Christmas Haul! | Money Well Spent

Christmas! The bestest time of year ever ever ever! I was so lucky to get lots of great presents from all of my loved ones, but I also got a lot of money, which is also great for a shopaholic like me!

SO instead of sharing with you all of my gifts, I thought I'd share with you what I bought with the money I was given instead. :)

Enjoy!

I finally popped my MAC and NARS cherries! Sweet baby jesus was I excited. I busted on into the MAC stall at Myer in Chadstone with a determination to get me some high end makeup, and I left Chadstone with some great buys!

I actually went to MAC to get myself one of the extra-dimension highlighters (which are GORGE) but I was just idling by the foundations when the girl working there asked if I wanted to be colour-matched; to which I said "um yeah!". So exciting! So I ended up leaving with the Studio Fix foundation fluid in NW15. I've used this a few times, and so far I'm loving it. It has exceptional coverage, and I seriously only need a pea size amount to cover my whole face! The only quarrel I have with this so far is that I've found it looks a bit patchy on my skin when I first put it on, but I think that may have something to do with my skin going cray cray lately. Either way, once I've used powder and buffed - mwah! Perfecto!

Very close to Myer in Chadstone is now a Mecca Maxima store, which is great! More great makeup, mmmmm yeah! Does that excite anyone else as much as me? Or am I just weird?...Anyway...

So I was looking at the NARS stand, and I just couldn't leave without getting the cult favourite blush in "orgasm". Awfully crude name, but it is beautiful. Rosy, peachy, gold shimmer. So pretty! I literally have to just dab my brush into this (not even a swirl needed) and I get a nice subtle flushed look. Perfect for every day!

Another cult give in was the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette. I really wanted to try their eyeshadows before buying any of the full Naked palettes and so ended up with this. It is fabulous. I never understood how a powder could possibly be soft and almost creamy, but now I do. This palette is made for epiphanies. 

Onto the last beauty purchases that aren't as lush but still are fantastic. 

I had a Body Shop gift voucher burning a hole in my pocket, and while I knew one of my purchases was going to be the Seaweed toner, I also wanted to get something as a treat.

My friend bought me the Moringa body butter a while ago, and the smell is so heavenly (think of Marc Jacobs Daisy smell), that when I found this body spray, I thought "I need this". So perfect for this Australian summer that's just decided to rear its head this week (it's supposed to be 41 degrees tomorrow D:). 

Last but not least was an Elisabeth Arden gift pack that I found in Priceline for $15. Doesn't sound too exciting until I tell you that the larger tube of the Eight Hour Cream is $25 by itself, the moisturiser is $35 by itself and the lip treatment (which didn't make it into the photo sadly) didn't even get noticed for the price, because I was already saving so much haha! 

I found this dress in Osmosis for $30 reduced from $80. It is from Mink Pink, and after buying a dress from this brand, I knew it was going to be a great fit. And it was! It has all those great stitch lines that compliment my body shape and show off my small waist. It's just a plain black T-shirt dress that's collared and comes down to just above half way on the thigh.

Who doesn't love a good hoodie? I needed a hoodie of my own; I'm always stealing my boyfriend's. And this one was cheap and cute in Factorie, so into my collection it went!

I have a strange love for knit sweaters. They're warm, casual and cute. So easy to wear over leggings and with dresses. 

This one was $15 from Cotton On, and I was quite surprised that I found something I liked in there. I tend to go into Cotton On with high hopes, and just never find anything that tickles my fancy. 

So that is (almost) everything I bought with my Christmas money. I say almost because there were also two pairs of 'Jelly Shoes' - but they weren't that exciting haha!

I hope you guys all had a Merry Christmas and a great New Year!

Link me to your posts of Christmas Hauls or 'What I got for Christmas?' and I'll be sure to read them!

Enjoying 2014 so far?

Talk to you next week, sweeties!

xx

2013 Favourites!

2013 is gone!

And with it brings all the favourites of the year posts! Including this one, so buckle up and get ready, because I'm going to try and make it as short a list as possible...but let's face it, I'm on the road to failsville already. Don't judge me okay? I like many a product, and they ALL deserve recognition, don't you think??

I'll be kind to your mind, and give you an easy, organised read. I won't waffle too much I promise!
But let's go, before you fall asleep, shall we?!

Makeup!

