What I wore: beach stripes

It's still super hot here, so I'm still wearing dresses and strappy sandals.

Face

Essence My Base illuminating make up base

Bourjois healthy mix foundation in 51

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch highlighting Concealer

Covergirl line exact liquid liner

L'Oreal colour infallible eyeshadow in Innocent turquoise and tender caramel

Lancome Cils Booster XL super enhancing mascara base

Covergirl LashBlast Volume mascara

Australis Lick the Icing lipstick

I got this dress on sale on Urban Outfitters last year after seeing it on Kaelah's blog. I didn't wear it much because it was heading into winter here, and the fabric is really strange and definitely more suited for summer. At the start of summer I still didn't wear it much because it has a really weird fitting bust which is very large. If you can get past that, the stripes on this dress scream summer at the beach, and I love wearing it with these bright yellow sandals that I got from Modcloth which are a bit too big for me but are super comfy, even with my wide feet. On a not too cold day this dress is good in winter when paired with bright stockings and a cardigan. I also love these earrings that I got from my boyfriends sister for Christmas. I've been loving wearing mismatched earrings lately and she got me a pack of 3 sets of mismatched earrings. I really love them!

The boyfriend and I have started really getting into organising our trip to the UK. We're booking flights next week! I'll have a post up on the weekend about our trip. I'll probably be posting a bit more about travel soon, as I'm getting super excited about it and it's all I want to talk about! It also means I've really got to start saving money, so no more hauls, and I'm only allowed to buy beauty products when I run out of something. I do have a decent stash I'll be able to post about however, and I think I'll be incorporating a lot more fashion and wish list posts to make up for lack of reviews, ect.

January Bellabox

Yep, it's Bellabox time. I'm a little late this month, I got my box last Friday, but I just didn't care that much about what was in this months box and I wanted to use the products first (well that never happened!). This month the box is full of Australian products.

Everything that was in my box. Including a card about their bellababy box (did anyone else get this?)

What I got:

NatioPure Minerals Skin Perfecting BB cream in Medium (Sample RRP $14.95 for 50g)

 This cream is useless for me. I'm so pale that even in the middle of summer I'm still way too light for anything labeled medium. I haven't actually tried it, I doubt there would be any point. Ok, I will use this to see how the formula is, because I haven't had much luck with BB creams yet, and this one is Australian and not too expensive.

Swisse Body wash with Vitamin B3 and Macrobiotic Sea Minerals (30ml Sample, RRP $14.95 for 250ml)

I haven't tried this either, but I really liked the Swisse hand cream I got in my November box so I should like this. It has the same scent as the hand cream, which I quite like. I'm going to use this for traveling.

You Me and Everybody Cool it Aloe Vera Gel (100ml fullsize, RRP $8.95)

So far this summer I've managed to stay sun-safe and not get burned (Ok, I got burned a little once, and that was only from driving around town so it doesn't count!) and I plan to keep smothering myself in sunscreen so I don't get burnt. It's actually pretty impressive I've only been burnt once, especially because I spent a whole, really hot day at a water park without shade and didn't get burnt then. Anyway, I guess that means I'll be using it as an after shower moisturiser like it says on the bottle. It's not sticky and is pretty cooling.

Mode Nail Polish in Rave'n (15ml fullsize, RRP $2.45)

I haven't tried Mode before, and seeing as I'm not allowed to buy nail polish anymore I'm happy with receiving ANY nail polish! I do actually like this colour. However, it does seem a little similar to one I already own, Essie Fear or Desire, but maybe a tad more fluro. See swatches below. I do love the other colour (hot stuff) a little more and wanted to buy it off their website to make shipping free for some new  4me polish remover pads, but neither product was there.

Essie Fear or Desire on first 3 fingers, Mode Rave'n on pinky. Sorry about the chipped polish.

Face of Australia Makeup Purifying Cleansing Wipes (24 pack fullsized, RRP $4.95)

I haven't used these yet because I want to use up my other face wipes before I open another packet. I'm happy to try these as I'm not impressed with my current wipes (Swisspers Aloe wipes).

Overall, although I can use almost everything from this box (except the BB cream sample), it hasn't impressed me. These are all pretty boring products, except the cheap as chips nail polish. I'm also a bit peeved that some people who got the same box as me got a decal included. Although that's not something I would use, it's a bit unfair that they received more products. I am contemplating my subscription, as I'm trying to save money to go live in England for 6 months, and spending $15 a month, regardless of how insignificant that amount is, on products I don't need and am not wowed by is a waste of money.

What did you get this month? How happy are you with how the Aussie beauty box subscription companies are running at the moment?

Weekly nail: Bikini So Teeny

Since I've decided (been forced!) to stop buying nail polish, I thought it might be a good idea to try and go through my current nail polish collection and start posting my nails weekly. I have a ton of nail polish (some I haven't even used yet!) so it shouldn't be hard to find colours that I want to use.

First off I wanted to use some of the nail stickers I got from the Christmas blog swap. I also dug out my mini Essie polishes from the bikini so teeny collection because they're great summer colours. I used Essie Bikini So Teeny and Revlon Silver Dollar, and used Seche Vite as a top coat. I'm not a huge fan of applying these Essie minis, or really any Essie polish. I find they tend to go on pretty unevenly. This took me 3 coats, and it still ended up being a bit splodgy in spots. I was rushing it a little, so that could have had something to do with it, and I'm sure if I took the time it probably would have only taken 2 thicker coats. I only used one coat of Silver Dollar, as it's a very opaque polish. I do love this combination together and I can't wait to see what else I can do with the rest of the collection!

I'll make sure next week I take a bit more time so my nails aren't so messy.

Wish list

1. MAC Viva Glam Nicki    2. MAC Party Parrot    3. Urban Decay Fun Palette

   4. Stilla In the Light Palette    5. The Body Shop Vineyard Peach Body Butter 

 6. The Body Shop Lip Gloss in Peach    7. TUK Meow's the Time heels via Modcloth 

8. Salt Water Outer Bank on It sandal in blue via Modcloth

Since I've decided to cut back on my spending, I've somehow gone from lusting over cheaper products, to wanting a whole bunch of high-end products. How did this even happen? I think maybe my Benefit blushes had something to do with it, or maybe it was all the MAC lipsticks I got for Christmas (seriously, 3?! How great are my friends?).

Firstly are 2 more MAC lipsticks. Viva Glam Nicki and Party Parrot from the Strength collection which isn't available in Australia yet. Do I really need to say why I want these? Party Parrot seems like it might be similar to Sportsgirl Catwalk Queen, so it would be interesting to see a comparison of the two once it hits Australia.

I've heard so many good things about Urban Decay eyeshadows. Obviously, I'd like to get my hands on the Naked Palettes, but seeing as I already have a good dupe for the original Naked, and have tones of neutral shadows already, the Fun palette might be the way to go. I love the purples and green in this.

The same goes for the Stila In The Light palette. I've heard great things about their eyeshadows  (especially this palette) and this looks like it's full of shadows I would get a lot of use out of.

I've been loving The Body Shop lately and recently when I went in I had a smell of the new Vineyard Peach range, and it smells so good. I love my Cranberry Joy Body Butter, and use it a couple of times a week because I have really dry skin. Hopefully this range is still available when my Cranberry Joy one runs out. These lip glosses are new, and I'm pretty intrigued by them. I haven't had a chance to look at them in the shop, and I haven't seen any reviews on them either. I'm usually not a lip gloss kinda person, but if these are as good as their other products I'll give them a go.

The last 2 things are some shoes of Modcloth that I'm loving. I have a little bit of an addiction to Modcloth and over the last 2 years my wardrobe has become dominated by dresses from the site. It was also the first website I bought shoes off, and so far I've been able to wear every one (I have really wide, short feet, so usually finding shoes that fit is a nightmare). I own 2 pairs of TUK's already and they're super comfy. And who can go past a pair of shoes that have cats on them?! Not me! I already own a pair of these sandals in yellow that I managed to get on sale for less than half price! They're so great for 

summer, and I'd love go get another pair.

Have you tried any of these products? Or are they on your wish list?

Summer lips

This summer I have really been digging bright lips. After my Coral Polish post, it'll be no surprise that my love for coral has eased it's way into my lipstick collection. Here are a few of the lippies that I've been wearing a lot on my lips lately. I've already posted about most of these so I wont to into too much detail.

Australis Colour Inject mineral lipstick - Honky Tonk. This is the sheerest out of these lipsticks. It was the first corally coloured lippy I got. It's a really wearable light pink coral and can be made more opaque with a heavier application. For such a cheap lipstick it has a surprisingly good wear time (contrary to what my first post on it said, I need to remember to use products more before blogging about them, haha) and will easily last through a 3 hour shift at work (yes, I do those...) and still look great.  See more here.

Sportsgirl Pout about It lipstick - Catwalk Queen - This is an almost fluro pink colour. It's so bright and out there, and is super fun to wear. See review here.

MAC - Vegas Volt. This was my first MAC lippy, and I love love love this colour. It's the perfect orangey colour when you don't want to look too outrageous. It's an amplified finish. See more here.

