Lazy Sunday – Clarins Haul

I've been reading numerous skincare blogs lately and I came across abundant reviews on the Clarins Gentle Exfoliator, brightening toner (positive ones of course).

What do I usually do when I hear great reviews? I run (not literally) to the closest store to check it out. I went to Myer (one of the biggest department store in Australia) and the sale rep was very helpful. She said you apply it like a normal toner but it contains ingredients that exfoliate your skin without the requirement of scrubbing your face. She also mentioned it rejuvenates the skin.  It costs $45 AUD for 125 mL. She showed me another type where it’s an exfoliator and said it’s pretty much the same as the toner but has extra ingredients to help with brightening the skin. It’s also $45 but for 50 mL. I was drawn to the exfoliator because I have skin pigmentations.

I also heard that Clarins sunscreens are good and the sale rep showed me an oil free formulation. She placed a tiny drop on my hand and it spread out to my entire hand. You know how you hear people say “little goes a long way”? I never experienced that. Beauty blogger would say that about foundation and I disagree with them because I have to use at least 1.5 to 2 pumps to cover my whole face (and my face isn't that big, don’t have a huge surface area). But now I've understood. You have to shake the bottle since it’s a water based sunscreen. The texture and smell of the sunscreen is very light and pleasant. It’s also non-sticky unlike the typical ones. This cost $39 AUD for 30 mL.

One of my good friends told me that Clarins counter at David Jones (the other biggest department store in Australia) is having a deal. This deal is if you purchase at least two Clarins products (one have to be a skin care product), you will get a gift pack. So I walked over to DJ to buy the exfoliator and the sunscreen. The sunscreen is the same price as Myers but the exfoliator is $55 AUD. The gift pack is not only cute but contains good products. I ended up purchasing the two items from DJ; I’m just spending an extra $10 for the gift set so why not? 

How cute is the tin bucket? It has a leather strap as well. Now I can store all the things lying around on my desk (lots of things) plus, it’s a nice room décor piece. I haven’t opened the gifts yet because I changed my mind about the exfoliator and will get the toner instead. Not sure if they wanted to see the gifts when I go to exchange it so I just didn't touch them (just in case).

Oh, I forgot to mention that they have two types of gift pack. I forgot what the other pack is but I got the Hydration one. This pack includes:

• Gentle Refiner – Exfoliating cream with microbeads (30 mL)
• HydraQuench Cream - Normal to dry skin (15 mL)
• HydraQuench Intenstive Serum bi-phase (15 mL)
• Extra Firming Body Cream (100 mL)
• Cleansing Milk – Normal to dry skin (100 mL)
• Eau des Jardins – perfume (not sure the quantity but I think it’s 20 mL)

I have oily skin but one reason I bought this pack is because I like the scent of perfume better than the other pack and the second reason is I’m thinking of giving the pack to my mum. She has semi-dry skin and she deserves high end skincare for her skin.

Hope you had or are having a nice Sunday xx

w7 Magic Beads –Demo and review

Chemist Warehouse has an exclusive cosmetic brand called w7 and it just came out with nail polishes set called Magic Beads. This is a similar version to the caviar nail effect by Ciate London. The pearl beads comes in three colours; black, silver and multi-coloured. I bought the silver set to try. The set cost $4.99 AUD.

The set includes one silver nail polish, a bottle of silver beads, a funnel and a plastic tray.

Here are the following instructions printed behind the box along with my addition tips (in italic):

1. Apply two coats of nail polish onto nails. Paint the first coat to all nailsfirst.
2. Place painted finger over the tray and sprinkle beads over the painted nail before painted nail goes dry. Paint the second coat on one nail then sprinkle the beads. Once done, repeat this step to other nails. There is a provided tray so sprinkle the beads with tray underneath.
3. After fully covered, press the beads into your painted nail bed to make sure they are stuck well.
4. Put the mini funnel into the beads bottle and tilt the tray over the mini funnel to pour in the pearl beads.
5. Leave nails to dry completely for 20 minutes.

You don’t have to use the silver nail polish they provided. You can just use any nail polish of your chose. I used the Revlon colourstay nail polish in 040 Provence.

DEMO:

1. Apply base coat

2. Paint all nails with the first coat of your colour of choice.

3. Paint the second coat on ONE nail 

4. Sprinkle the beads straight onto the nails after you finished painting the second coat

5. Pressed the beads onto the nail

6. This is an addition step I do – paint top coat on the edge/tip of the nail to secure the beads. Don’t apply top coat to the entire nail because you will distort the bead/caviar effect.

