Sew Is Life

This is it! The day has finally come where I launch my own skincare range online. It is very surreal, because a lot has happened since the idea was first planted. SELF Organics has been 2 years in the making. With the arrival of Leo and Luna into our lives, things have been turn busy tenfold. Then with 2012 venture of running a newsagency with my family SELF Organics was pushed to the back of my mind. However, it was never forgotten…

All our products are packaged using eco-friendly materials

It has been a dream to create organic skincare for others who feel passionate about fresh, good-for-you ingredients. The initially plan was to make it for my babies and for my Mother, who have sensitive skin. And then my love of making skincare grew and grew! My love of DIY, beauty and well being all came together in one moment and with the encouragement of my Hubz and children, I decided to listen to my heart and GO FOR IT!

You can visit the online store here: http://selforganics.com

And SELF Organics is now on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SELForganics

Come over and take a look at the new site (share it with friends and family) and pick up some goodies for yourself or gifts for Mother’s Day. 

Freshly curing ‘Lavender Fields’ soap, available for pre-order. Ready 30th April. Smells a little like Provence..

All the products are made with a minimum of 95% organic ingredients, as certified by the ACO http://www.aco.net.au/ .However the next step is to apply for the certification to obtain the special ‘bud’ logo for the products themselves.

The range is vegan friendly (unless otherwise stated) and not tested on animals. They do not contain parabens, chemical sulfates, parabens, petrolatum, dyes, phthalates or artifical fragrances.

To all my lovely readers, I will still be blogging at ‘Sew is life’ about my lively adventures..but you can also follow SELF Organic on Twitter (@selforganics) and on the Facebook page to see what I’m up to.

Please help me to share and tweet about the new online store! I’m counting on you social media hehe… 

Thank you from the bottom of my organic heart :)

E x

Every where you go, it is impossible to ignore the fact that lifestyle and beauty products are turning more natural! When it should have been like that from the very start, isn’t it frightening to know that we have been slathering a whole lot of biproducts on our skin! The biggest organ and one of the most absorbent part of our body.

Just hearing about all the horrible ingredients contained in the mass produced skin care lines makes my skin literally crawl in response. I was delighted when I was invited along to a skincare launch by Aesthetic Beauty Skincare, which is company home grown in Perth by Linda Zani, a Qualified Beauty Therapist and Owner/Operator of Aesthetic Beauty & Massage. Linda told us about her humble beginnings when she and her cousin were cooking up their handmade concoctions over a stove top. It was until the requests for their homemade beauty products were tipping the demand vs supply scale that Linda decided to call in the experts and get them manufactured.

Professional sized bottles

Linda’s inspiration had came about after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. “We began to educate ourselves on the many theories that claimed to contribute to this disease. As the skin is your body’s largest organ, naturally we were concerned with what was going on and into our skin. “.

All the products are rich in vitamins and essential fatty acids of healing plant extracts to help keep your skin balanced and youthful. They are aimed at those who are well-being conscious and who enjoy natural products. All packaging is 100% recyclable and no testing on animals, so it suits the environmentally conscious customer. 

Here are just some of the common ingredients you will find in the range: aloe vera,  jojoba, Vitamin E, shea butter, mango butter, avocado oil, honey, Vitamin A, evening primrose oil, cucumber oil, green tea, ginseng and rosehip oil.

There was a great turn out at the launch event (WARNING: this is the ‘Photo-heavy’ end of the post), with light refreshments provided to guests and goodie bags customised for each individuals’ skin type. I invited along my friend Adeline who I haven’t seen in years and she brought along her mum too. And I also caught up with my friend Melinda who I haven’t seen since I left for maternity leave (almost 3 years now)! It was a fun night catching up with these lovely ladies over beauty products :)

The front of the venue, Central Institute of Technology

Inside Central Institute of Technology

We’re here! And first in line too!

A well put together powerpoint presentation telling us why it’s cool to go au natural now a days (with your skincare of course…)

A little display of the samples we will be taking home to try

Customised samples for everyone, because we are all beautiful in different ways..

Handing out the goodie bags, which also included a stress ball, lolly and chocolate treats

My friend Adeline and I ready to go home and try out our freebies

My friend Melinda and I mingle after the event

My samples at home. Clean and simple packaging is best!

You may want to try the online skin type quiz here. This will assist in determining which products from the Aesthetic Beauty Skincare range is best suited to you.

Here are a list of products currently available online for purchase or at Aesthetic Beauty & Massage in Mt Lawley:

100ml Cleansers $25-$30

100ml Facial Mists $25

50ml Moisturisers $35-$42

50ml Exfoliator $40 

25ml Eye Treatment $25

To find out more about the products and stay up to date with the latest news, visit the company’s website here and head over to Facebook and ‘LIKE’ the Aesthethic Beauty Skincare page.

Thanks Linda for inviting me along to your event! Wishing you all the success with your skincare range :)

I hope you will try some products from the Aesthetic Beauty Skincare range and support small businesses! Please let me know how you get along if you do try their products.

