Sunday 15 December 2013

Disappointing Products!


Oh deary me....



I really wish I could like any of these items...but...eh...

I've decided that instead of making a list of products I love and recommend, I'd jazz it up and let you guys know about some things that I haven't liked. Regrettable purchases that I will never be making again.

First off is the Formula 10.0.6 One Smooth Operator - pore clearing face scrub with zinc, oat and pumice. It smells alright, I'll give it that...but it is way way waay too runny. I find that most of it runs off my hands and face before I have any time to use it. And the amount of exfoliating beads in the product is just not enough to do anything. 
Not happy with this.

Next is the Australis Lip Treatment Duo. I did rave about this when I first got it, but after using it a few more times, I found it to be not very effective. After recently purchasing a LUSH lip scrub (keep your eyes peeled for an up-coming haul post!), I realised how awful this product really is. The green exfoliant is too thick and hard massage in. (Plus I really didn't enjoy the peppermint smell - but that's just my opinion) 
The white lip butter was good, but the pink gloss seemed like wasted space. To me, lip gloss isn't part of a lip treatment. Lip gloss is usually how my lips get dry and icky in the first place.

Now, don't even get me started on the V05 Plump Me Up dry shampoo. The first dry shampoo I've ever tried. I had high hopes (she had hiiiigh hopes!), and I was thoroughly let down. My hair was oily - a typical story really - and along came the V05 dry shampoo to make my hair EVEN MORE oily than before! What?! 
Terrible terrible terrible. I do NOT recommend this. It just make my hair so much worse!

The Aveeno Daily Moisturising Lotion was a bit of a let down. Not much of a scent, seems quite watery once you start rubbing it in, and my legs and arms looked just as dry as they did before after I'd used it. Nope, don't like this one either.

After having some skin trouble, I stumbled upon the Clean and Clear advantage spot treatment gel. It supposedly reduces spot size in four hours. LIES! It actually made me break out even more! 
As for the Clearasil Ultra Overnight Defence Lotion, I used this a few times, and I never noticed any difference, so I ditched this one straight away and went straight back to my Innoxa night clarifying cream.

One day I decided to buy some bath salts... 
Bad decision. I bought some NP Set Shanghai Ginger Bath Salts. They smell absolutely horrid. It's like putting washing machine powder in your bath, and it makes no difference to the water at all. Ugh, put these back down the laundry aisle please!




It's safe to say that these products really just don't float my boat. But hey, that doesn't mean you won't like them! 
This is just my opinion, but I will never be repurchasing these again. In fact I'll be trying to get rid of these to friends and family, because I'm so sick of them taking up space in my room!


Stay tuned for my Haul post! Nyx, Benefit, Sally Hansen, Lush, Eco Tools, Physicians Formula, plus clothing! 

Stay sassy 
xx



Tuesday 10 December 2013

My Current Haircare Routine!


Aren't I just so festive? My $5 tree from Big W and $3 decorations? (Bargain much?)

Anyway, so I tend to pride myself on my hair

It's healthy,


An okay colour (it's lighter now),


And it's long.


I mean, look at me trying to be artistic. Wow.

So seeing as my hair is one of my favourite features, I like to look after the stuff. This means I only ever blow dry around once a month (only if I'm desperate for my hair to dry in time) and I only heat style it for special occassions (probably less than once a month).

But besides not burning the poop out of my long strands, I also use particular products and treatments to help keep it smooth, shiny, and healthy.

I wash my hair every second day; and 90% of the time I will use my Redken All Soft shampoo and conditioner. I love this stuff so much. I'm on my second bottles of both the shampoo and conditioner and I just can't stop using it. It leaves my hair clean, soft and easy to brush. I like to use a treatment afterwards too most of the time as I find the conditioner doesn't quite hydrate the ends of my hair enough. 
This shampoo and condition isn't cheap, by all means, but it's definitely worth the money. I usually wait until it comes out in a duo pack for about $32, but individually they retail for $22.95 (Hairhouse Warehouse) each. The shampoo is a larger size, which I find annoying, because I always use more conditioner than shampoo, but ANYWAY....

The treatments I always reach for is the Redken Extreme Anti-Snap treatment. Again, pricey at $29 for a 250mL bottle, but a little bit goes a long way, and it never leaves my hair feeling heavy or oily.
The other is an Edward Beale Moroccan Oil Leave In Treatment. This is a lot heavier than the Anti-Snap, but great for a once-to-twice a week treatment. It's very hydrating, and much cheaper than the Redken treatment at $12.99 (Priceline). It just leaves my hair feeling soft and nourished; perfect for those times where your hair is unruly, dry and brittle.

