The hating trap

It's my little brother's birthday today, so Happy birthday!

The other day I decided I would speak out about something I hate. I'm sure you have heard it all before and that you will probably just readthe first few sentences of this post then snort and click the little red cross in the top right corner of the page. However, I urge you to read on. Give me a chance, then click delete!

I have always been incredibly lucky to have a family telling me to be true to myself, to love myself, to recognise the qualities I do have and celebrate what I am blessed with. I know that it is because of this, that I have always been strong when it came to body hating and 'fat talk.' I hear my friends all the time going on about how ugly they are, how they hate their legs/stomach/hair/eyes/skin/arms/shoulders etc. You name it, they hate it.

It bothers me so much that they do this because of course, these girls are the most gorgeous girls you will ever see. While they go on about how enormous their nose it, they forget to look at their beautiful brown eyes and their incredibly kind heart. They are amazing yet they find fault in flaws that don't even exist.

I encourage everyone reading this to not dismiss this post as a pathetic rambling that has been said 10000 times before. It has been said 10000 times, I know, but this time stop and think.

Try and see yourself through you best friends/boyfriends/Mums/significant other's eyes. It's not boasting to recognise that you have the most gorgeous hair, it's not boasting to recognise that you have the most amazing artistic skills in the country. Me? What do I have? I work hard and push myself when it hurts, and that is something I am very proud of. Oh, and I have killer hair! For those who wish to, I would love to hear why you are amazing. Let me know why you are wonderful because you really are!

No negative talk allowed!

I hate endings

I wrote this post in early December and figured I had better post it relatively soon otherwise I would have to wait another year!

I hate endings. Even happy endings. Yep, you heard me, I even hate happy endings. I can't stand finishing a movie, nor can I stand finishing a book. And finishing a beauty product? Well we may as well organise a beauty product funeral. I just get so attached to the beauty product, it's beyond ridiculous.

So it saddens me deeply to inform you of these beauty products that I finished last year year. It's a miracle I did finish them to be honest, because I am someone who if they notice their lipstick is starting to run out, they will stop using it. Yes, I will stop using it completely because I don't want it to run out. I'm not just talking about those products that have been discontinued, the ones that you will never be able to replace. Even the most common items (I'm talking the PawPaw creams and Nivea Lipbalms) that can be replaced with two dollars and a short walk to the chemist I can't bear to replace.

I cannot believe the amount of people that are participating in the project ten pan (or something like that) as finishing ten things would just be so utterly distressing. Ahhh, I think I need help.

Last year I tried to get over this insanely unreasonable, ridiculous fear (Is it a fear? Kind of!) and I tried to use some products up. Not only did I do this to get over my silly fears, but my beauty loot was getting a little out of hand. I needed to clear some junk out.

So, with great misery I present to you my empty products for this year. I think i might cry!!! (Just kidding!) There really aren't that many things because, well, it's so scary, but here's what I do have.

Okay, okay, maybe I didn't finish anything other than shampoo, soap and toothpaste. I know, it's terrible but I just can't help it. Actually no, there was one product that I did finish and that was because I had help from my friends. That was, drum roll please....

My impulse body spray in Summer Splash. That is the only product I finished.

How about you? Are you like me and hate finishing stuff, or are you one of those people who love the feeling of hitting pan?!

Australia day

Australia day has always been a day of music for me, listening Triple J's hottest 100 countdown. This year the weather was nice and warm like a real Australian summer and there was celebration all around.

I wanted to do a special kind of post on popular makeup and beauty items that are special to Australia but the only thing that I could think of that was especially well know as an Australian product was Paw Paw ointment, and I have already written a review on it!

I then decided to do it on a bronzer, but by the time I had thought about it it was much too dark to get any half decent photos.

I went out to the Australian day parade which was absolutely wonderful. We watched the fireworks which were absolutely incredible and it was the perfect way to finish off the day. Just brilliant!

I hope all the Australian's had an enjoyable day, and you know, everyone else who is reading this and not from Australia!



Dancers from the Brazilian community in the parade



Savvy brush set

This is a very long review so I have made the key brush names in bold and underlined, so should you just want to know about one of the brushes, you don't have to search through the whole, incredibly long review!

As I mentioned in my Savvy haul post , I recently bought a set of six Savvy brushes for $3! Yes, fifty cents for a brush, I think that is a pretty good deal, even if the brushes are useless. Thankfully, they're not.They came in a little case which I use to store them.
I haven't tried them all that much, but I have been using them where possible in order to post this review as quickly as possible. I myself am not really that good with brushes and at first wasn't entirely sure what each of the brushes were for. With a little bit of research and asking around, I soon understood how to use each of the brushes. Embarrassing? Yeah, but you won't tell anyone, will you?

