Paula's Choice Breakfast

Paula’s Choice Breakfast

I hardly ever watch TV so it won’t come as a surprise that I had no idea who Paula Begoun until I received an invite to the breakfast she was hosting for media and fans. After playing on the Google machine I found out a little more about the lady and came to the conclusion that she is a pretty big deal in the International cosmetic industry.

She has a whopping 18 books including “don’t go to the cosmetics counter without me” which is one of her many best sellers. She is quite a big consumer advocate and is best known for her name “the cosmetics cop”. She has so much knowledge on cosmetic ingredients, choosing the right products for your skin as well as her own skincare range, that her expertise has granted her some serious name dropping rights.

She has appeared on infamous talk shows such as CNN, Oprah and the DR. OZ show (just to name a few). I just had to accept the invite even if it meant I had to bunk work for it. So what was the event like? It was exceptionally eye opening.

Her presentation mainly focused on cosmetic myths out there in the industry and how we are so easily convinced to buy products that aren’t very effective and essentially waste our money. Here are some of those myths:

1. You don’t need an eye cream. There is no research or study that shows you need to have different ingredients to treat your eye area. The skin around your eye need the exact same treatment as your forehead or cheeks. You may use your regular face cream (containing proper ingredients) and it will care for the skin around your eye area just like the rest of your skin. That’s it!

2. Don’t buy products in a jar! Fantastic ingredients such as Retinol, detest air. As soon as these ingredients are exposed to air they deteriorate and do not last. Just imagine you spend R300 on a small jar of moisturiser and as soon as you open it loses 80% of its effectiveness. According to Paula, that’s exactly what happens!

3. Natural does not mean better and synthetic does not mean bad. Paula used this example; green tea is good right? But if you just drank green tea your whole life, you would simply die because your body needs other sources of nutrients not found in “the good stuff”. Your skin is exactly the same. Natural ingredients are also somewhat difficult to keep stable in skincare products. This is where the labs usually get involved to extract only the necessary components your skin needs. They may add a few catalyst ingredients to maintain stability. The more stable the better. So the elements in your moisturiser may not be 100% natural but it has been formulated to provide the best for your skin.

4. Aging is not really aging. It’s sun damage! This definitely struck home for me as I have been more aware of fine lines and the beginning effects of aging since the beginning of the year. Paula explained that sun damage is the root of most aging issues. There is no study that shows otherwise. The best way to fight the horrid wrinkles and sagging skin is to apply a high SPF sunscreen every day. Paula could stress the fact enough that you need two core ingredients in a sunscreen. Zinc Oxide and Titanium Oxide.

5. Scrubs are actually horrible for your skin. Would you use one of your home sugar scrubs on a new born baby? No! (Well I hope you wouldn’t) This is how you should see your skin, a delicate surface that needs to be cared for every second of the day. Most scrubs are far too harsh on your skin. They rip and tear at your skin, breaking collagen and causing horrible irritation even though you may not feel the pain. Paula suggests using less destructive methods to exfoliate your skin like a washcloth with an ordinary body wash and maybe only doing deep exfoliation once every 2 months or so.

All of this information was fantastic to hear but even better news, all the above and more are in her latest book called don’t go to the cosmetics counter without me. I feel that this book will help many woman with skin concerns and even though I haven’t read the book yet, I know it will be like having her in your head, giving useful advise.

Paula has a fantastic skincare range called Paula's choice which is only available on the SA online store right now. Go check it out. I was given one of the fab products to test out so look out for my review soon!

#COSMOpolished

If you follow me on Twitter (if you don't, why not!?) then you would have seen that last week Wednesday I was invited to a night out on the town, Kramerville/Sandton, for a "Polished" event hosted by Cosmopolitan magazine and Revlon SA.

Here are some snaps from the night:

The Rooftop Venue view, posh seating area's and the stations where we got to do our nails.

Fellow beauty bloggers Nicola and Zaahira. Nicola got a huge Revlon hamper for her stunning nail art!

The awesome Revlon products we got to use on the night.

I got to meet an awesome Miss Claira-Bella reader, Hildegarde, we were serenaded while we got to try some great nail art techniques.

