Drugstore Finds

-Walks into drugstore to restock on concealer-

-Walks out with a bagful of random stuff-

Story of my life.

I have to say, Australian "High Street" prices are basically US/UK speciality store prices. A standard foundation or a lipstick costs $20-$30, and other things like blushes, powders, bronzers are roughly $15-$35. It's still a lot more affordable than walking into a department store like David Jones/Myer or Mecca, where a foundation will cost $60-$100+!

I'm always on the hunt for bargains - most skincare products I manage to snag off feelunique, and makeup bits are really cheap at Chemist Warehouse. They're usually 30-50% off cheaper than regular drugstore prices.

I finished the Age Rewind concealer, which costs $18/$19 at the drugstore, or $13 at Chemist Warehouse. Other people seemed to have figured out this sweet deal that I can never find the Age Rewind Concealer in Light/Pale!

I don't have a lot of experience with concealer, but I don't think I'll need to experiment because this seems to work really well. It's slightly prone to creasing (but the shape of my undereye is just asking for it) but it doesn't if you set it with some powder.

Since I couldn't get my hands on my shade, I got the Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer (for $7.50 at half price) to test out - I have heard good things about it so I have high expectations just like I did for the Age Rewind.

I recently purchased the Bourjois Bronzer and Highlighter from feelunique during their 30% sale hehe. I don't think its the best quality bronzer, because the bronzer is a bit orange and the highlighter have quite large specs of glitter in them. I still like it though because the bronzer is quite matte and not-so-shimmery, and the highlighter is a bit of an extra glow besides my Revlon illuminating cream. I always use these two components separately though because I don't want shimmer in my bronzer.

At chemist warehouse, I saw this Calvin Klein bronzer (I've seen it there for at least over 2 years) and I was able to test it out. It was super pigmented and had close to no shimmer, and also didn't seem to orangey. For $8, it was a super good deal!

Left: Bourjois, Right: Calvin Klein

As you can tell, the Bourjois one looks alot more orange than the CK one. It also took a few good wipes with my finger to get that swatch vs one swipe of the finger with the CK. Pigmented is always good, but not-so-pigmented is just as useful for overall-glow or touching up the entire face as well. I think I will be using both of these equally!

Some light contouring with the Calvin Klein bronzer.

I was so in love with my caramel tinted Burt's Bees lip balm and the nudey creamy look it gave that I ended up getting a lipstick in virtually the same colour - but obviously a lot more pigmented. I got the Maybelline ColorSensational in Totally Toffee (215) for $8.50 (at half price). 

Super creamy with a slight vanillary smell!

I also grabbed one of these"chubby stick" dupes by Revlon Colorburst in a matte berry-mauve colour - Sultry Sulfureus (225). Sulfureus? What.

It has a peppermint scent and applies really nicely - especially because it's in a pencil shape, there's really no need for a lip liner. Feels a little dry, but that's essentially a matte lipstick anyway right? I got it for roughly $9 at half price, so these lip products were an awesome deal!

And finally, I got the Paul Mitchell clarifying shampoo and the original conditioner. I was desperately after a clarifying shampoo because my hair gets so greasy on the second day and makes me feel soooo icky. I used up all my Kevin Murphy shampoo and conditioner I got from Becky (the conditioner was the bomb-diggity), my hair was itchy, it was greasy, and I have to use half a can of Batiste to tame the oily beast every 2nd day.

So far, the clarifying shampoo is fab-u-lous. My hair is WAY less greasy on the second day, and SLIGHTLY less itchy (still hoping for results, fingers crossed!) and feels super squeaky clean after washing. The conditioner on the other hand... I would not buy again. (Both of these were $12.99 each, at half price.) The smell of it is so weird, luckily it doesn't linger. And it isn't as concentrated as the Kevin Murphy conditioner in terms of detangling and application wise. I'd say it's twice as concentrated as a cheap conditioner, and the KM conditioner is three times as concentrated as a cheap one. I guess it's not too bad because its equivalent to 600ml for $13, but it didn't seem to do any magical things to my hair, so meh.

Also, I had a little research investigation into the hardness of water in Brisbane, it is 100ppm. Significantly higher than Melbourne and Sydney's! WHAT? It's actually not too bad compared to other cities around the world where it's twice as concentrated though.

Hardness means the amount of bicarbonate minerals (calcium and magnesium elements) in the water. It's not dangerous to drink or anything, but makes it more difficult to wash your hair properly because the hardness makes your hair rougher (your hair are basically like scales, and these "scales" stick out in hard water) and clings onto soap you can't wash out. Clarifying shampoos help REALLY wash your hair basically.


