December Bellabox

Bellabox really hyped this one up. We were told a while back that a colourful makeup product worth triple digits would be included in the box. There were hints, but for once I managed not to snoop.

What's in the box?

Anumi miracle recovery (5ml sample, RRP $65 for 30ml)
This is supposed to be an overnight treatment to rejuvenate dull and tired skin and can be used in conjunction with your regular moisturiser. It'll be interesting to see if this does anything, but regardless I won't be buying it because of the price.

Allegra Rhodes Hand and Nail Cream (5ml sample, RRP $32.95 for 175ml)

I got the 'ocean mist' scent, but I think the scent is really just a floral scent and is quite strong. It's a nice cream that sinks in quickly and isn't oily.

John Frieda Frizz-Ease secret weapon flawless finishing creme (30ml sample, RRP $16.99 for 113g)
This is the 3rd sample of this I've required, and I don't even mind. I have horribly frizzy hair so I find this smooths down my fly aways. It can be a little heavy but it's fine if you only use a tiny amount.

Zipette (3 zipettes RRP $5.95)

These are little hooks that are designed to keep your fly up. I will definitely get use out of these because I have a few pairs of pants and shorts with flies that have a habit of falling down. I've heard of safety pins being used for the same thing (although maybe less safe).

Reb'l Fleur by Rhianna (2 x 0.4ml samples, RRP $79 for 100ml)
I'm not a huge fan of the packaging of these samples, and would much prefer to receive samples in a spray bottle. I guess these are less likely to break in transit though.

Savoir Faire limited edition kit in "C'est le ton qui fait la musique". (RRP $110!!!)
This is the product that's been hyped all month! A palette that contains a gloss, 6 eye shadows, a blush, eyeliner and mascara, all in a travel sized cardboard palette with a mirror. The shadows are what drew my attention, they're such interesting colours. They're all well pigmented, and all shimmery except the black which is matte. I was a bit scared about the gloss, but it's a lot less scary on the lips. It's supposed to taste like apple pie, not too sure about that but it does taste sweet and yummy. The blush is a gorgeous pink, but very powdery, and has a nice shimmer. It also came with 3 'look' cards with different ways to wear the shadows. I think it'll be interesting to see if this palette can live up to it's value. I have never used Savoir Faire before so I'm not sure of their quality (surely it's going to be good stuff though).

eyeshadow swatches in natural night (l-r) devout, kinetic, immortal, spicy, liberating and vivacious 

natural light (l-r) Je t'aime lip gloss, devoted blush and onyx eyeliner.

I'm pretty happy with this box. The palette alone makes the box, but I will get use out of the rest of the items (if I can work out how to use the perfume samples...). I think they maybe could have put a little more effort into making it a bit more 'Christmasy' but I guess the palette was supposed to be our 'Christmas present' from Bellabox. I'm also a bit iffy about the fact all of these products (bar the John Freeda sample) are quite expensive products to buy full size. The idea of bellabox is to introduce us to new products, but I know I wouldn't be able to afford the creams full sized. I would rather a better mix of high and low end products, especially face and hand creams (we seem to be getting a lot of high-end ones lately).

What did you think of this months bellabox? Do you agree that there needs to be more of a mix of high and low end products?

Haul: Ulta3 Polishes + NOTD

I really love the China Glaze Holiday Joy collection. Unfortunately I can't justify buying it at the moment, so I thought I'd check if I could get the same kind of colours from my favourite super cheap brand for nail polishes, Ulta 3. Lucky for me I found brandy wine, which looks really similar to Cranberry Splash. I also got some glitters, lollypop lilac (which I thought could be close to Champagne Kisses) and fruit tingle which is a fluro pink.

Polishes in front of natural light

Polishes with flash 

So far I've used everything except fruit tingle. I'm a bit dissapointed with the red glitter though. The glitter particles are tiny and the formula is so thin. However, put over brandy wine it looks amazing!

The blue glitter has a much better formula, but is still not a glitter polish you could use by itself (unlike the OPI muppets collection). Lollypop lilac is really nice glittery light pinky purple, however is nothing like Champagne Kisses.

Here is a quick NOTD I did using red glitter over brandy wine, and blue glitter over lollypop lilac. They didn't last very long - this was taken after less than a day and you can already see chipping. Usually ulta3 lasts longer than this for me, so it could just be because my nails are in such poor condition.

Sportsgirl Pout About It review

I rarely venture into Sportsgirl. Most of their clothes are a little out of my budget. It's usually only around Christmas when I'm gift shopping, to look at their jewellery and gift table. I've never thought twice about their makeup either. However, a few weeks ago I was given the Pout About It lipstick in Bombshell by a girl at work, and I love it! I ended up buying Catwalk Queen as a present - but decided to keep it instead because I loved the colour too much.

Catwalk Queen and Bombshell.

These are both matte lipsticks. Catwalk Queen is such a lovely vibrant pinky watermelon colour. These photos don't do it justice. It's the perfect out there colour for warm weather. Bombshell is a perfect shade of red.

They're both extremely pigmented, have great staying power and aren't drying at all (and I have quite dry lips). I wore bombshell over Revlon's kissable balmstain in Romantic when I went out to dinner a few weeks ago and you could tell it was still there when I got home. They don't really have a scent, other than a slight lipsticky smell which is not noticeable unless you're really trying to smell it.

I would definitely recommend trying these lipsticks, and I would love to buy Fruit Tingle (a matte coral) also. I would also consider looking at the other products in the sportsgirl beauty range, and have my eyes on the Get Cheeky cheek and eye shimmer.

Bombshell and Catwalk Queen in natural lighting

Catwalk Queen natural lighting

Catwalk Queen with flash

Bombshell natural lighting

Bombshell with flash

Have you tried any of the beauty products from Sportsgirl? 

Wish list: future purchases

Lately there's a few things on my wish list. I guess this is more a shopping list, because I do plan on actually purchasing most of these items in the near future.

1. OCC lip tar in pageant and trollop    

2. China Glaze Holiday Joy set Wings of Wonder containing Blue Bells Ring, Champagne Kisses and Cranberry Splash   

3. L'Oreal Miss Candy collection color infallible eyeshadow in Innocent Turquoise   

4. The Body Shop Cranberry Joy body polish  

 5. The Body Shop Ginger Sparkle shimmer lotion  

 6. Covergirl Liquiline blast eyeliner in Blackfire and Violet Voltage.

I've been wanting to get an OCC lip tar ever since I first read about them. They sell them on the bellabox web shop and out of the few they sell, I really like Pageant and Trollop and will purchase them next time I want to get something from a box (to get free shipping). For some reason, I'm totally in love with the China Glaze Holiday Joy collection! I've never even used China Glaze before but I want to get y hands on all of them. This gift set coincidentally contains 3 of my favourite shades from the collection! However, I did buy some Ulta3 polishes that look like they could be dupes of these so I'm going to hold off on getting these.  I read about the L'Oreal Miss Candy collection from the blog Makeup and Macaroons and knew I had to have some of the eyeshadows. I haven't tried the color infallible eyeshadows before so hopefully I manage to get my hands on some before they stop selling the collection (I had a look in Priceline with no luck). As you've seen in my November favourites post, I love The Body Shop Christmas collection. I think I've finally decided that the Cranberry Joy body polish and the Ginger sparkle shimmer lotion are the products I will buy. I've been looking for a good, relatively cheap, purple eyeliner ever since I got a makeover at The Body Shop (I couldn't bring myself to spend the money on The Body Shop branded one). I've heard good things about the Covergirl liquiline blast eyeliners, so I'm keen to try the black and purple shades. (Between writing and posting this I managed to buy Australis 10 hour wear eyeliner in grape cake, but I'd still like to try the black Covergirl eyeliner).

What things have you got on your shopping list? Have you tried any of these products? What do you think of them?

NOTD: pastel rainbow

(l-r) OPI Italian Love Affair, Face of Australia Would You like some Orange Sherbet, Rimmel lasting finish Misty Jade, Face of Australia Blue Moon, Australis Peek-a-boo.

