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).

Cosmetics Haul and Makeup Look

I grabbed a few bargains this week at Priceline, after waiting to restock on some of my favourite items. Priceline do their 40% off all cosmetics sale every now and then, and every time I go in with the intention of buying this one item (Bourjois healthy mix serum foundation) I buy something else instead... woops!

Restocked on my liquid eyeliner because the one I have now is almost dried out and the brush tip is all screwed up. I'm yet to find THE best liquid eyeliner, this one does the job okay for now. For $8, it's pretty decent.

I repurchased the Antipodes Hosanna serum (25% off yay!) because I quite liked it and used up every last drop. I use it as my moisturiser at night - it works well for my combination oily skin because of its quick absorbing and light texture. I was originally tempted by the Apostle skin-brightening & tone-correcting serum, but because of the price tag on it I got this hydrating serum instead because of its similar ingredients.

Totally got sucked into the world of CC cream after hearing so many beauty bloggers and YouTubers rave about them. Seeing as it was 40% off I decided to go for it. It honestly reminds me of some of the Korean BB creams I have tried before, but the colour seems to suit my skin better (Asian BB craems have a weird greyish tone to them) and the texture is more lighter and less chalky. (Could be because the SPF is quite low in this one). So far so good.

Because I don't like using lot's of products after cleansing at night, I never bothered with eye cream. But I have severely dark circles and eye-bag looking under-eyelids (my mum has the same kind of eyebags) so I thought I should probably try something for it. After using it for a week, I can't say much because I haven't noticed a difference or anything. I like the texture of it though, and it hasn't caused any kind of reaction to my skin. I didn't realise it was "anti-ageing" until after I got it, the description says it's for puffiness, dark circles etc. The regular eye cream really.

I used the Bourjois CC cream in these photos for a natural everyday look.

Other products I used: Maybelline Masterpiece eyeliner
Benefit Gimme Brow (in medium/deep)
Daniel Sandler watercolour blush (in Cherub)
SugarBaby Glow Better Bronzer
Lorac Pro Palette (Taupe)
Translucent Powder

I think my makeup-collection is all stocked up and got everything I need for now. Feels pretty good!