Today is… style column day.
When I go to another country, my first stop is usually the supermarket. Next, I hit the pharmacy. Because I love finding out how women elsewhere do their make-up, their hair, their grooming, what they find beautiful and what they use to make themselves feel beautiful. That’s how I discovered Embryolisse cream in France. Matas body lotion in Denmark. The entire product line of Boots No. 7 in England. Australian girls can’t get enough of fake tan. More precisely: fake tan showers. Bit weird, I thought, in a country that gets an obscene amount of sunshine. Until I got the first sunburn on my scalp and suddenly remembered, oh yeah, missing ozone layer! There’s a fake tan salon on every corner, even right next to the beach. I didn’t shower in self-tanning spray (with my natural skin colour – pale white – I would’ve come out looking like a grilled chicken), but I did buy a bottle of the stuff. After all, it’ll last longer than the tan I eventually acquired after three weeks in the beach. Especially, since I arrived back home in the middle of winter.
My favourite beauty buys from Australia:
*Sportsgirl – The Tan Commandments
Unfortunately, Sportsgirl isn’t available in Europa. I’d suggest getting the Every Day Gradual Tan by St. Tropez instead. Because the mousse is easy to apply, actually looks like a tan and, unlike other faking products, smells bearable.
*Klorane – Gentle dry shampoo
I’ve no idea why nobody in Germany has had the idea of marketing dry shampoo as a product for people under the age of 75. Because this is great stuff, not just for days when you’ve got no time between beach and party to style your hair.
*Lucas’ Papaw Ointment
Every Australian girl has a tub of this in her handbag, so my friend Charlotte assured me, and she’s Australian after all. The papaya balm is good for small cuts, dry skin and chapped lips. And it’s called Lucas’ Papaw Ointment! Of course I was going to buy it.
*Jurlique – Balancing Day Care Cream und Refining Treatment
No, I didn’t just buy the cream and peeling from Jurlique because of the pretty boxes. But aren’t they pretty? All organic beauty lines should be packaged like this. James did ask me why I was buying products that I couldn’t buy any more of, if I liked them. Well, obviously so I HAVE to go back to Australia soon (or England. Or Denmark, where you can also get Jurlique)
*BioOil
Ostensibly, this stuff helps against everything, from discoloured skin to wrinkles. And I am imagining that the skin around my eyes looks like that of a 28-year-old, not a 32-year-old, since I’ve started using the oil every night. Maybe I’m looking so well-rested, because I’ve just had a three week holiday. Maybe, schmaybe. I like the ritual of putting a few drops on my fingertips and massaging them into my skin.
Now, will you tell me about your favourite beauty buys abroad?
