Christmas Blog Swap goodies!

So sorry it has been so long since I've written a post. In October i was extremely busy studying and undertaking exams and then straight after i went back to work full time so i'm always just so exhausted and so glad the Uni semester is over because juggling full time work with full time uni is crazy and then throw in exams and crazy clients at work and it all just becomes one big blur! I needed like a month to clear my head and get back into the beauty world of things :) Life is so much more simple here.. haha

So my post tonight is actually a really exciting one for me. In my previous post down below i mentioned a Christmas Beauty Blog swap that was being organised and hosted by Jasmine at Sweetaholic Beauty. I was lucky enough to be able to participate in this swap and i was paired with the ever so lovely Robyn at Want, Buy, Blog! who is from the UK. This was my first blog swap ever and it so happened to be the first for Robyn also. We hit it off straight away, swapping and sharing beauty favourites and asking each other what we'd like to see or try from the other country. I mentioned that I'd love to try MUA, EOS balms or Sleek makeup. I wasnt really familiar with what else was exclusive to the UK but honestly i was fine with anything and just couldnt wait to get shopping for her! We also set a budget of AUD$50 because i'm sure all you Aussie girls agree that it's hard to find a decent amount of beauty products for under $50! it's just ridiculous the price we pay here. But anyways, we had agreed to post our boxes around the 26th November and that's exactly what happened. Robyn was lucky to receive mine first in under a week! I was pretty impressed with the postal service and then today... i finally received mine! and in only a week. I was so excited to come home to this: 

So many goodies!!

Sorry for the photo spam, but i was really excited lol

And now onto the good stuff.. i literally ripped everything open so fast and kept "oohing and ahhing"and everything lol

A clearer shot since the above pic showed a crazy amount of reflective glare

So happy to receive an EOS balm and in the flavour i wanted! (Didnt even mention it to Robyn, but she's amazing!)

Lip goodies

Benefit samples! How cute is the box it came in?

More samples!

Who doesnt love chocolate? I have to restrain myself from eating all this in one go!

So that's everything I received! I am so incredibly grateful for Robyn's generosity and am still speechless with all the products. I absolutely love all of them and can't wait to try them out! Am particularly excited to try the Undressed palette as i've read pretty good things about it. I'll do more detailed reviews and write-ups once i get around to using the products but for now i just wanted to share an overview of all the things i received :)

Finally, I just want to say a big thank you to Jasmine for organising such a great blog swap. I had so much fun shopping for Robyn and would definitely do something like this again. I bet it would have taken a really long time to match up the participants and get emails sent out so I do appreciate the hard work that Jasmine had put in to make this so successful :)

I'd also like to thank Robyn for being a great swap partner and for all the amazing products she included in my package. I'm going to have so much fun trying everything out :) It's sad that it's now ended but i feel like i have a new friend so im happy about that! :)

Did anyone else participate in this Christmas blog swap? I'd love to know what others received!

xx

Christmas Beauty Blogger Swap 2012

Hey Guys! The holiday season is coming up and seriously, who isnt excited? I'm already madly planning what gifts to get my family and friends and i cant wait until it's closer to December so i can just run out and shop all night long during the extended trading hours. I dont know why.. but extended trading hours always excite me, i feel like im not being rushed lol. But that's not the point of this post. What i wanted to share with you guys today is to let you guys know that the lovely Jasmine from Sweetaholic Beauty is hosting a Christmas Beauty Blogger Swap! I've always wanted to participate in one of these blogger swaps because it always looks so exciting and gives me yet another excuse to go out shopping for beauty products even if it's not for myself, i love getting things that i love for other people in the hope that they'll love it too!

The rules are listed on her blog but just to summarise for you:

1. You must have an active blog.
2. You must follow Jasmine on GFC, Bloglovin' and/or Hello Cotton (you can find the links on her blog)
3. Make sure your country will accept shipping of beauty products
4. After sending your partner's gifts, make sure you are in receipt of proof of postage.
5. Send a copy of proof of postage to Jasmine for confirmation.
6. Items sent must be new and unused.

So if you're interested, head on over to Jasmine's blog and sign up! :)

Bellabox: OCTOBER 2012!

