NOTD

I was in Hot Dollar the other day and found myself gravitating towards the stack of L.A. Colors polishes (yet again). I've always oohed and ahhed over their cheap prettiness but this time I finally picked one up. The shade I got is called 'Morning Glory' and is a deep purple/grape with blue and purple shimmer. It didn’t turn out as shimmery and awesome as I thought it’d be but it’s still pretty nice.

Pretty colour aside, I must say that the formulation is a tad craptacular as it needed 3 coats to get a streak-free finish. You’ll also notice that I have some wear on the tips of my nails - I only applied the polish a couple of nights ago! Poor form. Take a look:

Flash

Flash

Natural Light

As you can see, my camera picked up the colour as navy in natural light. Soo many photos taken and soo many fails. Y U FAIL ME, TECHNOLOGY?

Anyway, I have now satisfied my L.A. Colors curiousity but probably won't buy another. Nah, I'm lying. I probz will. I'm a sucker.

Smooth Operator

Winter is a bitch. It’s bloody freezing, everyone puts on 20kgs (maybe that's just me) and our skin gets crusty and gross. ‘Crusty’ certainly conjures up some rank images, doesn’t it? Ugh. Let's move on.

I’ve got myself a little process of ridding myself of croc-style skin on my bod and getting all lush and sexy (sexy may be pushing it). Here’s what I do/use:

  

Shower time!

Heavy-duty sugar scrubs are great but they’re also fucking irritating and messy as hell. I don’t know about you but I’m not a fan of standing around naked (pre-shower), slathering myself with sugary slop and getting it into every single crevice of the bathroom. Instead of causing myself scrub-related grief, I use LUX’s Shea Exfoliating Scrub w/ Shea Butter and Caramel, an exfoliant and shower gel in one. It’s not as full-on as a thick, sugar scrub but because I use it a few times a week, it still manages to exfoliate my skin really well and get me super-soft. Plus, it smells like sugary sex. This stuff is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. On the days I bypass the LUX stuff, I use Bathox’s Milk and Honey Bath Foam & Shower Gel, which, coincidentally, is also HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. It hydrates my skin like nuts, gets me extra soft and also smells like sugary sex.

FYI: The LUX scrub/wash is about $6 and the Bathox bodywash is $2.50.

Lotion up

I’m a two-timing whore when it comes to my body lotion. The first of the two that are blowing my mind is Vaseline’s Cocoa Butter Deep Conditioning Body Lotion with Cocoa Butter (duh) and Vitamin E. I’ve been using this stuff since the Summertime and it smells goooood (coconuty and chocolately), moisturises really well and sinks in pretty damn fast. Plus, the smell lingers. Win! The second is a fairly new discovery and it’s the Kiehl’s Crème de Corps. I can see why this stuff is one of Kiehl’s cult prodz. It’s rich, hydrates those extra dry bits and sinks in super-fast. Loving this stuff sick. While both of these rock, I must admit that the Kiehl’s one is a tad better. It’s just so damn rich and lush but not greasy or wet and icky. It’s a tad pricey, though. *sigh* 

FYI: The Vaseline lotion comes in a couple of sizes but the massive one that I have is 750ml and is $11. The Kiehl’s comes in a bunch of sizes and the prices range from $16 for 75ml to $98 for 1L.

So, that’s what I use to get my bod feeling soft during the shittily-cold Winter months. How do you prevent your skin from crusting over (ew) during Winter?

PRODUCT REVIEW - Simple Kind to Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser

I’ve tried a bunch of moisturisers and I’ve gotta say, from my experience, it seems like the cheapies are the way to go. This review is going to be on my most favourite moisturiser so far, Simple’s Kind to Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser.

Top photo!

How much is it? Approx. $11

How much product do you get? 125ml

The good?

It feels really light on the skin. I don’t really mind a heavier moisturiser but I do prefer it to be lighter and this stuff is win.

It moisturises superbly. Superbly! Despite it’s lightness, this stuff hydrates like there’s no tomorrow. Even the driest bits of flaketastic skin are quashed with this stuff.

It sinks into my skin within seconds. Okay, maybe not seconds but close enough. Plus, it doesn’t leave any sort of residue.

It’s cheap. That is all.

The not so good?

It’s not oil-free. Even though I don’t have sensitive skin, I do have a lot of acne so I prefer to use stuff that doesn’t have oils in it. However, this stuff doesn’t break me out nor does it leave any oilyness on my skin so it’s not too much of an issue.

