June Empties

 

 

Lush Sugar Scrub*

Second time I’ve tried this (both were from sample boxes) and I just can't make my mind up about it. Review to come.

Johnson’s Pure Cotton Squares

Bit pricier than my normal ones but nice and soft, and I liked the large square shape. Probably wouldn’t try to purchase next time but wouldn’t mind using again.

Rimmel Match Perfection Cream Gel Foundation

My very favourite foundation, and sadly discontinued. Damn you Rimmel. Leaves a great ‘skin like’ finish and luckily I bought backups.

Ardell Clear Brow Gel

Not so clear anymore! A nice brow gel that doesn’t flake, would repurchase.

Rimmel Vinyl Gloss in Snog

These glosses are really nice but seem to turn quite quickly, though that doesn’t stop my sister repurchasing regularly. In fact, I am surprised I still have this as she normally steals them from my handbag!

 

 

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo

This is my skin saviour and keeps my skin blemish free, so needless to say this is a definite repurchase.

Bioderma Crealine H2O

Admittedly this hasn’t got a whole lot of love since Dermalogica Precleanse came onto the scene, but I still turn to it for lazy pre-cleansing and cleaning up eye makeup at my makeup table. A great precleanse for sensitive skin and I like to use it in the morning before applying my makeup.

Avon Naturals Vanilla Room Spray

This was a great scent and the can lasted for a long time, would repurchase.

The Aromatherapy Company Peppermint Cooling Foot Spray*

Though I loved the scent of this and like the idea of a foot spray, the packaging wouldn’t stop leaking and the essential oils managed to burn a hole on my white cabinet. Hoping I was just unlucky with this one?

 

Be honest- how much do you normally use up each month?

 

*Provided for consideration.

IMATS Wishlist

 

IMATS is drawing closer and closer, and I thought it important to spend an evening in front of the laptop, perusing my future purchases and mapping out my IMATS plan of attack. Here are the fruits of the evening!

 

Illamasqua

At IMATS 2011 I purchased a few lip products from Illamasqua that I just don't get enough wear out of, so this time around I am hoping to pick up a new pressed powder, or perhaps a blush shade. Those are things I know I will get more use out of, and would be great additions to my cosmetic collection.

 

 Unii Palettes

I am planning on getting two or three of these empty makeup palettes to get me stuck into depotting and condensing my powders. I neglected to get one last year as they didn't have the colours I was interested in, and I'd rather not pay shipping for them when I know I can get them for a great price at the trade show.

 

Face Paint Set

I have been thinking about branching out into creative makeup and face painting. I have a whole bunch of nieces and nephews (11 if you include Chris' side, with 1 on the way!) and would love to be able to paint their faces for parties etc. I could end up being really terrible at it, but I'd love to give it a whirl anyway.

 

MAC

Though I have quite an extensive MAC collection as it is, I am lusting over the Mineralize Skin Finish Natural and perhaps Soft and Gentle to use as a highlight as well. Whether or not I can be bothered lining up at the busy stall remains to be seen, it really depends on my mood.

NYX
NYX is really hard to get a hold of (unless you resort to ebay) and I want to swatch a few of the powder blushes and give them a shot. I will definitely be buying Taupe to use as a contour shade, but I'd also love to pick up another pink shade now that I'm almost finished with Peach.

 

Embryolisse

I have heard so much about this brand and I am very, very excited to grab a few pieces. Now that I'm obsessed with skin care I like being able to switch it up depending on how my skin is acting, so I'm looking forward to this nourishing range.

Ardell
I have not yet successfully applied false lashes, and I'm hoping to pick up some Ardell (and maybe some other brands) to practise with. I have a few looks planned that really need the oomph that lashes give, so I can't wait to learn how to best use these!

Will I be seeing you at IMATS?
Have you tried any of these brands?

 





Empties for July

I thought I hadn't used up many products this month, but it turns out I did alright.

