Zoe's the bee's knees.

O.K, so I know this blog is still just a foetus and absolutely NO ONE reads it and way I'm too scared to send it to all my friends and say 'Get a load of this!', but I'm going to type away like I have a Perez readership following anyway.

When I was younger in my 'let's party every weekend' phase at about the age of twenty, I was known as the Beauty Guru. Not because I was some budding Napoleon Perdis but because I was good at remembering all the beauty tips from the variety of cosmo-esque magazines that I would read, and equally as good at regurgitating this information while the girls and I got ready for a big night on the town, sounding like the Stephen Hawking of beauty (minus the synthesised voice - no offense Stephen).

So it is evident I have a long standing love for all things pretty, girly and beauty related. Plus I think taking care of yourself and being comfortable in your skin is part of a positive lifestyle.

Now this is all a segue into a new beauty discovery I made. I realised I have a mega girl crush on the Editor in Chief of the awesome online beauty resource http://www.primped.com.au/, Zoe Foster, whose blog I follow religiously. She has even written a book called Air Kisses, which I am determined to buy and review as soon as the latest edition comes out at the end of this month.

I think I may channel all my beauty and Zoe mania into regular beauty blogs dispersed throughout my lifestyle blogs. And this will be the first one!

About two months ago I started going through an all natural skin care phase. The products have tended to be a bit more exy than my usual Priceline buys but my skin has never looked better! Honest to God.

Here's a few of the gems I have unearthed:

• Origins Modern Friction available at Kit Cosmetics - I was told that this is nature's microdermabrasion and being an exfoliation fan I went to town with this beauty, until.... I read Zoe's blog on the dangers of too much exfoliation.

• Antipodes Grapeseed Butter Cleanser and Manuka Honey Mask also available at Kit Cosmetics - these are not staples of my beauty regime, I just use them when I get a hankering once or twice a week. I was a bit iffy about using an oil based cleanser on my blemish prone skin but it presented no problems and both left my skin feeling super soft.
  

• This effectiveness of this next product range was a big surprise to me. I bought the griffin+row starter kit on a whim merely because it was on sale and like all women I'm not impervious the the great marketing schemes that play on my impulse purchase weakness. I use these products for my before-bed routine (except for the cleanser which I use morning and night) and I'm NEVER GOING BACK (prior to this I had to use a doctor prescribed retinoid gel at night)! When I wake in the morning, I find my skin smoother, my complexion clearer, and my pores smaller. What more could a girl ask for? Even better news, you can snatch up this range at your local Target store.

• After cleansing in the morning (with my griffin+row cleanser) I use either [A'kin] Refreshing & Soothing Toner or Pure Rose Hydrating Mist followed by my ultimate beauty weapon:

• ORGANIC ROSEHIP OIL! I've been using this stuff for years and as you can guess Zoe loves it too, for more than one reason. I use it in lieu of a facial moisturiser under my sunscreen and it reacts perfectly well with my insane breakout-y skin. I had been using [A'kin] Pure Radiance Rosehip Oil but recently changed to Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil basically because I could buy a bigger bottle and get more bang for my buck (hey, don't call me cheap, I have to spend all my hard earned moola on these products, and at retail price).

Well that's all for now. I'm still on a mission to find the perfect natural sunscreen and makeup, if you find some lemeknow.

Diet Queen

PS I seem to love hyperlinks just about as much as parentheses, as you may have noticed.