Colour Families // The Berries and Burgundies

Although winter is almost gone for us Aussies, I thought I would squeeze out another colour families post featuring my favourite winter-appropriate hue - berries and burgundies! I absolutely adore these vampy purples and reds on the lips and the nails, so I have quite the collection to share with you all (plus an eyeshadow and a few blushes!). 

Collective Haul // 16 going on 17

It was my 17th birthday in May, the 11th to be precise, so I do have a bit of a haul to share with you guys! Majority were gifts from my amaze friends, but I also used some birthday vouchers I got from some shops for being part of their 'club'. I've signed up to like all of the stores haha, it's basically free money as I like to say!

The Body Shop Moringa Soap, Shower Gel and Body butter, and Passionberry Born Lippy

A couple of my friends actually unintentionally matched as one got me the soap duo and the other got me the mini body butter in the same scent! I've already dug into the body butter and am thoroughly enjoying it - the scent is definitely growing on me! I'm actually not a big fan of the Born Lippys, I don't find they do much in the moisturisation department. I used to have the strawberry one which I particularly didn't like because it was tinted and made my lips look all big and swollen. Passionberry on the other hand doesn't give off any colour, and the scent is delicious!

L'Occitane Shea Hand Cream and Almond Body cream samples

I got these for free from the store as my local(ish) shopping centre was having a bit of a 'do and the stores were having offers on. I've already tried both of these products and really like them!

e.l.f Lip Balm Tint in Nude

I picked this up from iHerb to make up the cost to get a $10 voucher off in the order for my friend's birthday gift. It was somewhat spontaneous, though I did look up a few reviews and they all seemed to really like it! The shade is a really nice peachy nude. Similar to Revlon Complex but a sheerer, glossy balm version.

Urban Decay Naked 3 palette

Aaah it is finally mine! This was the one product that I really wanted so I was ecstatic when a few of my friends got it for me. Mm rosy-neutral deliciousness is contained in that box. I can tell it's most definitely probably going to be in my June favourites.

Witchery Picnic Check Poncho

I couldn't get a dece photo of its adorable-ness so I'm using it as the background haha! Check out the link to see what it properly looks like. Yes it's from the kids section, but what can I say, it's adorable. I bought it because I had a $20 bday voucher, a $10 vouch for doing a survey, plus my mum and dad's survey vouchers, plus it was 20% off knitwear SO it came down to like SIX DOLLARS from SEVENTY. Bargain-bagger Tasha strikes again! Its so adorable and cosy - I love it!

Kmart Novelty socks in the Pug pattern!!

Ah ma gahd, LOOK AT HIS FACE. These are the most adorable socks I will ever own, though they also have a kitten print which was all sold out and hopefully they'll be mine too! I bought these because, well, just look at them, and they were only $1.50! Realistically, they look really weird on (he gets all distorted), and I probably won't wear them out but we'll see...

Mimco Pony Set in Black

The Mimcollective (I see what you did there ;) ) gives out $30 vouchers for your birthday so defs take advantage of that peeps! I purchased this little set of three hair bands with rose gold charms which were $29.95 so I didn't have to pay in (that's how I operate yo). I like that they look good on the wrist as well as the hair! BUT I would never pay money for these because the actual elastic is TERRIBLE. Like it's flimsy, thin and just plain shit. Get yo act together Mimco! I can get $2 ones from Woolies which are way better.

Assorted Earrings

I got a few pairs of earrings for my birthday as well. Excited for them, especially the blue ones from Colette as I don't have too many dangly pairs that I actually wear.

kikki.K Uppsala Small Pouch

I got a $10 voucher from kikki.K and decided to purchase this little pouch and pay in $4.95. I thought it was too adorable to pass up! I love the fruity, delicate print and I thought it would be sweet for makeup, or random bits and bobs.

kikki.K Wooden Greeting Stamp Set

So a couple of weeks down the track, I get an email to say that I hadn't spent my bday voucher, which I clearly did. I'm not complaining though! So I went in and purchased this stamp set which was on sale to begin with and so I only paid around $3 for it. Weird that, I guess the first lady must not have registered that I used it? Oh wells, like I say, free moneeeyy! [Gawd I'm so Asian]

Clutch bags from Ruby&Kit and Forever New

Both gifts from my lovely friends. I was actually in need of a clutch so these were perfect! The black one is a great size, and I'm sure I'll be using it heaps as it will basically go with anything! The Forever New one is so pretty, a light pastel blue and white. Very mod and sweet I think.

