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.

Collective haul - Face of Australia, Essie, OPI and more

Over the last couple of month I've managed to acquire some wonderful stuff for some ridiculously good prices so I thought I'd share my bargains with you all...

Kmart has actually been my best friend in the beauty department lately. I purchased the Nivea Lip
Butter in Caramel Cream (and oh my gosh it smells divine!) for only two dollars. They're obviously no longer stocking Face of Australia which is a major disappointment however it did mean I was able to pick up three of their lipsticks, each for four dollars. I grabbed some seriously beautiful shades, my favourite being Forbidden Fruit and the other two including Power Surge and Pink Champagne.

When Priceline had their 40% off sale I actually didn't go too crazy but I did get two Australis products - an Australis concealer which I am so freaking disappointed with, and the brow tint which thankfully makes up for the crappy concealer. If any of you have actually tried the concealer let me know because it's probably one of the worst I've ever come across...

Essie has captured my heart with its amazing colour range and incredible formula so I was tempted with this beauty, Limo-scene. I adore the colour (which is why it made it into my March favourites) but sadly, as is often the case with white polishes, the formula isn't great.

Now that Priceline is stocking OPI polishes I've found myself souring the bins for good bargains. A lot of the shades they have a pretty unappealing but the shade Nomad's dream caught my eye. I don't usually go for the frosty kinds of polishes but this one is damn gorgeous. I also grabbed some hairspray, and the reason it is so exciting is because I've never owned hairspray in my whole life...I know right!

My favourite concealer is the Face of Australia stick concealer in natural so I had to repurchase it recently when I ran out, and while I was there I grabbed their illuminating stick in When in Rome which I highly recommend you look into because it's super pretty.

There is a Chemist's Warehouse near me and they always have really good deals, so I couldn't resist when I saw the highly raved about Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in my shade for only $9. I've been really impressed with it so far.

Of course, Priceline is always calling my name with good sales and in one of the million occasions that I set foot in the store, I managed to come out with a Models Prefer Lip Crayon in the shade Raspberry Ripple and an Essence lipstick in the shade Love Me. I'd never taken any notice of the Models Prefer lip crayons but for $2 it was a worthwhile purchase.

Last but not least is a totally unexpected purchase, a Sportsgirl lipstick. I have never ever owned any Sportsgirl makeup but have seen fairly positive reviews about their stuff. I was in Sportsgirl and I think something must have been mislabelled because I purchased their lipstick in the shade Doll Face for $0.98 and I really like the bold shade!

L-R: Raspberry Ripple, Forbidden Fruit, Power Surge, Pink Champagne, Doll Face, Love me

 So there you have it, my recent additions to my beauty stash. Let me know if there are any products in particular that you would like to see a review on. I've been really slack with my posting but I promise I'll try my best to write about anything you're particularly interested in!

L-R: Raspberry Ripple, Forbidden Fruit, Power Surge, Pink Champagne, Doll Face, Love me

NOTD: OPI Nail Lacquer in Dutch Tulips

OPI is just one of those brands that I've always stared at longingly before moving on to the cheaper nail polishes. Though they have an incredible colour range and amazing reputation, I just couldn't justify spending $20 on them! Priceline started selling them for $10 and even then I was still a bit funny about paying that much for a nail polish, but when I got my first ever job on Monday I decided to buy myself a celebratory polish in the most gorgeous colour, Dutch Tulips.

I actually wasn't going to post this because I am so unhappy with the way that the photos turned out (it makes a cool toned polish seemed orange based!) but I was just so excited about the fact that I owned an OPI polish I couldn't resist! So here are some photos - if you consider buying the polish then check out other photos on google first!

So far I've been super impressed with the quality of this beauty, but it is still early days.

What do you guys think about OPI polishes? Worth the money?