The first of the brushes that I used was the foundation brush. This was partly because I had used another foundation brush before and therefore knew what to expect with this one. It is (or should I say was) the softest brush I have ever come across. I spent about five minutes just brushing it across my face with no product on it, it was just that amazing. Eventually I forced myself to actually use it, and I applied my foundation. It was a little streaky and uneven, but with a little time spent blending it all worked out to be perfectly fine. I used the same foundation that I do everyday (my Innoxa liquid foundation) but found that with the brush my skin looked even more flawless and had a higher level of coverage. I personally would only use the brush to apply my foundation at night or on special occasions because I feel that it made it more obvious that I was wearing foundation, it looked less natural and more 'airbrushed', I suppose. I personally find that I have to wash my foundation brushes every time I use them, so I washed it and left it to dry. It didn't recover very well. No longer is it so lovely and soft. Sure, it's soft and beautiful but not amazing like it was before. The bristles kind of clump together as well which is awfully disappointing. It still works very well and feels lovely, but I guess I am disappointed that it didn't return to its former self after washing.

On the end of the foundation brush was a concealer brush. The concealer I currently use (which is not amazing for covering blemishes but wonderful for under eye circles) has a little sponge applicator which I use to dab the concealer onto my skin, and then I usually pat it in with my fingers. Well, I shall never ever go back to doing it like that, this brush is amazing. I have never used a concealer brush before so I cannot compare it to anything, but I love this brush. It is absolutely wonderful. The only problem is that I have to wash the brush every time I use it. Because I am lazy (and it seems to take forever to dry!) I avoid using it as much as possible. Oh how I love this brush!

The next brush is the blush brush, at least, I think that is what it is meant to be used for. You see, I always used a rounded brush for blush, and this one is a lot flatter than I was used to. I looked online for a blush brush and came to the conclusion that it is just personal preference. Some people like round, some like flat, some like big, some like small, it just depends. Anyway, this blush brush holds a good amount of product. I find that I gently dab the brush on my blush and then blow the excess away, which gives me the perfect amount to apply. It leaves a flawless finish which is quite impressive. I will continue to use this brush for blush.

On the other side of the blush brush is the bronzer/contouring brush. This is the brush I was most looking forward to as I actually don't have an angled brush like this one. What I really liked about this was that it wasn't coloured. This allowed me to see how much product I had applied to the brush which was in fact, incredibly useful to know. It prevented me from brushing the product on my face only to find that I looked like some terrible fake tan job. It was angled just enough to allow it to be the perfect shape to apply product into the contours of my face. I really, really love this brush.

Next we have the eyeshadow brush which I use to apply shadow over the lid. It is a little too big for my liking, but I personally like really small eyeshadow brushes. It is lovely and soft and doesn't irritate the eye area whatsoever, I just find that the application can be a little messy because it is a little too big. I do quite like this brush as the quality and feel of it is very good, but I still prefer some of my smaller eyeshadow brushes. This brush looks very similar to the eyeshadow brush that Ecotools has.

Last and definitely least is the angled eyeshadow brush. This was the brush that I really wasn't impressed with at all. For a brush that is supposed to be used on the eyes, it is the roughest, more coarse brush of the lot. It irritates my eyes so much and I find the the bristles are too spiky. The angle is a bit pathetic to be honest. Once again it looks very similar to the brush Ecotools has, but I haven't used the Ecotools one. I expect that it would be a lot better than this one!

Overall there were some good and bad things about these brushes. Of course, the price was wonderful, and I would buy them even if they weren't on special. I didn't like how there was a brush on each end though, because it meant I wasn't able to stand them up in a container like I do with all my brushes. That annoyed me a lot, actually. None of the brushes shed at all which I was really impressed about considering it is such a cheap brand. I would pay full price for this brush set. I'm not sure exactly how much they cost full price, but I know it is relatively cheap. As for paying three dollars, I am so glad I found this little beauty!

Foundation brush - 7
Concealer brush - 10
Blush brush - 8
Bronzer/Contouring brush - 8
Eyeshadow brush - 6 (it's a very good brush but too big for my personal preference)
Angled Eyeshadow brush - 3

If I have made a mistake with any of these brushes (ie. used it for the wrong thing!) please let me know. It may change my opinion completely!

Maybelline Baby Lips, Limited NY Fashion Edition, Protecting Berry

I popped into the Chemist really quickly the other day, and of course I wasn't going to leave without having a little look at all the makeup. Instantly this lipbalm caught my eye - Maybelline Baby Lips Limited NY Fashion Edition in Protecting Berry.

