Weekly Loves #08

It has been a fair while since I have done one of these posts but I have actually been loving some different products this week so I wanted to share them with you! 

ChapStick Night Repair Lip Treatment

This lip treatment comes in a duo kit with a day treatment as well and while I like the day lip balm I absolutely love the night one. It is quite thick and a fairly plain formula (no scent) but it leaves my lips so smooth the next morning. Definitely recommend using a treatment like this during winter if you suffer from dry lips like myself.

Alpha H Liquid Gold

I am trying to use this treatment every three nights in order to get continued benefits, I typically use it once a week and my skin is amazing the next morning but using this only once a week doesn't benefit my skin long term. Since starting to use this every three nights I have been noticing my skin is generally clearer and scars are starting to slowly lighten. 

BYS Blusher in Pretty In Pink

If you don't own a BYS blush then you are missing out, they have some lovely colours with great pigmentation for very little cost. Coral is typically my go to however for some reason I have been drawn to this lovey pink colour. It makes my cheeks look flushed and bright without effort. 

Rimmel Waterproof Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in 005 Nude

I purchased this eyeliner specifically to use on my waterline as I had read reviews that it brightens up the eye area, and it really does. This pencil is very creamy which makes it easy to line the waterline and it instantly gives you a fresh eyed look regardless of how much sleep you have gotten. 

Bones

Source

I have been re watching all the episodes of the tv show Bones, I am up to season 9 and have rushed though all of the episodes, completely addicted and in love. Cannot wait until it comes back for season 10.

Love Liz xx

Chemist Warehouse Haul

Hey Guys

I think my spending ban was officially over when I decided to do an online order from Chemist Warehouse, they had 50% off all cosmetic brands which included Revlon, Rimmel and Maybelline. To be honest I could of done much much more damage, I kept it simple and mainly just purchased backups for when I run out, because half price is amazing value. So here is what I picked up.

Rimmel

Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder

I absolutely adore this powder, I already own one in the shade 001 Transparent and I picked up another two in the same shade. I do love my loose finishing veil which also has no colour, however sometimes a pressed powder is just more convenient. This ensures I stay shine free for a longer period of time, usually 4-5 hours which is great on an oily skinned gal like myself. One little niggle with this product is that every one I own the lid is cracked! It's like the lid doesn't fit the container, does anyone else have this problem or just me? This retails for $12.95 but was on sale for $6.47.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

I grabbed this concealer in shade 030 Classic Beige as I wanted a new concealer for under my eyes. I have been suffering from really bad under eye circles. This shade may be a bit too dark for under my eyes as I prefer something a bit lighter than my skin tone. So hopefully if it's too dark I can use it on any blemishes. This retails for $14.95 but I purchased it for $7.47.

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal 

I have heard so many great things about this eyeliner in shade 005 Nude so I had to pick it up for myself to try. I hear that when used on the waterline it really brightens up your eyes. This retails for $9.95 but was on sale for $4.97. 

Rimmel Finishing Touch Ultra Shine Top Coat

I need another top coat as I currently only own one from O.P.I but it takes forever to dry! I borrowed this while at a friends house and I quite liked it, goes on smoothly and dries quickly and appeared to do a good job of making my nail polish last! This retails for $8.95 but was on sale for $4.47. 

Maybelline

Maybelline Fit Me! Shine-Free Foundation

I have read mixed reviews on this foundation, I don't plan on using it as an actual foundation as I read it isn't great coverage which is not something I am interested in. I picked up shade 240 Golden Beige to contour with, I wanted the Toffee shade but they were sold out online. Most of these were sold out! Swatching this it looks a little orange but hopefully will blend out ok. I also wanted to pick up one of these for a concealer as I have heard that they are great concealers, but sadly there was no close matches in stock. I will have to look at picking up another if I enjoy the formula of this one. These retail for $15.95 but I grabbed this for $7.97.

Maybelline Fit Me! Concealer

I have actually owned this a long time ago when I used to use the whole Fit Me! range but I found the foundation oxidised on my skin really badly. I have been reading great reviews on this concealer though so I have picked this up in shade 20 Sand for concealing scars and blemishes. This retails for $14.95 but was on sale for $7.47.

Revlon

Revlon Colorstay Foundation for Combination/Oily Skin

I have really been loving this foundation so I picked up a spare because I can't imagine not having it. It is long lasting and keeps the shine away, it does smell a bit chemically but the pros far outway the cons. I have shade 220 Natural Beige which retails for $34.95 but was on sale for $17.48.

