12 Present Ideas Under $50 - Beauty Edition

I think this is my first Christmas on this blog and I'd like to share my recommendations for this busy gift-giving season. I've decided to choose affordable products, mainly gift sets of my favourite things/from my favourite brands since all the money spent on gifts tend to add up.

Let's start with the some lippies. I think lip products are fantastic gifts because they're fun, colourful and tend to work for most people despite skin type etc.

This Chi Chi Lip Gloss Favourites set is awesome because it has a range of colours, and they're small and travel friendly. This set could even be broken up into smaller stocking stuffers, and retails for $17.

 

This set is the Brights Creamy Matte Liquid Lipstick Collection by Chi Chi, but you can also find the set in Nudes. Considering how popular liquid lipstick are nowadays, this lets people try different colours and formulas without breaking the bank. Plus the box is super cute which means less wrapping for the gift giver. 

Since we're on a roll with Chi Chi, I'd also like to recommend the Choose Chi Chi Face Extravaganza palette. It has some gorgeous eyeshadows, blushes, highlighters and bronzers and is a great kit for people starting with makeup or even people just looking to expand their collection. Chi Chi powder products have always been soft and good quality and this ginormous palette is currently on sale at Myer for $24.

And finally, to round off the lovely products of Chi Chi, here is a travel perfume set of a bunch of their perfumes. I own two of their scents myself, and absolutely love them. They don't smell cheap and childish despite their cute packaging and incredibly affordable price tag. This is also currently on sale for $20.

I recently picked up this Nude By Nature Bronzed Beauty Cheek kit at the Priceline sale, and I think it's absolutely gorgeous. I love NBN as a brand, as their products are good for the skin and look amazing. This kit is another great starter kit for someone who isn't really into makeup, since it comes with both a bronzer and a blush in one as well as brushes so they don't need to go out and buy their own. Currently retailing for $40 but NBN is stocked in plenty of places, and I'm sure you'll be able to find a sale sometime somewhere. 

Another great find at Priceline is the Katy Perry Parfums Collection featuring Killer Queen, Oh So Sheer, Spring Reign and Royal Revolution. Mini perfume collections make great gifts if you're not sure of their exact perfume favourites/tastes, or you're not sure what they already own. This retails for $39 which makes it fantastic value for 4 perfumes.

If you're looking for something a little more luxurious with a brand name to it, but still want to stay within budget, this Benefit set is perfect. Featuring a range of Benefit favourites and all neatly tucked into an adorable box that again, makes wrapping super easy, this set helps to achieve that perfectly glowy and youthful look for the holiday season.

 

Another way to glow is with this Revlon Christmas Photoready Set. With some fantastic full sized products, this set is another great value kit, and is currently on sale at Myer for $40.

I am a huge fan of Natio and their products, and I love the look of this Sparkle Gift Set, $26 at David Jones.

When I first saw this theBalm palette I had a mini shock. This is kind of my dream palette, and I want to get my hands on this so bad. This will make a fantastic gift because it features theBalm's best hits and all their popular and most favourite products! It's a steal at $50 for so many different products!

And let's finish off with some nail stuff. I love OPI polishes but they're very pricey, so I think sets like these are fantastic value for yourself or as gifts. The Twinkle set in particular even includes rings to match!

I'll back back to regular reviews very soon, I hope everyone is having a fantastic day!

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August Favourites!

Natio Ageless Organic Rosehip Oil, MooGoo Acne Cleansing Cream

 It's been a couple months since I've shared with you my favourites, so I decided to because I've been having some really great luck with my products lately.

Let's start off with my skin care:

The Acne Cleansing Cream by MooGoo has been my skin care saviour for the past few months. I even bought a second one to keep at my boyfriend's to minimise the breakouts. It doesn't have Benzoyl Peroxide, which I used back in the day and it just dried out my skin and made it more sensitive. This has natural ingredients that naturally brighten and lighten my acne scars, and it also keeps my oily skin balanced.

I got the Natio Ageless Organic Rosehip Oil at a Priceline sale, and it has been amazing. I've used RHO before by Trilogy and I've never seen such beautiful and glowy results before. I massage this into my skin before bed and it leaves my skin the softest and the healthiest it has ever been.

Thursday Plantation Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Toner

I also picked up Thursday Plantation's Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Toner at the Priceline sale, and I wish I'd tried this out years ago, when my acne was at its worst. Since using this I haven't had a single new breakout. I use it pretty much every time after I cleanse my skin, so 2-3 times a day, and it's amazing how much stuff it gets off (that I didn't realise was on my face to begin with). It also smells so fresh and is a great pick-me-up step in the morning.

