The Autumn Beauty Edit

The changing of seasons brings upon a change in beauty trends and styles. And though I'm not always one to follow them religiously, they do influence what I wear. By far, my favourite makeup trends are always from the Autumn and Winter seasons. Dark lips, and rich, rusty eyeshadows are my jam. I know that there are no rules in the makeup world, but there is just something about the cooler months that makes this kind of makeup just feel so right. So here is a roundup of my favourite beauty bits that will feature in my makeup on a regular basis in the next few months.

3 Face Masks I Use Regularly

Sunday night is definitely my favourite night for a bit of a pamper, prepping myself for the week ahead. But Friday nights are another great one, for winding down after the long working week. Honestly, why not pamper every night? Run yourself a nice bath with bubbles, paint your nails, Netflix marathon are all some of my favourite ways to chill out but nothing beats a good face mask to give your face a good and thorough cleaning.

Empties #10

We made it to empties number 10, yay! I feel like it's been only a few weeks since I did the last one but I seem to have accumulated a lot in a short space of time. As usual you get to peek into my trash and see what I've finished, and what my thoughts are, positive or negative.

My Evening Pamper Essentials

There is nothing better than coming home from a long day at work and treating yourself to some me time, #treatyoself. It just relaxes you and preps you for a great night of beauty sleep.  So pop on some Netflix, grab a book, or pop on a Spotify playlist and get ready to be relaxed.

Empties #9

I went to chuck something in my empties bag and saw it was over flowing so this post is definitely due. It's always satisfying use up a whole product and I love hearing everyone's thoughts on a product they have obviously used up. 

A Little Birthday Haul

So my birthday was last week and I was lucky enough to get some spending money! Of course being me, that money is going to be spent on makeup. I had a few things on my list to get at Mecca Maxima but they had none of the shades I was after. So rather than spending the money just because I was there, I put it into my bank account for a future Sephora order where I would actually spend the money on something I really wanted.

Empties #8

I want to restructure how I write out my empties posts. I felt like it was a bit tedious and would sometimes be a super long post. I would list each product individually, write my thoughts on them and then say whether I would repurchase them or not. Now, I want to write two sections; one fore repurchases and one fore the products I wouldn't buy again. I feel like the posts will be more concise, and hopefully more likely to be helpful. I link any reviews of the products for a more in depth review. 

Empties #7

Another 2 months, another empties post. This month's empties are mainly skincare and body stuff, with a little bit of makeup. Last empties was bigger, I think in the last 2 months, I got a lot of new products. Also, sorry about the terrible quality of the images, the day I was taking them, there was hardly any natural light So without any further ado, here are my empties.

Hello, Is It Me You're Looking For?

I never thought I'd see the day where I would love body lotion. But here I am, declaring my love for one. I hated body lotions, the thought of slathering my skin with a thick lotion and feeling like I've been dumped in a vat of cream still makes me shudder. But everyone seemed to rave about this "Dream Cream" from Lush. So I bought a smaller size to see what all the hype was about. And I have never looked back.

Empties #6

Even though some people don't find them interesting, empties videos and blog post are some  of my favourites to read. Because people have finished the product, they can give a full, honest review on the product. So without further ado, here's a in depth review of my trash!

Makeup

Australis Make-up Finishing Spritz - I didn't really like this product, but the smell was nice. I just found that it didn't do anything in terms of pro-longing makeup and keeping it fresh. Would I repurchase? No.

MAC Prep & Prime Beauty Balm - This was my first purchase from MAC, but it wasn't one I was happy with. I wanted to come out with a foundation but the lady persuaded me to get this. I found it to be too heavy, but it didn't have the best of coverage either. Also, it made my skin go oilier faster than usual. Would I repurchase? No.

Garnier BB Cream For Oily Skin - This was my favourite base for lazy days. It has a runny consistency, and covers well. However, even though this is the lightest shade, I found it looked a bit orange on me. Would I repurchase? No.

Revlon Bold Lacquer Length & Volume Mascara - I was excited to try this mascara, as the last one I had tried from them was amazing. However this just felt heavy on my lashes and they clumped easily.  Would I repurchase? No.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer - This is a good lightweight brightening mascara for under the eyes. It was great for everyday use. Would I repurchase? Maybe.

Too Faced Primed & Poreless Pure Primer - I really loved using this primer. It had a silicone feel to it and made my foundation glide nicely over the top. Would I repurchase? Yes.

