Archive of ‘Makeup and Beauty’ category

Tuesday’s Top 6 Winter Lip Products

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Hi All!
Here’s Tuesday’s Top list, this week is winter lip products. This is definitely not an exhaustive list but just a few favourites I thought I would share! Swatches at the bottom :)

1. Revlon Balm Stain in Honey
This is a favourite year round and one of my holy grail lip products. A gorgeous my lips but better moisturising lip stain that is long lasting and incredibly easy to wear. The warmth of this nude pink is what I think makes it so wearable and gorgeous in Winter.

2. Natio lipstick in Vintage Rose
Okay so here is where I admit that I bought this based on the name…luckily the colour is gorgeous and another beautiful light shade that works perfectly for winter. A warm mid toned pink with a lttle bit of a peach undertone (not as peachy as the swatch however) this is another great my lips but better shade. The formula is moisturising which is always a key point for me in these cold months.

3. Maybelline Colour Sensational in Let Me Pink
I love the formula of these lipsticks by Maybelline and this recent addition to my collection is perfect for winter as it is a rich deep pink with a warm brown undertone. Dark but still easy to pull off and moisturising makes this a new favourite.

4. Revlon Lip Butter in Raspberry Pie
I love the lip butter’s by Revlon and this deep berry pink is vibrant but still dark and a gorgeous colour for winter. Super pigmented, incredibly moisturising and still pretty long lasting. I like the ability to wear it as sheer but glossy or rich and pigmented. A consistent favourite.

5. MUA Lipstick in Shade 3
One staple for winter is a deep red and this incredible lipstick (which cost 1 pound!!!!) is a perfect choice. This red is dark but still has a beautiful brightness to its lush deep wine colour. Another great formula that isn’t drying and lasts well throughout the day without shifting around too much.

6. Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla and Macadamia
In case you haven’t realised dry lips in winter is pretty common for me so I am a religious user of a thick hydrating lip balm as often as possible through out the day. This year the new Nivea lip butters are my moisturiser of choice and they do the job well (and smell darn delicious too)
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So there are my top 6 lip products for this season. What are your favourite lip products for winter?
Xx

Torn over a Night Cream: Product review

Hi all!

Today I bring you my thoughts on a night cream I have been trialling over the last couple of weeks. This night repair cream by geoskincare was a full size product I received in a SampleBar a couple of months ago and I was excited to give it a go. Being described as moisture rich and highly hydrating I saved this for winter when my sensitive dry skin freaks out and rebels against me. So how did this night cream fare against my challenging skin type?

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The Pros
This cream doesn’t lie. It delivers great moisture and hydration in a rather unique formula that is thick an deeply moisturising without being greasy or leaving an unpleasant residue.
This night cream worked wonders on my skin and turned it from dry and irritated to soft and hydrated. Needless to say I was happily surprised that it worked so great, so quickly.
I also love that is brand is local and certified organic, paraben free and not tested on animals, all big ticks in my book.

The Cons
Okay so this review started with me stating I was torn in the title so it can’t all be amazing. I have two issues with this night cream that prevent me from denying my everlasting, undying love for it. First off, and most strangely, is the fact this night cream really irritates my eyes. It has a strong smell which I don’t mind but I feel like perhaps whatever natural fragrances create that aroma may be what is irritating my eyes if it gets too close. I have to be careful when applying it to avoid half an hour of continuous whining. The first time this happened I was was rather shocked as night creams don’t normally have this affect…I also know I’m not the only one this happened to so it worries me slightly that I can’t figure out what causes it.
The only other negative for this product is the price (being the tight, cheap ex-student that I am). $43.92 is more than I would generally pay for a night cream however it could be worse.

The Final Verdict
All in all if price was the only negative, this may have become a new holy grail part of my everyday routine. As it stands, due to weird sensitivity issues, I do hesitate in forking out the $44. Have said that, once this 50mL tube is finished I will find it hard to return to my $10 supermarket
night creams…and if I have a weak moment this may end up being repurchased due to it’s pretty incredible skills at fighting the negative effects winter has on my poor face.

