Haul - Sportsgirl, Colette, Temt, Target, Priceline & more

So I'm really not a spender but the combination of exams from hell and holidays kind of lead to, uh, this wonderful assortment of treats!






































First up, scarves. I purchased three scarves that I am absolutely in love with, for such cheap prices!
1. A black and white one with the word 'Love' printed on it from Sportsgirl for $5 down from $25
2. A black and white one with sugar skulls and hearts printed on it from Jay Jays for $2.50 down from $15
3. A blue/purple and white one patterned one from Jay Jays for $2.50 down from $15

Next I went to Colette and spotted a heart ring for only $2 down from $4, and a necklace that was initially $6 but on sale for $3. I typically purchase and wear silver jewellery so it is a nice change to go for something gold.

I then went to Target and found a simple black summery dress for $15. It really is nothing fancy but it's perfect for those days where you can't be bothered to plan an outfit but you still want to look nice. It can also be dressed up with a belt, colourful accessories and heels if need be. I particularly love the slight detail at the back.

I then found myself in Temt purchasing a shirt that was on sale from $20 down to $10. I wish I had owned this shirt when I was doing work experience in a Speech Pathology clinic because it is so classy...I love it!

A new 'super' Op-Shop opened up a couple of days ago so Mum and I went down to check it out. Apart from the fact that it is absolutely enormous, it was a little disappointing because it was quite expensive in comparison to other Op-shops. There were some beautiful shoes, but I'm not willing to spend $30 or $40 on secondhand shoes (even if they have only been worn once or twice)!

I did find some things though, a gorgeous gold bangle for $4 and a belt to wear with my black dress for $2.

Last but not least, I went to Priceline because I was absolutely dying to buy one of the Face of Australia Carnivale polishes. I bought the shade 'My Island home' for $6 (normally I wait for sales but I just couldn't this time!) and hopefully I'll get some more soon. I also saw that the Sally Hansen polishes were going out cheap so I got an Xtreme wear polish in the shade 'White On.'

I'm really happy that I splurged on these lovely things...hopefully I can hang out until the after Christmas sales when I have a bit more money to spend, and there are more amazing bargains!

Essence Colour and Go Nail polish - Do you speak love?

I go through phases where I'll be absolutely obsessed with a particular makeup product. I've just come out of an infatuation with cream blushes and now I've been wanting to pick up every nail polish I come into contact with, which is weird because I've never been a real polish girl. It does have something to do with the fact that companies are continually bringing out beautiful, affordable polishes that simply knock me off my feet (ahem, Face of Australia, cough cough) but still, I have a bad feeling I'll end up with an enormous, unused collection by the end of this...

Nevertheless, I am here with a completely seasonally inappropriate polish, 'Do you Speak love?' from Essence. I first spotted this on a beauty blog and decided that I was mine because it was gorgeous and I (surprisingly) owned nothing like it. At about $2 or $3 it is so affordable, and all my experiences with Essence polishes have been positive ones.

This is no different to any other Essence polish. It has a beautiful creamy, non-streaky formula and allows for complete opacity to be achieved in only two coats. I love the wider brush as it means the nail can be coated in two or so strokes.

This beautiful vampy ox-blood shade has catapulted itself into my favourites already and I get the feeling, despite that I should have worn this all through winter, that it will be on my nails all holidays!

Beauty rules you should totally break

There are a lot of rules in life. Some of them are official, like, you know...the road rules. Others are unofficial but polite, like walking to the left on the stairs (seriously people, it's not that hard!) and then there are some that should never have existed in the first place and are meant to be broken. There are so many beauty 'rules' that in my opinion should not be compulsory!

Always wear mascara on your bottom lashes
Never in my life have I worn mascara on my bottom lashes. It looks simply ridiculous on me and it smudges and flakes like nobody's business. Many times I've felt as though I'm doing it wrong but seriously, that's one rule I am happy to break (although I acknowledge that this isn't the case for everyone).

