Special Buy: David Jones Deluxe Beauty Edit Bag!

Hi guys! I got an email from David Jones alerting me to a 'special buy', this Deluxe Beauty Edit Bag, valued at over $250, which you could purchase for just $39.95. This was touted as an Online Exclusive, however there was no option to buy it online, so I was confused, along with other eager beauty lovers complaining on the David Jones Facebook page! Come Monday, I immediately emailed hubby the link and asked if he could check it out for me, thinking he'd go to DJ's in his lunch break. My awesome hubby left his desk immediately on the quest for this bag (isn't he amazing?), and lucky he did! He was first told they had sold out (eeeeek!), then another SA checked and they had received a few more in. YAY! So here I am blogging about it today, and I'm pretty excited to get stuck in and try out these 'deluxe' beauty products!

Here's what I got in my Bag:

~ Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo
~ Sampar So Much To Dew Midnight Mask
~ Weleda Skin Food
~ Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate
~ Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm
~ Shiseido Essential Energy Moisturizing Cream
~ Elizabeth Arden Advanced Ceramide Capsules
~ Lancome Genifique Youth Activating Cream
~ Guerlain Abeille Royale Daily Repair Age-Defying Serum
~ Ella Bache Eternal Beautifying Eye Cream
~ Philosophy Purity Exfoliating Clay Mask
~ Molton Brown Vetiver & Grapefruit Bath & Shower Gel
~ MAC Prep + Prime Skin Base
~ Clarins Lip Comfort Oil in Candy
~ L'Occitane Immortelle Reset Overnight Oil-In Serum
~ Cremorlab T.E.N. Starter Kit (Fresh Water Gel & Mineral Treatment Essence)
~ Narciso Rodriguez Narciso Eau De Parfum
~ Versace Dylan Blue Eau De Parfum
~ Carolina Herrera Good Girl Eau De Parfum

As you can see, this bag is filled with samples of high-end brands. I'm really keen to try the majority of them, and now that I've photographed and blogged about it, I can LOL #beautybloggerlife I need to mention how cute the Good Girl fragrance sample is; look at the mini high heel bottle, you guys! I'm in love! I'm also super happy to get a weeks supply of Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Capsules as I love the effect they have on my skin, but never buy them for myself. Also included is a $10 David Jones Beauty Gift Card which can be redeemed on selected brands included in the bag.

The page on the David Jones website advertising this offer has been removed, but then it was never available to buy online. I know that David Jones Adelaide Central Plaza has sold out and they are unsure if they are getting anymore in, so if you're interested it's best to try your local David Jones beauty counter. This offer was super popular though, as you can imagine!

You may be interested in my Top 5 Beauty Faves

Bonus post of interest! Fabulous And Fun Life's Guide To Buying The Best Hair Straightening Brush

Linking up with Open Slather, Life This Week and Mummy Mondays.

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Did you pick up this Beauty Bag? What are your thoughts on it?

Skincare Routine Update!

I haven't done a Skincare Update post in quite a while, so what better time than the present? Experiencing an extended period of shitty breakouts a few months ago really made me re-assess my skincare routine (or lack thereof!). After switching up a few products and sticking to a morning and nightly skincare routine, my skin is clear and looking pretty healthy on the whole. I'm not going to lie, I am using a lot of different products right now (partly because I'm trying to use up my samples). Most of them are geared towards either clearing and preventing breakouts or anti-aging, as those are my two main concerns. Here's what I'm slapping on every day....

I use Lush Ultrabland Cleanser (see my review here) when I don't have any spots. It leaves my skin feeling plumped out and super-soft. The thick, oily texture means I have to remove it with a washcloth, but it's totally worth the extra effort. When my skin's playing up, I cleanse with Paula's Choice Clear Pore Normalizing Cleanser (Blemish-Prone Skin) which is an amazing gel that clears my breakouts up fast. I would highly recommend this cleanser if you have problem skin.

