Thursday, March 16, 2006

Lush Skin

We all want to stay looking young. Let's face it, we live in a society where 13 year olds work as models and set their dewy skin as the standard for the rest of us. So out we go, and try everything in our paths. My friend Warren has gone down the Botox path, and is still looking remarkably young, though a bit of La Mer cream helps, which he's been lathering on his chiselled features for eight years now.

Before making the final leap to La Mer, I've been a Clinique girl for a while. I still haven't made the La Mer decision. The price tag kind of deters me. So, I thought I'd compare Clinique with Lush. I've just recently tried their Shangri-La moisturiser and their Imperialis.

Now, the Imperialis was nice but it dried out some of my skin, leaving it looking like papyrus. Not the ideal look, I don't think.

Shangri-Law ended up being far too greasy for my combination skin, leaving it oily for the whole day.

I'm still trying to repair the damage from Imperialis' drought inducing properties. I've gone straight back to Clinique without a second thought.

The Skin Sin body cream however is unbeatable. It glides on, is light and airy on your skin and is absorbed within minutes. It is slowly returning the elasticity to my sunburnt shoulders and smoothing away the fine lines from prolongued and systematic sun exposure.

So, at this point, I would reccommend the Skin Sin from Lush in the moisturiser range.

The other little secret I wish to let slip here is the Ocean Salt facial scrub. Never has my skin felt so clean! The creaminess coupled with the antiseptic properties of the salt left it tingly but not dry. Do not go past a Lush store without getting one of these. The price tag is double that of a scrub in the supermarket, but it feels so much better.

I will keep trying different products from Lush until I get the equivalents I have in Clinique. So, keep an eye on this post.




posted by Red Yoga @ 5:55 PM 0 comments

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Best laid plans

It’s a miracle I made it to Sydney and back. Let me break it down for you.

3:00 pm – Santi and I head into the CBD to meet up with Nasser and Bader. We drive around for yonks looking for a park. Finally we get one, valid til 4:00 pm on Elizabeth Street. After that, it’s a clearway til 7 pm. We do the Pay N Display thing and head down to see Santi’s mates. The idea is, Santi is driving me to the airport, for a 7:00 pm flight. So far, so good.

4:15 pm – I start getting jittery and wonder whether we should head. So, we take our leave and leg it down to the car.

4:30 pm – The car is not there. Santi loses the plot. I look up at the Clearway sign and try and explain the concept. Not getting through to Santi. He starts to blame me. “You said it was fine to park here!” I tried to explain, I had just checked that we could park and that he only had to pay til 4 pm. I didn’t realise he didn’t know…argh.. you get the drift.

4:40 pm – Santi is majorly stressing out, as if HE were the one about to miss a flight. Traffic is intensifying, he’s moaning about having to pay an extra $200 for a rental car and not knowing where to pick it up. I’m thinking on my feet, as fast as I can. I spot a police box, head straight in and ask them where to go for towed cars from Elizabeth Street. The guys laugh at me and tell Santi he’s never gonna see the car again. Santi blanches. I raise my eyebrows and curl my lip in a “I’m not impressed, here, guys” kind of expression. They give me the address. Santi’s blabbing, “I can’t go to Newstead and back to your place in time to take you to the airport and be back in time to meet Penny for dinner.” I put him in a cab, run up the street to find my bus stop.

4:45 pm – I text Grace, begging for a lift. She rings me back and asks if I can be at my place at 5:00 pm. “No way in hell”, is my answer. We settle on 5:20.

4:50 pm – the 195 arrives. Not the 199. So I stew through the traffic until we get to the Sol Breads bus stop on Vulture Street.

5:00 pm – I’m still walking up Hardgrave Road as I spot the 199. I run to the bus stop and just manage to jump on before it takes off.

5:10 pm – I’m powering down Ryan Street, making record time, until I get to my driveway. I open the door, rush in, add a few things to my luggage, change clothes, shoes and run out the door again.

5:25 pm – As I’m checking my handbag for wallet, boarding pass and keys, Grace arrives. She bundles me into the car, jabbering that we’ve still gotta pick up Bec, her friend, who’s going to the airport on the same flight as me.

5:45 pm – We arrive in Spring Hill, just off Gregory Terrace. Grace bounds into the house. No Bec. Seconds later, an unamused Bec is dragging her luggage down the hill as fast as she can, smoke coming out of her ears.

5:50 pm – We’re on our way, snaking out through the back of the Valley to avoid the traffic and rejoining at Kingsford Smith drive, just after Brekky Creek. Bec is bemoaning her luck, certain that she’s going to miss her flight. Moi, I’m cool. I know the route like the back of my hand and I know we’ll get there by 6:15

6:10 pm – Simone calls. My stomach flutters, but my voice remains steady. After a bit of light banter, we establish that we’ll both be on planes in opposite directions Monday morning, so I won’t even get to see her before she flies off to New Zealand. All that pent up energy. All those expectations. *sigh*

6:15 pm – Grace squirrels into a parking spot in the middle of the busiest ever passenger drop off in the history of Brisbane. Bec opens the door and does a James Bond lunge for the departure hall. I step out of thecar, retrive my luggage from the boot and give Grace a hug. Thank God for Web check-in.



posted by Red Yoga @ 7:28 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Don't talk to me about VSU

Really, don't. All these bloody building and environment students couldn't care less about it, but when it gets torn from under their feet, they will all be crying.

VSU = Voluntary Student Unionism

As if anybody would join a student union in first year. You only find out how important it is after they've given you legal advice regarding that flatmate that skipped town without paying months of back rent.

I still don't understand why the Federal Government had to mess with this. I suppose it offends Liberal party sensibilities. They were very sneaky and pushed it through over Christmas, while all the opposing factions were off celebrating the holidays.

I see it as a further decline in our values as a fair go society.

Anyhow, no energy for a rant right now.

posted by Red Yoga @ 6:03 PM 0 comments