Epic Hauling!

Hi chickpeas! Hope you're all hunky dorey. I thought I'd excitedly share with you the new bits and pieces I have made a home for over the past month or so. It seems like a lot all clumped together, but it's been a bit of a gradual haul. Because I've had some of these things for a little while now, I can actually review some of them as well as simply showing you. It's a helpful haul! Apologies in advance for the fact that this is a super duper photo-heavy post.

Ecoya Reed Diffuser in French Pear

I absolutely love this diffuser. I can't tell you how much. The scent is fresh and sweet, but not too overpowering. That being said, you can really smell it when you first step foot inside our apartment. Which is essentially what I was after when I bought this. I've even had friends comment on how lovely our house smells. To be honest, I've always been a scented candle girl. But I thought I'd give a diffuser a go because, unlike candles, the scent is released 24/7. Which is perfect for someone with (sometimes smelly) pets, like myself. Ecoya is a Melbourne brand too. So I'm all for that. It should be said that these aren't too cheap, at a whopping AUD $59.95. Luckily for me though, I managed to pick up this little baby on sale for AUD $40 from Urban Home Republic. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one full price though. The scent is amazing and they're supposed to last up to 6 months. Totally worth the money in my opinion.



Dove Earings from Lovisa

How sweet are these?! I couldn't resist picking up these little plastic dove studs from Lovisa at Chaddy. They came in an assorted pack of 3 with a pair of little gold hearts and a pair of plain cream faux pearls. Never one to miss a sale, I made the most of Lovisa's 'buy two get one free' deal and also bought some other studs too. But these are my favourite. They remind me of Paloma Faith's dove logo actually.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Edgy Emerald

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Bad To The Bronze

What would an Aussie girl's July haul post be without these little numbers?! Between the rave reviews by international beauty bloggers, the comparisons to MAC Paint Pots (which I love) and the fairly reasonable price tag of AUD $10, I couldn't help but find two of these in my shopping bag. I feel like Bad To The Bronze is a little too muddy to wear on it's own. Sadly, I think I'm too pale for it. It does, however, work quite nicely as a base for a natural eye look. I'm completely smitten with Edgy Emerald though. It seems to work on me as both a shadow, and a base. I wore it the other day with a frosty white eye shadow layered over the top, and it transformed it into a beautiful mint colour. Also, the resistance to creasing with these throughout the day is great. I would even go so far as to say that they're better than the MAC Paint Pots in that respect.

Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder

I picked up this setting powder from strawberrynet.com for AUD $43.50 ($20 or so cheaper than buying it retail in Aus). I'd heard so many great things about it, so I was interested to give it a go. Even though my skin's dry to normal - I always powder my face. I like the slightly mattifying effect it creates, and I feel like it's necessary to keep my eyebrow makeup in check. So spending a decent amount of money on a high-end powder, doesn't really phase me. After giving it a burl, I have to say, I really like it. It's lovely and fine, and doesn't look cakey in the slightest. Plus it gives quite a nice glow to the face, if that makes sense. I'm interested to see how it photographs.

Rimmel Lipstick in Birthday Suit & Revlon Lip Butter in Raspberry Pie

The Loveheart is Raspberry Pie & the Swirls are Birthday Suit

The Rimmel lippy is from the Lasting Finish collection, and is delightful peachy brown colour. I'm not entirely sure I can pull it off, but I was immediately drawn to it because it reminded me of a darker version of Rimmel's Airy Fairy. I'm a little infatuated with the latter shade, but sadly, I think it's been discontinued here in Aus. So this was my best Rimmel alternative. Also, I finally picked up a Lip Butter! The photo above does a really good job of describing how I feel about it too! Raspberry Pie is definitely one of, if not the only shade from the collection, that I felt I had to have. It's an amazingly vibrant pink/red with medium opacity and a lovely glossy finish. I wont go on about it too much, as I'm sure you're probably sick of hearing about the Lip Butters by now. But yes. I'm a fan of this one. Here 'tis in action. Forgive the somewhat cruddy iPhone quality.   

My Oh My...Raspberry Pie!