Have any of you tried this night cream?

In Love With Benefit

Hi all! Small absence in blogging due to life and the work that seems to destroy every day leaving me tired and lacking motivation or energy for blogging haha. But I am attempting a return and attempting to set up more of a routine in terms of blogging so that hopefully it will be a bit more regular. However I am sure I have said that before….

When I heard a while a go that Benefit were launching here in New Zealand I immediately started stalking their website in order to create imaginary shopping lists of products I was most excited to try out! In fact a little while a go I posted my top ten products from Benefit that I was most looking forward to meeting. Skip forward a little and last week on Wednesday I had a wonderful night at the Benefit cosmetics blogging launch at a lovely little venue called Nostalgia in Ponsonby. Not being a “beauty blogger” in particular I was actually rather surprised to be invited (pleasantly surprised I should add) and excited for the days leading up. The event itself was a wonderful chance to meet some beautiful faces from twitter and learn a lot more about a brand I haven’t had any experience with.

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The night was full of lychee cocktails, delicious nibbles and some fantastic demonstrations of some classic products in their line as well as some brand new additions to the benefit family. Some highlights of the night included the brow bar demonstrations and then a chance to play with the products myself as well as the time to chat with fellow bloggers about products they had already tried.

The launch of Benefit cosmetics in Auckland was a pretty exciting moment for us who are often left behind by some international cosmetic brands. The day after our blogging evening their first city counter opened at Smith & Caughey’s on Queen Street so definitely go and check them out at their amazing brow bar. Also to get yourselves in the draw for a sneaky giveaway for three of their iconic products (They’re real mascara, Porefessional and Benetint) head to their counter and snap a photo of yourself to tweet/instagram to them with the hashtag #hellogorgeousnz. Good luck!

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My picks for what I want to buy rather urgently include the Brow zings kit (which one of the beautiful ladies demonstrated on me and was INCREDIBLE) as well as their classic Benetint (which has a rather funny story regarding its invention). Next up on my radar might be their lovely and light foundation as well as their very unique Fakeup concealer (which looked like it would be perfect for my dry skin as it has a hydrating outer ring as well as the concealing inner core).

So there is my run down of what I expect to become a long and lovely love affair with this great cosmetics company, brand new to New Zealand! Keep your eyes peeled for a review on a couple of their classic winners. What are your opinions of Benefit and their products?

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Disclaimer: Just in case you were wondering, my involvement with the blogging event was a lovely surprise but does not mean these opinions are not my own. I was not asked to write or share my opinions on Benefit (in fact I wasn’t asked to do anything) but I did happen to fall in love with some of their products as well as their general brand image which I believe is fun, creative and unique.

Tuesday Top 10: Benefit Products on my Wishlist!

Hi all!

Happy Tuesday! Recently Benefit announced on Twitter and other Social Media that they are planning to launch in New Zealand in the very near future. For a country that suffers from a severe lack in certain awesome makeup and beauty brands this news was very well received. I have constantly heard amazing things about a lot of their products but I have never been able to try them. Once I knew they were coming down under a shopping list began forming in my mind, it wasn’t even a conscious thought to put together this list, it just happened! So I figured I might as well make a post about ten of the products I am most excited to try out once they launch. Can I quickly add that I ADORE Benefit packaging, everything is so cute and interesting.

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1. They’re real! Mascara
This mascara has to be one of the most talked about mascaras. People seem to love it and it seems to have made its way into many holy grail lists. I love a good mascara and have yet to find my mascara soul mate-could this be it?!

2. High Beam
One of the many gorgeous highlighters offered by Benefit. I wasn’t sure which to choose as my preferred highlighter (highlighter is one of those products I know very little about) but this and sun beam both looked amazing. This cool champagne is probably better suited in terms of my deathly fair complexion.

