 GIVENCHY

Givenchy's newest is Le Rose Perfector Lippies, I swatched quite a few of the lip shades and found quite a few of them to contain a shimmer. The lippies will provide you with a builtable wash of colour and the effects of a moisturising lip balm.

You can purchase Givenchy via Sephora's Australia Website

 YOUTH TO THE PEOPLE

Adaptogen Deep Moisture Cream is coming to Australia! Their products are beautiful and their creams feel like it's air-whipped. I have been using Youth to The People cleanser and it's so re-freshing.

You can purchase Youth To the People range from Sephora's Australia Website

I really couldn't 

An amazing afternoon, thank you for having me and having an in-house coffee stand!! Life saver!!

Lily not Louise attended this event as a guest of Sephora Australia

TARTE SHAPE TAPE AUSTRALIA LAUNCH @ WATSONS BAY BOUTIQUE HOTEL

We can finally get our hot little hand on all things Tarte Shape Tape here in Australia! I have watched endless amount of YouTube videos of beauty Youtubers going gaga over the Shape Tape collection. The infamous Shape Tape concealer is known to be one of the best concealers on the market that covers literally anything, acne scars, dark circles, redness, pores you name it.

We were whisked away to Watsons Bay on a beautiful Sydney summer afternoon. It was my first time at Watsons Bay, and the location was spot on for the playful launch. 

The Shape Tape concealer was the first product in the collection to launch, it was so well received that Tarte had decided to kicked off an entire Shape Tape range - aren't we lucky! Tarte's Shape Tape range includes - foundation, setting powder, primer balm and powder brush. The concealer is available in 21 shades @ Sephora and 30 shades via Tarte's website; and the foundation.. well a whooping 50 shades!!! The most exciting thing about the launch is that we can finally play with the products in stores and get our shades matched! 

You can shop for the range at Sephora Australia or directly from Tarte's Website. 

There were multiple stations at the event, we were able to customise our products, a hair braiding station, an inflatable filled with tarte sponges for us to play in, two larger-than-human sized Tarte Shape Tape concealers walking around and of course, a punching bag for the ultimate stress relief with a view. There was lots to do, lots to see and lots of products to play with.

I was advised that Tarte's Lights Camera Lashes mascara is the push up bra of mascaras! I cannot wait to give it a try!!

There were so many new releases we spent a long time looking at everything and getting our shades matched. We were also introduced to the latest palettes - Tarteist Pro Remix (eyeshadows) and Tareist Pro Glow and Blush. 

The Remix palette is playful colour palette - Tarte is known for their excellent neutrals, so they thought 's time to bring out colours! the palette consists of mostly shimmer shades with a few mattes as liners or base. The Pro Glow and Blush palette contains a couple of beautiful shimmery coral shades as well as contour/highlight shades with some shimmer.

And of course, what's an event without good food!! It was such a well planned and thoughtful event, ticked all the boxes of what a fun-filled event should be.

OIL GARDEN AROMATHERAPY WORKSHOP @ THE VIBE HOTEL, SYDNEY

I had the most stressful day prior to Oil Garden's workshop. Things just did not go well for me at the airport (flying to and from the Gold Coast for work) followed by a terrible flight back. It was a down-hill kind of day. I can't lie, it took a lot of mental effort for me to head over to the workshop after a long day at work... but I was SO glad that I did!

Oil Garden is a new brand to me, whilst I love aromatherapy, I only knew a couple of brands. We were showered with a wealth of precious knowledge by Oil Garden's in-house aromatherapy expert and educator Pat Princi Jones. I learned so much about plants and aromatherapy within the span of 60 minutes. 

Pat went through the benefits of aromatherapy, from mood soothing to a sexy and enticing aroma that can be worn as a perfume. I learned that Eucalyptus within the leaf is produced to protect the trees from sun rays and that Jasmine + Rose essential oils takes a lot of effort and lab work to make, as a result, a tiny bottle of the pure form of the oil is through the roof. The oils that we are able to purchase affordably are all diluted. Oil Garden chose to dilute these precious oils with jojoba for added skin care benefits. 

Pat did a one on one and created custom blends for our needs. I of course, asked for stress relief that was created under Pat's guidance. I then made a very simple sleep blend. Pat added a hint Ylang Ylang oil into my stress relief blend, I learned that it was worn by Cleopatra. It was the most beautiful relaxing blend! Pat is a true master!

SPECIAL OFFER

For a limited time only, you can get 25% off Oil Garden products from www.oilgarden.com.au by using Lily25

Lily not Louise attended this event as a guest of Oil Garden

MEDIK8 R-RETINOATE YOUTH ACTIVATING CREAM INTENSE LAUNCH @ ALPHA RESTAURANT, SYDNEY

I enjoyed an intimate morning with Medik8 @ Alpha Restaurant in celebration of their latest addition to the r-Retinoate range. Medik8 r-Retinoate Youth Activating Cream Intense is a game changing product and a world's first "all in one" night cream. 

