Mecca Beauty Loop Box: Level 1

 

Hi guys! Recently I was shocked to learn I qualified for a Level 1 Mecca Beauty Loop Box. I had a quite long gap of not buying anything at all from Mecca, partly because I just didn't want anything, and partly because I was swayed by all the shit-talk about Mecca and their exorbitant pricing on the Australian Makeup (and possibly also the Aus Skincare) subs on Reddit. But during my Melbourne trip I bought a few things and this must be why I received the email saying I had a Level 1 box to pick up.

Here's what I got in the Level 1 Mecca Beauty Loop Box:

~  Glow Recipe Cloudberry Essence Toner
~ Patchology Serve Chilled Rose Sheet Mask
~ Lanolips x Messina 101 Ointment Multi-Balm Dulce de Leche Gelato
~ Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte's Magic Serum Crystal Elixir

Not gonna lie, I'm very happy with this selection of samples! Firstly, I've never tried Glow Recipe before, so I finally get to with this 5ml toner sample. Although the Charlotte Tilbury sample is tiny (and in a sachet, so I'll have to use it in one go), it's still a brand I'd never buy myself, so I'm happy to be able to try it. The Patchology mask is intriguing, especially since you're meant to store it in the fridge and apply it cold. Maybe I'll wait until Winter is over for this one! And lastly, the Lanolips lip balm, which is a collab with Messina! Being a foodie, I'm excited to try the dulce de leche gelato inspired creation. It smells amazing!

What a great little box of goodies! 

Priceline Skincare GWP Bag + Haul

 

Hi guys! I couldn't resist the latest Priceline Skincare Gift With Purchase (GWP) Bag, mostly because it looked quite good, but also because I needed to pick up some new skincare bits and pieces anyway, so what better time than when it's on special and comes with a bunch of freebies!

Here's what I bought for my qualifying purchase:

~ Skin Physics Dragon's Blood Ultra Plumping Night Cream (50ml)
~ Olay Ultimate Eye Cream (15ml)
~ Olay Regenerist Detoxifying Pore Scrub Cleanser (150ml)
~ Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water Cleanser (500ml)
~ La Roche-Posay Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel (15ml) (Freebie provided with my order)

Thoughts!

First of all, I'm disappointed with the Olay Ultimate Eye Cream. I specifically wanted something hydrating for under my eyes, but this is too drying and provides almost a mattifying finish meaning applying makeup over the top is difficult. You want concealer to glide and blend not get stuck because of a dry base! I haven't tried the Olay Pore Scrub Cleanser yet, so hopefully that redeems the Olay brand for me!

I'm enjoying the Skin Physics Dragon's Blood Ultra Plumping Night Cream. I got this because I use to use it years ago and loved it, but it's too expensive to buy on the regular so I kind of forgot about it. But I think it was 40% off so I snapped up a jar!

The Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water is probably my favourite micellar water ever. I get the sensitive skin one with the pink lid and it never irritates my eyes when removing eye makeup. I love this, but only get it when it's on special, otherwise I use my trusty Garnier Micellar Water wipes.

Another thing I'm loving is the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel which was included free in my order. I'm really impressed with this and may even purchase it in the future.

Now let's look at the contents of the free GWP Bag!

~ Dr Lewinn's Ultra R4 Collagen Surge Plumping Gel (30g)
~ Sukin Skin Relief Body Wash (50ml)
~ Clear Skincare Gel Cleanser (125ml)
~ Olay Regenerist Retinol 24 Night Moisturiser (8g)
~ AHC Essential Real Eye Cream For Face (10ml)
~ Skin Physics Vitamin C Hydrating Velvet Mask (1 mask)
~ La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo +M Triple Corrective Care (15ml)
~ Dr PawPaw Lip Balm (8ml)
~ Embryolisse Multi-Function Nourishing Moisturiser (5ml)
~ Bioderma Sensibio Defensive Serum (4ml)
~ CeraVe Facial Moisturising Lotion (3ml)
~ Epzen AHA Exfoliating Body Wash (sachet)
~ Cancer Council Hydrating Serum SPF50+ (sachet)
~ Frank Body Every Day Hydrating Face Wash (sachet)
~ Avene Hydrance Boost Concentrated Hydrating Serum (sachet)
~ and of course, the bag itself!

Thoughts!