Maybelline Master Shape Brow Pencil - I think this is a good affordable eye pencil. But I seem to go through these really quickly which is strange. Would I repurchase? Maybe.

Body

The Body Shop Glazed Apple Shower Gel - Body Shop shower gels are my favourite shower gels. They lather up so well, and the scent lingers throughout the day. This scent smelt amazing and reminded me of my childhood. Would I repurchase? Yes.

Kit Body Wash Pomegranate & Pink Grapefruit - I didn't like this at all. It didn't lather well and the scent smelled like a cleaning product my mum uses. Not a fan. Would I repurchase? No.

Anatomicals Night Time Hand Cream - This felt really greasy on my hands and there was still residue in the morning. I did like the scent however. Would I repurchase? No.

Lush Prince Charming Shower Gel - The scent of this confused me. It's got a fresh citrus scent, but also a musk smell which was a bit overpowering. Would I repurchase? No.

Burberry Brit Sheer - I bought this when I first went to Europe in 2011. It's not my favourite perfume ever, but it was good for everyday wear. Would I repurchase? No.

Lush Volcano Foot Mask - A few months ago, my feet were in terrible condition (TMI?), so I thought I'd give them some TLC with this mask. I feel like this didn't do anything amazing, and it smelt so bad! But I think my feet did like that extra attention. Would I repurchase? No.

Skincare & Haircare

Simple Kind To Skin Cleansing Facial Wipes - I haven't been using theses as much lately, but these are just so gentle on my skin. They are great for days where I don't have a lot of makeup on, and I'm feeling a bit lazy. Would I repurchase? Yes.

Neutrogena Make-up Cleansing Towels  - I really didn't like these. They irritated my skin and they felt really dry. Would I repurchase? No.

Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash - It took me ages to uses this up because I really hated this. It sucked all the moisture out of my face and I didn't feel like it did anything for my acne. Would I repurchase? No.

Formula 10.0.6 Get Your Glow On Brightening Mask  - This mask is so much fun because it's a peel off mask. Sometimes that can be a bit messy when it gets caught in your hair. I did notice my skin was a bit brighter but nothing spectacular. Would I repurchase? Maybe.

REN Rosa Centifolia Cleansing Gel - This is such a great cleanser! It's not stripping like some gel cleansers can be and it's so gentle on the skin. My face feels so refreshed after using this. Would I repurchase? Yes.

Batiste Dry Shampoo - Just the usual dry shampoo, handy for that third day after washing where you just can't be bothered. Would I repurchase? Yes.

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My Top 5 from LUSH

I am a self confessed LUSH lover. There, I said it! Ever since being introduced to the brand in late 2013, I've been obsessed ever since. Their range of skincare and haircare is so wide, so no matter what your concerns are, they can cater for you! I've bought a mix of bath bombs, skincare, haircare, and body care, so I've tried a big range so I thought I'd share my top 5 products! *in no particular order*

Seanik Solid Shampoo Bar
This is one of their solid shampoo bars which at first, I was a bit skeptical about it. I thought it would be so difficult to get the product to lather and transfer to my hair. But it turns out it's actually quite easy. I just rub it in a few circles on thew top of my head and the rub in the lather. It lathers quite well and has a sent that is almost exactly like the Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub, probably because the ingredients are very similar. It makes my hair feel a lot softer and adds a bit of body to it as well.

Roots Hair Treatment
Towards the end of last year, I noticed that my hair was looking lot thinner than usual. I've always had really thick hair so I wanted to try a mask to help my hair out. It has mint in it which helps stimulating your scalp to encourage hair growth and I find a difference after I use this in my hair's appearance.

D'Fluff Strawberry Shaving Soap
This one is newer to stores in Australia, and I was curious about this product. It just replaces your regular shaving, and it smells better and it's pink. It probably isn't the most necessary product, unless your sensitive to regular shaving creams, but I love it. It leaves my legs feeling smooth and they don't feel irritated after cleaning all the product off.

Tea Tree Water Toner Water
This is just a regular spritzing toner but I feel that it does help to sooth my skin. I always spritz this on my face after taking off my makeup and cleansing my face. It's refreshing and the tea tree in it helps yo sooth any breakouts on my face.