Ever since I painted my nails like this, I can't stop looking at my hands. I think doing rainbow nails is a really great idea when you can't decide what colour to paint them, but you're too lazy to do any nail art. I did 2 coats of each polish (except Blue Moon which has 3) and used Seche Vite as a top coat. It's stood up surprisingly well, this photo was taken after a long shift at work unpacking stock (which usually destroys my nails). I might put OPI Rainbow Connection over the top when it starts chipping, but at the moment I'm content with it as it is.

I also bought some Ulta3 yesterday, which I can't wait to use (although I'm not excited enough to take off this manicure) and share. I've been lusting after the China Glaze Holiday Joy collection, but found a few lookalikes from ulta3.

What do you think of different coloured nails? And what polishes are you lusting over at the moment?

My Life in Pictures #2

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1. Crazy necklace I bought to wear to a friends 21st.

2. Finally wearing Bourjois polish in 13 from the giveaway I won.

3. The dogs beings super cuties while I watch TV.

4. Some of the roses that are outside my window and the beautiful clear sky.

5. My boyfriend bought a slip and slide and a kiddy pool and they are the best things ever on a hot day! So much fun.

6. Raspberry and coconut cake for his birthday.

7. Little duck (and some giant goldfish) I saw on my way to have morning tea with friends.

8. Ollie found a new hiding spot when we put the Christmas tree up at my boyfriends house. He's so cute.

November favourites

December already!? This year has gone crazy fast. I've been pretty busy the last wek with parties, working and finishing the last of my uni assessments (it looks like I've passed all my units this semester, so I get to graduate!!!). Everyone seems to have already done their November favourites posts, but better late than never.

I had a whole heap of favourites this month, which I think is a combination of buying a whoooole lotta new products, and finally having a job where I can wear make up without it smudging off and my face getting covered in chocolate powder. I guess these are the products I've used the most.

Nude by Nature tinted moisturiser in nude beige. This has been my favourite thing to put on my face this month, it's light so great for the hot weather we've had this month - along with the sun protection.
Benefit Total Moisture facial cream is a real good face cream. It feels so nice and doesn't irritate my skin. This is a sample and it doesn't have much left and I'll be sad when it's finished (it's too expensive for me to buy again in the near future).
The Body Shop Cranberry Joy hand cream. I love this range! So so much! I love the ginger sparkle too but I like the cranberry a little more (probably because of my love for cosmopolitans). If you haven't smelt it, get your butt into a Body Shop ASAP! The smell reminds me of when I was in the UK for Christmas 2 years ago and it snowed - so it reminds me of the good bits of Christmas (I'm usually the grinch, but having a white Christmas was really amazing). I've yet to buy anything more from the range - only because I can't choose what else I want and I don't want to buy everything. Also, if you use the cranberry and the ginger hand creams together it smells even more amazing.

Covergirl Lashblastvolume mascara. This is my go to mascara at the moment (and I have 7 mascaras!). I won it in a facebook comp and am so glad I got introduced to it. It makes my lashes huge.

Revlon colorburst lip butter in Peach Parfait. This gives a subtle reddy pink colour to my lips with a nice shimmer. I think everyone knows why it's here, but I've been using this colour more than strawberry shortcake.

MUA undressed pallet. This is my first neutral palette (and first neutral eyeshadows) and I've been using it a lot. Shades 2 and 9 are my favourites. Read more about it, and see the other shades here.

(l-r) Revlon lip butter, MUA undressed shade 2 and 9.

Face of Australia Pastels nail enamel in Would You like some Orange Sherbet and Castle on a Cloud. This range has been a huge hit, and is perfect for spring and summer. I picked up these, along with blue moon, but I've found myself using these ones more (I can't choose a favourite though). The photo below is 2 (relatively thick) coats. Usually they're quite hard to get looking opaque and even, but today they went on really easily.

Honourable mentions: Australis colour inject mineral lipstick in honky tonk, Palmolive strawberry smoother body butter body wash, and 4me nail polish remover pads.