3. Coralista Box Blush
Ugh these box blushes look amazing and from the look of swatches online I could have included a
lot more on my wishlist (I’m looking at you dandelion and hervana!). This one is top of the list because it is a gorgeous pink coral which looks gorgeous on SO many people I have high hopes for our future relationship.

4. Poisetint
Another product I love the idea of are the lip and cheek tints by Benefit. I love the look of the bene-tint as well but this lighter pink looks a little less scary and from online reviews seems to be a bit easier to use.

5. Hoola Box Bronzer
Not much to say about this except that this looks like a gorgeous, matte Bronzer.

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6. Longwear powder eye shadows in Nude swing & Thanks a latte
The new line of shadows released recently look amazing and I would happily buy 90% of them. These two are my favourites, with a beautiful rose gold shimmer and then a lovely dark golden brown.

7. The Pore-fessional
A primer/BB cream extraordinaire!! This apparently is great at minimising the appearance of pores, smoothing and also providing some coverage to even out skin tone. Sound like a wonder product.

8. Boi-ing concealer
An industrial strength concealer, industrial!! Sounds pretty awesome to me. Comparable to mac studio fx concealer apparently.

9. Brow zings brow shaping kit
I need to find a good brow kit so this wax/powder combo had to be included on my wishlist.

10. Something about Sofia fragrance

Obviously I hang actually smelt any of these but based on online descriptions this fragrance with an interesting combo of fruity, floral and musky vanilla scents I would love to give this one a shot! I have to say that there are at least 3 others that also sound amazing!!

Well , there’s a very non-exhaustive list of some benefit products I will eyeing up once they reach our shores!! Please let me know what you think about any of these products and whether there is anything I am missing :) If you are in NZ and want to keep up with Benefit ad their launch follow them on twitter @BenefitNZ for all the updates.

Xx

P.s. this post wasn’t sponsored or influenced by Benefit or any other company and is just the rambling of one rather excited kiwi!

April’s SampleBar Glam Pack

Hi all!

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. Here in NZ the weather has lost its marbles (don’t be alarmed, this is a frequent occurrence) and has been literally moving from beautiful sunshine to thunder and downpours in 5 minutes. Wish I was exaggerating. This led to me running in and out every few minutes to try and decide how I should dry my washing. Yay.

Anyway, here is this month’s Sample Bar Glam Pack (obviously I failed to cancel my subscription again ._.). I was very happy to see this month taking on an Eco-Chic theme in their set of products focusing on eco-friendly,  natural treats. Here’s what I got this month!

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1. Evolu travel tower
This skin care travel kit tower is an awesome idea from a brand I’ve never heard of before. Includes creme cleanser, facial exfoliator, firming eye cream, anti ageing day cream, rehydrating facial masque and anti ageing overnight cream. The idea is that this compact little tower can be taken when away for a night or two and your skin care routine is covered! Refillable and reusable these have me very exciting!
The full size of this includes three of these travel towers for $65 (ouch) but a $20 discount e-coupon was included to ease the pain.

2. Anitpodes Avocado Pear Nourishing Night Cream
Antipodes is a brand I love but this tiny sachet is no where near enough to decide how I feel about a night cream. I would have been much happier with a proper little pot as we have had before. Having said that, this night cream sounds amazing with avocado and calendula oil, manuka honey and vinanza grape (what?) thrown in for good measure. Would have loved a proper sample of this.
A full size of this night cream is $62.50 so a little out of my price range.

3. Sorbet Shampoo Bar
This month we were given one solid shampoo bar made with 100% biodegradable ingredients and natural extracts. I am excited to try this out as I haven’t tried out a solid shampoo yet and I am curious as to how it works. It’s also excellent because its completely cruelty free which is always good to see. I don’t think the bar we got is the free size but this isn’t indicated on the packaging (annoyingly).
Full size bars are $22 (95g) and again we have a code to get a 15% discount which is nice.

