Gardener's Lodge - High Tea - Camperdown, Sydney

I purchased an online voucher to high tea for two at Gardener's Lodge.

Situated in Victoria Park, this gothic-style rustic sandstone venue is one of the oldest buildings, built in 1888.

The cafe at the lodge is set up by an Aboriginal elder, Aunty Beryl. In conjunction with a menu filled with native Australian ingredients, the lodge is also an advocate for Aboriginal employment - providing employment and training for Indigenous Australians.

Photo from http://eastsidefm.org

English Breakfast

Wattle Seed Pancake - I 'think' the topping is goat's cheese or ricotta.

Top Tier: 

- Chocolate Muffin - SO SO rich!!!
- Almond Slice? - Not quite sure what it was but, whatever it is, it was delicious

Bottom Tier 

- Lamb Skewers with Mint Sauce?? - I think it was mint sauce, the lamb skewers were tender and full of flavour.

Bottom Tier

- Garden Salad

- Salmon Wrap

- Mini spinach and ricotta tarts

We had a lovely meal, lovely view and good food! The voucher saved us quite a bit. Ended up being about $19.50 per person.

Your thoughts on High Tea?

Lust Have It! --- April 2013

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I was a little disappointed that quite a few boxes didn't receive any of the preview products, nonetheless, I'm relatively happy with my box and I think I'll definitely use all the products!

Ocean Essences Crystal Lip Patches 

$24.95 packs

FULL SIZE

Interesting product! It was either this or Ocean Essences Platinum Silver face mask. I'm glad I got this, I've been looking at the fine lines around the corner of my lips.. hopefully they'll be eliminated soon! 

Gosh Cosmetics Mono Eye shadow - Aubergine

$16

FULL SIZE

I've heard about Gosh Cosmetics but never tried any of their products. I was really hoping for a nude/neutral colour, since my make up is becoming more and more boring as I stopped working in cosmetics. Looks like I have to go back to my purple days.

Goldwell Dualsenses Ultra Volume Conditioner

$20.95 for 300ml

75ml @ $5.23

Conditioner... again!!! Arghhhh Shower gel/shampoo/body scrub would've been much more useful for me. Usually I don't see a huge disparity between conditioners (a part from L'occitane - that stuff is gold). Ah well, I'll give this a go.

Pink Tiger Duri Cosmetics Nail Tools: Washable Buffer and Lint-Free Gauze

No Price available on the card. But according to Pink Tiger's website.

Buffer- $5

Gauze- $13 for pack of 200 

Received both in FULL SIZE

My initial reaction was GAUZE?! Today, I read on LHI's facebook page that it's great for removing eye make up without lint residue sticking to your eye lids.

Not a bad idea... I'm keen to try it out.

Nude by Nature Paw Paw Ointment

$5.95

FULL SIZE

Total Box Value: $70.13

Chanoma Cafe - Regent Place, Sydney ~~ (Matcha Heaven!) ~~

I've loosely glanced at this place a few times in the past year. Few weeks ago, we finally decided to make an appearance. We were mind blown by the amount of matcha goodies!

My definition of Matcha is powdered green tea... anyone know what the difference is?

 Shiratama Float $5.50

Three mochi balls, swirl of matcha ice cream, matcha flavoured milk and huge chunks of ice. Minus the generous amount of ice, I really enjoyed this! Minor bitterness in the matcha ice cream, not too creamy, not too icey.

 Left: Shiratama Float        Right:  Matcha Shiratama Parfait (with red bean) $9.50

Parfait: Pocky sticks, ice cream cone, cream with matcha powder topping, mochi balls, those waffle things, fruit salad, corn flakes and matcha ice cream.

You'll get a choice between fruit parfait and redbean parfait. There's fruit salad in both.

Chips with soy and seaweed seasoning $5

Not the most amazing chips, but the flavour was quite interesting. I'll be back to try teriyaki flavoured chips!

Bellabox April 2013 - Innovative Beauty

I've been a little busy lately with some uni rubbish, but I'll get back to commenting all you lovely ladies' blogs very soon!

Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Colour - 908 Graphite Gravity

$16.95

FULL SIZE

Indio Facial Scrub

$56 for 50ml

10ml @ $11.20

Indio Multi V Serum

$78

FULL SIZE

WOOHOO finally! A serum! I've been dying for these anti-ageing goodies.

Cellilux Glacial Mineral Gel

$69 for 60g

7g @  $8.05

This is a mask that draws out bacteria and impurities. Well, I love masks!

Lash Card

$7.95 for 10 cards

2 cards @ $1.59

I'm not too big on this idea.. I feel it's a little of an excess.. but I'll have to try it out to know.

Lady Gaga Fame Perfume Sample

I gave this to my mum, she love putting little samples in her bag.... I tried to steer away from Gaga's perfume. Anyone tried it? I heard one of her perfume smells like blood or something.... is this the one!?

Avene Micellar Lotion 3in1

$32.95 for 200ml

25ml @ $4.11

This is a cleanser, toner and makeup remover. I tried removing some mascara - didn't work too well. Although it's a pretty gentle lotion if you wanted to remove some basic impurities.

