Lovely lippies

S came home bearing some pretty new lippies from the states. I got a MAC prep and prim lip primer which claims to keep lipstick on your lips longer. Perhaps I am not using it properly, but I have not noticed a difference. Lipstick doesn’t tend to last too long on my lips and I usually re-apply a few times a day. What are your tips for long lasting lipstick?

 

 I got: MAC Plumful and MAC Pink Pearl Pop

MAC Plumful

 

This is my new favourite every day lipstick. It is a natural colour and provides a pop of colour to freshen up your look. I usually wear this to work as it is not too bright and over the top for my workplace. No-one wears lipstick here it seems, so I can’t wear bright red lippie without standing out a lot. As the name suggests, it is a plum coloured lipstick.

 

MAC Pink Pearl Pop

 

Another beautiful lipstick to add to the collection. Pink Pearl Pop is a brighter pink that I will probably only wear when going out. It is a light and bright pink and a very sweet colour. I’ve noticed the staying power on this one is not great and I need to apply a fair bit for the colour to show well enough.

 

Have you gotten any new lipsticks lately?

 

What are your go-to colours?

Beauty Aisle - Bi-carb soda

Ok, so when I first read that bi-carb soda could clean your hair (as in, really really clean your hair) I was sceptical. To me, bi-carb soda sounded like a recipe for dry, straw hair and really, who wants to create dry hair on purpose. That aside, I decided to give it a go and I am really glad I did. If you use a lot of product in your hair, you will have build up in there even though you most likely wash your hair often. I use hardly any product, but shampoo and conditioner can still build up and over time, you will notice your hair might be harder to manager (frizz and fly aways) or be dull and lifeless…sometimes, it might even still be oily after you’ve washed it.

 

All you need to do is add 1 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon of bi-carb soda (or baking soda if that’s all you’ve got) to your shampoo when you wash your hair. I usually have the tablespoon of bi-carb soda sitting just outside the shower ready to go.

 

Put the amount of shampoo in your hand that you usually do and mix in the bi-carb soda until it is a paste consistency. Rub through your hair as normal and wash out. Your hair will feel squeaky clean – literally.

Don’t forget the conditioner, otherwise you will have really dry hair. I don’t usually need to use any more conditioner than I normally do either.

I noticed the difference from the first wash. My hair dried quicker and straightened much nicer. Now, if I don’t use bi-carb soda I notice it’s a lot harder to get my hair straight and for it to stay that way. Usually, my hair will be kinked or going in different directions before I even get to work but if I have used bi-carb soda it’s a lot softer and stays straighter for longer. It makes a huge difference to me since my hair really does have a mind of its own. Most of the time I can forget having perfect hair for longer than 10 minutes.

 

Have you used bi-carb soda in your hair before? Did it work for you?

Excuse the spacing on this post - blogger is such a pain.

My skin care regime

 

One of the items on my ‘2014 list’ page was to create a skin care routine and stick with it. Not that I had bad skin to begin with, but don’t we all want to preserve our youthful skin for as long as possible? Well skin doesn’t preserve itself so I went in search of some products that would work for me and my skin. I first put the word out to twitter to see what recommendations I could use and look in to. I was referred to ‘La Clinica’ and actually placed an order but after I hadn’t heard from them for a week and my order had not been shipped, I cancelled the order. Instead of choosing one brand and sticking to that, I decided to think back to what I’d used over the years that had worked and went from there.

I once spent $200 on Clinique products after being pressured by the sales woman and I used it once before I decided it was too harsh smelling for my skin. It smelled toxic and like it would do my skin more harm than good. Since then, I have stuck to items that wouldn’t upset my skin as it is quite sensitive. So, if you have sensitive skin the products below should be good for you to use.

I’ve never (touch wood) had bad acne, so that wasn’t a problem I needed to consider. My skin is fairly normal – not too dry, not too oily, so I was basically just looking for products that would maintain my skin. Not change it in any drastic way.

1. To cleanse my face, I bought some dove beauty bars. They are cakes of soap that can be used on your face, that also include moisturiser so they don’t dry your face out. I use this in the morning and evening and have found they work well to take off all of my makeup. If I have used a lot of makeup (rarely), then I will cleanse my face twice to ensure it has all been removed. The dove beauty bar doesn’t have a particularly nice smell, but also doesn’t have an offensive smell. You can buy these for $4.49 from priceline (2bars).

2. After I cleanse my face, I use witch hazel toner. This is inexpensive and does the trick nicely to remove any further build up on your face. The smell is not the best, but I guess you do get used to it. Like the Dove beauty bar, it hasn’t upset my sensitive skin, so that’s another win there. I bought my witch hazel toner from priceline for $6.59 (240ml).