7. Pu t the provided funnel on the bead bottle

8. Pour the beads from the tray into the funnel

The final result:

VERDICT:

3.5/5. I don’t have the Ciate one to compare but the w7 one is easy to use and is much cheaper. It last only one day, half of the beads had fallen off. It depends on how well you take care of it. I wasn't surprised it doesn't last long because the formulation of the nail polish doesn't have strong adhesive source for the beads to adhere to well. I heard that the Ciate ones last around the same time. It would be great if they have more colour beads, other than that I’m happy with the result. 

Eyelash extensions experience

One of my bff bought an eyelash extensions voucher online as part of my birthday present. The place is called HolyLashes. I believe they have 3 locations in Victoria, Australia. They are specialised in eyelash extensions but they do provide other services such as face waxing and tinting. If you live in Victoria, you can check them out via: http://holylashes.com.au/.

I've never got my lashes extended before because I had no interest in getting it done but my bff insisted that I should at least experienced it. We went to the one located in North Melbourne. It’s a little building with nice interior decors. Our appointment was at 11 AM and when we got there only one staff was working. Hence, one of us had to go first while the other one waited. My bff volunteered to go first and I got to watch the procedures and know what it will be like when I get mine done. 

Above is a picture of my bff getting her lashes extended (I forgot to tell her to take a pic of me). They used paper tape to pull our eyes a bit so that it’s easier to apply the lashes onto our natural lashes. The picture is quite funny because it looks like some serious plastic surgery.

It took around 30 minutes to complete both eyes so it’s fairly quick. I’m not sure what type of glue they used but it stings a tiny bit but bearable.  The lady who did my lashes said it will stick on around 3 weeks and afterwards the glue becomes less adhesive. She also mentioned the lashes add an extra 10 mm to my natural lashes. 

Here are photos of my lashes afterwards:

Four weeks later…. As you can see, a few lashes had fallen off:

VERDICT:

PRO:

•  Good length (not too dramatic)
• Natural looking
•   Save time when you are in a rush - don’t need to put on mascara

CON:

• Expensive
• Can’t apply mascara to define the eyes (the place do sell a special mascara that doesn't interfere with the glue)
• Have to avoid using cleansing oil around the eyes hence, difficult to clean my make-up off
• After washing out my shampoo in the shower the surfactants sometime get in my eyes and it’s hard to rub my eyes.
•  Looks weird with a few long lashes after the rest had fallen off

Overall it was a good experience but I don’t think I would get them refill. I think it is too hard to maintain the lashes. You can buy vouchers online where you can get them done for a good price (e.g. groupon, scoopon etc).

Disclaimer: I’m not affiliated with Holylashes. I just mentioned them for you curious ones J

Lazy Sunday - Chemist Warehouse Haul

Another haul?! Yes another haul. I am working on few another posts so please bear with me. I thought doing a haul post will be quicker and give you guise something to read while you wait for the others.

I’m reviewing a few skincare products at the moment so it takes time for me to see the results and I’m doing research on them as well. Stay tune for them J

I've recently bought a few beauty related things from Chemist Warehouse. Those who are not from Australia, Chemist Warehouse are the largest drugstore in Australia. They are still having their 50% off make-up ranges so I decided to pick up a couple of things before I forget and miss out. 

One of my bff raved about the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Hardener. She said it really helps prevent any chipping and cracking of the nails. My nails been extremely poor, they are fragile and easily chipped. My bff has more experience in nail stuff than me; she enjoys painting her nails way more than me hehe. So I took her recommendation into consideration and bought one. I couldn't find the one that looks like hers at the store so hopefully the one I got is just amazing as hers one.  This cost $8.48.

I also got the Sally Hansen Cuticle cream which is $6.97. It’s actually for my mum. She has thick overgrown cuticles so I got it. I haven’t heard anything about it but hope it will work for her.

The last Sally Hansen product I got is the Crackle overcoat in 06 Antiqued Gold. I personally don’t like crackle effect on nails but it’s always good to try new things out. I love the colour plus, it was only $4.97 so why not?

