Lash lash, baby, lash lash, Current Mascaras!

I've been quite good in the past 12 months about changing mascaras every few months.  I am prone to eye problems so try to be vigilant about stuff like that.
I also randomly sanitise my eye products with ethanol.
But I digress,
Current favourite mascaras!

I've been playing around with a newer one, a stashed one, and a random purchase that was my reward for surviving a particularly tough week at work.
All of them have little rubber bristles - I did not realise that at all until I took photos.  But I have mentioned before that its my favourite brush type.

First up - Essence Plump no Clump (I think it's now discontinued?)
This is a nice natural looking mascara (by my standards).  A light coating that says "hey I have lashes and they are pretty" without being too dramatic.  And sometimes thats what you want from a mascara.  Just a little icing on the cake. The brush is a monster and I think I would use it more if it had a smaller brush.  The product is a really nice consistency and the brush doesn't get too much on it, so only minimal wipeoff needed.

Maybelline Lash Sensational
My new fav!  I was late to bandwagon for this nabbed one during the last Priceline 40% sale.  I have fallen in love.  So much in love that I've already bought a replacement from Chemist Warehouse.  Oh this just works so well.  I think it works better than last years favourite from Essence.  And you know it will be in a sale sooner rather than later so no fear of having to buy it full price.  With my allergy eyes, I don't want to pay heaps for something.  It is a wet formulation, but not a runny wet like Rimmel.  This has a heavier gel like consistency and builds nicely, but you do need to take off a lot of product when you take the brush out.  The little tiny combs on one side a great for getting mascara on the base of the lashes.

Revlon - (The one with the midget brush) Ultimate All-In-One
Ok.  I did not expect the brush to be SO DAMN TINY.  But it works.  I think I'll like it more as the formula dries a bit.  Same performance as the Essence one above, so in terms of saving money, I would repurchase the Essence mascara over this one (if it was still around).  It is a bit fiddly with the midget brush to get the lashes, more time and effort compared to the Lash Sensational.  So I'm a little "meh" on this one. I have much fear of stabbing my eyeball with this midget brush.

What's in your current mascara rotation?

Stalking the Bae again! ChiChi Viva La Diva lipsticks

I tend to go through makeup phases - obsessed with eyeshadows and playing with new combos. Finding the perfect My Lips But Better lippie (I think I have 3  5 now...).  Stalking brands I like on Instagram (ChiChi and Australis in particular).  Foundations - my sensitive skin yearns for a light cover, thus the 15 or so foundations/bb creams I have.

You get the gist?

Myer had a 40% off ChiChi this weekend.  Oh My, that beat the Target 30% off ChiChi.  I really like the ChiChi lippies (cos the tubes are sexy and the lippies smell of turkish delight, oh and they last ages on me).

I already had a vivid purple - from my purple lipstick obsession November/December 2014.
Super Duper Dope.

So bright.  So sassy.

Through various purchases in 2015 I had collected a few (many) more.

I now have this :

Must be true luv...

I knew this time around I was not after a pink or a purple.  So ended up with:

Hollywood Wannabee, Urban Chic, Flirt

That went well.  Only one deep fuchsia.

Top to bottom : Hollywood Wannabee, Flirt, Urban Chic

Of these, my favourite it Flirt, its the brighter version of My Lips But Better.

I was only plannig on getting two - Flirt and Urban Chic, and then my eyes spotted Hollywood Wannabee.  I checked my photo I had taken of my ChiChi collection and discerned that I did not have this tone.  It is brighter then in the photo but not Barbie bright.

I really like the finish of these and they last nearly a full work day - including morning tea, lunch, coffees and waters.  I only reapplied at the end of lunch break.  Some of the deeper shades - reds, burgundy and dark purple - they stain my lips so I didn't really need to reapply, unless I want the full bold colour again.

The matte shades are not a finish like the Australis Velourlips - where its a dryyyyyy matte.  These still have movement which is why they aren't as long lasting as the Velourlips.  Much more comfortable however.

This is the one brand of lipstick that I seriously collect.
Whats your favourite makeup item to treat yourself with?

Priceline 40% off Skincare Haul! (Jan 27-28 2016)

Back from Holidays with a Haul!
The time from Christmas to Australia is very busy for me because of family comittments.

Priceline.  Darling.  You set my heart a-flutter.

Also, I'm on a no-buy from now until April so I actually finish off items from my last haul and general collection.
I had a list this time I went to Priceline, and I kept to it.  I'm quite pleased with myself (smug maybe even).  I've been feeling a bit "meh" with my routine - both full routine and short routine, so this was an ideal time to get a few items to change up my routine (also why I hadn't posted for a while - meh feelings make meh posts).  I'll do a follow up post on my new routine, why its changed and how its changed in a month or so, giving me time to incorporate the new items and how they worked.