This month is Bellabox's birthday month and they sure made sure the box was special! Compared to LHI's birthday month box, this one is waaaay better. I was so disappointed in LHI's September box as well that i ended up unsubscribing, so no box from this this month, or any other month for that matter lol.
Anyways, back onto Bellabox, this month the theme is "Pretty in Pink" and works alongside the National Breast Cancer Foundation. For each Bellabox sold, they will donate $1 to the foundation. That's amazing i think, breast cancer is something that is close to my heart so i'm very grateful for this. So what's in the box?

Sorry you'll have to excuse the poor quality, my camera has gone missing so these pics were taken with the iPhone.

As you can see there are 4 full sized products. I'm also not sure if im missing a product because on my card it says there should be an Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Instant Action Lift Treatment however... there was none in my box? :(

However I did get:

Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Extra Radiance Renewer 
30ml RRP $74
What you get: 7ml
This exfoliating serum contains plenty of ingredients to promote cell maturation, turnover and removal without causing the slightest irritation to your skin.

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Nail Colour
9.17ml RRP: $13.95
What you get: Full Size
This is such a vibrant pink colour, not sure if i would pull it off but nevertheless it's gorgeous!

DKNY Fresh Blossom Eau So Intense
100 RRP: $135
What you get: 1.5ml
I haven't smelt this yet but it's pretty self-explanatory.. perfume samples, you get the point lol 

Cedel Blow Dry Faster Heat Protector
165ml RRP: $9.99
What you get: Full Size
This 2-in-1 formula reduces blow drying time whilst protecting each strand from the abrasive heat of your hair dryer.
I'm SO happy to have received this, I blow dry my hair every single day and never use heat protectant so this is definitely down my alley and even better that it's full sized.

CARMEX moisture plus ultra hydrating lipbalm in PINK sheer tint
Full size 
I love getting lip balms and this is no exception.  I'm still using the carmex from a previous bellabox so it never hurts to have another one. I also love how it comes in the PINK to coincide with Breast Cancer research, love!

E.L.F Cosmetics Liquid Eyeliner
RRP : $3.99
What you get: Each product varies, i received the liquid eyeliner.
The colour i received was "stardust" which is a glittery lilac colour. Not sure if i like it but happy to have received it anyway.

So that's all i received in my box this month, i also just received a response from Bellabox (talk about amazing customer service) advising that i should have received everything on my card so unfortunately my poor Estee Lauder product was left out but i should receive it later this month.

What do you think of this month's box? I personally love it! x

Bellabox: SEPTEMBER 2012

Today I received the Bellabox for the month of September. I believe i may be part of the first batch that was sent out which is pretty cool. Normally I dont receive mine til later in the month so i was surprised at how quick it came this month. But hey, i'm not complaining! Let's see what came in this month's box..

All the products together (click on pic for larger view)

Benefit "It's Potent!" Eye Cream
RRP: 14g $32
What you get: 3g

This cream works to fade dark circles and helps to smooth fine lines for brighter and younger looking eyes. I'm really excited to try this! i love Benefit products and i've been on the hunt for a good eye cream so this is something i will definitely be trying out as early as tonight. How cute is the packaging also?

Bioderma Sebium Akn Purifying Corrective Care
RRP: 30ml $24.95
What you get: 5ml

This smoothing and purifying cream moisturises the skin whilst aiding in the elimination of blemishes and blackheads. The gently exfoliating agents help to keep pores clear by reducing the sebum in the skin.
This product sounds pretty amazing if it does work but I doubt i'll be too quick at using it. My current skincare seems to be working fine so i dont really want to add a new product for fear that my skin will start having crazy reactions. I'm not ready for that lol.

Bioderma Sebium Foaming Gel
RRP: 200ml $24.95
What you get: 10ml

A daily foaming gel that thoroughly purifies skin with a soap-free, alcohol-free formula and is kind to even the most sensitive of skins.
Again, sounds like it would be a good product if it does what it claims but i'm not too fussed about wanting to change my skincare anytime soon..

USPA Beehold
RRP: 150ml $32
What you get: 30ml

To be applied to strands of hair after washing, prior to styling, to create body in fine hair, curl retention in wavy hair and to provide thermal protection, plus humidity resistance.
I'm really lazy when it comes to hair care but since i've been subscribed to beauty boxes, i've been having such an influx of different hair care products, I really don't know where to start lol. This is just going to be added to the slow growing collection. I'll probably end up using it one day.

