Winner(s) of the Olympic Memories Alpha-H comp

It's time to announce the winner of the second part of my Alpha-H giveaway - the best Olympic memories comp (the winners to Part 1 were announced here). I really appreciated the effort you all went to in sharing your memories, so much so that I have decided to post them all here for you to read (if you are interested - if not, skip past the bullet points to see who the winner is).

• My fave moment was the incredulous win by Steven Bradbury! It looked like the race was in the bag until that very last moment!
• The Olympic moment that sticks in my mind was in 1996 I think, when an unfortunate diver messed up his dive and did a painful-looking bellyflop - the male Australian commentator exclaimed "Awww, right in the Jatz Crackers!"! It made me cringe but it was unexpected and hilarious and so very Australian!
• My favourite Olympic memory is competing for Malta at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I have wanted to go to the Olympics since I was young and to get the experience was so surreal. I met so many fantastic people from all over the world and even had my birthday there! I love the Olympics because they bring the whole world together for a couple weeks. You don't have to be a world record holder to be there. It is all about participating. 
• My favourite moment was actually in 1976, when I was only 6-7 years old. But I started Gymnastics when I was about 4 and still watch it every minute I can now, still so passionate about it. But when Nadia Comaneci scored the perfect 10 in the Montreal 1976 Olympics I became infatuated with her. My dream had been to follow in her footsteps, she inspired me and her story still does.
• My favourite Olympic story is Sydney 2000 when princess Mary met prince Fredrick in a club and when she started dating him she did not know that he was a prince. Such a lovely love story a girl next door from Tasmania met a prince from Denmark in Sydney. I love the fact how princess Mary has transformed her looks , she is a natural beauty and inspires me a lot. The Olympics must be a special moment for them now as that's what brought them close and I am sure they are in London know embracing their anniversary .
• My standout memory is when Canada won the Ice Hockey gold in Vancouver two years ago - I was living in Canada at the time and my BF and I were moving on the day of the final - not just across town, but 400kms! The whole day was scheduled around making sure we would be at the other end and be able to be in front of the TV to see the TV, we literally finished unpacking the truck in time to sit down and have a beer and watch the 3rd period and see Canada win!
• You didn't mention if it could be winter Olympics or not.... so I'm going to go with my favorite Olympic moment that was in the winter Olympics. The classic Stephen Bradbury moment where he won the 1,000m speed skating in 2002 after the other competitors were all involved in a collision. It's just so classic to imagine how elated he would have been, to think an Australian could win a gold medal in speed skating. Not in his wildest dreams. It's kind of amazing - anything really is possible :)
• My favourite Olympic moment is when any of the Australians win a medal, especially Gold medals or if they break a world record, it makes me feel proud to be Australian.
• favourite Olympic moment would be Roy and HG's funny commentaries
• My favourite Olympic moment is Nadia Comaneci scoring perfect 10s in the gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Although only 2 years old at the time, the replays during my youth as a gymnast have made this stick in my mind and it still gives me goosebumps.
• My favourite Olympic memory is Eric the Eel, I'd forgotten about that until I watched the video!
• I love that story of Eric the Eel. I remember watching it and thinking how great it was that everyone was cheering and supporting him. I also love the story of Steven Bradbury, who won gold in the speed skating because everyone else feel over. This changed the term 'buckley's chance' to 'Bradbury's chance' for a while.
  But I think my favourite Olympic memory was from 2000, when Roy & HG had their Olympic commentary show The Dump. Sport has never been so funny, and I wish they were part of every Olympic Games.
• My favourite Olympic memory would have to be Nikki Webster at the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony, I have no real recollection of anything but! I was 8 and I had always wanted to be like her and sing at the Olympics! Although I will admit, now that the London Olympics are over, the Spice Girls were much much cooler with their personalised taxis in the closing ceremony!
• My favourite Olympic moment was when Steven Bradbury won gold at the 1000m speed skating event at the 2002 Winter Olympics. He battled defeat and injury in previous years, but he persisted and his courage was inspiring.
• I have to say the most memorable event for me, was watching the kiwi Mahe Drysdale race in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He is one of New Zealand's best single scull rowers and watching him struggle through the final heat was heart wrenching. He got very ill at the Olympic village and spent time at the village hospital. He was gaunt, exhausted and lost weight. He still won bronze and everyone was surprised he did that well. London 2012 was made even more special when he got the gold!
• One of my favourite memories is of Keiren Perkens at the 96 Olympics winning gold for the second games in a row in such a grueling event. I was also blown away by Anna Meares in Beijing, to come back from breaking her neck to win silver was astounding then to back it up this year and beat her arch rival Victoria Pendleton who is the person that beat her in Beijing was fan-freaking-tastic. Oh and the look on Sally Pearsons face when she crossed the line and didn't know yet whether she'd won gold then her reaction was priceless. Just realised that I picked three QLDers =D

This one didn't qualify as it ended up being from the Commonwealth Games but I still thought that it was worth sharing!

