Weekly Loves #07

Uni has been crazy lately with constant assignments and many meetings, never been to Uni so many times in a week the whole time I have been at Uni. It is good though, I feel like I am learning a tonne of things and it is preparing me for the real world!

Apart from Uni I mainly just spent time at home or work, making sure my house is clean is an effort now. Oh I forgot to tell you guys, I got a kitten! I plan on doing an introduction post on her soon, I just need to get some good photos of her, the only good ones I can get so far are of her sleeping! She had her first vaccination this week and whilst she was terrified and crying in the car she was very nice with the vet, I am a proud mummy.

On to what I have been loving this week..

Mario Badescu Special Cucumber Lotion

I purchased this ages ago on BeautyBay when I had finished up my old toner, and had heard some good things about the brand Mario Badescu for blemish prone skin. I picked up the Special Cucumber Lotion as it claims to:

Fights against oily build-up and bacteria that can cause acne. Cucumber extract provides a refreshing, pore tightening and antiseptic deep cleansing. 

I have been enjoying using this lately, I forgot about it for a while and chose another toner I had but I recently got back into using this.I find that this is good with my skin, it is hard to tell if it helps at all but it does make my face feel a bit cleaner and doesn't dry or irritate my skin at all. I will probably look for an exfoliating toner next time however.

This retails for $24 AU for 236ml on BeautyBay, this lasts for ages and is usually on special but I think it is worth the price.

Dermalogica Total Eye Care with Spf 15

I only have a small 4ml sample of this product from Dermalogica, but I have really been enjoying using this. I have not been sleeping regular hours which is wrecking havoc on my already there under eye bags, but this little eye cream has come to the rescue! I usually use this at night as it brings down the puffiness but it can be used during the day (hence the spf 15) and aims to conceal your under eye area.

I probably wouldn't purchase the full size as Dermalogica is a little out of my price range at the moment, but I have definitely been loving using this sample up.

Lanolips Lemonaid Lip Aid with Lemon Oil

I have brought this up time and time again but I am not sorry as I am absolutely loving this lip treatment. My lips are so horrible and dry all the time and this has been smoothing my cracked lips and keeping them moisturised for longer than any other lip treatment I own. Another benefit of this (not that it needed another) is the amazing lemony smell, which is a little bit artificial but in a good way.

 This retails for $15.99 AU but is currently on sale for 20% off at Priceline.

Australis Go Camo Full On Coverage Concealer

This is a really high coverage concealer which is exactly what I have been needing this week. I find that this oxidises a little on my skin and can be a little orange, but I usually put this on under my foundation to prevent that from happening. I have shade dark which is quite dark on my skin, I meant to pick up medium but it was in the wrong spot on the shelf (why did I not check!).

This retails for $11.95 AU but usually can be found on special in a 20% off or 15% off sale.

Although I haven't officially introduced her, I couldn't resist adding her into what I have been loving this week. 

What have you guys been loving this week?

Love Liz xx

Review: Essence Quattro Eyeshadow

Hey Guys

I have had this eyeshadow quad for a fair while now, I just don't think I have mentioned it on the blog before, and considering I use it every other day though I feel like I have neglected it due to it coming from a cheap brand. So far I have loved almost every product I have purchased from Essence and they are really great quality considering just how cheap it all is. 

The eyeshadow quad I own is in shade 05 to die for, which has very neutral shades in it (surprise, surprise). I have found that these are all decently pigmented, particularly the darker shades but the lighter shades are still noticeable as well. The light pink shade and shimmery brown are quite a buttery formula, the other two shades are a little chalky but definitely wearable and easy enough to blend.  The quad contains 3 shimmery shades including a white highlighting shade, a light pink, and a dark brown, there is also a matte dark brown included as well.

 I typically use the light pink over my whole eye area, the shimmery brown on my eyelid and then the matte brown in the crease and the white shade as a highlight. I really like this look and I use it when I don't have time to think of what eye products to use. Obviously you wouldn't have to use this the same way that I do, I just found that I liked this look best and have stuck with it. 