Savoir Faire Concealer Kit
RRP: $35 for full size
What you get: 4 different concealer shades and 2 samples of finishing powder.

This is a great travel sized concealer kit with enough different shades to conceal any imperfections, redness or under eye circles for on the go. I like how there's two finishing powders too for touch ups. I'm really looking forward to trying this out, i hope the concealer is impressive.

You, Me & Everybody Sumptuous Skin Mousse
RRP: 75ml $13.99
What you get: Full Size

This light, foaming formula of this gentle moisturiser is rapidly absorbed by the skin to maintain its natural moisture balance.
This is basically a body moisturiser in a mousse form which i find really interesting. As you can see, it's packaged with a nozzle which reminds me of a can of whipped cream lol. I'm intrigued to try this out just because it's kind of strange but i'm not hoping for anything spectacular.

There was also a card inside from the ICONIC with a coupon code for $15 off their website. However a minimum of $69 needs to be spent first before this can be redeemed.

So that's all for the month of September! What did you guys think? For me, i'm pretty happy with it, i can see myself using most of these products and i'm happy with the variety that was included also. Bellabox have been consistent with their products and shipping for the past few months so i have no complaints :) x

Let's talk HIGHLIGHTERS/ILLUMINATORS!

You know those people that have their favourite type of item so much so that they continuously just hoard as many as they can full knowing that they probably 1. don't need it, 2. never use it or 3. don't ever finish it. Well, i'm one of those people and i collect highlighters lol. I have serious problem where i just buy so many different highlighters even though they somewhat end up looking the same and i don't think i've ever gone through a whole tube/bottle/palette/stick before. So today I wanted to share with you guys 10 of my highlighters/illuminators that i grabbed from the top of my makeup drawers.

Most used highlighters/illuminators

 My favourite type of look is the flawless skin, fresh faced dewy glow hence why i think i buy so many of these kinds of products, so i can fake that glow! With Spring upon us and the sun coming out, i've been reaching for these products more to give myself that healthy glow.
Let's have a look at the products one by one (Swatches will be shown at the end):

Bobbi Brown Shimmer brick in ROSE.

This is a gorgeous blush but can double up as a highlighter if you use just the top 2 or 3 shades and swipe it across the cheekbones. It's quite powdery and a little chalky so i don't often reach for this as a highlighter but more as an all over blush. It's also quite pricey too here in Aus, retailing for AUD$85 for 10.3g of product.

SportGirl Glow&Behold illuminating bronzer

I purchased this back in either 2010/2011 during the Christmas season. I do remember finding out that they ended up bringing back this product but under a different name. Again, this is more of a blush/bronzer type product but the colour is so beautiful you can always just use this as a highlighter. i love love this product and i actually only JUST used it around August because i had totally forgot i had it. See what happens.. I still have the price on the back of it which says i got it for $9.95! bargain, i hope they bring it back this year!

Benefit's Highbeam

Well.. who hasn't heard of highbeam? otherwise known as "model in a bottle", or so i was told by the Benefit SA. This stuff is pretty amazing, i love using it down the bridge of my nose and on the browbone, it has a very nice glowy sheen and isn't shimmery hence why i like to use it to highlight those particular parts of my face. It's a liquid form and with 13ml of product i doubt i will ever get through a whole bottle of this. I believe this retails for around AUD$52 at any Benefit counter.

Face of Australia liquid illuminator in "Angel Flame"

I kind of stumbled across this product by accident while holidaying in Echuca in August. I'd never heard of this product before but after some research after purchasing it, i found it it was a limited edition product released in 2010 which 3 other shades (How did i not know about this!). At the time it retailed for $14.95 each for 50ml of product! I purchased this on sale in Priceline for $7.50. Had i known this was a LE i probably would have picked up an extra just for the sake of it but really, what caught my attention was the massive ILLUMINATOR sprawled across it, i could not walk away! So i'm glad i purchased it because this stuff is gorgeous. It's a very liquidy light pink illuminator with gold flecks and looks perfect on top of a rose pink blush. It just gives a really nice sheen which is how i like to wear it. So if you're lucky enough to still come across this product i definitely recommend getting it because it won't disappoint! if only i could find the other 3 shades..