Choose Chi Chi Eau De Parfum Persimmon

And last of all I wanted to share my new scent with you; I recently finished Chi Chi's Watermelon perfume, and decided to try another one. I'm not one for owning many scents, just because I know I won't be able to get through them all. So I've been wearing this every day, and it smells so sweet and yummy. It smells like lollies straight up when you first spray it, but after it settles into your skin it turns almost musky and floral. An absolute gorgeous scent that lasts, and I'm in love with the packaging too.

So there you go! Feel free to share with me your favourites of the month, and link below your blog if you want me to check it out!

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I Heart Drugstore Makeup Tag!

I've been a little MIA lately, but the good news is I'm back with a little post on my favourite drugstore makeup.

On another note, I decided to swap some points on beautyheaven, so expect a post on my random box of goodies soon!

1. What is your favorite drugstore makeup brand?

This is a hard one, because I like a lot of brands... my favourite is probably Nude by Nature, although I'm not sure if it's considered 'drugstore', because it's not the most affordable brand, but it is stocked at Priceline. A more affordable brand that's surprisingly nice is Essence, but I do appreciate NBN's ingredients way more.

2. What are your favorite face, cheek and lip products? 

I've raved about the Nude by Nature Mineral Cover Powder Foundation and Natio 's Mineral Bronzer in Sunswept before, (click on the links to check those posts out), and my favourite lippie product right now is the Burts Bees Beeswax Lipbalm, which I'm also trying to 'pan'.

3. Least favorite product?
Beauty Essentials lipgloss - I got this in a bargain bin, and man is this stuff frosty! It makes my lips look practically white.

4. What is the best makeup bargain?

W7 Absolute Lashes - $5 AUD for a mascara that is crazy defining, separating, lengthening and curling.

5. What is your favorite underdog product? (Something you love that often gets overlooked?)

Natio Mineral Bronzer, it's massive, talc-free and a gorgeous bronzer. I also want to do a special shoutout to the Dusty Girls' Earth Cream, not available at as many places as typical 'drugstore brands' like Maybelline, but it's an amazing product for your skin and for coverage, and I'm actually seeing MooGoo/Dusty Girls pop up in more pharmacies now.

6. A drugstore product that is overpriced?
I think the whole Nude by Nature range is a little overpriced, but I guess that's what you have to do for quality ingredients.

7. Show your best drugstore dupe(s)!!
I don't own the They're Real mascara by Benefit, but apparently Absolute Lashes is a dupe for it. I also love the Nude by Nature blush in Virgin and I think it's in the same colour family, and probably gives your cheeks a similar effect.

8. Drugstore product that isn't worth the hype?
Revlon Colorstay... I know this is a cult favourite but I don't actually think the coverage is that fantastic after you buff it out properly. Especially because I had scarring and pigmentation, I found I had to really layer up the product, and this stuff is thick and I don't like the heavy feeling of makeup. Not the mention this stuff stains all your sponges and brushes, and is equally hard to get off your skin and out of your pores.

Have you done this tag? Link it below so I can check it out :)

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Skincare and Makeup Haul!

So I was bad. There were plenty of sales in the last two weeks and I bought a bunch of stuff. Let's start off with Sukin.

Sykin Purifying Facial Masque, Sukin Micellar Cleansing Water, Sukin Antioxidant Eye Serum

Priceline had a 3-for-2 on all Sukin products, so I decided to finally bite the bullet and try some products out, as well grab some skincare items I wanted for my routine. I've been really into my masks lately, so I decided to try the purifying mask.

Because my skin has been rather dry and tired, I also picked up the eye serum, and the third product was the micellar water because I wanted see how well it'd took off makeup. I haven't tried the latter yet, because I still have open makeup wipes on the go, but I am looking forward to doing a review on the eye serum and the face mask.

Continuing on with skincare; Priceline also had a 40% off skincare sale a couple days ago, and I popped in to grab a couple things. I needed a toner, so I picked up the Thursday Plantation toner, and it smells like lemonade!

I also got the Natio Ageless Rosehip oil. I've tried Trilogy's rosehip oil before, but to be honest the dropper packging is a pain, especially if you forget to close it back up like I used to do. To avoid making the same mistake, I looked for an oil with a pump dispenser, and luckily Natio had one. I haven't opened it yet, but I plan to crack it open before bed once my pimples clear up.

I also got an Otaku face mask at an Asian store in the city. I really like this brand, if you ever come across it try the light blue and yellow packaged sheet masks you should give them a go. (Also the little cartoons are adorable!)