Golden Wonder Bath Bomb
Now this is a Christmas product, so it is only available from late November to the end of December. But when it comes out, you must get your hands on it! I have three sitting in my bathroom cupboard because I couldn't let myself be without it for so long. The scent is hard to describe, it's warm citrus-y scent that is perfect for winter, which is ironic because when this comes out in Australia, it's summer. It turns your bath a sparkly turquoise and you always feel super soft after a LUSH bath.

What are your favourite products from LUSH?

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The First Haul Of The Year

So I actually accomplished my goal for the month of January; no new makeup! So of course I treated myself to some makeup. Which doesn't make sense, but anyway. I had my Priceline voucher to use and there were a few other things I wanted to get.

First up on my trip was to go to Priceline. I picked up two Essie Nail Polishes in the shades Buy Me A Cameo, a rose gold colour, and Chinchilly, a taupe. There was a 3 for 2 deal on Maybelline, so I picked up a new Maybelline Brow Drama and two of the new Maybelline Intense Velvet Lip Pencils in the shades Red Essential and Berry Much. I'm so excited to try these out! Also, we finally got the Maxfactor Facefinity Primer which I'm super happy about. I have high hopes for this little fella!

Next was Lush. I was on a mission to find something to help maximise volume as my hair is very limp. The lovely lady suggested the Sea Spray to add more volume and texture to the hair and the Seanik Shampoo Bar to add volume. I'll keep you posted on my thoughts of those things. It seems that the spray gets mixed reviews, so I'm interested in how it works out for me.

Of course, there was a trip to Mecca Maxima. Both of these things were on my shopping list for the day, so I didn't impulse spend in there. I picked up my second tub of the Origins Ginzing Moisturiser which I love for my skin, and the Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub which is my favourite body scrub I've tried so far! The scent is to die for, and refreshing, which is good for the morning hen you need to wake up.

Lastly, was MAC. This was a bit of a treat for me. I intended to get the Russian Red Lipstick as it has been on my wishlist for a long time. The MUA was so lovely there and was having a chat to me about my makeup, and she recommended the Pro Longer Concealer. I caved and got it as I hear so many rave reviews about this concealer so I wanted to see what the fuss was about.

What have been your latest purchases?

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Lush Roots Hair Treatment

This year, my hair had been getting thinner and falling out slightly. Nothing major enough to go to the doctors about but enough to notice. I also noticed my hair was just getting really limp and I wanted to have a bit more volume. I went to Lush to seek out a shampoo or treatment that would help with fine hair. The lady recommend this to me. I've never used a hair treatment before so I was intrigued. 

It has a real peppermint smell to it and the lady at Lush said this was to stimulate the scalp. You massage this into the roots of your hair for about 20 minutes before you hop into the shower. It does feel and look like you've popped a tub of gel on your hair, so if you don't want to look like one of the T-Birds, you can pop a shower cap over the top. When you get in the shower, massage your head while you rinse it out then follow up with your usual shampoo and conditioner. 

When I got out of the shower, I could notice the difference straight away. My hair felt thicker and a lot stronger. I feel like this last for a few day before needing to use it again. I can notice when I don't use it for a while as my hair doesn't feel as thick. I have found though that the more you use it, the more days you can space between uses. I find it's good for me if I use it once, maybe even twice a week.

Have you used this before and what are your thoughts?

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October Favourites | 2014

Can we please press the slow-mo button for the rest of the year because everything is moving so quickly! I haven exams coming up in the next few weeks and Christmas is less than 2 months away! But of  course I'm excited for Christmas because it's my favourite holiday year, maybe expect for when Easter falls on my birthday! Double the fun! Anyway on to the favourites!

Firstly, I've been trying to clear up skin for the past few months because it got out of control. And these two products have been responsible for helping it all calm down. Firstly, the Lush Tea Tree Water is such a gentle toner for my skin and feels great when you sprtiz it on your face. The tea tree is helping with my blemishes. Also what helped me with fadeing some of my scars, the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo has been amazing for my skin. The scars are slowing fading which is great, because it looked like I had more pimples that I have.

Makeup wise, the Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation has been amazing. The colour is a good match for my pale skin and it has great lasting power. I'd say it's a dupe for the M.A.C. Studio Fix Fluid Foundation. Also, the Maybelline Brow Drama does wonders to my brows. It's the perfect colour as well, because a lot of drug store eyebrow products tend to be on the orange side.

What have been your favourite products this month?

