Starting with skincare the Origins Drink Up Intensive overnight mask has become my life saver. I spend a lot of time in air conditioning/heating at my work and I've found it completely dries out my skin. If I'm doing a real pamper I pair this with the Aesop Parsley Seed Mask to really cleanse my face of all the bad stuff and then use this to nourish it so it's not so stripped of moisture. It's not overly expensive in the scheme of things for skincare in Australia and you don't need a lot so I think it's a good price point, available through Kit Cosmetics or Mecca Cosmetica.
I believe this is my third pot of the Dirty Works Buttery Salt Scrub that I have going as I live in fear of it being discontinued, it's insanely affordable and a beautiful body scrub that leaves the skin feeling lovely and smooth. Follow with a really nice moisturiser or body butter and your skin will love you for it. I've only seen it at Coles supermarkets but a quick google found two places online that stock it for Australians, internationally I think this one will be a bit harder to access unfortunately.
Bioderma, Bioderma, Bioderma, this wonder product is so expensive in Australia by comparison to France it's ridiculous but fortunately my dad was in France last month and picked me up a 500ml bottle (we don't even have this size in Australia) for under 10 Euros which was a complete bargain and cheaper than a 250ml bottle here. If you know someone going to France get them to leave room in their suitcase to pick you up a bottle, it'll be well worth it.
Face wipes are such a hush hush topic in the beauty world but the reality is that when it's 11 o'clock at night and I've got a full face of make up, I just want it off so I can go to sleep already and I don't care how it happens as long as it doesn't make me drift to sleep standing up. I figure it's better for your skin to remove it rather than sleep with it still on no matter if it's a wipe or a whole skincare regime that does it and this is what inspired the Yes To Cucumber Soothing Towelettes (brownie points for those who get the Glee reference with towelettes) purchase. They're cheap, supposedly soothing which if you've been to a party is always a good idea and will hopefully just do what they say on the packet which is all I can ask for.
I've been in a bit of a nail polish funk of recent, I've become over my nail polish collection and no colour is the right colour but I don't want bare nails. I saw my lovely friend Phoebe wearing the Maybelline Color Show polish in Audacious Asphalt and it looked so good on her that I had to buy it for myself. I don't think I pull it off as well as her but I like it and I'm quite fond of the lighter shade compared to my usual grey polish go-to Essie's Master Plan.
If you haven't noticed, I really love nail polish and it's not often that I hear a formula raved on about as much as I've heard for the Maybelline Super Stay 7 days polishes. The range in my local Priceline was limited with about 8 shades and it's not even online yet but I picked up Surreal, a purply denim blue which I love and Eternal Lilac which is quite a bright pinky/purple and one I'm sure I'll be bringing out in Spring/Summer. The opacity is great, two coats with the really thick brush and your set, I can't speak for the lasting power yet but keep your eyes peeled for a full review.
I'm lucky in that I'm not self conscious about my skin so often I go without a base at all but sometimes a slight amount of coverage just brightens your complexion and this is where the Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer comes in. The shade range is basic but the yellow tones of ivory counteract my very rosy skin and covers The Vein, a dark blue annoyance under my left eye. I wear this most days under my eyes and sometimes on my cheeks if I'm over having rosy cheeks that day. It doesn't crease on me, it's brightening and it seems to last well but I'm very limited in my concealer testing so don't just listen to what I say.
As mentioned before my dad was in France last month and what kind of daughter would I be if I didn't at least try to get a present from Sephora? I sent him in search of the Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Always Red (Amelia Liana and Lily Pebbles are to blame for this) amongst the Parisian sales and he returned with this beauty and a story about the man who helped him find it. I will be doing a full review in a few weeks (there's a reason why it's postponed which you'll find out about) so look out for it but it's definitely going to be a rave.
I've been needing some eye brushes for far too long now, over a year at least and when the Real Techniques brushes were 25% off I decided it was time. The Your Eyes Enhanced starter set contains 5 brushes which cover your blending, packing on and lining requirements which high quality brushes and I picked up the single shading brush as well which is amazing. Having good eye make up brushes (and multiples of them too) really changes eye make up looks and is essential, more so than a lot of base brushes which are interchangeable with fingers. So glad I finally invested in a set and I'm thinking another shading brush needs to happen soon as well.
On the mascara front I've had two $10 bargains that I couldn't resist, the first is a repurchase of the Maybelline One by One mascara which is a daily mascara favourite for the past few months. One light layer and then another over the top once it's dried gives a really fluttery effect on my lashes, it's volumising and lengthening but not OTT and most definitely not clumpy. Mascara is quite dramatic on my mostly blonde lashes so during the day I don't like anything too intense and this fits the bill.
The Maybelline The Falsies Big Eyes is a very recent launch in Australia and I ummed and ahhed about it until I bit the bullet and decided that worst comes to worst I get a bottom lash mascara out of it. I went for the waterproof formula for a change and it's most definitely waterproof let me tell you, bioderma didn't budge it and I needed an oil based cleanser to get it off and it still took a bit of effort. I've only tried it once but it held the curl really well for the few hours I had it on, it gave me volume, length and was truly black. It's quite a dry mascara and I found the application almost a little scratchy on my lashes but with two layers it wasn't clumpy which was good. A mascara round up post is due on here once I get my act together and I expect this one will be included for a dramatic mascara.
And I made it, that was a long one and was totally my own fault. What have you sneakily purchased recently? Or maybe don't tell me otherwise I'll want to buy more things..
