NOTD - Revlon Scented Nail Enamel in Pretty in Papaya

My Revlon polish in Pretty in Papaya is pretty sad looking. Covered in yellow clearance sale price tags with the black print all mismatched and rubbed off, it doesn't look too flash. However, at $2 down from $13.95 it makes you realise that looks aren't everything.

As you may know, I love my red polishes and I love a good bargain. This couldn't be any more perfect...oh but it could! It's scented!

To be honest I wasn't completely convinced that polishes could actually smell pleasant but this proved me wrong. Once this has dried, it has a strong fruity fragrance that I found myself inhaling at every opportunity. I am sure I must have looked ridiculous smelling my fingernails and I probably suffered some kind of fume inhalation problem, but it was so worth it. It smells wonderful, and you get to carry it around on your nails for days! (Sadly the scent does wear off after two or three days).

The formulation of this polish is wonderful. It takes two coats to become opaque and there is absolutely no streakiness or trouble with the application. This polish is ideal in every way.

I will say - although I personally enjoyed the scent, my Mum despised it and thought the concept of a scented polish was awful. Whether you like this will depend upon personal taste.

My only complaint would be that it takes a little while to dry. Actually, I don't think it does take all that long but I have become accustomed to the super fast drying polishes (thanks Essence and Rimmel) and have no patience whatsoever.

I am really pleased with this $2 bargain!

Have you tried any of the scented polishes Revlon has to offer?

20 random facts about me

As you may have noticed, I've been really getting into these more personal, non beauty related tags recently. I don't imagine everyone would love these but I do have some beauty posts dispersed within them too.

I decided to do a simple '20 random facts' tag today!

1. I love the behind the scenes features some DVDs have almost more than the movie itself!
2. Handwritten letters are just about my most favourite things in the world
3. Waterfalls, thunderstorms and sunsets are the most incredible things nature has to offer
4. If I could be any book character I would be Scout Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird
5. I love list making and don't think I could survive without lists
6. Going on a mission trip to Cambodia is the best decision I have ever made
7. I love fairy bread
8. 8 is my favourite number
9. I don't think I've worked on anything as long as I have this blog
10. When I was little there were 5 things I always wanted: a trampoline, a house with stairs, a lava lamp, a tree house and those pin toys. At 16 I have achieved 4 of those 4 things.
11. The word 'wean' makes me feel sick. Not because of its meaning, purely because of how it sounds.
12. If I could live in hot weather (at least 28 degrees) every day, I would.
13. At this stage in my life, I never want to live anywhere else. I do however, want to travel.
14. I think studying biology is just so exciting. The complexities of the human body and human life is mind blowing.
15. I'm not a huge fan of Christmas.
16. Florence Welch is my favourite singer of all time.
17. I still miss primary school, and I'm in year 11.
18. My most worn piece of clothing is a tatty jumper from a state sports carnival I played netball for that my Mum nearly didn't buy because she thought I wouldn't wear it and it was expensive. It's faded and stained and all the fleece from inside is gone, and it is still my favourite piece of clothing, years later.
19. I am highly organised at school but my bedroom is always a complete mess.
20. I am hopeless at cooking. Absolutely disgraceful!

I love being nosy and hearing facts about others, so feel free to make up 20 random facts of your own if you want too!

Essence Me and my Ice cream Cream blush - Ice Bomb

It's a well known fact that Essence have the best limited edition collections. Admittedly, there aren't all that many products from their permanently line that capture my interest (especially after they discontinued many of their highly raved about stand-out products) but when it comes to their limited edition collections I am always sure to hunt them down.

It was such a lovely surprise when I managed to get my hands on a a display that hadn't been interrupted and every single product was in pristine condition (a miracle considering Essence products have no seals). Surprisingly it was only the blush in Ice Bomb that I found appealing so I picked that one up for $4.95.

This makes me think a little of the Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blushes (or whatever they are called), not that I have actually tried them. I feel like the concept is quite similar, and certainly the packaging seems to reflect that.