Now onto some randoms and makeup:

Nude by Nature Mineral Cover in Medium, Rimmel Wake Me Up Conealer, Burts Bees Honey Lip Balm, Rimmel Exaggerate Eyeliner in Rich Brown

Target had a great sale on cosmetics, with 30% off Rimmel and 25% off Target (as well as other great deals that I didn't take advantage of) so I decided to pick up a full size of the NBN Mineral Cover in the right shade. I also wanted to try a liquid concealer, as I haven't had much luck with stick ones, so I decided to get the Rimmel Wake Me Up as I've heard some great stuff about it. I'm hoping to do a first impressions post on it soon!

I did a purge of my makeup a few months ago and got rid of all my pencil liners because I could never be bothered sharpening them, so I finally got a retractable one. It's so quick and easy to apply, faster than liquid liner or pressing black eyeshadow into my lashline, and the formula is pretty good too, and lasted me all of yesterday. I'm excited to work more with it, and see if it really is waterproof.

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed the haul, and keep an eye out for some upcoming posts with these products!

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Finish 15 by Halloween

One of my favourite Youtubers, Peachykeen did a video on Finish 15 by Halloween. Because I've always wanted to try Project Pan I thought I would give this a go first, as the number of products and a deadline is set with the challenge.

The products I want to use up and their approx use by time are:
1. Chi Chi Super BB Cream - 1 month
2. Chi Chi Watermelon perfume - maximum 1 month
3/4. Goats Milk Soap in Honey and Coconut Oil - 2 weeks
5. NYX Buttergloss - 1 month if I use consistently
6. Revlon blush (hit pan) - 1 month
7. Invisible Zinc Sunscreen - 2 months
8. Burts Bees Beeswax Lipbalm - not sure but ~1 month
9. Daiso Eyebrow Pencil - 2 months
10. Natio Mineral Eyeshadow (hit pan) - 1 month
11. Coconut Revolution Original Coconut Hand Cream (sample) - 1 month
12. Target Sensitive Makeup Remover Wipes - 1 week
13. Target Eye Makeup Remover Wipes - 2 weeks
14. Jergens Body Creme ~a few uses
15. Essence Mascara ~a few uses

Missing: Revlon blush, Coconut hand cream, Burts Bees lipbalm, Goats Milk soaps

If you're doing a project pan or this finish 15 by Halloween challenge feel free to comment below! If I manage to finish at least 10/15 then I'm going to treat myself to something I've been eyeing at Priceline ;)

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June Favourites

Welcome to my first favourites post! I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve been really enjoying recently, I hope you find this helpful.

1. Dusty Girls by MooGoo Earth Cream - ‘Light’

This amazing tinted moisturiser has been my go to product for months. It has surprisingly nice coverage, and is a perfect blend of skincare meets makeup. The ingredients list is very attractive, with natural goodies that calm and heal the skin.
I like how it’s talc and silicon free, two ingredients I’ve been trying to make an effort to keep out of my makeup stash. Unfortunately finding products without these two ingredients is hard these days, and Dusty Girls is decently priced for the lovely products they produce.

2. Natio Mineral Eyeshadow Trio - ‘Smokey Eye Trio‘

I bought this at a discount makeup shop early this year and I’m so glad I did. Before this I wasn’t an eyeshadow wearer at all, but I’m crazy about this trio. It is probably the most versatile makeup item I own.

I can use it as eyeliner, to tightline, to highlight and contour, to fill in my brows, and of course as eyeshadow. If you have monolids like me, that matte brown in the middle is a godsend.

3. W7 Absolute Lashes Mascara

I got this for five bucks one day I was wandering around Chemist Warehouse, and I’m so glad I picked this up. I kind of got it because it reminded me of Benefit’s They’re Real, and after looking up this mascara apparently a lot of people have named this mascara as a dupe! I think it’s very separating and making my lashes look long and curly but still soft and natural somehow…
I’m very used to using cheapy Essence mascaras which are good, but this mascara has made me realise how clumpy my other mascaras have been. My only issue with this is that I haven’t seen it at many chemists, whereas the Big Lash is everywhere (I picked that one up too, but I haven’t opened it yet because I don’t want it to dry out), and it also wasn’t sealed, so it was kind of a gamble picking it up.

4. Unbranded Teardrop Makeup Sponge

A Beauty Blender ‘dupe’ at first glance, but from the many reviews I’ve seen online, I don’t think this is as squishy and soft as the others. Initially I thought this sponge was rather hard and didn’t seem to perform well at all, but now I’ve kind of ‘broken it in’, it’s softened and I really like it. It stains, but it blends out makeup seamlessly and beautifully. I love the skin-like finish I have when I use this for BB cream and powder. I’ve used this both dry and damp and they’re both good, it’s really a matter of preference. I got mine from Aliexpress in a pack of four, but you can find these everywhere from Ebay to Dresslink.

Swatches on Natio's Smokey Eye Mineral Eyeshadow Trio and Dusty Girls' Earth Cream in Light

What are your favourites this month? :)

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