It doesn't have an SPF. Silly. 

...

I love this stuff and will definitely buy it again. It feels good, works well and is cheap. What’s not to love? Well, I guess the fact that it's SPF-less. Poo. 

I would think it would be okay to use on most skins but like I said, it’s not oil-free so I don’t know if it'd be the best option for the girls with sensitive or very oily skin.

P.S. For comparison reasons, I feel like this stuff is verrry similar to Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion… but better. Oh, and heaps cheaper.

Anyone tried this? What did you think?

Things That Sucked (imo)

+ Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector

It always sucks when you when you fork out the moolah on something shithouse. Here’s my list:

L’Oreal Studio Secrets Anti-Shine Mattifying Primer - It doesn’t keep shine at bay and it doesn’t keep my makeup on for longer. Fail. I believe this is just silicone in a bottle so it feels all soft and lush when you slap it on but it doesn’t do anything more. It’s not so bad that I’m going to chuck it but I won’t be re-purchasing.

Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector (finished this ages ago so the bottle is gone) - I expected miracles from this product (and I don’t usually buy into the hype) because the marketing made it seem like it was the product for pigmentation. It was pretty exxy ($89) and all it did was make my skin really soft. That’s great and all but I can get the same effect from something a hell of a lot cheaper. I was told that I’d probably need to buy a second or third bottle to see good results but I’m not willing to buy more of something that may or may not work. P.S. It also left an oily film on my face.

Savvy eyeliner in Ivory – Look, I wasn't expecting this $2 liner to be superduper awesome but it was really quite crappy. I bought this because I wanted to see if white liner made me eyes look brighter/better. It didn’t and this pencil sucked. The pigmentation is pants and it tugged on my waterline. Into the bin, you go.  

Benefit’s the POREfessional - I bought this and ranted in my haul post about how awesome it was and how very excited I was that I bought it. *sigh* Look, it does work but it wears off far too quickly. There’s a reason why the counter chick told me that I should chuck it in my bag 'in case' I needed a re-apply during the day. This isn't a massive disappointment because it does work but I'm not a fan because it doesn’t last and needs to be re-applied and I truly cbf. For those of you who don't mind a few re-applies during the day, it may be worth a shot. 

Thoughts?

I Heart Priceline

Priceline has a massive sale on atm (I think it's about to end, though) and while I could've gone insane and spent all my money, I only ended up buying a few things. Poo. I kept putting stuff in my basket (mainly shadows and skin stuff) and then putting it all back again. This went on for about 40 minutes. Seriously. I'm weird.

Anyway, I remained strong (and boring) and didn't buy any shadows or other stuff (which I now kinda regret) and just bought a few staples and one newbie item that I've been eyeing for a while.

The Batiste Dry Shampoo and the Garnier Clean Sensitive Make-Up Remover are my staples. Love them both. However, the Batiste wasn't on sale. Bastards.

The newbies are the FAT HAIR Thickening Spray (the thing I've been eyeing off) and the L'Oreal REVITALIFT wipes. I bought the wipes because I remember Suzanne telling me they were good but I'm pretty sure I didn't buy the right ones because she said they were in a red packet. Fail.

The FAT HAIR Thickening Spray is the thing I'm excited about. I have flat, thin and limp hair so hopefully this shiz gives me some oomph. Will report back.

I also bought some deoderant and other boring shit.

Anyone tried the FAT HAIR stuff? And Suzanne, I got the wrong wipes, didn't I? 

Nivea Lip Balm DUEL!

This duel is brought to you by my love for Nivea lip balms.

Here’s who we’re dealing with:

On the left we have Essential Care, my HG lip balm. I’ve ranted about it enough on this blog so I’m not going to ramble on again. It’s the shit, though. Ingredients? Vitamin E, Jojoba Oil, Shea Butter and Provitamin B5.

On the right we have Pure & Natural in 'Milk & Honey'. When I saw these balms, I got excited. Real excited. Particularly when I spotted the Milk & Honey one (I believe the other was Chamomile & Calendula). I love anything milk and honey, especially body lotions and shower gels. As soon as I bought this, I ripped it open and furiously slathered it onto my lips. I’m pretty sure the chick who served me thought I was a freak/imbecile. Whatevs.The ingredients in this one include Jojoba Oil, Organic Shea Butter and Honey and Milk extracts. It’s also 100% free of preservatives and other bad shiz.