The packaging, as is with most Essence products, does look cheap and is quite flimsy, but it is perfectly acceptable considering all of their products cost almost nothing. This is quite a small blush but the product is shaped like a dome so I feel like you would get many uses from it. The minty green print with the bright pink doesn't work magnificently, but it's not the worst packaging I've ever seen.

The product is a really strange texture, certainly not mousse like or creamy, but not really a powder either. On the skin it glides quite effortlessly although I really struggled to get it to blend when using my fingers. Using a stippling brush was a little easier but not perfect.

This blush is a very unique colour, seemingly cool toned in the pan but a warmer peach shade on the skin with almost a silver shimmer running through it. I struggled to make this work and found that it looked a little garish on my skintone which is more suited to warm pinks or gold toned shimmers.

The lasting power on this is wonderful. It seems as though once it is on the skin it really 'sets', hence why it is a bit of a struggle to blend.

I do like the concept of this blush but unfortunately the formula and shade wasn't a real stand out for me this time. I am glad I purchased it and I will use it but I wouldn't get any more.

I give this 6/10.

Travel Times 8

This will probably be my last Travel Times for Cambodia but I'll then do one for Tasmania which I just came back from, and then one for Melbourne where I am going this week!

I decided my last Cambodian Travel Times post would be about the animals I saw, the good, the bad and the surprising.

 Without a doubt, seeing elephants for the first time in real life (except for in the zoo) was a pretty amazing moment. They are just the kind of creature that you find yourself in awe of, they are just so beautiful and powerful.

 These tanks full of fish were everywhere, and for a couple of dollars you could sign up for half an hour of 'foot massage' whereby they ate all the dead skin off your feet. Yuck!

We were blessed to visit a small village that had been set up from overseas monetary donations, and this little pig was a big contributor to their successful pig farm.

 Cows were absolutely everywhere in Cambodia, although sadly (despite there appearing to be an abundance of food) they were all skeletal, their skin hanging off their bones in the most horrible fashion. Though they looked so unhealthy to me, many locals reassured me that they would be okay!

It was such lovely surprise to spot this guy hanging out at a cricket farm we visited! I spent a lot of time holding him!

Spiders! I think the tarantulas were my favourite because they were so unexpected and really quite enjoyable to play with! 

We saw a couple of white horses wandering around the temples of Ankor, although none of them were dressed as elaborately as this one!

I hadn't really expected to see dogs around the place, but they were everywhere!

 Chickens seemed to wander about the country, almost as if they were wild and had no place to go.

Last but not least are crickets, a popular source of food in Cambodia. We were told that cricket farms are less labour intensive and more profitable than pig farms in many cases! I can't imagine cricket farms hitting off here in Australia, but you never know...

Haul - Revlon, Loreal, Garnier, Just Jeans & Factorie

I love bargains. I just love them. Here are the pieces I picked up when on a family holiday in Tasmania.

First stop: Target

I was quick to spot a HUGE makeup sale with brands like Maybelline, Bourjois, Loreal and Essence all up for grabs. It took a while to sift through the red and green Essence shadows, $10 brown Maybelline lipsticks and $9 yellow Bourjois polishes and then...Revlon proved to be a bargain.

Revlon lip butter in Gumdrop: $4
Revlon lip butter in Brown Sugar: $4
Revlon Scented Nail Enamel in Pretty in Papaya: $2
Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel in Fire: $3

All you beauty bloggers will know that those Revlon products are an absolute bargain, you would never dream of picking those products up at those prices!

The last thing I picked up from Target was the best bargain of all…
A Loreal Colour Infallible eyeshadow in Magnetic Coral for…$0.83. 83 cents!

Next I popped into the chemist and saw that they were chucking out the Garnier BB creams for $9. Having just finished mine, I decided to try out the oily skin version. I am interested in comparing them, because I used the original version everyday but found it to be a little too greasy. Hopefully this new one does the job.


