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.

HUGE Collective Haul: Fashion, Makeup, Jewellery, Books & More!

I have accumulated so much over the past three months through Christmas presents, op-shops, post Christmas sales, New year sales, giveaway winnings and birthday presents. This is an enormous haul, I know, and I have spent a lot of money, but what can I say? It's the festive season, I'm a saver by nature and I don't splurge often so it was definitely a treat. Keep in mind it was also over three months!

Makeup

- Revlon cosmetic bag and manicure set - Christmas present

- Girlz Only Dry Spray Conditioner - $2

- Maybelline Colour Show Sequins Polish in Rose Bling - $2.97 reduced from $5.95

- Face of Australia Glitterati Polish in Studio 54- $6.95

- Face of Australia Glossy Lip Crayon in Peach Parfait - $5 reduced from $7.95

- BYS Blush Trio in Endless Summer - $5 reduced from $6.95

- Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla and Macadamia - $3.40 reduced from $5.69

- Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain Set in Adore - $19.97 reduced from $40

- Model's Prefer Sweet Kisses Eyeshadow tin - Won in Amanda from Thai Tales' Giveaway 

- MAC Lipstick in Creme Cup - Incredible birthday gift from a beautiful blogger

Source for photograph of formal dress

Fashion
- Rubi Shoes Flats - $5 reduced from $15
- Sunglasses - $3 from Op Shop
- Firmoo Glasses - $15 reduced from $54 (with their Get your first pair free program)
- Flowery dress - $4 from Op Shop
- Red dress - FREE from Op Shop
- Photosynthesis Shirt - Christmas present ($20 from Think Geek website)
- My Formal Dress! - $120 from Swish Clothing, reduced from $300

Jewellery
- Colette Black and Gold Necklace - $6 reduced from $12.95
- Colette Black and Gold Square ring - $4 reduced from $7.95
- Lovisa Blue stone ring - $3 reduced from $9.99
- Lovisa Turqoise ring - $3 reduced from $7.99

Miscellanious
- Typo Notebook - $2 reduced from $9.95
- Green Tea Kimmidoll Candle - $6 reduced from $12
- Strawberry Champagne Our Eutopia Candle - $5 reduced from $15
- Lana Del Ray Born to Die The Paradise Edition CD - Christmas present
- Unwind trilogy by Neil Schusterman - Christmas present
- Giant Mug - $4 reduced from $15
- Decorative glass jars with gumballs inside - $2 each reduced from $6 each
- Washi Tape - $1 per tape reduced from $3 per tape
- Perfume by Patrick Suskind - Christmas present
- Wonder by R.J Palacio - Christmas present
- How I live now by Meg Rosoff - Christmas present
- Three printed and framed photographs - Birthday present

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here.

NOTD - FOA Glitterati Polish in Dancing Queen

It seems that the only nail polishes I ever use these days are FOA ones, but they are just so darn good!

Today's NOTD features one of the highly popular Glitterati polishes, Dancing Queen and a Rubi Polish in Purple Haze as a base.

Let's start with the Rubi polish. There is not one thing I could recommend about the Rubi polishes, they are simply awful. They do not last on the nails, they chip instantly, I had to apply 4 coats to get the polish opaque it was streaky and watery. The only remotely nice thing about the Rubi polishes are the bottles - a direct rip off from OPI.

As for the FOA polish, I am highly impressed. Normally I have lots of trouble getting an even glitter payoff across the entire nail and 3 or 4 coats are required for a decent amount of glitter. With this polish it took one swipe to get the glitter look achieved in the photos as it is so glitter dense. It doesn't take too long to dry, lasts an acceptable amount of time and doesn't cost a fortune. I am highly impressed, although the removal process is hell and takes a horrendous amount of time to get this polish off (as do all glitter polishes).

I quite liked this polish with a lavender background. I think almost all colours would work, but next time I might go a bright red!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here.

OOTD - Retail Therapy

 Sometimes when you are having a hard time you need a bit of retail therapy, so that is what Mum and I did a couple of weekends ago. I will post a little haul (there isn't much) but I thought I might write an OOTD as I quite liked what I wore.

I have never been much of a skirt person but I thought I may as well go crazy and wear one just because I felt like it! The one I'm wearing was from Factorie, but I have seen skirts like it absolutely everywhere.

My shirt is a boring old 3/4 length white one from Supre, often around $12 or so.

My scarf I picked up from the Op-shop for two dollars and I absolutely love it. It is a black checkered print and seems to work with every outfit. What a bargain!

For my shoes, they are from Rubi and almost always on sale. These are my third pair of the same shoe (can you tell how much I love them?) and I picked them up for $2.

I didn't wear much jewellery, just a lovely little bracelet and bow ring.

I did feel like I needed a bit of colour so I chose my brightest bag, a vibrant red weaving type thing with a brown strap. I was given this but I believe my friend purchased this from Sportsgirl.

I'm not terribly confident doing OOTD posts so please be nice!

Monthly Favourites - March

Believe it or not, it's time for another Monthly Favourites post!

This month it was ridiculously easy to pick which products needed to go in this post. I didn't have to spend more than a second considering any of these products.

Lips: For March my most used lip product has definitely been the Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie. I purchased this in the middle of March and have been wearing this every single day since. It is the most gorgeous Berry shade that isn't too dark or scary. The only problem I have with this is the crazy price in comparison to America, but I picked it up as part of a deal so it wasn't so bad.