This retails for $5.35 AU which is an absolute bargain, I look forward to picking up a few more Essence products to test out.

Love Liz xx

Review: Clarins Bronzing Duo SPF 15 Mineral Powder Compact

Hello Everyone

I have another oldish product to review for you, a sample version of Clarins Bronzing Duo SPF 15 Mineral Powder Compact that I received in a gift with purchase from the Myer Clarins counter around Christmas time last year. At first I really didn't want to use this bronzer because I absolutely adored the packaging and it is a really cute compact. Sleek gold reflective surface with a large mirror inside the compact. It is also quite a decent size for a sample, 3g of product whilst the full size version is 10g. 

This bronzer as the name suggests comes with two shades sitting together in the compact, one lighter matte shade and another darker shimmer shade. Clarins suggests that you can either wear the shades separately as your tan deepens or lightens or mix the shades together, I typically just mix the shades together as I find this looks best on my skin. 

This looks quite natural on my skin and not orange or too dark, medium is the best shade choice for my skin most of the time. Whilst there is a bit of shimmer on the darker side of the compact, I don't think that this shows up too noticeably on my skin, it doesn't accentuate my pores or anything horrible like that. I find that this is really good quality and does apply really easily with my real techniques contour brush. I do have a bit of a soft spot for the brand though and so far they can do no wrong!

L-R; lightest shade, darker shade, both shades mixed.

Unfortunately this retails for $58 here in Oz and I cannot afford to purchase the full size, if you can afford it I would definitely recommend purchasing this for a lovely sun kissed look. 

Love Liz xx

Review: Maybelline New York EyeStudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner

Hey Everyone

I have had this gel eyeliner from Maybelline for around a week now but it has completely replaced my other liners so I wanted to share a quick review with you. 

I purchased this gel eyeliner during the Priceline 40% off cosmetics sale last week (or the week before?) on a whim as I don't own any gel eyeliners any more, I used to own some but I think they all dried up or went past their use by date. It has been a while since I have used a gel eyeliner and I couldn't remember liking them all that much, a bit of a mess and too much fuss compared to pencil. I really struggle putting on eyeliner, my hands are quite shaky and I find that liquid eyeliner just turns into a gigantic mess so I typically stay away from that unless I have the time to remove and redo my eye makeup several times. 

I was worried that this eyeliner would take a long time to put on in comparison to my pencil eyeliner but I think this is just as easy and quick. The brush included really does the job which is good as I don't have any good quality eyeliner brushes yet, I just mainly have to do a quick swipe on each eyelid and tada! Sometimes I have to go over it again to even it up but it really is that simple. I really recommend this gel eyeliner to anyone that is looking for something longer lasting than pencil but is not adept at using liquid eyeliner. 

I purchased this during a sale but it retails for $16.95 here in Australia and it seems like this little pot will last a fair while, I have shade blackest black. 

Love Liz xx

Happy Birthday to my (not so) little brother

It is almost over but I just wanted to say a quick HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH here on my blog. I know he sometimes glances over the links I post on facebook so I hope he sees this after work!

I hope you had a wonderful day watching movies and eating leftover party food! I am sorry you had to spend it by yourself but I had a great time with you over the weekend (apart from the whole sleeping arrangement thing).

I wish I could scan a bunch of photos and put them up here but I am at my house and not mum and dads so sorry, this wasn't preplanned enough!

I love you and hope you have a good rest of your birthday!

Love your big sister xx

Empties #01

I finally have used up a few of my products so I can share with you a quick review of the empty products which are all makeup products bar one haircare.

Davroe Hair Wellness Moisture Senses Argan Oil

I received this 50ml bottle of Argan Oil in a Lust Have It! box a while back, and I have used this product up a long time ago. It actually started leaking when I received it in the box but never bothered to email the Lust Have It! team about it, so it continued to leak the rest of the time I had it. I liked this product, it smelt quite nice and was a little bit heavy on my hair but I felt like it was doing some good so I did not mind. Sadly my hair is beyond repair so this didn't fix my dead ends, but I am sure if you hair is not bleached to death then this will do your hair some good! 50ml is the full size and it retails on the Davroe website for $23.95 AU.

