Mavala's new top and base coat on steroids!

Mavala SA was kind enough to send me two newly launched products recently which have been added to their amazing range of polishes. These two products are Mavala 002 base coat and Colorfix top coat.

I did a quick mani to test these two products. Here's what I used:

Mavala 002 Base Coat, Chanel 565 Beige and Mavala's Colorfix Top Coat

Step one? Base coat of course!

I always like to emphasize the importance of a base coat, even if I seem repetitive. It helps prevent yellow nails effected by nail polish pigments and it prevents staining of bright coloured polishes such as red and blue. A base coat is also handy as it "fixes" nails polish to your nails. It usually has a tacky or sticky consistency which helps your next layer adhere to your nail plate better.

The Mavala 002 base coat did it's job really well. It wasn't too thick so it dried reasonably fast. The brush was also soft but firm enough to apply without things turning into a nail polish murder scene.

The colour I applied for this mani is Chanel's "le Vernis" in 565 Beige. The reason I chose this polish was because I had problems in the past with chipping, from day 1, so I though it would be a great candidate to put these two Mavala products to the test. It is also a fresh colour for Spring.

Immediately, I hope you notice the shine this base coat gives your mani (compare the two pictures above). It is really sparkly and you may even notice it brings the pink shimmer of the Chantel polish.

The durability of this "polish sandwich" was pretty impressive. I left my mani on for 6 days before taking it off. This is what it looked like...

...so maybe I could have taken it off a little sooner but seeing as it's such a light colour I got away with the chips that are noticeable in the image above. 

The point to all of this is that these two Mavala products are pretty potent. Since doing this mani I have found myself reaching for the Mavala 002 base coat and Colorfix top coat more often, which definitely says something.

Thanks again to Mavala SA for sending me these Mavala goodies. The press package was put together extremely well. I had a such a ball testing the products out and bragging to my friends, family and blog readers about how great they really are.

Peeps, feel free to follow Mavala SA on Twitter and Facebook. You can also get these fab products at Dis-Chem and selected pharmacies. 

Before moving on, pop over to my review of Mavla's Via Veneto nail polish.

Something Big Is Coming Your Way!

Hi there everyone. 

Once again I am MIA. Trust me when I say I hate not being a consistent blogger. The reason for the lack of posts is because I am working on something pretty mind blowing which will be launching at the end of the year. As with all things awesome, they take time to plan and we all know time is scarce. 

Juggling a full time job, a full time boyfriend and still working on my new project has taken it's time and toll on Miss Claira-Bella. Please stick with me as you'll see that it'll be worth it. Oh and there's a giveaway happening soon!!

Miss you all!

Xoxo

Miss Claira-Bella

Live Healthy: Update #10

My tenth update and finally Spring time. Cannot believe it!

These past two week have gone fantastically well. I have been sticking to a strict, healthy diet and going to gym regularly. I am really feeling good about my progress and what better timing than at the beginning of a new season!

Here are some snaps from the past two weeks.

From top: Carrot, pineapple and pecan nut salad (recipe coming soon). Lemon water. Spring rolls. Weetbix. Butternut and onion soup.

Green Tea

From top: Orange wedges. Green salad with egg and avocado. Egg mayo provita snacks.

YAY!! I was able to do 10,000 steps in one day with my pedometer!!

The reason for my sudden high in determination is because there is a "Biggest loser" competition at work which will stretch over the next 10 weeks. The winner will get a R3000.00 cash prize which in all honesty, I am in dire need of. I don't quite qualify for "biggest loser" but luckily they choose the winner on BMI and fat percentage lost! 

Wish me luck!

New to Edgars: Greenland - Treating your senses naturally

The second new and exciting brand to hit Edgars and Red Square stores soon is Greenland. This brand's focus is mainly on bath and body ranges and comes all the way from Holland thanks to its founder Jan-Willem Van Kempen who has been growing the brand since 1990.

Read my post on King and Queens here which is also a new brand to hit your Edgars shelves.

I received two Greenland products in my goodie bag which, after testing, I handed to my sister to enjoy. She was over the moon!

The first is a lip balm from their "Balm and Butter" range. 

Greenland's Pomegranate Lip Balm

I received the delicious pomegranate fruity scent lip balm which smells pretty good. This is an all natural product using only the best organic ingredients. It contains no parabens, no artificial colorants, just natural butters (Shea and Cocoa butter) and essential oils!

The one thing about I am not crazy about when it comes to natural butters is that is it very temperature reliant. In winter the lip balm will be as hard as a rock and you will have to run the balm across your lips a few times before any product transfers onto your skin. The other extreme is if it's hot, the whole thing melts in your hand bag. (this is me being very picky though)

Otherwise, this lip balm felt good on my lips and did its job pretty well.

"The pomegranate is a bomb of nutrition. It contains vitamin B, C, potassium to regulate your heart rate and blood pressure, and antioxidants. Pomegranate has proved to have an antibacterial effect and it also aids digestion." - Source

The second product I received to test out is the Papaya-Lemon hand cream from Greenland's "Fruit Emotions" range.

This hand cream was a dream to apply. It has a slight water-like texture to it which makes it ideal for the warmer months to come our way, where you would prefer not sweating under a thick layer of lotion.

I also love the odd fragrance combinations that they have in their range. This Papaya and Lemon scent was strange but refreshing. The other combinations they have in this range are Grapefruit-Ginger, Mint-Lavender, Coconut-Tangerine and Lime-Vanilla. Their boldness to try scents that could potentially fail terribly, shows that Greenland takes risks to be different and offer a unique product to their consumers.

Downside, their packaging is a little sensitive. I dropped it by accident and it made an awful dent on the side, as if I had just dropped a bowling ball on top of it. If you purchase their products as a gift, please handle with care and wrap them with extra reinforcements.

 Greenland has three more ranges other than the two I mentioned above.

Pure and White

"All pure and White items are natural and organic and contain more than 98% ingredients from their origin". Their unitque scent combinations are Bulgarian Rose & Patchouli, Italian Lime & Vanilla, French Lavendar & Rosemary and Cotton Flower & White Lotus.

Milky

"Milky offers natural body care with the benefit of creamy, soft and silky "milks". these milky combinations are Almond milk-Lotus, Coconut Milk-Lime, Yogurt-Cucumber and Rice Milk-Vanilla.

Fruit Exracts

"Greenland Fruit Extracts offers fabulous natural body care with the added pleasure of 100% natural fruit extracts". The fruits available in this range are Apple, Raspberry, Mango and Papaya.

If you think this is a brand worth trying out (which it is) view more by visiting Greenland's website and Facebook page.