Pantene Clinicare Review

If you've read this blog before you'd know that I have developed a teeny obsession with hair products. Luckily for me, I get sent lots of lovely thing to try, but only the products that rock my socks (or follicles)will make it onto my little blog, so I can tell you about them.  And to be fair, I always use them for at least two weeks......so I can really figure out if I love them or not.

This

is

love

 

Yep, thats' me........severely frizzy and rebellious

my hair's a little like that too....lol

Clinicare Hydro-Surge Revitalizing has been designed to specifically target hair moisture balance in the face of humidity. The formula contains a dual action moisture focus, including an intensive repair ingredient for smooth, manageable hair, and an environmentally responsive Pro-Vitamin, which helps to regulate moisture in each strand.

With the weather heating up for summer, hair becomes unmanageable and more prone to frizz. 

A major problem for me, especially when I used to live in humid  Queensland.
Since trialling the shampoo & conditioner, I've noticed there has been no "frizz factor" even when I let my hair dry naturally. I'm really happy with that!!!

The five- piece Clinicare Hydro-Surge Revitalising collection is the perfect combat for humid days and nights, providing a luxurious anti-frizz ritual with each step.

Pantene and Wella have collaborated to redefine the art of haircare by creating the one month ritual of Pantene Clinicare.

RITUAL:

Cleanse & Nourish: 1. The indulging experience begins with Hydro-Surge Revitalizing Shampoo, which

gently cleanses the hair and prepares for conditioning. 2. Hydro-Surge Revitalizing Conditioner provides optimum nourishing action for dehydrated and rebellious hair.

Repair:

3. The Nano-Moisture Control Masque, with its rich, creamy formula, delivers an intensive dose of moisturising ingredients to dry hair, to re-hydrate and restore manageability.

Protect

4. The Frizz Defying Serum Concentrate protects from dryness by coating hair with its oil rich formula, to keep hair manageable and prevent humidity absorption.

I think you'll like this range....and you can get it from the supermarket....sweet.

Got any other tips on how to beat the frizzies? I'd appreciate it if you'd share it in the comments or on the 3pickles Facebook page.

See you soon.

PS: I'm working on a new series about hair/make-up and beauty, especially for ladies 35+. 

And my first makeup video tutorial...eeeek 

If you have any requests/suggestions, please let me know.

Stay tuned

This product was provided for editorial consideration. 3pickles has no affiliation with any companies mentioned and has received no remuneration for posting this review. All opinions are those of the author.

Donna Hay Cookbook Giveaway

Thanks to the lovely people at Stockland, I have 2 copies of Donna Hay's New Fast Food Cookbook to giveaway to Aussie readers of 3pickles.

Giveaway provided by Stockland. Australia’s largest diversified property group, with a range of home, land and retail developments across Australia. From Williamstown to houses for sale in north lakes, there is sure to be a place to build your perfect home. And, as a leading sustainable organisation, Stockland’s developments are designed to enhance the environment – not to spoil it. Stockland gives your family a place to truly call home – a place where your family can live and grow.

Giveaway

New Food Fast

By Donna Hay

                                             (192 pages)

How to enter:

1. Just like 3pickles on Facebook.

2. Tell me (in the Facebook comments), your favourite "Fast Food" dish that you make yourself or that someone makes for you. 

If you have a blog, feel free to link your recipe post too!

I'd love it if you'd share the post with your Facebook or Twitter friends.

I'll choose 2 winners next week. Saturday, September 8th.

Good luck!

Getting back on track with weight loss

When it comes to weight loss, the past month and a bit have been really difficult for me. I haven't put on any, but I haven't lost any either (about 1 &1/2 kilo loss is all). 

I've stalled.

I got comfy at my new weight, which is the lightest I've been in 10 years.

But I've got a bit more to lose.

I just haven't tried hard enough.

I'm not going to beat myself up about it as I think that would be counter productive and would probably send me spinning into a chocolate coma.

Instead, I've gone back to basics. 

• Back to clean, basic, uncomplicated eating (like in this post). 
• Back to writing down EVERYTHING I PUT IN MY MOUTH.

• Back to using my treadmill for an hour everyday.. it has just been repaired and now back in tip top condition. 

I missed it. 

Never thought I'd say that.

Never thought I'd wear these either. But I do and if you workout, can I suggest you try these from Body for Women, they are so comfy. You can get them here.

So why am I telling you all of this?

To keep myself accountable of course.

Everyone needs a kick in the capris now and then.

&

To ask for some kind words of encouragement too.

Any advice if you've got it....or do you have a similar story? 

What did you do to get yourself "up & running" again?

I'd love to know.

Have a great week

And the winner is......

The winner of the Polar Heart Monitor is..........

Bec Griffith

congrats

Bec, can you send your postal addy to me at threepickles@optusnet.com.au 

thanks to everyone who entered.

I've got some more giveaways coming soon!

Have a great weekend.

Aroma Shower....bliss

Renovating.....or do you just want a spa experience at home? 

This is pure bliss and you MUST try it.

