December's farewelled products (2013 edition)

So this is my final empties post for 2013.  To tell you the truth I'm a lot more excited about my 2014 beauty wishlist which I've also been working on so I'll try to keep the rambling to a minimum.  We'll see if I can reign it in!

 

Skin care 

 

139) Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser (1 litre) - The third bottle of my favourite in-shower soap-free body cleanser used up this year. Just realised this should be included in my hand and body category where it usually lives but I've slipped up here. Whoops!

 

140) Dior Instant Gentle Exfoliant (75ml/2.6 oz) - This was one of my skincare splurges in 2013 and it was well enjoyed too!  This creamy white exfoliant is permeated with the scent of pure lily extract so it was a sensory pleasure while exfoliating.  I used this twice weekly in the shower and it did a thorough but gentle job.  I'd love to repurchase this - when my skincare stash dwindles just a little!

 

141) Milk Beauty Wipes (25 wipes) - After all this time I think I have finally met the HG of cleansing wipes! These are extra large, alcohol and paraben free, and are beaded on one side for exfoliation - let me tell you they did a fantastic job of declogging the bumpy little pores on my chin! Great resealable packaging and a lovely gentle baby powder scent too. 

 

142) The Face Shop Real Nature Mask (Aloe) - This sheet mask was refreshingly aloe-scented and lightly moisturising.  Not the most intensively moisturising I've tried but not a bad skin pick-me-up for $3AUD either! 

143) Eos Lip Balm (Honeysuckle Honeydew) - Yup I finished one of these little spheres! I found this 'flavour' very silky smooth (smoother than the medicated Tangerine I'm now using) and pretty darn addictive.  I'm usually a single swipe kind of gal when it comes to balms but with this I would just keep swiping and sweeping it over the lips - I think it was a combination of the spherical shape and the super smooth moisturising formula.  In any case these aren't expensive so I can swipe to my heart's content - besides I have four more flavours to try in my little collection! 

Hand and body care

144) OPI Expert Touch Lacquer Remover (120 ml/4 Fl.oz) - Another bottle bites the dust! I've recently found out this formula is recommended for GelColor removal, hence OPI's  "superior performance" claim.

 

145) L'Occitane Ultra Rich Shower Cream (75ml/2.5fl.oz travel size) - I was pretty pleased to find this GWP lurking in my bathroom drawer because I love this for the ultimate creamy shower indulgence! I have raved about this previously - the only reason I don't repurchase all the time is the equally indulgent price for a product that gets washed away down the shower drain.

146) L'Occitane Dry Skin Foot Cream (10ml/0.3oz travel size) - I found this during the same purge of my bathroom drawers and put it to use immediately for an overnight foot treat.  It was fantastically rich and silky on application, not surprising given the 15% Shea butter content and scented with lavender which makes for slightly fresher scented tootsies! I plan on pricing this one for a future purchase.

147) Nivea Intensive Nourishing Hand Cream (75ml) -  This rich hand cream is targeted at dry hands with its Macadamia Nut and Vitamin formula.  I'm a fan of the classic Nivea cream scent so I loved inhaling it with every application.  Despite its claims of being quickly absorbed I did find it to be on the greasy side so I used it for my overnight hand cream. 

Cosmetics

148) Mirenesse Tight Liner Hydra Gel Eye Liner (Caviar Black) - I'm absolutely kicking myself that I didn't use this gel liner more often because it dried up on me and I really did love it. Oh well. See my original mini review here.

 

149) Rimmel 100% Waterproof Mascara (Black) - My everyday workhorse waterproof mascara and not bad for a budget product. See my mascara comparison post here for more about it.

150) Essence Glossy Lipbalm (Toffee Frappucino) - This lip gloss tube was on my hit list of products to use up in 2014 but I got there earlier.  These have been discontinued a while ago so I won't bother with an unnecessary review.

 



Fragrance

 

151) Dior - Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet EDT (1ml/.03fl.oz) - This didn't make a lasting impression on me - I can only remember the lightness of the fragrance.   From the Dior website: 
"Delicate and light, Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet is a tender, floral bouquet. The Sicilian Orange Essence top note comes together with a tender floral heart, unveiling dominant notes of Peony and Damask Rose. As a finishing touch, white musk delicately envelops this springtime composition..."

 

So that's it for another month and another year's worth of empties! Now onwards with the new year and my plans to reduce my makeup collection just a little to make way for a little more luxury beauty this year as per my Beauty Diet.  Knowing that I have quite a few well used makeup items - and knowing that I finished 23 makeup items (including 1 tossed item) in 2013 - I'm pretty excited I'll succeed and can't wait to finish my first 2 items so that I can earn my first luxury makeup reward!

 

Next post:  My 2014 wishlist!

 

Revelling in rose gold...

Hello again!