Lancome Tresor Midnight Rose
I love the blackcurrant edge that this has over the other Tresor varieties, it lasts quite well on me but until I finish up some of my other perfumes, I won't be purchasing this. A customer came into work wearing this last week and it smelt so good, which is why I pulled this out to finish it up.

Ardell Sculpting Brow Gel
This still has product left in it but it's so scungy now that it just had to go. It's affordable and easy to find, so I will repurchase after I finish the brow gel I am currently using.

DermaVeen Oatmeal shampoo
I was so excited to try out the sample of this shampoo (the matching conditioner will be in my next empties post) but sadly this did nothing for me but make my dandruff worse. My scalp is still itchy and distressed after using this, I've only found one anti-dandruff shampoo that works (Garnier) so I'm sticking with that one.

Australis 3 in 1 wipes

These are nice enough, I buy them when they are on sale and use them for swatching.

Dove Tinted Moisturiser

I love this TM, Chris' Mum gave it to me but it has started to smell and has gone off. I've repurchased a fresh one!

Ethnique nail polish

I have no idea how I came to own this, but it is pretty much solid now.

Crabtree & Evelyn Nantucket Briar shower gel

I love Crabtree, this was a bit too 'nanna' even for me, but I still liked it.

Impulse Paris body mist

I love this body mist, I use it as a room spray and occasionally as a body mist. It is very similar to Miss Dior Cherie, and I have already repurchased.

Kiehl's Coriander liquid body cleanser*

This was such a strangely enjoyable scent, it was herby but somewhat sweet, and unlike anything my nose has come across before. I don't like it enough to repurchase, though I did enjoy using it.

Face of Australia Gentle Make-up Remover

I remembered loving this more than I now do, I think since trying Bioderma all makeup removers will let me down in comparison. I would still repurchase, as it does a good job and is affordable.

Rexona Girl Free Spirit Deodorant

I usually buy the Tropical Energy version of this (my ultimate fave) but thought I'd see what this version was like. I liked the scent, but not as much as the Tropical Energy one. I would repurchase in the future, just to change it up a bit.

QV Gentle Conditioner*

This was woeful, I am sorry to say. Hardly moisturised my hair and the build up was atrocious. The matching shampoo was just as bad, so this is definitely not being repurchased.

Coles Make-up Removal Pads

Done the job, they fall apart easily but I'm not bothered by that as they are cheap as chips.

Have you tried any of these products?

How much did you use up in July?

February Favourites (Holiday Edition!)

For the better part of February I spend my days lounging around a resort in Thailand, soaking up sun (slathered in SPF of course!) and enjoying quite a few blue cocktails. My favourites have a distinctly tropical feel, naturally.

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My Thailand staple scent has always been MOR's Lychee Roll-On Oil* (review here)so I made sure it came along with me on this trip. I enjoyed Tresor Midnight Rose quite a bit also, it seemed to suit the humid climate better than it suits Melbourne weather for me.

Basic face was all I could muster due to high heat and water activities, so I leant on my sample of Invisible Zinc Tinted Daywear which has an SPF of 30+. I set this with powder as it is quite thick and shiny in appearance, but the coverage was perfect for me and I really enjoyed using this! I scrubbed my face (and Chris') a fair bit so that the residual creams didn't build up and clog pores, and took along my sample of Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant for the job. I am still undecided as to whether I like my Alpha-H exfoliant better as this one smells much more strongly, but it worked amazingly on this trip so it made it into my favourites. The Ardell brow gel was a must, my brows have been nuts lately.

This holiday was definitely all about the lips! I didn't mind having bare eyes while away (which surprised me) but with all the photos being taken of me, I needed a pop of colour on my lips to look alive. I found these shades a lot of fun, and will keep wearing them now that I'm home.

