At a loss for words - Blog

Manicure Monday

14/1/2015

Rimmel Pro professional finish - 295 Fab Fuschia

Why I love this nail polish?
1. The colour is simply amazing.
2. The maxi brush makes application a breeze.
3. The colour does not fade.
4. The lasting power is amazing.
5. I love the smooth finish.

I could only find one colour and would love to get my hands on more colours in this range.

Love
Leandra xx

What's currently inside my make-up bag

9/1/2015

Hi everyone,

This post is long overdue. And also another first for my blog. These are the products that I use on a daily basis:

Skin

1. Clinique blended face powder & brush - 03 Transparency
2. Rubybox tools foundation brush
3. NYX The Make-up SPF 15 - LM01 Pale
4. Catrice camouflage cream - 010 Ivory

Eyes

1. Essence all about nude eyeshadow palette
2. Clinique quickliner for eyes intense - 01 intense black
3. Essence all eyes on me multi-effect mascara - 01 soft black
4. Essence liquid ink eyeliner

Cheeks

1. Rimmel 3 in 1 Shimmering bronzer - 001 Gold princess
2. Catrice multi colour blush - 060 Strawberry Frappuccino

Lips

1. EOS Lip balm - Vanilla mint
2. Avon ultra glimmerstick lip liner - pink bouquet
3. Maybelline baby lips - pink punch
4. Stila lip glaze - hibiscus
5. Essence longlasting lipstick - 07 natural beauty

I really like to change things up inside my make-up bag every two months.
Have you tried any of the items mentioned in this post? What are your thoughts?

Leandra xx

Empties # 1

8/1/2015

Hi there everyone,

Because my blog is fairly new, there will be a lot of firsts happening on it this year. I like doing new things for the first time, so please bear with me in this whole new process.

I like using beauty products, therefore I decided to do empties posts. Empty beauty products. What were my thoughts on them and if I would repurchase again? I think with all the different types of beauty products around we sometimes buy one that we end up finishing and loving so we go out and buy it again, and then we buy something we do not like and end up chucking it or giving it to someone.

I do not have a LOT of empties as I only decided to do it a few weeks ago. So I will keep my empty stash and once in a while do these posts. Do not worry, these empties have been cleaned and are not icky. I really do hope these posts can help my readers if they are not sure if they will buy a goodie or maybe waste their money on something that does not live up to it's promise.

Anyway, here are my empties:

1. Nivea Dry Confidence plus Anti Perspirant - I do not like feeling sweaty under my arms and this was the first time I purchased this deo stick. I loved it a lot to be honest. It works and the scent is really subtle. I would definitely repurchase.

2. Oh so Heavenly classic care Fresh as a Daisy Talcum Powder - Did I mention that I love body powder? I love them and probably wear them every day. It smells amazing! I have already repurchased another one.

3. Yardley White Satin Sheer perfumed body spray - This product is a must have for my handbag. I saw this once and thought i should try it, and was really impressed with the smell. I would repurchase again.

4. Clear for women anti-dandruff Shampoo - This is not my daily shampoo, but some times of the year my hair falls out a lot, and that is when I grab this shampoo and use it for about two weeks just to stop the hair fall. But please beware, if you have colour treated hair, then you should use this product with caution because anti dandruff shampoo does fade your colour. I always have this product in my cupboard.

5. L'Occitane Cherry Blossom hand creme - I am so impressed with this hand cream that I have done a blog post on this product before. I go through huge amounts of hand cream and only a selected few actually does impress me. I will definitely repurchase this again.

6. Africology purifying cleansing gel - I have also reviewed this product in the past and have fallen in love with this face wash. This really left my skin smooth, clean and blemish free. I have already repurchased a bigger bottle of this.

7. Nivea Stress protect anti perspirant spray - This is a lethal doedorant. This sticks and leaves you dry the whole day. Just remember that this deo does leave a white residue. Yes for repurchase.

Until my next post,
Leandra xx

Cazabella Giveaway

5/1/2015

Hi there everyone,

I cannot think of a better way to kick off 2015 than to have a small, sparkly giveaway, can you?

Do you know Cazabella exotic designer costumer jewellery?
If not, then you can pop over to their webpage at www.cazabella.co.za and have a look at their 2015 collection. They sell costume jewellery of high quality at extremely competitive prices.

I have been a loyal customer of their jewellery for about 6 months and really like the range they have.

As for the fun part, I will be giving away a pair of Cazabella earrings to one lucky reader.

All you have to do if you want to win these is to pop me an email at [email protected] with a line saying something like ' Hey Leandra, I would like to win a pair of Cazabella earrings' or you can just link this blog post up to twitter with a line saying you want to win these sparkly little beauts.

Closing date is 16 January and I will announce my winner that afternoon!

Hoping to hear from you soon!

