NOTD // Island Hopping

Wow - it's been a while since I did a nail of the day! Talk about a throwback! If you were around when I used to do these once a month...you are an OG fan indeed - thanks for sticking around! ;) Haha! Most of the time I forget to take photos of my manicure while it's still fresh and looks nice (or it's just an old polish that you've probably seen before), but this time I remembered! Here's a few photos of Essie Island Hopping which is a shade I really hadn't heard of before stumbling upon it in Priceline (and promptly buying it!). 

Haul // Priceline 40% Off Cosmetics #3

Priceline's twice yearly 40% off sale is upon us again and I popped in yesterday to have a squiz. When it comes to these sales, I'm usually armed with a meticulous wishlist and I'm in and out in a flash, but this time there really wasn't anything I had a hankering for and I just decided to go in and wing it (but wing it responsibly of course)! I think I was really restrained, there were a few items that went into my basket that I later put back (props to me), but there were a couple impulse buys as well. The sale ends today, so it's not too late to pop in and bag a bargain!

Colour Families // The Vivid Violets

It's been a minute since I've done a colour families post but I fully intend to keep it going! In case you're unfamiliar with my little 'series', I'm going through my collection and rounding up my products according to their colour. I've already done a couple of posts on rusty reds and berries and burgundies. Today, we're all about the vivid violets! Extra snaps when the title has alliteration ;) I have always been a lover of purple but it's been over the past year or so that I've really gotten comfortable wearing them in makeup! I've since moved on to more of the grey-toned purples (you can bet I'll have a post about those), but since summer is still in full swing I figured I'd round up the bright ones. I thought I had a bigger collection of shades like these, but my other purples tended to be more muted. It's basically just lip products and nail polishes because I can't imagine wearing a violet blush or eyeshadow!

Five Spring Nail Polishes

Seeing as spring is basically in full swing, I thought I'd better start getting in the mood for it! When it comes to spring, the very first thing that pops into my head is pastel nail polish! I haven't done a nail related post in a HOT minute, but I've still been wearing nail polish constantly (just not changing it every four days like I used to...wow I've gotten lazy!) and the pastel shades have been a go to (even in the dead of winter :P )! I've also thrown in a couple of brighter shades just so it wasn't all pastel! Let's go!

NOTD // Chilled-Out-O

Though summer has officially come to a close, and autumn has begun...it sure don't feel like it! Since coming back from negative winter temps in the US, I've forgotten how to cope in the heat! The last few days have been especially bad as it's been SO hot, but also rainy so the humidity REALLY sticks around. It's like walking through sweat. Eugh. But anyway, a very summery nail polish to have graced my tips this season was Essie Chillato. This was part of their summer 2015 collection which we only got in Australia fairly recently. 

Haul // Priceline 40% Off Cosmetics

Another week, another haul - this time of the drugstore variety! If all goes well...I think I'll have another haul going up next week too (Sephoraaaaa hehehh). Yeeeeah I really need to get a handle on my spending. If you guys were unaware though, Priceline currently has their famous 40% off cosmetics sale on! It goes for two days and today is the last day so I thought I'd share the bits I picked up yesterday! I had a list, and I stuck to it! My savings were actually pretty great because the chick accidentally (I think it was an accident...) scanned my payback voucher twice so I got an extra $11 off haha :P Shh... It's been a while since I've hauled from Priceline though. Can't say I've been too eager to shop there since they sacked me :P Can't deny a good sale though and I picked up a few things I've been wanting to try for ages!

Collective Haul // MAKIN' IT RAIN

...or at least I think I am. Now that I have a job and a wee bit of spare monies in my pocket, I seem to be spending it all up! Especially that I work at Priceline, I seem to buy something every time I work... (okay, an exaggeration but my 25% off discount is SO DANGEROUS). In my defense, this is very collective and stretches back to boxing day sales, and also, a lot of it was on sale/I only paid full price for a couple of things! There are a few things that I've bought but haven't hauled which I've featured here and here. Keep reading to see what I blew all my cash on... (it's a pretty long-ass post).