What do I think?

The first thing I noticed was that the Pure & Natural, while lovely, was nowhere near as buttery or nourishing as my beloved Essential Care. I mean, it was still soft and kinda buttery, but compared to E.C… nah. P&N was also a pretty, caramel colour (doesn't transfer a tint on the lips, though) while E.C. is just plain white-ish. Take a look at P&N:

The second thing I noticed about P&N? It had a scent (which I was hoping for). The scent is pretty similar to most of the other milk and honey prodz I’ve tried (kinda caramelesque) but a lot more subtle. There’s something else in there, too. I’ve been going crazy trying to pick out what is to no avail. Soz. E.C. just smells like straight-up moisturiser. Nothing outrageous/special, though. Just a very soft and light scent. 

Lastly, P&N tastes kinda sweet. I like this. E.C. also has a taste to it but it’s not sweet. Licking E.C. off my lips is like lightly licking moisturiser off someone's face. Sexy stuff.

All up?

While I enjoy the smell (and taste) of Pure & Natural, I won't be re-purchasing. It's nice but I just don't think it's as buttery or moisturising as Essential Care. Boourns.

By the way, both balms are just under $4.

P.S. I used the powers of the Internet to research the ingredients of both balms as neither have the ingredients listed on the tube and their outer-packaging has long gone.

Has anyone tried these? Thoughts?

Kiehl's Down Under

This post is specifically for my Aussie girls.  

I’m not usually down for re-hashing press releases on my blog but when I received the one about the Aussie Kiehl’s website/e-store launch, I thought it was pretty effin awesome and think you guys will agree.

Kiehl’s has just launched their Aussie-based website and e-store and along with their permanently lowered prices, Kiehl’s is also offering:

Free shipping during the month of June (usually $10 Australia-wide)

Free samples with every order

Free gift wrapping

Aaaand, if you buy something (no matter the cost) during the month of June and enter lipglossblog into the special code box, you’ll receive a free Kiehl’s lip gloss! They’re worth $27. $27! Just sayin’.

Cool, no? Everyone loves free stuff. Everyone.

If you’ve ever wanted to try Kiehl’s (or re-stock your supply), now is the perfect time. Head here for your online shopping hit.

P.S. I’m not being paid for this post nor should you expect this blog to turn into one big press release – that ain’t ever gonna happen. I just think this is a great deal, yo!

Happy shopping!

Partial Shopping Ban Update

Back in April, I decided to go on a partial shopping ban (you can find the post here) because of the stupid amounts of shit that I own. So, how have I been going?

Good! Thanks for asking.

I haven’t bought anything on the ban list! Woo! Well, okay - that’s a slight lie. I banned myself from buying primers but I ended up buying Benefit’s the POREfessional (expect a review soon!) a little while ago. That totes doesn’t count, though. It’s not a primer primer, it’s a pore thingamajig. Ha!

More importantly, I have successfully refrained from buying shadows. This is pretty major because eye shadows are my love. Oh and while I did put lip glosses on my ban list, they’re now off. I don’t have that many and since I’m trying to get into wearing subtle hints of colour on my lips, I figure it’s best that I’m allowed to buy them. Sneaky stuff.  

On a non-beauty note, I also gave up buying magazines which I thought would be an immense challenge but turned out to be the easiest thing ever. I was always a big mag-whore and used to buy a stack of them every month without fail. However, in the last year or so, I found myself getting bored with the content (is it just me or do they just re-hash the same ol’ shit, over and over?) and the ridiculous/pointless articles. Anyway, I haven’t bought a mag in a while so... GO TEAM!

P.S. Just in case you missed it, here's my first empties post. 

Is anyone else on a shopping/spending ban? How's yours going?

Link Lurve

Tumblr stylez

My first installment of LINK LURVE! Here are some awesome bloggers and their awesome posts:

Suzanne does a wicked FOTD here. Go pester her to do more. 

Michelle shows off an epic haul. I may or may not be planning to rob her house.

Lexi makes me want to try being creative with my nails with this post (how awesome do her nails look!?). If only I wasn’t shit/impatient…

Tara and I share a like/addiction for candles and this post makes for good candle-envy. WANT.

I looove the look of a fat bun a la Carrie Bradshaw. Julie shows us a cool (albeit a tad complicated) way of achieving it. Need to try this, ASAP!