I did leave out a couple of things which I didn't think were worth sharing on here, or I forgot, or I'd already put them away, but this is the majority, and I'm very thankful :)! I also got a voucher to a cosmetics store so no doubt the aftermath of that will be cropping up soon. My fambam mainly bought me a ticket to see Katy Perry at the end of the year (YAY!), especially since tix are RIDONK expensive, like whoah dere. The Prismatic tour looks like it's going to be SO good though. Any other Bday money is going to my New Zealand trip at the end of the year as well.

I hope you guys found this post somewhat interesting, and I just thought I'd share the new things that have come my way :)

The Standouts of 2013

Hello 2014! I hope you guys all had a happy new year! I cannot believe another year has been and gone, and it will probably take me a while for the fact that we are in 2014 to sink in. Anyways lets live in the past and take a look at my most favoured products from 2013! I haven't covered all categories as I didn't necessarily have a FAVOURITE favourite for every area. Despite that, I still had trouble narrowing things down so you're in store for quite a few products! Also, I haven't touched on tools or skincare, haircare, bodycare or nails. For tools, pretty much all Real Techniques and for skincare, check out my skincare routine posts here, here and here. Reviews have been linked where applicable! Let's jump in!

Face:

• Laura Mercier Foundation Primer
• Maybelline Dream Pure BB cream in shade Medium
• Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation in shade Light Beige
• Neutrogena Healthy Skin liquid makeup in shade Natural Beige

I find the Laura Mercier primer generally good at prolonging the wear of foundation and keeping it looking better for longer. My BB cream favourite was hard to choose, but I found myself reaching for the Maybelline a lot. Good colour, coverage and finish. Foundation wise, for a lot of the year the Bourjois was a go-to but I found the shade quite light towards the end of the year. I've used it by mixing with other products and a hefty load of bronzer. Lovely finish on the skin and a nice light-medium buildable coverage. The Neutrogena is pretty much a spot on colour and offers a good medium coverage with a very natural skin like finish. Not too dewy or too matte.

Cheeks:

• Models Prefer Desk to Date
• The Balm Instain Blush in Toile
• Essence Silky Touch blush in Natural Beauty
• Sleek Contour Kit in Light
• Jane Iredale Bronzing Powder in So-Bronze 1
• The Balm Mary Lou-Manizer

I am a self-professed blush junkie but these three were probably my most worn. I like Desk to Date for an easy, goes-with-everything light peachy pink, Toile for something slightly brighter but still natural and Natural Beauty for a bit of a 'nothingy' cheek - it's the perfect blend of a blush, bronzer and highlighter in one. For contouring my main favourite has been the Sleek (mainly just the contour shade), a nice brown that isn't hard to work with and creates a natural looking shadow. For bronzing all over the face, Jane Iredale has been my pick. A nice warm brown that is only slightly darker than my skintone and gives warmth and colour to the face. Highlighter fave is hands down Mary Lou-Manizer. It provides an amazing champagne-golden glow which I love.

Eyes:

• Essence I love Stage Eyeshadow Base
• Estee Lauder Pure Color Stay-on Shadow Paint in shade Halo
• Maybelline Color Tattoo in shade Bad to the Bronze
• MAC eyshadow in shade All that Glitters
• Essence Gel Eyeliner in shade BBC All Night Brown
• Napoleon Perdis Ultimate Nude Palette
• Lorac Pro Palette, particularly shades Taupe, Espresso, Gold, Lt. Bronze and Pewter
• Dolly Wink Eyebrow Powder in shade Dark Chocolate

The sadly discontinued Essence eye primer has been my most used and loved this year. My two favourite cream shadows were from Estee Lauder and Maybelline. Bad to the Bronze made the perfect single shadow eye look while Halo was both a great base and all over lid shade. All that Glitters was definitely a favourite - I love the pinky-beige metallic colour! Also discontinued is the Essence Gel Liner which I used quite often for both a winged liner and smudged on the lower lashline. The deep bronzy brown made for a perfect casual liner look. The Napoleon palette is filled with matte shades which I used both on their own or to accompany other eyeshadows. Also filled with mattes is the Pro Palette which contains a bevy of shades to create a multitude of looks! Also some of the best formulas were found in this palette. Pretty much the only thing to grace my eyebrows was the Dolly Wink powder - perfect shade for my black hair!