Love
Leandra xx

Hallo 2015

5/1/2015

Hi everyone,

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful festive season and a safe new years.
I wish all of you have a wonderful new year filled with many blessings and happy moments. May we all grow beyond measure in 2015.
Each year I start off with a long list of new years resolutions which I never stick to. So this year I decided to just focus on three things in my life:
1. To listen better to people
2. To be more understanding
3. To be more humble

I hope you all have a wonderful day back at work.

Love
Leandra xx

Manicure Monday

31/12/2014

I love nail polish and doing my nails so much that I decided to do Manicure Mondays from now on. There is nothing that I enjoy more than doing my nails on a lazy Sunday afternoon and having a fresh colour at the start of a new week.

Today I am wearing a colour from the Rubybox Nailed It! summer range. I love the fact that Rubybox came out with their own nail polish range and that it comes in a variety of colours and that it is very affordable.

This colour is called 'Sync in Pink' and it is a nice cotton candy pink colour. I am wearing this colour for the third time now and every time I wear it I receive compliments on the prettiness of it.

You can purchase these online at www.rubybox.co.za and they cost
R74-95 each.

Have a great Monday!
Leandra xx

When you hear your unborn baby has Dudodenal Atresia (Happy ending)

28/12/2014

Hi everyone,

This is my final post on Duodenal Atresia and it is basically to say how thankful I am that my baby has survived this dreadful condition and that she has no residual symptoms or medical conditions after having this syndrome at birth.

Kaitlin is now ten years old and a healthy little firecracker. She is a fighter that enjoys life to the fullest.

This picture was taken 4 years ago, and the only scars she has left is the one from the operation on her torso.
I think I carry more scars from that time than her to be honest.

I am extremely thankful for the staff from Sandton Medi Clinic Neonatal ICU for taking such good care of her. They went out of their way to save my baby's life and for that I am forever thankful.

Kaitlin is a very special girl and I am extremely blessed to be her mother!

Love
Leandra xx

When you hear your unborn baby has Duodenal Atresia (Part 3)

20/12/2014

Hallo everyone,

The last time I explained the birth and the operation Kaitlin underwent after her birth. I thought the nightmare was over after the operation, but I did not realise that the after-care was crucial and would take time. Emotionally the recovery afterwards was the worst part.

After the operation:
Week 1.
Kaitlin was still connected to the ventilator. She was highly sedated for the pain.

Week 2.
Some of the tubes were removed but she was still connected to the ventilator. I was still not allowed to hold her in my arms. She was given tube feeding 1ml every 3 hours, not milk, but water. After a while they would pull back the fluid in the stomach that was not processed. It was a long and tedious process. I was advised to express as much milk as I can and hand it in at the milk kitchen daily so that when Kaitlin is ready for milk, that there would be enough for her. I was lucky to have lots and lots of milk. About once a week I was asked to leave the neonatal icu when they vacuumed Kaitlin's lungs. They did not want me to see that.

Week 3.
Kaitlin's feeding were jacked up to 3ml every 3 hours and it seems like she was healing because every time they pulled back fluid from her stomach, it seemed to get less and less. She was still connected to the ventilator.

Week 4.
By this time I was emotionally drained and dreamed of taking my healthy baby back home with me soon. I was seriously agitated with my breast pump. The ventilator was still connected, but the nurse realised that I might commit murder if I was not allowed to hold my baby very soon so they allowed me to hold her in my arms for about a half an hour on a Sunday afternoon. That was the best feeling in the whole wide world. After holding her I started to get really emotional and depressed. It seemed that this nightmare would go on forever and it broke my heart to see Kaitlin lying there and there is nothing I can do but pray.

Week 5.
Oh my soul! This was an emotional and weird week. Firstly Kaitlin started to smell my milk. So the minute I walked into the neonatal icu she would smell my milk and would search and cry because she wanted it. That caused bit of a problem as she was not on milk yet. A few times I was nicely escorted out because my smell upset my baby.
Secondly she contracted some sort of ventilator neonatal icu baby infection and was put into isolation. We were allowed to see her once we were suited and scrubbed up. The ventilator came off and she was transferred to an incubator. Still I was not able to hold her as often as my heart desired.

Week 6.
At this stage we were financially and emotionally drained and have not been home for six weeks. I had so much milk that I had to express milk about ten times a day. I had to make a trip to the clinic twice a day to hand in my expressed milk in the milk kitchen. Kaitlin was still in isolation and they started giving her milk via tube feeding.
She started to put on weight and look like a cute little pink bundle. She did not look as sickly as before. The doctor said ideally they would like to send her home once she weighs about 2kg. Her weight averaged between 1.6 and 1.8kg so we were extremely positive and even doctor said that she might be able to go home within the next week.
Then later that week one night we were phoned by the icu and told to come there as soon as possible as she had a fit. A fit?? I did not understand that. When we got to the hospital the paediatrician was busy doing a lumbar puncture on my small baby. I was besides myself and nearly had a nervous breakdown. She has made all this positive progress and now they tell me that this Fit has set my baby's recovery back two weeks. At first they did not have any answers as to why the fit happened or what had caused it. They did tests but everything came up negative. Kaitlin did not suffer from epilepsy or any brain issues. What had apparently caused the fit was that her incubator's heat setting was set to high. I nearly strangled that nurse. Luckily she was not on duty when we heard the news.

