May 10, 2013

Product Review: Firebird Brown Sugar Perfume Oil

Every time I use this perfume I get Brown Sugar by The Rolling Stones stuck in my head, which is absolutely fine by me. I’m terrible at describing scents so I’ll let Brooke from Firebird (previously Flourish) do the leg work: “The scent of brown sugar, mellow and sweet, joined by coconut, vanilla and sandalwood. Soft, gentle and comforting.” Firebird scents have this amazing way of smelling exactly the way they’re described. This perfume is no exception and smells exactly like brown sugar. It’s creepy and amazing and I love it. It lasts just as long as the other Firebird fragrances on the skin, but I do have to note that I can only use these perfumes on my wrists as they seem to irritate the skin on my neck. If you’re willing to work around this, I highly recommend all of the Firebird perfumes and if you’re looking for a new perfume for the season I suggest heading over to their store to check out what is on offer at the moment. The Firebird Brown Sugar Perfume Oil retails for $10.22 AUD and is available for purchase from the Firebird Etsy store.
May 7, 2013

Project 100 Pan (part 9)

37) evo Love Touch Shine Spray – I wrote a full review of this product a little while ago. I love this and will definitely be purchasing another bottle in the future, I just have a couple of other shine products to work through before I do.

38) evo Mane Prescription Protein Treatment – I used up a tube of this treatment some time last year, and was lucky enough to be sent another one by a rep for evo. I love this stuff and I highly recommend it if you’re in the market for a good treatment.

39) Lucas’ Paw Paw Ointment – I picked this up on a whim a long time ago in one of those bins of products near the checkout line at Target. I know this is something of a cult product but it wasn’t that great and I won’t be buying it again.

40) True Blue Spa Hand Lotion – This was a nice hand cream, and the tube was the perfect size to keep on my desk at work. It had a refreshing lemon scent and I would probably consider repurchasing it if I ever place an order through Bath + Body Works again.

41) Bali Soap in Lemongrass – This was another of the random soaps I picked up on my trip to Bali last year. Like the others, it was nothing special and I’m now working through the others that I own in an attempt to finish them all up.

May 4, 2013

Thoughts of the week…

01) If you’re in the market for a new clutch I highly recommend this one from Rebecca Minkoff. Mine arrived earlier this week and the quality is amazing.

02) I will be updating my beauty cupboard listing for May so feel free to check it out early next if out if you’re interested to see which products I’m using this month.

03) In digging through my makeup collection to pick out new things to use this month I realised that some of my makeup just does not look good on my face. Which turns out to be a good thing, because it’s making it a lot easier for me to start culling some unwanted stuff.

04) I am OBSESSED with this song. I would probably love it even more if the women in that film clip did something other than dance around like thickheads.

05) There is a cafe near my work that sells smoked turkey sandwiches with picked cucumbers, rocket and mayo on soft chewy grainy sourdough and they are the best sandwiches I’ve ever tasted in my life. I’ve had to limit myself to one a week because it was getting to be too much.

06) I thought maybe I was over Darren Criss but then I saw this.


#ilovebeards

07) I wrote a little guest post for Lexi over at Retail Therapie during the week.

08) I’ve started using my all time favourite perfume again now that the weather has started to cool down (it is way too heavy to wear during the hot months) and I LOVE IT.

09) I’m also obsessed with this song.

10) This blouse arrived during the week and it’s beautiful. I wish they would release it in a burgundy or forest green colour. ASOS ARE YOU LISTENING?!

May 2, 2013

Product Review: Origins Zero Oil Moisturiser

As per usual, my skin kicked up a fuss at the recent turn of the season. To try and combat this (quite clearly inspired by Jen), I went on a little spree at Kit Cosmetics in the hope of shaking up my skin care routine. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s necessary for me to use an oil-free moisturizer as part of my morning skin routine because honestly, the less oil I add to my already-greasy mug the better. I was surprised at how small this tube is. So surprised that I asked the sales assistant if it came in a bigger tube, much to her disdain. Sorry I have a gigantic face. This does pretty much exactly what you want from an oil-free moisturizer; lightly hydrates the skin without leaving a greasy residue. The smell isn’t my favourite – slightly herbal, but with a minty scent on top of that – but it fades pretty quickly so it’s not a deal breaker for me. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but the packaging of Origins products make me so happy. I love having them on display in my bathroom alongside the 5 billion strands of hair I shed every day. I like this moisturiser so much and have used it so often that I’ve nearly run out and have already ordered a replacement. The Origins Zero Oil Moisturizer retails for $39 AUD and can be purchased from Kit Cosmetics.
April 28, 2013

