Skincare On The Go

My toiletries and makeup bag/s when I travel most definitely take up at least a quarter of my suitcase weight. For reals. A slight problem when travelling on smaller airlines and they have strict limits cos this gal apparently likes to bring the kitchen sink. 

It seems this trip in particular, I maybe brought more than I needed. More so for makeup- skincare I think I have used everything at least once but I probably could've contained things slightly better. Note to self- buy smaller products and restrict yourself even more. 

One thing I do always do is only bring one main cleanser- at home I alternate morning and evening because I like to use something less harsh in the mornings as I'm only washing off the products from the night before. For the last two trips I've chosen- The Body Shop's Seaweed Cleanser. Amazing for taking off any remaining makeup that's left after my cleansing oil and leaves my skin feeling nice and fresh. I've brought this on the past two trips now as my do it all cleanser but I have a feeling that using it both morning and night does dry my skin out a tad.

Step one in the evening routine comes from The Body Shop's Camomile Oil Cleanser; it removes the majority of my makeup and I feel gives my skin a good clean. One problem I have with this is that it leaks ev-er-ywhere. Last time I transferred it to a smaller bottle and that didn't work so this time I brought it in the original packaging, in a snap lock sandwich bag, locked the pump lid and still it manages to escape. So just be aware if you plan to travel with this one. 

A staple at home and on the go has to be Lush's Tea Tree Water, a spray toner that I have spoken about many a time before so won't bore you again. 

I have two newer additions to the evening regime, the first being Antipdoes Kiwi Seed Eye Cream. As with a lot eye creams, you can't tell if it's doing it's job at this stage, it's more of a preventative measure. Although I do think I have noticed a reduction in the colour of my under eye circles. 

The second product being Sunday Riley's Artemis Facial Oil. This was a purchase made semi out of desperation but boy am I glad I did. If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my palava with trying to find Sunday Riley's Good Genes after I ran out; it was sold out nationally in Mecca stores. FML was my immediate reaction. So I went home, did some research, found it would cost me my organs to buy one from overseas so researched alternatives and came across old mate, Artemis. This is slightly pricier than GG which I already had a little gasp at but as I said, desperado situation. This is lasting me a lot better than GG did as an oil will always go further than a cream product. A couple of drops in the evening does me well and I have noticed an improvement in my skin. Think I'll do a full post on this so I'll spare you the details for now. 

Origins Super Spot Remover in collaboration with Mario Badescu's Buffering Lotion- again both products I've sung the praises of entire so I won't go into detail. Probably didn't need to bring Mario as well though. 

Flying, transporting, travelling and the elements aren't always kind to your skin, especially your lips so to combat that I brought a deluxe sample of By Terry's Baume de Rose. A cult favourite and I get why. Not usually a fan of Rose scented products but this isn't too strong so I'm not bothered. Does a lovely job and that's all I really have to say I think. 

Moisturisation station- evenings started with Kiehl's Oil Free Ultra Facial Cream, which I finished off the remains in just over a week and I liked it but not sure I'd say I loved it. I think I preferred the original cream formula. So we've moved onto the cult classic, Embryolisse which I purchased in Paris. It feels very nourishing and hasn't got any strong fragrance as it's suitable for sensitive skins. 

Morning routine starts with a cleanse and then I move to two old pals from La Roche Posay- Effaclar Duo and then moisturise with Effaclar Matte. Pretty sure I've written about both of these before; I've repurchased both god only knows how many times and love what both do for my skin. 

Sneaky extras included Aesop's Parsley Seed Masque, a pre-holiday I feel I need you in my life purchase and boy am I glad I did. I used this 1-3 times a week on the trip and I think it definitely did wonders. Another one I'll go into more depth on in an individual post.

Last but not least, Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask. This for me is actually an oboard essential so stays in my handbag as it's great to use as a moisturiser mid-flight or after cleansing at the airport if you're so inclined. Works wonders for tired and dry skin as an overnight mask as intended as well. 

Apologies for the seriously long post! I hope it didn't bore you too much if you made it to the end and feel free to comment with your travel skincare essentials. 

The Empties #2 | Skincare

This surprisingly is the larger portion of this empties series. As I said in my Empties #1 post which covered haircare and beauty, I have been stashing these products for well over a month and as well as this I have been making a conscious effort to finish those last few drops of products that I've pushed to the back of the drawers and using up samples and things like that. So here we have the skincare selection, some of these products I loved and have repurchased already, some were ok and some are necessities of life.

Like the last post, I'll do my best not to ramble and give you ridiculously long rambles and make things as succinct as I can!