Lips:

• Essence lipstick in shade All about Cupcake
• L'oreal Nutri-shine balm in shade Nudy Coral
• Estee Lauder Signature Hydralustre Lipstick in Venetian Rose
• L'oreal Nutri-shine Lipstick in shade Pink Nude
• Estee Lauder Signature Hydralustre Lipstick in Soft Amethyst
• NYX Butter Gloss in shade Peaches and Cream
• Witchery Lip Gloss Wand in shade Blossom
• Nivea Lip Butter

All about Cupcake and Nudy Coral were probably my most worn lipsticks of the year. All about Cupcake being the perfect my-lips-but-better (and more pink) and Nudy Coral being a lovely tinted lip balm with the tiniest hint of colour. Venetian Rose is sadly discontinued but is probably the best peachy nude I've come across so far. It's not really nude but it's really the perfect neutral peach for my skin tone! Pink Nude is just a beautiful colour. It's got hints of pink and peach, with a neutral tone - lurve it! For the wearable purply-plum lip, my fave has to be Soft Amethyst. Lovely formula and really flattering! It's purple without being PURPLE. The NYX gloss has a lovely texture and the colour is just really lovely. The Witchery gloss however, is the lipgloss that got me liking lipglosses. Probably my favourite lipgloss formula yet (though the NYX is rivaling it) - thin, non-sticky and pigmented. The Nivea lip balm has definitely been my fave. My lips have been very fussy and lip balms that I used to love seemed to irritate my lips. The Lip Butter saved my lips and has been pretty much the only balm I've used since!

Fragrance:

• Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Camellia

This scent has definitely been my most used. It's light, summery and really nice for every day wear.

So that concludes my beauty favourites for the year that was! I will be doing a part two concerning more 'entertainment' favourites I guess you could call them, including favourite TV shows, books, movies and other varying ways to procrastinate.

What have been your favourite products of 2013?

NOTD | Sweet Coral

Time for my monthly NOTD! Have you noticed I've done them monthly? Haha, anyway, today's NOTD features a Witchery polish in the shade Sweet Coral. This shade is currently available and is perfect for the Spring and upcoming Summer weather!

Sweet Coral is a very vibrant, neon orange-y, peach, coral colour. This is actually my first neon polish! It is so bright that it practically glows in the dark, and is borderline blinding in the sun, haha - I love it though! I think it would make for an amazing pedicure shade and in general is perfect for the summertime. I love this particular colour too and I think it's quite trendy. I've seen a lot of clothes, accessories, etc in this colour.

Being a neon, I was actually expecting a nightmare of a formula. Suprisingly though, it was very easy to work with! It was a tad streaky on the first coat, but everything was evened out with a second. It is nicely opaque and looks nice and smooth on the nail! I have topped it with a topcoat (Revlon Colorstay) as it dried to a semi-matte finish (typical for neon polishes). 

Also this wore super well, keeping in mind it had the Revlon topcoat which works extremely well. I wore it camping (yeah way back then) and after the whole week of setting up tents and other camping, bush and beach activities it hadn't chipped horribly! It was passable actually haha, but the beauty obsessor in me couldn't wait to change it.

I'll definitely be pulling this out again to wear during the Summer!

What are your favourite neon nail polishes?

Collective Haul | September

Heyo! Today I have another collective haul from the month of September. It was school holidays and more free time = more opportunities to go shopping! Haha, I don't think I did too much damage, and some of these were repurchases!

First up for the skincare:

I recently won a giveaway from Jen over at The Shopping Queen. I won a pack of the Michika Complexion Synergist Rejuvenating Anti Fatigue Facial Mask (whew, what a mouthful!). This is a pack of sheet masks which contains a lot of great ingredients. I still haven't used the sheet masks I got from Daiso, so my first time was with these. I really enjoyed the experience, albeit a little creepy, but it left my skin feeling refreshed, moisturised and super smooth. Thankyou Jen and Michika!