Jade gives us the low-down on the popular EOS balms (minus the B.S.).You gotta love a no-nonsense blogger!

...

These are all great posts/blogs so make sure you check them out!

Peace.

The Lipstick Tag

I was tagged by Deerest (is that even your name?! Sorry if it’s not!) at the beautifool. Here are a few pics of my pathetic lippie ‘collection’ (I use that term verrry loosely) including some swatches:

No flash

Flash

Flash

No flash

Left to right: Rimmel's 'Delicate Pink' (a light, peachy pink - not as bright as the camera makes it seem), Australis' 'Tropicana' (this is actually a hot pink but the camera picked it up as slightly red - fail), BYS' 'Lilac Crush' (part of a double-ended duo w/gloss), BYS' 'Baby Doll'.

When you were a child, did you use your mother's lipsticks?

Hell yes! My Mum was always amazed at how perfectly I could slap it on without the use of a mirror. Clearly, I was a child-genius.  

How old were you when you bought your first lipstick?

I was in primary school and it was pink.

Pink or red lipstick?

Truthfully, I’m not a lipstick person at all. I want to be but I don’t think it suits me. I’m currently giving it another go, though! That being said – pink. I think I’d look like a low-rent hooker with a red pout.

The most expensive lipstick you have ever bought?

Uh… lol. The most expensive lippy I bought was like $12. All class.

And the cheapest?

Like $4? BYS, baby!

What's the most bizarre thing you have done with lipstick?

Let’s keep this clean. My best friend in high school and I used to have this book that we would write letters to each other in (mostly ramblings about our raging hormones) and we would sign each letter off with a lipstick kiss. So much fail.

If you had to recommend a lipstick, which brand would you recommend and why?

Oh, dude. I really have no place recommending lipstick brands but if I have to... BYS or Australis. They’re cheap but good.

I have to tag 3 people but I have no idea who to choose. I tag whoever is up for it.

5 Slightly Weird Things About Me (sorta beauty-related)

Here we go:

1. I hate putting gels/sticky creams on my face and despise the way they feel on my skin. DESPISE. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. A tonne of acne treatments are in this form and while they may be legendary, I can’t deal with the feeling - it makes me want to scratch my face off. Has anyone tried that Benzac AC cream from the pharmacy? I FUCKING HATE THAT. It doesn’t dry so it just sits on my face like a sticky layer of evil. Ugh.

2. I’m obsessed with cotton buds (I use them to tidy up icky/messy eye makeup etc.). I have them in my bathroom, on my dressing table, in my car and in my bag. I always check my handbag stash before I leave the house because I know I'm going to be lost/anxiety-ridden if I haven't got at least one on me. I'm insane.

3. I wash/de-germify my hands a lot (for skin reasons). I wash my hands before I cleanse, before I do my makeup (even if I’m using brushes and not at all touching my face) and between slapping on a mask and then washing it off. If I've accidentally touched something like a light switch on the way back from cleansing and before slapping on a moisturiser or treatment, I’ll wash my hands again to avoid a germy face. I guess I just don’t wanna make my skin worse with the addition of germs and bacteria. This is totes normal, right?

4. This isn't too weird but I can't sleep unless my lips are smothered in balm. Even if I'm all warm and snug in bed and about to nod off, if I've forgotten my balm and it's not on my bedside table, I'm up and out of bed in a flash. You'd think I'd keep a lip balm on my bedside table at all times but hey, I'm not that smart or organised.

5. After I finish putting on my makeup, I kiss my reflection in the mirror. I’ve been doing this for years and it’s become a bit of a kooky habit.

Do you guys have any weird and wonderful beauty-related habits? Spill!  

P.S. That last one was totes BS.

PRODUCT REVIEW: Priti NYC

I’m a tad obsessed with nail polish so when I was contacted by a lovely, Priti NYC PR girl, I was priti, er, pretty damn excited. Priti NYC is a toxin-free/eco-friendly brand that stocks polishes free of toulene, dibutyl phthalate and formaldehyde (all carcinogenic yet common ingredients found in most nail polish) as well as other goodies. If you're after more info, click onto the Priti NYC website.

The shade I received was ‘Cornflower’ and I bloody adore it! It’s a deep, blue shimmery shade -  perfect for Winter. I also received a sachet of Soy Nail Polish Remover.