Lush Fresh Face Masks in Catastrophe Cosmetic & The Sacred Truth: I've paired the two together because both worked well but Sacred Truth was actually for my Mum and it is catered more to mature skin if I'm not wrong. Catastrophe Cosmetic on the other hand worked absolute wonders for my pores and I saw a visible difference immediately after using this mask. Can't rave enough- love!

Lush Tea Tree Water: A toner I use in my evening routine, aimed at oily/combination spot-prone skin. There is debate over whether toner is actually necessary but I like it, I use one morning and evening and find this one is especially great after I've applied a face mask to just spritz over the skin, make everything feel super fresh and close up those pores again! This has already been repurchased and I see it being a staple in the bathroom cabinet for a while.

Indeed Laboratories Pepta-Bright: A serum that targets pigmentation and skin clarity and I did feel that this made a visible difference to the appearance of my skin. I applied it both morning and evening and once I got over the smell, I really liked it. It restores luminosity, targets dark spots, pigmentation, aids with hydration and just generally evens out skin tone. I have a few other similar products in my stash to get through but I would repurchase this in the future.

The Body Shop Seaweed Cleanser: The Seaweed range is one that I'm familiar with and have used years ago. It targets oily, blemish prone skin so it's right up my alley. After making my way through a fair amount of cleansers that I found just ok, I returned to the Body Shop's Seaweed range and thought I'd try the cleanser for my evening routine. Boy, am I glad I did. It's now my go-to, it removes the remainder of my makeup (after a cleansing water) like a dream, doesn't leave my skin feeling tight and uncomfortable and I think has helped with the recent improvement to it's overall appearance.

The Body Shop Nutriganics Drops of Youth Serum:  A sample I was given at their Summer beauty launch and a product that my mum actually purchased the full size of, I thought I'd give this sample a whirl in between my usual evening serums/oils. I applied this onto freshly cleansed skin and it sank it nicely and left my skin feeling hydrated. Only used it for 2-3 evenings until the sachet was caput but I did like how it felt. Might 'borrow' this from my mum from time to time..

GlamGlow SuperMud Face Mask: A purchase for when you're #feelingspendy, the SuperMud mask is unlike any other mask I've used before. This has well and truly done the rounds in the beautysphere so I'm sure you've seen how it works. Claimed to be used by Hollywood starlets, this mask draws out impurities in front of your eyes. You can see it focusing on blackheads, pesky spots and the like as it dries darker in those areas. When you rinse it off you can see an immediate difference and it always left my skin feeling smooth and clean. I've moved onto the newer PowerMud at the moment but I'm certain I will repurchase this in the future!

Garnier Micellar Water: Bioderma's more affordable and previously more readily available sister. Could I call her a twin? I think I could. I don't find enough difference between the two to always warrant paying double or triple the price for Bioderma. This does a great job of removing my face and eye makeup but I do always double cleanse with a liquid cleanser to ensure every single trace of makeup is gone.

Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve: As someone who is a little OCD about washing their hands, things can occasionally get a little dry. I am generally a big fan of the L'Occitane hand creams and have always loved those but a peruse through the David Jones beauty hall lead me to Kiehl's. I felt that I needed something even stronger for the evenings and this well and truly hit the mark. It is quite thick so I wouldn't recommend it for during the day as a lot of people can find that uncomfortable but for before bed, this is a dream! Fixed up my hands within a few days.

Origins Super Spot Remover: If you're victim to a pesky spot or two then you need this in your life. I have gone through a large number of these over the years and I love it. It dries up spots quickly without drying out the surrounding skin too much. This bottle may look small but that goes along with the fact that you don't need a lot at all, just the tiniest amount applied with a clean finger overnight or even during the day if you fancy and you'll notice a big difference within hours.

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion: May as well stay on topic while we're talking spotty pals. A serious cult product, the Drying Lotion is amazing for those more stubborn spots like whiteheads or cystic pimples. You know the ones that just seem to want to camp out on your face for the next trillion years.. yeah those. Apply this with a clean cotton tip, leave on overnight and you may not see immediate results but over time (even just a couple of days) trust me, you will.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair: A sample that somehow made its way into my drawers but I have tried this a couple of times now. It gets raving reviews from beauty bloggers, vloggers and professionals and I do always like it when I use it. Underneath moisturiser, it feels like it's doing a good job of keeping my skin hydrated, improving texture and appearance. Only thing that's held me back from buying full size is the price and I've already had similar type products in my stash like the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate.

