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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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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Makeup Wishlist

Today's blog post is just a fun one, a makeup wishlist that I might return to after I finish my Project Pan! To be honest I don't need any of these, but I would love to try them nonetheless. Let's just started!

Nude by Nature Mineral Cover RRP $39.95 AUD - I have a sample of this in Medium but I really want to get the full size!

theBalm Eyeshadow Palette in Meet Matt(e) Nude RRP $42
I've been keeping an eye on theBalm for ages because they have lovely talc-free and paraben-free products that seem right up my alley, and this palette is so gorgeous but overpriced in Australia. I might save up on this but I have enough eyeshadows to keep me going for a while. This is definitely a 'don't need' and splurge item.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks in Fire and Ice and Teak Rose RRP $21.95
Am I the only one who finds Revlon luxurious? It's definitely one of the more expensive lines in Priceline or the 'drugstore' here in Australia. Unless I find these on sale, I probably won't be able to pick them up because twenty dollars for a lipstick is just stupid. But they're ridiculously gorgeous shades, and Fire and Ice reminds me of a certain books series...

Luma by Jess Hart Powder Blush in Dusty Rose RRP $24.95
Another talc-free product I'm dying to add to my collection, but I know deep down my current loose blush will get neglected if I buy a pressed one (they're easier to use and less messy). So I'm going to hold onto the urge to splurge on this one for now, and maybe when Priceline comes out with a 40% off makeup around November I would have used enough of my Nude by Nature blush to warrant a new blush purchase.

What's on your makeup wishlist? Leave me a comment below :)

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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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Decluttering old makeup

To be honest I haven’t thrown away everything in this photo…
Gone are:

• Revlon Colorstay that’s all separated and gross, thank goodness it was gifted otherwise I’d feel pretty bad because this foundation is pretty pricey in Australia
• Maybelline Age Rewind that I used to mix in with BB creams that were always ridiculously pale but to be honest I hate mixing foundations
• Daiso charcoal mask that I used ONCE, and hated. I got this because there was so much hype about it, but I just found it overly drying and a sticky mess
• Physicians Formula gel eyeliner in Brown, which I loved at one point as an eyeliner and to fill in my brows because it was water resistant, but it’s all dried up now

Some things I’m having a hard time getting rid of because I feel like I can still use are:

• Lilan Vital cream to powder foundation, that I’ve actually hit pan on. It’s very pale on me but I don’t mind using it as a concealer under a product that suits my skin, only I don’t reach for it as much as I’d like. I might try to use it all up as part of my project pan which is why I’m tempted to keep it.
• Revlon blush that’s a beautiful colour, only I don’t like using talcs on my skin BUT I’ve already made a dent in it and I feel obliged to use it up and I literally have one other blush so I feel like I should keep this??? Still need to think about this a little more, I reckon.
• Maybelline eyeshadow quad that I’ve used quite a few times but it’s not a favourite or a staple and doesn’t seem to earn its keep on my counter. Another candidate for project pan, and it does have some nice colours I could use for special occasions and the like.

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