CHRISTMAS HAUL 2012

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas! Santa spoiled me this year and I was requested to show what I got for Christmas. I figured since the one I did last year was well received, I was happy to do another Christmas haul for this year.

Chanel Matt Lumiere Foundation & Chanel Soleil De Tan Bronzer

My mum bought me back ups of my foundation and bronzer to save me the money and time of repurchasing these myself. As we all know, repurchasing expensive products always sucks so this was a really lovely gift. She also bought me a back up for my Chanel concealer for my birthday so she is definitely keeping me stocked up on all of my basic makeup essentials.  

Schwarzkopf Marrakesh Oil & Coconut Set

I love all of the hair oils so I am excited to try out this trio including a shampoo, conditioner and leave in treatment mousse. It contains argan oil and liquid keratin so I look forward to seeing the results on my hair. 

DKNY Golden Delicious 50ml  

I received this as a gift last year as well and  I have nearly run out so this was perfect! I wear this perfume nearly daily, it's my go to scent. I used to wear Be Delicious but I have started growing more into Golden Delicious. It's a great perfume, I definitely recommend smelling it next time you see a tester.

Planet Earth Cocoa Butter Summer Set

Inside a beautiful beach bag was four different products; a moisturiser, body wash, hand lotion and shimmer polish. Great for keeping the skin hydrated, exfoliated and glowing for summer. 

Planet Earth Hand Moisturizer Set

This set contained three hand lotions and two lip balms. I am definitely not in need of any moisturizers or lotions after this Christmas! 

Lush Products

I am a Lush addict so I was happy to add some more of my favourite Christmas products to my collection including Father Christmas Bath Ballistic, Candy Mountain Bubble Bar, Golden Wonder Bath Ballistic and Cinders Bath Ballistic.

Christmas Themed Bubble Bath 

This stuff smells amazing and you can never have too much bubble bath so I look forward to pouring a heap of this into my next bath. 

Ultimate Fashionista, The Young Hollywood Style Guide

Although I think I prefer beauty to fashion, I think this book is great because I still really enjoy reading about fashion. I love how there is a lot of celebrity style inspiration in it.

Lana Del Rey "Born To Die" Paradise Edition

I have recently fallen in love with Lana's music and something about it is so relaxing especially to drive around to. I have been dying for the CD to play in the car instead of just the music on my phone because it doesn't sound as good but haven't been able to justify the $20 on a CD! I am so glad I received it as a gift because the music sounds much better in the car using the CD and I love it. 

Wallace Bishop 1 carat Diamond Earrings

I'm someone who loves good quality jewellery, real gold and diamonds and I usually receive a piece of nice quality jewellery every year. This year I wasn't expecting anything though because I already had a few rings, bracelet, necklace and earrings so I couldn't think of anything else I could have. To my surprise I received some more diamond earrings, this time they were .5 carats each earrings compared to my previous .75 carats! I was so shocked but really grateful and thankful!

Nescafe  Dolce Gusto Automatic Coffee Machine

I was so excited about this gift! I absolutely love tea and coffee and drink it daily so this is a great fit for my lifestyle and ma my daily tea and coffee's really fun! This machine does both cold and hot drinks so it's perfect for both winter and summer!

Cashew Poppycock and Fudges

I also received some yummy treats to enjoy with my coffees! I love Poppycock but can only find it around Christmas time so was glad I received some this year. I also have a huge weakness for fudge and this type is super yummy!!

2012 BEAUTY FAVOURITES

Here are my beauty favourites for this year! All of the products I have fallen in love with in 2012!

1. Garnier BB Cream

This product has replaced my foundation this year which is great because I always felt like wearing heavy foundation on a regular basis was more than my skin needed. Tinted moisturisers never appealed to me but BB creams did and I am so glad. Out of all the BB creams I have tried, the Garnier is my favourite. 

2. Real Techniques Brushes

These are some of the best brushes I have ever used! I always use a heap of them whenever I am doing my makeup and I find myself reaching for these over my sigma, ecotools and others that I was using before Real Techniques. 

3. Maybelline Color Tattoo's

These are such incredible eye bases, comparable to MAC Paint Pots but a quarter of the price so definitely affordable. I love how there is a colour for every eye look so I am never without a great base for my eyeshadow look.

4. Revlon Lip Butters

I absolutely love these things to the point where they are 80% of all lip products I use. I consider them a really pigmented balm or a moisturizing lipstick, either way they are amazing and I love them!

5. Essence Stay With Me Lipgloss

I love the Essence brand in general but their "Stay With Me" glosses really stand out to me as they are really affordable yet great quality and the colour selection is amazing. I love layering the gorgeous colours of lipsticks. 

6. Australis Make-Up Finishing Spritz 

This stuff is a miracle product in the warmer weather because it really works in prolonging how long your makeup lasts! Simply spray a couple of spritz onto your face after completing all of your makeup and it will last all day.

7. Love Alpha Mascara Duo 

I used to rely on false lashes to get the "massive lashes" look but now I prefer to use micro fiber mascaras. I really like the Maybelline Illegal Lengths but I prefer the Love Alpha duo because I find that a two step product is more effective. 

So those have been all of my favourites this year. I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for beauty products!

Thanks for reading!

CHRISTMAS NAILS: PRESENTS AND SANTA HATS

I just did my nails to be all festive for Christmas and thought I would quickly share this easy nail design with you! Maybe give you some inspiration if you haven't done your nails yet and your doing something on Christmas.

Products used:

OPI Top & Base Coat

OPI "Alpine Snow"

OPI "Green-wich Valley"

OPI "Thanks So Muchness!"