My only problem is that I just can't tear myself away from the shower.

It's the Aroma Shower....an amazing new shower head from Quoss

the one pictured below is currently in our only operational bathroom, that will soon be for the pickles only. They love it, I love it and so does Mr 3P.

So what is it?

Well, I'm not going to get overly technical...I leave that for the video I've embeded at the end of this post.

But I can tell you that 

• this easy to install (simply screw in) shower head gives you a high pressure shower, but uses less water.
• Eliminates chlorine in the water...so much better for your skin and hair & I have noticed the difference since using it.
• Has the most incredible citrus aroma...the vitamin C= 3000 lemons
• Keeps my shower cleaner...no soap scum build up. I love NOT cleaning the shower as often.

have a look at the video below for the more in-depth info and then head on over to the Quoss website and get yours.

You can thank me later...lol

Happy showering!

Disclosure: This product was provided for editorial consideration. 3pickles has no affiliation with any companies mentioned and has received no remuneration for posting this review. All opinions are those of the author.

Active Boys: Getting them to like being fit

While I'm still having my mini break, Adrian Rodriguez has kindly offered to do a guest post for me, about one of my favourite subjects....getting boys active. I hope you enjoy.

Anyone who has had a son (or has met a boy) will know that they generally tend towards one of two things: staying inside all the time, or going outside all the time. If they spend all their time outdoors, that’s great: although you probably won’t see them very often, at least they’re keeping their bodies active. If you have a boy that likes to sit on his computer all day, however, it can be a mission to teach him how to keep active and healthy.

This doesn’t have to be a chore, but it’s important that your boys enjoy keeping active from a young age – it’ll benefit them for their entire lives. Here’s a few ways to get your boys to like being fit (and as a bonus, you’ll probably get fitter too!).

Motivate Them!

Like with anything else, in order to enjoy something and succeed in it, you have to have to want to do it. That’s why, before interning your son into a boot camp or forcing them to accompany you on your early morning runs, you should plant the idea into his head that exercise can be fun and rewarding. By allowing him to want to exercise you’ll save yourself a lot of argument, tantrums and every other problem a parent faces when trying to force their child to do something they’d rather not do. 

Take Them Out

Buy a basketball, a soccer ball or a football and take your kids to the park. Teach them the rules if necessary and play a friendly match as a family or invite your child’s friends. Ease them into becoming active by doing something as a family perhaps once a week. If there aren’t enough people to have a fun match of a team sport, take them bike riding, swimming or to a tennis court. It doesn’t matter what you do, but taking your child out, participating with him, slowly building a routine and love for exercise or sports is the most effective way to get them to voluntarily become active. Don’t plunge your child into an intense routine or you’ll turn what should be a fun and rewarding experience into a burdensome chore: just casually start becoming more active.

Enrol them into something

Once your child is somewhat used to being even a little active, you should consider enrolling him into organised sport or lessons. Team sports are great because not only do your children become active and enjoy it, but they learn important social lessons like sportsmanship and being part of a team. Team sports like basketball or soccer also encourage healthy competitiveness which gives children ambition and a will to improve. An alternative to team sports is lessons. Swimming or tennis lessons are fun and rewarding. Where team sports are rewarding when you score, defend or win against another team, lessons reward progress. Learning and perfecting a tennis serve or freestyle can be equally as rewarding beating an opposing soccer team. If you still have no luck, try something a little bit more innovative or adventurous, like dusting off the surfing fins and taking them to surf lessons.

The younger you start to encourage your son to become active, the more effective it will be. Sports offer the same thing as video games: playing with friends, the ability to hone and improve your skills, a competitive environment and the thrill of winning or perfecting something. Appeal to these aspects, and there should be little problem.

Adrian Rodriguez is a freelance writer and university student whose mother made him love sports from a young age – she didn’t like buying loaves and loaves of bread to feed him, though! Guest post brought to you by FCS

3pickles received no compensation for this post.

See you soon

The Pickles an I are having a little break, so I won't be blogging for a teeny bit. before any family or friends email me...everything's OK...honkey dory in fact. I'm just taking a week and a bit off 'tis all.

I may occasionally pop in to Twitter & Facebook, so perhaps I'll see you there?

But, I'll be back here on the 24th August to announce the winner of the

Polar Heart Rate Monitor (click here to see how to enter)

There has only been a few entries so far, so get on it if you want to win.

When I get back, I'll have:

• a few new house updates...maybe even a room reveal 
• an awesome new product for your bathroom (I've been spending way too long in the shower because of it..but I think you're gonna love it as much as I do).
• a new beauty series especially for YOU....I'm extremely excited about that!!
• plenty of new recipes for weight loss and healthy family meals

until next week, stay safe & I hope too see you soon.

Biore Skincare - Face Anything

Blackheads and blemishes have been, at sometime, a problem for everyone.
Something that I have learned about skin, through 20+ years as a make-up artist is that soooooo many people just OVERDO it!!

