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

Prize Pack from Lancome

Today I was just chilling at home, doing my assignments when the post man rang my doorbell and held out a package for me. It had slipped my mind but last month when Michelle Phan came for Lancome I had won a competition on the Lancome facebook page to participate in a Google hangout live chat with Michelle and also won a gift pack valued over $300 of Lancome products. I was so excited when opening the package, which mind you, was beautifully wrapped and i regret not taking a photo of what it looked like when it arrived. But it's okay, the products make up for it!

Top of the box has the logo of the Lancome rose

The box was very study and looked so elegant. It was wrapped with sparkling silver ribbon too!

The contents! :D

All the beautiful products

The products I received were the Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara, Rouge in Love lipstick in 340B, Vernis in Love nail polish in 179M, Genifique 30ml and Blush Subtil Rose in #40 Rose Rouge.
I am absolutely ecstatic to have received these products as I do love Lancome products however can't bring myself to always be buying new products. It's more of a splurge for me when i do so now i have 5 new products to try out before having to make that trip to the counter :)
I was also planning to get the Doll Lash mascara because I had a 2ml sample that I love but tried not to use for fear of it running out and $52 for a mascara is not really my thing as i prefer to spend more on face products such as foundation or skincare. So i'm really happy to have the full size. Also, I had intended to try the Genifique but again, the price tag was a little on the expensive side so i was holding off it, but now, no need!

If you guys would like any reviews, let me know and i'll make a note to fulfill that request. I might do a review on the Genifique though and let you know if there are any results!

x

MYER Melbourne Masterclass with Michelle Phan!

Last night i attended the MYER Melbourne's Michelle Phan Masterclass. It was definitely one of the more special nights I've had in a long time. It was held in the Myer Bourke Street Mural Hall which is one of the prettiest venues I've ever been in, the atmosphere was very classy and elegant and we were provided with Champagne, sparkling water and light finger foods. The event was supposed to start at 6pm but I dont think Michelle was introduced until about 6:30pm. She started by speaking a little about how she came to where she is today and provided some basic make up tips. I actually thought she would be doing some demonstrations with models however she didn't. After that, we were given a photo opportunity with Michelle and also the chance to walk around to different areas of the hall that were set up with Lancome's products. Overall, I think the event didn't even last for over an hour but apparently she had a flight to catch straight after so they were probably trying to fast track everything. Nonetheless, it was definitely a night to remember! I ended up picking up the limited edition Michelle makeup kit, which is actually really pretty! I didnt think i would like the palette after seeing it online but in person the colours are really gorgeous!

Michelle and I!

Champagne!

Michelle Phan!

  

My friend and I :)

Did anyone else attend? If you did, say hi! :) x

Real Techniques Brushes

Wow I'm really on a roll today with the posts. I think I just had too much to update on but because of school and work I just don't have the time to space out my posts so as soon as I have a chance I may as well get it all out. Sorry!

But I just wanted to let you guys know that today I received my package from iherb containing Real Technique makeup brushes by Samantha Chapman. Actually, the first time I came across these brushes was in Priceline but my gosh they were expensive. The Core collection was $44.99 and just the singular brushes were almost $20 I think. I'm so glad I didnt purchase them there and then though (something I would usually do) because I really wanted to read reviews on them first before I spent the $$$. Lucky I did though because not only did it assure me that the brushes were good quality but I also discovered that I should purchase them from iherb.com for less than half the price!

I ended up buying the Core collection, Starter set, blush brush and stippling brush and all this costed me just a few dollars more than what it would be if I just bought the Core collection at Priceline. I dont know about you but I always feel awesome after discovering bargains!
Now I know that if it's your first time browsing iherb.com the website might look a little dodgy and not flashy, but I speak from experience that i had a smooth transaction and although hesitant to purchase from the site, it all worked out fine and as you can see the brushes came all in one piece.
I live in Melbourne and it took just under 2 weeks for them to arrive. I've had a feel and this brushes are amazingly soft, I cant wait to try them out!
If you're thinking of buying from the site, they also sell Ecotool brushes, Physician's Formula makeup and various other brands, just do some browsing and you may be surprised by what you'll find. Here's a coupon code as well for $5 off your first order. BIM269. 

Have you guys tried or are interested in trying out the real techniques brushes? let me know! x 

 

 

Queen's Birthday Retail Therapy

Come and gone was our last long weekend for another good 4 months or so and what better way to spend it than to go shopping. Actually, I really had nothing else to do and I couldnt stand staying in bed for another day so off to Chadstone I went. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular but like that has ever stopped me! I did manage to pick up a few things that I'm happy with.
First thing was this pack from Lancome:

I already had sample sizes of the Hydra Zen Moisturizer and the Galateis Douceur from a promotion some months ago and I really loved them that I had planned to buy the full sized products when I had the chance but they're actually quite expensive my themselves that I never had the courage to splurge on them. From memory, the full size of the Galateis Douceur cleansing fluid for the face & eyes is around $65-$70 which in my opinion was a little excessive for make up remover but I did love it a lot. I havent even finished my sample size as I've been using it sparingly only for when I am wearing heavy eye make up. That goes the same for my sample size of the moisturizer which i am slowly running out of, I have about 3 days worth left. So thank goodness today whilst browsing through Myer, Lancome had a few specials on. There were a bunch of eye shadows and skincare products on a clearance table but nothing really caught my eye, except for this pack which was on sale for $85. The Hydra Zen comes in a 50ml size and the toner and cleanser come in both at 125ml. I havent actually tried the toner before so i'm excited to try it out but as soon as i came across this pack i knew i had to get it as 2 out of 3 products I am already using and loving so there was no way i could walk past this.
The thing I love about the Hydra Zen Moisturizer is that it leaves my skin feeling hydrated all day. It doesnt feel oily or sticky but rather smooth and refreshed. It doesnt feel like my pores are clogged like other moisturizers tend to do for me so it'd be hard for me if i had to switch.
The Galateis Douceur cleansing fluid is amazing! I loved it from the first time I ever tried the sample. I use it on a cleansing pad and just swipe it over my face and eye make up and everything just wipes straight off. Not only that but it leaves the skin feeling so smooth and soft and you can actually feel like its being moisturized while taking off your make up. It's a refreshing feeling and i just love it. So happy i have a bigger bottle.

Another product I picked up is something I've recently come across from a friend of mine. If you're clumsy like me, then this might just be your saviour. Introducing the Hollywood Stain Remover Pen:

This product has seriously become my new best friend. I picked it up in Priceline for $5.99 and just keep it in my handbag and can guarantee it will come in handy. I go out a lot to eat and just in general spill lots of random things all over my clothes and the last thing i want is little food stains in random places all over my clothes. My friend introduced me to this one day when i was annoyed at my self for splattering noodle soup all over my work top and she pulled this out of her bag and told me to use it. I did, and boy was I impressed. It had completely disappeared and so from there, I made a mental note to get myself one of these life savers. I took the liberty to doing a demo for you guys to see and judge for yourself what you think and maybe it'll be a life saver for you too :)

1. I splattered some soya sauce onto a t-shirt - common thing to do right?

2. Placing the pen onto the stain, just gently push down to let the product come out

3. Keep pushing on the pen until the stain liquid remover covers over all the of the stain area

4. When you're done it should look like a wet patch - i know it doesnt look very appealing but wait for it..

5. Drying... 5 mins later..

6. 10 minutes later and done! no more stain, a complete life saver!

So if you're like me and find yourself spoiling your clothes with random stains then I recommend you pick one of these up, you won't regret it :)

Finally, to finish of this blog post, just a random non beauty related item, I bought this work dress. I love the design and colour and the fit of it just flatters my body and i fell in love! For $45 I couldnt put it down:

 

 

So that's what I got up to on this public holiday, did you guys hit up the stores too? let me know! x

Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner

I was strolling though Target the other day looking for stockings and decided to check out the cosmetics section and to my surprise most of the brands were on sale. I was looking through Maybelline, I think it was 25% off all products and I've noticed the gel liners before but for the first time in a long time i finally found it in the shade "eggplant". I remember seeing this shade when they first came out along with the standard black and a brown i think. But after awhile when i decided i finally wanted one, i really wanted it in the eggplant - purple shade, but could not find it anywhere, i was certain it was discontinued or no longer stocked. So i was so excited when i found them in the Target Store on Bourke Street and at 25% off, even better! These retail for around $16 if i recall correctly and it went down to around $12. I did try to swatch it but my camera just wouldnt focus so unfortunately I can't show you what it looks like but it is gorgeous! It is a deep purple with very fine gold flexes. I didn't expect the shimmer but it's actually very pretty and after swatching it on my hand i ran my fingers over it trying to rub it off and it would not budge. No smudging - nothing. I'm definitely going back to pick up the black one.

**ALSO, if you live in Melbourne and get a chance, head down to Priceline as they're having some awesome sales on cosmetics until Monday 11th June.

Let me know if you go and what you bought, if anything :) x

Tokuya Japanese Discount Goods

So yesterday while roaming around in the city, I visited a little Japanese discount store in Bourke Street. I'd been there before but I always find these kinds of stores a little interesting. My favourite section of any store really is the cosmetics section and I always find myself spending a really long time looking at all the products but I don't actually ever buy any just because I don't feel that they would be any good.  I mean everything is $2.80 - how good can the quality be? Well.. I'm about to find out. I managed to pick up a few things that I was curious to try:

(Left to Right: Half Lashes, Concealer pen, Mascara, Concealer stick, Brow Pencil)