Throw your mascara out after three months
Now I'm no expert on this (but if you are feel free to yell at me about what I'm going to say next) but I totally think you can make a mascara last longer than three months. In fact, my Covergirl Lashblast Length mascara has been going for over a year now (which is quite remarkable considering I literally use it everyday) and it still works like a charm. When it gets gloopy, smells funny or changes colour then sure, I'll swap to one of the million others in my 'backup' pile but until then, I'm not saying sayonara to my best friend just yet.

You can only wear the shade of red lipstick that suits your skintone 
Who made this rule, because they clearly didn't know much about the logistics of red lisptick wearing! There are no rules when it comes to lipstick shades, it's about whether you feel confident! For me, I'll go a blue or red toned lippie, bright or subtle, but I won't venture into the darker, more vampy colours just yet. It's not about the rules, it's about what I like.

Pale skin is something to be ashamed of
I hate this rule, I absolutely hate it. I am white as a ghost and 99% of the time I love it! Sure, a bit of a tan in summer can be quite attractive and healthy looking, but there is nothing wrong with being pale either...it certainly beats oompa loompa orange! Be proud of your paleness!

You can wear either warm or cool toned eyeshadow
Oh my gosh. Biggest load of rubbish ever. I am personally drawn to warmer tones anyway but it doesn't mean cool toned, like a cool taupe for example, is off limits for me. Like the red lippie, wear whatever you feel pretty in!

You must always powder
No, no, no. Powder isn't for everyone, it's for the girls with oily skin who find that by the end of the day their makeup is nowhere to be seen for it has been replaced with an oil slick. For the girls with dry skin, embrace it ladies! Use dewy foundations and rock the glow (glow, not oily mess) because we sure have trouble with it!

Eyes or lips
Okay, so I get where this is coming from - it can be a little overkill when you've got a crazy smokey eye and attention-demanding lippie on when you pop down to the grocery shops, but thick black liner and a red lip can look stunning and in my opinion combines both a strong eye and a strong lip.

You can't wear dark shadow in the day
Seriously, there's not much to say about this one but you can wear whatever you want. I've seen girls walking around in what looks like pyjamas, I'm fairly sure you can wear a dark brown shadow and get away with it!

Certain shades go with certain seasons
I totally fall into the trap of thinking that you can only wear makeup shades that correspond with the time of the year that it is. When I was drooling over a gorgeous ox blood Essence polish the other day, I nearly didn't get it because we'd just come out of winter and pastel shades for Spring were more appropriate. What was I thinking? I ended up purchasing it and I tell you, nothing is going to be stopping me for showing off my new dark red nails!

Never pluck above the eyebrow
If I followed this rule, it wouldn't be good. My brows are, to say the least, a little crazy and so I do everything in my power to keep them lovely and full but neat at the same time. Plucking both above and below the eyebrow is very important for me!

Cut your hair every "insert a short time period here"
I don't remember the last time I got my hair cut. 6 months ago? A year? I don't know but for the time being, it seems to be doing alright. Of course, the time between cuts differs for everyone, but to save money, effort and get lengthier locks, postpone you next cut until you actually need it.

You have to use brushes to apply your makeup
Although decent brushes have drastically changed my makeup routine for the better, you can get so much done using just your fingers. Especially for those who are just starting out with makeup, don't let anyone tell you brushes are the only way to go.

So there are the beauty rules that I love to break and recommend you consider breaking too!

Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel - Guava

So lately I've been really getting into nail polish and I think that is all down to the fact that I keep stumbling across ridiculously cheap but good quality polish. I spotted this little beauty from Revlon (one of their Top speed polishes, even better!) for only $3 and in such a lovely colour too!

To be honest with you, this is just about the most perfect pink shade I can possibly think of. Unlike this disaster in a bottle which actually appeared to look nice in the photos but in real life was horrendous, this translated beautifully from the bottle onto the nails and then in the pictures too.