There was definitely a theme in my shopping this time.  I started off by looking at items I've thought about buying for a while (like the Ponds items).  I then did some proper research on items that have my three favourite ingredients : hyaluronic acid, ceramides and niacinamide.

I don't know if I'm better at reading ingredient lists OR Western Skincare companies have upped their game with skincare ingredients.  I think it might be a mix of both.

I know, shocking, no Nivea creme.  Because I still have tubs left and my mum gave me hers and I gave her my Restorderm.  I don't go through it so voraciously in summer.

La Roche Posay Cicaplast Mains Barrier Repairing cream - This is very soothing and good for irrtated skin.  You can layer it thinly or heavily for a mask.  It feels somewhat siliconey but I like that, it also works well under makeup as a primer in a pinch.

Neutrogena Hydroboost Sheet Masks 5 pack - I've heard some pretty good reviews of these and I do like to try new sheet masks and if I can get them from Priceline on sale, even better.

Neutrogena Hydroboost Night Concentrate - Wanted to try something different for my night routine.  It doesn't feel super heavy and sinks in quickly from the patch testing I've done.

It's blue! The little specks disappear when you rub the cream in and don't irritate.

Nivea Pure and Natural Soothing Day cream - I'd tried and used an item from this range before which I really liked so thought I would grab this (so much hype about their Cellular Range that this seems to have been forgotten).  A nice rich cream, hopefully will keep my skin nice in the AirConditioned classrooms.

Typical thick white cream. Doesn't leave a white cast when rubbed in though.

Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy Intensive Cream - I've waxed lyrical about this in a previous post and got some more.

Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy Lotion - a lighter version (duh) which I bought in a smaller bottle to try after being impressed with the Intensive Cream.  This has become my daily morning moisturiser.  I much prefer it to Restoraderm.

Pond's Hydra Revital Aqua Collagen Serum - I keep on investigating Western Skincare serums as I feel that the Eastern serums tend to have too many botanicals in that have caused allergic reactions.

Pond's Hydra Revital Aqua Collagen Toner - Again wanting to try more readily accessible toners that I can use in different ways.  This has some different ingredients to other toners I looked at.

Simple Kind to Skin Soothing Toner - I bought the travel size on a whim in the last sale.  And its become my daily toner of choice, so decided to grab the full size.This has allantoin and niacinamides in very high on the ingredients list!  Really rare in drugstore/Priceline toners!

Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil - I've nearly used up the rosehip oils I bought last year and there were many rave reviews for this particular one.
  (Side note - SO MANY Rosehip oils were blends of different oils!  Read the ingredients carefully!)

What did you get at the sale?  Did you freeform or have a list?

Reddit made me do it. Covergirl ClumpCrusher Mascara

I value reviews from other people and while on the AustralianMakeup reddit forum I kept on seeing positive reviews of ClumpCrusher from Covergir.

Then Woolworths had 50% off Covergirl.  Seriously the AusMakeup forum is damn good at finding and announcing sales.  Good times to be had!  Many dollars to be spent!

Reader.  I bought the mascara.

Now you ask why is that a big deal?
Well I've never really liked Covergirl after some incidents (allergic reactions) with their foundations many years ago and they just seemed to be a "no-go-zone".  This is the ONLY Covergirl product I own.

But this mascara is awesome.  The brush is the rubber bristle type that I favour and this stuff layers really well.  Its not an overly wet formula and dries quickly so that the layers don't clump (der).

I reach for this most often now and it can be a light day time look or a heavier night look depending on the layers.

The photo below shows naked lashes (right) and double coat of the ClumpCrusher (how I normally wear it).  This is a really light-weight mascara and my lashes don't feel heavy or sink down from multiple layers.  Nor do I feel my lashes underneath my eyebrows - if you've never experienced it, it is a seriously weird sensation.

It also helps blend my real lashes and false lashes when I wear them (another phase I'm going through - Daiso lashes.  Yes.  Many many Daiso lashes have been bought).

I was worried that I was allergic to it but realised that it was my sunscreen when it got into my eyes (science experiment - wear mascara on a day when you don't wear sunscreen.  See if eyes get itchy.  Such Science. Many variable. Wow.).  Results in - not allergic to it, which is a bonus.
Would I repurchase?  Yep. But only on sale.  I've yet to find a mascara that I'm willing to spend more than $10 on.  I've yet to find a mascara that beats my all time favourite from Essence.

