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…