NOTD // Skimpy Swimwear

So I recently found myself in possession of Essie Bikini So Teeny which I bought for a friend using my work discount (you're welcome Rosa, though shanks for letting me use it). To not let a manicure go to waste - a NOTD post was of course in order!

NOTD // Stack the Deck

A few weeks ago was my friend's birthday party which was slightly Alice in Wonderland themed. A couple of friends and I ended up going as Tweedledum, Tweedledee and Tweedle...daa, yeah...haha! It wasn't full on dress up though but it was a heap of fun :) I ended up doing my nails somewhat card inspired, but who am I kidding, it's really just red, black and white - close enough...right?

To make things interesting, I threw a couple of glitter polishes into the mix; Ulta 3 Stop the Press and Sportsgirl Party Popper. I've already done a NOTD with Stop the Press  here that you can check out. Party Popper is a really pretty glitter combination that has matte coral, white and grey hexagonal glitters of varying sizes. The glitter coverage is really good and was easily applied using the dabbing method. I love how it turned out and I think it would look really good over a range of shades!

On a couple of nails, I did a jelly sandwich using Essie Marshmallow which is a white jelly polish. I really liked the milky, layered effect. My pinky finger almost looks like cookies and cream!

The other polishes I used were a random black, Revlon China Flower and Sportsgirl Snow. I really like the end product actually! Although it was a bit random, there was a colour theme and I got a few compliments too!

Collective Haul // January 2014

Hallo people! Today I have quite the large haul to share which I've accumulated throughout January and also the end of December. The after Christmas period is the best for sales, and y'all know I love a good sale. It's a long'un...

Of course I had to pick up a few nail polishes...

Essie Marshmallow 

I found this in the clearance bin at my local Myer for only $5! This is actually a shade that I've wanted for a while - a white jelly that would work really well in combination with a lot of different glitters for a jelly sandwich. They also had a few other shades but I decided I didn't need them :P

Sportsgirl Pink and Space Jam

These were both on clearance and came down to about $2 and $3 respectively. I've already done a NOTD with Pink here. 

Ulta3 Stop the Press

This is from Ulta 3's glitterati collection from July last year and I only happened across this polish at the end of December. This was the only one I wanted from the collection so I'm super glad I found it! It's a mix of black and white matte glitters which are starting to filter down finally into mainstream brands!

Skincare stuff...

Trilogy Rosapene Day & Night Collection (Limited Edition)

I found this in my Priceline for half price which brought it down to $18. Considering the Rosehip oil alone retails for something like $30, I thought this was an excellent deal! I'm also nearing the end of my Kosmea Rosehip Oil so I'm excited to try the Antioxidant +!

Sanctuary Spa Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser

I actually bought this full price :( ($20) haha, but I realised I was in desperate need of a new cleanser. I haven't heard an awful lot about this one (some good, some bad) but - please correct me if I'm wrong - it seems to be the only Hot Cloth Cleanser available in a drugstore setting. I didn't feel like ordering online again and I do like trying new products!

Sanctuary Spa Radiance Exfoliator

I purchased this in the Priceline 40% off skincare sale so it came down to $12. I haven't tried many face scrubs and none aimed specifically at radiance, so I decided to pick this up.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo

Again purchased in the 40% off sale. This is my third tube so that should speak for itself!

On to the makeup!

Stila Under the Mistletoe palette

I've already reviewed this here and if you've read it you'll know I'm not too impressed with this palette. It was only $12 so I'm not too sad but I was caught up in a whirlwind of wanting to try some Stila products!

Maybelline Fit Me concealer in shade Medium

I'm running semi-low on my concealer (I've hit considerable pan) so I thought I'd pick this concealer up. I've heard some pretty darn good things about it and it seems like everybody owns it! I payed full price ($15) for it which I'm pretty annoyed about as Maybelline goes on sale all the time but oh wells.

