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Things I’ve Recently Bought

May 4, 2014

Check out the things that I recently bought!

First up, the L’Occitane counter. I was looking for something to even out my skin tone and nourish my skin. The Immortelle Brightening line has concentrated anti-ageing properties with brightening properties. Made from a flower from Corsica (a daisy), it reduces wrinkles and leaves skin looking more uniform and radiant.

The Brightening Moisture Mask gives real hydration to the skin and preserves a youthful glow. It also protects against free radicals and firms skin. The stuff also smells amazing!

The Essence is a serum that does a similar thing, although probably to a greater extent. The Mask I will use daily, but this serum probably only once a week. It stimulates collagen production, diminishes age spots and smooths skin.

Essie nail polishes! I wanted to get some more natural pinkish colours as well as a nice gold. I picked up Blanc, Ballet Slippers, Fiji and Good As Gold.

How pretty does the gold look! I think it would look really nice if I painted it with Mint Candy Apple. Gold and mint are my favourite colours right now. Can’t wait to try all these colours on!

Last couple of things I picked up was from Bourjois. If you don’t have the Bourjois brand near a cosmetic store near you, you can buy these online here. I was looking for something similar to a tinted moisturiser. I’ve heard a lot about CC creams lately. Apparently CC stands for ‘Colour Correcting”. It’s meant to address issues like redness and will have more of a whippy, fluffy feel and finish. I am a HUGE fan of the Bourjois brand, so pretty much headed straight for this. It contains SPF 15, has 24 hour hydration, and contains 3 colour pigments – apricot for anti-fatigue, green for anti-redness, and white for concealing.

While I was over near the Bourjois products, the Shine Edition Lipsticks caught my eye. Maybe it was the pretty packaging (I bought the lipstick in Rose XOXO, and the packaging is a teal colour). I’ve used this lipstick quite a bit already and I absolutely LOVE it. It’s super moisturising, like a balm, but it also has an amazing rich colour. I really really want to pick up more!

Things I’ve Recently Bought

February 9, 2014

You guys would’ve been so proud of me! I haven’t gone on a beauty shopping trip for aaages and this is actually pretty controlled of me! I also had a list, and only got items on the list. I mean, there were a lot of temptations, like the ENTIRE Kiehls counter – but I mentally stopped myself. (Suggestions on the best Kiehls products please comment below!)

From MAC, I picked up the Shadow Pigment in Naked. I don’t have that much experience using pigments but the colour is really pretty! It blends right into your natural skin colour but leaves this really nice shimmer on the lids.

I visited the Benefit counter and bought their Speed Brow. I’ve been really into doing my brows lately – shaping, tweezing, filling… the whole shebang! Sometimes, I can go out with just mascara and my brows done, and I’ll be a happy camper. Every day I’ve been filling them in with powder but don’t have anything to set them with.

I got the TheBalm’s Mary-Lou Manizer from DJs which is a really REALLY R.E.A.L.L.Y pretty highlighter. I’ve been using it on the tops of my cheeks but also in the inner corners of my eyes. I think it would make a nice eyeshadow colour too. TheBalm is a brand I want to get to know more of… intimately! Every single time I visit that tower of cosmetics I am just SO tempted to get more. And their prices aren’t half bad either – but most of the time, they’re always really low on stock! Their Nude ‘Tude Eye Shadow Palette is on my wishlist!

From Priceline, I went to the Almay section and picked up their Intense i-color Smoky-i Kit for Brown Eyes. The Almay brand is quite clever because they section their products according to your eye colour. They say purple eye shades go well for brown eyed beauties (like myself). This trio comes with a lid colour, crease colour and a highlight colour.

Last but certainly not least, I got a couple of Origins products. Origins is a brand that’s been on my radar for a while. I’ve been desperately wanting to try their stuff but didn’t know what to start with. Their Ginzing Eye Cream and Drink Up Overnight Mask are two of the most talked about products in the online beauty community – and for good reason too! I have been absolutely loving it so far and will probably do a full review later on. I definitely have my eye out for more!

Lip Balms

November 11, 2013

One of my fave essential beauty products I buy regularly (for several reasons) is – a lip balm! There are SO MANY lip balms out there – all with different purposes. It’s the beauty product that gets applied several times during the day, and because of that, the one that gets misplaced the most often!