• Ive given this question a lot of thought and my favorite Olympic memory goes back a few years. I cant tell you what year it was but i think it was in the 90's...so yes a long time ago. An Irish boxer had won gold and for some reason they could not get the Irish Anthem to play so after several failed attempts this guy jumped up and grabbed a microphone and started to sing. He say the song "Danny Boy"...It was one of the most moving things at the time and i bet that Boxer always thinks of that moment whenever he hears that song. OK...my post above got me wondering exactly what year this was and i wondered if i could find a YouTube of it but it appears I've made an error and it was actually a commonwealth games and not Olympic.....
  
  As an amateur, McCullough participated in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea and was asked to carry the Irish flag because he was the youngest member of the team at 18 years old. He went on to win a silver medal for Ireland at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and a gold medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, The medal ceremony for his Commonwealth title was marked by an unusual incident. A technical problem with the public address system made it impossible to play the recording of the Northern Ireland anthem, Londonderry Air. The New Zealand official in charge of the sound, Bob Gibson, promptly took the microphone and sang the anthem unaccompanied, using the politically neutral lyrics to "Danny Boy",same tune

Some really great memories - thanks for sharing!

I have chosen Madeleine Scerri's answer as my favourite - this was her memory:

My favourite Olympic memory is competing for Malta at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I have wanted to go to the Olympics since I was young and to get the experience was so surreal. I met so many fantastic people from all over the world and even had my birthday there! I love the Olympics because they bring the whole world together for a couple weeks. You don't have to be a world record holder to be there. It is all about participating.

I was a medal presenter at the Sydney Olympics and that was a surreal experience so to actually compete must have been out of this world! Congrats Madeleine, you have won the Alpha-H Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear!

There was actually another answer that really surprised me so I am going to award a runners up prize to sakina. I thought this response was a great take on the question:

My favourite Olympic story is Sydney 2000 when princess Mary met prince Fredrick in a club and when she started dating him she did not know that he was a prince. Such a lovely love story a girl next door from Tasmania met a prince from Denmark in Sydney. I love the fact how princess Mary has transformed her looks , she is a natural beauty and inspires me alot. The Olympics must be a special moment for them now as that's what brought them close and I am sure they are in London know embracing their anniversary.

Congrats sakina - you prize is a bottle of The Original Alpha-H Liquid Gold

Thanks once again everyone who entered! I will now contact the winners by email.

Just a heads up I am on the look out for some guest reviewers to trial some skincare ranges for me. That post should be up in the next few days so keep your eyes out for it.

Winners announced for my Alpha-H Liquid Gold giveaway

Throughout the duration of the Olympics I hosted a huge Alpha-H liquid gold giveaway. There were two parts to the giveaway - a random draw and a best Olympic memories comp.

Tonight I will announce the winners of the random draw. I will then compile all the responses to the best Olympic memories comp tomorrow into a post and announce that winner.

So, without further delay, the winners:

All up there were 120 entries so I enter this into random.org and got it to randomly pick a number for me. First prize went to number 33 - Jacquie.

Congrats Jacquie, you have won the Liquid Gold Skin Perfecting System

I then enter this into random.org again and this time it spat out number 58 - unicorn73.

Congrats Jacquie, you have won The Original Liquid Gold.

I'm tired now (blame Crazy and Kiki!), so I am going to go to bed but I will email you guys first thing tomorrow to get your contact details.

Thanks everyone for entering - I had a lot of fun with this giveaway. Hopefully I will have another one up shortly (feel free to post in the comments any prize ideas you would like to win for future giveaways!).

Camper road tests another Fathers Day gift: Pevonia Skin Fitness for HIM Kit

As I mentioned in my last Fathers Day post, Camper (this is the nickname The Crazy Kid has given my Dad as he can't quite say Grandpa yet!) is off to Hawaii next week to compete in an ocean swim. As he will be away for Fathers Day I thought that it would be most fitting if the next Fathers Day gift he road tests for us is a travel pack of skincare products. Camper won't be back from Hawaii until after Fathers Day so I thought that I would describe the pack that I am sending him away with before hand and we can hear the review upon his return.