I love Revlon's top speed line so much. Yes, I am hopelessly impatient (especially after having become accustomed to all these fast drying polishes) but it no longer matters because this takes about two or three minutes to become dry to the (gentle) touch.

I've found with all Revlon's polishes that they are beautifully creamy, non streaky and fairly chip resistant. The brush allows for easy application and the bottles aren't too bad to look at.

For $15.95 they aren't exactly cheap, but I've had so much luck finding them discounted that maybe you can too! I know that Priceline has some select shades for $5 at the moment, and there are loads at my local Target stores (although many of them are pretty shocking shades) so if you're interested try searching there because they are definitely worth it!

Q&A - Life

Here I am to answer some more questions that you asked when I was running my giveaway. The questions in this post are questions about life.

1. Where is your favourite travelling destination?
Cambodia was my favourite place that I have ever been, but it is hardly a regular travelling destination that I go on! Darwin was another amazing place I've been. I especially liked swimming in the waterfalls at Litchfield National Park. In general I like to travel places that involve road trips and the coastline.

2. What is your biggest pet peeve?
People who sniff instead of using a tissue. It honestly drives me crazy. Also, when people yell to me from across the other side of the room instead of just walking over to me. I'm not sure why this bothers me so much but it does!

3. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
I am so boring but I would honestly stay right here in little old Adelaide.

4. Do you have any weird food combinations?
Sadly I don't but when I was tiny apparently my absolute favourite thing was warmed pineapple juice. Disgusting!

5. What's your favourite school subject?
Biology is my favourite, closely followed by English. Maths and Chemistry are the other two I will be studying next year in year 12 but they're not my favourites.

6. What are you plans for once you finish school?
At this point in time, I want to volunteer overseas for a couple of months, then return to Australia and study Speech Pathology at University while working a part time job. I want to cross off a few things from my bucket list...all those things you hear about in stories like road trips, watching storms on the beach and learning languages (I want to learn sign language!).

7. What has been your favourite age to be?
Well I'm only 16 so I haven't got too many ages to choose from...when I was 12 that was a good year because I was in my last year of primary school which I absolutely loved and I didn't have a care in the world. 16 (this year) has also been a nice age because I'm old enough to look after myself in almost everything (except for driving, hanging out to get my P plates!) but being in year 11 has been pretty stressful at times. I imagine it only gets worse in year 12 and then uni!

And there we have it, another Q&A post down. The last one will be next week, another one full of beauty related questions.

Target Haul - NYX, Revlon & Essence

Dear Target,

I love you. No honestly, when it comes to makeup your deals are starting to rival Priceline's, not to mention the fact that you now have American brand NYX (excellent strategic decision on your behalf by the way...I certainly make the special effort to go to a Target store for brands Essence and NYX). Recently I went for a bit of a wander around in the hopes of picking up some cosmetics...and I did. This is what I bought:

Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel in Guava
So remember when I was in Tasmania and I visited your store and found these wonderful wonderful bargains? Well you didn't tell me that you have just as amazing ones in Adelaide too! In Tasmania I grabbed a Revlon top speed polish in a gorgeous red shade called Fire and I adored it and decided I needed more from that range. Luckily for me, today I found another stunning shade - Guava - that was also a top speed polish...and get this, it was only $3! Amazing!

Essence Clear Lash and Brow Gel
So this isn't overly exciting, because, well, it's a clear gel...but this is the third or fourth one I've gone through this year and it's an everyday staple a girl's just got to have.

Essence Colour and Go Polish in Do You Speak Love?
After spotting this amazing ox blood shade on Mateja's blog, I decided that I needed to buy a completely seasonally inappropriate polish because it was just beautiful. My favourite nail polish shade is red too, and upon discovering that I had nothing like it I figured it was an absolute crime not to own this shade. So, here I am, holding a polish of wonderful quality that cost only $2.75.