4. Perfumie in Verbena Bamboo
Perhaps one of my favorite products in this month’s box is this little solid perfume stick which are convenient for shoving in one’s handbag and are full of natural ingredients. The fragrance I got (Verbena Bamboo) is really lovely, fresh and grassy (in a nice way..). I don’t think the scent lasts particularly long unfortunately but I haven’t used it much so might be wrong.
These are full size and cost $10.95

5. Pharo Microfibre Exfoliating Cloth
The other ‘full size’ product in this month’s box was this exfoliating cloth that is apparently reusable. A full size duo pack of these costs $11.95 which seems quite fair. Also, this product came with a $10 discount  voucher for a sugaring treatment (I believe some form of hair removal…). Meh, I quite like this (but will never use the voucher, as usual).

Well that’s it for this week! I would have LOVED this box if the night cream was full size but as it is, it was kind of average, with no makeup products and some disappointing sizes. The theme of this I adored so I wish the box had lived up to all my (potentially unreasonable) expectations. Still, I am not dissapointed I forgot to cancel my subscription and have yet again been introduced to some interesting and eco-friendly brands. Oh and I almost forgot that Sample Bar included an Easter themed choc bunny that barely made it into this photo. Having to wait 5 minutes to consume chocolate is not one of my skills.

Let me know what you thought of this month’s box!

Xx

March Beauty Favorites!

Hi All!

Here are this month’s beauty favorites including some lip products, a blush, skin care, perfume and of course a nail polish! They sort of all fell into the same colour family which I thought was cool (woah, calm down guys, it’s not that exciting). Anywhoo, here they are and tomorrow my random favorites will be posted!
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Maybelline BabyLips Colour in R0se Addict: I couldn’t help but pick up one of the new baby lips with colour range and chose this light rose tinted balm to try out. I like the baby lips formulas for light hydration (not heavy duty but they do the job). The scent is obviously lovely, as all babylips seem to be, and the tint is very natural and sheer (a my lips but better kind of colour). I would love to pick up some more in the range to see what they are like. These are around $4 at places like Kmart, Farmers and at the Supermarkets too!

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MUA Blush in Shade 4: I picked this blush up with an online order on the MUA website for a measly pound (which was a couple of NZ dollars) and was stunned with the quality and pigmentation! Next time I place an order I will definitely pick up some others in the range as the pigmentation is intense (as in it took me a while to learn how to not apply this in a clown like fashion) and the finely milled, soft powder blends into the skin beautifully letting you either create a dramatic blushed effect or go for a more natural, healthy glow. This colour is a lovely natural muted orangey-pink (a subdued coral according to the website). There’s no obvious shimmer but still has a little sheen which I love. Great product, great quality and amazing price. I have my eye on Shade 1 next!

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Maybelline Vivid Lipstick in Vivid Rose (904): Ugh the vivid range from Maybelline, where do I start!? I have two colours from this range and I was mindblown by their bright, glossy gorgeousness. This colour is a bright, vivid pink/red colour that I absolutely adore. Its pigmentation is great and the lasting power really surprised me as I wasn’t expecting much but this lasted really well on my lips. For around $24 at Farmers and Kmart I will definitely keep my eyes out for a chance to pick up some more (I’m looking at you Mandarin Orange!)

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Some quick swatches for you: Top is the beautiful vivid rose lipstick by Maybelline and the bottom is a light swatch of the MUA blush (that’s right, light! This baby has some pigmentation!)

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Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil: I won’t say much about this other than it has become a new holy grail item for my skin care. Here is the review I did a wee while a go.

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Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Perfume in Cherry Blossom: Along with Marc Jacob’s Daisy this was my other perfume during Summer. I love it’s fresh, floral scent with a hint of citrus and the green tea base notes (I should stop speaking like I have any knowledge about perfumes whatsoever) stops the sweetness from being too over powering. Clean and feminine and easy to wear.

