Valentine's Day Swap!

I participated in my first swap hosted by the lovely Jasmine! Thank you Jasmine for organising this swap, and a big thanks to my awesome swap partner, Amber! Amber was the perfect swap partner, and made the entire experience so enjoyable.. she spoilt me heaps too! Without further ado, lets look at all the goodies I received! :)

Everything was in this silver parcel box, and packaged so nicely! Auspost decided to seal off the entire box with the "Auspost Repaired" sticky tape, and it made it such a struggle to tear it open :P 

Throughout the swap, we had a few chats about our likes and dislikes, and Amber really listened to me! I told her the products I prefer to use, and since I don't have much on my wishlist right now, I asked her to surprise me with the things she loved, and everything she got me was perfect! She even wrote these cute little notes explaining why she loved the products so much! 

NAILS:

Loreal Color Riche in Monaco Roses and Perle de Jade

The first thing I happened to pull out of the parcel were these gorgeous nail polishes!l I think she read my mind! I actually saw the stand for this range of nail polishes in priceline, however, it was empty, and I have been searching for these nail polishes for ages! I love the formula and especially love the colours! I couldn't decide which one I loved more so I tried them both out! :)

FACE:

Scentio Raspberry Yoghurt Pack and Honey Facial Mask

One of the things I absolutely love is face masks, and now I have new face masks to play with! YAY :) Amber told me that she first heard of this brand when she went to Thailand, and I'm so glad she included these, because I love trying out new face masks (and I always think Asian face masks are better hehe)! Cannot wait to try these out! The raspberry yoghurt pack is a gel-like face mask with little beads that promise to be moisturising, nourishing and a skin refiner. The honey mask is a super thick cream hydrates the skin! So super excited to try these out :)

Target Naturals Toner

Amber says that this toner is one of her favourites, and so I'm very keen to try it out! I have about a quarter of a bottle left of my toner, so I will start using it as soon as mine runs out :)

EYES:

Essence Get BIG Lashes

I've actually never tried many essence products, but have seen plenty of positive reviews about this brand! This mascara tube is very thick and the wand reminds me of the Maybelline Colossal Mascara!

Rimmel Scandaleyes in Sparkling Black

This product was actually on my to-buy list, since I've seen a few reviews that rave about this product. I love Rimmel eyeliners, and have used the Rimmel Soft Kohl Eye Pencil since forever! I can't wait to try this out next time I go out!

Essence Cherry Blossom Girl Eyeliner

I wanted to get something from this range since I saw it in everyones blog posts! I'm so glad she got me the eye liner, and I love the concept of having a thick and thin pen tip. So far, I find this eyeliner to be super pigmented and smudge proof! Not sure about the lasting power, but judging from the swatch I drew on my hand, I think its safe to say that this baby will last all night!

Essence Eyeshadow in Party All Night

Yay for gold eye shadow. Of all the colour eye shadows that she could have gotten me, Amber chose the one colour I don't own! This shadow is super pigmented and sparkly, and I can see why everyone raves about Essence!

LIPS:

I told Amber that the one thing I love most is lip products, and she spoiled me with SIX lip products!

Kate Lipstick in Rosette

This is the perfect matte pink for me! I am in love (I feel like I've said that so much during this post that it's lost its meaning :S ...but its true love I promise). Perfect pout for going out with the girls!

Loreal Studio Secrets in Nude

This is a lovely nude lipstick, with just a hint of a shimmer. Great for everyday!!

Essence Stay with me Lipgloss

I love lipglosses, and this one is no exception! I love that Amber got me the pinks and nudes, since that is what I've been reaching for everyday these past few months! :)

Essence in All About Cupcake

Ok, I will admit that when I first heard about this lipstick I thought this looked rather drab... it wasn't until I tried it and found that I was proven wrong, because this lipstick gives such a gorgeous, natural pink! I actually already have this lipstick, but now I can carry one with me without the fear of losing it (do you know how hard it is to find this colour?!) I can't get over how lovely this shade is when it is on! 

Hehe couldn't help but swatch the essence All About Cupcake - how pretty is that colour!?

Babylips ♥ Color in Pink Lolita and Berry Crush

I didn't even know the tinted babylips were out in Australia already (shame on me, right?) Haha I loved the babylips range, and I'm sure I'll love these even more! 

I got so ridiculously spoilt by Amber, and I'm so glad she was my partner in my first swap! She made my experience so enjoyable and fun, and I can't wait to participate in more swaps in the future! Make sure to check out her post about what I got her here! :)

January Lust Have It

I finally received my LHI today! YAY :)
I can never resist checking out what other people got, and unfortunately, I got the worse box (in my opinion) combination :( Not only did I receive the dark BB cream ( I need light!!), but I got the box with the sachets and Avene products. As much as I like Avene, I am getting sick of these samples. I really like the kabuki brush though, and actually needed it so it came at a good time. One other issue I had with this box was the lipgloss! I was excited to see a full sized lip gloss, but noticed that it has big chunks of what I assume is glitter in it, which reminds me a little too much of the lip glosses I used to have as a kid!

