The “essentials”

I wasn’t sure if these products classify as beauty ‘tools’ or should be put into the ‘body care’ category (they probably cover both!) because I see them as everyday ‘essentials’ that I can’t live without. They help me complete my skincare routine, makeup, feel fresh (hygiene 😜) and even cross over into haircare. So wanna know what the bloody hell I am talking about? Take a look below! 😂😊

Hair Brush & Comb

I’m pretty sure everyone has a hair brush and comb at home lol… these two, come from the brand – Macadamia Natural Oil. I have had both for years. That my Beauties, is a sign of excellence! The flat paddle brush is made up of natural boar bristles and synthetic bristles. Natural bristles stimulate the scalp and distribute hair oils from root to tip. It is incredibly smoothing & gentle. Before having this brush, I often had synthetic brushes where the ‘tips’ (the little plastic baubles that cover the end of the bristle) fall off or the bristle would bend. That’s pretty bad form and quite common when it comes to cheaper brushes. As you can see from the photo above, none of my brushes bristles are damaged or missing 😄 I also love that the handle is coated with grooved rubber – it provides you with good grip! The rest of the paddle brush is made from a solid, thick plastic, which is light enough for comfortable brushing.

Despite lasting years, Macadamia Natural Oil isn’t a super luxe salon brand. The products have moved from being sold exclusively in salons to being sold in Priceline. This doesn’t mean the quality for the products has changed, it just means they have become more accessible, which is great! Unfortunately, I bought this brush years ago  from Look Fantastic (online) and I haven’t been able to locate it anywhere for you…. My take home story is to invest a little more in a natural bristle brush and it should last you a long time. Say goodbye to cheap and disposable products. I would like to one day buy a Mason Pearson brush, which is a British company who has been making brushes since the middle of the 19th century (!). They are super expensive but made by hand and will last you a lifetime. One day Beauties, one day… in the meantime, similar brushes to mine include the evo Boar Bristle Paddle Brush (I love that the brush is made from wood and it’s probably a similar price to what my brush cost, $37 Aus dollars). The Aveda Paddle Brush is also wooden, doesn’t contain boar bristles, but it has extra long bristles which massage the scalp gently. It’s a little more expensive coming in at $49.95 Aus dollars.

What about the comb? The comb is interesting because I picked it up due to the odd description. It was marketed as being infused with macadamia oil & organ oil. What the… that’s what I said! Did I find it to be hydrating or oily? No lol but it’s a fab comb and I take it with me when travelling (it’s a must!). It’s super gentle when detangling wet hair but effective! The spacing is just right for fine hair – it detangles, but doesn’t put pressure on your strands (which can happen if the spacing is small). I’m super impressed that it’s never chipped or broken during my travels despite being years old. It isn’t flimsy that’s for sure. And what’s great is that you can still get it! 😀 You can pick it up for $8.75 from I-glamour (an Australian haircare retailer). What’s more, it’s half price at moment – $4.38 (!). I will be picking one up for my mum 🙂

Impart Shine Whilst You DetangleMacadamia Natural Oil Luxurious Oil Infused Comb utilises an innovative process which blends Macadamia Natural Oil Luxurious Oil Treatment directly with a specially formulated resin. The result? A unique comb which distributes oil throughout your hair as you detangle.Macadamia Oil is quickly absorbed into hair due to its similarity to hair’s natural oils, hydrating and replenishing moisture. Argan Oil is beneficial to damaged hair, improving hair strength for strong, healthy looking hair. Macadamia Natural Oil haircare lets you love the hair you were born with…no matter what the texture.Features:

1. Comb is infused with oil for hassle free nourishment

2. Detangles hair whilst adding shine and smoothness

3. Aids even distribution of oil

4. Macadamia Oil quickly hydrates hair

5. Argan Oil helps hair look healthier and feel stronger

Swisspers Cotton Tips

Cotton tips/buds – another product I’m sure everyone has in their bathroom 😊 Swisspers is an Australian brand (I think – there’s not a lot of info on their website) and they sell facial wipes, cotton tips, cotton balls etc. They are a bit more premium than other brands at the supermarket and I think they are the best. I’ve tried the cheaper supermarket brands from Woolworths and Coles, but they won’t do. The cheaper cotton tips bend easily, which isn’t what I want when cleaning my ears (it must be done!). I also find that the cheaper branded cotton tips can get ‘fluffy’ on either end and again, for cleaning your ears or fixing makeup, that isn’t ideal. The thought of fluff staying behind in my ears makes me shudder… The 400 cotton tip box costs $5.50 at Woolworths. You can buy smaller boxes (240 cotton tips) for $3.75.

If you find that a little bit too expensive or find travelling with cotton buds difficult (taking a whole box is a little too much and the box opens easily) Daiso has the perfect solution for you! Not only do they have the largest range of cotton tips ever.. all cotton bud packs are $2.80 AND they have some that are individually wrapped! Granted, not great for the environment – but for travelling or for your makeup kit (if you’re a pro) they would be perfect (hygienic!). The individually wrapped cotton tips have two different shaped ends, one is round as per your regular cotton tip, while the other is pointy. I try and use less cotton tips generally because the handles are made from plastic and aren’t biodegradable…. Where I can, I use a cotton rounds/pads…

Swisspers Make-Up Cotton Pads

Cotton pads or rounds (whichever term you prefer) are also a MUST in every Beauties bathroom. Cotton balls can tend to be too small and soak up product into the middle of the ball, where you can’t get to it. Cotton pads however, are larger, cover more space, are great for distributing product evenly on your skin and you can use both sides! The Swisspers cotton pads have no competitors when it comes to quality (no, this post is not sponsored). They are so soft and SO smooth. But this isn’t what makes them number one in my books (though it helps…). What I love most about these cotton pads, is that they are stitched carefully around the edges. This means that the cotton pad doesn’t come a part In layers, getting fluffy. I’ve had a look at some reviews of the Swisspers Cotton Pads on the Priceline website and I can’t believe that some people find them to have SHARP edges. What the?!? This makes NO sense to me. The cotton (and no other material is used in their production) is so so soft, so how can it have spiky edges? Did someone hit the pad against their eyeball? And they are super gentle and soft. If you are finding that these cotton pads aren’t soft, then you might not be applying enough product onto the cotton round. If I could use these for the rest of my life, I would! The draw-string packs of 80 cotton pads, are also great for travelling with. You can pick up a pack for $3.75 at Woolworths.