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Natural
I have wanted this forever. FOREVER. The only reason I never purchased it was because I was too stingy to pay for postage from America (which always turned out to be more than the actual blush itself). Of course, upon its arrival at Target I knew it would be mine. Normally I wait for sales but I was so darn excited I forked out $11.95 for this gorgeous cream blush. How very exciting!

NYX Soft matte lip cream in Istanbul
So apparently the cream blush wasn't enough...If I'm honest with you though, the soft matte lip creams are also products I have had my eye one for so long now. Istanbul seemed like the most beautiful shade ever so I picked it up for $12.95. It's not super expensive but I've become accustomed to paying minimal prices for everything ($3 polishes and $5 lipsticks!) so this was a big deal! You had better be good, matte lip cream!

Summer sandals
Last but not least I tried on this lovely pair of white sandals because I own no summer shoes whatsoever and loved the look of them. For only $14, I'm really happy with my purchased.

So there you have it...see how awesome you are Target? I'll definitely be coming back!

MUA Sheer Finish lipglosses - Just in case & Too much fun

Lipglosses aren't really my thing. I think I've only ever come across one gloss that I actually really enjoy using (naturally one that is discontinued)...the rest are just a pain to use.

I was however, really excited to try these out when I won them in Dawn's giveaway from over at See it, Swatch it, Love it (at the beginning of this year...yes I am a little late with this review!) MUA is a brand I don't think you can access easily here in Australia and so it was an exciting opportunity to see what all the raving was about! I had also tried their High Intensity Gloss and thought it was absolutely brilliant, so I had high hopes.

First up, let me tell you about the scent...it's incredible. Think dentist-appointment-inducing sugar scent mixed with an extra shot of red frogs and lollipops. So okay, that may not be for everyone but it sure beats a scent-less product.

The packaging is fairly stock standard for a squeezy tube lipgloss, although it does leak a little. It has a slanted applicator that allows for easier use. I'm not a huge fan of these types of glosses, I much prefer those with a wand and doe foot applicator. Nevertheless, as for style and packaging of these, it's fairly similar to every other gloss out there.

Next comes the gloss. Well, it's everything a gloss is renowned for and meant to be...juicy, supremely shiny, sticks to your hair and glues your lips together. Which is exactly why these glosses and I aren't really friends.

These glosses, as the name suggests, are quite sheer. You can tell that there is slight colour, however on the lips (despite that one is pink and one is red) they look very much the same. They are glitter and shimmer free and have quite a thick consistency.

I don't like these because I just don't like glosses in general. However, if you do get along with the good old gloss then I am sure that you will like this just fine.

I give this 6 out of 10.

NOTD - Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel in Fire

You can never have enough nail polishes in your favourite shade (in my case, red). For $3 and in a fast drying formula, who would walk past this little Revlon bargain?

I managed to purchase this from Target in one of their bargain bins. I'll never know how this little beauty ever made it there, because this polish is just awesome.

This is a beautiful fire engine red that is glossy and demands attention. I only need two coats for it to be completely opaque, and it honestly dries so quickly. This lasts four or so days until it started to wear slightly around the edges, and slight chipping occurred after that.

The formula is so lovely to work with, not at all streaky. The brush allows for ridiculously easy application.

Removal is nice and easy (there is nothing worse than having to spend hours taking off a polish!) but my only annoyance with this is that it does stain a little if you don't use a base coat.

This usually retails for around $15.95 (in my opinion any nail polish, no matter how good it is, should not cost that much). I am a huge fan.

Q&A - Blogging

Here is the next installment of questions and answers from when I had my giveaway and you lovely people submitted your questions for me!

1. Why did you start blogging?
I was going through a really tough time back when I started my blog and I needed a way to shut off from the world and just focus on something else. I had been reading blogs for ages and wanted to write book reviews but didn't feel confident that I could read enough books to justify having a blog in addition to actually writing reviews! The only other kind of blog I was aware of was beauty blogs, so I gave that a shot. Best decision ever!

