Hopeful Rhino Unicorn

I'm sure there are times when we've all aspired to be like someone thinner than ourselves. Yeah, this is probably not going to happen anytime soon Hopeful Rhino. But bless your heart for trying!

Mini Haul: Budget Edition

OK, so I was supposed to be shopping for Father's Day and my Wedding Anniversary (which I did!) but why waste a trip to Westfield, right? Here follows a mini-haul (budget edition!) and a bangle extravaganza.

Toni & Guy Refreshing Dry Shampoo - a staple in my routine.
Australis Eye Pencil in Black - this performed well, so I got another.
Maybelline Color Sensational lipsticks in Hooked On Pink (left) & Tinted Taupe (right) -  2 for 1 sale at PriceLine WOO!
BYS Metallics Pinks Purples - loved my Metallics Browns so much, thought I'd give this a go.
BYS Eyeshadow Moonlit Shores - totally fell in love with the colours in this palette and had to have it.
BYS Gold Glitter nail enamel - my inner showgirl/drag queen needed this.

This nail polish really is exciting me more than it should. Hence the extra picture!

The bangles are kind of like the ones in Diva and Equip, but they were in KMart. I love me a gold bangle or two. And they were all marked down from $9 to either $2 or $3! I got all these for $11 !!!

Err, just looked over my haul again. I think I will be looking like Peggy (see below) from TV series Married With Children with all this on. Eeek!!

Do you remember Married With Children?

August Product Love: My Favourites!

Without further ado, here are five products that have been rocking my world this month.

Covergirl Clean Foundation in Ivory

I actually bought this as a joke when it was half price at Coles because I used it religiously when I was in my teens. I was extremely pleasantly surprised (obviously having forgotten how good it was because my teen years were SO long ago!). This is a brilliant, lightweight formula that glides on effortlessly and blends in incredibly easily. It looks really natural and is easily buildable over areas where you may need a little extra coverage. For the best results, use over a primer as this reduces the oily effect throughout the day. I'd highly recommend this product.

Botani Olive Skin Serum

This is an anti-ageing natural mousturiser in a little glass vial with a dropper for application. After getting the hang of how and where to use this, I'm really appreciating it. Basically, you apply 2-3 drops on damp skin and gently massage it in. I am using this on areas that are a little dry, like my forehead and the sides of my cheeks, and I also use it under my eyes for fine lines. I am seeing a reduction in fine lines under my eyes, but that could this or any one of the hundreds of wrinkle-reducing eye creams I use! OK, not hundreds. But I do alternate between about 8 so it's very hard to pinpoint cause and effect. Anyway, my skin feels lovely and soft, smooth and moisturised after using this serum, and I'm really loving this gentle, natural product.

Sebastian Thickefy Foam

I have tried so many thickening products and more often than not, it's the same result. Crunchy hair. This foam is light and easy to use, not sticky and gives me great results. My hair still goes a bit crunchy, but after brushing it out, I am left with fuller hair, and to me, the results are better than those I get from other brands. I will be sad when this runs out as I won it, and I suspect it's dear to purchase.

BYS Metallics Browns Eye Palette

Well this is just a palette of fun. Sparkly, shimmery disco-ball fun. I love using it! You can use it subtly, but I prefer to whack this shit on 'til I'm glimmery as fuck. Get this, people. It's only $4.95 from Gloss or $3.95 from The Reject Shop. And you'd think it would be crappy quality because it's so cheap, but it's actually buttery smooth and well pigmented. There are lighter and darker shades, bronzes and different hues of brown so you can create blended, graduated looks, too. It doesn't wear for terribly long (creases) but using an eyeshadow primer (I'm yet to try this) underneath would surely extend the life of the colour. I am so glad I bought this!

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant

I'd heard so much about this, and I had won a bottle a while ago, but was waiting for my Alpha-H exfoliant to run out. I actually didn't know how this would compare because I had fallen in love with the Alpha-H, but this is better! I'm a massive fan of exfoliants and have tried quite a few. This is a rice-based powder that you mix with water to make a paste. It takes a while to accomplish the perfect consisitency, but once you do, it's easy to recreate every time. It feels fantastic, like I'm getting a really good, deep clean and it leaves my skin feeling soft, smooth and fabulous. It also contains a Skin Brightening Complex and ingredients to balance uneven skin tone and calm the skin. I'm hoping to see a brighter complexion with continued use, but I'm loving the results I'm getting from this microfoliant so far.


** Covergirl & BYS bought with my own money, Sebastian & Dermalogica I won and Botani was provided for review on another site. **



What are you loving this month?

Gorgeous New Beauty Products!

There are some things you just fall in love with, at first sight. That's what happened when I looked at the following lovely new products. Hopefully I win something featured in this post, otherwise I think an eBay purchase or two may be on the cards :)

Estée Lauder Pure Color Illuminating Powder Gelée

This little beauty is Limited Edition, can be used wet or dry to create shimmer and is so high-tech it is a 'tribrid' containing liquid, powder and gel. What the?! This is pretty exciting!