Also. I found the maybelline illegal length mascara there as well!!! It was $9? So half price again. Finally, I can replace my old used up one that feels super dry and crusty (EW).

Dusty Colours

Winter is finally coming! Everyone else in the world is celebrating spring meanwhile us Aussies are beginning our descent into sweater weather...

So, I was on the hunt for a lightweight longline jacket for a few weeks, and came across a few on ASOS. I was reluctant to get them though, mainly because of the price (I didn't want to pay over $100 for an online purchase and also for an ASOS brand product), like this and this one which I particularly liked.

I wandered into Forever New (I hardly ever go there because... it's all a bit too girly for me) and found this duster coat/mac for half price, tried it on and left it behind. I wasn't a huge fan of the flappy bits around the back and chest.

Only to realise after going through every online store I could think of that the perfect coat I was picturing didn't exist... especially not in this price range. (Boohoo had heaps but I thought they wouldn't be good quality.) I was happy with this one because it was the colour I wanted (a nudey-stone colour) and it was the right size and length (Forever New do quite small sizes) and it had a collar/lapel which I liked the look of. I decided to get it in the end!

It goes really well with everything, but pairs nicely with wintery, dusty colours (I guess it's also spring colours too), like grey, pale blue, mint, white etc.

Top - (No brand) turtleneck long sleeve I've had in my closet for years and years
Jeans - Vintage Levi's in a mom-jeans style

Shoes - Dr. Marten's Polley

Accessorized with a simple bar necklace from eBay and my DW watch.

I can totally see this as a wardrobe staple, especially for this time of year in Brisbane when it's cool, but not really that cold. I think it will go well with all my jeans and boots, and because it's so flowy, drapey and lightweight, I don't need a fancy top to wear with it. Just a basic will do!

Winter Makeup Look

A simple makeup look that doesn't take long using simple products. I like a bit of glow and flush even in winter otherwise I would look like a zombie. The main products for this glowy look are luminizer, bronzer, blush and a nude lip product. A bold lip also goes well but makes the look not-as-glowy because it attracts a lot of attention.

So a run-down on how I created this look:

After moisturising my face and lips, I put my hair back with a headband. I then fix my brows with a pencil, and apply my base - my trusty good-old foundation.

Bourjois foundation in Rose Clair
It has light to medium coverage with a semi-matte finish and applies like a moisturiser.

My trusty Sugarbaby Bronzer which is very light and not too intense in colour.
(I also applied a dab of Daniel Sandler watercolour blush in Cherub.)

Using an angled brush to contour!

Set everything with a translucent powder (this is a cheap one I got from Missha and does the job well enough).

Luminizer! I used a liquid one so it looks the most natural on the skin. 

Also used some liquid eyeliner (Maybelline Master Precise) to do a very fine winged look.

Applied Taupe from my Lorac Pro palette over my eyelid for some depth & colour.

And a bit of sable on the outer "corner" of my eye - barely any really.

Curling my extremely downward-facing lashes with my Shu Uemura eyelash curler.

Most of the time I don't use mascara, but I put a bit on today, using my all-time favourite.
It's good for length and not so much volume, which gives it a natural look.
There are tiny hair-like fibres in the formula that stick to your lashes to lengthen!

After I applied all of these I just put my Burt's Bees tinted lip balm on (the one in my previous post).

And that's it folks! A really easy, quick and natural look for the colder days when you want to look like a snow princess (questionable).

Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm

I love Burt's Bees products - especially their facial cleansers and toners. I've tried multiple items by the brand - cleansers, toners, creams, ointments and lip balms.

I'm always on the hunt for a good moisturising lipbalm because my lips tend to get dry easily. And For some reason Chapstick, Nivea lip balms and regular Burt's Bees lip balms don't cut it for me.

I also find them all to be a bit funky tasting (I had pomegranate Burt's Bees that tasted nothing like it) and with a slightly waxy texture which I wasn't a huge fan of (probably because it has bee's wax in it... duh me).

This one I recently got has more of a creamy texture, so I found the formula to be right up my street compared to most lip balms out there. And, it's tinted.

I know 'tinted lip balm' doesn't equal good colour payoff so I wasn't expecting much. But because of the creamy texture, I think it has decent enough colour to it. If I got a much brighter shade it probably would be a lot more visible, but I really like this natural-nude/caramel finish, which will probably last a considerable time for a tinted balm over some lip liner.

Coconut oil / Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Caramel Daisy

Currently loving this product, as it's kept my lips nice and soft for hours. I'd say it's a bit on the pricey side, I paid around $10.50 for it, originally $15 or so. I'd say it's worth it for people who want a good moisturising lip balm with a natural shade. But maybe some of the other colours might be heaps more visible? I'm tempted to get a brighter colour...