I went a lil' crazy with the skincare at Priceline. A couple of sales combined with a voucher offer spurred on the purchases of the Indeed Labs Hydraluron and the Garnier Dark Spot Treatment Night. Hydraluron has garnered SO much hype, and it was 30% off (~$24) so I decided to get it. I haven't tried it yet, and to be honest I'm not really sure what to expect from it. The Garnier Dark Spot Treatment Night is a new product I believe as I've not heard a peep about it. It's a serum with vitamin C and 4% glycolic acid to help fade dark spots. You guys know how much I love the moisturiser, so I decided to give this a shot. It was also 20% off, bringing it to $15. I'll definitely let you guys know how this one goes! Priceline gave a $5 voucher if you spent over $35, however to redeem this voucher, you had to spend another $35 or more. Annoying huh? Anyways I ended up repurchasing the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo (review here) as this is one of my holy grail products and I'm almost out of my current one. To get the $5 off, I bought a couple of other things you'll see later in the post.

The makeup-y things:

I actually didn't go too crazy with actual makeup but what I did buy was quite expensive...

I puchased the The Balm Instain Blush in the colour Toile. This was on my last wishlist and I was finally able to buy it. I was reluctant to hand over the full price of $26.95 (cringes) but The Balm hardly goes on sale. I've been using this so much since I got it, the colour really complements my complexion and so I think it was worth it! I'll have a full review up in due time!

Some nail stuff. I ended up getting another Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat in the shade Peach Fuzz in the Chemist Warehouse sale ($5). This one contains peach and yellow bar glitters which totally remind me of like a baby chick or duck. Cute! And perfect for Easter. I also got a couple of things from Witchery. It sounds like I shop there a lot, but I really don't! They had a survey going and if you completed it you got $10 of instore credit. My mum and I both did it but my mum didn't want to buy anything so I used hers also. I got this gorgeous nail polish in the shade Sweet Coral. It's a neon orangey-coral shade. It's super bright and realllllyyy eye catching on the nails. Awesome Spring/Summer shade! It was $12.95 so I got it for $2.95. I also got another Lip Gloss Wand because I LOVE my other one. This one is in the shade Tangelo which is a peach with golden glitter. It's a little sheerer than Blossom, the glitter isn't gritty, and it's still the same non-sticky formula. Also this one has a much better scent - a yummy vanilla and I wanna say coffee? scent. Full price this guy is $14.95, so I got it for $4.95.

I picked up another Nivea Lip Butter, this one in Vanilla & Macadamia. I bought this in my second Priceline trip. I've hit major pan on my first one and like I said in my Monthly favourites, this is the only lip balm my lips have been agreeing with! This one smells amazingly delicious also!

I repurchased the Essence Lash and Brow gel mascara. I pretty much used every last bit of my first one (it was gross and gunky too, plus the packaging broke). Love this for setting my brows, and it is super cheap at $3.50.

The miscellaneous items:

To make up the $35 for my second trip to Priceline, I bought the Nivea In-Shower body lotion. I've heard good things about this and I am SO lazy when it comes to moisturising my body. I didn't need it though...I was originally planning to pick up Bourjois Peach on the Beach, but they were sold out. So I ended up getting this - it was also on sale so it was around $7. They had also sold out of the intense version, but my skin isn't too dry. I've used this a couple times already and so far I really like it!

I repurchased both of the Beauty Care Co Makeup Remover pads and the Green tea facial wipes for $2 each. I'm not fussy at all and these are pretty much the cheapest you can get. However, I actually do REALLY like the face wipes.

I FINALLY managed to pick up a couple of the Daiso detergents for puff and sponge. Every time I go they are sold out of the stuff! They had a lot there so I bought two, they aren't completely full either. As everything is in Daiso, they were only $2.80 each and they work amazingly well. Just to mention, they changed the packaging from blue to pink.

So that was my haul! I still really want to buy the Bourjois lip crayon but I guess another time! I'm really trying to save for my trip to Hong Kong, and also my friend has offered to get me some things while she is in the US. I'm trying to formulate a wishlist, and it's very hard to cull products, haha!

Have you tried any of these products?