Benefit Ring My Bella Eau De Toilette

OK so I have no idea what it smells like, but I do have a healthy Benefit obsession and a love of gorgeous packaging. This fragrance has notes of pink rose, lily and daisies as well as vanilla, white musk and patchouli. YAY!

YSL Midnight Garden Eye Palette
& Midnight Garden Rouge Volupte Lipsticks

These are from the new season YSL collection. Fresh. Pretty. Colours. Need I say more? I'll just let you drool :)




What are you in love with right now?

Celebrity MakeUp That Wows: Good and Bad!

I present to you four makeup looks that wowed me this week. The first two are good; the second two, not so much. Any of these looks will get you noticed. For better or worse :)

Rachel Bilson
This look is To Die For. I saw this picture tweeted during the week and I got it from the Primped site. From the rosy cheeks to the light pink shimmery lips and brilliant use of highlighter, I simply love this look.

Olivia Wilde
Actress Oliva Wilde at the UK premiere of Cowboys & Aliens rocking a bold red lip. And looking fabulous!

Zooey Deschanel
This unique-looking actress has quite the doll-face at the best of times, but putting falsies on you bottom lash line just accentuates it...... and kind of looks a bit spidery and a bit 'A Clockwork Orange'. What flawless skin, though!

Kim Kardashian
I loaded this photo a bit larger than the others so you can see it in all its glory, Kim's lash overload. Another offender! And another spidery look. Hey, maybe that's why she's got her mouth open. Catching flies to feed the spiders living on her eyelids :)

Top Five Tag

I haven't posted in over a week (sorry for neglecting you, lovely blog) so I thought I'd do this little Top Five Tag that I read on Eat Paint Sniff Glue. The rules are, if you read it, you're tagged! I have another Tagging Post to write, but this one's shorter so I'll do it first.

BEVERAGES

1. Coke Zero/Pepsi Max (with tons of ice ice, baby)

2. Iced Coffee (from a cafe, with icecream and whipped cream on top)

3. Southern Comfort & Coke Zero

3. Cabernet Sauvignon, my favourite wine ever.

4. Lemon, Lime & Bitters

5. Midori Splice

SNACKS

1. Grilled Cheese on Toast with Cayenne Pepper

2. Smiths Crinkle Cut Salt & Vinegar Chips

3. Tina Wafer biscuits

4. Cashews

5. Nuts and Bolts!*

*here's the recipe (with photo) for those of you interested. It tastes better than it looks!

Nuts and Bolts recipe

iPHONE/iPAD APPS

1. Super 7

2. Angry Birds

3. Talking Tom (cracks my son up!)

4. Fruit Ninja

5. Cut The Rope

MOVIES

1. Pulp Fiction (truly a Masterpiece)

2. Moulin Rouge

3. American Beauty

4. Good Will Hunting

5. Romeo + Juliet (Director: Baz Luhrmann. Not the REALLY old one).

BOOKS

I'm going to list my Top Five children’s books :)

1. Grug and the Rainbow

2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

3. Giraffes Can’t Dance

4. Spot’s First Easter

5. Dogs Don’t Do Ballet

***************You're Tagged!********************

Golden Unicorn

This gorgeous painting is Golden Unicorn by Sabra Scherer from the Epilogue website.  I love the detail in this intricate artwork. Gold acrylic paint was used for the flowing mane. This is the kind of piece that makes me sad I can't draw or basically do anything artistic. Love the colours used, especially the overall green hue. Aaaaaah. Unicorns.

Unknown

Starring: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger January Jones, Aidan Quinn.
Genre: Thriller

It's quite hard to write about this movie without giving away Spoilers, so I'll keep this review deliberately vague. A man travels from the US to Berlin and pretty much straight away is involved in an accident which leaves him in a coma. When he awakens, he discovers another man has taken his identity, but strangely not even his own wife, believes him. He looks to a young woman (the Taxi Driver from his earlier accident) for answers, and together they try to piece together the events, and get to the truth.

This movie has action, suspense, mystery, baddies, murders, car chases and January Jones. God, that woman is annoying. Unknown is completely implausible, but if you just treat it as a popcorn movie, it's not too bad. Liam Neeson is good, but he should be, given the amount of times he's been cast in this type of role. Don't think too hard and you may enjoy the ride.

Hereafter

Starring: Matt Damon, Cécile De France, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jay Mohr.
Genre: Drama

This Clint Eastwood directed drama focuses on the stories of three people whose lives are all effected by death, in different ways. George (Matt Damon) is a seemingly ordinary American, except he has a psychic connection with people in the afterlife. Marie (Cécile De France), a French woman with a high profile job as a TV Presenter has a near death experience when she's caught up in a tsunami, experiencing a brief glimpse into the hereafter. Marcus (Frankie McLaren and George McLaren), a young schoolboy from London, loses his brother Jason, and desperately wants to make contact.