2. Which camera do you use?
I actually have no fancy camera whatsoever, and I know nothing about photography. I don't even know what the name of my camera is...so I took a picture of it for you all. It's really nothing special, I promise, but I think it takes satisfactory photographs for my blog.

3. What do you do when you don't feel in the mood to write a review?
Excellent question! This has been happening to me sooo much lately...I've just been lacking in both inspiration and motivation. When I feel like this, I do my best to do something whether it be as simple as writing the title into one of my posts, taking a photo of something, uploading a photo into my post or finding out the RRP for a product I picked up on sale. Sometimes doing these tiny little steps prompts me to do a bit more and suddenly I find myself churning out an entire review. Other times that seems like so much effort that I can barely even do that...it is these times that I just forget about it and do something else because there is no point trying to write a post when your heart isn't in it - your readers can tell.

4. Do you get given a lot of samples?
Sometimes! When I started blogging I was so little and inexperienced that I didn't even know bloggers sometimes received samples to review! The first time I was approached I nearly had a heart attack and died. But honestly, I have been very blessed to try out some cool products...it comes in waves. Sometimes you get lots of PR requests and then you can go for months where it's all quiet on that front. That's not what blogging is about, it's about enjoying yourself and connecting with people. Samples are just an amazingly cool bonus that you may or may not get.

5. How do you find inspiration for writing on your blog?
Well my blog is mainly filled with reviews, so I don't really need to come up with creative posts. However, sometimes I think it gets a bit tiring just having one review after another so I do attempt to think of new and interesting post ideas. I get inspired by other blogs, youtube videos, things that happen around me. I kind of treat my blog like a friend that I want to tell stories to - which is what happened with my travel series. I wanted to share the amazing experience I had with my friends! I was inspired to make the Behind the Blog series after reading some cool facts about another blogger and realising that often you don't know much about the person whose blog you love!

6. Can you make a post about dupes/product comparisons?
I would love to...if I had dupes to talk about! Whilst my makeup collection is quite extensive, I don't feel as though it is at that stage where I have millions of repeats. If I come across some I will be sure to post about it!

7. Can you do a review on products for acne problems?
I am lucky not to have acne so I actually don't have a clue about skincare for acne prone skin. I can't help you out there, but I bet my house that there are some amazing reviews on other people's blogs that you could check out.

I love answering your questions...the next Q&A post will be those questions you asked that are about my life.

Garnier BB Cream for Oily Skin

In my opinion, BB creams filled a big hole in the makeup market where tinted moisturisers didn't have enough coverage and additional skin benefits, and foundations were too heavy and pore-blocking. From memory, Garnier was one of the first brands to provide a BB cream for sale in Australia, but these days almost every cosmetic brand has its own version of the magical BB cream.

I use my Garnier BB cream on a daily basis, and whilst it did the job I found that it was a little too greasy and oily for my skin. When I ran out and the oily skin version was on sale I snapped it up in the hopes that it might be a little more suitable for me.

First up is the change in packaging. The tube is much thinner and holds 10mL less than the original version but they each cost the same price. Obviously the value  for money isn't as good, but I think it is worth it. The nozzle is quite bizarre, long and thin unlike the squeezy opening in the original cream. I find that it leaks a bit more, so I make sure not to store the BB cream standing up or it wastes the product.

I found that the shades (which are a little pathetic, limited to: light, medium or dark) differed according to each version. The shade light in the oily skin version seemed to match my pale colouring a little better.

I have been pleasantly surprised by this purchase - I love the Oily Skin version so much more than the original. The finish is not what I would describe as completely matte but more of a satin feel. I still use a powder to ensure that it lasts the day, and I feel as though it keeps the oil away a little longer than it would without a powder. It doesn't cling to dry patches although any slight flakes are exaggerated and made more noticeable by the BB cream.