"What on Earth?" I thought to myself. I hadn't heard anything about a Limited edition one. Surely I would have heard even the tiniest of whispers about it, especially as I spend half my life reading beauty blogs!

I bought it on sale for three dollars thirty, and then as soon as I got home I looked it up on the Internet (yesterday). I struggled to find anything, until I typed the whole name (which is very, very long) into google. The first thing that popped up was another blogger who also said that she hadn't heard a whisper about it and just happened to stumble across it. That is the only thing I could find whatsoever! So, I decided to get this review out there for others with the same experience.

The packaging is similar to the others in the range, however this one features three colours - black, white and pink. It has a pink lid, the same shade as the Anti Oxidant Berry, and a black wind up bit at the bottom. I have to say, I think this is my favourite looking one of the lot.

The smell is incredibly similar to the Anti Oxidant Berry one. I found it very difficult to describe how they are different, but I have come up with a way. Don't laugh until you've read the whole thing, because I think it will help you understand.

Okay, you know those Chupa Chup Lolly pops and how they have the strawberry flavour, and then the strawberry and cream flavour. They both smell and taste the same, but different. You know what I am talking about? Well, the Anti oxidant berry lip balm is like the Strawberry and Cream lolly pop, and the Protecting Berry lip balm is like the Strawberry lolly pop. Do you get it? I hope you do!



My little collection - you can see how it stands out!



Anyway, like the other baby lips, this is incredibly moisturising. This one feels a little creamier than the others, but I'm not sure if that is because it is brand new and I have had my others for a while now. This one has SPF 20 like all the others and gives a juicy, glossy finish to the lips.

 It has no colour or taste which is also the same as the others. This lipbalm is no different to any of the others, except that it is Limited Edition. The only thing I would change about this is the colour of the lid - I would make it black. The reason for this when I have them standing up in the container (which is how I store them) I cannot tell which of the two are which as the lids are the same colour. Other than that, it's pretty much perfect.

It lasts for a long time on the lips and doesn't dry them out at all. You all know how much I love my Baby lips, I give this product 10 out of 10!

How the lids look when being stored - which one is it?

Updating old photos

I have decided to update all the horrible photos from my older posts. I cannot believe I ever posted them, they are absolutely dreadful. The colours are awful and it is so embarrassing!

Anyhow, as you can imagine this is quite a lengthy process - taking photos of ALL the products I reviewed, and then uploading them onto the computer (my computer is so slow so this takes forever!). I've updated about twelve so far and it is taking forever!

So, please bear with me as I try and fix this all up. Hopefully it won't affect my usual posting too much!

If you're interested and have time, check out some of the older posts. It's amazing how much better my posts have become as time has progressed, they are sooo much better than when I first started!

Ecotools bamboo foundation brush

I had never ever tried applying foundation with brush, but when my Mum passed this unwanted brush on to me, of course I had to give it a shot.

I always apply my liquid foundation with my fingers. Everyone I know does the same. In fact, I don't think I can name one person who I am aware of using a brush to apply their foundation (I'm going to start asking people, I'm curious to see how people do it!)

I wasn't really sure how to start to be honest. Do you fill up your brush and slap it on, or do you use a tiny bit and apply it to small sections at a time. What on Earth do you do? I personally put a bit of foundation on my hand. I dipped my brush into it and then applied it to different sections of my face. It was really bizarre applying it like this to be honest. It sounds so stupid but it was just...weird.

 

I think I will be sticking to applying foundation with my fingers, but there are some advantages of using a brush. I wouldn't bother buying it, I'd rather buy a damn good lipstick for the same price!

Advantages:
- It gives a better coverage
- It provides a more flawless finish

Disadvantages:- It requires a lot more foundation in order to cover the face. I think because it gets soaked up into the brush.
- Streaks/line marks can occur relatively easily
- It requires a lot more time and effort to apply. You can't slap it on like your fingers because you will end up with a streaky mess
- It means that you have wash it out after you use it - more time and effort (gosh I am so lazy!)

So how good was the brush? My goodness is it soft! I just want to rub it on my face it feels so lovely. It's also quite firm and sturdy, not flimsy. It seemed to soak up a lot of product, however I think that is just what a foundation brush does. It did leave streaky marks on the face, so extra care in blending was essential, but it wasn't too difficult. I know that online reviews mentioned that it was streaky, so I'm not sure if that is something that occurs with every foundation brush, or if it is just this one.