MAC skinfinishes in "Whisper of Gilt" and "Superb"

These came out with the Extra Dimension collection back at the start of the year i think. Gorgeous gorgeous highlighters and I couldnt decide which one to get so i just grabbed both! I actually haven't used "Superb" yet until today and that was just to do the swatch down below. These retailed for $50 each and sold out pretty quick so i was really happy to pick these up. Whisper of gilt is a beautiful shimmery gold highlighter that is of a powdery-liquid consistency. It glides on so smoothly and again, i love to apply this to my cheekbones to give a healthy dewy glow to my face. Superb is just as beautiful but is more of a bronze colour, but has the same consistency as Whisper of Gilt. Both are gorgeous products.

Revlon Skinlights

This is a pretty old product, I don't even know if it was released here but i received it as a gift. I used to use this more often back in the days as it was one of my first highlighters/illuminators. I'm not sure if you can still find it around at discount outlets but i have seen them here before. It's a liquid form that comes out of the pump and at 44.3ml, it's taking me a looong time to get through. I doubt i'll make it halfway lol. This product is a shimmery bronze-pink which again, i use to apply on the highpoints of my face but i find that it's tends to become quite oily after a few hours and the shimmer just melts off or disappears, so i guess the staying power is not all that great.

YSL Touche Eclat

This is marketed as a highlighter but i find that it's more of a concealer. I wouldnt really apply this on my face as a highlighter because i find it doesn't really do anything in terms of highlighting. Instead i use it to brighten up any dark spots around my face, generally under my eyes and around the sides of my nose just to even and brighten up the skin tone before applying powder over it. I find it works better this way but it's probably not something i have to have. I wouldn't repurchase it for AUD$58.

Illamasqua illuminator in "Halcyon"

I purchased this from Sephora when one of my friends was coming back to Melbourne to visit. It's also my first and only Illamasqua product and coincidentally i just had to choose an illuminator. It looked really nice online so i wanted to try it out. Let me tell you, this stuff dries QUICK. By quick i mean, once applied, you barely have time to put the brush back in the tube and twist the lid to close before you touch your face again kind of quick. You literally have to apply it and then blend it in STRAIGHT AWAY or else it will dry up and will.not.move. That can be a good and bad thing i suppose. Good in that at least you know you have a super long lasting illuminator that won't melt off your face and bad because if you don't work quick you can end up having a blob of illuminator stuck on your face that you would have to literally scrub off just to start again. So it's a win-lose kind of situation. The shade i have is a white shimmery gold and because of the quick drying effect i hardly use it unless i have a lot of time to blend or else it would look like i just have a blob of glitter sitting on my face. not pretty. I'm not sure how much it retails for here or if they even stock it here but i'm more positive that they do rather than dont. I would estimate that it's probably sold around the $30 mark.

TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer

This is my newest addition to the highlighter/illuminating family. I purchased this last week in David Jones for $34.95 and it came with a free gift of the Balmbini face palette valued at $49.95. The offers still on so check it out if you're interested! (Deal is spend $27.95 or more on any of TheBalm products to receive the free gift) This highlighter is amazingly gorgeous. It is a finely milled powder that is nicely pigmented. It gives off the most natural glow compared to all the other highlighters i mentioned and is so easy to work with. If i were to recommend one product, it would definitely be this one and for 8.5g of product, it will last you a long time! I can't get over how pretty this highlighter is and i just dust it on all the high points of my face and my face just instantly lights up. Especially when i'm out in the sun i love the glow it gives me and i'm so glad i purchased this! i'm sure you can find it cheaper online so if you're interested just have a browse around, i promise you won't be disappointed!

Time for swatches!

Natural Light L-R: Illamasqua, Benefit, Face of Australia, YSL, Revlon

(Flash) L-R: Illamasqua, Benefit, Face of Australia, YSL, Revlon

Illamasqua Illuminator in "Halcyon"

I also wanted to show you guys what happened when i wiped off all the other highlighters off my arm, the illamasqua still would not budge, the staying power is amazing!

Natural light L-R: MAC "Superb", MAC "Whisper of Gilt", TheBalm, Bobbi Brown, Sportsgirl

Flash L-R: MAC "Superb", MAC "Whisper of Gilt", TheBalm, Bobbi Brown, Sportsgirl

Sorry the last two swatches aren't of great quality, my camera wouldnt really pick up the colours as much as i would have liked but i tried to categorise them into the liquid highlighters and powders.
Hope you guys enjoyed reading!

