Lust Have It! - July 2014

Time goes extra fast when you're subscribed to monthly beauty packs.

Although I'm not a big fan of hot pink I love my mesh bag!!! If you read my review for June, you would've seen me complaining about the zipper, a huge turn around this month, the zipper works perfectly! I've already started using the mesh bag to store other products :) Good work LHI!!

Desginer Brands Nail Enamel

FULL SIZE

This is the only product I'm not too keen on in the whole pack. I don't wear a lot of glitter polish, but I certainly can think of occasions when I can possibly wear this.  

Ardell Self Adhesive Lashes

FULL SIZE

YAY!!! Self adhesive!!! Perfect for people with crappy fine motor skills like me! :)

Marsk Eyeshadow in Rich List

FULL SIZE

The other alternative was a black mineral eyeshadow. I wear a lot of gold and warm toned shadows. Looking forward to using this!

 

Aveda Purifying Cleanser

 SAMPLE SIZE

I've received a few of this from previous boxes, I don't really mind. I use more cleanser than any other skincare/makeup products. Another cleanser can't hurt! 

  

La Mav Organic BB Cream

FULL SIZE 

Personally, this is the most exciting product in this month's pack!!!!! "Organic" and "BB cream", a winner in my eyes. Lets hope this works well,  I can't wait to smother my face with this. I get excited when I see eye masks, eye creams, serums, clay masks and BASE! 

Overall, I am very happy with this month's pack. You've done well LHI! ^_^

Your thoughts on July's LHI pack?

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Product Review: Subtle Energies Ayurveda Aromatherapy Facial Blend

Subtle Energies is a luxurious Australian brand that provides a range of Ayurveda Aromatherapy skincare and essential oils. "Ayurveda" is often defined as a system in maintaining an individual's body, wellness, mind and spirit in equilibrium. As an Occupational Therapist, we breath holism, that every aspect of a being needs to be taken into consideration. Hence, I was captivated by Subtle Energies' core concepts "natural" and "holistic".


Product Information
A unique facial blend with a mixture of Ashwagandha (commonly known as winter cherry), Jojoba and Mogra. The blend is designed to retivalise damaged skin, provide moisture and a healthy glow to dry and normal skin types. The facial blend can be used alone, as a facial massage oil or in conjunction to moisturisers for extra hydration.

Ingredients

Application

The plastic dispensing lid allows the oil to be easily dispensed, drop by drop.

For my very dry skin during the current winter weather, I've been using 4 drops after I have cleansed my face.  I would warm up the oil into my palms and massage the oil into my whole face. I would then apply my moisturiser and eye cream as per usual.

Verdict

Pros

• Great for damaged/sensitive/dry skin. When it comes to oils, I have only had experience with Rosehip oils - which are great for general hydration. My skin suffers throughout the winter months, I get dry, sensitive and flaky skin (to the degree I cannot wear foundation on my face without seeing cracks). A week ago, my skin was dry and breaking out at the same time, I tried some new products and reacted to the chemicals leaving my cheeks red and peeling for days. I tried every cream in my stash and nothing worked. I have been using this blend (day and night) for over a week now and my skin literally healed within 4-5 days. My cheeks are no longer flaky or tender, my redness went down and I did not experience any further breakouts. In addition, my skin looked plump and smooth after the application. I got my boyfriend on board with this, he's been testing this blend out to see if it'll solve his dry skin issues!
• Absorbing. My usual Rosehip oil would sit on the superficial layer of my skin and either transfer onto my blanket and pillows or I'd just look oily until I decide to pat it off with a piece of tissue. Subtle Energies Facial Blend WILL absorb into your skin within minutes!!! A little goes a long way with this product.
• Scent. Beautiful woody sandalwood and floral notes, the scent itself is relatively potent, however the woodiness counteracts it, the scent itself is quite relaxing.
• Dispensing lid. Incredibly easy to use, you will never make a mess!
• Natural ingredients. I get a little concerned when I can't read the ingredients on my product.

Con

•  Availability. I had real difficulty trying to come up with a con, I honestly loved everything about this product and it's been a while since I've found a moisturising product that actually works. I had a look online, you can purchase products from Subtle Energies via their website, Adore Beauty (online retailer) or from various day spas. For those who do not make frequent trips to their day spa (myself included) would probably be oblivious of this beautiful brand and product. 

Before and After

Website
http://www.subtleenergies.com.au 


Have you ever tried any essential oils or facial blends?