This year has been the year where my makeup stash has about tripled in size. And so I'm bound to come across a few staple products that I just can't leave, even for one day!

One of these is the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer. I now own two of these - one in fair and one in light - and it is the greatest, most wonderfulest thing ever. Great English there, but anyway, it gives great coverage, its not hydrating - in fact I find it dries my skin a bit. I wouldn't recommend this for dry skin types, unless you use a rich moisturiser. I find that any dry patches I have, it accentuates, but other than that, it has great coverage, it's long lasting, it's just perrrfect!

                                           

Next is the Benefit They're Real mascara. Just a black mascara, but no other mascara I've used comes close to this one. I mean, I've never used false lashes, but I've never seen my eyelashes that long, voluminous and...well, false looking before.

                                                        

The Rimmel Stay Matte powder has been a daily use for me for a few years now, and I just can't leave it alone. I've tried weening myself off it and try other powders, but none other surpass it's glory. Light coverage, but it leaves my skin perfectly matte, all day, unless you happen to sweat a lot on the face... area.

                                                    

The last thing is a fairly new to my collection, and for me to use as well. And it's eyebrow powder. Seeing as it is a new product to me, I bought an el cheapo one from Essence. The powders (light and dark) work perfectly. I'm not exactly sure what makes a good eyebrow powder, but this one makes my eyebrows look...there. I have light and sparse eyebrows, so using the powder really helps, and I can mix the light and dark shades together to make the perfect shade for me.

                                                

Skincare!

My skincare routine has definitely improved this year. Instead of using more makeup I've tried looking after my skin better, so that I wouldn't have to use as much makeup. 

My staple, holy grail, absolutely-can't-live-without-it product was The Body Shop's Seaweed Face Wash. Oh my god, give me all the Seaweed Face wash. 

This stuff makes my skin tingly clean and fresh. It's nothing fancy, just a gel wash that you work into a lather and then rinse, but jeez do I love the stuff. I bought tube after tube of it, and I don't think I'll be stopping any time soon!

                                                                

In terms of serums, I've recently (November) started using one called Hydraluron. It contains Hyaluronic acid, which holds 1,000 times its own weight in water, and so when you use a moisturiser over the top of this, it really helps your skin absorb all of the moisture from it. 

                                           

Bioderma has now become my favourite makeup remover. It's an absolute miracle worker. I was skeptical at first, as it was $20 for the small bottle (100mL), but I splurged, and haven't looked back. Just as an example, the Benefit They're Real mascara is an absolute butt to get off, but with Bioderma, I just put a little bit on a cotton pad and it just WIPES AWAY! POOF! Gone. It's crazy!

                                                     

Hair Care!

With hair care, I rarely change my products unless I get samples or gifts. So this year I've pretty much only used Redken's All Soft shampoo and conditioner. Definitely not cheap at about $28 each, but they last ages and do the job really well. I only wash my hair every second or third day, and I have quite long hair, but I only need the smallest amount, so it's totally worth the money.

                                                     

Hello Haul!

Oh yes, a very seductive - and massive - haul I have for you today my friends...

I've been a bit naughty with my credit card and pay checks recently (oopsies!) and have made a few extravagant (compared to my usual drugstore and overall tight budgeted way) purchases.

Sooo many lovely things.. Real techniques, Benefit, Physicians Formula, Lush, bareMinerals, Bobbi Brown, Philosophy, Clinique, Nyx, Body Shop..... *deep breath*

Aaand, moving on!

Mmmhmmm did I get a few brushes? I did? Well golly.

I did invest in a new Real Techniques brush (powder brush) that I'd been eyeing off for AGES, and I also found an Eco Tools buffing brush on sale in Safeway and decided to pick that up too :) Great brushes. The Real Techniques brush is massive compared to the current Eco Tools powder brush I have, but it does a great job.

The other two brushes (on the left) are two - I think, but could be fake (they're from eBay) - Eco Tools brushes. A small powder/contour brush and a smaller brush that I've been using for eyeshadow.

I saw on Facebook one evening that there was a new store open in Southland called Mecca Maxima, and they had Nars, Bobbi Brown, Stila and all these amazing brands that I'd never known to be in Victoria before. So...because they had a special deal on, and the Makeup junkie that I am, I had to go look.

The deal was that if you spend $65 or more you got a free little gift. 