Total Box Value (without gaga perfume sample): $119.9

I like my skincare more than makeup, so I didn't mind the skincare content.. although the products weren't too flattering, a lot of tiny samples, but I was still very pleased with the serum!

Sydney Royal Easter Show - Sydney Olympic Park - 2013

I'm excited about the Easter show each year, even though it's becoming more and more commercialised. Prices for food and the items at the food dome were borderline highway robbery. Showbag wise, I only bought one - the bertie beetle (as always..). Needless to say the Adventure Time showbag was probably the most popular. 

People and animals @ the petting zoo!

 Darcy's Quest - mechanical metal puppets.

I had a fun day, next stop is the Sustain Organic Expo!
Did you go to the Easter Show? What show or expo are you anticipating?

Australis Paparazzi Perfect High Definition Foundation

Product Information

• Act as a flawless base
• Contains skin-balancing pigments with light-reflecting properties and white sapphire and pearl powder to create a smooth skin tone and correct imperfections
• Medium coverage 
• Contains vitamin E and calendula oil to moisturise and soothe
• SPF 15
• Five Shades: Nude, Natural Beige, Natural Fawn, Natural Tan and Golden Tan

RRP $19.95

Shade  : Nude


Size: 28ml

Ingredients

WATER (AQUA), PROPYLENE GLYCOL, MINERAL OIL (PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM), ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE, GLYCERYL STEARATE, STEARIC ACID, ALUMINA, LANOLIN ALCOHOL, TRIETHANOLAMINE, MAGNESIUM ALUMINUM SILICATE, PHENOXYETHANOL, DIMETHICONE, LECITHIN, METHYLPARABEN, CELLULOSE GUM, POLYSORBATE 20, PROPYLPARABEN, PROPYLENE GLYCOL STEARATE, CALENDULA (CALENDULA OFFICINALIS) OIL, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, PEARL POWDER, FRAGRANCE (PARFUM), SORBITAN LAURATE, PROPYLENE GLYCOL LAURATE. MAY CONTAIN +/-MICA CI 77019, TITANIUM DIOXIDE CI 77891, IRON OXIDES CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, TIN OXIDE CI 77861

Verdict

It's texturally different to all my other foundations. It's thicker, oily when first applied.
Once applied you need to be a speedy blender... the foundation itself is difficulty to blend, I found that blotting it on my face and blending it with a flat top brush works ok.

If you use a regular foundation brush you might end up seeing streaks on your face. I have dry skin and it gives me some shine when applied, I look somewhat oily right after application.

Product provides a light - medium coverage, build-able. The foundation is quite good at hiding smaller blemishes - it's sort of like a dryer, slightly less blendable version of a BB cream.

However, within hours the foundation would've removed all moisture on my face and my skin would flake. It's ok to use during warm/hot weather. This product is definitely not recommended for people with very skin to use during cooler days.


Application

Right side- no foundation. Left- Australis foundation blended

Repurchase?
Probably not - I don't feel this foundation provides enough moisture for dry skin :(

Website 

http://www.australiscosmetics.com.au/ 

Have you tried this foundation or anything by Australis?
 

Lust Have It! -- March 2013

I am above and beyond thrilled to receive my LHI box today!! Feeling a little like Christmas with all these boxes this month, I think I'm going a bit box crazy. Received on the 14th day (I'm in Sydney). I thought it was lost in the AU post abyss forever.  I know there are a few ladies still waiting, *fingers crossed* you'll receive your box soon!

BioElixia BodyShaper Cellulite Contour Creme

$59 for 150ml

FULL SIZE

I don't think I have cellulite at the moment, but my best friend is food.. so I can't see why I can't grow some... or I guess I could do some thigh toning since exercise since I can't seem to find time for each other.

 Skindinavia Makeup Finishing Spray

$29.95 for 59ml

20 ml @ $10.15

This is a product I would definitely use. I've been spraying my Australis Spritz on my face, I'd love to see how this compares!

 DeLorenzo Essential Treatments Equilibrium 

$31 for 250g

30g @  $3.72

I'm terrible when it comes to hair care.. I often leave conditioner out (I know I know) I have quite a few treatment products that I use sporadically.

The Natural Source Camouflage Colour Crayons

$9.99 each

2 pencils @  $19.98

YAY! I've been looking around for a deep plum lip liner for my darker lipsticks. The teal-ish crayon looks really pretty too :)

Ocean Essence 24k Gold Eye Patches

$32.95 for 5pk

FULL SIZE

I've never had the opportunity to try out an eye treatment product/mask. Initially I was disappointed that I didn't receive the eye cream. But I'm really excited to try this out and draw comparisons.

On top of everything... LHI was super generous to include these vouchers!

The Iconic - $15 off new season arrivals Code - LUST15OFF
Dollar Shave Club - for a free 1 month subscription of Razor - Code: LHDSC0313
Elixia: www.elixia.com.au/Lusthaveit

Box Value (not including vouchers): $125.8

I've been thoroughly impressed with my LHI monthly boxes! Can't wait to see what they have for us in our April Box.