Eyes: I was lucky enough to win an Urban Decay Ink for Eyes Eyeliner from Jen over at The Shopping Queen in the shade Demolition. Though I typically don't wear all that much eyeliner, I have worn this nearly every day because of the gorgeous formula and the incredible brush that is included. SO impressed.

Nails: I wrote a review on the Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream that, again, I was lucky enough to win in a giveaway from Dawn over at See it, Love it, Swatch it. This is so effective at keeping my nails and cuticles moisturised and in good condition after being treated so very poorly!


Face: For face products, the only product that I have been using consistently on a regular basis is a new moisturiser of mine - the Simple Hydrating Moisturiser. It is light weight but gets the job done and is also free of all the nasty things that you wouldn't want to be part of your skincare. I'm very pleased with this new change to my skin care routine.

Other: Last but not least is the 'other' category. I chose to feature this pair of shoes because they are literally all that I wear these days! As they are simple black flats they go with everything and even better is that I can pick them up from Rubi shoes between $5-$10. Excellent!

NOTD - Leopard Print Nails

Nail art is something that I've never really explored all that much. I have tried it from time to time, but it certainly isn't my forte! I did give Leopard print nails a go, and I am pleasantly surprised with the results. What do you think?

I used three polishes:
Base - Rimmel London 60 second nail polish Instyle Coral
Dots - Rubi Shoes nail polish Purple Haze
Dot outline - Face of Australia Colour Pro Triple Action Nail enamel Scream

Haul - Lovisa, Colette, Dotti, Valleygirl, Cotton On and more

As always, the end of Christmas marks some pretty impressive sales for the weeks following. Despite vowing to avoid such sales by simply not going to the shops or closing my eyes whilst walking past, the sales still called out my name and sucked me in. I also found myself in an Op-shop and bought some things there too which I have included in this post.

First up is jewellery, and I bought two things. First was a necklace from Colette which was (not on sale) for $9.95. I would have liked it even more if it had been included in their huge 50% off range but even full priced I still think it is pretty good.

From Lovisa I picked up this ring on sale for $3, marked down from $7.99.

I then went to Dotti and picked up two shirts, the blue striped one for $10 and the plain blue one for $5.

Next was Cotton On where I purchased this scarf for $2 after having been marked down from $14.95, and some shoes (really from Rubi shoes) for $5 down from $19.95. I was very pleased with the shoes especially because I have a pair exactly the same and I wear them so often the soles have fallen off.

I then went Op-shopping and purchased four shirts. The first two were from Valleygirl originally and cost $2 each. The black shirt was originally from Emony and was brand new and therefore cost a little more at $6. Lastly I picked up a short originally from Everlast which cost me $1. I needed a new one for the gym and thought it would be suitable.

I also got a makeup bag from the Op-shop. It was new from Clinique, has two compartments and cost me $2.

So all up for two pieces of jewellery, six tops, a scarf, a pair of shoes and a makeup bag it cost me a total of $42.95 which could easily be charged for a pair of shoes alone!

OOTD - Out to dinner

This is my first outfit of the day...well, it's actually an outfit of the night. We were going out to dinner last night, nowhere too posh. I pulled out the shirt and realised I hadn't worn it for ages so I decided that would be what I was going to wear.

I actually bought the shirt from an Op-shop for three dollars, and I really like it. According to the label it was from Valleygirl. I really love the black, woven detailing around the neck, it really adds so much character to it. It wouldn't be nearly as nice if it didn't have it. I love the way it sits, the shape is just lovely. The band at the bottom fits snug on you hips and the material above it doesn't cling. The only problem with that is that another shirt must be worn underneath or else it is a little too low cut. I usually wear a cream coloured tank top from Supre.

My jeans were also from an Op-shop, and according to the label they were from table eight. I bought them for ten dollars and they are so comfortable. I do have to cuff them because they are quite a bit too long, but I could get them fixed if I wasn't too lazy to get around to it.

The shoes are from Rubi shoes. At first I wasn't sure about the red, I had intended on wearing black flats, but I think the purple and the red went well together. As for my bracelet, it is just a simple one from Diva that came in a pack of five, nothing too exciting.

So yes, my first OOTD isn't all that exciting to be perfectly honest, but I think it looks alright.

My bag

What the shoes actually look like - the first photo is so washed out!

Red lips to match the shoes!

Rubi Nail Polish - Purple Haze



As usual the camera doesn't do the polish justice -
the colour is more of a lighter, pastel purple



At first this nail polish looked like a bit of a try-hard OPI. I got it on special for two dollars (it was generally sold at five) so I wasn't really expecting much from it. It was alright, but I still like my Ulta nail polishes better, which is fortunate because they are cheaper. (Click here and here for my Ulta reviews)



The consistency is quite thin, and I found that I needed about two or three coats in order for it to be even and opaque. I really liked the colour and would definitely recommend it to a friend, but I'm not sure that I would recommend the actual brand of nail polish. It was kind of streaky for the first one or two layers and required a patient, steady hand with application, but if you gave it time, by the third layer it looked fine.

The smell is very strong, but in my opinion pretty much every nail polish has a very strong smell. It doesn't chip very easily, and when I wore it on my toes I found that it lasted quite a long time. On my fingernails I wore a clear top coat with it, so I'm not sure how long it does last by itself. It's not all that quick-drying which was a bit annoying (mainly because I am super impatient!)

All up it isn't the best quality nail polish I have ever come across, but if you get it on special like I did, and you are a fan of the colour, it's worth it.

I would give this product 6 out of 10.



One coat of nail polish