I heard mixed reviews on the Revlon Photoready BB cream but I wanted to give it a go and see if I like it or not. I love the Garnier BB Miracle Skin Perfector BB cream for Oily and combination skin but it doesn’t have SPF. The Revlon one has SPF 30 which is another reason I want to try it. I tend to forget to put sunscreen on before I apply my make-up which is a very bad habit I know, so it’s a bonus if there’s SPF in the product.  I got it in 020 Light Medium and it cost $12.48. I can’t wait to give this BB cream a try.

The last two products I purchased are Rimmel Moisture Renew lipsticks in 400 Berry Queen and 700 Nude Delight and both are $5.47 each. The packaging is so cute, nice shiny purple. Purple is one of my favourite colours. I only heard minimal things about this type of lipstick so once again I wanted to test them out. 

Again sorry about my disgusting dry hands, it’s winter down under. If you guise tried any of the products I've mentioned please let me know your experience/s. Those who are not from Australia, yes even though they are 50% off they are still more expensive than elsewhere. Cosmetics and skincare in Australia are ridiculously expensive.

Hope you guys are having a wonderful weekends xx

Shopbot mini haul

Hello lovely friends, sorry it has been a while since I made a post. I’ve been quite busy lately. I’ve recently graduated from my course at Monash University (officially). I spent time with one of my good friend from uni. She is from Sydney and she came back down to Melbourne for the ceremony. Also, I got quite sick for a good week and a half.

Anyway I’m back and I have a mini haul to share with you all. When I mean mini, I mean only ONE item haha. It just arrived today, yay. I just want to briefly state that I bought this item with my own money and am not sponsored.

Before you scroll down can you guess what it is? Yes? No? Okay, let see…

Any ideas yet? I got myself a Rebecca Minkoff mini mac shoulder bag. I had my eyes on this particular style for at least a year and a half now. I’ve decided to save up and purchase it. I’m not sure where I can purchase Rebecca Minkoff in Australia so I bought it on Shopbot (http://www.shopbop.com). I saw that Rachel from RachaelJadee on youtube has bought her bag from this online store before so I wasn’t too reluctant to buy it from there.   

As you can see in the picture above, the bag was carefully wrapped. The hardware was well protected as well as the leather straps/ tassels thingy during shipping.

 So here’s the bag unwrapped. I love this light mint colour. I have numerous standard colours bags such as black and brown so I’ve decided to add a touch of colour in my bag collections. It’s a light colour so it’s still versatile in term of matching with outfits.  The leather is soft yet high quality.

The inside material has the same pattern as the dust bag. As you can see, there are two sections inside where you can put your phone, keys etc.

Here’s a closer look of the inside:

 Not sure if you guise can tell, but it’s quite spacious. I heard from reviews that you can fit a standard size wallet and you still have plenty of room to carry other things.  

If you open the hook, there’s another small compartment for more storage. At Shopbot, this bag cost $195 US and the converted currency to AUD is $210.04 (Nnoo, aussie dollars are going down again!) I ordered it on the 13^th of June and they shipped it out the next day. It arrived today (18^th of June) so it took only 3 days to arrived. Plus, shipping is free as well. I am very happy with their service and shipping time.

 I bought the last mint colour bag but there are other colours. Here is a link if you guises are interested:

http://www.shopbop.com/mini-mac-bag-rebecca-minkoff/vp/v=1/1523491139.htm?folderID=2534374302055387&fm=other-shopbysize-viewall&colorId=12646

If you want to buy something from this place, I highly recommended. I love love my new shoulder bag. Hope you enjoyed reading this haul. 

Michael Kors watch

Who here lives in Australia and is sick of the ridiculous prices we have to pay for makeup, clothes and jewelleries? *hand up* I know I am. I have always wanted a Michael Kors watch but am not willing to pay $400 – 450 when in America they only cost around $250-300 (depending on the style). 

I want to share with you lovely people where I purchased my Michael Kors watch for a decent price and it is equivalent to US pricing.  I got it on eBay at a store called Integrity808. Yes I know eBay isn’t the best place to buy branded things considering it may be poor quality or even fake BUT… I have a few friends that recommended the shop to me. They have bought their watches from this seller and they had no problem.

I purchased my watch last year during my finals of my last semester at uni/ college. You can tell that I procrastinate greatly during exam seasons and I tend to do online shopping. During that time I didn’t work but thought I would splurge and get myself a pre-graduation gift. I got the Michael Kors MK5464 Women’s Runway White Silicone Rose Gold watch.  Here are pictures….

