My Favourite Products from the Dermstore Sale

Paula's Choice Niacinamide and C25

Sale season is coming up, and while I don’t love the idea of buying products frivolously, there ARE a lot of great bargains, and if you’re anything like me you’ve been putting off a whole bunch of big purchases til now. Dermstore stock a lot of my favourite skincare brands and have up to 30% off with the code SHARETHELOVE …

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Europe Product Haul (Video)

This video is a quick(ish) overview of the beauty products I picked up in France and England on my recent trip to Europe – the exchange rate was really good and you guys gave me a lot of recommendations, thank you! I maaaaayyy have gone overboard. Click here for the video. On my trip I also filmed a chat with …

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Good and Bad Skincare Gift Ideas (Video)

Good and Bad Skincare Gift Ideas (Video)

Christmas is coming, which means gift shopping, and skincare gifting is a bit of a controversial topic. I made this video to discuss what sorts of skincare gifts are good and bad, which ones are safe and which ones you should stay away from (unless you hate the person you’re gifting it to). I also included a few suggestions for …

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Gift Ideas for a Good Cause From The Body Shop

Gift Ideas for a Good Cause From The Body Shop

Christmas is always a stressful time of year, with so much event planning and food prep and running around before all the shops close for public holidays. That’s why I’m a big fan of gift sets, and The Body Shop always has a great selection at various price points. I’m not a huge fan of unbridled capitalism, but I also …

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2017 Beauty Trends with Priceline

Beauty Trends with Priceline: Really Nifty Packaging

I recently attended a Priceline media event where we were treated to a preview of what was coming to Australia’s leading health and beauty store in the next 6 months. Here’s what caught my eye…

Trend 1: Really Nifty Packaging

Beauty Trends with Priceline: Really Nifty Packaging

I love a good product, and that includes the packaging, which I think is really, really underrated as part of the whole experience. Luckily a bunch of new products also take this approach! Some of these innovations are so simple yet so handy that I’m surprised they’re new at all.

I’m particularly impressed by Bourjois Paris, a French brand under the Coty umbrella that I’ve tended to overlook in the past. Bourjois Volume Reveal Mascara ($23) has a triangular barrel that won’t roll off your table, with a magnifying mirror on the side. If you place it just below your eye, you can see exactly how much mascara you’ve applied to every single upper lash. The mascara itself is pretty awesome at holding a curl (though I’ve only tried it once so far so I’m withholding my verdict), but this mirror is the bomb. I’m going to be using this mirror with every mascara from now on.

Bourjois are also launching Palette Les Nudes ($28), a pretty eyeshadow palette, but the drawcard for me is that it has a large swivelling mirror that stays at whatever angle you put it at. Why don’t more palettes do this? I’m sick of mirrors flopping around flaccidly!

There’s also Blistex Pearl ($5.95), a lip balm with an eos-like dome that you can apply to both lips at once. The cool thing is that the flip lid swivels around the rest of the balm and stays attached, so theoretically you can open it with one hand if you’re really coordinated. If you’re not, it means you won’t drop the lid (or at least you’ll drop the whole thing instead).

I’ve already reviewed Cinch Face Cheat ($39.95), a moisturiser/primer/serum in a handy spray format that I’m still finding really handy for when I’m feeling too lazy for multiple steps/. Hask Greek Yogurt shampoo ($19.99) has what seems to me like cool packaging for the sake of cool packaging – the inner white tube dispenses “yogurt” while the outer clear tube dispenses “blueberry sauce”, which looks really cool coming out but I’m not sure it contributes much else.

Another simple but nifty product that isn’t really packaging, but didn’t really belong anywhere else, is the new Real Techniques Bold Metals Diamond Sponge. Yes, it’s a makeup sponge cut into a slightly different shape, but hear me out. The flat facets are great for quickly applying makeup to flat areas like your cheeks, while the pointy tip is good for getting into nooks and crannies. I’d love a round surface as well for blending, but I’m not sure how they’d make that aesthetically pleasing.

Beauty Trends with Priceline

Yet another simple but game-changing innovation: Waxaway’s Salon Pro Mini Roller Wax Heater comes with a micro USB port! No more worrying about special cables going missing or breaking. I wish I could impose this on every rechargeable product from now on.