Benefit Go Tropi-coral Lip and Cheek kit

If you remember my wishlist, my friend bought this for me from America (thank you Yasmin!). It was about USD$30 (with tax) and actually, considering the dollar rate is actually pretty bad, I don't think I saved that much. It retails here in Australia for $40 so I probs could have bought it here but regardless I'm super happy to have it!

NYX Powder Blush in Terra Cotta

I was really excited to hear that NYX was rolling out into Targets around Aus but sadly my local Target isn't stocking it! I find that really annoying as it's pretty much a brand new Target...grrr. So anyways, I only managed to get to a stand recently. I bought this as I've heard about its similarities to NARS Lustre and also it's just a gorgeous shade! It retails for $9.95 which isn't too horrific.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12hr blush in Exposed

Another item Yas picked up for me. I had my heart set on either the Tarte blush palette from the holiday collection or the Stila convertible colour palette, but both were sold out. This guy was my next preference because I knew I had to try something from Tarte considering they are extremely hard to get a hold of in Aus. These blushes are raved about by anyone who has ever used them and Exposed is a popular shade that is different to my typical peachy-pinks!

Rimmel Wake Me Up Instant Radiance Shimmer Touch in Shimmering Sand

I've seen this floating around in the clearance bin for a few months now, but finally picked it up upon seeing the $2 sticker on it. It actually rang up to a mere $1 at the till so even better! It's quite a moussey-liquid texture that is slightly glittery but overall a nice warm golden-tan shade.

Illamasqua Concealer in CC 325

I saw this at the Illamasqua counter in the sale section (which by the way had some amazing products for really good prices!) for only $6 so I decided to grab it. It's a deep brown shade that I thought I would use for cream contouring. So far, so very good, but I'll save the deets for a review!

Face of Australia Glossy Lip Crayon in Berry Brulee

After seeing a few swatches, I knew I wanted to pick up this shade from the limited edition collection of lip crayons. They retail for only $5 and Berry Brulee is a gorgeous wearable berry-purple. The formula is amazing too!

Revlon Living Lipstick in Blase Apricot

I saw - what I assume - was the whole line being clearanced at Myer for $6 a piece. I initially dismissed them on account of their old lady looking packaging, but this shade caught my eye. It's a really pretty pinky-peach with a lovely soft, creamy and pigmented formula.

Clarins Rouge Hydra Nude in Nude Caramel

I stumbled across this at Terry White for only $10. It has a formula akin to the Revlon Lip butters or L'oreal Nutri shine lipsticks. The shade is a peachy-brown nude that comes out slightly lighter that it appears in the tube.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Antwerp

Of course I had to buy this. I've heard a ton about these and this shade in particular. I'll save it all for a review! It retails for $12.95 which I thought was a bit steep...but girls gotta do...

I'm also very happy to have a Sephora bag. Teeheee :D

Non-beauty stuff!

Kikki.K Fun for Everyday set

This was reduced to $11 which is AWESOME for Kikki.K stuff! It's from the Christmas sets but the stuff inside is absolutely adorable. Inside is a notebook, cards and envelopes, two pens and two magnetic bookmarks.

Kikki.K Celebrate Today Iphone Case

If you sign up to be a Kikki.K member, you get a $10 voucher on your initial sign up and on your birthday. There's no minimum spend, only that they have to be full price. This case came down to $2.95 and I love the pastel, simple pattern. It also came with a screen protector which I was in dire need of haha.

Dusk Tropical Summer Mood Reed and Candle set

This set from Christmas was marked down to $12. I love the scent a lot. It's a fresh and crisp, slightly fruity but also sexy scent that is perfect for summer.

Phew! That was a long post! Props to you if you actually read it all! I'm planning on going on a spending ban as I'm really content with my collection right now, and I really don't desperately want anything (shocker) for now. I'm also starting to save up for a possible trip to New Zealand at the end of the year (fingers crossed!). It shouldn't be hard to stick to the ban as I'll be back at school anyway, leaving little time for shopping!