November Empties!!!

As far as I understand it, part of the ‘pan’ system is to use up a minimum of 5 products per month, but I also bought way more than 5 products, so I don’t think I quite got the hang of it yet… on the plus side, quite a bit of the 20-odd products were intended to be Christmas prezzies so I guess I’m kinda ok there…

Herbal essences conditioner – will buy again if on sale, which I did re this bottle at the supermarket. One thing I did learn from using this though, is that although my hair pretty much behaves the same whatever I use, there is a tiny noticeable difference when I use hair products that isn’t homebrand…

Green tea mouthwash was bought on a whim and seemed to have been like any other regular mouthwash – just with the taste of green tea.

Cotton pads – I use it all the time to remove my eye make-up, but I’m not too fussy about what brand it is

Batiste dry hair shampoo – this is pretty much the only brand of dry hair shampoo that I use. As I wash my hair every other day, it works pretty well in making my hair nice and fluffy and keeps it from getting too oily. It can make my hair kinda white, but it works out well once I run and rub my hands through my hair.

Candles – my 3^rd of the lily and rose woolworths candle, which I will continue to buy when I’m desperate for candles and there are none on sale. The first of the glade candles in Hawaiian breeze, turns out I didn’t have too much trouble with it in feeling hungry and smells delicious, so will definitely buy again when on sale…

 

October Empties and Other Products

So it turned out that October was quite a big month for me in terms of the amount of empties and other products that I threw out…

I am very fussy about the stuff I use on my lips as I love a bit of colour, but I hate anything that is too thick, drying, sticky, or difficult to use…so most of these were simply part of me following my dad’s advice in throwing out anything that I didn’t like using, as it meant that it would just be sitting around and that I’m never going to use it ‘one day’.

I have been thinking about picking up another of the yes to carrots tints in soft plum though, as the colour was good on me but I’d contaminated it by using it when I had a cold sore. I’m also considering picking up another of the burts bees glosses, but this one has been carrying ‘odd’ memories for me with it. It applies with a nice sheer wash of colour that looks gorgeous on me, but just a shade on the sticky side…

Actual empties of October are made up of my essentials that I will always need. I’ve been pretty lucky with my hair in that it turns out the same with whatever shampoo and conditioner I use so I think the alberto balsam shampoo was pretty decent – definitely smelled like what it said on the bottle…

I’m never going to buy simple face wipes ever again unless I can help it, as that brand of products always plays havoc with my skin. Pharmacy care brand face wipes are part of my overlooked heroes as they work pretty well in removing non-waterproof make up and is pretty gentle on my skin – so these I will keep on repurchasing, so cheap at $1.35 per 25 pack.

my studex earring collection: diamond studs

Right now, the majority of my earring collection is made up by earrings made by studex as they’re both cheap-ish and good for my sensitive ears.

Much as I’d like to think that I’ve outgrown being over influenced by my fan girl-ism, it’s clearly something I can’t escape even though I’m not a child anymore.

After watching Black Swan starring Natalie Portman, I was obsessed with the idea of having my own pair of diamond earrings.

So I jumped at the chance to buy a round pair from my local pharmacy, but after a while I realised that I really didn’t like how they framed my face in that they kinda stuck out quite a bit to the side.

I was really chuffed when I discovered that Priceline also has studex earrings, especially a square pair exactly the same size that look nicely big and are also nicely ‘flat’ so that they don’t ‘stick out’.

used up cotton pads and l’oreal waterproof eye make-up remover

So far, the only product I’ve finished is a 100 pack of round cotton pads. That said, they’re an essential part of my daily beauty routine in that I always use them to remove nail varnish and especially my eye make-up.

When it comes to eye make-up removers, my all-time favourite and go to product is the l’oreal gentle make-up remover which works great for removing waterproof eye make-up as well as not irritating my sensitive eyes.

What I do is put a few drops on the cotton pad and then press it against my eye for 15 seconds. I got this method from the youtube guru, Elle Fowler - which works in that it gives the product time to soak into the make-up as well as reduces the need to rub the cotton pad against your eyes.

The really great thing about this product is its effectiveness to price.

When I was in high school, my dad gave my mum a Lancome eye make-up set which was a tube of mascara and bottle of the bi-facil eye make-up remover. As I was the one who actually uses make-up on a regular basis, I convinced my mum to give me the bottle of bi-facil which I loved using.

Once the bi-facil was used up, I did some googling and discovered that l’oreal is the parent company of lancome – which means that products under both brands have similar formulas. Due to this little factoid, I realised that the l’oreal eye make-up remover was likely to be similar to the awesome bi-facil.

My haunch turned out to be correct – I’m now onto my 4^th bottle!