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Lush Christmas Haul

You know Christmas is on it's way when Lush releases their Halloween and Christmas collections! Around Christmas time last year was when I first got into Lush so some of my first products I bought from their are part of the Christmas collection. It brings such fond memories, and I keep my bag of goodies next to my desk so the smell sometimes wafts over while I'm studying which is pleasant. Anyway enough jibber jabber, here is what I picked up!

Firstly, I picked up the Baked Alaska soap because they didn't have Angel's Delight this year, which is so sad! But this soap is lovely and has a mild citrus scent to it. Then I picked up my all time favourite bath bomb, Golden Wonder. I think this is my 3rd or 4th one, it just smells so good and the bath turns an amazing colour when you pop it in. I don't want to give to much away so it's a surprise for you if you get one for the first time! I got 2 little critters, the Christmas Hedgehog and the Christmas Penguin  bubbles bars. These are so cute so I couldn't resist getting them. Next is the Snow Angel bath melt which looks so beautiful, and I love the gold glitter on the back. As you can tell I'm a big fan of glitter. Then I got the Luxury Lush Pud bath bomb which has os many different colours on it so I can only imagine the colourfulness of the bath. Lastly, the famous Lord of Misrule bath bomb. Yes, I know this is Halloween but 1 product is not enough to change the name of the post! This looks amazing and I can only imagine the bath when this goes in, a cool cauldron swish colours. Also not in this picture because I got it a few days later is the So White shower gel. This smells like green apples and has glitter in it, can it be any better than that?

What have you picked up from Lush lately?

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Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub

I had never been a scrub type of person until a few months ago when I started using a scrub I got for Christmas. It changed my life! Not really, but I did notice a difference in my skin and I've been hooked on scrubs ever since. It gave me a reason to try this one from Lush, the Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub. Kudos for the rhyming Lush.

To me, it smells like Lush in a tub. When you walk into one of their shops, you get a smell of all of their products at once and this is what t reminds me of.The colour is bright blue which is a bit of fun for shower time. What I love most about it is what the product actually does. While it's a scrub, to me it's also a shower gel at the same time. When you wash the scrub off, you're left with this soft silky feeling on your body which I haven't found with other scrubs I've tried. It's not to harsh but not too soft, just perfect! It only lathers up a little bit, but that means you don't have to use a body wash with it.

What are your favourite scrubs? I'm keen to try out some others so let me know your favourites down below!

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August Favourites | 2014

Well August went by quickly, I just want everything to slow down a bit so I can have a breather because life has been so busy lately, especially for uni. But enough of the typical "it's all moving so quickly" intro and on to the favourites.

Firstly, my order off Ulta arrived this month. I only got a few things and the Stila Stay All Day Foundation and Concealer is one of them. I had tried a sample of this from Mecca Cosmetica and immediatly fell in love. I ordered this off Ulta because of the price difference but now that Mecca has dropped its prices, I'll stock up there from now on. This foundation just seems to glide on my skin and blends nicely, with a medium coverage and semi-matte finish. This with the Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer is a match made in heaven. The Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer has been another favourite of mine this past month. It does such a good job of covering up my under-eye circles and doesn't crease at all.

I tend to stick with the same shampoo for a long time, but this month I tried something new and I've been converted. The Lush I Love Juicy Shampoo is great for my greasy hair. I come out of the shower and my hair feels so clean! I can go up to 3 days now without washing my hair, maybe even 4 with a bit of help from some dry shampoo. But that is pretty amazing for my hair. Lastly, the Clinique High Impact Mascara is a sample that was given to me by my mum. She uses a lot of Clinique products, and waits till they have freebies so she can stock up on her products. I always get the ones she doesn't want, so this time it was the mascara and the makeup bag it came with. It makes my lashes so fluttery and they don't clump at all. I would love to get the full size one when it dries up but I don't know if I can justify the price tag when you can get some amazing drugstore mascaras.

What have been your favourites this month?

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A Little Bit of LUSH

So Lush happened. Whoops. After seeing that they were going to be releasing limited edition Christmas in July, I planned a shopping trip for July 18th. I ended up being quite refrained, which is a good sign for my bank account. I picked up two bath bombs, the Golden Wonder and Twilight, the first of which is one of the Christmas products. I bought this one last Christmas and it is my favourite bath bomb ever! It smells like Christmas and all good things, and I've kept it my room and now my room smells ah-mazing. The other bath ballistic is new to me I'm excited to try that one.