Collective Haul | July + August 2013

Hey guys! Today I have a haul post which is very collective. As the title suggests, I bought this stuff over a good two month period. Heck, I think I even bought some of this in June! My shopping has been very sporadic, ya know, since I was sorta on a shopping ban. There have been a number of good sales and offers which I took advantage of (the usual) but I will say that I have been justifying my purchases better, saving where it counts and only buying things I really want, haha! Also, a lot of this stuff was on my last wishlist (still got my eye on the more high end products though!).

First up a few hair and skin things!

I picked up a new shampoo and conditioner duo as I recently ran out of my current ones. I decided to pick up the Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner as I have heard a lot of good things about the range, and they were on special. I have been using these for a few weeks and have to say I really like them! They make my hair feel SUPER soft and clean. They also smell really nice! They do contain Sulphates, but the last products I used didn't so I figure it's okay to alternate. 

I managed to pick up Lush Grease Lightning quite a while ago and have been using it for a decent amount of time. I'm not really sure how I feel about this yet! I'll definitely have a full review up once I have affirmed my opinions! This was $12.95.

I repurchased the Garnier Dark Spot Corrector which I finished in my last empties. I just adore this as a morning time moisturiser as it provides just enough light hydration and I do notice my dark spots fading. This was on a bit of a discount at around $11.

I also recently ran out of my Trilogy Rosehip Oil and while I liked that one, I wanted to try out some other ones! I decided to buy the Kosmea Skin Clinic Certified Organic Rosehip Oil as I've heard quite a bit about it being the best one out there! It is on the more expensive side as far as Rosehip oils go being $21.99 at Chemist Warehouse, however this uses a different kind of Rosehip (Eglantaria as opposed to Canina). I'm yet to do a bit more research and will go into detail in my review, but so far I really like this (probably more than the Trilogy!)

Only a few makeup bits:

As you probably all know, Priceline recently had a 50% off Maybelline sale which I managed to check out. Maybelline has released quite a few new products, so I was excited to be able to get them so well discounted. Currently Chemist Warehouse is having 50% off Maybelline (as well as Revlon and Rimmel) if you are interested. I grabbed the Dream Pure BB cream ($7.50) which is designed for Oily skin with 2% salicylic acid. I have the shade medium which is a good shade, maybe a little bit light. I've been reaching for this on an almost daily basis and I'll definitely review this in full. I also bought the Color Tattoo in Inked in Pink ($6) which is from the newer Metals collection. In comparison to the original shades, I find the formula of this one to be much creamier! The shade is absolutely gorgeous and right up my alley!

Recently Sleek had a 10% off everything sale and I decided to finally grab some things I've had my eye on for ages! I cut my list down to the Face Contour Kit and the Blush in the shade Pomegranate. I will also say that the shipping was SUPER cheap, especially for International! It was only around $3 and only took about two and a half weeks to get here. I'm really excited to get using these!

Gotta have some nail stuff! 

I was super interested in picking up some of the Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat polishes so when Target was offering a gift with purchase, I jumped at the opportunity! The minimum spend was $15 so I bought the Fuzzy Coat in Fuzz Sea ($9.95) and the Polish remover ($5.50). I was going to get two fuzzies, but I refrained! I might pick up some more in the Chemist Warehouse sale though...hehe. I was running out of my nail polish remover anyways and I've used this one for years. It is acetone free so it's not the fastest at removing nail polish, but it works! The GWP was comprised of a rather tacky looking pink bag, a Complete Salon Manicure polish in Get Juiced, a Hard as Nails treatment and a buffing block. I really love Get Juiced and have got it on my toes right now!

Lastly a fashion-y purchase which was SUCH a crazycrazycazy bargain. I picked up this pair of shoes from Witchery for only $12!! What's even more shocking is that these are $150 full price. Like whoah! Crazy markdown! They are suede with a leather upper too! They are the style Natalia but I bought them a few weeks ago now. They are a really cute sandal with a mid height heel and I love the colour. I think these will be perfect for Spring/Summer and I have been seeing this style all over the fashion blogs. I really don't wear heels often (nor do I have many occasions to do so) but I couldn't pass them up! What is up with me finding cheap shoes? Not complaining though!