The delicious food we got to munch on and the champagne was flowing

Thanks so much to Cosmo and Revlon for inviting me to this event. I will be doing a full event review next week and tell you exactly what went down so keep posted :)

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PONDS #BestOfBothWorlds Event

This past Saturday PONDS hosted a very lavish high tea to launch their new BB cream. It was held at the infamous Westcliff Hotel in Joburg, although it was my first time there, I was highly impressed at their service. I was dropped off at the hotel in a beaten up old Toyota Tazz (poor girl right here) yet the doorman still opened the door for me and lead me inside as if I had just popped out of a limo in a Taylor-Swift-like ballgown. *Look mom, I'm a Princess!*

Fresh pink and white decor

I was a little bugged by the fact that I was invited only 4 days before the event and I was not included in the "media launch" which was the day before. It was almost as if I was an afterthought or I had just been banished to the riff raff room. We could invite a girlfriend to join us but none of mine were available on such short notice which dampened my mood even more. Never the less I was delighted to get an invite and was truly excited to be a part of this exciting new venture for such a great brand as I have always wanted to contribute to their online presence. I must admit, a lot of pressure was taken off my shoulders knowing that I wouldn't have to sit with a pen and notepad throughout the whole shindig.

The event was inspired by the notion "The Best of Both Worlds", simply meaning that they have a BB cream for us lighter ladies as well as a darker BB cream for African Ladies (and gents). The 'Chocolate' shade of BB cream was inspired by South Africans, specifically designed by South Africans for South Africans and that is the best of both worlds!

Top: Research Lady, Bottom Left: Michel Ingoglia, Bottom Right: Michelle Ponds Brand Manager

We were given presentations by Michelle, the Brand Manager of Ponds, the lady who was the head of research and development (completely forgot her name) who gave such an educational demo into skin behaviors and damage processes, and we also got a make up demo by the Oh-So-Fab, Michel Ingoglia who said quirky things like "Black don't crack" and who gave away some secret trends coming in from the US and the UK later in the year. He made us feel as if we were all at a pajama party, sharing stories and eating koekies from the Tuisnywerheid.

The food was delish and we got spoiled with white and dark Lindt chocolate (my fave!!) to give our tummies the best of both worlds as well.

Best-of-both-worlds party in my tummy!

Here are some more pikkies. I will be uploading my actual BB cream review soon!

High Tea Snacks

Image from Ponds on Facebook

My Nails and Outfit

Image from Ponds on Facebook

Miss Claira-Bella

Xoxo

#LadyBloggers JHB Dinner

Two weeks ago, a bunch of eager bloggers got together to chat about bloggy things and mingle with like-minded ladies who are just as passionate about blogging each other. This was the second LadyBlogger event I attended but the first with a formal type setting and agenda. The fabulous Zaahirah from Complete Disbelief pulled it all together perfectly from the venue (Moemas in Parktown North), guest list and topics of discussion, right down to prizes and goodie bags! Also, high five to her awesome boyfriend that played doorman and her helping hand with all the setting up!

We all received badges that related to the age of our blog. I was a Toddler because my lil' ol blog is under 18 months old. I loved this concept because it gave us bloggers a chance to mingle with our ‘own kind’ as well as get tips from the “Teen” and “Adult” bloggers who we should look up to and get advice from. 

While we sipped on our Bos welcome drinks we went around the table and all introduced ourselves. Once the starter platters were served, we got right to sharing our opinions on Advertising, sponsored posts and getting free stuff. At times the opinions got quite heated but it was fantastic!! Hearing the range of opinions from the different bloggers made me realise that I have such an amazing thing in my life. To have a blog where I can share my opinions, get to know amazing people and also get to work with amazing brands. I seriously would never have met so many diverse people on Twitter and get to interact with my incredible readers on a daily basis. 

