Elemis SOS Emergency Cream

I'm feeling very tired today. Few days ago hubby's 91 year old grandma had a fall, fractured her arm and broke her nose. She had an operation to put pins on her arm. With all this and other things going on in my life, the "Emergency" theme I've had on my blog recently seemed to be very appropriate.

Which brings me to Elemis SOS Emergency Cream. This cream has a smooth texture with lavender-y scent.

The website says: "This ultra-rich moisturising cream is an intense soothing and hydrating boost for parched, weathered or sunburnt skin."

Does it do what it says above? Yup. Sometimes I use it as a super-charged moisturiser for parts of my skin that are drier than usual, or even as cuticle cream when I'm travelling.

Does it work to prevent acne or make the inflammation goes down quicker? Nope. Despite what various sales assistants told me in the past, it doesn't really work wonders applied on blemishes.

What is it best for? Based on my experience, it works wonders when used on mosquito bites: the cream makes the itchiness disappear and helps the redness to go down quicker. I'm the kind of person who always gets bitten by mozzies/no-see-ums/other tiny flying-biting things, so this cream gets a lot of use by me.

Verdict: the best "after mozzie bites" cream I've had, albeit a very expensive one.

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Dimethylimidazolidinone Rice Starch, Propylene Glycol, Centella Asiatica Extract, Spiraea Ulmaria Flower Extract, Allantion, Lavandula Hybrida Flower Extract, Salix Alba (Willow) Beark Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Commiphora Myrrha Oil, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil, Pogostemon Cablin Oil, Ethoxydiglycol, Carbomer, Diazolidinyl Urea, Dichlorobenzyl Alcohol, Methylparaben, Sodium Hydroxide, Taurine, Linalool, Propylparaben, Tocopherol, Coumarin, Arginine, Leucine, Lysine, Tyrosine, Valine, Limonene.

Revlon Color Beam Sheer and Shaving Incident

I prefer to keep my fingernails subtle even though I love painting my toe nails in bold colours. Revlon Color Beam Sheer 800 Starlight is a good one to wear when I'm in a slightly blingy mood without wanting to attract too much attention.

Like the name says, it beams a sheer silvery effect that's similar to mother-of-pearl's sheen. It's only 2nd on my "subtle nail polish list" as the staying power isn't as good as my favourite Rimmel French Manicure.

Verdict: great nail polish if you like a bit of sparkles without looking over-the-top.

Now, to the shaving incident. Earlier today my low-maintenance hubby cut himself while shaving, I kindly offered him A'kin Emergency Gel to apply to his bleeding skin. I have to admit I made him my guinea pig, to see whether the gel works well as an after shave. He said it didn't sting and he didn't complain about "smelling girlie" (his common complaint about my lotions & potions) or anything like that. Which means I could smuggle this gel in his washbag the next time I'm travelling! :)

The Lion King

I keep on meaning to do a post I promised here about my trip to see a musical in London.

As you can see, hubby & I went to see The Lion King at Lyceum Theatre.

Lion King(s) greeting visitors at Covent Garden's tube gate.

The sights and sounds were truly spectacular. We weren't allowed to take pictures during the show, so here are some pictures from their website so you can have an idea of what we saw.

Musically it was good. The voice of the adult Simba was a bit weak compared to the rest of the cast, which was a shame as he looked gorgeous. :)

The most annoying thing was a tourist nearby who kept on snapping pictures at crucial moments, even after she was being told off by the usher and others around her. The flash ruined a couple of good scenes. I would have wrung her neck if she were to sit any closer to me!! Very inconsiderate and not being sophisticated whatsover. Apart from that, it was a good experience.

Brush Dilemma: MAC vs Bobbi Brown

Calling all brush lover: your expertise is desperately needed.

Few days ago I found a shop that has MAC & Bobbi Brown brush sets on sale.

MAC Heirloom 5 pcs brush set (see picture) was amongst them - RRP £39, on sale for about £29. Those exact brushes also came in gold and black bags. There was another set with red handles in a red bag, slightly more expensive than the rest. Thinking about it, I was probably more interested in the bags than the brush. :)

Bobbi Brown 3pcs mini brush set only came in black bag - RRP £39, on sale for about £33. Nothing special with the bag, I was more curious about the quality of the brush.

O You Wise Ones, please enlighten me, are they really worth buying? If yes, which one shall I get - MAC or BB?

Edit: after some contemplation, I think I should go with my head and only get brushes that I really need at the moment. Those above don't include a mini kabuki brush, based on that alone I should investigate other brands. Moral of the story: never get distracted by beautiful bags. :)

A'kin Pure Emergency Gel

I love multi-purpose products as in my travels I can't take too many products with me. Why take many different products if I can carry one that works the same? Based on this principle, I was delighted when I received A'kin Pure Emergency Gel from the lovely people at A'kin.

The blurb: "With aloe, d panthenol (proVitamin B5) and chamomile this oil free formula helps to cool, calm and soothe fragile skin. Also great as a light everyday moisturiser on sensitive, fragile or oily skins, and as an after shave or waxing balm."

I've been using it for about 3 weeks (the time that skin takes to renew itself) and I can say that I wish I had found this product earlier. Before I continue, I'd like to say that I'm not being paid to write this. Rest assured that yours truly hasn't turned into a sold-out blogger (read my other comments here). Free or not free product, I always do my best to write an honest review. Enough said. :)

Back to the Emergency Gel. To start with, lovely trip as it was, pigging out on clotted cream and fudge in Devon and Cornwall wrecked a havoc on my skin. Some angry pimples came out on my cheeks plus one big hormonal pimples on my chin. My skin felt sore and red. Dr. Alkaitis serum that's supposed to tackle inflammation didn't help either.

In my desperation I started slapping A'kin Emergency gel on my skin. I didn't even do a patch test first, which was unusual for me, as I always approach new product with caution. Thankfully it worked! When I woke up the next morning my skin was noticeably less red and less bumpy, the size of my two biggest pimples were much reduced. My skin felt soothed and smoother. I've been applying it every night ever since.

For those who like scented product, don't expect other scent apart from aloe vera smell as this gel is "unscented". The transparent gel feels a little sticky on application, though it doesn't take long for it to disappear into my skin. As a day moisturiser it doesn't grab my mineral foundation, as long as I leave it to dry first before applying makeup. I still prefer to use it in the evenings as I could slather as much gel as I like. Also, I've just started using another A'kin product in the mornings - watch the space for the review.

Is it a miracle product? Not if you're expecting this gel to vacuum the house, do the dishes, and cook for you. :) I think it does what it says: reduces skin redness, soothes and calms my skin, providing the right amount of moisture for my current skin condition. It's also a great gel to use after plucking my eyebrows.

One word of warning: expect a very slight stinging sensation if applied to broken skin. I had tiny "ouch moments" when I tried applying the gel on the cuts from the bicycle incident. Yeah, I'm a chicken...

Verdict: my wonder gel of the moment has made a new A'kin convert out of me.

Ingredients: Aqua (purified Australian water), aloe barbadensis leaf juice (20%), panthenol (pro Vit B5) (5%), sorbitol (from GMO free maize), glycerin (botanical source), sclerotium gum, mannitol (and) ammonium glycyrrhizate (and) caffeine (and) zinc gluconate (and) aesculus hippocastanum (horse chestnut) extract, sodium ethylhexylglycerin, sodium gluconate (from GMO free corn), chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract.