Wishing For #02

Hey Everyone

I am trying to save money for my holiday coming up at the end of next month so my spending has been limited lately (apart from the slip up with Priceline's 40% off sale). As a result of this I have been wishing for a lot of products.. Shame my birthday is not for another couple of months!

So here are the products I have been wishing for lately..

Maybelline New York SuperStay Better Skin Foundation

This is a fairly recent release in the UK from Maybelline, I have read a few reviews online about it when it first came out and I quickly emailed Australian Maybelline to find out if it would be making an appearance here, unfortunately they couldn't give me an answer which is fair enough but I have been waiting for it to trickle onto eBay so I can snap it up but no luck yet. I don't really need another foundation but I like to try all the ones I can to try and find the best match for my skin.

Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner

After reading about the benefits of using an exfoliating toner from many people (thank you Ms Hirons) I have really been wanting to try this one from Clarins. I can't find it on the Clarins website but I have found it on the adore beauty website for $40.50 AU. I really hate using abrasive exfoliators and much prefer using chemicals such as the Liquid Gold by Alpha H so I think this would be a good exfoliator to add into my routine.

Nuxe Paris Reve De Meil Lip Balm

Everyone has been raving about this lip balm and I really want to join the band wagon and try it out. According to the Nuxe website one of these lip balms are sold every 28 seconds in the world. How insane is that!! I have been waiting for a bit more money in my bank account before I snap this up, it retails for $19.95 AU on Adorebeauty.

What have you been wishing for?

Love Liz xx

Weekly Loves #07

Uni has been crazy lately with constant assignments and many meetings, never been to Uni so many times in a week the whole time I have been at Uni. It is good though, I feel like I am learning a tonne of things and it is preparing me for the real world!

Apart from Uni I mainly just spent time at home or work, making sure my house is clean is an effort now. Oh I forgot to tell you guys, I got a kitten! I plan on doing an introduction post on her soon, I just need to get some good photos of her, the only good ones I can get so far are of her sleeping! She had her first vaccination this week and whilst she was terrified and crying in the car she was very nice with the vet, I am a proud mummy.

On to what I have been loving this week..

Mario Badescu Special Cucumber Lotion

I purchased this ages ago on BeautyBay when I had finished up my old toner, and had heard some good things about the brand Mario Badescu for blemish prone skin. I picked up the Special Cucumber Lotion as it claims to:

Fights against oily build-up and bacteria that can cause acne. Cucumber extract provides a refreshing, pore tightening and antiseptic deep cleansing. 

I have been enjoying using this lately, I forgot about it for a while and chose another toner I had but I recently got back into using this.I find that this is good with my skin, it is hard to tell if it helps at all but it does make my face feel a bit cleaner and doesn't dry or irritate my skin at all. I will probably look for an exfoliating toner next time however.

This retails for $24 AU for 236ml on BeautyBay, this lasts for ages and is usually on special but I think it is worth the price.

Dermalogica Total Eye Care with Spf 15

I only have a small 4ml sample of this product from Dermalogica, but I have really been enjoying using this. I have not been sleeping regular hours which is wrecking havoc on my already there under eye bags, but this little eye cream has come to the rescue! I usually use this at night as it brings down the puffiness but it can be used during the day (hence the spf 15) and aims to conceal your under eye area.

I probably wouldn't purchase the full size as Dermalogica is a little out of my price range at the moment, but I have definitely been loving using this sample up.

Lanolips Lemonaid Lip Aid with Lemon Oil

I have brought this up time and time again but I am not sorry as I am absolutely loving this lip treatment. My lips are so horrible and dry all the time and this has been smoothing my cracked lips and keeping them moisturised for longer than any other lip treatment I own. Another benefit of this (not that it needed another) is the amazing lemony smell, which is a little bit artificial but in a good way.

 This retails for $15.99 AU but is currently on sale for 20% off at Priceline.

Australis Go Camo Full On Coverage Concealer

This is a really high coverage concealer which is exactly what I have been needing this week. I find that this oxidises a little on my skin and can be a little orange, but I usually put this on under my foundation to prevent that from happening. I have shade dark which is quite dark on my skin, I meant to pick up medium but it was in the wrong spot on the shelf (why did I not check!).

This retails for $11.95 AU but usually can be found on special in a 20% off or 15% off sale.

Although I haven't officially introduced her, I couldn't resist adding her into what I have been loving this week. 

What have you guys been loving this week?

Love Liz xx

My Current Skincare Saviours

Hey Everyone

I wanted to share with you today the current products that I am using in my skincare routine. I am absolutely terrible when it comes to skincare and I can barely ever stick to just one routine, I am always changing and switching my products. I have tried to stick to a fairly routine as of late to sort out my skin issues and so far so good. I had hormonal flare ups as per usual but my skin looks like it is calming down. I do not want you to think that I am recommending these products for you, I just wanted to share what I am using as everyone skin is different and some things that may work for me will not always work for someone else.

I have been mainly trying to cleanse, tone, moisture and then at night switch out my moisturiser for a treatment. I do often use a mask once or twice a week if I can remember (I have been terrible lately), and on occasion I will use a face brush to cleanse if I have not exfoliated lately. I have a lot of products that have a large hype regarding them, like Alpha H Liquid Gold, Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil and La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo but I have not found these to be as amazing as I had expected. Something has been breaking out my skin and in order to find out what I plan on using my old system and then slowly adding in new products to see if they are helpful or hurtful to my skin.

Cleanser

Avène Cleanance Soapless Gel Cleanser

I mentioned this a while ago in a post when I purchased this for 40% off the RRP at a Priceline sale. This is my second bottle of this cleanser and I love it, I did purchase a foaming cleanser from La Roche-Posay, until I realised that foaming cleansers are terrible for oily skin as they strip the skin completely and make it dehydrated (Thank you Caroline). This cleanser does foam up quite well but does not leave my face feeling dry or tight, just clean. It is also great to use with a facial brush as it foams up just enough. This is aimed at oily and acne prone skin so I find it works better at keeping skin clean and clear over a cleanser aimed at normal skin types. This retails for $27.99 AU for 200ml.

Toner

Mario Badescu Skincare Special Cucumber Lotion

This toner by Mario Badescu is aimed at acne prone skin and claims the benefits are:

Refreshing, disinfecting and deep cleaning astringent that is effective in drying up existing acne blemishes while preventing new eruptions. Sulfur and soothing Cucumber based, acne fighting formula that is non-drying and non-irritating. 

Overall I think this is a good toner, it does sting a fair bit if you have any open blemishes but otherwise it does not seem to be irritating or drying. I have been using this for a few months now and I am barely a quarter through the bottle, it wasn't cheap at $24.30 AU on BeautyBay but I think this will last me quite as well so it is worth it.

Moisturiser 

Nivea Mattifying Gel Cream

This is my second tube of this moisturiser, its not a favourite of mine so I am not sure why I keep going back to it. I need to do more research for moisturisers that will not make oily skin any oilier. I think this does keep my oily skin in check but it is just not all that fantastic, I am looking for something more! That is very vague of me, this is a decent moisturiser for the price, I just want something that feels like it is doing more for my skin. But this does not break me out so in the meantime that is all I am looking for. This retails for $9.99 AU and can be found in most stores that sell skincare, typically on sale as well (it is $7 at Priceline now!)

Treatment

Benzac AC Water Based Acne Gel 5%

This is a spot treatment gel that contains 5% benzoyl peroxide. This is a fairly intensive acne treatment, I was recommended to use this by a dermatologist when I was in High School. My skin did clear up after using these products and some antibiotics. My skin has since declined but I decided that I should try using these products again, I was hesitant at first as they are very strong, but after trying almost everything else I was left with little choice. You have to be careful when using this as it stains everything, sheets, pillows, towels and anything else your face will touch so be very careful!!! I am hoping not to be using this for too long but its nice to have to go back to if my skin ever gets uncontrollable again. This retails for $15.99 AU at most chemists.

What does your skincare routine consist of?

Love Liz xx