Skinstitut Laser Aid: Not sure if this is TMI for some people but yep, I get laser hair removal. I haven't mentioned it on the blog before, not for any reason I guess there just hasn't been an appropriate post. I go to Laser Clinics Australia and have been for I think 18+months now. I can honestly recommend it and there is definitely a huge difference. I'm not at the point where I feel I can stop going completely but I do go quite irregularly now and more just when I feel the need to. If you're interested I would say wait until they have a sale on (which is a lot of the time) and buy a few sessions in one go. Feel free to ask any questions but I'm definitely no expert!

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat: This brand seriously made the rounds on YouTube I would say maybe 2-3 years ago and lucky for me and I happened to be travelling to France around then. I stocked up on the cult products that people had been raving about and haven't looked back since. Effaclar Mat is a more recent addition to the stash but this is probably one of the first moisturisers I've felt actually mattified my skin and kept oils at bay. I only use this during the day and generally only in the warmer months as I like to use something a bit more hydrating in winter and also don't mind as much sheen. This is fantastic and affordable- win win!

NUDE Skincare ProGenius Treatment Oil: A sample from MeccaCosmetica either with an online purchase or Beautyloop box, this sat in my backups/new products drawer for a while but when I ran out of my beloved Kiehl's Midnight Recovery, I reached for this. A pretty decent sized sample first off and I did feel like it did a good job for my skin. Didn't irritate, left my skin feeling nourished and was a good temporary addition to my evening routine. Definitely would consider purchasing in the future.

Easy on the Eye(s)

Eye crayons and jumbo pencils seem to be emerging more and more on makeup shelves and counters from various brands- both more affordable and highend. One of the favourites which I'm sure no beauty blogger is unfamiliar with are the NYX jumbo eye pencils; they come in a huge range of shades from neutrals to brights. I think NYX were one of the first companies to really make this type of product so popular and since more and more companies are taking a page from their book. Eye crayons and jumbo pencils have been increasingly sneaking into a lot of my makeup and eye looks of late so I thought a blog post was in order! Plus on a recent peruse of priceline's website, I saw some new releases of even more eye crayons! Heavens!

May as well start with NYX as I've already mentioned them and I'm sure most people would have one of these in ther collection or are at least aware of them. I have two shades- the cult classic Milk as well as Iced Mocha, which I may or may not have purchased on two occasions because I didn't know the name and thought it looked right up my alley online. Well duh woman, that's why you bought it the first time! (Please tell me I'm not alone here..) Anyway these pencils are great as a base for powder shadows or just on their own as an all over wash of colour. They blend easily, are pigmented and don't crease on me. Plus as I mentioned before, the shade range of these is huge and because they're affordable, they're great for dress up occasions or if you are feeling adventurous and colourful!

Also from NYX are their Glam Shadow Sticks- a bit less creamy and not so much a base product but these sticks look great swiped over a bare lid or over a bit of matte or shimmer shadow to add some extra pizazz. I bought one of these when Target had NYX on offer and really like it. If you want subtle shimmer, this is not for you because it is more than apparent. They don't glide so easily over the lid as the Jumbo Pencils and definitely don't have the same creamy texture but nonetheless they're super easy to work with.

Next up we have Rimmel's offering; now Rimmel know what they're doing when it comes to eye pencils if you ask me. Their Scandaleyes range is fantastic- the pencils are creamy, super long lasting and are pretty good on the smudge proof front. When they brought out the jumbo Scandaleyes eyeshadow pencils I was on board. At the moment I only have one shade Bad Girl Bronze but that one shade gets a lotta love! Surprise surprise is a brown but it has some slight shimmer through it, I absolutely love it for a super quick, fuss-free smokey eye! Slap a bit on all over the lid, as messy as you want blend it out with your finger or a fluffy brush, do the same to your lower lash line and you're in business! As quick as that. Again with these, they're long lasting, creamy, pigmented and don't crease on me but I am always wearing eye primer or concealer as a base just to be sure. 

A few random extras to tag on the end- in my stash I've accumulated an eyeshadow stick from Sephora's own line which again, is a great base but sadly often neglected. Same goes for the Bloom Smokey shadow stick which has a brush on the other end that is really quite useless for this product. However it and the Sephora pencil are great for an evening smokey eye more due to the shades but they're not disappointing products. Lastly we have a Barry M pencil which I undoubtedly put in my ASOS shopping bag when I was wanting a bit of beauty therapy. Not a waste though, this pencil is similar to that of the Rimmel Scandaleyes and of course, standard me, it's a neutral bronzey colour. Perfect for everyday quick swipe eyes or darkened up for the evening!