A stock photo - my shade is 'coral'

So that's my collective haul! Hope you guys enjoyed and I'll probably have another haul soon enough, but I'll try not to spend too much!

Monthly Favourites | June 2013

Oh em gee. Where has the month, year, TIME gone?! I can't even fathom the fact that 2013 is almost over (pretty much)!! Enough rambling about my lack of understanding of how time works, here are the products and items I've been loving this month!

Not a whole lot of new products this month but starting out with the face:

My skincare fave for the month has definitely been the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo which I have a full review on here. I've been using and loving this product for almost two months and I feel that it has definitely helped clear up my skin, prevent breakouts and improve the texture of it. This is definitely nearing HG (holy grail) status for me!

For base, I've been enjoying mixing a couple of products. I used to really love the Garnier BB cream for Combination/oily skin (in shade Medium) which I've written about briefly here, but I've found that the colour is still a bit off for me, especially as it is Winter now. It's quite orangey and when applied to its fullest potential it definitely looks a bit oompa-loompa-y. I do however love the lightweight texture and coverage of it so I have started mixing it with my Estee Lauder Idealist which I've mentioned here. This is a brightening serum but one that contains a pearlescent shimmer. By mixing the two together, it sheers out the BB cream a bit and adds a bit of a dewiness. The Idealist doesn't at all affect the wear time of the BB cream either.

My favourite brush of the month has been the Real Techniques Stippling brush which I have been using for a couple of things. Firstly, to apply the aforementioned foundation mixture. This brush applies it lightly and sheerly with circular motions. Therefore there is less of an orangey tone from the BB cream. I can then stipple in areas where I need more coverage. The finish is very natural and light. I've also been using the brush to apply my cream blush concoction which I talked about in my last post. It applies it really nicely and evenly to the cheeks, blending effortlessly. The light peachy-pink shade provides a wonderful bright and glowy effect.

I've also really been enjoying the Korner Mystify Exotic Flower Dew which is a face mist made to calm and revive the skin. My mum actually got this on an aeroplane so I'm not sure where you can buy this brand, but probably online. I've been using this almost as a finishing spray but not to prolong the wear of my makeup but more so if I have over powdered or the skin is looking quite matte, I spray this over lightly and it gives a bit of dewiness and takes away the powdery look. It doesn't make the skin oilier though throughout the day. It also has quite a pleasant floral scent.

I've been really liking the Original & Mineral No Knott conditioning detangler (review here) particularly this month. My hair has been quite damaged lately - lots of split ends - causing quite a bit of tangles and knots. I'm going in for a trim this week though! This detangler has been really nice and you only need a few spritzes for it to work well. It contains a few oils that help nourish the hair as well.

I have a couple of lip things which are both suprisingly glossy liquidy products! First up is the Witchery Lip gloss wand in the shade Blossom which I've reviewed in full here. I've been really liking this for a light, easy but bright lip and it's definitely been one of my go-to's this month! Next is the Rimmel Apocalips in the shade Celestial which I've reviewed here. When I want a more neutral, MLBB shade I opt for this. I choose to apply this rather thinly to the lips. When slathered on thick, the product can smear and move around quite a bit on the lips. When applied thinly, you don't get as much gloss, but still great colour payoff and no moving around!

My mascara fave this month has been the Lancome Hypnose Precious cells mascara which I've talked a little bit more in depth about here. This has been a great daily mascara, giving me nice fluttery lashes with great separation and length. 

Lastly for a nail favourite, I've been loving the Revlon Colorstay topcoat. This is really great as it dries rather quickly and not just to the touch but like, actually fully dry. No sheet marks the next morning! It is very shiny and my nail polish lasts super well. I typically change my polish every 4 days and with this I have no chips and minor tip wear!

Blossom, Celestial, Cream blush, Idealist, BB cream

So those are all my favourites for the month of June. It'll be Christmas before you know it!

What have you guys been loving this month?

Glossy Blossom

Today I have a review of a product I have been loving so much lately! I realize it is now Winter here in Australia, but I still love rocking my bright coloured lips! I guess this is an ode to those in the Northern hemisphere who are currently enjoying the heat of Summer!

