The Waiting Game

Confession: I am a lip product hoarder. But it gets worse, I have so many that have never been used! How does this happen? I blame sales, my attraction to pretty colours and of course, my love of lipstick. Here's a peek at just a few of the ones that are sitting around, waiting for their turn...

 L-R

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in 'Back to the Fuschia'

Essence Long Last Lipstick in 'Wear Berries!'

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in 'Sloane's Plum'

Revlon Lip Butter in 'Sorbet'

L-R

Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balm in 'Whimsical'

Australis Velourlips Matte Lip Cream in 'Ma-Li-Boo'

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in 'Sultry'

Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in 'Adorned'

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in 'Ole flamingo'

Sadly, that's not the end of it. Theres a few more lipsticks floating around waiting for love, but I think you get the idea! I suppose the main reasons for not having used these is the fact that I haven't had any 'bright lipstick' occasions to go to lately. I'm more inclined to have a few casual drinks at a bar than hit up the clubs, so a less dramatic lip usually is enough. Also, some of the formulations (such as the moisture ones) may not have the lasting power I desire to survive a night of drinks. And if I'm with the boyfriend, I avoid sticky or transferable glosses for obvious reasons. 

First world problems.

Do you find yourself in this situation too?

Winter Empties

What empties did I accumulate by the end of winter? Let's see...

Benefit They're Real Mascara (sample size)
The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Gel

Palmer's Olive Body Butter Tub

Lucas' Papaw Ointment

Dirty Works Coconut Body Btter

Nail Tek Foundation II

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Remover

Britney Spears Curious perfume mini size

Benefit They're Real Mascara

If you've seen some of my FOTD/FOTN posts, you'll see I use this a lot! I do love it, but I probably wouldn't actually buy it because it's kind of expensive. I've still got a few sample sizes floating around for now.

The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Gel

I love TBS, but this did nothing at all. I don't generally have much success with spot treatments so it was wishful thinking. Not repurchasing. Anyone have a recommendation for me?

Palmers Olive Body Butter

Omg. Love! This was sooo good for my skin and smelt amazing. Sadly, the tub version isn't available anymore, but I might try out the lotion form. 

Lucas' Papaw Ointment

One of those handy products to always have around. I do like it, but I think I might go for a petrochemical free alternative now.

Dirty Works Body Butter

Not empty, but I'm over it. I didn't find it to be very hydrating throughout winter and the smell is starting to bother me. 

Nail Tek Foundation II

This stuff is the best! It helps to keep my nails strong, and works an excellent base coat. I've been using it for years and swear by it. It still has a bit left in it but its gone gluggy. Already repurchased 2 bottles.

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Remover

You always see this in my empties! Still have a few bottles stocked up.

Britney Spears Curious perfume

This smells really nice but I probably wouldn't repurchase. I've got way too many other perfumes on the go at the moment. 

That's my empties collection for winter. What did you use up this winter?

Winter Favourites

I've decided to dedicate a post to a few products that I adored and used a lot throughout winter. It's only a short list, but I really felt a strong appreciation for these products!

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy EDP Perfume

Rimmel Color Rush Balm in 'Keep Mauving'

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in 'Smitten'

Essence Metal Glam Highlighter

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Eyeshadow in '86 Ebloui'

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy

If you like sweet scents, this might be for you. I definitely love sweet fruity tones in a perfume. I'm not the best at describing how perfumes smell, so I'm borrowing a descrption from Frangrantica - ' gourmet floral fragrance, which opens with notes of wild berries and juicy mandarin. The heart encompasses a floral blend of honeysuckle, gardenia and jasmine, while the base notes await us with a gourmet rhapsody of amber, caramel, vanilla, sandalwood and pralines'. I do get compliments when I wear it; my boyfriend likes it and my mum does too, she even wants to buy herself one. I have the 50mL size which I purchased from StrawberryNet. Very very good investment. 