20130404-162800.jpgButter London Nail Polish in Macbeth: Last up is my nail polish for March and it was quite hard to choose one but in the end this beautiful pink toned red by Butter London had to be the one. I wore this several times this month and love the brightness and the beautiful formula of this creme polish. I also rather love the name…

 

That’s it for beauty favorites! Let me know what you have been loving or leave a link in the comments so I can check out your post :)

xx

 

My first guest post!

Hi All!

Just a quick post to let you all know that today my guest post went up on http://www.balmainbeauty.com which is a great makeup and beauty blog run by my friend Karen, an Aussie living here in NZ. I shared with her readers my favorite Autumn/Fall nail polish trends and would love it if you popped over and let me know what you think! It was my first guest post but I really enjoyed writing it!

http://www.balmainbeauty.com/2013/03/autumnfall-nail-trends-for-2013.html

See you tomorrow with some monthly favourites!!

X

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What I’m Chucking 2013 Volume 1

Hi All,

So I’m still a bit undecided about the whole “Product’s I’ve used up” kind of post but until someone tells me this is a silly post i’ll continue on showing you my rubbish…. Part of the reason I like these is that I have a chance to give you my thoughts on some products which may not have featured elsewhere on the blog. I don’t really do product reviews on individual items so I like the opportunity to give a couple of words on stuff I’ve been using. So here is my first Volume of my rubbish for 2013 haha.

photo 11. Maybelline XXL Pro Mascara: This is a mascara that is so old it should have been chucked ages ago but I loved it so much I was reluctant! But off it goes! This was a double ended product with one side defining and lengthening (I think) and the other volumizing. I did love this but have since found equally if not better mascaras that I prefer and that are a bit easier and quicker to apply. Repurchase? I don’t think this is even still sold oops.

2. Olay Moisturizing Cream for Sensitive Skin: This was my go-to moisturizer for ages and was repurchased over and over. I love it because it’s moisturizing without feeling too heavy and doesn’t irritate my very sensitive skin. At the moment I am using a couple of different moisturizers just in an effort to be more adventurous but will most likely repurchase this in the future as it’s only $10 on special and does the job well.

3. Kleancolour Waterproof Eyeliner Pen: This was a piece of crap. I didn’t get a single stupid use out of this liquid eyeliner, pretty much the worse I’ve ever tried. I got this for like $5 at Postie Plus and I wasn’t expecting anything good but I was expecting SOMETHING. This just didn’t seem to work and left watery marks all over my hand no matter how much I played around trying to encourage something to happen. I really hope I just got a dud and they aren’t all this crap but I don’t plan on buying another.

4. Natio Pure Mineral Foundation: This is another product that is quite old. There’s a fair amount left in it but I never reach for it (I don’t think I’ve used it in months) and so not much point keeping it around. It was fine but quite light coverage for a foundation and nothing special. I have BB creams and other foundations I would prefer to use up so off it goes! Repurchase? Not likely.

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5. evo:The great hydrator moisture mask: This was a sample I got in my first SampleBar pack but never quite got around to using until this year. I loved this and it did a beautiful job on the ends of my hair. I got quite a few uses because I mainly used it on my dry ends but the full size I know is quite expensive. Repurchase? If I see it somewhere I may consider but it’s a little out of my price range at the moment.

6. Kleancolour Mascara: Sorry for the extremely worn appearance of this, it was kept in my handbag, primarily for the mini mirror on the other side and as a backup mascara in case I forgot to wear and bring one. The mascara was pretty useless and dried up super quick so time to make more room for other makeup! Repurchase? Nope.

7. Vaseline Dry Skin conditioning lotion: I always try to have an abundance of creams and lotions for my dry skin and hands and this was a good backup when I ran out of my main hand cream or body lotion. Its all gone now and I may repurchase just because it‘s super cheap (around $3-4 at the Supermarket) and does a fine job when I need a quick moisture fix.