Again, I alternate between two products when it comes to Toner. My old favourite is TN Dickinson's WitchHazel which I love for the super-cheap price (around $6) and its ability to minimise my pores and clear my skin. I also use, albeit less frequently, The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner. Anyone else love the smell of tea tree, or is it just me? Confession time! When I can't be stuffed cleansing before bed, I actually use one of these toners to remove my makeup. Hey, it hasn't killed me yet!

I've pretty much switched from gritty to liquid exfoliants now. The two products I'm using are Alpha-H Liquid Gold and Paula's Choice Resist Daily Pore-Refining Treatment (with 2% BHA) both of which are pretty potent, so I only use them every two to three days. I like keeping my skin on its toes by using Liquid Gold before bed, then in a few days I'll use the Paula's Choice exfoliant, and so on and so forth. Although Liquid Gold isn't classified as an exfoliant (it's marketed more as an acid toner), that's the way I see it. It's actually a treatment containing Glycolic Acid and licorice that firms, revitalises and boosts radiance. The Glycolic extract does exfoliate, but I really appreciate the multitude of skin concerns Liquid Gold addresses. When a product reduces fine lines, tightens my skin, makes it glow, reduces pigmentation, smooths, clears and makes me look younger, I will keep using it.

So many eye creams (mainly samples)! I love trying lots of eye creams, even though I know my Holy Grail is La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Eye Lift, a true miracle worker. I've not featured it here because I only use it for special occasions; I have a tiny amount left in a sample tube and the full version costs $380 for 20ml. I just can't bring myself to buy it yet. I've been using La Prairie Essence of Skin Caviar Eye Complex instead, which has a watery consistency and is still effective. I've also been enjoying Elizabeth Arden Prevage Anti-Aging Eye Cream and Philosophy Renewed Hope In A Jar Eye, both of these do work well. FreezeFrame Revitaleyes (which I wrote about in Five Fabulous Faves) has also been improving my under-eye area, and once a week I use Bobbi Brown Extra Repair Moisture Cream (not pictured) under my eyes for an added moisture boost.

I am loving facial serums at the moment! I'm using a number of different products, basically just depending on how I'm feeling that day. And again, I'm working my way through the various samples I've accumulated. La Prairie is a favourite brand of mine (why do they have to be so expensive, though?!) and the La Prairie Anti-Aging Rapid Response Booster is great. Their products work so well. Since hubby bought me the Elizabeth Arden GWP a few months ago (blogged about here) I'm falling more in love with this brand. I'm really enjoying the Elizabeth Arden Prevage Anti-Aging + Intensive Repair Daily Serum, with the Flawless Future Powered By Ceramide Caplet Serum a close runner-up.

Every morning I pop on Elizabeth Arden Skin Illuminating Firm and Reflect Moisturizer half an hour before applying my makeup, as it needs that amount of time to properly absorb. I love the way this makes my skin look as it really does give my face a firmer appearance. Nightly, I use Elizabeth Arden Flawless Future Powered By Ceramide Night Cream, another winner in my book. About twice per week I'll use Alpha-H Liquid Gold Rejuvenating Cream before bed instead, but not on a night where I've used Liquid Gold itself, as it might be a bit much for my skin. This cream is pretty sticky and I wouldn't even attempt to use it under makeup!

My go-to for any spots is Paula's Choice Clear Daily Skin Clearing Treatment, which I bought as part of the Clear Extra Strength Kit. This range is amazing and completely cleared up my persistent breakouts. I rarely need to use this anymore, but I like knowing I have it on hand, just in case. If you're interested in purchasing from Paula's Choice, you can use my link to get $15 off your first order, and I'll get $15 credited to my account!

I'm not really using Face Masks at the moment, because I don't love any of the ones I have. However I have found a few sample sachets and once-off masks in my stash (hello SK-II Facial Treatment Mask) so I might bring back Pamper Sunday!

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Disclaimer: All products were purchased by me, my husband or were free samples I got instore or with online orders. All opinions are my own. Using my Paula's Choice link means you get $15 off your first order and I get $15 credited to my account.