We were provided with an excellent introduction to r-Retinoate Youth Activating Cream by Medik8's Formulation and Development Director, Daniel Isaacs via a video conference. 

Daniel explained the difficulties experienced when combining retinyl retinoate and retinaldehyde, the combination makes r-Retinoate an absolute power-house; there is no other product like this on the market as of yet.

You may be familiar with Medik8 Australia's 2018 launch - r-Retinoate Youth Activating Cream (in a beautiful white bottle), we were advised that r-Retinoate Intense will not be replacing the original product so don't fret!

Comparing r-Retinoate Intense to the original, the new launch is richer in texture and possess the best hydrating ingredients, peptides (that directly target collagen producing cells) as well as vegan squalane. r-Retinoate intense was trialled on 27 people, including those with highly sensitive skin and no irritation was reported.

This product is 8 times stronger than retinol and eleven times faster acting. You are expected to notice a fading reduction in the appearance of fine lines in just 4 weeks. 

Active Ingredients:

Polymer-encapsulated Retinyl Retinoate - 8 times more powerful than retinol and stable

Crystal Encapsulated Retinaldehyde - 11 times faster acting than retinol

Smart Hydration Reservoir - Delivers multi level hydration

Vitamin E - Quench free radicals

Ceramide Complex - Nourish the skin

Drone Targeted Copper Peptide - Plump skin

Organic Carrot Seed Oil - Preserves the potency of r-Retinoate Intense

How to Use:

Like every other retinol products, it needs to be phased in. It is recommended to introduce r-Retinoate Intense into your nightly routine twice per week for 2 weeks. Once your skin adjusts to the ingredients, use it every other evening for 2 week. Following this, you can use it every evening. This product is designed for night time use only.

Price:

$389 for 50ml - check website below for stockists or call 1800 242 011

I tried and tested r-Retinoate Intense at the event, I have used Vitamin A previously and cannot escape the awful scent. I was extremely surprised to find a very subtle fruity scent to this powerful night cream. We were advised that r-Retinoate Intense is so powerful that it acts as both your serum and your night cream.

WEBSITE

https://www.medik8.com.au/

Lily not Louise attended this event as a guest of Medik8

Atkinsons London 1977 Pirates' Grand Reserve Eau De Parfum

I was recently introduced to Atkinsons, a famous perfume powerhouse founded by James Atkinsons in London, 1799. James was the perfumer to the royal family. His perfume line grew and currently range from home décor, bath essentials to perfume. I had the choice to chose a fragrance from Atkinson's collection, after reading through the scents and notes, I decided to try something different - Pirates' Grand Reserve from their contemporary collection.

Notes:

Top notes: Rum SFE, Jasmine petals, Heliotrope
Heart notes: Cocoa bean, Geranium essence, Cedarwood
Base notes: Patchouli, Madagascar vanilla essence, Helvetolid

Pirates' Grand reserve was described as rich and adventurous.

"Chocolate and gloriously aged rum pay delicious homage to English gentleman Sir Francis Drake".

I almost always only use fresh and fruity fragrances, when I saw the description of Pirates' Grand Reserved I thought I'd venture out of my comfort zone and try something I wouldn't normally wear. For some reason, the description captivated me. The 100ml Eau De Parfum was encased in a classic glass vessel with a weighed metal cap. My first impression was that this bottle marked an epoch of 1799 London's high society.

A light spritz of the scent and you will be able to smell the floral top notes with fairly heavy rum notes. As the fragrance rest on your skin and goes through to the heart/base notes, you know that it will be extra long lasting. Pirates' Grand Reserve is indeed rich, daring, strong and not for the faint hearted. The base notes are extremely prominent with the vanilla slightly under the Helvetolid - so quite a musky scent. The scent will hold on your skin for hours... literally hours. If it's sprayed onto an item of clothing, it will last until the next day.

I'd classify this perfume as a unisex scent that can be worn by both men or women. This scent is suitable for those who are drawn towards a strong and long lasting old fashioned scent. I am really glad that I ventured out to the high seas to try something new and different, I appreciated how long lasting this fragrance is, Atkinson's history, motto and use of high quality ingredients. However I have to be very honest here, at first, this unique scent was so strong I instantly thought, "uh oh... this is not for me.. too strong.. too musky". I sprayed a generous amount on my colleague who felt the same ….alas after a few hours of wear, I sniffed my wrist and was completely surprised - the scent grew on me. I messaged my colleague who reported the same. The strong musk scent eased and it turned into a mixture of patchouli with vanilla. This is the type of scent that you really need to go out there and have a sniff for your self, it's very unique and nothing like anything I have ever tried before.

Atkinsons is available at selected David Jones stores
Call 1800 940 578 for more information

WEBSITE
www.atkinsons1799.com/

Sample provided for editorial purpose