The Pevonia Skin Fitness for HIM Kit is a sophisticated travel-ready gift collection comes that presented in a sleek skincare pouch - exactly what Camper needs! The pack contains three products:

• Aqua-Gel Foaming Cleanser 50ml
• Easy-Glide Shaving Emulsion 50ml
• Age-Defying Myoxy Caviar Balm 15ml

According to Pevonia, The Skin Fitness for HIM Kit is designed specifically for men, to address the distinct differences in their skin, the three-step range is effective in desensitising in the skin, soothing irritability, preventing folliculitis, smoothing wrinkles and rehydrating the skin!

The range contains a whole bevy of beautiful, natural ingredients to really nurture the skin including Lemon Verbena, Lavender, Patchouli, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vit E), Ginkgo Biloba, Caviar, Marine Collagen, and Marine Elastin. Pevonia list the benefits of the kit as:

• Rejuvenating, anti-aging Ok, at 61 Camper might have missed the anti-ageing boat but hopefully the kit will halt the ageing process so once he is 90 people comment that he doesn't look a day older than 61!
• Smoothes wrinkles I'm sorry Camper, but you can definitely do with this...
• Firms the skin...and this!
• Non-greasy balm This is important as I know that if the balm left Camper's face feeling greasy then he wouldn't use it.
• Natural foaming cleanser Nice and easy for someone not used to cleansing.
• Promotes healthy skin Something we all need in our skincare
• Ideal post-sports/fitness Perfect for Camper as he swims around 7km in either chlorine pools or the ocean nearly every day of the week, plus plays and umpires baseball  on the weekends
• Counteracts sensitivity and irritability Daily shaving can really wreck havoc on the skin so it will be in constant need of soothing and calming 
• Prevents folliculitis I don't think that it matters what age a man is, if he is still shaving then he is still likely to get infected hair follicles from time to time so this is a must in a men's skincare product

This really is the perfect kit to send Camper over to Hawaii with as it is oing to meet both his shaving needs and nurture his skin from all he swimming that he will be doing. The only other items I need to get him are a good sunscreen and some shampoo and then all his travel beauty needs will be met. I really hope that he will enjoy using his Fathers Day gift!

The Pevonia Skin Fitness for HIM Kit is $AU105 and can be purchased online.

Are you getting you Dad any beauty products for Fathers Day? Should Camper be taking anything else with him to Hawaii. Since I have supplied Camper with all of his beauty products for his trip do you think that I should send him to Sephora with a shopping list of stuff for me??!!

Gelicious Hybrid Gel Nail Colour swatch: Afterglow

This morning I posted a pic on my Facebook Page on how my Watermelon Gelato Gelicious manicure was looking after a week. At this stage it was still completely chip free; however, I did end up getting my first chip later in the day (whilst opening a Coke). I have to admit that part of me was secretly glad I got a chip as I have been dying to try out one of my other colours plus my nails had become talons so I really wanted to cut them. We also have a family photo shoot planned for tomorrow so I thought that I should probably have a slightly more subtle colour on my nails. So I decided to use Afterglow, a super sparkly silver, as my next Gelicious manicure.

I applied the polish too thickly when I did my Watermelon Gelato manicure, and this can accelerate lifting and chipping of the polish. So this time I made sure to apply each layer very thinly. I actually used three really thin coats rather than the two thicker ones I did with the Watermelon Gelato. This meant that it didn't have that Shellac/Acrylic look to it so I applied a second coat of the top coat and this thickened it up nicely.

What are you thinking of the Gelicious colours so far? I have to say that I am pretty much sold. I did a much better job of applying it this time so it will be interesting to see if it lasts the two weeks...though I really want to test Yacht Race so it might get removed next Friday anyway!!

All opinions are my own and I received no remuneration for this post. This product was provided for consideration.

Dermalogica has Fathers Day all wrapped up!

If you are reading this blog, chances are that you are a beauty lover and, if you are anything like me, you are probably always looking for ways to smuggle beauty products into your man's life. Fathers Day might just be the perfect occasion to do just this!

Dermalogica are one of the leaders in skincare and they have a men's line specifically designed around their need to shave - making that process so much easier, and protecting the skin from the daily assault that shaving is.