Life in Balance: Project #3 – Wardrobe (update)

Buckle up and prepare yourself for a lesson in reasonably extravagant spending. Having been on a strict budget for nearly a year now, I am not accustomed to spending a large amount of money on “things” anymore. I’m happy to drop a few thousand dollars on flooring for the house I’m building, but anything beyond that has become a foreign concept to me. Which is great. Anyway, that all blew out the window in a cloud of hundred dollar bills last week when I decided to buy a new bag. Granted, this was a thought-out decision as I carry a black handbag day in day out and the one I’m currently using was a cheap purchase that has holes in the lining and is getting a bit weary. I’ve had my eye on this bag for a while (as evidenced in this post) so I decided it was time to go ahead and get it.

Then, inexplicably, all sense of common sense and reason left the building for a few days.

OKAY! On top of my new bag (I ordered it in black, which now appears to be sold out), I also ordered a new wallet because the Rebecca Minkoff one I’ve been using for a couple of years now has started to annoy me with how few card slots it has (four!). Yes, I know how unreasonable that is. Anyhoo, I then had the sudden urge to own a Rebecca Minkoff Mini Mac bag, so I moseyed on over to Saks and discovered that they were on sale (25% off!), so now I’m practically making money. I ordered one in charcoal grey (now sold out), because for some reason the black bag only comes with yellow gold fittings. Gross. When buying a new clutch one must consider what she’s going to store her cards and cash in within this new bag, right? I didn’t feel like my Mini Mac deserved the old school treatment of me whacking a bobby pin on my stuff to keep it all together, so I decided that this was necessary.

Alright, stay with me here because this is where things start to get a bit blurry. While browsing through the bag section I stumbled across this compact little beauty. Did you know that the more things you buy from Saks the cheaper shipping costs to Australia are? Go figure. I ended up saving around $150 on this order, so I was quite happy about that. I can also justify the additional black clutch due to the fact the black clutch I’ve been using has GOLD hardware. Of course.

Oh, and then I bought some boots.

I only own one pair of knee length boots so I was in the market for some ankle boots for the season. I recently came to the conclusion that ankle boots need to have some sort of detail going on at the front, otherwise they look like they should be worn underneath something. These Rag & Bone babies fit the bill perfectly. I can easily wear them with both dresses and jeans, they’re great quality and the heel isn’t too high or too flimsy. (side note: They are also currently 25% off in the Saks friends & family sale. Run, don’t walk.) Aside from that I ordered a few new things from ASOS, including a new pair of sunglasses because I put my broken wayfarers in a safe while I waited for the chance to take them in and get them fixed and now I can’t find them. Ok, I’m done.

I realize that this is a lot of stuff, but I am happy that I didn’t buy anything that I was 50/50 on whether or not I would actually wear or use. Now I’m going to spend a couple of months building my spending money back up above the minimum total that I like to have in my account at all times. This little spree was fun while it lasted, and I’m really looking forward to my new goodies arriving soon! The spendthrift life is no longer for me.
April 28, 2013

Thoughts of the week…

01) I’ve been wanting a Rebecca Minkoff Mini-Mac bag after seeing Michele1218 feature it in one of her videos a while back and I finally picked one up (on sale) earlier this week.

02) How good was the final scene of Game of Thrones this week?

03) I really want a pave bangle, something similar to this.

04) Why is it always the case that a day or two after I place an order online every single online store announces an amazing sale? I’m sure a lot of people have benefited from this, so you’re all welcome.

05) I miss Southland already.

06) This was definitely the best thing I saw all week.

07) I bought an iPad during the week and am now completely obsessed with Candy Crush.

08) I also finally bought these boots. Yes, it’s been a big-spend week.

09) New snack obsession.

10) I stumbled across Jeweliq during the week and thought I should pass it on to those who are interested. Each piece is under $25, and they offer flat rate shipping to Australia for $7.95.

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