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*This product was provided for my consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My Mini Makeup and Skincare Haul

 I have been generally good for the past 2 years and have not "hauled" since I've started my beauty box subscriptions (only Lust Have It! at the moment).

I had read mixed reviews when it comes to Mirenesse, some swear by it and others found their products/service mildly disappointing. I was later notified of a sale on catchoftheday.com.au, I spent 2 hours browsing the site... adding and deleting items from my cart, attempting to rationalise with myself, figuring out reasons why I need these extra products... Eventually my logical side caved and I put through a few items.

Everything came to about $42, free postage - courier with tracking. I received my package a week later.

Mirenesse Studio Magic Blur Powder

$12

 Valued at $35

I picked this up hoping and wishing it would blur my pores and uneven skintone!! *fingers crossed*

Mirenesse Velvet Lip Lift - Natural 3 pack

$19.99

Valued at $119.85

There were a few 3 packs on Catch of the Day. I decided to pick up the "Natural" pack because the colours seemed like it would suit warm skin tones.

How pretty are the packaging?! It reminds me of Sailor Moon's wand. 

Elizabeth Arden Deep Cleansing Lotion

$9.99

This was just a product to get me over the line for free postage. However, I did need a  gentle deep cleansing lotion and I've had relatively positive experience with Elizabeth Arden.
They still have a few of these left for sale on their website! (Click here) 

Face of Australia Dark Side - Jafar 

$3.95 @ Priceline

I saw FOA's new nail polish range on a few blogs and I fell in love with Jafar (I was a huge Aladdin fan when I was a little). I trekked through 3 different Priceline stores in the City to find this baby! I very rarely ever purchase nail polish, but at $3.95 a pop (FOA had 20% off), I just could not resist this perfect winter shade!

Any recent guilty buys?

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Winner WInner Chicken Dinner: Menulog $10 Voucher

Congrats  lovely :)

A big thanks to everyone who entered, stay tuned for another giveaway coming up soon!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Empties - July 2014

It's that time of the month again! As we all know, I am a snail when it comes to finishing off products... but I'm getting better! It is literally a therapeutic experience emptying out finished contents to make room for the new.

Biore Power Couple SPF 30+ Lotion
The idea for this product is that the pump will dispense sunscreen and lotion at the same time. My bottle was broken, so I didn't really get the "power couple" experience. I ended up using the suncreen and lotion independently. Having that said, Biore was kind enough to send me out a replacement product!

Everyday Minerals Foundation Sample
There was a time where EDM was trending throughout the interweb, I jump on board, took advantage of their cheap postage, natural and cruelty free products. I have quite a collection of their powders (mainly blush) which.. I will need to get through. I didn't particularly like their foundation, it was quite cakey and  would sink into my pores.

YSL Volume Effet Mascara
 I've heard great reviews for this mascara but I thought it was pretty average. It smudged on my lower lashes and didn't really hold much of a curl. Sorry YSL, I'm not sold. 

Yu-be Moisturising Skin Cream
I received this product from my Lust Have It box. Yu-be is a Japanese skincare brand... I am a huge supporter for local brands, but I have a soft spot for Japanese products. It had a really peculiar scent, but the thickness of the cream worked wonders on my chapped dry skin.

Suzuran Attirer Puff
 I purchased this from Sasa while I was in Hong Kong a while back. The quality of the cotton puff is beyond the puffs I usually get from Priceline. It was feathery soft and cottony. I'm keen to see how Swisspers will compare.

Bioderma Cleansing gel
I had a go at this product previously and thought it was pretty average... but after trying out a few other brands of cleansing products, this one does a surprising good job when it comes to makeup removal.

Some samples here. A few worth mentioning.... Clearasil Vitamins & Extracts Daily Wash - very impressive, extra gentle, lovely scent and it did well at removing makeup and grime from my face. Bobbi Brown Cleansing oil was a nice product, but not intended to remove your eye makeup... I had to wash out the oil sitting in my eyes. It was troubling. Egyptian magic All Purpose Skin cream  excellent for dry skin. In addition, it was an amusing product, reading the sachet kept me well entertained... we had a good laugh. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'd recommend you to head over to their website for a read! (http://www.egyptianmagic.com/about.htm)

Last but not least..... my Manly Palette.