I have yet to find the perfect lip balm that has everything – good moisturization, smells nice, feels smooth on application, protects lips and lasts long. If anyone can recommend me their absolute favourite lip balm, do please share! All of these outlined below are good contenders!

Smith’s Rosebud Salve – Minted Rose Lip Balm – $29.95 (for set of 3 including Original and Strawberry)
This one is a popular one amongst the online beauty world. I think the scent is really nice (a mix of mint and rose) and I love the vintage package tin. It’s also massive. The texture of the balm is very slippery and greasy though (petroleum-based) when applied to lips. It’s good at treating – has this minty cool feeling on the lips, but doesn’t last very long. I like it to smooth dry lips, but then would still apply a thicker balm on top to moisten.

Burt’s Bees Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm – $4.99
I love Burt’s Bees lip balms. I have the Mango one that I carry in my bag but might have to swap it out for this one. It contains more butters (Kokum, Cocoa and Shea) than wax so it’s not thick but hydrating. It’s Hypoallergenic and provides 4 hours of moisturization. It smells a little of honey and lemon.

Blistex Lip Conditioner – $4.99
Blistex is another good conditioning lip balm. It protects from the sun, wind and cold – stopping dry lips and treating sunburned lips. This also contains SPF 15. If you’ve used Blistex before, you’ll know that slight stingy feeling you get when applied to lips to let you know it’s working and that strong scent.

Maybelline Baby Lips Love Colour – Pink Lolita – $3.95
I also have this balm in Berry Crush and I’ve already expressed my love of it. It’s a balm, but also provides a hint of colour to the lips so I use this instead of lipstick sometimes.

Nivea Lip Butter – Caramel Cream – $5.69
A few months ago, I was obsessed with this! The smell of this lip balm is my favourite scent ever – EVER! It smells like caramel popcorn. I’ve stopped using this when other lip balms caught my eye, but just smelling this again – I’m going to have to declare my love all over again. The formula is dermatologically approved and contains Shea Butter and Almond Oil. I also love the round flat tin.

Lucas’ Papaw Ointment – $4.99
This is Australian made and owned and a cult favourite down under. It has many uses not just for cracked lips, but can be used for chaffing, nappy rash, and treating dry skin. Made from fresh Australian papaw and is really moisturizing to the lips.

Lanolips Lemonaid Lip Aid – $15.99
Heard many a good things about Lanolips and it seems like it’s right to do so! It smells like Lemonade, comes out thick but melts in and is really hydrating and conditioning on. There’s no petroleum and it’s main ingredient is Lanolin which is a wool wax. This wool wax comes from sheep (duh) which helps them waterproof their coats and protects it from the climate and environment. It also has a bit of a sparkle.

Nuxe Reve de Miel – $19.95
Another favourite balm circling around. It smells like honey and lemon but with a slight nut scent too. It has a rich melting texture restoring softness and comforts damaged lips. Although I like what it does to the lips and the smell, I don’t quite like the texture.

Dior Creme de Rose Lip Balm – $32.95
Yes, it’s a doozy! Over $30 on a lip balm? You’ve gone bananas! This is a favourite amongst many Beauty Guru YouTubers. And I have to agree. The smell is divine. Smells like roses. The texture is so so soft and so so smooth. Many people have complained that the packaging is lacking. But I actually adore it! I think the plain white tub with the ‘CD’ logo embossed into it is beautiful! Probably my favourite out of the bunch!

Tell me your favourite lip balm!

Going Nutty

September 3, 2013

I recently visited The Body Shop on a mission to pick up a few items. A couple of months ago I bought the Brazil Nut Body Scrub, and I absolutely FELL IN LOVE with it. I will probably do a proper review on it later because… I just need to talk about how great it is. But then I found out about all the other lovely products in the same range! If I can try and describe the scent – it’s a very sweet, creamy, caramel, nut scent.

So I picked up the Brazil Nut Shower Cream and the Brazil Nut Body Mist. Both had testers in the store and as soon as I opened the cap and smelled it – I was sold! The Body Mist is fantastic because now I can actually spray the scent on and smell it all day long!

I intended to pick up another Brazil Nut Body Scrub but then saw the Coconut Body Scrub. After a whiff of that, I decided to get that instead seeing as I already still had some of the Brazil Nut left and I also love the Coconut’s body butter. But I will definitely need to pick up another Brazil Nut Scrub before they discontinue it!

Anyone else loving these as much as I do?