Rimmel Color Rush Balm

I bought this a while ago, because I was excited to see Rimmel release their own range of balm stains. Little did I know at the time, I was about to fall in love. The pigmentation is great and it is super creamy to apply. It feels very moisturising, and I find the colour does last quite a while. It fades to a nice pretty pink. This is a very wearable shade that I've been wearing to work and for casual days out. I've been sussing out the other colours, but they haven't really struck my fancy. 

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain

Hands up who doesn't own one of these? C'mon, you totally have to get on the band wagon! These have a good name for a reason. Another great formula that doesn't feel drying on application with amazing pigmentation. This gorgeous berry-toned red colour lasts all night through dinner and many drinks, so I'm definitely impressed. It does sink into lip lines a little though, but I still love this immensely. For the past 2 months, I think I've worn this for every night out I've had, which is saying something. I have such a large lip product collection that I do like to rotate products usually. One point I will make though, is that my lips do feel rather dry the next day. The trade-off for long wear lip products, I guess. 

Essence Metal Glam Highlighter

I believe this is no longer available (however, I think Essence still has their 'Bloom Me Up' Collection still available which features a highlighter), sorry to get you excited! Anyway, this is very very similar to The Balm's Mary Lou Manizer. It's a less pigmented version of it, which sometimes can be good. I feel like with the upcoming hotter (sweaty!) months, I won't need as intense pigmentation so this will work well. I've been really enjoying the super subtle glow this gives. 

Chanel D'Ombre Illusion Eyeshadow

My eyeshadow collection has been very neglected as of late. However, I've been really enjoying the wine/berry tones lately so this has gotten some use. It applies quite sheer and comes out a little more woody coloured, but I love how subtle it is. I prefer this formula to the Maybelline Colour Tattoo's because its much lighter and easier to apply. 

So as you can tell, I'm quite attached to these products right now! Have you been loving these products too?

Spring Cleaning

So seeing as spring is finally with us, I've decided to do a massive clear-out of my bedroom. I've just eliminated tons of old clothes from my wardrobe which are ready to go off to the Salvos. Of course, my makeup collection wasn't spared from the clean out...

Savvy Lipstick in 'Sugar Rose'

MUA Lipstick Shade 3

BOE Beauty Jumbo Wind UP Lips in 'Manic Pink'

All of these are pretty colours, but honestly, I don't reach for them. The first two have been replaced by very similar shades by MAC. I love MAC's Sweetie lipstick because its a pretty pink, similar to Sugar Rose, but a lot less frosty which I find makes it more wearable. And as for the MUA Shade 3, I posted a while back about how it was an almost dupe for MAC's Girl About Town, you can read the post here. The BOE crayon is lovely in terms of pigmentation and texture, but this colour looks like pink highlighter on my lips and I can't pull it off!

Designer Brands Van Gogh palette

BYS Diamond Shadow palette

SAVVY Graduating Bronzer

Savvy Pressed Powder

The eyeshadow palettes have not been used much at all, but they are not colours that I generally go for. I don't feel bad about throwing these out as they only cost about $5 each. With the bronzer, I don't even wear bronzer, so it seems pointless to have. And the pressed powder is okay, but the Rimmel Stay Matte powder beats the pants off it! 

Are you doing any spring cleaning of your makeup collection this month?

SC Perfume Review

I was recently contacted by SC Perfume to see if I would like to try out some of their testers*. I jumped at the opportunity because who doesn't love perfume? I was given $10 store credit, which enabled me to purchase 5 testers, as each sample vial is only $2 each! How great is that? 

One thing I absolutely loved about the site is the ability to browse by scent e.g. floral, oriental, fruity and the list goes on. I'm definitely a fruity perfume gal so I enjoyed this option. Let's have a look at what I ended up selecting...

 My order!

My order came housed in a green bag and contained the 5 samples that I ordered, as well as a full sized perfume that a kind soul from SC Perfume added to my order. Thanks guys! 