I've had this palette for dragon years, it's probably well past it's use by date but I couldn't bare to throw it out. I've been using this palette religiously but it's impossible to hit the pain. I had a look at my ridiculous stash and decided it was time to bid farewell.

Do you have any products that you "should" be throwing out but holding back?

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My Everyday Work Makeup Breakdown

My mornings are short as I enjoy my sleep.

I have 30 minutes in the morning...

3 minutes to figure out what I want to wear
5 minutes to waddle around, get dressed and complete some personal care duties.
15 minutes to apply makeup while I toast my bread
5 minutes to spread peanut butter on my toast and wrap it up in al foil.
2 minutes to put my socks and shoes on


Ideally, the less products the better. I've already started cutting corners and products, i.e., mascara is out of my routine.

Face

Cover my blemishes and under eye with Shiseido Natural Finish Cream Concealer
and cover the rest of my face with Shiseido Hydro Liquid Foundation in I20.

Cheeks

Bobbi Brown Bronzer under the cheek bones and Stila Convertible colour in Lillium on the apples of my cheek.

 

Eyes
  
 Manly 120 Eye Shadow Palette 
- Gold on the top lids
- Matte brown under the bottom lashline

- Prestige Black eyeliner 

Lips

- Sugarbaby lipstick 

 Wella Styling Gel  to keep my fly aways at bay and a dash of Marc Jacob's  Daisy  to keep me smelling fresh throughout the day.

What's your work makeup routine?

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Lust Have It - June 2014

 Well...  my Lust Have It box had finally arrived on the last day of June. I'm not sure how it took almost 10 days to ship an item from Sydney to Sydney.

Anywho, since the Lust Have It box is no longer a box, the postie just shoves the package in my letter box with half of it sticking out. I much prefer the initial cardboard box....

a. It's recyclable
b. It can store products
c. It doesn't have a dreadful zipper

Please bring the boxes back!

Orly nail file and toe separators

These are GWP products..... I don't have much of an issue with this other than it's a little bit useless for me. I can spread my toes just fine lol.

 

Nuxe Creme Nirvanesque and eye contour sample

 

John Plunkett

Full Size

$29.95

A night time exfoliator with 25% glycolic acid. I'd be very keen to try this!

 

 La Roche Posay

Sample Size

Why are we getting the same products again ??? :( As much as I love La Roche Posay, there's only so much I can take!

 Teeez Trend Cosmetics

Full Size

$24

The best item in the whole box. The packaging the absolutely gorgeous. Apparently it's a waterproof pencil. I'll have to test it out later this week.

 

$30 Hello Fresh Giftcard

I'm not sure why this is in the box again.

 

Overall, I was fairly disappointed with the content of this "pack" and I really hope the delivery timeframe will improve next month. There were two exciting products for me in this box, it's not an awful box, but as much as I have enjoyed my LHI packs/boxes for the past few months, this pack is not worth the value. Maybe it's because the May's box set the benchmark and I'm getting hard to please!

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What did you think of this month's Lust Have It?

Product Launch: The Plié Wand

I don't know about you guys, but when I paint my nails with my non dominant hand, I end up with nail polish on my wrist. My fingers would be covered with polish, I'd try to clean it but I eventually I'd give up by removing all polish from my nails. From time to time, I've resorted to asking my boyfriend to paint my nails - you guys can imagine how that would've went down.

The issue was in the ergonomics, well guys, problem solved with the Plié Wand.

What is a Plié Wand?
To describe the Plié Wand, we like to use the “pen cap” comparison. Imagine if the writing tool you’ve used for your entire life (pen, pencil) was just the length of a pen cap. Or, the length of a nail polish brush. Then someone handed you a full-sized pen. So much room for a personalized grip. So many options for comfort & control. So much better! That’s what switching to the Plié Wand is like.
The Plié Wand was designed with common polishing pain points in mind. Most notably, polishing with your non-dominant hand. The wand’s name is inspired by the French verb plier (and by the elegant movements of a ballerina) which means to bend, or to fold.

How to use the Plié Wand (This is worth watching!)

Where can I buy the Plié Wand?

Julep recently launched the Plié Wand on their website, you can pick it up here
If you're not too familiar with Julep, take a look at their gorgeous polish selections here, I'm sure you'll be allured by their sleek packaging! ** NOTE:*** All new Plié caps (and brushes) will fit on all your existing Julep nail color bottles.

Website

http://www.julep.com/  


What do you think about the  Plié Wand? Would you use it?

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