Revlon New Complexion Oil Control Makeup

I picked this up on a whim, it was only $12.48 so I decided that considering how much I loved my Colorstay foundation I might love this as well. It is aimed at my skin type but I am unsure of how high the coverage is, hopefully similar to the higher coverage of Colorstay. 

And there you are, everything I picked up during the sale. I purchased this all on the website as the nearest store is an hour away! It is free shipping when you spend $99 or more, so my friend and I purchased together. Shipping was super quick, only a day. Some items were missing as they were being shipped from another warehouse but that only took an extra two days. I had originally believed the sale was ending on 29 May but according to the website and Instagram it is still on, so get in quick.

Did you participate in this sale?

Love Liz xx 

Review: Maybelline New York EyeStudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner

Hey Everyone

I have had this gel eyeliner from Maybelline for around a week now but it has completely replaced my other liners so I wanted to share a quick review with you. 

I purchased this gel eyeliner during the Priceline 40% off cosmetics sale last week (or the week before?) on a whim as I don't own any gel eyeliners any more, I used to own some but I think they all dried up or went past their use by date. It has been a while since I have used a gel eyeliner and I couldn't remember liking them all that much, a bit of a mess and too much fuss compared to pencil. I really struggle putting on eyeliner, my hands are quite shaky and I find that liquid eyeliner just turns into a gigantic mess so I typically stay away from that unless I have the time to remove and redo my eye makeup several times. 

I was worried that this eyeliner would take a long time to put on in comparison to my pencil eyeliner but I think this is just as easy and quick. The brush included really does the job which is good as I don't have any good quality eyeliner brushes yet, I just mainly have to do a quick swipe on each eyelid and tada! Sometimes I have to go over it again to even it up but it really is that simple. I really recommend this gel eyeliner to anyone that is looking for something longer lasting than pencil but is not adept at using liquid eyeliner. 

I purchased this during a sale but it retails for $16.95 here in Australia and it seems like this little pot will last a fair while, I have shade blackest black. 

Love Liz xx

Priceline Haul

So yesterday I visited Priceline to purchase some items during their infamous 40% off cosmetics sale which ran on Tuesday and Wednesday. I can never resist a sale and cosmetics is one of my (huge) weaknesses. I wanted to buy almost everything but I was restrained by my friend, I however managed to make her buy a lot of things (sorry!). I ended up with 8 items from 4 different brands. I will only quickly go over what I purchased as I plan on reviewing the items again once I have had time to test them out!

Revlon

Revlon Colorstay Combination/Oily Skin Foundation

This is probably my third or possibly fourth bottle of this stuff, I have tried other foundations but I always come back to this. It is high coverage and will last forever on my oily skin, the only issue I ever had was the smell (still not fixed but can't complain too much) and the fact it didn't have a pump. We'll guess what it finally has a pump! It has had a pump for a while now actually, but because I always purchased online I was always sent the old version, it was well worth the extra few dollars to purchase the one with the pump however! This retails for $34.95 AU but the sale price was $ 20.97 AU.

Revlon Parfumerie Scented Nail Polish

I have been dying to purchase one of these scented nail polishes by Revlon for a long time and I decided that at 40% off it was the best price I was going to get for a while! I was planning on getting a nice dark winter shade, perhaps a royal blue or brown. But I could not find one that I particularly liked and the other shades were similar to ones I already own (damn having such a large nail polish collection) so I chose shade 040 Wintermint which is a lovely aqua blue that has gold flecks and blue glitter particles running through it. I have not smelled it yet as my nose is completely blocked so it'd a bit pointless, but regardless I am happy to own this shade which is unlike anything else I own. This retails for $15.95 AU but was on sale for $9.57 AU.

Maybelline New York

Maybelline Lasting Drama By Eyestudio Gel Eyeliner

I have not used a gel eyeliner in a really really long time and I decided that my pencil eyeliner just was not cutting it lately, so I quickly threw this in my basket without having seen any reviews or really giving it a second thought. I purchased this in the shade 950 Blackest Black and it comes with a brush and a pot of gel eyeliner. This retails for $16.95 AU but was on sale for $10.17 AU.

Maybelline Express Remover

I have been dying to get one of these pot nail polish removers ever since I had seen a Bourjois one featured on a lot of UK blogs. Surely enough they trickled into Australia and I now finally own one! This is a pot that contains sponges soaked in nail polish remover and the idea is that you twist your finger in the sponge and it removes your nail polish. I am sometimes a little slack and can take a while to remove chipped nail polish but I am hoping with this little addition it will make it a lot easier. This retails for $9.95 AU but I picked it up for the sale price of $5.97 AU.