Pretty self-explanatory really...

I know this one's a bit of a boring one, but I needed a more moisturising/hydrating body wash now that winter's making my skin unhappy. Even though the smell of Lush's Dirty soap is AMAZING, it was drying out my skin like crazy (I definitely think it's a summer soap). So I decided to go with the trusty Palmers. I can usually rely on Palmers.

Maxfactor Nail Polish in Diva Coral

I saw a similar milky coral shade like this on a customer's nails at work the other day and fell in love with it. So when I saw this for around AUD $6 at Target the other week, I snapped it up in a heartbeat. I haven't tried it yet, but I have high hopes for this one. I suppose you can't really go wrong when you have Sally Hansen's Inst-Dri at your disposal! That top coat makes even the most mediocre polishes lovely.

Love Lettuce Fresh Face Mask by Lush

This was actually a repurchase, because I loved this mask so much. I trotted into Lush intending to give another fresh face mask a try, but ended up coming away with this one again. Oops! Well, what can I say? It's great. Sure, it may make me look as though I've just stepped out of a swamp - but it works wonders for my skin. It cleanses, softens, refreshes and even exfoliates (when massaged into the skin before rinsing). As it's recommended for normal to oily skin, I find that I need to apply a moisturiser afterwards. But that's no big deal. I do that after applying a facial mask of any kind. Also, the strong, nutty smell may not be for everyone. Although I quite like it. Like all of Lush's fresh face masks, this was AUD $15.95. Not too bad for a product that will give you roughly four uses.

Lush Buffy Bar & Skin Drink Facial Moisturiser

Still on the topic of Lush, I picked up the exfoliating Buffy body butter for AUD $15.95. It was actually a bit of a last minute purchase (when I was buying the Love Lettuce). I'll probably do a proper review on this one, so I wont say too much about it other than I'm very happy my frivolous spending payed off this time around! The sample of the moisturiser on the right was thrown in by one of Lush's lovely staff. Why are they so damn nice in there?! He recommended it to me when I mentioned that my skin was suffering from the dreaded winter dryness. After giving the Skin Drink a try, I can definitely see where it gets the name. My skin soaks this stuff up like a thirsty sponge! That being said, I wouldn't use this in the day. It's probably a bit too oily for wearing under makeup (plus I like the idea of having SPF in my daytime moisturiser). I can see myself picking this up next time I'm in Lush though. It seems like a really good option for winter.

Almay Clear Complexion Concealer

I bought this concealer purely for shaping my eyebrows. It's a medium to full coverage concealer with a doefoot applicator. I love my Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer for my under-eye circles, but it just wasn't enough coverage for the redness I have across my brows. As it's supposed to aid spots by removing the oil from them, I find that this is a little too drying for me. I'll use it up, but I'll probably try something else after this one. Any suggestions?   

Mary Kay Travel Roll-Up Bag

The compartments are as large as the space between my thumb and my forefinger

Roll up! Roll up!

This was something I'd had my eye on ever since I saw it in Nikki Phillipi's YouTube video on what she packs for travel (I'm a sucker for those sorts of videos). I've seen different variations of these hanging, roll-up, travel bags before, but nothing compares to this one. First of all, it can hold a lot. A definite plus for someone who struggles when it comes to cutting back on toiletries for travel! Secondly, it's an organisational lover's dream. It's got four separate zip-up, clear, plastic pockets which are attached with Velcro and can be removed if need be. I think this is such a great idea because you can simply detach a pocket of say, shower essentials, and take it with you to the the bathroom, rather than having to juggle all the items you need. Perfect for staying in hotels or hostels where the bathroom's outside of the room. The fact that it hangs is also a huge plus for me. And when you need to carry the whole thing around with you, it rolls up and holds it's rectangular shape with some strong Velcro, and has a little handle on the top. Also, let's not forget the fact that it's preeeettttyyyy! Pink satin? I'm on board! I'm sure I'll probably do a little post about how I use this when I pack for my trip later this year. So stay tuned!! For anyone interested in picking this up, I got it from Ebay for AUD $31, including postage and handling, from rapid_deals7711.