To determine whether these products will be suitable as Fathers Day gifts, I have recruited two out of the three men in whom I normally buy Fathers Day gifts for - my husband (Brett) and my dad (Camper - this is what The Crazy Kid calls him as he can't quite say Grandpa!). Only my Father in law has managed to escape being a beauty guinea pig, but that's just because he is currently sunning it up somewhere in Thailand (so he might have to receive a beauty gift instead!).

Brett is 31 and has a freakishly fast growing beard. He is also fairly set in his ways and always uses the same products so I plan to knock him out of his comfort zone! He will be trialling the Clean Bar and the Pre-Shave Guard.

Dermalogica Clean Bar

Dermalogica Pre-shave Guard

Camper is 61 and is of the generation of men who were not exposed to beauty products so did little more to their skin than shave it and perhaps splash a little after shave on. I wasn't sure how he would react when I told him that he would be trialling products for me (that's right, I didn't ask him, I told him!) but I got a phone call from him today asking whether his products had arrived (I only told him about it yesterday!) so I think he might be secretly excited!

Camper is an avid swimmer who notches up around 7km a day (in fact he is off to Hawaii in two weeks to compete in an ocean swim!) so his skin is really put through its paces. He will be trialling the Daily Defense Block and the Daily Clean Scrub.

Dermalogica Daily Defense Block

Dermalogic Daily Clean Scrub

Brett and Camper should have their reviews in by the end of next week, I just wanted to introduce you to Dermalogica's men's range before then in case you are super organised with your Fathers Day shopping.

In addition to the products mentioned above, Dermalogica also have in their men's range Close Shave Oil, Invigorating Shave Gel, Post-Shave Balm, Soothing Shave Cream and the Shave System Kit. If you really want to introduce the special man in your life to the world of skincare then the Shave System Kit might just be the way to go as this kit contains everything he will need - Daily Clean Scrub (45ml), Pre-Shave Guard (25ml), Soothing Shave Cream (75ml), Post-Shave Balm (10ml), Daily Defense Block SPF15 (25ml), Invigorating Shave Gel (sample) and a Shave Brochure.

Have you ever given your special man beauty products for Fathers Day? How did he reacted - was he excited as something new to play with, or did he throw a tantrum because he was really hoping for socks and hankies or did he politely accept it but it has since been sitting in the back of the bathroom cabinet collecting dust?


All opinions are my own and I received no remuneration for this post.

Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Foundation

I recently wrote about my Foundation Dream Team of Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Foundation + Alpha-H Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear but that post was becoming a little too epic so I reviewed the Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear in more detail (here) and will now review the Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Foundation in more detail.

I have really struggled to find a foundation that looks natural on my skin. I hate having an obvious makeup look. I have tried quite a few different brands in my quest yet I had never given Revlon a thought. No particular reason why, it is just not a brand I tend to turn towards - or should I say was. I have now discovered my ideal foundation so it makes me want to explore this brand more.

What they say: Finally, truly decadent makeup offers ultimate performance. The mousse-like texture feels like silk on your skin. And, the time release formula balances skin for a flawless look. All day flexible wear without flaking, caking or feeling heavy.

What I say: I trialled the ColorStay Whipped Creme Foundation in 220 nude. I am NW20 at MAC and found that this was a good match. It might be a tad light in summer but at the moment it is an excellent match for my skin tone. I wore this foundation over the Alpha-H Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear primer and set it with my Guerlain Meteorites Pearls.

The foundation comes in a jar yet looks like it is going to be runny; however, it isn't. The texture is really quite lovely. It is very light and whipped creme really is the best way to describe it.

I found the foundation so easy to apply. I used my fingers to apply it and it blended effortlessly. It spread like a dream and there was no obvious foundation line on my forehead or chin. Once it had been blended in, it was almost undetectable - it just left my skin looking fresh and nearly flawless.

The foundation is incredibly light feeling. Once applied it does not feel like I am wearing any foundation at all. Their description of it feeling like silk on your skin was very apt as my skin really did feel silky soft after application.

Although it is light feeling, it is also incredibly long lasting. They claim that it lasts 24 hours. I wasn't going to stay up that long to test it, nor was I going to sleep in it. I ended up wearing it for about 8 hours and in that time I did a fair amount of walking (about 5km) and it still didn't budge. It didn't slide off, nor did it look shiny or greasy. At the end of the day it still looked freshly applied. As it is long wearing, it did mean that it was somewhat hard to remove. I had to double cleanse with an oil cleanser and a normal cleanser to make sure that it had been completely removed.