8. Cinnamon Mint Marvis Toothpaste: Another product from a SampleBar pack this was a small size of a lovely cinnamon flavored toothpaste! I rather loved this but probably won’t purchase the full size because it’s around $14 which is a little excessive for a toothpaste…

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9. Sex and the City LOVE Shower Gel: This is the shower gel that came in a pack with the LOVE fragrance and the lotion and some mini sizes of two other fragrances. This is still practically full but being chucked because it doesn’t lather up well and doesn’t seem to do much other than smell okay. I have a lot of other shower gels I would prefer to use and this one isn’t great for my sensitive skin anyway. The lotion I kept although it’s a similarly crappy quality product because it doesn’t irritate my legs and so works as a simple leg and foot lotion.

10. Cocoa Butter Formula Skin Therapy Oil: I kept meaning to review this and never did and now its all gone! This was a lovely oil product that I used in a couple of different ways. I get eczema and irritation on my hands especially and I would add some drops of this to a tub of warm water to make a nice soak for my hands. It calmed down my skin and also put a lot of moisture into it as well. I also used this straight onto any scars or skin markings and it seemed to help those heal a bit better. It was also nice to add a couple drops to my night time moisturizer for an added level of moisture and also because the various oils all helped with fine lines and dry skin. It included cocoa butter, vitamin E, Sesame Oil, Canola oil, Cetesomate-E and Rosehip oil. For $11 this was a decent product but now I am using either pure organic rosehip oil or bio oil.

11. Lioele Beyond the Solution BB Cream: My beautiful friend Mish gave me this BB cream sample and I loved it! It is an asian BB cream so has quite a different feel compared to most of the ones we find here like the Garnier. It was really good coverage unlike my other Western BB creams and also had a slightly greyer tone if that makes sense. It made me look a little pale but a touch of my powder helped with that. Definitely interested in ordering a full size online as this lasted ages with a little going a really long way.

12. Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Liner: This is probably my favorite liquid liner that I’ve tried (although I haven’t tried many). It was in my first favorites post and I was very sad when it finished. Repurchase? Most likely when I next see it on special.

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13. Paris Hilton perfume: This is so old I don’t even know if it has a name. This was one of the first perfumes I ever got and hence I didn’t ever want to throw it away. The scent originally I think was quite nice but quite young and girly so probably not something I would gravitate towards now. Also I’m certain it’s gone completely off and smells a bit rancid haha so definitely chucking now!

14. Kleancolour Wizard Pads (Nail Polish Remover Wipes with cuticle oil): First off these did not remove nail polish well AT ALL. They smudged it around a bit but I never succeeded in actually using these as nail polish remover. Once I accepted this small fact I loved these wipes! They were perfect after I used nail polish remover to get any last tiny bits off and to moisturize my cuticles. They had heaps of oil on them that felt wonderful on my nails and cuticles and one pad usually would last a couple of manicures which meant this pack lasted me ages! I also loved the cucumber scent! It was delish. I didn’t buy these, they were a Christmas gift from not last year but the year before (took me a while to start using them obviously haha) but if I do see them around I’ll definitely pick some more up.

15. Burt’s Bees Shampoo and Conditioner with Grapefruit and Sugar Beet: I won the two of these in a giveaway and was excited to try them out. These were another thing I kept meaning to review and never did. They are made with lots of organic products and stuff that’s nice and healthy for my hair which was great! The shampoo seemed to really deep clean my hair and I definitely needed the nice thick conditioner to restore some softness to it but in combination these two products worked great and my hair felt really healthy and clean. The scent is something that I think could put some people off as it is strong and smells “organic” if that makes sense… It was sweet but very citrusy from the grapefruit and I personally loved the fact that the scent wasn’t temporary and I could pick it up ever now and again throughout the day, but I know some people don’t like their hair to smell too strong. Repurchase? I’m pretty sure these are quite expensive so not sure if I will repurchase as I tend to use slightly cheaper (although not as nice) alternatives.