After watching a few of my favourite youtubbers such as Stylesuzi, Amarixe and Missglamorazzi showing this gorgeous watch, I felt in love with it. When I decided to buy it, I was planning to get it on Bloomingdales website but they didn’t have it. So I went onto the actual Michael Kors website to check and it got taken off. I was devastated. Hence, I decided to look on ebay like my friends had told me to. I found it was less than the RRP on the MK website (i.e. $250). I paid around $230 for mine and received it in 2 weeks, which is a reasonable amount of time for the waiting period.

Before I place an order, I read all the reviews from customers that had bought from this store. They have excellent feedback so I took a gamble and purchased from them. I was extremely excited when I received it and had to try it on straight away. Of course, it was too big for me so I had to go to a watch store to get a few linkages taken out. It cost approximately $10 which is pretty good. I had 4 taken out.  

The watch felt heavy on my wrist when I first tried it on but I got used to it after a while. Usually I don’t wear watches. The last time I wore one before this watch was in high school and it was a small watch with leather strap. The white part of the watch is made out of silicon so it has a weird feel to it and in my opinion, silicon can makes the dust adhered to it quite easily. Beside that it’s just a beautiful statement piece. I get numerous compliments and get asked where to buy it from. Unfortunately, they don’t have it anymore L But! The rose gold ones are just as nice. One of my best friends went to America and bought the rose gold watch and the packaging is exactly the same to my one.

If you are interested in getting a lovely MK watch for a price that the Americans do, check out Integrity808 store on ebay: http://stores.ebay.com.au/Integrity808

If you guys are in Australia, a few days ago Catch of the day had MK watches on sale. The rose gold watches were for $250 which is a good deal. They don’t have that deal anymore so sorry guys. But, just sign up to them. The MK sale might come back plus, there are other great deals on that site.

http://www.catchoftheday.com.au/

I hope this has been somewhat helpful for you guise who have to pay skyrocket prices in your country.  

May beauty favourites

May has always been my favourite month since it’s the month of my birthday. Also, in Australia May is the last month of Autumn/Fall which is my favourite season. I love layering clothes and the thought of sitting by a cosy fireplace drinking coffee or tea with a good book seem like a nice luxury.  This May has been amazing for me. I finally caught up with a few close high school friends who I haven’t seen for a year, getting eyelashes extension done for the first time and in general being extremely spoiled by everyone for my birthday.

I have accumulated various beauty items I kept coming back to in this month. By the way, with the picture above I tried to make it looks like the liquid from the perfume bottle spilled out. Yay or nay? Trying to be creative (doesn't seem like it is working). This blog post is going to be a long one so make yourself some nice cup of tea or coffee and enjoy a good read. Here we go….

I've been using the Chance by Chanel eau tendre fragrance almost every day and always get complimented. I’m not very good with describing scents but I will try my best to.  This fragrance has a light fresh flora scent with a hint of fruity smell. It’s more of a spring/summer scent but I just love the smell. It smells similar to the Marc Jacob Daisy perfume. People say it’s very similar and is almost identical but I have to disagree. They do smell similar to some degree but the Daisy one is a bit lighter and has a slight funky smell to it. I don’t know how to describe it, as the alcohol evaporates after you spray the daisy it left with a weird scent. As you can tell, I’m not a big fan of the Daisy perfume.  Chance is quite light so it fades away quite quickly but I just re-apply 2-3 times throughout the day. I transferred it into my travalo and placed it in my handbag so it’s nice and compact. 

My face broke out this month so I have quite a few pimples and blemishes I need to cover up. This month the Revlon Photoready concealer has done the job. It has a rich creamy texture which gives great coverage. It’s not easily blend, the trick is to warm it up with your fingers then apply. I used the shade 003 light medium. This concealer however, isn't good for covering my dark circles. It dries up under my eyes even though I used an eye cream.

For foundation I've been loving Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation. It’s a light to medium coverage foundation which leaves a nice dewy finish. I have oily skin but during the colder months my skin becomes normal/combinations. This foundation brightens up my face with a glow and I just look more awake. Like the name of this foundation, the dewy finish makes my skin looks healthier. I’m in the number 53 light beige if anyone was wondering.

Even though the foundation gives me a nice glow, I like to warm up my face further and this month I've been using NARS Laguna bronzer. I don’t what to say about it other than it’s amazing and makes you glow like a goddess in those dull autumn’s weather haha. I've hit pan pretty badly, need to buy another one soon.