Tony Moly Cats Wink 3Go Mascara

I purchased this off eBay a really long time ago, I haven't actually used up this product but it needs to be thrown out before I get an icky eye infection. I actually really like this mascara, it was simple and plumped up my lashes making them both longer and thicker. It wasn't waterproof which is what I prefer, it lasted all day and did not clump. I think I purchased this for around $7 off eBay and I would definitely purchase this again for a cheap mascara, but I think there are better mascaras out their.

Maybelline New York Super Stay 24HR Concealer

I purchased this concealer a while ago in a 50% off Maybelline sale. I typically prefer cream concealer over liquid so I am not really sure why I picked this up. I purchased this in shade cream which was too dark to use under my eyes but was good on blemishes and discolourations. As far as liquid concealers go this is quite long lasting and pigmented, however I still prefer to use cream concealers. This retails for $14.95 AU.

Revlon Colorstay Combination/Oily Skin Foundation

This is probably my favourite low end foundation, I had tried not to repurchase it and see what else is out there but I could not resist repurchasing it. This old one is in shade 180 Sand Beige which is a winter shade for me but possibly still a bit light, so this time I purchased shade 220. The old version was great but did not come with a pump, they have since added a pump in which I couldn't be happier about. This retails for $34.95 AU and comes in a large range of shades and also a normal/dry skin formula.

Loreal Blush

I cant find this blush online as it is actually so old! I received this a few years ago as part of a Christmas gift and it was probably the first blush I ever had. It was in shade 114 Fresh Papaya which is a lovely coral shade with small shimmer particles. It also came with a brush that fits inside the compact and also contains a small mirror. I really wish they still had this blush (I also own another one in a more plum shade) as I think its a great blush and had a reasonable wear time.

Love Liz xx

The Minis #03

Dermologica Precleanse

This is a little sample sachet (which I typically hate as they are only ever enough for one use or if there is extra then it will dry up and be unusable regardless) of Dermalogica's precleanse which is as it suggests a precleanse solution to be used in order to get the best from your cleanser. The idea is that you use this product first and add water and it emulsifies into a milky cleanser that gets rid of the first layer of debris and always your second cleanser to further penetrate your skin, giving a deeper clean. I like this product but the small sample leaves me unsure of whether this has helped clean my skin or whether it just works like any other double cleansing product. I do regard Dermalogica as a really great skincare brand so I do believe that this is a good product, I just did not have enough of a chance to use it.

Dermalogica Skin Refining Masque

This is a deep cleansing clay masque which aims to:

Purify, lift surface impurities and wick away excess oils that can trigger congestion and enlarge pores. Refreshing and calming formula refines without over-drying for smoother skin texture.

This is probably the perfect masque for my skin as I am always in need of a good clay cleanser. This is only a small sample but I have enough for one good use. This was quite nice on my skin, a little tightening once dry but nothing too uncomfortable. My skin looked good the next day but it is difficult to tell if that was just from the masque, I would need more than one application to tell if it was worth it to purchase the full size. 

Uriage AquaPrecis Refreshing Cream Gel

This sounds like a good moisturiser for my skin, it is aimed at normal to combination skin and has a mattifying effect of 72%, not sure how they can be so exact but I trust it! This feels quite nice on my skin and does keep my the excess oil at bay, if the full size wasn't so expensive ($49.99 AU for 40ml) I would consider purchasing it.

Aveda Dry Remedy Daily Moisitursing Oil

I only received a tiny 3ml sample of this, but after researching it I found out that you have to add water to this and emulsify it before use, which makes the 3ml seem like it will last a little bit longer. I am in desperate need of more moisture in my hair (I am really dying to chop it all off but I just haven't made the final decision yet) so this is a welcomed sample. This is nice, but only a temporary fix for my dead ends. It would probably be more suited for someone with dry ends not severely damaged like myself.

Love Liz xx

Weekly Loves #07

Another week has gone by, and I am very glad it is over. It has been an extremely stressful week and I am only just feeling like I have gotten better. I have a bit of an odd list of favorites this week but I will share them with you regardless! 

Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer

It is an extremely long named product but it is great, I have been getting up early and going to bed late so this has been a necessary staple in my beauty routine. This conceals my dark under eye circles and is meant to also help treat dark circles. The built in sponge is a worry to some people due to hygienic concerns but I am yet to find a problem as my skin is clean on application and I don't share the product with anyone else. This retails for $18.95 AU and it is easy to use up this product quickly so it isn't the cheapest option, however you can usually get this on sale and it really is worth it if you suffer from dark under eye circles.

Real Techniques Blush Brush

Please excuse the unwashed brush but I am cleaning my brushes soon and rather than a wet brush I believe a used one would look a bit better. I really love this brush, it picks up the perfect amount of blush even on those really pigmented blushes that would make anyone look like a part of the circus. This brush retails for $22.99 in Australia, but you can grab this off the iHerb website for $9.99 US and pay only $4 shipping (I recommend buying more so the postage is worth it, but $14 is still better than $23!). 

Sukin Certified Organic Rose Hip Oil

I have really been enjoying using this oil, I was a little worried at first that it may cause my skin to breakout but it has been clearing up my skin and slowly fading any scars I have. It goes on a little greasy but soon it is absorbed by your skin and I always wake up with hydrated skin. You can read my review on this product here. This particular rose hip oil retails for $19.95 for 25ml but there are a lot of options out their for rose hip oil. 

Dermaveen Eczema Cream

I have been suffering from my right hand being super dry and peeling (gross I know) and my partner likes to believe that it's from all the strong products I use on my face. I mentioned this to my mum and my dad suffers from a skin conditon, my mum just believed it was a form of dermatitis so we picked up this cream to fix it up. Before I started using this the dry skin kept spreading and spreading but now that I have been using this a few times a day it has stopped spreading and is not as visibly dry. So far this cream has been working great and I really hope it continues to improve. I picked this up for $10.99 AU for 100ml at my local chemist. 

Love Liz xx

Priceline Haul

So yesterday I visited Priceline to purchase some items during their infamous 40% off cosmetics sale which ran on Tuesday and Wednesday. I can never resist a sale and cosmetics is one of my (huge) weaknesses. I wanted to buy almost everything but I was restrained by my friend, I however managed to make her buy a lot of things (sorry!). I ended up with 8 items from 4 different brands. I will only quickly go over what I purchased as I plan on reviewing the items again once I have had time to test them out!

Revlon

Revlon Colorstay Combination/Oily Skin Foundation

This is probably my third or possibly fourth bottle of this stuff, I have tried other foundations but I always come back to this. It is high coverage and will last forever on my oily skin, the only issue I ever had was the smell (still not fixed but can't complain too much) and the fact it didn't have a pump. We'll guess what it finally has a pump! It has had a pump for a while now actually, but because I always purchased online I was always sent the old version, it was well worth the extra few dollars to purchase the one with the pump however! This retails for $34.95 AU but the sale price was $ 20.97 AU.

Revlon Parfumerie Scented Nail Polish

I have been dying to purchase one of these scented nail polishes by Revlon for a long time and I decided that at 40% off it was the best price I was going to get for a while! I was planning on getting a nice dark winter shade, perhaps a royal blue or brown. But I could not find one that I particularly liked and the other shades were similar to ones I already own (damn having such a large nail polish collection) so I chose shade 040 Wintermint which is a lovely aqua blue that has gold flecks and blue glitter particles running through it. I have not smelled it yet as my nose is completely blocked so it'd a bit pointless, but regardless I am happy to own this shade which is unlike anything else I own. This retails for $15.95 AU but was on sale for $9.57 AU.

Maybelline New York

Maybelline Lasting Drama By Eyestudio Gel Eyeliner

I have not used a gel eyeliner in a really really long time and I decided that my pencil eyeliner just was not cutting it lately, so I quickly threw this in my basket without having seen any reviews or really giving it a second thought. I purchased this in the shade 950 Blackest Black and it comes with a brush and a pot of gel eyeliner. This retails for $16.95 AU but was on sale for $10.17 AU.