Whoo, that’s it. Sorry for the huge number of products. I’ll try do them a little more often so they aren’t quite so excessive haha. Let me know if you have used any of these products and what your thoughts are :)

Xx

SampleBar Glam Pack March 2013

 

Hi All! Another month, another Glam Pack to share with you all. Last month I said I was probably stopping my subscription…obviously that didn’t happen. I accidentally on purpose missed the date to cancel my subscription by and so was stuck with this month’s box haha but I’m not complaining because I rather like what was provided this month. I do plan on cancelling my subscription however we shall see if I actually make it this month. Anyway, the products this month centered around the theme of pampering oneself now that Summer has supposedly abandoned us. Here’s what I got!

Sample bar march 20131. Spa Ritual Bath Salts: These came in two little 17g sachets, I would assume enough for one relaxing soak each, however I unfortunately lack a bath in my flat and so these may be used for a foot or hand soak instead. They come with frankincense essential oil along with a bunch of sea salt and dead sea salts. They are 70% organic which is 70% great to hear and are made with vegan ingredients. All in all I’m excited to try these out and compare them to my trusty Epsom bath salts. The full size of this (220g) is $47.99 which is pretty steep compared to my $10 tub of epsom bath salts (to which I just add my preferred essential oils) so not sure I will buy this in the full size.

2. Bestow Beauty Powder: Another sachet, this time containing a bunch of flax seed, pumpkin & coconut flour, spirulina, black current extract and other good things that should ” feed your skin from within”. I love the idea of this product and the fact you can sprinkle it onto pretty much anything, from a smoothie to a stir fry, to get a boost of skin enriching ingredients. I doubt one use is at all useful in showing any kind of positive result but I still appreciate the chance to try out the product in terms of taste. The full size (300g) is available for $45 which might be a fair price depending on the nmr of uses one would get out of that size.

3. Carol Priest Almond & LemonBalm Facial Scrub: Another little sample that I was very pleased with is this little glass tub of gentle, creamy exfoliant from a brand I have never heard of. Apparently this can be left on as a rich protein mask for the skin as well which I may try! Smells interesting but in a good way and is full of nice sounding ingredients such as lemongrass (which is the main scent for me), ground almonds and other herbal oils so I am looking forward to trying this out. Also I am thankful for the decent sample size which is important when trying skin products out properly. The full size (50g tub) is $58.60 which seems a little expensive for me but we’ll see how it goes.

4. GeoSkincare Night Repair Cream: A beautiful full size of this was lovely to see when I opened the box. I am a sucker for a good night cream and have to admit I have already slathered some of this on my face! It feels rich and hydrating and a little goes a really long way. This brand, which I haven’t used before, seems to stick to healthy ingredients, steering clear of parabens and artificial fragrances which makes my sensitive skin very happy to hear. One other thing I love is that this is in a pump not a container so you get much more hygienic application! I wish more creams came like this. Full size product (50mL) is on SampleBar for $43.92 and I may consider repurchasing.

5. Model Co Eye Define Black Eyeliner: The other full size product was a black eye liner from Model Co (the same company that provided the excellent lip gloss from last month’s box). I wasn’t dissapointed or excited by this at first, I use black eye liner so nothing wrong with trying another but I wasn’t over happy. Then I tried it on my hand and was much more excited indeed! This pencil eyeliner is the smoothest I have ever tried. Its very pigmented and glides on like butter! Normally I stick to liquid or gel for a wing on my lids but this works so nicely that it turned out perfect for doing a gorgeous winged eye. Very pleased indeed and at $26 for full size I may well repurchase.

Last up were two vouchers included in this month’s box. The first is for a set of accent lashes at Cerise Lash and Makeup with no minimum spend so I will definitely try and make use of this. The second voucher is for 20% off any geocare products purchased on the sample bar website before the end of April which is great if I want to try any of their other items.

