Lust Have It! October box

I was actually unaware that I would be receiving this box so it was a lovely surprise to have it arrive today! After receiving the September box and being very happy with it, I was excited to see what this box would offer.

 Included flyers...there were also some vouchers included for Le Tan, a wine offer and The Iconic. 

 Le Tan Wash Off RRP $14.99 for 100mL

Ritual Salvation Shampoo and Conditioner RRP $25 for 300mL

 Princess Skincare Hyaluronic Acid Mask RRP $25

Paula's Choice Oil Blotting Papers $10.50 for 100 sheets

Inika  Mineral Eyeshadow RRP $25

Le Tan Wash Off

Well, considering I'm brown by default I won't be using this but I still appreciate it! It's a decent size and it makes a great addition for the warmer months. I have already organised to pass this on to a pasty friend.

Ritual Salvation Shampoo and Conditioner

I've never heard of this brand and I love trying out new hair care products so I'm looking forward to giving this a go. I also like that its a 50mL sample, not sachets - they are useless for haircare samples because you want to see how your hair likes a product after a few uses, not just one use.

Princess Skincare mask

This seems like a really cool idea but I'm not into masks so I've passed this onto my mum. Very interesting addition though :)

Paula's Choice Oil Blotting Papers

Another brand I'm not familiar with. I have never used blotting papers so this will also be great to try out. Perfect timing too!

Inika Mineral Eyeshadow

This product was being hyped up in the last box and I think it's quite a generous sample. I've included a photo of the colour I received below. To be honest, yellow eyeshadow doesn't appeal to me so I will pass this on to someone else. But again, I still appreciate its presence!

Smitten Cosmetics Whipped Foundation (below) RRP $25 for 30mL

This product gets its own photo because I'm super excited about it. I think this product alone makes the box worthwhile. I have not heard of this brand but it sounds like a fabulous product. I'm on a bit of a foundation craze at the moment and actually just bought a mousse-type foundation yesterday so I can't wait to give this one a go. I got the shade cappucino (there are 6 shades), I haven't swatched it but I think it'll be a good match.

15mL sample

Overall this box is full of great products, many of the brands I have not heard of and I love trying new brands out. If you're interesting in subscribing to LHI, feel free to use my discount code to get $5 off your first box :)

Do you enjoy beauty subscription boxes? What do you think of my box?

Product was provided for consideration and has been reviewed in accordance with my disclosure policy

Seche Vite Dry Fast topcoat review

I would be lying if I said I didn't sing my praises about this product to the world. I've converted a few of my friends over to Seche, since becoming quite the lacquerista, and they are stoked about it, which makes me wonder why I had never written a review on this! I'm writing this review for a fellow blogger, Sunshine, over at littlemissscb.blogspot.com.au! 

I'm going to start off by saying this...you don't realise just HOW good it is until you can't use it! I was waiting on my order from the US and ran out of my previous bottle so I had to make do with a cheapo in the meantime. Ugh...how I don't miss sheet marks, discoloration and super long dry times!

SV dries hard in about 10 mins and is the shiniest, glossiest topcoat ever. It really extends the wear time of your polish so it can make even the most chip-prone polish wearable for a few days. I usually do my nails shortly before bed but my nails look perfect in the morning. 

There are a few negatives though. It's a very thick formula, so I find that once I reach 1/4 of the bottle left, I can't use it anymore...it becomes impossibly thick and draggy. This is wasteful and annoying. Also, it does cause shrinkage (which looks like tip wear). 

HOWEVER, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives so if you have been tossing about trying this out - DO IT! You won't regret it :) (and if you do, feel free to send your unwanted bottle to me haha)

What's your HG topcoat?

Rimmel Match Perfection blush

When I saw this Rimmel blush (medium/dark) on sale, I definitely had to buy it.

If you've tried the Stay Matte powder, you'll know that the packaging is flimsy - same goes here, the lid doesn't really stay on very well. That aside, look at how pretty the design is! I almost don't want to ruin it.

I fancied sitting outside in the sun...and taking makeup pictures, of course!

I know a lot of people hate this blush because its not very pigmented and is a bit powdery, but this is one of the reasons I like it. In the morning when I'm rushing to get ready, I find that a pigmented blush may take a bit longer to apply - to blend it out and make sure its not overdone. This blush is great because it can be built up so I don't need to worry about overdoing it! I use my Real Techniques blush brush to swirl the colours together to create a gorgeous deep pink. 

There is also a medium and light version which has similar shades but lighter, obviously, but I doubt those colours would show up on me at all!