As much as I complained though, I think this box has great value. It was unfortunate that I got the wrong colour BB cream, and I am hoping to find someone to swap with me, otherwise I will gift it to a friend. Oh and I LOVE the new packaging!

January Favourites

Since I made a new years resolution to start blogging more, I thought I would share my Jan faves with you all!

The picture above is a swatch of my favourite chubby stick at the moment - Chunky Cherry!  It's a gorgeous bright red colour that I love for summer. It's super moisturizing, and I love the packaging of this. I know there are now a lot of lip crayons and lip balms, but I loved the Clinique version the minute I tried it!

 I love the Too Faced Primed & Poreless so so much! I find that it is actually very similar to Benefits Porefessional, but I like this smell better, and it feels much more moisturizing than the Porefessional. However, it has the same texture as the Porefessional, which I love! I'm almost out of this tube so I am using Porefessional again while I wait for this primer to arrive in the mail!

 My absolute favourite nail colour for summer! This is Essie's Bikini so Teeny - I actually have it on in this picture!

 This was a sample I received from Kit since they were sold out of the whitening mask when I went :( This mask is a clay mask that smells amazing - it smells like raspberries!

 My favourite blush at the moment - I've been using this non stop because it gives such a gorgeous pink flush, and it smells nice too!

 This is my ultimate favourite moisturiser of all time! I've been using Clinique's Moisture Surge for almost 8 years now! This is the HUGE limited edition jar (its 125mL!) that my parents brought back for me from their recent trip overseas!

I love the Australis Make-up Finish Spritz so much this is actually the new bottle I just got to replace my old one! It smells so nice (that seems to be a trend haha) and feels so refreshing. To be honest, I don't notice my make-up lasting longer, but it feels nice to spray on, especially during those ridiculously hot days, that I  just keep it in my bag and spritz away whenever I feel too hot! I have always loved facial mists, but the ones I want always cost too much to justify - this Australis one is really affordable, and its pink too! Double win!

OMG I ALMOST FORGOT TO INCLUDE MY ULTIMATE FAVOURITE PRODUCTS FOR 2013! The Body Shop Vintage Peach Body Wash and Body Butter! Wow I can't believe I almost forgot, because I use these products daily! I've actually got a stock pile of the body wash and body butter because I was told by the sales lady that they may not restock these products!! I absolutely adore the peach scent, and I hope they never ever ever stop making these, because if they do, I would be so sad! To be honest, the body wash is quite average as far as body washes go, and I only use it for the scent but the body butter is amazing! I have stupid dry, scaly skin, especially on my legs and the body butter made it disappear!

Revlon Lip Butter Set

Picture stolen from Myer Website!

This was one of my Christmas presents to myself, and I absolutely love this set! It was really good value for money (if I recall correctly, it was only $29.95 and I had a $20voucher so technically only paid $10 for it!). It came in a really useful box (I keep all my samples in the box) with three shades of lip butters and a great compact mirror that has an enlargening (is that a word?) mirror on one side so I can see all my pores properly :P

The three shades I received, from left to right, were Sugar Plum, Lollipop and Peach parfait.

Sugar Plum is the lip butter I reach to whenever I go out at night! Its a gorgeous colour that is a shade darker than my natural lips. I know I'm very late on the whole lip butter band wagon, but the formula is SO HYDRATING. I can't get over it! HAHA I knew I should have gotten some a lot sooner!

Lollipop is a bright shade of barbie pink. It's great for when I want a pop of colour, and is quite bright and opaque on the lips. Only issue I have with Lollipop is that it has tiny glitter/shimmer in it - I prefer my brighter lip colours to have a more matte finish. This gives a very glossy effect - almost as if I had lipgloss over it.

Peach Parfait is definitely the most used lip butter. As you can see from the swatch on my lips below, it gives a my-lips-but-better effect. I love this one so much, and now understand why the testers for Peach Parfait are always completely used up! I pretty much use this everyday as a lipbalm, because it's so moisturising and has such a natural look. I will definitely be repurchasing this colour!

Swatches on my lips

Swatches on my arms - as you can see Sugar Plum looks like a darker version of Peach Parfait, which is probably why it suits me so well!
 