Over all I was very happy with the full size products in this month’s box and the samples were pretty good too! Makes it much harder to go through with cancelling my subscription haha (Just FYI I am not cancelling because of the quality of the box but more so because I could use the money each month on one product that I really want and with money being tight this seems like the better option)! If you would like to sign up for next month’s box head over to SampleBar (don’t worry, I don’t get any incentives for sending you there through that link).

Have a great rest of the month!

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February Favorites: Beauty!

ImageHi All!

Here are 6 beauty related products I’ve been loving this month! I haven’t been using much makeup this month hence only 2 makeup products being included but there’s a couple other things I have been enjoying for the month of February.

photo 11. Daisy by Marc Jacobs

I featured this in my recent haul post but this perfume has been a big favorite this month. Fresh and floral and perfect for the end of summer when I want something soft yet sophisticated. I can’t see myself ever falling out of love with this scent. Lasts a good few hours but is definitely subtle. I could easily see this being my signature scent and I haven’t ever felt that with a perfume before.

photo 22. Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Smitten

As you can see by the wear of this poor balm stain this has been in my handbag all month, not a safe environment for anyone. This month I haven’t been wearing much makeup but have been enjoying a pop of bright but easy colour on my lips. I love the fact these are moisturizing so I don’t have to worry about dry lips and this also lasts on me for ages! Better than other lipsticks or balm products I own. I also love these berry toned pinks. This looks a lot darker here than the pop of berry pink you get on the lips. Hasn’t replaced Honey as my favorite Balm stain of all but a close favorite.

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3. Thin Lizzy Mineral Foundation in Oriental Doll

This was another product in my rather recent haul and has been one of the only foundations I have been using this month because it is so quick and easy to buff some on before I head off. Gives  beautiful coverage without looking cakey and doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin. This shade is perhaps a tad to light for me at the moment but will be perfect in the Winter and seems to still work fine at the moment.

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4. a England in St George

This has to be my favorite nail polish of the month even though I received it pretty late into Feb. This is  a stuning teal/forest green colour that shimmers away all the time but when you step into the sun the holographic scatter throughout it really pops. This makes it a slight driving hazard I should warn you. Stunning colour with a stunning holographic shimmer. In summer the only dark colours I wear are these that are just to beautiful to wait until Winter/Autumn. If you haven’t heard of or tried a England nail polish before I highly recommend you do! They are very reasonably priced and there are often good specials on. I now have 7 in total and haven’t had any issues with them. They often only take 1 coat to be opaque!! And are always stunning and interesting colours that are hard to find elsewhere. Also, they ship world wide last time I checked, so no excuse!

photo 45. SteamCream

So this is the pot of goodness I received in my sample bar glam pack in January  and like all good sample box products it was put in some dark corner of the abyss that is my room, never to be seen again. Until a couple of weeks ago! I pulled this out just before bed to quickly moisturize my neck and decolletage area as well as my arms that were feeling a bit dry (too much info? Sorry, my skin thinks I am an alligator 90% of the time). The steamcream did a decent job of moisturizing, but so far nothing to write home about. But the reason I love this, especially before bed is the beautiful scent of lavender and orange blossom (mainly lavender but I find the orange blossom stops it being too strong, although I know lots of people dislike the lavender scent anyway). The scent of lavender always relaxes me and this is perfect to help me get to sleep.

photo 56. Pure Fiji Coconut milk and Honey hydrating body mist

Another product from the haul…sorry, totally didn’t notice this when choosing my month’s favorites haha. This is my favorite of the two scents my brother got for me. It’s subtle and yet smells like I’m on holiday. I love the soft and sweet coconut with honey combination and have been spritzing this like a mad woman on the hot days we have been having lately.

So there’s this month’s beauty favorites, what have you been loving for February? Tomorrow my random favorites should go up so see you all then!

Xx

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