So me being me, I spend over $65, but it was so hard to choose! I ended up buying a Bobbi Brown long-wear gel eyeliner in Sepia Ink, a Soap & Glory Clean, Girls body wash (that somehow didn't get in the photos - how could I forget it?! It smells amazing!), and a mini bareMinerals Touch Up Veil in translucent.

In the free gift was a sample of a Bobbi Brown lip gloss in Rose Sugar, the Clinique All About Eyes (reduces puffiness and circles), bareMinerals Prime Time original primer, and the Philosophy purity 3-in-1 cleanser. So many things! The cleanser is so lovely, but doesn't smell the greatest, in my opinion. The Clinique eye stuff...I don't know whether it makes a difference or not, but I'll keep trying it. The primer is grreaat and the lip gloss is lovely, but slightly tacky.

You betcha I went to Lush. Just a few times ;)

I can smell Lush from a mile away. And I am not sorry.

In my few trips into there I picked up a few things. First is the Dorothy Bubble Bar; oh my god guys, it smells so summery. Like sunscreen and fresh water and...you know that fresh scent of just getting out from under a cool shower? 

I also bought the Golden Wonder bath ballistic. It. Rattles. Whaaaat?! It smells incredible; so sweet and floral. These aren't in the pictures (because I've now used them) but I also got the Avobath bath ballistic and the Cinders bath ballistic (also both amazing, but the cinders one didn't crackle, which was disappointing :()

I also got a sample pot of the Dream Cream; this was originally meant for my Dad as he has eczema, but I ended up with it hehe ;)

 I could not pass up the Baby Frosty pack. I mean, look at that guy. He's the cutest thing ever! Inside the cloth bundle you get a So White bath ballistic and a Candy Mountain bubble bar. I've never tried any of the things in this Lush part of the haul, so this is very exciting for me!

I was going to get the Bubblegum lip scrub, but then saw the Santa's one and seeing as it is only for around Christmas time, thought I'd get that. It's supposed to be Cola flavoured...but to me it just tastes a bit like soap..

They had a small Fun pack that I bought for $7.50 which I thought was a good price. (The gold one is missing - I used it last night, it smelt sooo good). It came with a green one, a red one and a gold one, all sample size I think. I look forward to using those!

I've been a bit meh towards the Body Shop, but since getting the Seaweed face mask as a present, I've gotten back into their stuff. I love this hand cream. It's the Wild Rose hand cream with SPF 15+...for 'mature skin'. But I use it, and it feels so good. It's a little bit watery once you start rubbing it in, but it sinks in super fast and leaves my hands soft, but not too moist and sweaty feeling. And for about $10, I'm not complaining!

Target stock NYX now! WHAT!? WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!?

Either way, I got excited, and bought this butter gloss in Vanilla Cream Pie. So so lovely. I can see the hype with these things. $9.95, and totally worth it!

Online shopping will be the death of me.

I actually already have a Collection lasting perfection concealer, but the buyer's listing was going to end soon, and I freaked out. haha...oh dear.

The other one was carefully chosen - just for something different. A NYX The Natural Shadow Palette six eyeshadow thing. It has lovely neutral colours, perfect for every day. A little bit of fallout with these but the pigmentation is great for the price!

Benefiittt!!!! Ahhhh! I finally indulged! After using a free brow make-upper voucher from my Lust Have It! box, the lovely lady that served me showed me the very last tin of a pack that included the Porefessional, the They're Real mascara, High Beam and Sugar bomb. All full sized, for $69. I wanted the Porefessional, which is $53 on it's own...why not pay an extra $16 and get three other things, right? OH MY GOD.

I was so excited! My boyfriend didn't seem all that interested in the girl talk and makeup, but I sure was!

Last but not least is a pack for Physicians Formula that I found in Priceline for $24.95. The top powder (a colour correcting powder is about $20 by itself!). It came with a powder foundation and a clip-together concealer and highlighter. I'm not too fussed with the concealer, but the highlighter is lovely and soft. Very subtle. :)

So that is the end of my haul!

I know, I did warn you it was a big'n!

I didn't buy all these in one day, these have been over a few shopping trips! 

But I love every single thing and I'll get use out of all of them. I just love getting new things to try and review, so wait for the reviews of these! I may even upload a video of the bath bomb...if you're lucky ;) 

Stay tuned for next weeks post, babes!

Be Strong, Be You, and Lust the Beauty

 xx