I bought two bars of soap, Angel's Delight and Sea Vegetable. The first one is another of my Christmas favourites so I had to pick it up, and the second one intrigued me so of course I got that too. I then picked up the Dorothy bubble bar, which smells like it should be relaxing. Okay, that sentence did not make any sense whatsoever but that's the only way I could think of describing it as! Lastly, I got the  I Love Juicy Shampoo which is aimed at oily hair. It smells like a fruit salad and I'm excited to start using it!

I'm going to try and refrain myself from Lush for a while but somehow I don't see that happening. Wish me luck!

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Empties No.1

I feel like these past months i've gone through so much stuff it's crazy! I've just finished my 3 months holiday so that allowed me time to use up all my products. A lot of this is just general stuff I use, not too exciting!

First are my 2 empty packets of cotton wipes, I use these everyday so I go through these so quickly. Same as the Simple Cleansing Wipes as there are 3 packets of those. I haven't tried any other wipes out but these ones do the job and don't irritate my skin like when I tried the orange Nutrogena ones. I have an empty bottle of the Biore Steam Activated Cleanser. I had this for a while before I used it as you can tell because this is the old packaging. I bought another one but it doesn't feel the same as the old one, but I think they're still the same formula which is weird. I have an empty bottle of my favourite Cutex nail polish remover, already stocked up on another 2 bottles! The Clinique Take the Day Off is the best at removing my eye makeup. It can be a bit greasy at times but it does the job so why complain? I bought another one but I'm also trying out the Bioderma as everyone and their Grandma talks about this stuff!

I have 2 empty Lush pots, saving these to take in to get my free face mask! The first is their Herbalism Cleanser which I found to be alright though I hated the smell. It smelled like nature (don't laugh!). I'm just not a big fan of that smell. The other one is the Let The Good Times Roll Cleanser. It was a Christmas product so i stocked up on a another one before they sold out. These aren't recommended for oily skin but I don't use it every night. It makes your skin feel baby smooth and you smell like caramel popcorn! I have a travel sized Body Shop Shower Gel in Madagascan Vanilla, which I took away with me when I went to Melbourne. Usually i don't like vanilla smells but I loved this one. I got another one of these for Christmas that I'm saving for another trip. Lastly I have the Girlz Only Dry Shampoo for Brunette. This is a really cheap alternative for Batiste and it works amazing! I want to try out the Batiste but they're always out of the brunette one at Priceline.

This post isn't the most exciting of posts but I thought I would show you guys the stuff I've used up which is what I generally use on an every day basis.

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Collective Haul

Hello!

So it's almost the end of January and I STILL haven't gotten my blogging together yet! I'm such procrastinator, an awful habit to have acquired!But  I promise I will try my hardest! Anyway, this past week I went shopping a few times, whoops. Here's a collective haul of all the things that have managed to slip into my ownership of the past week;

Firstly, before I went to work last week, I went through Myer and they had 30% of the majority of Revlon so I steered towards the Revlon counter. I ended up getting the Revlon PhotoReady Skinlights in Pink Light and one of the Revlon Colorburst Balm Stains in Rendezvous. I had been eyeing these for a while and the sale was about to end, so I thought I'd pick them up now to save some money in the future. I also stopped by Priceline, and picked up a Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick no.16and a Rimmel 60 Second Nail Varnish in Instyle Coral. Both of those colours are real "Summer" shades!

Secondly, I went to the city in search of a new foundation and came out with more (as per usual). I've wanted to try a MAC foundation for a while but been put off by the price tag. I finally went over to the MAC counter and was helped by a really nice lady. She recommended Studio Fix and applied it along with primer, concealer, powder and blush. She matched my shade which is NW10 (I'm so pale!) and I caved and bought it. It felt so good during the day and was quite happy with the outcome. The smell of Lush lured me in and I bought the Tea Tree Water and Dark Angels Cleanser which I'm excited to try! Then I popped by JB Hi-Fi and bought the About a Boy DVD because who doesn't love Hugh Grant and his accent, and the AlunaGeorge CD, which is fast becoming a favourite.

Lastly, I popped by Kmart after I heard all their makeup was on clearance. Obviously everyone knew before me because it looked like a supermarket after an apocalypse has been announced and everyone is stocking up! I ended up buying a Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain in Charm, a Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Pink Lemonade and a Rimmel Apocalips in Solstice. All together that cost me $20! Bargain! I would have loved to have bought more but the shelves were empty!

Hope this inspires you like all the other hauls do for me! Anyone buy anything interesting this week? I would love to hear from you all!

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