I then went to Just Jeans and was drawn to their sale rack where I found a pair of shorts that were originally $50, discounted down to only $5! The only size left fit me like a glove!

Factorie was last, where I purchased a skirt and some jeans. I spotted the skirt immediately as, like so many others, I have been into skater skirts/circle skirts lately. Though it is a little bit childish in my opinion, I figured I'm 16 and if I can't wear it now I never will be able to, so why not give it a shot?! I really love the pattern, but I think I will be getting rid of the belt that came with it. I think that it will look lovely with a simple white tank top. It retails for $30 but I was able to snap it up for $10.

As for the jeans, I've been looking for a pair in a more unusual colour because my black and blue ones are getting boring. I saw these maroon ones for $10 down from $40 and they too fit perfectly so I grabbed them as well.

I am so pleased with this haul, I think I was lucky to stumble across some amazing sales. I want to know what your best bargain has ever been...I think my Loreal eyeshadow takes the cake for me!

Australis Paparazzi Perfect High Definition Blush - Screen Siren

Yes, yes...I know this blush is old news, but when I saw it getting chucked out at priceline for only $6.47 (when it usually retails for $12.95) I knew it was coming home with me.

I don't own all that many Australis products - Face of Australia is definitely the stand out of the two for me - but recently it has been catching my eye, resulting in me first picking up the Paparazzi perfect eyeshadow palette in Snap Attack and now the blush in Screen Siren.

As always, my first comment is on the packaging. I don't love the black plastic and metallic pink writing, especially because the black picks up fingerprints and gets dirty remarkably quickly, but it's not horrendous either. This blush is a lovely size with a large pan but quite compact and slim. The product opens to reveal a good sized mirror and gorgeous looking marbled blush. I have never been attracted to marbled eyeshadows and certainly not marbled lip products, but for some reason I think this blush looks just beautiful.

The marbled effect is not just good for aesthetics but allows you to create 'custom' blush shades. Obviously it is quite limited - you won't be using this to get bright red, peachy orange and plum pink shades from the same pan but you can control it to some extent by swirling your brush in the desired areas.

When I apply this blush I simply swirl my blush around the entire pan and apply to the cheeks as normal. It gives a natural looking dusty pink that is highly wearable and easy to work with.It isn't incredibly pigmented, but it's not too sheer either. It can be built up as desired, but a single application also looks just fine.

I have found that this is long lasting and lasts the duration of the day with ease. As far as I am aware, the Paparazzi perfect line is designed to be good for photos which I can attest to! As there is no shimmer in this, it photographs beautifully and shows up really well on camera.

 The texture can be a little bit powdery but nothing challenging to work with.

For the retail price of $12.95, you get a fair amount of product for a pretty affordable price. There are 4 shades to choose from and like I mentioned earlier, there is some flexibility as you are able to alter the shade slightly according to where you swirl your brush. They are very pretty and wear really well...you can't really go wrong!

If I see any more of these on special I will most definitely pick another up because I can tell this is going to be a favourite of mine soon!

I give this 9/10.

This is impossible to photograph as it is just too reflective

Travel Times

Visiting the Killing Fields was without a doubt one of the hardest experiences on the trip. I absolutely had to go because I knew it was important that  I get an understanding of Cambodia's history and the horrendous events it has overcome, but the Killing Fields is just one of those things you can never prepare for.

The Killing Fields is basically one of the many sites where Cambodian people of all ages were murdered and tortured in the most awful ways, and then thrown into mass graves.

When visiting, you are given a personal audio tour - you are able to walk around listening to the audio with headphones. It leaves for deadly silence at the Killing Fields, with tear filled and grim faced tourists walking among the graves still surfacing bones and clothing fragments as the weather changes and the soil shifts.

One of the bizarre things was that even though you knew the atrocities that had occurred on the very place you were walking, you couldn't help but notice how peaceful and beautiful it was. It was just not right...

At the end you stand by a stupa (shown below) filled to the top with skulls, ranging from babies to 90 year old men.