Do you use eyeshadow pencils or crayons in your daily routine? Do you have some in your stash that you turn to? I'm seeing more and more brands launch their own Eyeshadow sticks/pencils so they must be catering to someone! 

Review | Milani Baked Blushes

I've been a big fan of the Milani baked blushes for a while now and with the recent addition of two more beautiful shades, I thought a blog post was in order! I've tried a few other bits from Milani but they're baked blushes are spot on and the hype they receive is well deserved. At around $8 online from Cherry Culture or Beauty Bay they're an absolute bargain buy for us Aussies who are accustom to paying a lot more than this for 'drugstore' products.

My first purchase was Luminoso, definitely influenced by the many beauty ladies on YouTube who absolutely raved about this shade and it's been dubbed a dupe for NARS Orgasm, a cult favourite that I personally have never been lured to due to its shimmer but strangely enough I love Luminoso. I'm not the hugest fan of shimmer in blush because it can highlight any textural issues on the cheeks (which I do have) so generally I try to avoid it. The shimmer in Luminoso is quite subtle on the cheeks and just gives more of a glow than a disco ball shimmer effect. These blushes are beautifully pigmented and buttery smooth to apply; they're definitely buildable so use a light hand especially with the brighter shades to avoid looking overly blushed. Like they say, less is more!

Recent additions to the baked blush collection were Dolce Pink and Delizioso Pink which both swatch beautifully and I'm looking forward to putting them to good use. Luminoso is definitely one of my go-to blushes, especially when in doubt because it gives such a beautiful healthy glow to the cheeks.

Delizoso Pink,  Corallina, Dolce Pink, Luminoso

These are a great choice for a drugstore blush, affordable and amazing quality and pretty easy for us Australian makeup mavens to get our hands on through a few online stores. I definitely recommend these and I may just have to expand my collection in the future..

Cheapest Beauty Tools Everyone Needs

This post may seem obvious to some but these few bits are some of the cheapest but most useful things that I have on hand 24/7 and will do so in the foreseeable future.

Numero uno: Tissues! Just some refined and processed paper but something so simple is just so handy. First tip- use just one ply of a tissue (i.e. pull one tissue's sheet off) and dab it over your face once you've applied your foundation. This is a handy tip I picked up from Wayne Goss but it just picks up any excess makeup and oils which is great for ensuring your makeup is long lasting. Similarly if you find you've overdone it on the blush or bronzer, just lightly dab a tissue over your face and again it'll lift any excess makeup and there you have a quick easy fix! Putting a folded tissue under your eye if you're doing a heavy eye look will prevent excess from falling onto your face and make clean up much easier. As well as this, tidying up the edges of your eye look is as easy as lightly (keyword) dragging a tissue upwards towards your hairline.

Number two: Cotton Tips. Again for the eye area, cotton tips are your best friend for correcting any mistakes. Sometimes when I'm in a rush my mascara application can be a little hasty and therefore a bit messy so this is where cotton tips are my number one pal. Handy tip is to wait a minute or two for the mascara to dry and it'll come off much more easily than if you try to do it when it's first applied and still wet. I buy the cotton tips that are designed for makeup so they have one side with a pointed tip and the other side is flat and almost an eyeshadow brush shape. The pointed side is perfect in helping tidy up liquid liner and create a sharper line and you can even apply shadow with the other side if you're brushless.

Number three: Cotton Pads. I prefer to use the large oval ones that I pick up from Priceline, I can never seem to find them in the supermarket but these are a must have for removing makeup teamed up with my Bioderma. The larger size means you use less and can cover more of your face. The smaller more standard cotton rounds are of course perfect for removing nail polish but to be honest I've been using those polish removing tubs more recently so haven't had need for them.

Number four: Sticky Tape. Your bestest chum when it comes to an intense eye look because with its aid you can create the most crisp line at the outer edge you ever saw! Line the tape up with the outer corner of your eye, up to the tail of your eyebrow and that is generally where your eyeshadow should stop. By placing some tape on first, it makes it super easy to have a perfect edge without having to be too careful and then correcting with concealer at the end. If you're using normal tape just pop it onto the back of your (clean) hand to take some of the stickiness off otherwise it can tug at your eye when you try to take it off. Alternatively the matte tape is better because it isn't so adhesive or sticky tab notes are perfect as well.

Sorry if this was all a bit stating the obvious but I was just thinking about all these products' uses and thought, hey! I'm gonna blog about that. Hopefully it was useful in some way!