All in all, I think this is a nice blush if you have a heavy hand when applying blush and if the colours appeal to you. I bought this on sale because I don't think I'd pay full price for it.

Have you tried out this blush?

Nak Argan Oil

There are many different types of hair oils available, but something I have come across less frequently is an oil spray. Nak Aroma Oil Spray* contains argan oil, intended for use as a leave-in shine spray treatment - how cool is that? 

The spray comes in an amber bottle with a nozzle. When I first used it, I was concerned that it would be too greasy but after I sprayed it onto my hand, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was very light weight. I use it in damp hair to give it some extra shine after drying, and it also allows for heat protection! I found that because my hair was much smoother, it didn't take me as long to straighten. 

Sometimes after straightening, if there are any frizzies, I spritz through another spray just to add some extra shine and to smooth down my hair. 

Not only does it do a great job at smoothing my hair and adding shine, it also smells really lovely, like cherries! It's not too overpowering though and it doesn't linger in hair. 

Final verdict? This is a great argan oil product which I think would be particularly good for those who may have oily hair but still want to try out a hair oil. The spray format allows the oil to diffuse evenly so there is less chance of 'over-oiling' so you have much more control over how much you use! 

Interested? Head over to Buy Haircare Direct, where you'll find a huge range of salon quality hair products at affordable prices. Don't worry, shipping is very reasonable too - only $6.95 which is a lot less than many online retailers! You can filter the products by hair type which is great - I find myself browsing the dry hair section a lot! The next thing on my list from BHD is the Argan mask hair treatment.

Have you bought from BHD before? What are some of your fave hair products?

*product was provided for consideration and has been reviewed in accordance with my disclosure policy. 

FOTD by Rimmel

If I had to choose a favourite drugstore brand, Rimmel would probably be up there! I am definitely a drugstore makeup kinda gal and I own many Rimmel products. They've blown me away this year with some fantastic products (Apocalips, anyone) and my collection has grown.

Here is a simple FOTD using Rimmel only...

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Drop of Sherry

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 300 Sand

Rimmel Match Perfection concealer in 060 Natural Beige

Rimmel X10 volume flash mascara

Rimmel Match Perfection blush in Medium/dark

Rimmel, Rimmel, Rimmel...whoa I wrote that a lot of times. 

Basically my face looks like crap today because I haven't had a day off in about 10 days and I'm just so exhausted. Luckily the foundation freshens me up a bit! I intend on doing a review on the foundation fairly soon as part of my Foundation series. In a previous FOTD, I used the Rimmel BB cream + Stay Matte powder as a base which was also decent so I think Rimmel does good base products!

This was the first time I used the Match Perfection blush and I love it - its not super pigmented which is actually why I like it, it's easy to build up to a natural flushed colour. 

The mascara is nothing special, I'm just trying to use it up and the concealer was included in my makeup favourites from a little while ago! 

With the lipstick, I've only dabbed a little bit on because it was daytime and I didn't really want to be sporting red lips. 

I also have quite a few Rimmel nailpolishes which I really like because they're all generally very affordable. As I said, I haven't had a day off in a while so I haven't been able to wear any bright/glittery colours (omg so sad) but the neutral colour I'm wearing now is actually pretty nice!

Rimmel 60 seconds nail polish in 500 Caramel Cupcake

I guess nude nails aren't so bad after all!

Anyways, now tell me, are you a Rimmel fan?

PS - My giveaway closes in a few days, make sure you enter :)

Giveaway: Airwick multicolour candle!

Did you read my previous post on the Airwick multicolour black edition candle? If not, I'll give you a brief overview.

Basicially, its a pretty candle that changes colour when lit and smells divine! It has a long burn time and is a really lovely decorative addition to have.

One of the colours the candle glows!

So I'm giving one lucky reader a chance to have their own colourful air freshener to enjoy :) just follow the simple steps below!

Giveaway description/rules

1. AUSTRALIA ONLY. Sorry international readers!
2. Winner will be determined at random by Rafflecopter
3. I will contact the winner via email and will wait 48 hours for a response. After that, I will do a redraw.
4. The winner will receive the prize from a PR company I work with so I'll be sending your details to them, hopefully you are happy for me to do so. (don't worry, they are lovely!)
5. The options to enter include follow by GFC (mandatory), Twitter and Instagram...if you're already following me on these accounts then just tweet me/comment on an IG photo!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Best of luck!

Arbonne Makeup Primer

Primer is one of those items in a makeup routine that is easily overlooked, but it's something that is important in protecting your skin against makeup and also extending the longevity of your foundation! Until a few months ago, I did not really bother with it, but now I've been learning more and more about how it really is an important step.