So on the website, there is a little description of each perfume, as you see above. The samples came in a zip lock bag with an info card and the vial. This is great, because I'm not very good at describing perfumes, so I'll let the cards do the talking! Cindy No. 5 is what I'd call a sexy, musky night time  perfume that actually reminds me a lot of Dior's Poison. 

Cindy No. 56 is a sweet floral that is perfect for spring time wear. 

Cindy Pretty is a powdery floral scent with the vanilla being quite noticeable. I think this one is one of my favourites out of the lot. 

DeAndre Delicate Touch is a crisp floral scent with a hint of citrus tang. To be honest, while this perfume is nice, I think its something that's not overly unique and its something I feel like I've smelt a lot in the past. But this is just my opinion, so you may love it! 

Out of all the testers, Miss Vietnam Hanoi Platinum is probably my favourite! You can definitely notice the fruity and vanilla tones, as well as the underlying jasmine. I could see myself purchasing this in the future. 

And let's not forget the full sized perfume I received. This is Essy Beautiful Dream. On first impressions, I thought it was quite a fresh, cool water like scent. The website describes it as floral with fruity notes. After wearing it for a little while, I worked out that it smells so much like Pantene shampoo! Well, the Aqua Light shampoo that I tried recently anyway. I am loving this perfume and I can see it being one of my go-to daytime perfumes.

Overall, I've had a great experience with SC Perfume and would recommend it to anyone looking to extend their perfume collection. Their prices are very reasonable, and you can't go wrong with $2 testers and free shipping! 

Have you tried this website before?

*products were provided for consideration and have been reviewed in accordance with my disclosure policy

Lust Have It! August 2014 review

Firstly, where the heck have I been?! I do apologize, I've been so busy with uni the past few weeks. I had 5 final exams in the space of 8 days so  life was pretty hectic for a while there. Now that I've finally recovered from that nightmare exam period, I can get back into blogging...

So once again, the Lust Have It August edition* comes housed in the pink zip case. I do think these are a handy storage alternative, compared to the boxes.

Box contents

Bioderma Crealine 

Essenzza Fuss Free Naturals Wipes

Marsk Eyeshadow Brush

BioElixia Body Shaper Stretch Mark Diminishing Creme

Eleven Australia Miracle Hair Treatment

Bioderma Crealine sample (RRP $29.99 for 250mL)

Ah yes, everyones favourite! I do in fact have Bioderma, but I am really happy to see a mini sized version. It will come in super handy for quick overnight trips :)

Essenzza Wipes in Aloe Vera and Cucumber (RRP $6.95)

I've never heard of this brand before, but I love the comic style packaging. The mini wipes are also a great idea and I think they'll be great to keep in the car/handbag. 

Marsk Eyeshadow Brush (RRP $28.95)

While I love my makeup, my brush collection is very minimal. I do have a few eyeshadow brushes, but this is still a welcome addition and I'm sure I'll get some use out of it. 

BioElixia Stretch Mark Creme (RRP $39)

I have tried some BioElixia products before and been pretty impressed with them, so I'll be giving this a go. I was actually complaining about my stretch marks to the boyfriend the other day; they're all over my inner thighs/butt/hips! It's like LHI knew about my body hang ups. While I don't totally believe that stretch marks can be 'diminished', that won't stop me from trying. 

Eleven Australia Hair Treatment (RRP $24.95)

Soo I am usually a little bit skeptical when it comes to those 'all-in-one' hair products. Since getting red balayage done in my hair a few months ago (which I got touched up today actually!) I've been super selective about what products I use on my hair. Seeing as this helps coloured hair, I'll give it a shot, but I've never really been a big fan of leave-in treatments.

Overall I think this box is awesome, especially as we have seen a few new brands, instead of repeating a lot of the same brands (Aveda, I'm looking at you). I can definitely see myself using all this products in the near future. What were your thoughts of this months box?

If you're new to LHI and would like to subscribe, feel free to use my discount code for your first box :)

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