Also, i would like to know, do any of you guys collect certain products? if so, which ones?? let me know down below! :) x

Ulta3 Nail Polishes: Spring Collection!

Hey guys! I just wanted to do this little post for you. I just came back from running some errands and stopped off at the shopping centre to pick up some last minute Father's Day essentials. As i was leaving I decided to stop by Terry White Chemists because i read that they stocked the Bioderma H2O make up remover and i really wanted a full size bottle after receiving a sample in one of the Lust Have It! boxes. But to my disappointed, they didnt have any.. Oh well!
Anyways, the point of this post is when i was leaving, there was a big Ulta3 stand of makeup and nail polishes which i thought was interesting and near it was this stand:

Click on image for larger view

How pretty! This is from their spring collection named "Pretty in Pastels". I just loved every single colour and have been looking for pastel nail polishes for awhile now in the lead up to spring. As you can see there are 6 colours available and all of them are just gorgeous. They also had this promotion where if you spent $10 on ANY Ulta3 product, that is, makeup, nail polish etc, then you would receive a free tote bag which is pictured there also. The nail polishes retailed for $2, what a bargain. I don't actually own any Ulta3 nail polish so I have no idea about the quality but for $2 each I decided to give it a go. I also wanted the tote so i picked up 5 out of the 6 pastel colours.

 

L-R: Lilac Bloom, Orange Blossom, Pale Dahlia, Soft Hydrangea & Corsican Rose

 

I just can't get over how pretty these colours look in the bottle, if i hadnt just done my nails last night i would have tried these by now! I'm especially loving the mint green and pastel blue. If you guys want to see swatches of these, let me know and i'll have them up by the weekend!

So that's my post, just wanted to share this with you guys and if you're interested in picking any up, let me know! I wanna know what you think :)
x

REVIEW: One week of Génifique

See what I did there?? haha lame i know. Well if you guys had read, I recently received a prize package from Lancome which you can read about here. One of the products that i received was the Lancome Génifique 30ml bottle. I was really excited to try this out as I had thought about it previously but the price was a bit too steep for me to go out and buy (mind you Lancome have reduced the prices now across selected skincare products).

What Lancome Claims:
Lancome Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate is supposed to boost the activity of our genes so skin looks and feels younger. The 2 biotech active ingredients are Bio-Lysat – stimulates gene’s expression of the identified youth protein; and Phytosphingosine – re-establishes protein synthesis and promotes the development of higher quality, more beautiful skin.

How I used it:

For my first week trial, i decided to use it only once a day at night before bed. I just used the dropper to dispense two drops onto my hand and dabbed it all over my face before gently massaging it into my skin. It doesn't feel sticky but rather a smooth gel consistency that immediately soaks into the skin and dries up. After about 30 seconds you don't even realise you had applied anything! it instantly feels refreshing and my initial thoughts was that I was impressed!

Milky gel consistency and only two drops required for my whole face

Results:
For the first 3 days I was really impressed, I honestly thought my skin felt so much smoother, bouncier and soft however it wasnt until the fourth day of application that when i ran my fingers over my forehead I noticed little bumps and unevenness appearing. I decided to ignore it but on the morning of the 5th day after i had cleared my face, i could clearly see little red breakouts forming on my forehead. Now I wont say I've never had breakouts but generally my skin is pretty good with pimples and blemishes. It's quite rare that I do get pimples and when i do, it's only one or two here and there. But now my forehead has completely broken out and i have at least 10-15 little pimples all across my forehead which definitely was not there before i started to use the Génifique.


Also, I have another theory as to what may have caused my breakout and have also considered it may be from the WOTNOT facial cloths that i have been using that i received in the July Bellabox. I used both the WOTNOT facial cloths and Génifique on the same day and everyday after that so a combination of both or just one product could be the cause of my break out on my forehead.
However, I have stopped using both now to try and let my skin calm down before i consider using the Génifique again. I really wanted it to work for me and although i did feel a difference in my skin, i'm not game enough to keep using it with the breakouts occurring. But I havent completely given up hope yet.

So that's my review after one week of trial. Have you guys tried Génifique? or curious to try? let me know below! xx