Maybelline Express Remover

I have been dying to get one of these pot nail polish removers ever since I had seen a Bourjois one featured on a lot of UK blogs. Surely enough they trickled into Australia and I now finally own one! This is a pot that contains sponges soaked in nail polish remover and the idea is that you twist your finger in the sponge and it removes your nail polish. I am sometimes a little slack and can take a while to remove chipped nail polish but I am hoping with this little addition it will make it a lot easier. This retails for $9.95 AU but I picked it up for the sale price of $5.97 AU.

Australis

Australis Make-Up Finishing Spritz

I have wanted to try an 'official' make up setting spray for a while to compare it to using thermal water in an aerosol can, which is what I currently use. I haven't read any reviews on this product but it contains Aloe Vera and Rose Water which sounds like nice added ingredients. I will see how this goes and keep you updated. This retails for $14.95 AU but was on sale for $8.97 AU for 150ml.

Bourjois Paris

Bourjois Happy Light Ultra-Covering Concealer

I have read reviews on this concealer and it seems like the perfect cream concealer for myself, I also swatched this in store and was quite happy with it. It does only come in two shades and I purchased it in shade 23 Beige. I mainly need this to help my under eye area but it can also be used on blemishes so it is considered multi purpose. I will test this out and do a full review soon. This retails for $19 AU but I purchased it at the sale price of $11.40 AU. 

Bourjois Delice de Soleil Bronzing Powder

This is probably the one product that I feel guilty about purchasing, I think it took me a good half hour to decide whether I should or shouldn't purchase this. Obviously I did decide to purchase this, I had been looking at purchasing a new bronzer for a while. I originally wanted the Body Shop Honey Bronzer but it retails for $28 AU and I have yet to find it on sale. I compromised and picked up this bronzer, in my eyes Bourjois can do no wrong, I have not yet found a product by them that I haven't loved. I have read lovely reviews on this bronzer so I know I wont be disappointed. I purchased this in shade 12 for fair/medium skin, although I typically consider my skin tone as olive/tan I have a darker Australis bronzer which looks way too dark on my skin so I decided to play it safe and get the lighter shade. This retails for $30 AU but the sale price was only $18 AU. 

Nude By Nature

Nude By Nature Natural Mineral Cover

This is just a back up product for my makeup stash. I have been using Nude by Nature for a couple years now and have fallen in love with it. My favourite product would be their finishing veil (but I have a huge amount left in my current one) but I also use their natural mineral cover daily, I have this in shade Light/Medium as I found the medium one left my skin looking orange. I usually dust this over my liquid foundation to provide that little bit of extra coverage. This retails for $39.95 AU for 15g which does last a very long time, I paid only $23.97 AU for this. 

I also saved money by using my voucher that I recently received from Priceline, I had managed to spend over $500 last quarter (eep) and so I received a lovely voucher for $21.08, even the checkout person was impressed (I blame the skincare and cosmetic 40% off sale having occurred in the previous quarter) so I know that I have been fairly naughty with my spending lately. I will be going on another spending ban and so I will be reviewing products I haven't featured on here before and continue doing posts such as weekly loves and the minis, if you have any ideas for posts let me know! 

Love Liz xx

The Minis #02

Another round up of the samples that I am trying to use up lately. I have 3 face products and 1 body product but they are all skincare really, bit boring so sorry for that but I do have a tonne of skincare samples. 

Lush Gorgeous Facial Moisturiser

I received a sample size which contains 10g of products of this facial moisturiser in a Lust Have It! box a while back. The card that came with the box lists the prices of the products included and the full size version (45g) of this Lush Gorgeous facial moisturiser retails for a whopping $74.95 AU. That means that my tiny sample pot has almost $17 worth of product in it, am I the only one that thinks that is ridiculous? I had originally believed lush consisted of affordable freshly made skincare, whilst most is still affordable, I cannot consider $75 for a moisturiser as affordable. This is a really good moisturiser however, it is meant to be very versatile and suitable for all skin types and adapt to those skin types. However with my very oily skin I still feel like this made my skin a lot oiler than using a moisturiser targeted at keeping my skin matte, would. I will continue using this moisturiser until it is empty as it does feel lovely and does not break me out, but I will be using this at night rather than in the morning.

