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!

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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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I MET STAN LEE... Supanova Pop Culture Expo 2014 + Makeup breakdown

This was my first time at Supanova, even though we spent 6.5hrs lining up for Stan Lee's autograph and photos.... I had a surprisingly good time. At 91 years of age, Stan Lee was an absolute trooper, he was at Supanova for all three days, signing away and sitting in the photoshoots. This was his last appearance in Australia.. I'm glad we got to meet him!

The autographs were $60 and photos were $100. It was $100 well spent. My Masters and Bachelor's degrees are rotting with the cobwebs somewhere in my room... but this photo, my friends... I will frame!

We got there at 10AM. They charged $20 for a full day of parking, which wasn't too bad. There was a longggg line spiraling into the stadium and it was freezing cold. I can see why people would go for 2 days... spend the first day lining up and the second day enjoying the expo!

Here's some photos for the Star Wars fans, my bf and I already confirmed that we are willing to line up again if George Lucas decides to make an appearance at Supanova.


My bf dressed up as Silent Bob - for all the Clerks lovers.

These guys looked pretty awesome! There were some hardcore costumes... lottssss of Elsa's from Frozen, Maleficents and Spidermans.

My costume didn't come on time, so I wore the most anime looking dress and socks I can find in my wardrobe.

I don't even know how to describe the dress I am wearing, it's probably the shortest thing I've ever worn and I didn't feel self conscious because people were practically walking around in undies and bras (AKA superhero costumes)

Totoro with legs!

R2D2

The Bat Mobile

Ok now to the makeup break down

 Complexion:
-Shiseido Perfect Refining Foundation - I20
-IT cosmetics concealer
- Bobbi Brown Sheer Powder

Eyes:
- Shiseido lash curler
- Dollywink Volume Mascara
- Shiseido cream eyeshadow -VI305
-Aphrodite  Shimmer Powder - Rose Gold

 Cheeks
- MAC blush - Breezy
- Bobbi Brown Bronzer

Lips:
- Shiseido lip liner -RD708
-Shiseido Lip crayon -LC9

And here you have it, me as an alien-like creature. I think this picture is worth captioning, not sure what my BF was doing.

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REVIEW + GIVEAWAY: Menulog No. 1 for Online Takeaway

I was introduced to Menulog approximately a year ago (see review here), this online platform for ordering local takeaways acted as a savior for my boyfriend and I. Especially during the difficult nights after a long day of work, or the flu-filled weekends when every ounce of energy has been exhausted by fighting tiny germ soldiers. I would lay in bed, log onto Menulog, tap away at my laptop and our meals from the selected restaurant would  arrive in a timely manner. Without hesitation, Menulog is truely the No. 1 for Online Takeaway!

Bottom line;

No prepping
No fighting
No cooking
No cleaning - ok, maybe just to rinse a plate or two

If you haven't been to Menulog, it is a wonderful online platform for you to order local meals from all over Australia - and in order to keep the Australian economy going, I personally would rather order from local restaurants than Pizza Hut.

You can pre-order and pre-pay on Menulog to pick up or have your meal delivered.

Let's say you live in Orangeville, simply type in your suburb or postcode and voila! You can pay vial Paypal, cash, credit/debit cards and vouchers.

I ordered from my favourite local pizza joint Tony's Pizza Pasta - with a reasonable $3 delivery surcharge.

I usually get Pizza here, but I thought I'd give their pasta a go!

My boyfriend ordered the Sunset Penne Pasta $ 14.90 - salmon, shallots, capers, mushroom, prawns in a pink sauce. Boyfriend said the dish was creamy, pasta was al dente and cooked to perfection. Lots of favours and that he would definitely order this again.

I was craving lasagna, so I got the Beef Lasagna $12.90. My lasagna was good, with the right amount of cheese, sauce, beef and pasta sheets... however it was over salted!!

Here's some links if you are looking for an Italian feast tonight!

http://www.menulog.com.au/browse/italian
http://www.menulog.com.au/browse/pizza

Now on to the exciting part, the giveaway!!!

Thanks to Menulog, I have 2 x $10 Menulog vouchers up for grabs! One Voucher to giveaway on Blogspot (see below) and one voucher to giveaway on Instagram (Head over to my Instagram to enter for more chances to win!).

Winner announced on 13 July 2014

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Open to Australian Residents only.

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