I also listened to the opinions with big ears as every one’s input was valuable. Meeting Chantelle from Not Another Poppie and Tammy (on Twitter) was also a highlight to my evening. I read Chantelle's blog numerous times a week and to see that she is exactly the same in person that she is on her blog, honest with a “vat nie kak nie” attitude, was really refreshing! Tammy and I got to know each other over Twitter and she is the sweetest chick you will ever meet. In person, when you look at her, you’re just in awe at her personality (Keep an eye out for her blog, launching soon). I also found some familiar faces in the crowd. Wisaal and Tash, from the previous blogger get together were also there. Follow me on Twitter to see who else I got to meet on the night. 

The mains and desert were delicious and I got to try out my very first macron (ever) made by the very talented pastry chef and owner of Moemas!

All LadyBloggers got spoiled with goodie bags which contained tons of vouchers, a pack of wireless wipes, some beauty samples and yummy cocktails from Original Cocktails.

Thanks so much to the very busy and talented Zaahirah. You need an award for pulling off such an amazing event and hopefully I can save up and come with you to the Cape Town even. I’d love to meet more amazing personalities (and Charlene from Geewhiskers).

Follow #Ladybloggers on Twitter and pop over to the website to see when there will be a meet-up in your city!

Miss Claira-Bella

Xoxo

Taste of Joburg 2012

I have finally gotten the chance to show you my past weekend's adventure which was Taste of Joburg 2012!!

This year was my very first Taste of Joburg experience. I received two complementary tickets from Grazia Magazine SA so I treated my mom to a wine and dine evening with some of the best restaurants in Johannesburg.

After getting our drinking glasses and Crowns (TOJ Currancy) we made our way through some of the stalls, stopping by and sampling some tasty treats. 

We stopped by DW eleven-13 and bought their very delicious banana ice-cream combo which was absolutely delish!

I was also serenaded by the oh so charming Emmanuel Castis, which was the highlight of my evening (such a great voice). Visit his website here.

I will definitely consider joining in again next year with a few friends because it is such a fun social event!

Thanks so much to Grazia Magazine for the tickets!
Follow them on Twitter and like their Facebook Page .

View more pictures on my Facebook Page.

Miss Claira-Bella

Xoxo

Oh my GOSH!!

Yesterday afternoon, I attended the fabulous launch of a trendy cosmetic brand from Denmark, called "GOSH Cosmetics". This Danish brand have stirred things up in the South African cosmetics industry by being bold and saying "Hey, we're here and in your faces!". This is definitely something that I admire in such a competitive industry. 

We heard lovely words from Angela Corder (Executive buy manager for GOSH cosmetics at Edcon), Hanne Zinsli (International sales director of GOSH cosmetics) as well as the very sweet Bo Tjellesen (CEO of GOSH cosmetics) which makes me, and I'm sure other beauty lovers, very excited about the future of GOSH cosmetics in South Africa. 

GOSH cosmetics have been around for 25 years and are represented in 78 countries world wide. This should ease your mind and reassure you that these products are not made by "newbie's" and really are great quality for your buck. You can find GOSH Cosmetics exclusively in Edgards and Red Square stores, meaning we will be the 80th store as well as the very first country in Africa to represent this trend setting brand.

GOSH has such a wide range of products for all types of ladies. They have a hair care range, skincare range, bronzers and self tan lotions, fragrances for him and her as well as having a full cosmetic range with foundations, mascara's, lipstick, eye shadows and a lot more

The well planned launch had 5 amazing little 'stalls' where you could test and play with the innovative products. There were so many ladies running around, sipping on drinks, eating very yummy snacks and getting pampered. I had my makeup retouched at one of the stalls and immediately loved how 'light' all the products felt.

Here are some more pictures from the launch :)

Beautiful colours

Marshmallows!

Champagne time (WOW)

Strawberry juice in jars - in grass. So cute!

Stunning view (Especially at Sunset)

Yummo Lemonade

GOSH DNA for woman

Nail station

I will be testing out some products from GOSH Cosmetics over the next few weeks, so expect some fab reviews right here on Miss Claira-Bella.

Follow GOSH on Twitter and like their Facebook Page.

Follow me on Twitter to keep up to date with what I'm trying out and what my first reactions are.

Thanks so much to GOSH and Edcon for including me in this fabulous launch! I look forward to spotting the GOSH stands in Edgars and Redsquare stores soon!

Miss Claira-Bella

Xoxo