Trend 2: High-Tech Nerdy Skincare and More

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Christmas Gift Guide 2016

Christmas Gift Guide 2016

There are some fantastic gift sets out for the holidays! Here are some of my favourites out of the many I’ve come across – hopefully it might inspire you if you’re still stuck for ideas!

Skincare

Christmas Gift Guide 2016Christmas Gift Guide 2016 Christmas Gift Guide 2016

I generally don’t suggest gifting skincare – skincare is pretty personal, so unless you know exactly what they use or if you know that their skin can tolerate most things, I’d recommend sticking with indulgent body products. Reactions and breakouts are much more common on thinner facial skin. For facial skincare, the least risky products are those that don’t stay on the skin for long, like masks and cleansers, or skincare tools.

Jurlique Rose Oil ($59 AUD for 100 mL) is based on safflower and macadamia oil. It’s an awesome indulgence for a friend who loves roses and isn’t sensitive to natural fragrances. Sephora also has a selection of their own little gift sets including konjac sponges ($20 for 2 – great for gentle exfoliation) and bath treats. Lush is also always great for bath products, especially with their huge Christmas collection. My favourite products are the bath bombs ($4.25-$8.95).

Makeup

Christmas Gift Guide 2016Christmas Gift Guide 2016Christmas Gift Guide 2016Christmas Gift Guide 2016Christmas Gift Guide 2016

There are a whole bunch of makeup sets out, and makeup is pretty easy – anyone can use more makeup! Makeup brushes are a sure bet: IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Must-Haves ($110) are a lovely set for your makeup addict friend. For younger makeup fiends, ulta3 have a range of affordable gift sets under $25, and Sephora have the fantastic Geometricolor palette ($69) if you want to set a budding makeup artist with a great starter kit. For someone who is a bit more conservative with their makeup, Revlon and Mirenesse gift sets are a great option. My personal favourite pick are the NYX vaults ($79), which have great pigmented formulas at a low price.

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My Picks from iHerb’s New Korean Beauty Selection

My Picks from iHerb's New Korean Beauty Selection

My Picks from iHerb's New Korean Beauty Selection

iHerb, every Aussie beauty lover’s favourite grocery-store-that-sells-Real-Techniques-for-cheap, now has a Korean Beauty (K-Beauty) section! The prices aren’t too bad compared to other K-Beauty outlets like RoseRoseShop, considering iHerb’s cheap and fast shipping.

The K-Beauty selection is currently quite small (45 items), but it does contain some much-loved classics. Here are my picks:

Banila Clean-It Zero – $17.95 USD (vs RoseRoseShop: $12.63)

This is a classic cleansing balm, which is like a cleansing oil but easier to handle (read more about how cleansing balms work here). Rub it on your face to dissolve greasy sunscreen or makeup, then rinse it off with water – the surfactants in the formula help the oil wash off without extra help! If necessary, you can follow up with another cleanser. Used by itself, it leaves your skin softer than a regular cleanser, thanks to the oil-rich formula. Banila Clean-It Zero contains mineral oil as the main oil, which works well for most people. iHerb also sells the Resveratrol and Radiance versions.

Mizon All In One Snail Repair Cream – $14.35 USD (vs RoseRoseShop: $17.99)

This has a whopping 92% snail secretion filtrate, which is amazing at hydrating your skin, and potentially could act as an antioxidant as well (more on snail secretion science here). This cream is lightweight and absorbs quickly, with some great skin-plumping effects. I’ve only tried a small sample of it so far, but once I finish my current snail slime products I’ll be getting this one!

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My Best Daiso Beauty Buys

daiso-detergent

I love Daiso. Even when I’m not after anything in particular, I can’t resist wandering through the aisles, just to look at all the shiny Japanese products, all of which can be had for $2.80. I’ve found a lot of gems in there, as well as a lot of duds – here are my favourite beauty buys from Daiso, as well as some disappointments.

daiso-detergent

My Favourites

Storage containers – Storage containers are my number 1 Daiso buy. I must have $100 worth of them sitting around at home. I particularly like the clear plastic containers that come in a million different sizes, and the cute flowerpots that are fantastic as make-up brush holders.

Daiso Puff and Sponge Detergent – I still havent’t found a more efficient cleanser for my make-up brushes. This is the bomb-diggity-omb – clean make-up brushes in just a few swirls, and it’s super easy to rinse out.

Mirrors – Where else can you pick up a decent sized mirror for $2.80?

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