Australis

Australis Make-Up Finishing Spritz

I have wanted to try an 'official' make up setting spray for a while to compare it to using thermal water in an aerosol can, which is what I currently use. I haven't read any reviews on this product but it contains Aloe Vera and Rose Water which sounds like nice added ingredients. I will see how this goes and keep you updated. This retails for $14.95 AU but was on sale for $8.97 AU for 150ml.

Bourjois Paris

Bourjois Happy Light Ultra-Covering Concealer

I have read reviews on this concealer and it seems like the perfect cream concealer for myself, I also swatched this in store and was quite happy with it. It does only come in two shades and I purchased it in shade 23 Beige. I mainly need this to help my under eye area but it can also be used on blemishes so it is considered multi purpose. I will test this out and do a full review soon. This retails for $19 AU but I purchased it at the sale price of $11.40 AU. 

Bourjois Delice de Soleil Bronzing Powder

This is probably the one product that I feel guilty about purchasing, I think it took me a good half hour to decide whether I should or shouldn't purchase this. Obviously I did decide to purchase this, I had been looking at purchasing a new bronzer for a while. I originally wanted the Body Shop Honey Bronzer but it retails for $28 AU and I have yet to find it on sale. I compromised and picked up this bronzer, in my eyes Bourjois can do no wrong, I have not yet found a product by them that I haven't loved. I have read lovely reviews on this bronzer so I know I wont be disappointed. I purchased this in shade 12 for fair/medium skin, although I typically consider my skin tone as olive/tan I have a darker Australis bronzer which looks way too dark on my skin so I decided to play it safe and get the lighter shade. This retails for $30 AU but the sale price was only $18 AU. 

Nude By Nature

Nude By Nature Natural Mineral Cover

This is just a back up product for my makeup stash. I have been using Nude by Nature for a couple years now and have fallen in love with it. My favourite product would be their finishing veil (but I have a huge amount left in my current one) but I also use their natural mineral cover daily, I have this in shade Light/Medium as I found the medium one left my skin looking orange. I usually dust this over my liquid foundation to provide that little bit of extra coverage. This retails for $39.95 AU for 15g which does last a very long time, I paid only $23.97 AU for this. 

I also saved money by using my voucher that I recently received from Priceline, I had managed to spend over $500 last quarter (eep) and so I received a lovely voucher for $21.08, even the checkout person was impressed (I blame the skincare and cosmetic 40% off sale having occurred in the previous quarter) so I know that I have been fairly naughty with my spending lately. I will be going on another spending ban and so I will be reviewing products I haven't featured on here before and continue doing posts such as weekly loves and the minis, if you have any ideas for posts let me know! 

Love Liz xx

Gift With Purchase - Magazine Subscription

So for my Christmas present I asked my brother to get me a subscription to Cosmopolitan magazine, I had seen an advertisement that the subscription came with a random bunch of cosmetics, apparel and accessories. I thought a magazine subscription would be a great idea for me as I stopped buying magazines a long time ago as the price just kept creeping up and up. The subscription was around $60 on sale, you can currently get 12 issues for $74.95 here, this is a much better price than buying them all separately.  Onto the things I received..

ModelCo Eyeliner

I am not sure if I have found the exact eyeliner online as the online version is packaged in white while the eyeliner I received is all black. I received the shade 01 Black which is my preferred shade as I have dark eyes and hair and prefer the dramatic look of dark eyeliner. I have actually received this eyeliner before, more like 4 of them. These are given out like crazy in a lot of the show bags at the Perth Royal Show. I do like this eyeliner, it is pigmented, long lasting and contains an inbuilt sharpener. It does feel a bit cheaply made and is nothing special, but I am happy to have received this.

Kerastase Paris Hair Products

I have never really heard anything about the Kerastase Paris products, other than I knew they were sold on adorebeauty. Turns out it is a company owned by Loreal Paris, this can be considered as a higher end brand however as the products retail for over $35 AU whilst Loreal hair care starts at around $10 AU. I received the products from the RÉSISTANCE range which reinforces weakened, damaged or fine hair from the inside, which is actually perfect for my damaged hair. I received the Fibre Architecture Renovating Dual Serum which is supposed to be non-greasy but reconstructing for brittle and damaged hair. I assume this is like a leave in treatment as it is expected to be used on dry hair after styling, and with no need to rinse it out. I also received the Ciment Thermique Heat-Activated Reconstructing Milk, which is a very strange product. From what I can work out, this is leave in milk for damaged and weak hair, which provides thermal protection from heat styling. This product range seems perfect for my hair so I look forward to trying it, I just hope I don't fall in love as from what I can tell it is quite expensive. 

