There’s been lots of love for beauty foodie products this month!
Retinol Reface from Indeed Laboratories
Retinol is a derivative of Vitamin A and is widely considered to be a super-hero ingredient in the battle to combat the onslaught of aging (damn those fine lines). Indeed Laboratories didn’t stop at biffing one kind of retinol in this product, they biffed in three. I’ve been using this Retinol Reface every night for the last six weeks and I’m really happy with how it’s dealing to my fine lines, crow’s feet and wrinkles (that said, I reckon the combo of all the skincare I’m using at the moment is the dogs ‘you know what’). What I also like is that it is also quite moisturising and I’ve had no skin irritation (that said, it takes a lot to wind my skin up). Be warned, typically with retinol you get a bit of redness and perhaps some peeling – so brace yourself (I didn’t…). Pop on a pea-sized amount after cleansing and use only at night (make sure you use a sunscreen during the day, you’ll be more susceptible to sunburn). This is a definite re-purchase for me. Where to buy: Farmers $44.99 (I got mine with 15% off, love their sales).
Book: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I know, I’m behind the times. This book has been and gone on the bestsellers list (hell, maybe it’s still there) and it’s just debuted as a movie (featuring Ben Affleck, as Nick). I took this thriller on holiday to read in Rarotonga: It caused a few late nights (because I couldn’t put it down). It unfortunately also gave me bad dreams, but that’s OK, I had afternoon naps on my sun lounger to catch up. The story line centres on what appears to be the perfect marriage but then on the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary Amy disappears…as we all know, there ain’t no such thing as the perfect marriage. Usually I can figure out where thrillers are going, not so with Gone Girl. This had more twists and turns than the Amazing Maze and Maize in Hastings (good day out that, by the way). I’m off to the movie with a friend this afternoon. If Nigel Latta recommends the movie, that’s good enough for me.
iHerb
I’ve lost count of how many orders we’ve made from iHerb, or how many of our family and friends are now shopping on iHerb as a 
result of my husband and I raving about it. Goodies we like from iHerb are; Makeup; Makeup brushes; Sports supplements (like energy gels, electrolyte drinks) and vitamins. Focusing on beauty, I’ve bought all my Real Technique makeup brushes from here – if you are new to my blog, in a nutshell, these are some of the best makeup brushes I’ve used. Real Techniques’ Blush Brush will cost you US$9.99 on iHerb compared to NZ$29.99 at Life Pharmacy. I like supporting local retailers, but this one is a no-brainer. Postage from the USA won’t break the bank either (I usually pay US$8 for makeup/brush/vitamin orders). Get browsing here!
Mrs Dash Garlic & Herb Seasoning Blend (salt-free)
This is one of those ‘all round’ ingredients that’s brilliant to have on standby in the kitchen. This adds a great burst of flavour to savoury dishes and I’ve been adding it to roast vegetables, all meat dishes, hell, even my scrambled eggs (sometimes I’m just too lazy to go outside to my herb garden!). It’s all natural (no MSG) and, importantly for me at the moment, no sugar (the same, unfortunately, cannot be said for the bulk of the equivalent Masterfoods seasonings). It’s also got no salt. Nice. I got this from New World for a couple of bucks.
Makeup Geek Goodies
I won’t witter on about these again here, but my new(ish) makeup brushes and eyeshadows from Makeup Geek had a thrashing from me in September. I use the brushes and eyeshadows every day. If you missed the blog post with all the details, here it is.
Mother Nature’s Golden Roasted Chickpeas
These lightly salted chickpeas from Mother Nature were a sensational sugar free free snack for me while Sugar Free September was strutting its stuff. These are high in fibre and are a great source of iron and calcium. I like to take a little container of these to work as a snack. I also pop them in salads for a bit of crunch. Note, have a drink of water on standby, they are a little dry, but I still love ’em. There’s two flavours available, in addition to these lightly salted ones, including a spicy tomato (which I have a feeling have sugar as an ingredient). Available from most supermarkets, price is around NZ$4 from memory.
Wine: Saint Claire 2012 Syrah
I only drink red wine (I love white wine, but it doesn’t like me). This one fries my burger, big time. It’s a grunty red, which is exactly what I like. I like my reds strong with good legs (like my men). The back of the label tells me it’s got aromas of fresh white pepper (?) combined with rich dark fruits. It’s apparently well matched with full red meat dishes or duck. I generally don’t rigidly stick to food matching recommendations so I can report that this kicked butt with my pork dinner last night (if you are interested, dinner was pulled roast pork, asparagus and bacon bundles (clearly we love pig product in this house!), roast cabbage and cauliflower mash). I’m stoked there’s some left to go with Sunday dinner tonight.