Vintage

I have some pieces of clothing that were handed down to be from my mum and aunt, I thought I'd keep them just in case. (My mum was going to throw them away!) And I'm glad I did because I think they are perfectly wearable right now!

This singlet - which my aunt gave me is made of a knitted material, and is the perfect cropped length for so many skirts and shorts. It somehow matches with everything, mostly because of the colour, style, but also the material.

My mum used to wear this denim shirt, it's severely faded, worn in and pretty daggy. But I love it! Good to chuck onto any outfit like a flannel, but more like a boyfriend denim shirt. 

Excuse my terrible skin IT WAS EASTER AND I ATE MANY MANY CHOCOLATES OKAY

Wearing my new sunnies! Can you spot the highlighter on my face?!

Easter Treats

This Easter I spent most of my time in bed being sick! Hooray! Still recovering - I'm pretty much a hibernating bear hiding in the dungeons.

I finally got a pair of sunglasses that ACTUALLY FIT for once. David Jones has some pretty good sales going on, I got 30% off the full price, to $35!

I also spent ages looking for a Muslin cloths - I went to Priceline, Terry White, Big W, Target, Kmart, you name it. Silly me, I walked into the Body Shop and found them! I think they are better at exfoliating than those scrubbing pads, it's good for the morning before I put on makeup because it prevents flakiness on my face, especially on my nose.

Also picked up a few makeup brushes at CDF, because they are super cheap and seem to be pretty good quality from the ones I've used. I think each of them are $4/$5.

Pretty excited to finally have a proper pair of sunglasses that fit now, the front pair in the photo were some $10 ones from the markets at uni (I don't even know if they have proper UV protection) and my Ray Bans are unfortunately too big for me :( I can only wear them at the beach or when I'm lying down just for some eye protection. I didn't know they would fall off just from moving around a bit when I bought them!

It's so hard for me to find sunnies and hats that fit, even though I really don't think I have an unusually small head or anything. Le Specs seem like decent quality for the price, and I'd say they're pretty similar in price as Quay eyewear, if not slightly more expensive. But a really great alternative if you don't want to fork out a lot on designer sunglasses (I don't get private health insurance on non-prescription sunglasses either.)

ASOS Haul

I have been thinking about this white top for far too long and decided to get it while my size was in stock. Andddd then I got carried away... I decided to get some comfortable earrings, because the boring old tiny hoop sleepers that I usually wear brokeeee! I don't have many earrings actually, especially for a girl it's probably because I opt for sterling silver or hypoallergenic metals because my ears get sore with regular earrings from cheaper stores.

Structured Top with Japanese Cities Print

Woven Print Top

I thought this top would be a sweater-type top, but it was actually a chiffony-type of loose top. I guess in a way it's good because it will be wearable in the warmer time of Autumn/Winter! I wish it came in an actual sweater like it though :(

Boyfriend T-Shirt with French Print

I was apprehensive in ordering jewellery from ASOS, but they all arrived perfectly in a small box and they were packaged individually like this. Quality wise, they seem to be okay, and my ears aren't sore or anything.

Dainty Hexagonal Sleepers

Wire Through Earrings

Bar Through Earrings

A little bit disappointed with this last one because I had no idea the bar was studded with diamontes... which I'm not a huge fan of. But, it's not that noticeable and I still liked the design of it so I guess I'll be keeping them!

Anddd on the rest of my ASOS wishlist...

DIY moodboard & kikki.K goodies!

Picked up a few goodies from kikki.K. Damn you staff discounts!

These pens tho. Urgh. Let's just take a moment to appreciate them... very "Swedish" I must say.

I used the vision board kit to fancy up my desk-whiteboard to create a moodboard collage, since I don't own a vision board and I can utilise my whiteboard to do the same thing anyway. I can't pin things up like a vision board, but that ladies and gentleman is why blu-tack exists!

All I used was the vision board kit (10 cardboard designs), blue-tack, sticky tape (to stick the twine on) twine, wooden pegs, polaroid photos, and some random stickers I found in an Alice in Wonderland diary I got from Korea. I really like the corners around the "Do All Things With Love" quote. It's so simple and you can pretty much use anything!

My small desk-setup. 

This is just my first go at a moodboard/collage sort of thing, obviously there are some gaps, stickers in funny places and blank spaces which I will probably fix and add to later on. But seriously, these pastels are killin me.

On another note, I made a flatlay using some of these products!

kikki.K: journal, vision board card, 5pack slim pens, faceted vase (which I planted my cactus in)
Revlon (Pink Orchid), YSL Touche Eclat, Lovisa midi rings, SugarBaby bronzer.