Bioderma Sébium AKN

This is a treatment that aims to preserve sebum quality which does so by preventing the deterioration and thickening of sebum, and so it reduces the appearance and development of imperfections. So far I have enjoyed using this, I cant really tell if it works however and I have not got enough of the sample left to decide whether or not it has improved the condition of my skin. It has not broken me out so I would be interested in purchasing the full size for $24.99 AU to properly test this product out.

Appelles Skin Detox Shower Gel

It looks like the Appelles website has had an overhaul since I received this sample as this product is no longer listed on their website, but I did find pictures of it on their Facebook page. Sadly that means I cannot tell you a lot about this product, it does smell quite nice but I haven't fallen in love with it, which is probably a good thing considering I can't find where to purchase it!

Palmer's Gentle Exfoliating Facial Scrub

I ran out of my last facial scrub and remembered that I had this to use so it has saved me trying to find another one that I like the look of. As a facial scrub this is quite nice, however I am not a huge fan of the smell. This scrub contains cocoa beans but it doesn't really have the chocolate smell I was expecting, just an off putting smell however I am still happy to use up the sample I have but I probably wouldn't repurchase just because of the smell.  I have a 15g sample but the full size 150g retails for $9.99 AU.

Love Liz xx

Clarins Instant Beauty Kit

I purchased this 'kit' from adorebeauty after looking through the summer sale products and spotting a kit from Clarins containing the full size Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch and 3 other items for only a few dollars more than the full size Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch by itself. This kit contains a 15ml Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch, full size Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in shade 06, sample of Instant Smooth Line Correcting Concentrate, and a sample of Instant Light Brush-On Perfector in shade 02. 

The main reason I purchased this Instant Smoother Perfecting Touch which is a primer that I have read really great reviews about. This retails for $38 AU in Myer, $31.92 AU on sale on adorebeauty but the whole kit costs $35 AU, which was 30% off the RRP. I could not resist grabbing this while it was still available, I have heard good things about the Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector as well so I am very happy to have received a full sized one in the kit. This product aims to create a smooth base that is still hydrated. I do have oily skin however due to the harsh products I often use my skin can get quite dry and flaky in patches, if I do no have hydrated skin before applying my foundation then my base would be noticeably dry and flaky in certain patches. I am not sure how much prouduct to apply but it does come with a very small spatula so I plan on just using that and see how that small amount works. 

I have also read good reviews about the Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector, with people's main gripe being about the unhygienic applicator, I do not have such a huge problem with the applicator as it will only be myself using it. The colour also seems like a nice colour that I would actually choose for myself, not that I wouldn't be happy with any of the other colours, they all look lovely! Ultimately this is just a lipgloss that is meant to give the impression of smoother, fuller lips. It will be interesting to see if it lives up to that claim but I will be happy with this either way! 

I had not actually heard anything about the Instant Smoother Line Correcting Concentrate before purchasing this kit. It appears that this is for correcting the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines and enlarged pores. I do not have any wrinkles or fine lines just yet but I am interested in trying this out for 'correcting' my enlarged pores. It is quite a thick product and not really what I was expecting, but I will try it out hopefully one day soon.

I think I had read a few reviews on the Instant Light Brush-On Perfector however I had never really looked into it other than the few reviews. It is mainly a concealer that is best used for the under eye area, it also contains ingredients that aim to tighten the skin and relieve fatigue. I received this in shade 02, medium beige which is perfect for my skin type! I really am looking forward to trying this out as I believe that it is somewhat a dupe for the much loved YSL Touché Éclat (which is way way out of my budget, the Clarins offering however is much more affordable for my budget). 

The kit also came with a cute little makeup bag which I am actually in need of as I was looking at buying one but this saves the hassle! I am really excited about trying all of these products and have no disappointment or hesitation currently. I will keep you updated on my findings! 

Love Liz xx