Firstly, the navy blue bag with gold zips and purple inner lining is really lovely and a great size for travel, I'm loving it! I'm also really happy with the full size Collagen Surge Plumping Gel from Dr Lewinn's as I was considering this for my qualifying spend. It consists of little pink pearls (which may be a gimmick but I find it fun!). I haven't tried anything from Clear before so I'm keen to try the gel cleanser. Sukin I don't really like as a brand, but at least it's just a body wash and not a facial product. I'm also interested in the Olay night moisturiser with retinol, let's see how I go with that. I'm always happy to try anything from Bioderma and La Roche-Posay as they are two brands I love. CeraVe and Embryolisse are two brands I haven't tried before, so that will be a new experience. The Dr PawPaw Lip Balm I will probably give to my son as I won a huge Carmex lip balm pack and I honestly have enough lip balms to last me for years. All the sachets are great for single use, one use and done. And in a very happy coincidence, included is an AHC Essential Real Eye Cream For Face which I got in the Amazon Advent Beauty Calendar and absolutely adore! I was looking to buy another one and now I don't have to. Yay!

Overall, this was definitely worth getting for me, and I'm so glad I did!

Bath & Body Works Haul!

 

Hi guys! I thought I'd show you my haul from Bath & Body Works. This was from the Black Friday Sale towards the end of last year. I believe it was a buy one get one free deal across all products, or something similar, because I know it came to roughly half what the full cost would have been. I know it's taken me a while to get this post up, but the silver lining is I've been using the products in the meantime, so I've got some thoughts to share instead of just a look at the products. This was my first real foray into Bath & Body Works. Sure, I've looked in the store before, but I hadn't bought anything.

What I bought:

~ Iced Sugar Plum Ultimate Hydration Body Cream
~ Frosted Coconut Snowball Ultimate Hydration Body Cream
~ Strawberry Snowflakes Fine Fragrance Mist
~ At The Beach Fine Fragrance Mist
~ Winterberry Wonder Shower Gel
~ Merry Cookie Scented Candle

The Body Creams are absolutely amazing! I'm seriously in love with both of these fragrances, in particular the Iced Sugar Plum one. As part of my night time routine I put one of these on right before bed and it's so delightful to hop into bed smelling like an absolute snack! They both contain shea butter and hyaluronic acid and they just melt in wonderfully and absorb quickly leaving my skin soft and nourished. I was worried about buying body moisturiser because I never use it, but the scents are so beautiful that I look forward to applying this every night.

The two Fragrance Mists are nice, but I have to remind myself to use them, as I'm deep in my habit of reaching for my YSL Parisienne perfume if I'm on the way out. I guess I could try using these around the house? The bottles are very big and I think they will last me a long time (especially if I keep not using them lol). The Strawberry Snowflakes Mist is fruity and feminine, whereas At The Beach is fresh, crisp and salty. They are both lovely and I really need to find a way to incorporate them into my daily routine.

I'm absolutely addicted to shower gel, so I was excited to try the Winterberry Wonder Shower Gel. It lathers up well (and thus takes a fair while to rinse off) and smells nice, but it's not as strong as I'd like. I am a little disappointed with it to be honest, and much prefer all the Lush shower gels I bought in the Boxing Day Sale (you can read about that haul here). I put Winterberry aside when my Lush haul arrived (plus what I bought instore) and I've so far finished off a Lush Happy Hippy, The Olive Branch and Dirty Springwash shower gel bottles. I'm now using Lush Snow Fairy, but I need to alternate it with B&BW Winterberry so it doesn't go to waste.

The Merry Cookie Candle is honestly one of the best candle fragrances I've ever smelt, and as such, I'm too scared to use it! I haven't started burning it yet and not sure if I will. Every few days I open the lid and inhale the amazing goodness and just revel in how delicious it smells. I will definitely be grabbing more candles in this year's Black Friday sale, because Merry Cookie is just a joy and I want more!

That's my Haul! Hope you enjoyed reading and have a wonderful week!

Product Reveal: Amazon Beauty Advent Calendar!

 

Hi guys! So I finally got around to photographing the contents of last December's Amazon Beauty Advent Calendar (there's been a lot happening) which means I can now actually use the products. Woo hoo! This was a really fun advent calendar comprising 24 windows to open. I'm quite happy with the varied beauty products although I can't speak to value as it was a Christmas gift, so I don't know what it cost. Let's have a look at the contents!