How much percentage of your products would you say are natural? Has your interest in natural products changed over the years?

Have a great weekend!

E x

I can’t believe there are only 15 days left till Halloween…and I’m not organised AT ALL. No idea what the kiddies are wearing…no idea what I’m wearing! For the past 2 years it has become quite the tradition in our household and I look forward to it  every year because it is when we get into costume, play games and eat yummy treats! It is fast becoming popular in Australia, but it wasn’t like that 10 years ago when this country didn’t want to become too ‘Americanized’. Now the globe is becoming so accepting of other cultural celebrations because of the use of the internet.

And to make it even more exciting, Lime Crime has launched their newest collection ‘Alchemy’ which includes a fantasy palette and 2 new lipsticks to coincide with the Halloween festivities.

A magical look created by Doe Deere for Lola Blanc

The colours for the newest range are amazingly pigmented and shimmery. The 2 lipshades - ‘Poisonberry’ is described as a berry-purple with a violet glow and ‘Serpentina’ is a emerald-green with a snake-like sheen! Don’t you just love those descriptions?

The Alchemy Collection - OUT NOW!

The Lime Crime Alchemy pressed eyeshadow palette, like other fantasy palettes before, have 5 different shades:

Incantation - metallic copper with fiery sparks (shimmer)

Lucky Charm - forest-green/firefly-green shift (shimmer)

Love Potion #9 - purple/mint shift (shimmer)

Spellbound - white/gold shift (shimmer)

Divination - slate blue/peacock shift (shimmer)

Swatches of the 5 pressed ‘duo chrome’ eye shadows (Which is your favourite?)

Unfortunately their ‘limited time only’ bundle released at launch has been SOLD OUT! They are offering two lipsticks, eye shadow palette and collector’s mook (magazine/book) for a special bundle price of USD$49.99! However you can still grab the lipsticks (USD$15.99) and palette (USD$34.99) on their own from the Lime Crime online store.

I will keep you guys updated if they decide to restock this collection. Because the offer is meant to run till the end of October. Let’s just say a little spell to get Lime Crime churning more of these beauties out!

Updated: Special collection is BACK IN STOCK! Get yours here

Lime Crime declared this collection on their Lime Crime’s Facebook page as one of their most successful launches! With a 1000 pieces sold in the first 24 hours! So don’t miss out your chance of owning this limited edition palette! You can be mixing up your own concoctions and creating your very own ‘spellbinding’ look too.

So what do you think of these colours? Wearable all year round or just for Halloween?

E x

Always wondered about the myth of the mermaid? Half fish, half beautiful maiden. Wouldn’t it be a magical place if there was a Mermaid kingdom that lived under our deepest seas? Ruled by the mighty Triton. Ever since I was a little girl I have loved the story of the ‘little mermaid’, the original book told by Hans Christian Andersen and even the Disney movie. Oh how I sang that song ‘A part of your world’ to the top of my lungs!

The Lime Crime team has created their newest Fantasy palette inspired by the legend of the mermaid and named it Aquataenia.

Like the ‘Chinadoll’ and ‘Marie Antoinette’ Palette, it contains 5 different shades of pressed powder eyeshadows. The only difference with the Aquataenia palette is the eyeshadows are all pearlescent. All the colours are packed with shimmer and glitter to make eyes glisten like water off a mermaid’s tail!

It comes in the purple signature Lime Crime tin and retails for USD$34.99. All their formulas are vegan friendly and cruelty free.

Nautilus Prime – blurple (shimmer/sparkle)

Coral of the Story – true coral (shimmer/sparkle)

Lime Crime launches another new product today from their eye make up range. Not too long ago they shared their Palette D’Antoinette with the world and now a killer liquid eye liner range to go with it. These will be available for purchase at the Lime Crime online store from May 23rd. 

There will be seven colours to choose from, from $13.99 each. To save even more Lime Crime will be selling them as a collection for $73.99.  You save around 25% off if you purchase all seven. Check out the campaign photo below:

From the left: Citreuse (yellow-green), Blue Milk, Quill (shiny-black), Orchidaceous (violet-purple), Lunar Sea (pure white), 6th Element (Orange) & Lazuli (bright blue)

I love their signature purple packaging, and how they have gone with a floral gothic design. Each comes with a highly precision brush to draw sharp, intricate lines. The formula is smudge proof and easily removed if you make a mistake. The liquid eye liners come in 1.3 ml / 0.04 fl. oz tube.

Here are some examples of the eye liner being used, in the Palette D’Antoinette campaign

You can start buying them from tomorrow! Don’t be afraid of colours, make them work with your Lime Crime eye shadows or your current make up and stand out from the crowd! I’m keeping my eye on Citreuse and Blue Milk…must start saving for these ;)

Also available for purchase from mid-June by Australian online retailer, Makeupnet. At AUD$14.99 each.

Which is your favourite colour eye liner from the collection?

E x