I'm linking up to Fabulous and Fun Life's Monday Makeup Madness Linky Party!

What's your favourite skincare brand or product?

Free Samples, You Beauty!

Last week I was lucky enough to receive a press release from Lush inviting me to trial a couple of their face masks, and since they require refrigeration, I had to go in-store to pick them up. Now, I hardly ever venture into the city (there's only one Lush store in Adelaide and I have to take an hour-long bus ride to get there!) so I thought I'd make it worthwhile by redeeming all my saved up beauty sample email offers at the same time. I've found it's usually just the city department stores that redeem them, as I've tried at suburban ones, with only occasional success.

You may know that I'm on a never-ending quest to find my Holy Grail eye cream. This magical lotion will be a multi-tasking extraordinaire. It will improve my dark circles, puffiness and fine lines simultaneously and magnificently. I recently bought the Thalgo Exception Ultime Time Solution for Eyes and Lips (blogged in this SkinCare Shopping Spree post), and while it's good, it's not great. And it's nowhere near Holy Grail status. So I visited the beauty counters at David Jones and received fantastic, friendly and professional customer service (unlike this recent Bobbi Brown Customer Service Fail), gained a wealth of knowledge and came away with an array of beauty samples to suit my specific needs. My main aim is to try all these wonderful creams and hopefully discover a Holy Grail product that I fall in love with, because it just works that well. Trialling samples gives me the opportunity to discover if I like a product before forking out for the full size. Most of these products are quite expensive, so it's smart to try it first before buying! Yes, I scored a nice pile of freebies, but if I find something I can't live without, I'll go back and buy the full product. And then I'll cry, especially if it's the Chantecaille Stress Repair Concentrate, because that's $254 for 15mls.

I visited Lush in the Myer Centre first, to select my face masks for an upcoming blog post (look out for it in a couple of weeks!). The Sales Assistant was so friendly and helpful, trying out masks on my hands as we discussed my skincare concerns and what problems I wished to address. I didn't even ask for a sample, but she offered to include an Ultra Bland Cleanser sample for me, which is great because it's a cult product and I've never tried it before!

Next up, Mecca Cosmetica. This visit was to check out their eye creams, in particular the Perricone MD Cold Plasma Eye and the Blue Plasma Eye Orbital. When the Sales Assistant asked if I needed help, I told her I was looking for a multitasking eye cream that would first and foremost address fine lines, followed by dark circles and puffiness. She suggested the Chantecaille Stress Repair Concentrate and made up a little sample pot for me, which should last a week. All of these products have received great reviews on the Mecca site, so I can't wait to try the Stress Repair, and I'm still curious about the Perricone MD plasma products!

 


I had an email offer for a 7 day supply of Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Capsules from David Jones, so off I went. I love the gorgeous gold packaging of this little flip-top pot, and I don't know what it is about those little capsules, but they just excite me. This sort of thing seems so luxurious to me, and they're just so motherflipping cute! I think it's the novelty factor, too. The Sales Assistant couldn't wait to show me the anti-ageing range (DO I LOOK THAT OLD?!) and lo and behold, led me straight to the Prevage range, which was on my list to ask about. She tried everything on my (by this stage, very well-moisturised and pampered) hands and then gave me a sample pot of Prevage Anti-Aging Eye Cream SPF15. I'm so happy, because I've been wanting to try this much-hyped range for ages! She did try to sell me a discounted Prevage gift set, but I'm not going to spend a lot of money on something I haven't tried out on my face first.

The Philosophy Sales Assistant was full of helpful tips, like applying an eye serum under your eye cream helps the active ingredients penetrate deeper into your skin, giving you better results, and that the only way to get rid of milia is via a Beauty Therapist, who will lance them out. The horror! We talked a lot about my skincare concerns and she gave me a range of product samples, called things like Time In A Bottle and Miracle Worker (lol) to try out.