January Bellabox

Look what arrived in the mail for me today! Makes up for working on a 39 degree day :P

 

The box was quite heavy, which was very promising, however, I felt that the contents were a little underwhelming (in order words...no makeup!!). I guess last months box had a lot of makeup, so this month felt more like a skincare box? That being said, I will still end up using almost everything in the box so no loss there! :)

You, Me & Everybody Cool It Aloe Vera Gel
I'm actually quite happy to receive this! It is made from 98.5% Aloe Vera, which will make my mum happy since I always just rip off some Aloe Vera leaves from her garden whenever I get a burn! I'm curious to see how this compares to using 100% organic aloe vera (ie plucked straight from the plant!)

Face Of Australia Makeup Purifying Cleansing Wipes
When BB announced that it was an all Aussie brands box, I suspected that FOA would be included - I just hoped it was a lipstick or other makeup item. However, I did just run out of my makeup wipes, so I am happy to try these out, and it also saves me a trip to priceline (which usually ends up with me buying more than I intended!)

Mode Nail Polish in Hot Stuff
YAY nail polish! Unfortunately I have about a million shades of hot pink! You can receive either 'Hot Stuff' or 'Rave'n' so I'm curious to see what the other colour was! This will be going to my sister since she always steals my polishes - now she has one of her own and has no excuse to steal mine!

Swisse Body Wash 
I will probably not end up using this. I am in complete LOVE with my Body Shop Vineyard Peach Body Wash and it smells divine, so I have no intention of using a different body wash! This will go into my emergency toiletries bag at work!

Natio BB Cream 
Although its just a sachet, you can get a few good uses out of it! I received one in the mail from Natio a few weeks ago and I got about 4-5 applications out of it. My tip is to empty it into a little jar (thats when those adorn sample pots come in handy!) so that it doesn't dry out in the sachet. Unfortunately I actually need to use the light BB cream, so this will also go to my sister!

Also got a cute little hedgehog wall decal! Hedgehogs are so cute!

That's what I received this month, what did you get?

Estee Lauder Skincare

My cousin highly recommended the Estee Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator, and when I saw that the Estee Lauder giftsets were 30% off (bringing it down from $80 to $56), I couldn't say no! Only the sets containing 30mL of the Idealist serum were on sale (there are also 50mL sets). I actually saw this sale on the Myer website, and it was sold out online, and at the three different Myers I went to! I ended up finding the set at a nearby David Jones.

 This serum itself costs $80 RRP so already, I knew I snagged a bargain! My cousin has flawless skin, and swears by this serum, so I was really excited to purchase it. It promises to repair and moisturise your skin, and correct uneven skintone, and is suitable for all skin types and skin tones. I've just started using it and I love the texture of it. It is oil-free, and I use it after cleansing and toning, but before moisturising. I haven't noticed a significant difference in my skin tone as yet, but since I've only started using it yesterday, I will update this post when I notice a difference!

 The Advanced Night Repair Eye cream was a deluxe sized sample included in the set. It's actually more a gel, which sinks right into the skin, however, I'm not a fan of the smell. It smells like organic cosmetics? not really sure how to explain it, but all I know is that it's not my cup of tea. Regardless of the smell, I really like the way it just sinks into the skin, and since I only need to use it at night, I will continue trialling this product.

The Idealist Daywear cream smells so nice! Reminds me of this gorgeous smelling suncreen that I used to buy but is now discontinued. It's very creamy and feels hydrating, and I love anything with SPF in it, since I HATE applying sunscreen on my face (I find it too greasy and heavy). I really like this product and I am considering replacing my Clinique Moisturiser with this one when I run out!

Kiehl's Gift Set

I received this gift from our friends secret santa for Chrismtas! As soon as I saw the Kiehl's Box I was super duper excited!! Everything was packaged so nicely, with dried flowers all over the box :) Our budget was $30 but my secret santa went slightly over budget!

The Lip balm was the first thing I reached for! It was quite coincidental, as I was actually at the Kiehls counter the day before I received this, and was checking out the lip balms during my work break! I love this balm so much. It is made from petroleum so its like having a tube of vasoline, with the addition of sunscreen. My lips get so chapped in the harsh Aussie sun, and I feel like this thing works really well to protect, and relieve dry lips!

I've been using this conditioner every time I've washed my hair and I've actually noticed a significant difference in my hair. My hair feels softer and silkier, and the scent is gorgeous. It says that it is made naturally from avocado oil, lemon extract and olive fruit oil, and it has a very subtle, but lovely sweet smell to it!

To be honest, I don't really like this scent. I'm not a fan of woody smells, so I spritzed it once when I got it and never again :P

This body lotion sinks right into the skin without making it greasy. I love that it has lychee in it too! Lychee is my favourite fruit scent and I think everyone should use lychee scents in their products :P It actually has a very strong initial scent of the orange flower, but the lychee scent really creeps up on you after application.

This was the first beauty related gift that I received which is why I posted about this set first. There are a few more items I received that I can't wait to share with you all!