This evens out any redness on the face and dulls hyperpigmentation from past blemishes. Obviously the coverage isn't as heavy as a foundation, but I am highly impressed with the degree of coverage it does give.

According to the box, it "reduces pores and imperfections, evens tone and boosts a healthy glow and hydrates," statements I completely agree with.

I am also really pleased that this has an SPF of 15 - sun protection in makeup is always a plus for me.

Basically, I am highly impressed with this. I use it religiously every day and I find that though it has worn off a little by the end of it, it is an all round good product that ticks all the boxes.

If you have oily skin or simply didn't love the original version, don't rule this out just yet because it is quite different to its older sibling and may be just what you are looking for.

I give this 9/10.

Revlon Lip Butter in Brown Sugar

Revlon Lip Butters are absolute staples in so many makeup collections. The only problem? They're not cheap. Sure, you can buy them for a dismal price in comparison to YSL lipsticks, but $21.95 isn't exactly affordable...especially when you want one of every colour in the range.

Imagine how excited I was when I was on holidays, stumbled into Target and saw this little beauty marked down to only $4 (along with its sibling in Gumdrop)! Although the shade Brown Sugar wouldn't be my first preference in the Lip Butter range, I thought a sheer brown couldn't be all that bad. Perhaps it could be the loveliest nude.

Well, much like Gumdrop, this wasn't exactly like I was expecting. For a start, Brown Sugar was pigmented. In fact, it was probably the most pigmented all of the ones I owned. It was also quite a dark brown...think melted chocolate. Hmmm…

I have quite pigmented red toned lips naturally, so the combination of red and dark brown, is, uh, interesting. Don't get me wrong, it's not ghastly in the same fashion that I found Gumdrop to be, and it's certainly not completely unwearable, it just feels a little old fashioned. I feel like I've aged about 50 years when I wear this (which is something I really don't love!). I think it also doesn't really help that I have super pale skin - I'm literally as white as a ghost - and therefore it is just so dark. I expect on darker skin this could be quite a lovely 'my lips but better' kind of colour.

As is the case with all lip butters, this is lovely and moisturising. It has a very slight shimmer to it which does show up on the lips. It lasts an acceptable amount of time but does fade when eating and drinking. Sadly it has no scent (none of the lip butters do, but how amazing would it be if they did?!) but at least it doesn't smell bad.

All in all, this is actually a really lovely lip product if I had the skin tone and the lips to match it! If you've got darker skin and more brown toned lips then I really think this could be a wonderful product.

I give this 6/10.

Monthly Favourites - October

Can you believe that it is the end of October, which means that it is now November, which means that it is nearly the end of the year. How did that happen?

This month I've tried out a couple of new products which has been exciting!

Face: We shall begin with a face product, which has without a doubt been the Garnier BB cream for oily skin. I've been a loyal user of the originall BB cream by Garnier however I was never 100% thrilled with it, finding that it left my skin feeling a little greasy. The oily skin version, however, is awesome.

Eyes: For eyes I have a product that I picked up for $6 when it was on sale, and it is the Max Factor Wild Shadow Pencil in Caramel Rage. I think this is the first Max Factor product I have ever tried, and my goodness I just love it! I love my lip crayons and now I've come to the conclusion that eye crayons are the best too! A review on this should be coming up soon.

Nails: I adore my red polishes, so for October I've used the Revlon Top speed polish in Fire over and over and over.

Lips: I've been having so much trouble with chapped lips lately, and the only product that has been able to fix it is the Blistex lip conditioner. I hate how this feels on my lips, I hate the smell, I hate the fact that it is in a pot, however this is like magic and solves every chapped lip problem I have ever had.

Other: Last but not least is my Real Techniques Stippling Brush. Since purchasing this I've used only cream blushes because this honestly makes everything look incredible. Could not recommend this enough!

So, there are my October favourites. I have been a little quiet on the blogging front and if I'm honest with you, it will probably remain like that for the whole of November too until I've finished my exams. What have you been using lately?