The actual Philosophy samples I received:
- Miracle Worker Miraculous Anti-Aging Moisturizer
- Purity Made Simple 3-in-1 Cleanser for Face and Eyes
- Time In A Bottle Daily Age-Defying Serum
- Time In A Bottle For Eyes Daily Age-Defying Eye Serum

Lastly, I headed over to the La Prairie counter to redeem my email offer for a sample of the new Anti-Aging Rapid Response Booster. I was pretty excited because I love La Prairie products (the Skin Caviar range in particular) and the results it gives me, the only downside is the price tag, so I was interested to try the Rapid Response for free. I was disappointed when the Sales Assistant said the samples hadn't arrived in-store yet. She was so nice and very apologetic, as they were supposed to have arrived the week before. She took my number to call me once they arrived and gave me two samples of the Skin Caviar Luxe Eye Lift Cream and two of the Essence of Skin Caviar Eye Complex, which I was so grateful for. I love the Skin Caviar products (here's my review of the Skin Caviar Liquid Lift) and can't wait to try the targeted eye cream samples.

Have you tried any great samples lately? Have you loved a sample so much you went on to buy the product?

I'm linking up to the Monday Makeup Madness Linky Party over at Fabulous And Fun Life! Join in the fun!

November Empties!

Guess what? I threw out a huge bunch of empty products because I tired of doing Empties posts! But then I wanted to again! So, I only have five empty products to report on as everything else is Gone Girl (I still have yet to see this movie, by the way). Here goes...

Nivea Lip Butter Caramel Cream
I love this! It's smooth, creamy and melts into my lips like butter. This little tin of heaven made my February Favourites earlier this year. Perfect for moisturising and nourishing lips overnight or prepping your pout prior to lipstick application, this gorgeous smelling lip butter is very handy. No need to replace this, because I've still got the other Nivea varieties, Raspberry Rose and Vanilla & Macadamia to finish!

Clean & Clear Advantage Fast Clearing Spot Gel
I was sent a large number of these to trial ages ago (close to two years I'd say) and I've finally finished them all (I also gave a few away). I've reviewed this before here but my opinion has since changed. This spot gel used to work very effectively on me, but lately it's not doing a thing. I think the product has actually lost its potency because I've had it so long! I can't see any other reason why something that once cleared up my breakouts fast, would no longer work. I'll be hitting up my beauty cupboard because I know there are some other zit creams in there to try, rather than replace this product.

Philosophy Amazing Grace Fragrance
This came as part of a gift set I bought from Adore Beauty, and I'm so sad I've finished this mini bottle! AMAZINGly (lol) this was another February Favourite. The main thing I enjoy about this perfume is that it's light, clean and fresh. I'm very wary of strong scents because they easily trigger my headaches. For the fragrance buff, the top notes are mandarin orange, grapefruit and bergamot, middle notes are freesia, jasmine and rose and the base note is musk. As much as I love this, I won't be repurchasing, because I have a ton of other perfumes to get through. Also, I want to try something different like Juicy Couture or something by Katy Perry or Lady Gaga! Strength and headache-inducement pending!

Optrex Refreshing Eye Drops
I know you're not really supposed to regularly use eyedrops, so I've cut right back. I used to get the ones that removed eye redness, but now I just get moisture replenishing or 'tears' ones, and try to use them way less often. Anyway these were OK. I used them when my eyes were sore, dry or tired and sometimes when there was something in there and I wanted to flush it out. But yeah, it's not good to use eyedrops frequently, and I'm not recommending it.

Revlon Photoready Eye Primer + Brightener
You can see how much I've used this from the extensive amount of wear to the labelling. It's worn off and looking pretty shabby. I pretty much used this daily as a finishing touch under my eyes. Even though it contains a primer (and thus should probably be used first), I found the thin, lightweight formula worked best over my concealer because it smoothed out fine lines and brightened the area really well. I've not even tried using this on my lids as a primer, so I can't  comment on its effectiveness at that. I'm not going to repurchase though, because now I'm using Benefit Erase Paste and my Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer instead.