I washed it and there was absolutely no shedding whatsoever which I am really pleased about. It took about a day to dry, and then once it was dry the bristles kind of clumped together. I smushed it around a little and found that they quickly returned to their prior self.

I don't really know what else to say...what else can you mention about a foundation brush? Unfortunately as this is the first time I have ever used a foundation brush I have nothing to compare it to, however I'll give my Savvy foundation brush a shot and see if there are any significant differences.

I'm not going to rate this product, because I don't feel as though I have enough experience with foundation brushes to rate it accurately. I have listed everything I can about it, so hopefully you can get some sort of idea what it's like!

Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub

I did it. I bought it - the Lush Bubblegum lip scrub. It's Pandora's fault, she made me! (Thanks Pandora, so glad you recommended it!)

It's everything everyone has been raving about, it's just incredible. It smells gorgeous, tastes so good and does the job in a mighty fine fashion!

As I went to buy it the lady at the counter alerted me to the fact that they just got new stock in as it is the product that just sells out all.the.time. She warned me that it was very addictive and that I would be back very soon. She is right, it is very addictive and I most definitely shall be back.

I am really impressed with the amount of product you get. Before I bought it I felt as though it was such a tiny jar and that I would run out of product after a couple of uses, thus making it not at all worth the money. Well, the jar is completely packed with product, but that is not the point. I hadn't realised how little product you need in order to do the job, it will last me AGES!

At first whiff it is a little too strong for my liking. I mean, I do like the smell but it is a little too chemical smelling and strong to be really appealing. Never fear, when you apply it to your lips and lick it off, the smell isn't nearly as strong. Mentioning licking it off, my goodness. It's amazing. The taste is bubblegum sugar (thank goodness, how weird would it be if it tasted like carrot cake or something!) but not ordinary bubblegum sugar...I think that they must put in some secret ingredient to make it so amazing.

Speaking of ingredients, it only contains four - Castor sugar, Organic Jojoba Oil, Flavour and Colour. It wouldn't be overly difficult to make a lip scrub, but I can guarantee it wouldn't look and taste as good as this little beauty.

For my first Lush purchase, I'm impressed. I have never really been all that interested in their products, other than this one and the lip tints, but I think I will have a better look around and consider buying some more.

I really love how on the bottom of the pre packaged products it has a little sticker showing who made the product. In my case Umesh made me my lip scrub on the fourth of January this year. So cool!

 I managed to get a lot of my friends on to this product too. It was passed around the circle and not one person didn't immediately fall in love, declaring that they were going to go out and buy it as soon as possible! I think that is a pretty good outcome to be perfectly honest. Now in the meantime I have to keep a close eye on it, a lot seems to be used up that I don't recall using....hmmmm.

I give this scrub 10 out of 10. Sure, I don't really need it but now that I have it, I love it oh so much.


It tastes so good!

Herbal Essences Shampoo and Conditioner

I don't consider my hair to be particularly difficult to handle. Sure it's long and can get into the most horrific knots you will ever see, but generally it is pretty good. Still, after using the two dollar supermarket shampoo for years, I found that it just wasn't cutting it. It was time for me to switch to another shampoo and conditioner.

The awful lighting in my bathroom



As you walk down the supermarket aisles you are greeted with a lot of options. Why did I buy Herbal Essences? Three reasons:

1. It was the cheapest option

2. The colours were very eye catching
3. I had seen a lot of magazine advertisements and they had worked their advertising magic - I wanted it!

I purchased the red one, Long Term relationship in both the shampoo and conditioner. It was love at first sight! I used that for about a year perhaps, and then found that it wasn't really working anymore.

I don't know, that probably sounds really stupid that it was brilliant for a year and then useless after that, but that is truly what happened.

I then moved onto the pink one, Dangerously straight, and found that it worked magnificently. About a year later, it ceased to work. What?!

So, still wondering what this was all about, I moved onto the orange one, None of your frizziness, and of course, found that it was brilliant.

It hasn't been a year yet (!) and it is working well, although I am currently using Dangerously straight for shampoo and None of your frizziness for conditioner. It seems to be effective so far.

I've had a look around on their website, filling in their little questionnaire to determine which product is best for me. Apparently I want the blue one called Hello Hydration. Well, when stops working I'll give this one a shot. Before you know it, I will have tried every single one of them!

Would I recommend this product? Absolutely! They smell amazing, work so well (for a year at least, haha!) and I have the giggles every time I have a shower. Seriously, have you read the back of those bottles, it's so clever and entertaining.

I might have to try their leave in conditioner and split end protector. I'll swap to a new product every year.

If you have tried this and found that it no longer seems to get your hair clean, I would suggest swapping to another product in the line. Maybe it is just time for a change...