If you ever visit Cambodia, this is an experience that I consider to be the most important thing to do. It is shocking, you will be disgusted by what you hear, it will make you angry and feel hopeless, but it is so important to be educated and have an understanding of how incredible the country is for having overcome it.

Bones that had resurfaced due to rains and shifting soil over the years

Stupa full of skulls

Book Q&A

Books are probably my longest standing friends. I honestly believe there is nothing nicer in the world that sitting and re-reading your most loved book, all tattered, dog-eared and falling apart because you have flicked through those pages so many times.

I saw a book Q&A tag on Hayley's blog from Water Painted Dreams and I couldn't resist. I know it's not beauty related, but fellow book lovers will understand my need to do this!

What are you reading right now?
I literally just finished an incredible book called Unwind by Neil Schusterman. When I first borrowed it from the library I had no idea that I was going to love it so much, and that it would be so challenging and thought provoking. I'll be purchasing a copy for myself!

Do you have any idea what you'll read when you're done with that?
I have had a stack of books piling up for so long now. Included in that pile is:
- Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- The Great Gatsby byF. Scott Fitzgerald
- Watership Down by Richard Adams

They are basically all books other English classes in my school have read but I haven't had the opportunity to because our class reads different texts (Shakespeare, yuck!).

What 5 books have you always wanted to read but haven't gotten round to yet?
The books I listed in the previous question!

What magazines do you have in your bathroom/lounge right now?
I haven't read magazines in ages, actually.

What's the worst book that you've ever read?
That's a tough call, I've read some pretty horrendous ones. I really don't like fantasy books much.

What book seems really popular but you actually hated?

Goodreads

Well I've never actually read the Twilight books but I saw one of the movies (who knows which one) and that was so painful to get through, so I imagine I would feel the same about the books!

What's the one book that you recommend to just about everyone?
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. This book has so many memories, thoughts, experiences and people attached to it for me, it's amazing. To Kill a Mockingbird is another that I adore.

What are you favourite 3 poems?
Sadly I just don't 'do' poetry, it is just not my thing.

Where do you usually get your books?
The book depository.

Where do you usually read your books?
In bed or on a picnic blanket in the backyard with my dog in summer when the sun comes out.

When you were little did you have any particular reading habits?
I would read before bed every night. I also had a habitat for flying through an entire book in one sitting and then having 6 days off, then repeating that process over and over.

What's the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn't put it down?
Unwind, the book I just finished. It was 1am on a Thursday night when I closed it and went to sleep. That Friday morning was hell.

Goodreads

Have you ever 'faked' reading a book?
Kind of. For English we had two texts to read and write a comparative essay on. I had read both (Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee) of them before so I knew very well what they were about, but I may not have actually read them for the project. I received an A+ for that essay though so it wasn't too bad...

Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover?
I borrow books from the library because the cover is nice, but the books I buy are ones I have read beforehand and loved.

What was your favourite book when you were a child?
I enjoyed the Harry Potter books when I was little.

What book changed your life?
No single book has been life changing, but them all together, collectively, certainly has.

What is your favourite passage from a book?
She laughed when there was no joke.
She danced when there was no music.
She had no friends yet she was the friendliest person in school.
In her answers in class, she often spoke of sea horses and stars, but did not know what a football was.
She said there was no television in her house.
She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow.
She was the faintest scent of cactus flowers, the flitting shadow of an elf owl.
We did not know what to make of her.
In our minds we tried to pin her to a corkboard like a butterfly, but the min merely went through and away she flew.

Goodreads

- Stargirl, Jerry Spinelli

Who are your top 3 favourite authors?
Jerry Spinelli, Harper Lee and Markus Zusak.

What book has no one heard about but should read?
My sister lives on the mantlepiece by Annabel Pitcher.

What is your favourite classic?
To Kill a Mockingbird.

Oh my goodness, I loved doing this tag! If there are any fellow book worms, please do this because I would love to read your answers!