3. In the morning after these steps, I then use cetaphil moisturiser. It isn’t heavy and can be worn under makeup without your face feeling like it can’t breathe. It is inexpensive at $11.29 a bottle (250ml) and the bottle I have has lasted me a good 6 months already. S also uses this on occasion and he likes it as well. Cetaphil can also be used on children if that is any indication of how strong the product is.

4. In the evening after I have taken my makeup off, I use Nivea q10 plus night cream. The moisturiser is thick, however absorbs well and doesn’t feel suffocating like some thick moisturisers can. Again, this product is inexpensive at $19.99 from priceline.

Obviously, what works for one person may not work for another, so take this list with a grain of salt. You may be able to use some, all or none of the products depending on your skin type.

What products do you use the most in your skin care regime?

More OPI and Teddy

Another sale of OPI on ozsale and I couldn't resist snatching up a few more polishes. For someone who had previously hated painting their nails, I've certainly come around from that. I had a $10 voucher for the delay in the last shipment and what better way to spend money than on nail polish.

The colours I got last time were hit and miss. OPI I don't give a rotterdam, OPI Panda-monium pink and OPI Sparrow me the drama were my faves while the other two - Manicurist of seville and An affair in red fair were a big miss for me.

This time, I went for colours I knew I would wear and I looked on google to see reviews/what it looked like on other people before I picked my colours. I now have on order: OPI My Chihuahua bites, OPI Koala Bear-y and Dulce De Leche. All nice colours that I will probably use often. According to Ozsale they should be shipped today making the process at least 5 weeks shorter compared to the last.

I am getting a lot better at painting my nails yet and while I don't do fancy patterns etc, at least I am colouring inside the lines!

Ted is not a fan of being startled, so of course the other night when someone rounded the corner and took him by surprise he let out a big bark. He growled as the guy walked past and then when he was out of ear shot he let out another bark as if to say 'keep walking'. I love guessing what Ted is thinking. He gets embarrassed when he is caught by surprise and it's hilarious to see him bark when HE is startled because he is not much of a barker at all.

At 5 years old, he is still learning new tricks. His latest is learning the difference between left and right, or rather..which paw to put up when I say left and right and he's learning quickly. In saying that, he would probably do back flips for food.

Happy Friday, friends! Have a great weekend!

 

A little nailpolish loving

I’ve never been much of a girly girl (5 brothers…) but I’ve recently gotten in to nail polish and painting my nails so they are never unpainted. This is somewhat of a laborious regime I have gotten myself in to, given the fact I chip my nails on the daily and I hate chipped nails. Thankfully the nail polish gods sent OPI to my beauty cabinet because that stuff takes ME at least 2 days to chip.

Not wanting to shell out $20 per bottle of nail polish, I took it to twitter to ask where I could buy nail polish cheaper. The ever helpful twitterbugs directed me to ozsale and it just so happens that they had OPI on sale that very day. I bought 5 new polishes and the week after I was going through the list looking at how close in colour a few are. Oh well, there will be more sales and I will buy more polishes. I bought:

OPI Panda-Monium Pink

OPI – I Don’t Give a Rotterdam

OPI – Sparrow Me the Drama

OPI – An Affair in Red Square

OPI – Manicurist of Seville

Ozsale takes awhile to ship the goods, so I am eagerly awaiting the delivery which should come mid-Feb. I am also keen to try out China Glaze nail polish and Essie nail polish.

What polishes are you loving lately?

Revlon beauty haul

This is my first ever 'beauty haul' and could well be my last since I hardly buy beauty products. I am no beauty guru. I just loved these products so I blogged about them.

 I am going to a wedding on the weekend and decided I needed a new lipstick to match. I trekked to Myer with a work colleague and tried on a lipstick only to be told by the sales lady that I needed to do my hair and makeup and then it would suit me. Well, my hair and makeup WAS done...so that was awkward.

We decided that was not the colour for me and moved on until we saw Revlon trendsetter. A beautiful colour that has great staying power. I had a shower, used cleanser and it was still there when I got out. Definitely need makeup remover for that one.

 1. Revlon photoready blush palette//2. Revlon ColourStay creme gel eye liner//3. Revlon Photoready primer/shadow palette//4. Revlon lipbutter - Peach Parfait//5. Revlon nail polish (can't remember colour).

I used the blush palette and the eyeshadow palette this morning and the colours are really nice. It is now after 2pm in the afternoon and the makeup has not worn off. Still looks nice and bright.

Have you used any of these products?