How much is it? $17.95

How much product do you get? 12.6ml

The good?

It’s toxin-free. I honestly didn’t realise how much evil shit was in nail polish. It’s a little unnerving to think that we’re exposing our bods to this stuff every time we swipe on a new colour.

The brush – it’s fat! I love fat nail polish brushes as they coat the nail evenly and are a helluva lot easier to use.

The formula. It's smooth, pigmented and dries really quickly. Love that.

The colour/finish selection is awesome. There are over 100 in the range and that includes everything from cremes to metallics to glitters.

The not-so-good?

The price. For some of you, $18 may seem pretty reasonable for a quality polish but for me, it’s quite steep. It’s cheaper than OPI, though.

The lasting power. This stuff lasted about 3 days before chips started to appear, about the same time-length as my cheap polishes. It's not bad but I honestly have $3 polishes that last just as long. P.S. I don’t wear a top coat so I imagine it would probably last a little longer with one on.

Here are a few pics:

The colour is phenom, no?

W/ flash

 

No flash

And the Soy Nail Polish Remover? When I opened the packet, I found the cloth was bone-dry. Pretty sure I got a dud.

...

All in all, I think it’s a nice, quality polish/brand with great intentions. However, at the moment, I can’t justify the pricetag. That’s not to say that I wont re-purchase in the future. I’ve spotted some glitters and metallics that may just need to be mine.

If you're down for some Priti NYC, click here for stockist info.

What do you think of non-toxic polish?

Blog Meet + 2 New Lippies

On Saturday, a small but awesome group of bloggers, a non-blogger and a YouTuber met up for coffee, shopping, lunch, shopping and more coffee. It was a fab day and they're all sweet and funny girls. Meeting up/chatting/being rowdy with them just reinforced how happy I am that I started a blog. 

Weirdly enough, no one really bought that much and I only spent $10 on a couple of BYS lippies. I was keen for more shadows (I love their palettes!) but thought it best to stick to lip products as my lip collection is pretty much non-existent. Here’s a pic and some very similar-looking swatches:

Left: Lilac Crush lip duo
Right: Baby Doll lipstick

Left: Baby Doll
Right: Lilac Crush (lipgloss over lipstick)




I wore Baby Doll that night and got a couple of compliments – woo! Expect reviews soon.

Anyway, here’s a list of the bloggers/YTs that came along and their links. They’re all awesome so please check them out!

Tara: Keeping Up With Me
Anita: love vulcanella
Jade: Jade Musing
Michelle: cosmetic cupcake
Adeline: Through Beauty Eyes
Rosie: The Beauty Files

What do you think of the lippies? Yay or nay?

Empties

First up, I wanna let you guys know that I still can’t reply to comments or comment on other blogs because Blogger is being a nasty, little bitch. Ugh. Anyway, to the empties!

Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel

Didn’t like this cleanser. I used 2/3 of it and then put it aside to use a much cheaper alternative because it sucked so damn much. I recently pulled it back out again just so I could hurry up and finish it off. Turns out, I really don’t despise it as much as I did back when I wrote this review. Still won’t re-purchase it, though. P.S. I have no idea why the label got so fucked up.

Smackers Detangler

I was looking for a detangler in the haircare/skincare/cosmetic aisle at Coles a hell of a long time ago and came across this. I think I was attracted and intrigued by the association with Lipsmackers. I smelt it and it was kinda yum (strawberry with a hint of chemical-goodness) so I bought it. Nice-smelling things are always an insta-buy. It worked decently and the scent actually lingered in my hair for quite a while which was nice. If I feel the need to buy a detangler again, this cheapie will do me just fine.

Mario Badescu Healing Cream

I bought this stuff to help ease redness associated with acne and to heal my skin. It didn’t do either of those things (what it claims to do) but did end up making an excellent primer that managed to keep my makeup pretty damn budge-proof. Still, at $50, I don’t know if I’ll be re-purchasing anytime soon.

Nivea Essential Care

I rambled about my love for this balm in this post. I love the stuff and always have a few backups at the ready. 

Clinique High-Impact Mascara

Got this via a GWP dealio and it was okay. It gives more length than it does volume which is fine but… meh. Don’t really know how much the full-size is but don’t really care as I won’t be buying it.  

I also used up an Australis Makeup Finishing Spritz but forgot to keep the bottle. D’oh. For the record, I love the stuff and you can find a review on it here.