I've long been a lover of yellow and white gold but in recent times (and under the influence of current trends of course) I've been gravitating to rose gold, not just for jewellery but also in nail polish and makeup. This means I became a bit obsessed and went on a little rose gold binge - particularly when it came to nail polish with all the recent rose gold releases! As it happens I already had a few rose gold makeup items in my collection so I've expanded on my original idea of a rose gold themed nail polish post to share the lot here...

Cheeks & Eyes...

theBalm Hot Mama! shadow/blush - I've had this multi-task product hidden away for months and only just started using it.  I haven't tried it on my eyes (I really should try that now that I've woken up to what the packaging was telling me!!) but I have done the blush thing.  This warm and rosy, almost peach shade is shot with golden shimmer which did scare me a little in the pan but it effectively translates to a warm luminous glow on my cheeks - love!

Maybelline Eyestudio quad (70 Copper Chic) - This quad offers a rose gold shimmer shadow as a lid shade (second from left in the palette above).  Depending on your colouring this application will either work for you or make you look a bit red-eyed and tired.  With my pale translucent eyelids and light coloured eyes I'm in that latter category BUT I've still been able to make this colour work by using it as a transition shade in crease. I'm heaving a sigh of relief here because I really wanted this shade to work for me somehow!

...& Lips...

Mirenesse Velvet Lip Lift (44) - More rose with a gold shimmer than actual rose gold.  I received this opaque gloss as a free gift with a local weekly magazine.  As you see in the swatch below this lip colour is super glossy but pigmented enough to wear alone.

Models Prefer Lip Gloss Pencil (Perfectly Polished) - I've worn this pencil a lot as you can see from the stubby looking thing above.  It's a warmer, more coppery than my Velvet Lip Lift tube and the closest to a rose gold lip colour in my collection.  I have a few of these MP pencils and love them for their easy application, as they glide onto my lips for opaque shiny colour.



Swatched Left to Right:
Hot Mama!, Copper Chic, Velvet Lip Lift 44, Perfectly Polished

Nail colours

The Face Shop (17 - Pearl Brown) - Up until a few months ago this was the only true rose gold polish in my collection.  I've had it for quite a while too!

 Sportsgirl Nail It! (Rose Gold) & Face of Australia (Studio 54) - These two Australian glitter polishes released over the past few months happen to be dupes and I don't know how I didn't figure that out until I swatched them. If you have one of these then you definitely don't need the other.

OPI (Sprung) - Deep rose gold, coppery foil released in Mariah Carey's collection.  My favourite. The end.

Swatched Left to Right:
Rose Gold layered over Pearl Brown, Pearl Brown alone, Rose Gold, Studio 54, Sprung

Do you prefer rose gold, yellow gold,  white gold or do you love all three?

Until next time.

A week of beauty discoveries (and some rediscoveries!)

The content for this post has been sitting in my camera (and my head) since before Christmas!  Late last year I wanted to do something to get out of my beauty rut so I challenged myself to either:  (a) try one new beauty item or (b) show one neglected beauty item some love every day for seven days.  It's my version of that popular 'shop my stash' idea but compressed into a single week.  Behold, the seven beauty products below and now for a mini review - I'm kind of pleased I did this now because most of these items have made their way into regular rotation...

MAC Cremesheen lipstick (Peach Blossom) - This soft, slightly shimmery shade of nude lipstick was released a few months ago in MAC's Cremesheen and Pearl collection.  I had puffed myself into an almighty obsession to buy Pure Zen from that collection but THEN I tried Peach Blossom when I finally got to the MAC counter.  It was pure love at first swatch and when the SA applied it to my lips I knew that THIS was it!  So what the H*** happened?? I got it home, put it away and forgot about it after the initial high, which is a terrible beauty crime I'm guilty of. Good excuse to take this out of storage and wear it to remind myself, right? Now that I've worn it again it's become my pink nude lipstick of choice.  It's a very soft flush of pink/peach/nude and a particularly flattering and youthful shade for me - and because it's so neutral it goes with everything!

Mirenesse Tight Liner Hydra Gel Eye Liner (Caviar Black) - I received this gel liner pen as a gift and after it sitting in the drawer for months (again) I decided to overcome my fear of fine liners and take the plunge.  The felt tip pen is much easier to use than a fine brush (fine brushes and I just don't get along these days cos they're just too dang fiddly and I'm just too dang nervous) and the sharp black line itself would not budge for the entire day until I chose to remove it.  There was no smudging, no bleeding and no dreaded transfer to my upper lid.  I don't go for the retro black eyeliner look all that often but when I do I know I can use this pen with confidence.