The product I have to share today is a Witchery Lip Gloss wand in the shade Blossom. I don't hear very much, if anything, about Witchery in terms of it's beauty offerings. I feel that they are underrated and people probably don't know about them as Witchery is not a place where you would expect to find them. I've only tried two things - this gloss and a couple of nail polishes - but I feel they are of really good quality and at a very reasonable price point - especially as they are often on sale! I've swatched their lipsticks and they are also very nice!

Onto the actual review, the gloss is housed in a sleek rectangular plastic tube, with a twist off lid. It looks very high quality and sleek - love the packaging! It comes with a regular doe-foot sponge applicator which is nothing special, and does require a bit of dipping 'back and forth' to get a good amount of product.

Blossom is a very summery, pretty, pinky coral shade. Depending if worn alone or layered and on different skintones, you can get different variations of the colour. Sometimes it's a bit more pink, others it's more coral.

The real winner for me though, is the formula. I've never been an avid lover of lip gloss. Sure, there were the early days when I used to believe that lipsticks were for older ladies and all I wore was gloss and lip balm. I never used to really enjoy wearing them though, the ones I had were thick, sticky, lacked colour and were frequent attractors of my hair. Since discovering the wonders of lipstick, the different formulations and such, I've never really been back.

Upon swatching these glosses in store, I was pleasantly surprised. Firstly, the colour payoff is gorgeous. It is quite saturated but still retains the juicy transparency, definitely pigmented enough to wear alone but can be layered to let the colour beneath show through slightly. The texture is quite thin, non-sticky and it hardly feels like there is anything on the lips. It is quite shiny, but not overly like you've slathered your lips in baby oil. Lasting power is average, will be gone with eating or drinking, but pretty good considering it's non-sticky formula.

It does have a scent of a fake, cherry, almost medicinal smell which I've never been a fan of, but it doesn't linger on the lips.

This is one of the few lip glosses I really like and have been reaching for regularly. It's enticed me to try out other glosses! This is currently on sale for $7.95 which I think is really good - they have some really pretty bright summery shades but also a super deep, dark burgundy plum which is so nice. I explained more in detail in my haul post of how you can sign up and get a free $20 gift voucher for your birthday but I highly recommend doing so! It contains 7.2mL of product for a full price of AUD$14.95.

Have you tried any Witchery makeup?

Haul | A Hop to the Shop

Today I have a haul post of some things I have picked up recently - and a cute little visitor who you'll see at the end! Almost everything here was purchased on sale/at a discounted price - we all know how much I love me some budget beauty!

First up for some nail polish (as per the usual):

My sister who works for a hair magazine recently went to Hair Expo in Sydney. At hair expo they have booths with brands selling their products and OPI was there selling their polishes for $10 each! I decided to take advantage of the half price discount and pick up a couple. I went for unique polishes as $10 is still quite expensive (for me) haha. 

I've been wanting to try out the liquid sand formula for some time, however none of them really appealed to me except for Jinx which is from the latest Bond Girls collection. I'll have a NOTD up soon-ish for it!

I also grabbed Lights of Emerald city from the Oz the Great and Powerful collection as the unique glitter combo appealed to me and it looked so amazing from sleepandwater's photos!

I also grabbed the milky glitters from the Face of Australia glitterati collection that I really wanted. There aren't very many milky glitters on the market, let alone at such a good price point. I got these for $3.70 each on sale at Big W. The shades are Funky Town, Heart of Glass (already worn and it looks so pretty!) and Boogie Wonderland.

For the few makeup bits:

I managed to grab the Revlon Multi-use palette from my Myer. This is quite an old product from some 3 years ago - but have no fear it was still sealed and in perfect condition! I was, you could call it, 'discount diving' in what seemed like the mountain of clearanced products in my Myer and stumbled across it for a mere $1! I could not leave the store without it, and I had seen a few good things about it particularly on sleepandwater's blog (seriously, an amazing blog!). 

