2015 Boxing Day Haul - Illamasqua, Glasshouse Fragrances, OPI and more

This was the first year I'd ever taken advantage of the sales and gone shopping on boxing day. The first time, and the last.

My goodness how naive I was! I went into Rundle Mall excited about the bargains I was anticipating, only to find unbelievably long lines stretching out the doors of the shops, angry and hurried people pushing one another out of the way, and sales that many shop assistants told me started before Christmas and finished in February. What was I doing there?!

Nevertheless, I was in the mall and I figured I may as well make the most of it while I was there. To be honest whilst many sales were good, I don't think it was at all worth enduring the trauma to be a part of them! 

This is what I grabbed in the chaos!

Rubi Shoes Beach Towel

Black and white stripes are my thing at the moment, so when I spotted this towel for $5 down from $17 I couldn't resist. It's not super good quality but it was so cheap it doesn't really matter.

Illamasqua Velvet Blusher in Peaked
This is my first ever Illamasqua product so I am rather excited to use it! It was half price, down to $17.50 from $35.

Australis Pout Paste in Make me Blush
I've never tried any of the Pout Pastes so when this was on sale at Priceline for $4 I figured I couldn't go wrong.

Sally Hansen Double Duty Base and Top Coat
I'm sick of red polishes staining my nails so I hope this will help as a base coat. It was half price, down from $14.95 to $7.48.

2016 Diary from Typo

I rely on a diary for Uni and I am very specific about the layout and features. This one fit the bill and it was half price, so $8.50 down from $17. 

Le Tan Application Mitt
So I've never tried a hardcore self tan, only the gradual tan, but naturally I've acquired a shit ton over the years of beauty blogging. I'm going to be brave and give tanning a try since I am ghostly pale, and I heard an application mitt was a good start. I got it for $6.99 at Chemist Warehouse.

Rubi Shoes Sports Watch
When I was at the counter purchasing the towel the lady there convinced me to buy this white watch for $5, 50% off. What can I say, I'm easily persuaded.

The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer 

I've wanted to dabble in the balm for so long but it really is quite expensive, considering I have a billion highlighters anyway. The Balm was 30% off at David Jones and I saw it as my chance to try the brand out. It ended up being $21.00 down from $30. Not bad, not bad.

'Sh' mug from Typo
I am a science nerd and this mug states "Sh. The element of shut your mouth." Nuff' said. It was $5, half price.

Glasshouse 350g candle in Tahaa Vanilla Candle
At $42.00 (and no sale) this was not exactly a bargain buy, but my god I've wanted this for so long and if I can't get it for myself at Christmas then when can I? It is easily the most delicious candle I've ever come across.

OPI All Stars 10 pack
In David Jones these were on sale for $22.47 down from $44.95. I'd already spent so much money this seemed like a good idea. There are some gorgeous colours and for OPI polishes it's pretty good value.

Cutex Nail polish remover

A boring purchase, but a necessity considering all of the polishes I'd acquired!

So all in all, I'm thrilled with my haul although I know I'll never be braving boxing day ever again. I think I'll wait for some less hyped up sales.

Sleek Makeup & The Balm are now in Target!

Listen up! You may not have heard the news - makeup brands Sleek and The Balm are now being stocked in some Australian Targets! I can't tell you which ones are stocking the brands however I do believe Targets from all Australian states and territories are.

I went in today and I think prices for both brands are between $15 and $50, with Sleek being slightly more affordable.

I picked up some Sleek products as the ones I wanted from The Balm weren't in stock, which I will be reviewing soon.

Monthly Favourites - November

It's December, which is ridiculous. I'm sure every man and his dog will express the speed with which this year has flown in their monthly favourites, so I'll spare you from hearing it again. November marked the last of my uni exams and the successful completion of my first year of university! To celebrate, this blog was resurrected from the dead and I'm slowly getting back into the swing of posting.

It was darn easy to pick monthly favourites for November because I haven't shared any favourites with you for months.

Eyes: Without a doubt, buying the Makeup Geek starter palate on a whim at 1am one night was easily one of my better decisions. It comes with 9 standard shades, almost all of which I feel are appropriate for a starter kit. I would have loved to see more browns instead of purples, however I have been getting use out of all of them. The pigmentation is amazing, palate set up (that allows you to remove the pans with ease) and the cost is pretty good. A clear winner.

Face: After all the raving about the Hourglass products, I really wasn't convinced. For a powder that cost so much and barely showed up, my student budget wasn't having it. Then Model's prefer came out with a dupe and I jumped on the bandwagon. I adore this powder, it is amazing and I have mine in the shade Photo Ready.

Lips: As I stated in my haul here, I didn't even know that this range of glosses existed until I purchased one. I cannot recommend the Rimmel Oh My Gloss range enough, despite only owning one shade (Glossaholic). It is perfect in every way.

Nails: I must admit, these polishes came as a little bit of a disappointment however I had to include them because they are the only polishes I've worn all month. It is the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polish in Get it Bright and the corresponding gel topcoat. I expected super good wear out of this and I found it to be relatively similar to all my other polishes. I'm going to keep persisting but it hasn't won me over yet...

Other: I have never been a fake tan person but the Australis Tinted Let's Go Steady Gradual Tan Body Moisturiser (what a mouthful!) is incredible. Incredible! I lather this on daily for about three days in a row and I have a natural but clearly enhanced glow to my skin. It smells fine, is so freaking easy and looks bloody amazing. I love this product.

Book: I've added in a new category because books are such a big part of my life. This month I read one of my favourite books of the year - Blood and Guts by Richard Hollingham. It is a brief, albeit absolutely fascinating, history of surgery and developments through areas like heart surgery, transplants, plastic surgery and the brain. It is gory, gruesome and overall absolutely mind blowing. This book made me so, so appreciative of the current medical practises, and in awe of the brilliant minds who came before us, discovering new ways to improve surgical techniques and the comfort of their patients. An incredible book for a science-lover.