Innoxa - Watermelon. This is my most recent lippy and the colour is pretty much exactly what the name suggests - a bright pink watermelon colour. This is part of Innoxas summer mattes range, so it is literally made for summer.

Covergirl - Fairytale. I love covergirl lippies because they're super long lasting. This one is matte, bright pink with a hint of coral. I was lucky enough to receive this in a blog swap, and it doesn't look like it's currently available in Australia.

(l-r) Honkey Tonk, Catwalk Queen, Vegas Volt, Watermelon, Fairytale

Not shown - Revlon lip butter in Peach Parfait. I wanted to add this because I love it as a subtle peachy colour, but I seem to have misplaced it. Hopefully I can find it soon!

My Essence Blushes

I thought now I own two of these blushes now that it's time to do a little review of them. These are the only Essence blushes I've tried, and they're both limited edition (I'm becoming a sucker for LE products, damn).

My first was from the Breaking Dawn pt 2 collection, called Remesmee red. I never got around to reviewing it at the time, as when I bought it I kind of got a bit scared of it and put it at the back of my draw. It's a really bright, matte red, which I haven't really had much use for (because I'm too scared to use it, haha). I find this blush has very good colour payoff, so you really need to use a light hand to apply it, otherwise you'll end up looking like a clown! It is a lovely colour though, and it's uniqueness (especially compared to a lot of other 'drugstore' blushes) is what drew me to buy it in the first place, and I'm sure when I get the hang of applying it lightly I'll use it a lot more.

My second is from the current Cherry Blossom Girl Collection in Asian Sensation. I bought this almost as soon as I heard about it, as I'd been wanting to get a coraly blush for some time. It's a lovely peachy colour with a lighter and a darker section, which look great used separately - as a highlighter using the lighter shade or darker blush, or swirled together. I've used this a few time since I bought it, and I prefer to use them together. This blush is quite sheer (and a tad chalky) and probably not the blush to get if you want strong colour, but it does give your cheeks a lovely glow which I really like.

l-r (swatches in shade) Renesmee Red, Darker half of Asian Sensation, Lighter half, and blended.

Asian Sensation in the sun

Renesmee Red in the sun

Asian Sensation on the left and Renesmee Red on the right, taken in the sun.

Asian Sensation taken in the shade with flash

Renesmee Red taken in the shade with flash

Sale haul pt 2.

The second half of my sale haul came in the mail recently. I ordered some things from Priceline while they had free shipping and double points (and went into the store and bought a bit more the next day, woops), and also bought some polishes from Gloss N' Sparkle when they had their post-Christmas sale.

What I bought online:

Bourjois Clubbing Waterproof Eyeliner. I originally wanted to buy Rimmel's Scandal'Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner, but the black one had sold out. I decided, after looking at a few reviews, to get Bourjois clubbing eyeliner instead.  I paid $14.70 for this.
Maybelline Colorama nail colour in Marshmellow. I'd been after a white polish for a while, and got this without looking at swatches. This is more of a pearl colour than white, and although I haven't used it yet I doubt I'm going to like the colour.
Priceline Eyelash Curler. I've been meaning to get an eyelash curler for a while, so I finally decided to get one. This was $6.29, and does the job.
Essence My Base illuminating make up base (which I forgot to photograph, whoops, sorry!!) . I've been looking at Benefits That Gal for a while, but was reluctant to spend $30 on something I wasn't sure about. This is the same kind of product. It was a bit pricey for an Essence product, at $7.50. Used under makeup it gives me a little bit of an Edward Cullen look, which I'm not actually that upset about. It does an ok job at being a primer, but it's probably not something I'll pay $7.50 for again.

What I bought in store:

Innoxa Summer Matte Watermelon. This was in a sale bin for $7.95, so I snapped it up right away. I've been wanting to try Innoxa's lipsticks for a while and this is a colour I love. I'll post a swatch of this later in the week.

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch highlighting concealer. This is my second concealer (my other is a NBN one that I'm not a fan of). I only use it for under my eyes, and this works like a dream (haha!). I wouldn't have bought this full price but I do really like it. I paid $12.56 for it.
Swissper Aloe Wipes. I needed some new makeup remover wipes, after I powered through my last lot because they made my skin sting. These ones aren't much better unfortunately.

Polishes from Gloss N' Sparkle:

Unicorn Droppings and They did the Monster Mash.

Unicorn Droppings seems to be one of Gloss n' Sparkle's most popular polishes, with it's white base with colourful glitters, and They did the Monster Mash is a lovely blue with lots of green, purple and black glitters of all shapes and sizes. So far I've only gotten to try out Unicorn Droppings, and I'm a little bit dissapointed. I'll be sure to do a post when I get a chance to use They did the Monster Mash too.