I picked up this Lip gloss wand from Witchery which may seem like an odd place to be beauty shopping and I've never heard/read anything about their products (I do own a couple of nail polishes which are pretty good). The reason I bought this was because of the Witchery club thing. If you (Aussies) aren't already signed up I highly urge you to as during your birthday month you get a $20 gift voucher! No strings attached, just basically free cash to spend there. You can become a member here. They have a small collection of products like the lip glosses, lip sticks, nail polishes, perfumes, body cream and wash, candles and hand creams. I believe all of which are under $20 - might as well get a free product! Or you can always put it toward a piece of clothing or whatnot. A few of the products were on sale at the time of my purchase. The lip gloss full price is $14.95 (I think) but it was on sale for $7.95. I was initially going to get three of these in different shades, but turns out I had $40 on my card! $20 for my birthday and another $20 from some other reward - I don't know where from but I certainly wasn't asking questions! So I got a sweater which was reduced to $35 and this gloss in the shade Blossom. I'll have a review up but - spoiler alert - I love it!

Lastly, a couple of Rimmel things from Target. I bought the Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara (which has garnered many positive reviews from the UK) which was on introductory offer for $11.95 (RRP 17.95). But what really pushed me to the register was that it came with a bonus Rimmel Scandaleyes Eyeliner in shade Black. These retail for something like $9 so I thought that was an awesome bargain and I've been wanting to try these liners for a while.

I bought a few Soap & Glory skincare bits from ebay. The seller I used was very good and it arrived in about a week from the UK. I got the Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser which I've wanted for a while. I couldn't find it in my Mecca or Kit and I don't believe they stocked it but I do know it is available online and probably in other stores. I picked it up for $22 (incl. shipping), but here it retails for $28. I also bought the Night in shining armour Cream while I was there. I was led to this from reading reviews on the cleanser - it got a 4.6 on makeupalley which I think is pretty dang good (makeupalley can be vicious sometimes!). I've been after a good night cream now that we're in winter so hopefully this'll be good! This cost around $28 (incl. shipping) but I don't believe this is available in Australia.

Lastly I picked up this Essence 24h hand protection balm in the scent Caramel Hot Chocolate. This was only $1.95 and it is limited edition so I thought I'd pick it up. Smells just like how I imagine the drink on the front would. 

And finally the little visitor I had yesterday whilst taking photos. I didn't want to get too close to scare him off so I had my camera at full zoom! An adorable wallaby just chillin' in my backyard munching on some grass. Hehe. And yes he inspired the title to this post :P

Anyways, that's all of it! Hope you enjoyed the post and reviews will be up in due time!

Any cute animals lurk your backyard?

Fresh Nails | Autumn

Hello! With Summer in the past and Autumn rolling around I thought I would do a post on my top 5 favourite Autumnal nail polishes! Of course you can wear whatever colours, whenever but these are just some Autumn 'appropriate' shades in my stash.

First up is Revlon Colorstay Nail Enamel in the shade 190 Spanish Moss. It is a really mossy type sage green. It is nicely muted so very, in my opinion, Autumn appropriate and it has an almost 'dusty' quality. It also has a slight silver sheen running throughout but it isn't all too noticeable on the nails. It applies really nicely, opaque in two coats and lasts really well (as the name would suggest...). 

Nicole by OPI Shoot for the Maroon, is a lovely deep maroon with gold shimmer. In the bottle it almost looks duochromatic, but on the nails the shimmer/small glitter particles take on much more of a purple/burgundy shade. Again, lovely formula, two coats to opacity.

OPI Pros and Bronze is an absolutely beautiful bronzey-copper shade. It does not have a base colour but instead is heavily packed with individual shimmer particles of gold, copper and even some pink thrown in. It has an absolutely stunning effect on the nail! It somehow reminds me of the falling leaves, though we don't experience that in Australia! It takes three coats for opacity, there is some Visible Nail Line (VNL) in the photos but that's just macro, it looks great in person!

Next up is Orly Fowl Play. A really complex shade with a deep purple jelly base and a whole bunch of duochromatic flakies thrown in, glitter and shimmer! Quite Autumn and Winter appropriate! Opaque in two coats!

Lastly is a mini Witchery polish which is actually unnamed, it came in a trio which was called Twilight. This is a very common shade and one of the basics for Autumn. It's a maroon-wine shade with a creme finish. Very wearable and it has a lovely formula, almost a one-coater! It also dries very shiny. 

Thumb to pinky: Spanish Moss, Shoot for the Maroon, Pros and Bronze, Fowl Play, Witchery Polish

Those are my picks for Autumn, hope you enjoyed! What shades do you guys like for Autumn?