~ Palmer's Cocoa Butter Hand Cream (96g)
~ OGX Biotin & Collagen Oil Mist (118ml)
~ Natio Gentle Foaming Facial Cleanser (100g)
~ Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream (60g)
~ Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water Makeup Remover (100ml)
~ AHC Luminous Glow Real Eye Cream (12ml)
~ Grown Alchemist Gentle Gel Facial Cleanser (50ml)
~ Sukin Original Hydrating Mist Toner (50ml)
~ Jack Black All-Over Wash (30ml)
~ NYX Plump Finish Setting Spray (30ml)
~ COSRX The Hyaluronic Acid 3 Serum (20ml)
~ Wella Fusion Intensive Repair Mask (30ml)
~ Weleda Skin Food (Body Lotion (20ml)
~ Olaplex No 3 Hair Perfector (30ml)
~ Mizon Phyto Plump Collagen Serum (30ml)
~ WeDo Shampoo Bar (25g)
~ Schick Hydro Silk Touch-Up 3 Pack Razors
~ 1000 Hour Bambi Lashes (1 pack)
~ GrandeLash  Peptide Lash Enhancing Serum (1ml)
~ Mediheal Teatree Essential Mask (1 pack)
~ Aimeili Builder Base (10ml)
~ Philosophy Hyaluronic Glow Moisturiser Water Cream (7mg)
~ Philosophy Skin Resurrection Overnight Power (7mg)
~ I'm From Rice Toner (30ml)
~ Hugo Boss Boss Bottled (5ml)
~ L'Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara (Black) (4.9ml)
~ L'Oreal Le Khol Naturel by Paradise Eyeliner (Midnight Black) 
~ Maybelline Falsies Surreal Mascara (4.7ml)
~ Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink in Seductress (mini size)
~ Essie nail polish in Ballet Slippers (5ml)
~ OPI nail lacquer in Esmalte de Unas Nagellack (3.75ml)

There are more than 24 items, because some windows contained multiple products. Which is good considering some of them are mini size! But there are also a few full sized products. Overall I'm really happy with these products as there are some favourites (hello Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water!), some familiar products I enjoy sometimes and a lot of new-to-me products that I'll enjoy trying out.

Review: Earth:en 4 Step Normal to Combination Skin Routine

 

Hi guys! Recently I was gifted the Earth:en 4-Step Normal to Combination Skin Routine to trial and review on their website, so I thought I'd also post it here in case anyone is interested in the products. I liked these products except for the moisturiser, which unfortunately was a fail for me. Read on for my thoughts!

The Earth:en 4-Step Normal to Combination Skin Routine contains four products; Passionfruit & Pineapple Cleansing Gel - Lychee, Lemon & Finger Lime Refreshing Mist - Mangosteen & Quandong Antioxidant Serum - Papaya & Finger Lime Balancing Moisturiser. First of all, I love the packaging of this skincare range. The white design is simple, clean and elegant and the wooden accents give the products an earthy, modern aesthetic. These products look stylish sitting on my bathroom shelf and beauty table.

The Passionfruit & Pineapple Cleansing Gel uses a pump dispenser, which I really like. The gel itself is clear, with a yellow tinge. I'm enjoying the passionfruit and pineapple fragrance, as I'm a big fan of fruity aromas. I get a nice, gentle cleanse from this, and it leaves my skin feeling clean and fresh, nourished but not dry. I'm also enjoying the gel consistency, as I prefer that texture cleanser over foams, creams and oils.

The Lychee, Lemon & Finger Lime Mist was a refreshing delight when spritzed on the face, especially perfect on a hot Summer's day! I even used this on my arms and chest, and it was effective at cooling me down whilst providing a lovely natural fruity scent to inhale. I used this as a first step in my skincare and makeup routine, as it sinks in nicely and leaves my skin feeling fresh and boosted with a hit of moisture.

The Mangosteen & Quandong Serum has a mid-level consistency and is an off-white coloured serum. The smell to me is herby, earthy and quite strong, but pleasant. This, along with the Mist, are my favourite products from the 4 Step Routine. The serum is lightweight and feels nice and luxurious when applied. It absorbs quite quickly. Although I do like the dropper for dispensing the product, that fact that it's white instead of clear means you can't see how much product you've pulled into the dropper. Results-wise, my skintone looks more even after use, but I'm not noticing any other benefits. However if you're after just a really lovely Aussie serum, you can't go wrong with this one.

The Papaya & Finger Lime Moisturiser is the only product in the line I didn't really enjoy. It has a light, fruity fragrance similar to the other products in the range. It's a lightweight cream, but unfortunately it just didn't want to absorb into my face. I thought it didn't sit well with the mist and serum (even though these products are in a 4 step system and thus designed to work together) so I tried it on my arm that had no underlying products and it still took a very long time to absorb into my skin. It also somewhat separated when I was attempting to rub it in, which wasn't ideal. Even though I'd give the moisturiser a miss, I did enjoy the other Earth:en products in the Normal to Combination Skin Routine line.

Disclaimer: I received these products from Earth:en to review.

Lush Haul: Boxing Day Sale Bargains!

Hi guys! Long time, no blog! Happy New Year... I hope you're all having a lovely 2024 so far. I've decided to blog from time to time, when I've got something to write about. I won't be posting weekly like I was last year, because at times I was having to find things to blog about, just for the sake of keeping up my schedule. But I did buy quite a few things in December, hence this Lush Haul post!