The Estee Lauder Berry gloss came from a travel set that Chris' Mum bought a few holidays ago and shared with me. I wear it all the time, it's so flattering and non-sticky. This is what I wore when I couldn't be bothered thinking. The Hissyfit Lip Service is the bomb, I felt great knowing that my lips AND my face were protected with SPF30+ and Chris used this every now and again too (when the Softlips went walkabout. FYI, he broke two this holiday ><)

Revlon Coral Reef is amazing, but you should already know that. I took Smashbox Overexposed gloss(review here) because it can never leave my sight, I love it that much. Plain lips with a vanillery amazingness is necessary on holiday, ya know.

These mini MAC glosses came from the limited edition Christmas bauble for the season just gone, I am so happy I picked it up. Like Venus Dazzleglass is a sparkly pink gloss chock-ful of pink and golden sparkles, with a distinctly purple tinge to it. Petite Indulgence Cremesheen Glass is a lovely formulation, and a mid tone pink shade which suits me so well, if I do say so myself. Compliments were thrown at me every time I wore this, so it had to be in my favourites.

Topshop eye shadow in Mercury is one that I wore when out at night in Thailand, and it definitely deserves it's own review. In short, it's amazing, and makes me feel like a million dollars when I wear it.

What is your dream holiday destination?

Have you tried any of my favourites?

Sinful FOTD and Wellbeing Wednesday

I'll be honest- in the morning, the thing that gets me out of bed is the thought of a flat white from my favourite cafe near work. As the sun rises it's the place to be, or so says those who are also there early (one grandfather, and a business man who never seems to be working) On these mornings, I generally can't be bothered with intricate eye looks, and today I willl show you my recent fall-back look. Inspired, as always, by the amazing Jess at The Belle Lumiere, I cracked out my Urban Decay Naked Palette and went to town with one of the best shades it contains:

Sin!

Hello mascara smudges, 'sup

A super classy sheen of a shimmer, no chunky glitter fest here! (Though I am fond of those at times, too) Sin is a beautiful champagne shade that I can't imagine looking bad on anyone.

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A super wearable shade

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Ooh look,sunrise! I jest, this is here to show you how Sin is one of those kick ass shadows that make you look as though you have more than one shade on. It appears darker in the crease which fancies it up a notch, a big win for me.
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Products used:

Bourjois HealthyMix Serum Foundation #52

Sleek Rose Gold Blush

Urban Decay Buck eyeshadow for brows

Ardell Clear Brow Gel

Clinique High Impact Mascara

Nothing on the lips, though I did pop some Korres Jasmine on during the day

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I really love Sin as a wash of colour over the lid as I'm running out the door, and am glad that Jess mentioning it rekindled my love for the shade.

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HOW WICKED IS YOUR WELLBEING?

Mine is going along pretty well, I was uber successful in last weeks challenge so am a happy camper! The group challenge last week was to keep a food diary, and it became a habit for me so I breezed through the challenge. I can now see patterns of eating and the sneaky calories that have been my downfall, and am now working on altering decisions with my food intake. I also found out just how much hommus I really eat! Yowza!
How did everyone else go with the food diary?
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My personal challenge last week was to spend more time with the people I love, and it makes my heart swell to say I excelled at this challenge. More afternoons with my Mum, coffee and shopping with elderly family friends, dinner at a work friends place, city trips with my bestie, my niece's dancing concert as well as nightly walks with Chris meant my vibe meter was skyrocketing! It felt nice to just sit and enjoy their company, without thinking about assignments or work issues.
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I kept up with the previous weeks challenges which involved downing more water and chomping on lots of fruit and veg, as well as getting active at least 4 times each week. This Wellbeing Wednesday initiative has been so good to me!
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Image Source Unknown, let me know if it's yours!

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This weeks Group Challenge is to spend more time with loved ones, and avoid lifts and escalators in favour of taking the stairs. Your tush will thank you for it!

My Personal Challenge is to cut out alcohol for at least 6 out of the 7 days this week (I may have decided to do 6 days because of the upcoming annual MBBE ;) ) and to eat chia seeds each day. I got this great challenge idea from Sabine at Echolife !
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