If for whatever reason you can’t get your hands on the Swisspers Cotton Pads, Daiso comes to the rescue once again!

You can pick up a pack of 160 cotton pads at Daiso for $2.80. That’s impressive! Not only are they cheap, the quality ain’t bad either… also made from cotton, the cotton pads are smooth and gentle. They do have some stitching around the edges, but if you look closely, the stitching isn’t very strong and the cotton pad layers can fall apart from one another. However, compared to other cheaper brands, they still win out. You should be able to see in the photo below, why Swisppers still holds first place in regards to quality.

Above: On the left, Swisspers & on the right, Daiso

Above: Daiso Cotton Pads

Mitchum Clinical Antiperspirant Deodorant Powder Fresh

Mitchum Clinical Women 48 Hour Powder Fresh is a soft solid anti-perspirant & deodorant.Great moments in life make you sweat, enjoy those moments with confidence with Mitchum Clinical. Our most powerful sweat and odour control. Provides 48 hour odour protection and 24 hour wetness protection.

The best and only anti-perspirant deodorant I count on! Its a soft cream that gets pushed up through a twisting mechanism. It dries quickly to a powder finish. It has a fresh floral scent but it isn’t OTT.  I do think this deodorant keeps you feeling fresh for 48 hours. I just don’t find that a lot of anti-perspirants work on me and I don’t sweat profusouly either… I’ve also found that other mainstream anti-perspirants are SO heavily scented, they are quite suffocating. I try and not use aerosols where possible, because they aren’t great for the environment. I have tried a natural deodorant before – Lavanila – which I didn’t mind, but I don’t think it worked as well as a traditional anti-perspirant.

You get 45g of product for $10 at Woolworths (down from $13, permanently!). It is more expensive than other deodorants perhaps, but a little goes a long way. And hey, it works! 😄

Tweezerman Tweezers

A classic. I’ve had my pair for about two years now and they are still good as ever! I’ve lost the little rubber cap that sits on the end of the tweezer blades to keep them safe (and sharp) but what can you do. They are perfect for getting little teeny tiny hairs but yet aren’t so sharp that I’ve pulled or cut my skin. Mine cost $32.95 from Adore Beauty. I had never spent more than $10 for a pair of tweezers before, and we probably had about 5 tweezers floating around the house before but they were useless, so I’ve binned them all but this one!

Manicare Crystal Nail File

Again, a more expensive ‘basic’ product, that makes all the difference! Regular nail files can either be incredibly ‘coarse’ or too gentle. The very coarse files can rip your nails shudder. The glass file is so smooth, it leaves a smooth ridge behind. You can gently shape your nail but you can also get quite a bit of length off, with only a touch more pressure on the nail. Because the nail file is made out of glass, it can break in half if it is flying about in your toiletry bag, so you need to make sure it is lying somewhere securely. You can pick one up from Priceline for $19.95 (but wait for a sale! 😉).

Schick Pure Nourishment Intuition Razor 

The Intuition® Razor lathers and shaves in one simple step, removing the need for shaving cream, soap or body wash. Its unique skin conditioning solid moisturizes during shaving and its 4-blade pivoting head glides along the contours of your legs and body. Choose between 4 refill varieties and 3 handle colors for a simple, more personalized way to smooth skin.

For regular hair removal, I use the traditional and easy razor 😊 Old school! 😝 The Intuition razor is my favourite for a few reasons. a) no shaving cream needed (which is one less product to worry about) and b) it moisturisers your skin as you go thanks to the moisturising block surrounding the razor blades, lessening the potential for irritation. The moisturising block doesn’t foam up per se, but it lathers up just enough to be very effective and moisturising. You get such a smooth finish every single time. Once the moisturising block is very ‘low’ and almost used up, I know it’s time to change the blade! The refill blades come in individual plastic casing, which means that you can take the blade off when travelling and no worry that the moisturising block will crumble away or damage something (they moisturising block can get very soft when it’s warm).

I would still moisturise my legs after my shower or bath, but there’s no irritation or itchiness like I sometimes get when using other razors (even those with moisturising ‘strips’ above and below the blades). I find I can shave my legs and underarms with no issues of movement and angles.  You can also get shaving refills for more sensitive skin (infused with aloe vera) but the other refills are deliciously scented also (coconut, pomegranate, shea butter etc.). A ‘starter pack’ costs $12.69 (and you get two shaving blades/blocks) from Priceline (but it’s half price off atm!) or the blade refills come in packs of three and cost $13.50 (also half price atm at both Priceline and Woolies).

Did you know that Jewel wrote a song specifically for the Intuition razor? And it’s called… Intuition 😂😂 It was a big hit in the mid-2000s and like everything else she does, she didn’t just write a pop song, she wrote a pop song with meaning and irony. That is genius in my books! The video is great also. Gosh it brings back good memories for me – I was in high school at the time and me and my best friend were obsessed with her pop album, 0304.

Well that’s it Beauties! I hope you enjoyed this somewhat different post 😊

Let me know if you use any of the goodies talked about – or what your favourites are!

Catch ya next time,

Beauty Bee~

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