Ulta3 Silver Glitter

Sally Hansen Shine Top Coat 

Essence Express Dry Drops 

Nail Art Brush

Steps:

Put a base coat on all of your nails so that your polish doesn't chip then add a layer of white polish so that the colours are more vibrant.

Thumb design:

Place sticky tape on the edges of your nails to create a cone shape of your nail exposed to paint red. Once dried, peel it off and paint the fluffy bottom and ball on the Santa hat using a nail art brush and white nail polish. Fill in the blank sides with silver glitter polish.

Present design:

Paint a coat of green nail polish. Using the nail art brush, draw a a line diagonally and horizontally. 

Accent nail:

Paint a coat of red nail polish. Apply a glitter on top. 

Add a top coat to all of your nails and a couple of drops of essence express dry. Then your done :)

Thanks for reading!

REVIEW: MUA IMMACULATE COLLECTION PALETTE

I was gifted this palette from a fellow blogger and good friend Karen from Balmain Beauty and I am so glad because I have fallen in love with it!

I absolutely adore the colour selection because it's a mix of practical and fun within the gorgeous 24 shades that this palette offers. It still has your basic colours in there like white, black, beige and brown but there are also some playful shades to experiment with like pink, purple, green and blue.

The quality is really impressive and I have found all of the shades to have great pigmentation but some are more buttery and glide on smoother than others. I have found that the matte shades aren't as smooth in consistency as the shimmery colours but that is with most eyeshadows. 

I have found these shadows to be quite long lasting and if used with a good base shadow primer there is minimal creasing.

For such a great palette, the pricing is definitely affordable costing $16AUD! That works out to be only about 65cents per shadow which is incredibly cheap for such great quality shadows.

Click here to check out the palette.
Thanks for reading :)

HAUL: LORNA JANE WORKOUT GEAR

About four and a half months ago I changed my lifestyle to be healthier but you guys would probably know if you follow me on my social media sites, especially my cooking blog where I have been blogging all about healthy recipes and fitness tips. It seems like everytime I post a photo of myself going to gym on Instagram or something gym related, I always get requests to do fitness/health videos so I thought starting off with a clothing related fitness video/blog would be a great way to begin these sorts of videos. I recently went to Lorna Jane and took advantage of some of their Christmas sales they have going on at the moment. I thought I would share with you what I picked up :)

Little Miss Short Tight ($39.99)
Okay so these tights are from the "Little Miss" range but they are too darn cute I didn't even care haha! So yes, I wear kids tights to work out XD If your a size 6-8 clothing size usually then buy a size 10 in the "Little Miss" range.

Kelly 7/8 Tight ($89.99)

These are the perfect yoga pants and the quality is absolutely amazing! Not to mention that they are super comfortable and moveable while you are exercising. If your usually a size 6-8, an XS fits nicely.

Black Tee ($24.99)

"Be strong for every workout, brave for every challenge and never never give up"
I love the colour combination of turquoise, hot pink, white and black.

Grey Tee ($24.99)

"Never Never Never Give Up"
The sparkly pink on this top is so adorable and I love grey to work out in.

Pink Tee ($24.99)

"If you can dream it, you can do it"
This top is part of their fluro line so it's not surprise that this is a massive pop of hot pink. This is the top I wore in the video version of this haul and below is a picture of me trying it out in the dressing room.

*All of the Inspirational Tee's are on sale at the moment, 2 for $50*
If you are a size 6-8, get a size S for these tops.

Pink Cropped Lattice Bra ($65.99)
This is the most awesome workout bra I have ever owned! The details are incredible; at the top of the bust there is a knit crochet design and at the back there is an adorable "LJ" emblem. Not to mention that it is actually really supportive while exercising.

I hope you all enjoyed this haul!

Thanks for reading :)

TOP LIP COLOUR PICK FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON!

Towards the end of the year there are always a whirlwind of events and parties to attend from work Christmas get-together's to Christmas Day and New Year's celebrations. I always love having a go-to lip colour for the holiday season and it changes year to year! This year I decided to share mine with you and it is the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (OCC) Lip Tar in "Harlot".

If you have heard anything about the OCC Lip Tars you would know how long lasting they are so not only do you have a gorgeous pigmented colour but it's going to stay on all night for your event or party! It's amazing long-lasting aspects means that it is very liquidy when applied but dries into a non transfer consistency meaning it won't rub off even through eating, drinking and kissing. It's the perfect combination of practical and pretty!

I absolutely love this deep raspberry shade because it gives a youthful spin on your basic red lip while still spicing up your usual everyday nudes and pinks for a rich pop of colour! I think this colour definitely suits the holiday season and has been the perfect shade for some events I have been to so far this Christmas.

My tip is to use a precise lip brush to apply this product and outline your lips with concealer. As it is such a dark colour and so pigmented if you do go outside your lip lines, it's going to be difficult to remove so choose a small brush to apply this to be extra precise. Once applied, go around your lips with concealer and a small flat brush to clean up the edges and make the colour pop against your skin.

Above are photos of some occasions where I have worn this lip product so far! In the first photo I included my outfit because I found a skirt that perfectly matches the lip colour, making it great for a Christmas party. I also wore it in my Christmas Ice Recipe video and received so many compliments! I toned the colour down a bit by slightly staining my lips with the product for everyday use, as seen in the third picture.

Let me know your favourite lip product for the holidays below :)
Thanks for reading!

GET READY WITH ME!

Products Used:
Garnier BB Cream
Maybelline Dream Nude Airfoam Foundation
MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer
Australis Fresh & Flawless Powder
Chanel Terre Ambre Bronzer
Maybelline "Too Cool" Color Tattoo
MUA Neutrals Palette
Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner
Love Alpha Fiber Mascara Duo
MAC "Saint Germain" Lipstick
Essence Stay With Me "Candy Apple"

 

Click here to watch the video :)