I give this product 8 out of 10, after all it really should work for longer than a year!

The Monthly Report - Girlfriend Magazine January Issue - Beauty Section

A little while ago I reviewed the beauty section of the Girlfriend magazine December issue. It became my fourth most popular post, so I figured a lot of people liked it. I then made the decision to make it something I do every month. I decided to title it 'The Monthly Report.' I enjoy doing these kinds of reviews as they are something interesting and different from my usual beauty product reviews. I love reading magazine reviews and haven't been able to find enough out there on the Internet, so if others can benefit from this it would be wonderful.

I have always loved the magazine issues that come out in Summer. They are so much more interesting than the winter ones. Better fashion, better beauty and better all round articles. The January issues of Girlfriend magazine in 2009, 2012 and 2011 were just incredible, so of course I was looking forward to this one. The January issues prior to 2009 didn't stand out as a highlight so much, but after that it was amazing. I don't know what it is, but there is something about the January issue that just makes it better than all the other issues of the year. What a wonderful way to kick off the new year.

This months cover was much, much better than the December issue. Still, that wouldn't be hard. It featured Nina Dobrev and a purple and lime green colour scheme. I think it looks gorgeous.

The beauty section (called Pretty Girl) began on page 115 and showcased this month's trend..."Freshly squeezed." According to Lauren Carter, the new beauty girl who wrote everything on this page, "This summer, it's all about juicy shades of orange - from tangy tangerine and pretty peach to the punch of pink grapefruit. It's like a dose of vitamin C for your digits, lips, cheeks and eyes -except waaay more fun." Hmmm...what orange stuff do I have? Orange shampoo, orange nail polish...that's about it. At a push I suppose my bronzer could be classed as orange...no, it really couldn't. On that page were lots of pretty pictures, including a gorgeous looking YSLRouge Volupte lipstick in Extreme Coral and Rimmel London Kate Moss Lasting finish lipstick in 12 lipstick (phew, what a mouthful!). A picture of two models wearing bright lippie in a colour that I would call neon orange, and a model wearing an orange dress and neutral makeup. Once again they have done something weird like that. Talking about tangerine makeup picturing a model not wearing that. Hmmm.

Turning the page we come to the two most dangerous pages of the whole magazine... our "Beauty fix," with all the latest and greatest products. Naturally I want them all, hence why they are so dangerous. We have some new "Mozi" lipbalms in six "delish fruity flavours" all for $15.95. We hear of the new BYS false lashes  - more than 50 different styles in the range -, some fake tan that doesn't smell, nail art pens, new mascara, and my personal favourite - scented nail polish. I don't own any scented nail polish, but don't you worry, it won't be long before I do. Cassandra asks "How do I get smooth, silky, shiny, not-a-strand-out-of-place hair? I've tried everything including an (extremely messy) olive oil home-remedy, but nothing seems to work. Help!" To summarise the answer (which is in fact exactly the same amount of words as the question, "Shampoo, conditioner, serum, straightener." Boring.

Page 118 revises the first page of Pretty Girl, with more orange makeup. To be honest, nothing on this page really grabbed me. I'm pretty sure orange makeup is not my thing.

For our beauty school feature this month we have "How to wax your legs." I don't know about you, but I thought this was pretty self explanatory, especially as they were explaining how to use the strips where you peel of the backing to reveal the wax, stick it to your leg, then rip it off. It's not rocket science. Anyhow, I didn't feel it was necessary to go into too much depth about this page...

The major feature for this month was Sunscreen and why it was important, what it does, how much to apply, the importance of SPF, and what to do once you have already burned yourself. To be brutally honest, I found it rather boring. I would much rather hear about cool new hairstyles, new and interesting makeup looks, someone's HG beauty products...anything but sunscreen. I love my sunscreen but I think it is interesting as talking about toilet paper. Essential, but boring as heck.

The last page of Pretty girl is the beauty editor's blog page. Girlfriend's new beauty editor LC titles it this month as, "Burning with Shame." She spends the whole page talking about how she got sunburnt, despite the fact that this month's feature was about the importance of wearing sunscreen. I found this to be an annoying post (would you call it a post?) to read, it just irritated me. if I was her I would have found something else to talk about, something less irritating and more interesting. I probably sound awful, but I'm not going to lie. I'm still trying to warm to this girl but it's not going so well.

So there we have it. A disappointment to say the least. What is going on? These sections of the magazine used to be several pages of amazing gold, but now it's just a couple of pages of nothing really. I hope it gets better I really do, but after two duds it's not looking promising.