Professional hair and beauty expo, Turkish Mosque, Stila craziness and my Konad stamping Kit

Last weekend, my boyfriend patiently joined me at the Professional Hair and Beauty Expo, little did he know what he was getting himself into. 

Unfortunately I was too busy talking to the exhibitors and finding out more about products, so I didn't take many pictures. I did get these two pictures of the stunning Moroccan oil stand though. There were also hair, make up and nail competitions, which also didn't get much of my attention, since I was in product heaven. 

Lucky for me I received free samples of the products below. There were some brands that I hadn't heard of before, and also some very well know brands. Vagheggi is an organic skin care brand, I have a hydrating face cream to try out. Environ, which I have heard many things about gave me samples of the vitamin A range, which includes a cleanser, mask, face cream and eye cream. Lastly, Biosense gave me quite a big sized sample of  a shine spray for hair, which contains Argan Oil. Interestingly, Biosense, as well as Moroccan Oil are owned by the same holding company. 

There was a Konad stand at the Expo too, and me being the nail addict that I am, I had to have a look. The lady did a demonstration on my own nail, and then allowed me to do one myself, and somehow I did it! My design came out perfectly! I was so excited, since I had tried stamping before and couldn't do it, I figured I needed this kit. So, I bought this stone stamping kit, for R400, which includes 3 polishes, 2 plates, 1 stamper and scraper, and some rhinestones. I haven't used it yet though. I did however try the Essence kit this week, and I managed to stamp really well with that, sigh... So, I think my technique was wrong, not the products I was using. So, I think the Konad kit wasn't necessary after all, but I love the range of colours of  the stamping polishes. I will get to stamping soon, and post some pictures. 

There was an Essie stand there, and when I asked them for the colour "For the twill of it", they said it's not an Essie colour. Firstly, if you are working at an Essie stand, you should know the colours, and secondly, do not tell me that it is not an Essie colour, when I know that it is, I was extremely disappointed with that. Next up, the OPI stand had polish for sale too, but they did not have the "Matte top coat" for sale to individuals, it was only available for salons to order. So, that was a bit of a downer for me too. 

Eventually we were done, to my boyfriends relief, and we decided to pop in to see the stunning Turkish Mosque on the way home. It is absolutely beautiful, and hard to imagine that one man built this mosque, with no funding help from anyone else. It cost an estimated 210 million rand, and also features a school, a clinic, a shopping complex and a restaurant. The mosque also features a gallery, with photographs and paintings of various mosques from around the world, some scenic shots of Turkey, as well as paintings of some artifacts found at the Topkapi Museum in Turkey. 

Driving into the complex, is like driving into another world. The mosque was based on the Selimiye Mosque in Edime, Turkey. The structure boasts four minarets that surround a wide dome. If you are in Johannesburg, do yourself a favour and visit this mosque in Midrand, it is open to the public. 

Lastly, I went a little Stila crazy, as you can see below. I bought two lipglazes in cranberry and starfruit, one illuminating concealer, a baked cheek duo blush in pink glow, an illuminating baked powder trio, all three one step products, illuminate, correct and bronze, as well as a tinted moisturiser! I think Stila products are amazing, I just wish they were more reasonably priced. :)

What is your favourite Stila product?