This is a cry-fest! It upset me a lot, especially the scene where Marcus has a reading with George. At the same time, it's hauntingly beautiful. The French third of the movie is in sub-titles, for those of you who, like me, hate reading off the screen. Matt Damon gives a strong performance, and you can just feel his pain as Melanie leaves after badgering him for the reading he was so reluctant to give. Eastwood is not a fan of editing, and leaves in bits most other directors would cut, but this seems to add to the slow, gentle appeal of Hereafter. Overall, this is a moving, sentimental, slow journey; a character piece that will draw you in, make you cry, then leave you either uplifted or wanting to kill yourself. Bring tissues.

The ABC of ME!

I was tagged by the lovely Joy from Beauty Bargain Queen for The ABC of Me Tag Game. Thanks Joy! I will tag Leah from Leah's Land and Michelle from Eat Paint Sniff Glue. Pass it on and link back to the person who tagged you!


A. Age: I'm in my 30's
B. Bed size: Queen
C. Chore you hate: All of it, particularly cleaning the shower (hubby does it)!
D. Day: The comper in me says Monday (prizes from the postie!). Love my weekend family time, though.
E. Essential start to your day: Pepsi Max or Coke Zero. I know, I'm so healthy.
F. Favourite colour: Fuschia Pink. SO pretty.
G. Gold or Silver: Gold, baby.
H. Height: Let's just say I always landed in the front row on School Class Photo day.
I. Instruments: I played the violin and piano as a child.
J. Job title: Full Time Mummy :)
K. Kids: One boy, Zachary. He's nearly 4!
L. Lives: Adelaide, Australia.
M. Mum's Name: Joan
N. Nicknames: Di. My Dad calls me Gertie :(
O. Overnight hospital stays: Tonsils, Gall Bladder and emergency Caesarean.
P. Pet peeve: Idiots, fake people, arrogant people, bullies.
Q. Quote from a movie: "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return" ~ Moulin Rouge
R. Right or left handed: Left
S. Siblings: None. It's just me!
T. Time you wake up: between 5:30 - 6:10am when hubby gets ready for work
U. Underwear: only if I absolutely have to. LOL :o)
V. Vegetables you dislike: spinach, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, beans, brussel sprouts, asparagus, zucchini.
W. What makes you run late: Not being able to find shit I need to take!
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth and Brain.
Y. Yummy food you make: Chocolate Cherry Ripe Cupcakes, Banana Mars Bar Cupcakes and Spaghetti Bolognaise.
Z. Zoo: San Diego Zoo is my favourite, ever.

Gay Pride Unicorn

Really not understanding this one. This image was used to accompany a story on Brazil upgrading a civil union to gay marriage. I'm all for gay rights and equality, I just don't get what a bearded sunglasses-wearing dude in a Star Trek uniform wearing a Pirate Hat riding a Unicorn with a multi-coloured rainbow thing with stars in the background has to do with that. Oh, hang on. I think it's just clicked. :)

July Empties

Toni & Guy Refreshing Dry Shampoo
Well if you read this blog you'd know I love this stuff and use it regularly. I usually go through one per month. It's the best, and I'll continue to purchase it due to its high quality. I've blogged about this product here

St. Ives Naturally Clear Green Tea Cleanser
This is quite a mild, gentle formulation, with satisfactory results, but it's not a favourite of mine and I won't be re-purchasing. I have previously reviewed this product here

Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream
This smaller-sized product came as part of a GWP (Gift With Purchase) and I wasn't all that impressed with it, even though I've read that many others swear by it. It felt quite harsh on my face and is very dense with exfoliating (grainy) bits. I learned to use this product sparingly and to be very gentle while massaging it in, otherwise my face went a bit red. A big no on the re-purchase question.

Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Stress Control Power-Clear Scrub
I didn't really like this and ended up using it as a body wash/scrub. The particles were few and far between and I wasn't a fan of the texture. Also it claims to "help prevent acne even before it emerges". I want to make a smart-arse comment about the possibility of scientifically proving a products ability to prevent something before it emerges (because how would you know of the possible existence or non-existence of something if it was stopped in its tracks before becoming visible, if you know what I mean) but I won't. LOL. This scrub is bullshit and I won't be re-purchasing.

Olay Total Effects 7-In-1 Anti-Ageing Cream
Absolutely LOVE this moisturiser. Love everything about it. Absorbs quickly, provides an unbeatable base for makeup, evens out my skin tone, reduces the appearance of fine lines, makes my skin supple and smooth and just in general, makes my skin look its best. It's my staple moisturiser and I can't recommend it enough. You definitely need to try this, if you haven't already. It really makes your skin look amazing (and that can be a hard task to perform sometimes on my skin).


** Out of this lot, just the St. Ives Green Tea Cleanser was provided for consideration. I am not affiliated with any of the above Companies.