The skin concerns I have at the moment are some quite noticeable pigmentation on my forehead, thanks to pregnancy, and some redness on and around my nose. I found that the foundation completely evened out the redness. It did not completely cover the pigmentation; however, I highly doubt other people would notice it - I just know to look there.



This combination of Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Foundation + Alpha-H Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear left my skin looking naturally flawless and luminous without the makeup being cakey or even particularly noticeable on my skin. It is exactly what I have been searching for all these years!

I highly recommend this foundation to anyone who wants light feeling foundation that offers good coverage and is long lasting. The claims made by Revlon, the time release formula balances skin for a flawless look. All day flexible wear without flaking, caking or feeling heavy, are absolutely true - this is exactly what the foundation did.

This is my perfect foundation, my Holy Grail foundation. What is yours?

All opinions are my own and I received no remuneration for this post. The Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Foundation was provided as part of BeautyHeaven's trial team.

Alpha-H Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear

 I recently wrote about my Foundation Dream Team of Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Foundation + Alpha-H Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear but that post was becoming a little too epic so I am going to review the Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear in more detail in a post of it's own.

  



What they say: Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear is a high performance Hyaluronic Acid rich treatment which attracts and binds precious moisture to the skin; helping to swell surface cells and plump out fine lines and wrinkles, giving the skin a fresh youthful appearance. More than just a serum, Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear is an instant hydrator and skin illuminator. Microencapsulated bronzing spheres burst on application releasing a blend of mineral pigments and natural light reflecting particles leaving the skin with a radiant healthy glow.

Suitable for all skin types Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear is particularly beneficial for dehydrated ,prematurely ageing, mature, uneven complexion and lacklustre skins.

What I say: Whilst trialling this serum/primer I used both on its own (as a serum) and under foundation (as a primer). In both cases I noticed a nearly instant plumping of my skin. The fine crepey lines I have been getting (due to not drinking enough, not getting enough sleep and not taking proper care of my skin - all thanks to Kiki!), either vanished completely or were greatly diminished. Actually, the only ones that remained were the expression lines around my eyes and mouth - so true wrinkles. It is the hyaluronic acid which is responsible for the plumping effect. Hyaluronic acid is a humectant - a substance that attracts and binds water. This is great for plumping out fine lines that are due to dehydration.

My skin after applying the Liquid Gold
 Perfecting Daywear  

It left my skin feeling tight, but not in a bad way. You can see from the pic above that it also left my skin looking quite radiant. This is due to two factors. The serum contains microencapsulated bronzing spheres that burst as you apply the serum releasing mineral pigments. You can see the spheres within the serum in the two photos below. The serum also contains Matrixyl 6 which helps to optically diffuse the appearance of wrinkles and surface imperfections - basically it reflects light away from imperfections providing the illusion of perfect skin. It also leaves the skin looking subtly bronzed. I did find that it left me looking a tad shiny if I used it own its own so prefered to use it as a primer under foundation.

As a primer, it made application of foundation effortless. The foundation just glided over my skin. It really was a great canvas for makeup application. I am not sure whether it increased the wearing time of my foundation as the foundation I used with it (Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Foundation) is meant to last 24 hours - so is long lasting anyway - but it definitely did make it very easy to apply.

One pump of the Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear

The microencapsulated bronzing spheres are evident in
the Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear as it is spread out

Once the Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear is
 rubbed in it leaves a subtle bronzing effect

The Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear is both a treatment product and a makeup item. In addition to the hyaluronic acid it also contains glycolic acid and licorice which work to resurface, brighten and refine pore size. I haven't been using the serum for long enough to comment on whether my pore size has reduced (haven't noticed any improvement so far but I have only used it a handful of times). However, the instant hydrating effect thanks to the hyaluronic acid is definitely evident as is the brightening effect from the Matrixyl 6 and the microencapsulated bronzing spheres.

When I use the Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear in combination with my Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Foundation my skin honestly doesn't look far off perfect. I am stoked with the results of these two products, hence why I have named them my Foundation Dream Team!

Want to win a bottle of the Alpha-H Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear? I have three different Alpha-H prize packs up for grabs, including the Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear, but get in quick as this giveaway closes on Sunday August 19th. You can enter this giveaway here.

The Alpha-H Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear retails for $AU89.95 and can be purchased here.

Have you discovered your Foundation Dream Team yet?

All opinions are my own and I received no remuneration for this post. A sample of this product was provided for consideration.