As for blush I've re-discovered an all time favourite of mine, NARS Deep Throat. It gives a light-medium pinch of pink on my cheeks and the fine gold specs add a light glowing effect. Perfect for everyday wear.

 Speaking of adding a glow to the face, I've been enjoying using a sample size of Benefit High Beam. I've seen other beauty gurus rave about it and didn't really understand why. I get it now guys! Everyone needs a touch of brightness, and this baby does the trick. I wasn't willing to spend my money on the product but one of my lovely friends gave me a sample. I might consider getting the full size now, what do you guys think?

Before I had eyelashes extension done, I would always grab the Maybelline the colossal volum’ express cat eyes (waterproof) mascara. It has a unique curve brush which further curls my lashes and it separates the lashes evenly without making it clumpy. It adds a bit of volume to my lashes due to the waxes and also lengthens them nicely. Because it’s a waterproof formulation, more waxes are involved thus; it holds the curls for a longer time than the normal formulation mascaras.

 I have to wake up early every morning for work and I tend to take my time to do my makeup. However, I always seem to run out of time so when it comes to the eyes I just grab the Maybelline 24hr Colour Tattoo in 25 Bad to the Bronze. It’s perfect for my skin tone and it looked like I put a lot of effort when really I just smeared it on :p 

Since I have to wake up early, I always look tired. I've been enjoying using the Rimmel scandal eyes waterproof kohl pencil in 005 nude. I used it in the inner corners of my eyes to brighten them up. After I applied it I look like I have a good standard 8 hours of beauty sleep instead of a death zombie. It’s a really soft pink colour which makes it more natural than other white eyeliner pencils.

During this month I have a semi-blocked nose at night because it has been so cold therefore I tend to breathe through my mouth. This means in the morning my lips are really dry. I would reach for the Lush lip scrub (in Bubblegum) to get rid of dried death skin and smooth the lips. My favourite lip scrub from Lush is the Sweet lip (taste like vanilla with a hint of chocolate) but they had discontinued it! Nnooo… The assistant recommended the bubblegum one so I bought it. When I first tried it I absolutely hated it. It tasted artificial and I couldn't stand it but because I don’t like to waste money I continued to use it. Overtime I got used to the taste so it’s not too bad now. As long as it does the job then I’m happy.

 To further add moisture to my lips in the morning, I like to use the Neutrogena Naturals lip balm. I’m very picky with lip balms because only a few will add moisture to my lips and the Neutrogena one is one of them. It’s extremely moisturising and it claims that it doesn't use any harsh chemicals such as sulphate, parabens, dyes and petrochemicals, which is a bonus. I want to try the rest of the Neutrogena naturals range such as the makeup remover but haven’t heard any reviews on it. Would you guise want me to try it out and do a review?

 

I've been really into natural look this month even though it was autumn and people tends to like a pop of dark coloured lips. I've been using the Rimmel Kate collection lipstick in number 07 as well as the Bourjois Rouge edition lipstick in number 04 frequently.  Both of these colours are a natural pink colour. Basically they are your lips colour but better lipsticks.

 Please excuse my extremely dry hands. Any suggestions for good hand cream btw?

I also often wore a nude lips and my favourite lip products are the ModelsPrefer infinite colour lip liner in always nude and ModelsPrefer Ultral lipgloss pencil in perfectly polished. I wear both of them together. I would apply the lip liner on first followed with the lipgloss. Together they create the perfect nude lips for me. I find it is hard to find a good nude colour that suits my entire skin colour. After watching Jodik76 on youtube, I really like how it looked on her and we have similar skin tone so I decided to give it ago. So thank you to Jodi, I have found a nice nude colour I love :D

As I mentioned before how I was into natural looks for this month, I also loved nude coloured nails. I used the Rimmel 60 seconds nail polish in 500 caramel cupcake for nearly 2 and a half weeks straight. It’s just a nice neutral colour.  It doesn't dry in 60 seconds like it claimed to be though, more like a few minutes. But I don’t mind because I always watching something while I paint my nails so I don’t get bored while waiting for them to dry.

 That is it for my May beauty favourites. I apologise for an extremely long post but I hope you enjoyed reading it. What were your favourite’s beauty items in May? Also, let me know how your May was in general.