Batiste Dry Shampoo - Fresh

It is no secret at all that following my discovery of dry shampoo, my hair suffered as a result. Suddenly I could extend the days between washes quite significantly, and I found myself sacrificing super clean hair for a little extra sleep.

Though I am no dry shampoo expert I have tried out a few, and the Batiste Dry Shampoo is by far my favourite, superior in every way except for perhaps price.

I think Batiste is the most well known brand of dry shampoo. I love that they have such an extensive range of products, all catered to different hair types with fragrances too. Fresh seems to be the general one, suitable for all hair types and needs. It smells, as described on the can, 'cool and crisp' and is fairly inoffensive.

I have to use quite a bit of this for it to be effective, but when I do it works a treat. It eliminates a huge portion of grease from my hair and makes it look so much more acceptable for the public eye!

Unfortunately you do have to be careful to spray it evenly otherwise it will leave a white cast to the hair. It feels a little powdery but I usually run my hairbrush through it once of twice before putting it in a ponytail or braid and it feels fine.

Of course, this is never as good as actually washing your hair, but for those days where I don't need to look absolutely amazing, I will most definitely choose this incredibly easy option over having to wash and dry my hair.

I really like the design on the can. It is eye catching and easily remembered, which is handy when I get to the shop and can't remember which one I wanted to pick up. It's quite a large can, at 200mL which isn't problematic as I use it and store it at home, but it would be a nightmare to travel with. As far as I am aware you can pick up mini cans though, which solves everything!

I am such a fan of a hair wash in a can (ooh, that rhymed!) and I am happy to be a bit gross every now and again and sacrifice the time it takes me to wash and dry my long locks and replace it with some other considerably more enjoyable activity! For $9.99 it won't break the bank and you get quite a lot of uses out of a single can. I will most definitely be looking into some of the other variations of this in the range.

I give this 8/10.

Monthly Favourites - September

 It's the end of September! Hallelujah, one step closer to Summer!

At this point in time I will be in Tasmania on a family holiday for a couple of weeks!  Don't worry, posts are scheduled!

This month I realised that I've been using very bright products, fitting for Spring!

Face: The Arbonne toner has been my lifesaver this month with my skin going crazy. This is just amazing, I am so lucky to have been sent it. I use it religiously every night and it feels amazing, and it is so luxurious!

Eyes: This month's winner is easily Maybelline's One by One mascara. This does exactly as it promises, defining every lash and creating no clumps. This is so easy to work with and leaves my lashes long and defined, I have no complaints.

Lips: I think this is the third time I've featured this as one of my favourites, but I just turn back to Face of Australia's lip crayon in Cupcake every day. First of all it is in the form of a crayon and I have been loving lip crayons. Secondly, it is the loveliest wearable pink shade that you can put on confident that it will look good. It's not too pigmented, not too sheer. My goodness this is great!

Nails: The only polishes I wear these days are Face of Australia ones. It's not intentional, it just happens. This month was a Glitterati polish called Looking for some hot stuff. Check it out if you are a glitter fan, because it is gorgeous.

Some fruity scents helping me get through maths test revision!

Other: My concentration has been somewhat lacking of late - in fact I am currently writing this post as a way of procrastinating - so I developed a strategy that has been SO helpful. Since discovering that I LOVE candles (especially scented ones) I have established a habit whereby when I sit down to to a long period of study, I light a candle. Once the candle is lit I am forbidden to do anything but study. I am not allowed to leave my desk (both for safety reasons as simply being part of the rules) and so I am forced to sit there and revise or if I don't do that, simply sit there and be bored. When the candle is blown out, it marks the end of study time and I can do whatever I want. I have found this to be such a helpful way of getting things done, and my room always smells so lovely! My absolute favourites are ones I picked up for $3 each at the reject shop - a Skittles candle in Melon Berry (which smells identical to green skittles) and an M&M candle in Crisp Vanilla. Best purchases I have made in a long time!

Do you like any of these products? Do you have any study tricks I need to know about as it begins to get into Exam season?