Week 7.
Kaitlin was allowed to be bottle fed. I was ecstatic. I was not allowed to breastfeed her as they needed to monitor her intake. I was in the clouds. She was starting to look like a normal baby and certainly acted the part. She was recovering beautifully and we were on cloud nine.

Week 8.
I got training in preparation for my baby coming home. Firstly we were given neonatal CPR. Then I was given training on how to monitor her intake and to breastfeed her. Then we got training on how to bath and dress and groom such a small baby. She weighed 1.9 kg's and was ready to be sent home. The last thing they did was give her all her immunisations and ran the final tests. Kaitlin were tested for Downs Syndrome, her hearing and motor functions were tested.
She was a healthy, normal baby without Downs Syndrome. She was admitted the sunday morning of the last week.

I was ecstatic. I finally was able to hold my little baby as long as possible and as much as I wanted. She was perfect.
Finally I was a mommy!

In my next post I will tell you how everything turned out up until now. And yes, there is a big bright happy ending!

Love
Leandra xx

Africology Clay Masque

19/12/2014

Hi everyone,

I received this product in one of my rubyboxes and have been using it diligently now for 4 weeks.

This a masque that can be used as a treatment on your face to rid your skin of breakouts and toxins.
It comes packaged in a tube and it has a thick, beige, creamy consistency. It applies smoothly and smells like herbs. It dries quickly and does not leave the skin feeling tight and dry.

It is a deep cleansing, quick drying and conditioning product. They also say you can use it as an overnight treatment for emerging spots and blackheads.

It is suitable for all skin types and can even be used when you struggle with eczema, rashes or sunburn.
It contains bentonite that absorbs excess oils and toxins, Kaolin that helps clear up breakouts and Plant steroids which stimulates blood and lymphatic flow. It also contains marula, aloe ferox and jojoba oils to hydrate and soften skin.

If you have a highly sensitive or dry skin then you can just add two or three drops of skin hydrating oil to the masque.

I am happy using this product as it actually leaves my skin feeling clean, hydrated and glowing after use. This is by far the best masque I have used in a while and will definitely purchase it again.

I usually apply it to a clean face and wait until it has dried on my face, then I remove it and tone my skin afterwards.

You can purchase them at Africology Spa's or you can get them online at www.africologyspa.com and you will pay R144-00 for a 25ml or R276-00 for a 50ml and I would say it is very reasonally priced as you do not use it every day and a little goes a long way.

As always,
Love
Leandra xx

Lipidol Face Cleansing Oil

19/12/2014

Hi there everyone,

I was hesitant at first when buying this product as it was a cleansing oil and I have never tried an oil on my face before. Here are my findings after using the product for a while.

Lipidol has launched a range of oil based products that are the brainchild from the creators of Bio Oil.

The intended use for this product is to remove dirt and make up without stripping the skin of it's natural oil layer.

The surgical looking bottle is packaged in a clear plastic bag that is sealed. It looks clean and surgical. It has a blue, oily consistency that smells very clean and fresh.

I would say that the target audience for this product are all skin types as it is suitable for sensitive skin types and is not intended to make the skin more oily. Just to clean it without stripping off the natural and healthy oils.

You apply the product to your dry face. All the dirt and grime and make up will bind with the oil. Just add a splash of water and continue massaging. The oil will emulsify into a white watery cream. Rinse off.

I did that, but I always 'mos' think I am right, so I actually repeated the process twice before I assumed my face was clean, which was actually totally unnecessary because your face are cleansed properly the first time. We make that mistake because we are so used to soapy facial cleansers and immediately assume that because it is not foaming, that it is not cleaning my face. So do not make the same stupid, hard headed mistake I did.

The key ingredients are Rosemary And Niaouli and I assume the Rosemary is what gives it that fresh, clean scent which I love. It is non-comedogenic which means that it is formulated so that it will not cause blocked pores. So even though it is an oil, do not assume that it will block your pores because it will not.

Overall, I like this product and will certainly purchase it again. My uneducated issues with facial cleansing oils have been crushed and I actually like the fresh, clean and soft feeling my skin has afterwards.

You can buy these exclusively from Clicks stores and for a 125ml bottle you only pay R79-95 which is great value.

Till next time,
Leandra xx