Brand Review : Boe Cosmetics

Boe Cosmetics has been in my makeup periphery for a while now, it's exclusive to Big W and generally when I plan to make a makeup purchase its from Priceline points, give me allllll the points) or Chemist Warehouse (50% Off twice a year sales);

But you know, one does wander into Big W, and with a makeup sale on, the lure was strong.
Also there was a person at the makeup counter (need to purchase makeup items through that specific counter at my local BigW).

I'd inspected the Boe items before and decided with $3 off it would be a good day to sample.  They have two range - the older range is $2 per item, therefore only the newer range was $3 off.

So I had uploaded this post earlier today and was unhappy with my photos and it had been bugging me all day, so I've retaken the majority of them.  There's a few with the white background fr clarity - such as the ingredients list.   But I'm happier with these new photos, its amazing what a change in time and location can do to a photo.

From the new range - Boe Professional - I bought foundation, concealer and a lipstick
From the old range - matte lip paint, mascara and eyeshadow pencil.

Foundation - only 3 colours and I bought Fair.  Nice shade for "Fair" - I've found that some brands lightest tone is damn pale, but their second lightest tone is what I would call nearly tanned by my skin colour (looking at you Models Prefer and Savvy).  Also a nice feature of the bottle is that it is an airless pump, so the inner bottom pushes the foundation up and minimises waste.  Nice. Clever feature that more brands should incorporate.  Also this foundation has a tiny ingredients list and one of the main ingredients is shea butter which is great for dry, sensitive or eczema prone skin.  I really really like this foundation and have been reaching for it more than my Rimmel!

Seriously - for a liquid, heck even a powder, foundation this is a tiny list.
(I'm tempted to go and get the BB cream - if the colour shades are similar. And the ingredients play nice)

Concealer - again three tones, but the light is VERY light, might go back and try the medium shade.  Drier than the foundation.  Could be good for matte highlighting.

Even thought it has Mica it doesn't actually seem that shiny...

Quick comparison of the two shades - not blended, then blended.  The foundation looks almost too dark, but when blended out it matches my skin tone on my face/neck nicely.

Due to the high level of shea butter in the foundation this is very easy to blend, it looks shiny in the photo on the right above but it settles down as the shea butter sinks into your skin.  You can layer powder products over this foundation and they don't look clumpy - just allow a few minutes for the foundation to settle.

Lipstick - this is from the "Supershine" range (they also have a Matte, Diamond Finish and Colour Last). I chose the nude colour in "Empress". It spoke to me more than the others which were heavy in the reds and pinks which I have plenty of.  This shade I didn't actually have.  Also - "Empress", enough said.  Longevity isn't fabulous however - this requires maintenance throughout the day.

From the original range:

Matte Lip Paint - so tiny! Which is good because other ones are so big I doubt I'll finish them (like the Velourlips).  Fabulous pigmentation, stays on really well through drinking, but not eating.  Awkward to apply - its a plastic tip that you use to push the colour around - I will probably use a lipbrush from now.  It applies sticky but dries and mattes quite quickly.  And lasts and lasts and lasts - I tried micellar water to remove it, then cream cleanser, the oil cleanser.  This pigments is strong - so go for the oil cleanser (or even baby oil, olive oil) to remove it initially.

5 cm long tube!!

Eyeshadow stick - nicely pigmented, also can be sharped so you're not just getting the tip of colour (like on of the NYX eyeshadow pencils and Face of Australia Kohl's).  Very creamy but sets quickly after you apply so you need to work it immediately  It can be sheered out or applied thickly.

 

Mascara - the brush is a bit strange, chunky spiral bristles.  It applies really nicely though for a $2 product. I'm not 100% sold on this.  I've worn it twice and I think it may be irritating my eyes.  However its also peak hayfever season so I dont know.  I'll probably try it a few more times before I make a final judgement.

I've got swatches on my hand below so you can get a better idea of pigmentation and colour.

On the left side top: Eyeshadow stick #225

                    middle: Velvet matte lips (no name or number)

                    bottom: Super shine lipstick in Empress

On the right side : top half is blended out Foundation in Fair (now looks dewy as it has set)

                            : bottom half is blended out Concealer in Fair

Overall the products are nice for daily wear, or for keeping in your handbag as touch-up items.  The foundation is a win - I could possibly repurchase.  The matte lips is fabulous and will last for ages, I will look at the other colours as well because for $2 its a bargain for the quality.  

What Boe Products have you used and been impressed by?  Or have been let down by?