First, let's look at what I picked up, then I'll delve deeper into the products and my Lush online shopping experience. This is a combined Haul, mostly bought online but also a couple of products from the Boxing Day sale in-store.

~ Happy Hippy shower gel (250g)
~ Snow Fairy shower gel (275g)
~ The Olive Branch shower gel (100g)
~ Dirty SpringWash shower gel (100g)
~ Twilight shower jelly (100g)
~ Snow Fairy shower gel (100g)
~ Jingle All The Way Gift
(containing Happy Hippy shower gel 100g + Bouncing Santa shower jelly 85g)
~ Ro's Argan soap sample *free sample* (not pictured)

First of all, can you tell I love shower gels? It's the main thing I buy in a Lush sale and I definitely have my favourites! The two products I bought in-store were the large Snow Fairy shower gel and the Dirty Springwater shower gel 100g, both half price. Being in-store purchases, this all went smoothly.

My online purchases didn't go quite as well. I went straight to the Boxing Day sale section to grab some goodies at half the normal price (since this was my entire reason for shopping) and shopped wholly from there. I had added a Lord Of Misrule soap to my cart which went through as normal at checkout. Later I received an email from Lush saying I was receiving a refund, then a further email explaining there was a glitch in their system and the soap was actually out of stock but the system mistakenly let me add it to my cart. Fair enough, mistakes happen and I was refunded, so I missed out on a half price soap, but that was it.

But something I wasn't too happy about was that the large Happy Hippy shower gel and the Twilight shower jelly I was charged full price for, despite only shopping from the Boxing Day section, where items were on sale for 50% off. I emailed Lush about it and what must have happened was that certain sizes weren't available so I went up to the next size, not realizing that this would be full price (despite being in the Boxing Day Sale section). This should definitely have been made clearer on site and only products that were 50% off should be listed in the BD sale section, not alternate sizes that are full price.

Let's talk about the goodies!

SNOW FAIRY shower gel
'For sparkle like there's snow tomorrow, lather up in candy-sweet suds that shimmer with magic that comes but once a year.'
It's a Limited Edition Christmas special that sweet, fun, pink, pretty and smells delightful. Yes I got both sizes, the small one online, then decided I also needed a big bottle from the city store for this magical cleanser to last me longer!

HAPPY HIPPY shower gel
'A breakfast boost for your body. Full of grapefruit goodness to awaken your skin and enliven your mind.'
I love citrusy fragrances, so the addition of grapefruit juice just makes this gel a zesty, fruity, happiness-inducing experience for me. I love using this in a morning shower to enliven my mood all day.

DIRTY SPRINGWASH shower gel
'A rapturous tingle of menthol crystals, and a crisp breath of spearmint tempts like untrodden snow, galvanising you into action.'
I had never tried this one before, so was excited to pick it up in-store after having smelled it. I was a bit cautious about the menthol, but it's actually rather invigorating. Word of warning - I did get it in a fresh cat scratch and that was not fun (and I probably wouldn't use this on my front bum either lol). The bottle mentions mountain lakes, herbaceous breezes of thyme oil and refreshing open air.

THE OLIVE BRANCH shower gel
'Steadying arms wrap around you, full of sweeping citrus notes and gentle, reassuring warmth.'
This one smells warm, inviting and beautiful. It could almost be a unisex gel. It contains organic olives which are cold-pressed into rejuvenating Fair Trade oil, vine leaf infusion and mandarin juice. No wonder I love this with the citrus theme again!

TWILIGHT shower jelly
'Sleepwalk soundly into the twilight zone with soothing lavender oil lathers.'
Okay I probably shouldn't have bought this online without having smelled it first, because it's not my favourite scent. As explained above, I was charged full price, too!  Oh well, I'll use this at night and hopefully it will help me sleep.

JINGLE ALL THE WAY gift
Contains a small Happy Hippy shower gel + Bouncing Santa shower jelly (pictured below).
I've already talked about Happy Hippy, so on to the Bouncing Santa!

BOUNCING SANTA shower jelly
'Santa Claus is bouncing to town! Making a list, showering twice, gotta find out who's naughty or nice!'
Well that told us nothing lol. But one thing's for sure, my Bouncing Santa sure did bounce around during delivery, because she didn't arrive in the best shape, as you can see from the photo. The Twilight jelly arrived okay, so this Christmas release must have moved around more being inside the gift box. This has a fresh melon infusion, watermelon seed oil and lime juice, making a tropical scent, available only at Christmas. I can't wait to try it!

That's it for my Lush Boxing Day Sale Haul! Hopefully these goodies will last me well into the year.

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