Floriade Duck and Chilli Pepper Earrings

Last weekend, I went with my friend to Canberra’s annual tulip flower show, Floriade.

Ironically, the highlights for me was not the flowers but the free reptile menagerie that lets you pat the ‘pets’ there and the ‘rubber duck’ that was set up in their ‘duck pond’.

 

The other ‘highlight’ of Floriade ever year is their ‘markets’ which lets crafty people showcase their things for sale. I was in the mood for some pretty but unusual earrings, so after remembering that I’d seen this pair of glass chilli peppers at one of the stores about 2-3 weeks earlier at their nightfest, I finally decided to indulge in the urge of me constantly thinking about them and gave my credit card a good work out.

 

Products I Have Used Up:Simple facial cleansing wipes, Boire facial cleansing wipes, Lush Cosmetic Warrior Face Mask

Simple facial cleansing wipes – they do work quite well to clean my face of make-up but I feel like I need to rub pretty hard with them to remove waterproof mascara and eyeliner. Given that I buy these on ‘sale’ at Priceline in a set of 2 for about $9, I’m keeping my eyes peeled for something that performs at a similar level but may work out better.

Boire facial cleansing wipes – I bought a pack of these on sale at the supermarket on a whim because I needed a pack to use as make up remover during a sleepover at my friend’s house. This is a pack that I don’t think I will buy again because it made my skin feel really dry after using it. It is possible that this ‘dryness’ has also caused my skin to break out a lot more due to it putting my skin under stress.

Lush Cosmetic Warrior Face Mask (2 tubs) – this is the first and only face mask that I buy from Lush. It makes my skin feel nicely tightened but not too dry every time I use it. I like to use it between using my clay masks as it’s more ‘natural’. I kinda forgot to use the 2^nd tub for a while so it dried up a little which made it difficult to use – so when I decided to finish the tub once and for all, I decided to ‘soften’ it by mixing it with a little lemon juice. The day after using it, my skin seemed to have a little more ‘break outs’ than usual, which I think is likely to have been caused by the lemon juice as I don’t have much trouble using the mask usually.

 

Completely Overrated Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof Mascara

As I’m the sort of person who hates to not use stuff up completely before throwing them out, one of the things I kinda regret buying is the Maybelline Great Lash waterproof mascara.

As I have sensitive eyes that run easily, I always have to buy my mascara in waterproof formula – also as I have stumpy lashes that go straight down that is typical of most Chinese, the waterproof formulas are the types that tend to smudge with me the least.

I also sometimes use the tip I learnt that one of the reasons mascara smudges as much as it does is due to the oils on your eyelids – so I tend to put skin coloured powder under my eyes.

So this particular mascara is one of the most overrated products that I’ve ever bought. I’m starting to be convinced that magazine make-up reviewers are bribed in some way by the company to rave about certain products as this one is definitely NOT as good as it’s purported to be.

Although it does slightly thicken my lashes, there is no particular lengthening effect. BUT this SMUDGES insanely within one hour of use I found smudges under my eyes, so I have to consistently swipe my finger under my eyes whenever I wear it.

This includes when I wear some of the Clarins Double Fix Mascara over it, and the Clarins stuff is awesome as it really works. The worst part is that the Great Lash also gets into the ‘mascara fix’ so it ruins wots in the tube by mixing with the product and getting it all black – and this includes when I wipe both wands after use.

discontinued: Rimmel Stay Glossy Lip gloss

One thing that really bugs me is that due to the fact I prefer to buy my makeup during sales, I sometimes wind up discovering things I love just as they’re about to be discontinued.

So this means that I am a make-up stockpiler as I find that the only way I can keep using certain items is to buy up lots of them during sales…

As I’m a sucker for lip gloss and the red lip look, the deep red one in ‘All Day Seduction’ was my gateway drug into the stay glossy range. I love this one so much that I HAD to buy a second one that I’m keeping aside as back-up for when I use up the first one.

As I wanted something I can wear when I feel like a more ‘natural’ lip look, I wound up getting another version of the gloss in a coral-peachy colour.

Then after telling my girl house mate how much I loved the two I have, she gave me hers that’s in a pale pink colour that looks a little clear

The good thing is that I know what features I look for in my ideal lip gloss, sheer-ish colour that’s nicely buildable, does not feel sticky, and is just ‘gloopy’ enough to feel moisturized but not thick like I have Vaseline on my lips…

Ulta3 Lipsticks Review and Swatches: Rosa, Plum Purple, Deep Red Rose Matte, Sahara Rose

Like Max Black (Kat Dennings) of the show 2 Broke Girls, I’m crazy about lipsticks and all lip products. Also like her, I’m on a tight budget, so much as I love to play around with beauty products, I really can’t afford to unless it’s the sales.