Nude Footwear Clutch

I havent really heard anything from Nude Footwear before, but after looking online I can see that The Iconic is an online stockist of their products, there is no prices on the Nude Footwear website so it is hard to gauge what their products run for. This is a really nice clutch bag, it has textured brown material on the outside with gold leather flap and a gold chain inside. I love products with gold accents so I am sure I will get some use out of this bag. Sadly my eyeliner has already messed up this bag a little bit but hopefully its fixable!

Sue Sensi Bracelet

I have sadly never heard of this brand before so it is nice to have something from a brand I am not familiar with included in this gift bag, I could not find the exact bracelet online but similar items were priced between $20 AU and possibly even up to $65 AU. They have really cute pieces though, I received multi coloured beads with a few sterling silver beads, a silver looking coin and an 'eye' with a little black card attached to the bracelet that says:

If the eye charm falls off, it has protected you from negative energy.

I think this is pretty cute and I have to remember to actually put it on and wear it, I am happy it is mainly the multi coloured stone beads than sterling silver as I typically wear only gold jewellery but I should be able to get away with wearing this and my usual gold stuff.  

Jonathan Aston Tights

I have seen these tights (or stockings as I like to call them) before in Myer, but never being a big fan of stockings I never bothered to purchase any as they are slightly out of my price range. I received 4 pairs, power tights, racy tights, fame tights, and dynamic tights, all in size B which is perfect for me. I cant find these exact ones online but they range from $13+ AU. 

Minty Meets Munt Dress

I have heard of this brand before and I think it has some absolutely gorgeous clothing. I have not yet opened my dress as it came in a size large which is not the typical size I go for, I typically am a small or possibly a medium. I may have to re gift this which makes me sad and hence I have been avoiding opening it. I really hope the sizes run small! 

Overall I have been really impressed with this gift with purchase, I would of been happy with just the magazines to be honest but this is a lovely extra!

Love Liz xx

Weekly Loves #04

Another week has just flown right by, this time next week my holidays will be officially over and I will be back to Uni on the Monday. I plan on scheduling posts and writing them in my spare time or whilst procrastinating, I am only part time this semester so I should be able to continue my resolution of posting at least twice a week! Back to the things I have been loving this week though..

Covergirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Polish

I have managed to have this nail polish on my nails for practically the whole week, they really only started chipping at work on Friday and I think I applied it last Sunday or Monday, which has to almost be a record for me. I am the worst when it comes to nail polish, I usually chip them straight away or definitely by the next day even with a base coat and top coat. I have quite a few of these nail polishes by Covergirl and they all seem to be similar quality, shiny and chip free for a long time. I picked this one up during a Kmart sale for only $2 AU but they are relatively inexpensive at $6.95 AU compared to other similar quality brands. I have been meaning to feature this polish and two other Covergirl ones I got in the sale on my blog, but I have been waiting for the display nail sticks rather than shoddily painting my own short stubby nails. I really love this nail polish colour, it is shade 225 Perfect Penny, which is a shimmery copper/bronze colour and looks quite luxurious, not tacky at all. It is opaque almost in 1 coat but I use 2 just to be on the safe side.

Sukin Certified Organic Rose Hip Oil

This is only a new addition to my skincare collection, but so far I have been loving using this. I wake up with clearer skin and softer, with less dry or flaky patches. I only use this once a night or once every other night and that seems to be working well for me. I look forward to seeing how this works with my skin after a longer period of use. This retails for $19.95 AU and you can currently purchases a limited edition bottle in Priceline, which supports the McGrath Foundation.

Maybelline New York Masterliner

I bought this a fair while ago but never opened it, I have been struggling finding a lasting eyeliner and opened up this recently to test it out. I have been loving it ever since, this cream pencil lasts a lot longer than my regular pencil and it seems to go on straighter than my pencil even though the nub is thicker. Maybe thick is the key? It is a little bit too thick for a cat eye/flick however so I still have to use a normal pencil, rather than this mechanical cream pencil for that. This retails for $12.50 AU but you can usually grab it on a Maybelline wide sale in stores. 

Benefit They're Real Mascara

I have two samples of this Benefit mascara, from beauty boxes, and this comes in a 3g size as a deluxe sample. The full size retails for $38 AU which is a shame as it is listed as only $23 US on the Benefit website, I understand the price differences due to the market but a whole $15 difference is a lot to swallow. Such a shame as well as I think this is a fantastic mascara, and it has a huge cult following that would agree with me. This coats my lashes well with one swipe and creates what I like to call, babydoll looking lashes. Those big long lashes that make your eyes look huge by thickening the lashes, making them longer and separating them. This mascara does not budge and manages to last me all day without flaking or rubbing off. 

Love Liz xx