Rimmel 100% Waterproof Mascara (Black) - This is now my chosen waterproof mascara - yet again it had been sitting around for months beforehand!  It's a budget product which ticked all the boxes for me:  100% waterproof was not an exaggeration cos it stayed put even when I'd spent hours in the pool on holiday; the brush is soft and tapered to easily get into the lashes; the formula is quite creamy without clumping;  it thickened my lashes beautifully; and they were soft and not at all crunchy to the touch. 

MAC Veluxe Pearl Eye Shadow (Sumptuous Olive) - For some reason this gorgeous antique gold shade got buried in my makeup case, so once I spotted it I knew we had to get reacquainted!  This shade can do a smokey eye or add some glamorous oomph to an otherwise neutral eye.  After a bit of experimenting I find it works better for me as a crease shade rather than an all over lid shade but with a good inner lid highlight I can still get away with it all over my lids for an evening eye.  I'll continue to use this as an alternative to brown when I want to do a warmer, slightly shimmery eye shadow look.

Smashbox Blush Rush (Chiffon) - This blush pan is another reacquaintance from my makeup case! I do love this peach/pink for spring and summer so it was just a matter of dragging out from the deepest, darkest depths of my makeup stash. It has the teeniest bit of sparkle in the pan but this isn't really visible on my skin so I don't have to worry about sparkly cheeks! Because of my fair colouring I find a light swish of Chiffon gives me all the flush I need and it stays put for the day.  Very pretty, and I don't know why I'd neglected it when I'd loved it so much in the first place.

Tom Ford Black Orchid Eau de Parfum (1.5ml sample) - After finally trying it I'm now rationing this sample because it's wonderfully seductive and I can't afford to buy a full bottle.  This deeply exotic fragrance contains notes of:  bergamot, citrus, mandarin, black gardenia, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lotus wood, black orchid, patchouli, sandalwood, incense and vanilla.  Sound like a sexy concoction? Well, yes it is although it can be quite heavy and overpowering if not applied with restraint.  That's fine with me - I'll just use the teensiest bit!

Vaseline Total Moisture Aloe Fresh Daily Light Lotion (SPF 15) - This was the only lukewarm product I encountered in my seven day experiment.  I always like the idea of SPF products and idea of moisturising and protecting my limbs at the same time sounded doubly appealing.  The thick white lotion has a lovely refreshing aloe scent but, OMG, it took literally minutes to get that white streakiness to disappear and absorb! I'll use this on the weekends but I'm way too impatient to be using it during my early morning rush from Monday to Friday...

The swatches from left to right:
Caviar Black, Sumptuous Olive, Chiffon, Peach Blossom

 Do you ever 'shop your stash'?

Until next time.

Vita :)

Gifts & freebies! - The November 2012 edition

As you can see November has been a very generous month for beauty bounty!  Looking at the collection of lovely things above you wouldn't believe I've cut back on my beauty spending but I have not bought any of these items - I promise and pinky swear!  It's the 'haul' when you're not actually hauling thanks to generous people who understand my obsession taste (and a few local favourite magazines).

Firstly, and most importantly I'm posting this so I can say a little public 'thank you' for the gifts I've received from my family and friends. I appreciate them all.

From Boo:

Boo very kindly offered to send me Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable balm stain in Honey (such a wonderful colour - I've already worn this a few times!) but she also surprised me with:

• Covergirl BlastFlipstick blendable lip duo - 855 Minx.  I haven't seen these before! Obviously something else we don't have in Australia.  The idea is you can wear either of the two shades alone or blend to your taste. 
• Essence Lipstick - 51 Fifth Avenue.  A very pretty shimmery pink-peach lipstick for summer.
• Eyeshadow pigment samples - Steel Blue and Cheers My Dear
• Fragrance samples - Givenchy Dahlia Noir and Thierry Mugler Alien

 From my 'M-I-L':

 J isn't strictly my Mother-in-Law but she's my Father-in-Law's partner and a lovely, vivacious (and generous) lady.  She brought back this bottle of Wild Florals Organic hand and body lotion from her trip to Western Australia. 

 From Ashley:

 Ashley gave me the iconic Cherry Chapstick as she has a drawer full of them at home - brought back from the US by her boss!

Magazine freebies

 The Australian magazines were also very generously in freebie overdrive this month, so it was a good opportunity to try some new things and reintroduce myself to some of the more familiar...

 

• Lancome Juicy Tubes lip gloss.  I got this mini tube free with the November edition of Australian InStyle magazine
• Mirenesse nail polish - 11 Flapper Pash and 13 Silent Mauvey.  These were free with Australian Woman's Day magazine in a limited deal with Coles supermarkets
• Mirenesse Velvet Lip Lift Moisture Shine Gloss.  The number has already worn off this so I'm not sure of the shade but I got this free with Woman's Day magazine (again) this time in a limited deal with Woolworths supermarkets. 

Please let me know in the comments if there's anything you'd like to see swatched and/or reviewed!

That's all for tonight.

Vita :)