On the plus side, after playing around in my local MyChemist, I think I’ve finally found a collection of lipsticks worthy of Max’s approval: lipsticks by Ulta3.

Anyone who has been in Australia for a while would have noticed how easy it is to find Ulta3 nail varnishes in various chemists, so it is quite interesting to note that the brand has branched out into various other types of make-up too.

Being a huge fan of the red lip look, I couldn’t resist getting hold of Deep Red Rose (matte) as my first purchase for $3.95. On my lips, it kinda felt the way all matte lipsticks do: sits ok, with deep colour and just a little on the dry side. Given that I tend to prefer my lip stuff to be a little more on the moisturizing side, I found myself picking up another one in Plum Purple a week later for $2.95. This one is shade that is really similar to Deep Red Rose but is a tad more moisturizing as it is a standard lipstick. So, obviously my lips has to be well moisturized already when wearing them, as otherwise they pick up on the flakiness like crazy, but luckily don’t seem to ‘bleed’ on me…

Later, after having to throw out my beloved Revlon lip butters, I decided to buy two more lipsticks that felt a tad closer in colour to the two that I had to throw away. Enter Rosa and Sahara Rose. At $2.95 each.

All of the lipsticks have a good deep colour and sits and feels like other lipsticks I’ve swatched from higher-ended brands like Max Factor, so it kinda makes me wonder just what it is that makes them so cheap? I haven’t been able to find the ingredients for Ulta3 lipsticks anywhere but I figure that they are pretty similar to the ingredients of other lipsticks in general…

Well, at least they’re really great for lipstick collectors as Ulta3 has a huge range of lipstick colours, has all the features of high-end lipsticks, and are at very purse-happy prices.

Priceline Haul!

Cotton tips are essential for cold sore care, and a small plastic tub for making lip scrub...

During my last trip home, I forgot to pack my travel mirror so I picked up this mini manicare one from the chemist near the bus terminal. Unfortunately it turned out to be made from relative flimsy plastic and so broke really easily when it fell off my desk and onto the floor.
so I figured I might as well get a spare...

 

Don't knock the supermarket: Woolworth's homebrand concealer brush

The trouble with living in Australia for any girl who loves hair and beauty stuff is that it’s very expensive to get hold of – which is why I like to buy products during sales and from the supermarket homebrand department.

Woolworths (my local supermarket) sells this concealer brush for $5.99 which is about $1 less than most brushes from chemists. That being said…I LOVE it!

Mine has turned out to be the perfect brush for achieving the smoky eye look with my hooded, monolid Asian eyes. All I do is use the ‘edge’ of the brush to ‘line’ my top lid and the lower outer corner of my lower lid. I then use the ‘flat’ part to shade in the same shadow about 1/3 inwards from the outer corners along the top lid. A little mascara and I’m good to go!

Symbolic/Sentimental Things I’ve Given Away 2

15/09/2013

Today I got caught up in one of my usual feelings that getting rid of stuff has a cathartic effect on me – also influenced by the fact that I was in one of those moods that something I barely used was in a better position of being loved more than I did.

So it was off to another trip down to Vinnies to drop off some things. Namely:

The gold studs that I had first gotten my ears pierced with.

The first silver bracelet that I bought myself as a replacement for my first bangle.

The blue swallow brooch that I’d bought in a tourist trap gift shop – was really funny that the shop was advertising that it’s products were made by local artists…in this case where ‘local’ could apply to ‘the world’ and can be bought online http://www.annekoplik.com/product/PN-BLU/PN5254.html

Maybelline Baby Lips: Berry Crush – Comparison to Revlon Lip Butters

Before I made the mistake of using my precious lip butters on my cold sore outbreak, I had the brainwave of keeping a tinted lip balm aside for times when I was sick.

Enter Maybelline Baby Lips in Berry Crush. Which is pretty much Maybelline jumping on the tinted lip balm bandwagon, in my opinion.

As far as I can tell, the formulation in terms of colour depth is pretty similar to the lip butters – the difference in that the Maybelline Baby Lips one made me feel like I had something close to paw paw ointment/vaseline on my lips. The disappointment factor in that all 3 items tended to be not that moisturising – but at least a tad more moisturising than lipstick…

Colour wise, Berry Crush appeared to be a shade that was somewhere in the middle between Berry Smoothie and Cherry Tart – but on the wrong side of ‘red’ for me.

The benefit in pay-off in this case is that you can get Maybelline Baby Lips: Berry Crush at my local supermarket for $3.99 AUD, whereas the lip butters tend to go for $21.95 AUD.