The last - only now - regular item I use for my hair is the Batiste dry shampoo. I am so very late on the bandwagon with this, but I'm so glad I finally tried it out. The first ever dry shampoo I used was a V05 one, which was just plain awful. The thing made my hair MORE oily than before (say whaaat?). This one is just the best thing ever invented. Like seriously, I take my hair out of the ugly bun I slept with, spray this in sections over my roots, massage it in a little, disperse the white residue a bit.....ta-da! 
It's truly amazing. My hair looks like it has been washed.
Absolutely in love with this product!



Just as an added bonus, if you happen to have oily roots, or a build up of product or any irritation on your scalp....read on!


Tea tree oil, my friends, is the Holy Grail for all your issues.

I get an awfully itchy, oily scalp/roots. I purchased a 20% solution bottle of Tea tree oil, put it in a spray bottle with some extra water, and every fortnight-month I'll spritz my roots with it, leave it overnight and wash my hair the next morning. 
(You can also just do it before you hop into the shower in the morning, but I like to leave it)
It helps wash out the build up of hair product and can be good for oil control. It also has antiseptic properties that could help with irritations or itchiness!

Personally, it worked fantastically on my hair. You only need to use a tiny tiny bit, but I could feel how refreshingly clean my hair felt after I washed it the next morning. It was fabulous!



And so my cherubs, these lovely products are my everyday, regular routine for my hair. And I must not be doing too bad if my hair is as long as it is and looking healthy and shiny!



Keep a look out for my next post on disappointing products! 

Catch ya!

Thursday 5 December 2013

November Favourites!


November Favourites time!

I've recently added a few - what I regard as - luxury items to my collection lately, and I've been very impressed so far!

After having a nice chat and my brows done (courtesy of the November Lust Have It! box) at the Benefit counter in Chadstone, I ended up leaving with a tin that had the Porefessional Primer, High Beam highlighter, a lip gloss and a They're Real mascara

The Porefessional is $53 on its own, and so you'd hope that it does what it says. I'm not exactly sure how much is supposed to be used, but I only use a tiny amount. I have larger pores around my nose and my forehead, and I've noticed a great difference when I use this. It just seems to mattify and fill all those pesky divots and make your skin look so much more flawless.

As for the mascara, it is fantastic! I've been loving the Covergirl Clump Crusher, but since getting this, I've been hooked. The only downfall is that I find it takes a lot of effort to get off, so it's best to use an eye makeup remover.

The High Beam Highlighter is lovely too. Only a tiny bit is needed, and just blended in on the cheek bones gives a perfectly dewy, glowy look.

A product I've had for a while is the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. I have in the shade "Fair", and it's the best concealer I've ever used. I have constant redness on my lower cheek area, and this covers it perfectly. Not new, but I can't not mention this little beauty. Everyone needs one of these!

A new product next. Mecca Maxima has just opened up at Southland Shopping Centre, and I was straight there to spend my $65 dollars to get a free gift (woo!). To get to $65 I bought a Soap & Glory Clean, Girls body wash, a mini Bare Minerals finishing veil, and this Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Sepia Ink - a nice dark brown. Since using this, I've begun to wonder how I ever stuck to pencils. They can be so harsh! It is beautiful and subtle and really easy to use. Perfect! Definitely worth $35!

Part of the free gift from Mecca Maxima was a Bobbi Brown mini lip gloss in a lovely nudey berry colour. It is a little bit sticky, but it lasts really well, and is a great travel/pocket sized one for on the go!

Next is a bit of a pamper product and a gift from my boyfriend. The Body Shop's Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask. It smells fairly potently like their Seaweed face wash, which isn't bad - fresh, bittersweet....clean?
Anyway, it is a great mask. It it cooling and relaxing. It contains a small amount of exfoliating bead things so that when you wash it off, you are also exfoliating. All in all, this mask is best for oily/combination skin, and is probably not a good option for sensitive skin types. I would recommend a good moisturiser for afterwards, too.

This wraps up my favourites for this month! It's been a while since I've posted, but I'm going to try to post once a week, so I'm thinking every Monday/Tuesday. :)

I'm thinking a Haul post? What do you think?

Let me know your favourites for the month! I love looking up and trying new things!

Have a great week! Christmas is approaching!! AAHHH!