You see, there is this clever little mechanism in the skin called a sebaceous gland that doesn't take too kindly to abuse. If you over cleanse, over "tone" (especially with strong alcohol based products) and over scrub....those little glands will seek their revenge all over your face...usually making the problem that you're trying to fix ten times worse. A vicious cycle.

So what do you do?

I'm so glad you asked..............

The answer is fairly simple.

• Be gentle to your largest organ (it's the only one you'll ever get).
• Choose products specifically for your skin type and the problem you're trying to fix.
• Follow the directions on the pack
• ALWAYS protect your skin from the sun
• Oh & eat your veggies, drink lots of water and be good to your Mum ;)

If you're looking for skincare that will do the trick and ticks all the boxes above, then it may just be your lucky day. Biore have just released new skincare products AND new packaging for their current skincare line. They were kind enough to send me the range to sample (Mr 3P is enjoying them too) and I thought it would be nice to share with you some pics and some of the highlights of each product.

Biore have made choosing a skincare regime for your complexion really simple with colour-coding.

Orange is ideal for complexion clearing

Blue is for deep cleansing

Pink for make-up removing

Teal for Nourishing Care to moisturise & protect

very thoughtful

I worked for many years for a major beauty retailer and I wish I had a dollar for how many of these Deep Cleansing Pore Strips I sold...they are pretty incredible. The NEW Biore Combo Deep Pore Cleansing Strips with Ultra Nose strips are available exclusively in Coles supermarkets.

 The Biore skincare range is available nationally at Priceline, Priceline Pharmacy, Target, Big W, Coles Woolworths, Chemist Warehouse and selected pharmacies and Independent Grocers.

for stockists phone: 1800 468 318

 

If you have a skincare, make-up or hair question, please leave it in the comments section or on my Facebook page and I'll do my best to answer it. If I don't know the answer, I'll find someone that does.

Have a great weekend!

GIVEAWAY to get your heart racing!!

this giveaway has now ended

Hello & g'day lovely readers.

Do you feel like a giveaway?

OK then.

The fabulous people at Australian Fitness Network are kindly giving one of my readers one of these.

Polar FT4M (in orange) Heart Rate Monitor (RRP $129)

·         Shows when you’re improving fitness based on your heart rate

·         Displays calories burned

·         Comes with comfortable textile transmitter and coded heart rate transmission to avoid cross-talk.

How awesome is that??

Australian Fitness Network is the leading source of information, education and events in the fitness industry. Having trained thousands of Personal Trainers and Instructors since it's inception in 1987, Network is widely regarded as the leader in personal trainer courses in Australia

How to enter this game of skill.

1. "Like" my 3pickles page on Facebook or follow me on Twitter

2. In either the comments section on Facebook , in a Tweet or here on the blog answer TWO questions.

 a. What year was the Australian Fitness Network launched (hint..it's on their website (go here)

AND 

 b. What get's your heart racing??

3. Share the post with your friends....It's that simple.

I'll choose what I think is the funniest/most creative answer to win.

The winner will be announced on this blog in 2 weeks (August 24th, 2012), so come back and check.

Australian Fitness network will send the prize directly to the winner.

Good Luck!

Cream of Sweet Potato, Garlic & Leek Soup {recipe}

Low fat, low GI and low carb.

Great for a weight loss plan.

The secret is to make the "cream" with skim milk powder.

Creamy & filling....tastes like the full fat variety....but it's totally guilt free...so go ahead & enjoy your veggies.

I hope you like it.....

This recipe serves about 4 people. 

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 leek, trimmed, washed well and sliced

1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon chicken (or vegetable) stock

salt & pepper

water

1/4 cup skim milk powder

In a pot, heat olive oil and then gently soften the leek and garlic over low heat.

Add sweet potato, stock powder and enough water to cover.

Bring to the boil and then turn down to simmer until vegetables are tender.

Stir occasionally so leeks don't stick to the pot and burn. Top up water if needed.

When tender, remove from heat and puree. I use a stick blender....although I usually make a mess. 

Add skim milk powder and more water if needed to make a creamy soup.

Serve with crumbled ricotta and freshly ground pepper.

Would love some tips on what you use to puree soup.

Spanakopita {carb free}

You may have read (or even tried) my Spanakopita recipe from a previous post. It's one of my favourite non-meat dishes....but it's very carby....which is no good for my weight loss plan. It's not something we eat everyday, but I do get the odd craving for it and to think I have to give it up forever would be torture. So, after chatting with my PT Elizabeth, she suggested I try to make it WITHOUT the pastry...makes sense huh? 

So, I did...and I cut out a little extra fat while I was at it.

here 'tis

1 Bunch of silverbeet (Swiss Chard), washed, chopped and steamed

or 1 packet of frozen spinach, thawed

150g low fat feta

200g fresh,low fat ricotta

2 or 3 eggs

1/2 brown onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

salt & pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl

spray a non-stick muffin tin with cooking spray

or line with those silicone muffin cases

fill with mixture (it won't rise much)

bake at 180C for 15-20 mins or till set.

serve with salad

You won't even notice the pastry is missing....yum!