I spent a long time trying to pick out products to try and I had an amusing time trying to test out my Japanese ( I studied Japanese throughout highschool and did a semester in Uni) by reading the products. To my amazement, I was able to choose the colours of the concealer stick so I was a little useful. Anyways, I couldnt decide which concealer stick to get as there were two and one of them is double ended, so in the end I just bought both of them to compare. With the mascara, well I thought it was mascara but as it turns out it is a clear liquid that I cant decide whether you apply before or after actual mascara as it is supposed to hold the curl. So today i did end up using it and applied it BEFORE my mascara and I must say it does pretty good at holding a curl. I'll have to use it a few more times and maybe try applying it AFTER mascara to see the difference. I also used the brow pencil today and I really like it. I bought it in brown and it comes with a spool at the end of it - it's my first time using a brow pencil as i generally just use my Benefit Brow Kit but it just takes so long to fill in my brows i wanted something quick and easy for when i'm on the go. I actually really like this one so far.
I haven't had a chance to use the concealer sticks yet or the eyelash so I'll keep you guys updated on those at a later time. Has anyone else tried and loved the make up products sold at these kinds of Japanese discount stores? let me know x

M.I.A

Wow if there has ever been a fail blogger it would probably have to be me, right? I can't believe my last post was back in 2010 and ironically at the end of my last post it had something along the lines of "hopefully i won't take too long" to add another post.. oops lol. So in that time all the way until now so much has happened and changed that i probably won't get into because that would just take epically long and i really don't want to bore you guys to death about my life story lol. All that's important i guess is that I have time to blog and things to blog about now so let this be a new chapter to my blogging attempt and see just how consistent i can be :) as a result, i may be doing multiple posts in a single day but hey, i have a lot to make up for! Enjoy :) x

p.s. i couldnt resist but sharing a little something, how cute is my new puppy i bought just over a month ago? he's the newest baby in the family!

Why I Started on Youtube?

So.. you may or may not be wondering why i started to do makeup videos on Youtube. I know that before i got into this i, myself, wondered how or why girls did this. So here is my answer. I started watching makeup tutorials around May-June 2008. That was pretty much the first time i discovered the beauty community on youtube. (it was also the first time i really used youtube. Before that i kind of didn't know too much about Youtube or what it was LOL) It was kind of by accident as i had somewhere to go and i wanted to try to do a smokey eye but i had no idea how. And as an act of impulse i randomly typed in 'smokey eye' into youtube not really expecting much. But!! my gosh.. i felt like i unlocked this world of awesomeness LOL. Not only were there tutorials for smokey eyes but there was so much makeup tips and tricks i was completely shocked. From there, i created a random youtube account and started subscribing once i figured out how to (i'm pretty slow lol). So from there on.. i started practising whenever i had the time.. i started to pick up on the tips and started to find what worked best for me. It takes a lot of time and patience. The first time i tried a smokey eye, i wore it to the function i had to go to, being proud of my achievement, but when i look back at the photos now, i definately resembled a panda bear. LOL. I can't believe i went out like that. Although.. they are good memories, i would like to think i have gotten better now.. i hope.
So anyway, it was from there on i kind of spent my spare time watching these videos, i have a few favourites, and when i can, i practice. Now, i'm not really a artistic, creative type of person. i pretty much suck at any type of drawings etc so it took me a long time to really get anywhere makeup wise. On top of that, i didn't know there were so many brushes involved! i 100% before youtube had no idea about brushes, i didn't even know that so many different brushes were used for different techniques. i know.. im so sad lol. But you know, it takes a really long time to learn all of this, well for me anyway. It's because of youtube, i own so much makeup (for my personal use). It's definately not alot compared to the other gurus, but it's alot compared to what i would have owned if i didnt get involved with Youtube. I never really took interest in cosmetics before this time, but it's only now, i know that makeup is something i love doing.
So why post videos? Well.. i wanted to give back from what i learnt. I know that there are so many talented gurus on youtube, so so many and it would take me years and years to reach their levels. But instead, i want to take it one step at a time and help those that want to start just the way i did. I know how helpful it is to watch someone who also just starts out with makeup and keeps the tutorials simple. That's what i'm aiming to do. Simple and quick. Well, that's the stage that i feel i'm at. I'm not going to say i'm a pro or anything because i'm no where near, i'm only starting also :) it took me awhile to build up the courage. I'm usually a shy person so to put myself out there seemed like a risky thing. But i thought to myself, what do i have to lose? Basically if i uploaded this video then a lot of people that i don't know may or may not watch it. But i was intrigued to see if anyone would. And they did..sort of. It took me a long while to start putting up more videos after my first one but now it seems to be ok, i think i'm slowly getting there..
My highlight of my short youtube time would have to be co-hosting BlogTV with MichellePhan aka RiceBunny. It was kind of a spur of the moment but it was definately memorable. Even though i didnt say much, i was too shocked haha and also because my net was lagging hardcore >_< but she is definately a big inspiration to me so i was excited :)

But yeah.. this is so long! lol i didnt expect it to be this long but basically you get the idea as to how and why i started youtube videos. I hope this kind of lets you know about where i came from and into youtube and for those that want to get into it, give it a go! you have nothing to lose :)

-N