When Cuddling your Teddy Bear and Smooshing your Cat just doesn't cut it (Comfort Hauling)

This is my biggest haul from RRS thus far.  I had been compiling a list and because of a short-term promotion at work for a month I could afford "All The Things" (within reason).

Why am I calling it a comfort haul?  Well when I clicked the "buy" button it was on a day where I'd been dealing with some epic health issues, which have since compounded, thus the lack of posts.

This represents the state of my brain for the past 10 days 

My allergies and immune system have basically done a riot and I've been off work for a full week with painkillers, antibiotics, allergy medications and topical medications.  But that was not the reason for the Comfort Haul, it simply compounded the issues and the stress and the panic I was feeling.

So this haul has actually been sitting in the dining room for a week because I could not function to even look at it.  Well, it made me upset to look at it.

Now I have pulled it together somewhat and am throwing this post out for you, because there are reasons for these purchases for my skin type when my immune system behaves and I am very much looking forward to being able to use these products once my course of medications from the dermatologist (finally have now been to one) finishes.

So with the RRS new shop sale on several ranges I liked AND free shipping on Mizon, lets haul!

Samples of Cera Cera cream, Shea Butter Steam Cream and Aloe Cleansing cream

Mizon part 1.... Aloe has been something I wanted to incorporate more into my routine and I had samples of the Mizon WaterVolume cream that I really liked and the Sleeping Mask had positive reviews from other who have a similar skin type to myself.

Mizon 2... More AIO Snail cream, the Night Repair sounded like it would be good to help repair my skin, the Collagen series because I had liked another Collagen cream this I had bought previously and wanted to expand on the range.

Mizon, uh, 3.... Snail Ampoule (kisses!) and the Placenta Cream, because why not.

BB cushions - now the Garfield was because GARFIELD and I needed childhood warm fuzzies, the Etude House is a green colour corrector and the Missha was a nice price (~$7-8 AUS).  Right now they would all be too sheer for my face (think sunburn red), so will have to wait for a proper use. 

Red Ginseng x 3 - I've been curious about this ingredient, Aloe x 9 because I LOVE THIS MASK and  Mung Bean x 3 - again ingredient curiosity.

2 boxes of my favourite snail masks because they were on special!

This is the most coherent I've been for the past 10 days, so hopefully I can get some more past reviews neatened up and posted for you!  I had one that I need to re-write because my own attitude and opinion towards the topic changed, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

When have you Comfort Hauled?  And did you get to enjoy the haul?

Priceline 40% Off Skincare (July)

Oh Priceline.
Ooooooh Priceline.
You know the way to my heart.

On the 27/7 and 28/7 Priceline had one of its' pop-up 40% off sales for skincare.  These happen every 6 months or so, and I was in need, dire, dire, need of some items.
As much as I love my AB products there are some items that aren't AB that are Holy Grails in my routines.

I was down to the last scrapings of my last tub of Nivea Creme that I bought randomly a few months ago to supplement my supply.

Rationing. Every. Last. Bit.

Great Wall of Nivea

I do love my Nivea Creme.  I didn't buy enough in the last 40% off in Feb, so hopefully 12 tubs should see me through 6 months.  I use this on my face and on my body.  This is a product that I use everyday, twice a more, more if my skin is ridiculously dry.  If I could only have one skincare product left to use it would be this.

I also collected some of my favourite toner.

This doesn't claim to be for dry skin, but my skin is very fond of it. I'm halfway through my second bottle already so grabbed these.  I had tried a different toner after I finished a bottle of this but my skin was not as happy as before so I had to buy another bottle of this.  The different in dryness is noticeable.  I like to amp this up by mixing in some hyaluronic serum in with it.

Trying some of these Sukin items as they do have good reviews.

The Sensitive Cleansing Lotion seems to be massively popular.  Both times in these sales I've seen people grab handfuls and they always get emptied out early on.

Simple has some items that have a nice short ingredient list that were in travel sizes and thought they would be good to trial.

Simple has seemed a bit hit and miss, so if I can get a sample size or a trial size I would prefer to get that first rather than committing to a full item.

I've been interested in cream cleansers, as I'm searching for something to replace my Avene Extremely Gentle cleanser which is over $30.

This also had a lovely short ingredient list and has worked well so far but it smells of sunscreen and its disconcerting.  The first time I used it I had to double check that I had bought a cleanser....

So the Nivea and Toner were planned purchases and the others were items that caught my eye as I was rampaging through Priceline.  I looked at some of the serums and tried them and such but really balked at the prices.  I have been far too spoilt by RoseRoseShop and their prices.  My shop last Feb in Priceline was quite different to this shop.

What did you get in the Priceline Skincare sale?