The Arbonne Makeup Primer* is actually Arbonne's #1 selling product - so straight away that tells me its good! It contains some really good ingredients, which is a refreshing change from all the nasty things we are exposed to on a daily basis. These include things like green tea leaf extract and grape seed extract which are important in skin conditioning.

First impressions - it is a sleek bottle and this sounds strange but I like that its square! It is opaque, so I can't see how much is inside, this might be a little annoying later on, but otherwise, the packaging is quite practical. I got really excited about the pump, it makes everything so much quicker and allows for less waste! Yay for pumps!

With one pump, you get a decent amount of primer, just about enough to cover your face. I think this product is actually magical - it feels so smooth and velvety upon applying, like nothing I've ever experienced before, and it does not leave any greasy residue behind. It just melts into your skin! It does a great job at smoothing out my skin, not that I have too many lines on my face at this age, but its still appreciated.

It makes a wonderful base to apply foundation on. It just glides over the top and makes it easy to blend, also allowing to use less foundation than normal. This goes really well with the Arbonne foundation (review to come shortly). 

As for wear time, an average day for me is anywhere between 7-10 hours, and I found my makeup held up all day, despite the heat and my currently oily (PMS) face. 

I haven't really got anything bad to say about this at all, it really is a wonderful product to have in your collection. The price is a little steep, but it works out not so bad when you consider how little you need to use, so it will last quite a while!

Does this primer sound like something you'd like to try out for yourself? If you're interested, head over to Tammy's Arbonne consultant page where she'll be more than happy to chat with you about Arbonne!

*product was provided for consideration and has been reviewed in accordance with my disclosure policy.

July - September Empties

I think I'll do an empties post every three to four months now, because I don't really use up that much in a month. So, here is what I've emptied up since July...

L-R

The Body Shop Strawberry Shower Gel

Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara

The Body Shop Brazil Nut Body Butter

Palmers Cocoa Butter lotion

Coles nail polish remover

Nivea Repair and Protection lip balm

Batiste dry shampoo (Brunette)

Seche Vite Dry Fast top coat

The Body Shop shower gel

It smells nice, but I don't think its anything special. This is my second or third bottle of this particular shower gel and I'm really over the smell so I'm not repurchasing. I'm using a Palmolive body wash at the moment which I like loads more actually.

Covergirl mascara

This was really hyped up a few months ago. While it was a good mascara and lived up to its no clump claim, it fell short of what I want in a mascara. This one does lengthen lashes, but I like length AND volume/thickness. I prefer Rimmel mascaras, they are cheaper and for me, they do a good job. 

The Body Shop body butter

Oh my gosh I was so sad when I ran out of this. It smells SO good, like a delicious cocoa-chocolate treat and it was such a creamy, smooth formula. I will repurchase this when I have used up a few more of my body moisturisers because I'm starting to have storage issues!!

Palmers Cocoa Butter lotion

I did like this, but the tub version is better because its more concentrated and richer. Also, with the tub you can get more out of it, theres still a bit of product left inside but I can't get it out! As with all Palmer's lotions, this smells nice (very chocolate-y) and is very moisturising. No, I'm not repurchasing, but only because I want the tub. Does the tub version still exist? I've gone to two different Big W's and haven't spotted it :( anyways, as I said above, I need to finish a few other moisturisers first. 

Coles nail polish remover

This features in my empties ALL the time. I use nail polish remover like its going out of fashion so I don't care to spend too much on it. I'm using a different polish remover now, but I'm sure I'll come back to this one eventually.

Nivea lip balm

I LOVE Nivea lip balms, I have soo many of them all over the place. This one was not very good throughout winter because its a lot harder and waxier than the other lip balms. That being said, in the warmer weather, it was really good and I did like the mild vanilla scent it had to it. I ended up scraping out the balm left in the middle that wouldn't roll up and that lasted me quite a while. I don't think I'll repurchase just yet because I've got a million lip balms already, but maybe later on.

Batiste dry shampoo

Ahh good ol' dry shampoo. This one smells so good, like chocolate! I like this one because its a coloured powder so it doesn't make me look like I have the hair of an 80 year old. I plan to repurchase this when I've run out of the Cherry version of this that I've been using lately.

Seche Vite 

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I'm quite the polish addict. Of course I've already repurchased this!! I don't think I will ever not buy this (err, double negative...you get what I mean!).

So that concludes my quarterly empties. What have you used up this month, lovelies?