Disclaimer: Revlon product I won, Clean & Clear product was provided for review through another company (non-blog related), all other products were purchased by me.

My February Favourites!

Following are some products I've been using regularly throughout February, daily in some cases. I'm going to try concentrating on different products from brands I don't usually cover from now on, because who wants to read about the same old favourites all the time! This also encourages me to try new brands and products, which is always a good thing. I can't wait for my next 'favourite' discovery!

Philosophy Amazing Grace
This mini spray fragrance EDT came in a set from Adore Beauty. I'd heard great things about it and bought it on a whim. Great decision! It's a clean, crisp, soft, beautifully feminine fragrance that's subtle enough to not trigger one of my perfume headaches (my main worry when buying a perfume, as I get some humdingers from certain stronger ones). The fragrances notes are rose, freesia, bergamot, jasmine, grapefruit, muguet and musk. A girly, floral, clean and 'Amazing' addition to my perfume collection. I've been spritzing it on almost daily, although I really don't want it to run out (the bottle is so tiny!).

Nivea Lip Butter Caramel Cream
I'm addicted to this little tin of creamy goodness. The caramel aroma is divine and the formula is buttery, soft and smooth. It can appear a tad white if you apply it too thick (but not as white as the Nivea Lip Butter Vanilla & Macadamia version!) but that really isn't a problem for me, for the following reasons; a) I love applying this before bed. It keeps my lips moisturised and nourished overnight. And b) I also use it to prep my lips before lipstick every morning. I slick on a thick layer, apply my makeup (which takes at least 20 minutes, lol), then wipe most of it off for moist, juicy lips perfectly ready for lipstick! These lip butters also come in Original, Raspberry Rose and Vanilla & Macadamia. With a RRP of only $5.19 (I got mine on special at Woolies for $2.50) I highly recommend trying the delicious-smelling Caramel Cream.

Kiehl's Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Body Polish
I actually put off using this, because the only other Kiehl's product I'd tried I didn't like (Pineapple Papaya Facial Scrub), but what a mistake that was! This body polish is luxurious and creamy with a decadent feel. With almost a mousse-like formula, the fragrance smells coconutty to me, but actually contains shea and jojoba butters, almond oil, luffa fruit, honey and soy milk. The small but plentiful particles work to exfoliate and leave my skin feeling soft, smooth and supple. A glorious body polish and one I'd highly recommend.

Physicians Formula Nude Shimmer Strips
The full title of this product, from the side of the palette, is Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner. There's no actual eyeliner in the palette, it just means you can wet the applicator and apply the darker colours as a liner. I see this palette as a mini (shimmery) version of Urban Decay's Naked palettes. I bought the first UD Naked, but then kind of lost interest in further releases. Anyway, these shimmer strips are great and I've been using them daily. You get nine neutral hues that would pretty much suit all eye colours. The pigment is fairly good and the shimmer is flattering but not over-the-top. The particles are tiny, and it wears as an overall slight shimmer effect rather than a large chunky glitter effect. I love that the palette is small and seals magnetically (great for travelling) and is cute as hell with its lacy overlay and little ribbon bow!

Lush Santa's Lip Scrub*
This is a Limited Edition product that is only released at Christmas. I also have the chocolately Lush Sweet Lips Lip Scrub, but Santa's is my favourite. From the bright festive red colour to the wonderful cola scent, this is fun in a jar! After scrubbing a little over my lips, I'm left with a soft, smooth, flake-free mouth. Try using this baby and not licking off the sweet excess. It contains caster sugar, coconut oil and extracts of cherries and dates, and is suitable for Vegetarians. You can check out my review of Santa's Lip Scrub here.


Disclaimer:
Won - Physicians Formula Nude Shimmer Strips, Kiehl's Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Body Polish
Bought - Nivea Lip Butter Caramel Cream, Philosophy Amazing Grace
*PR Sample - Lush Santa's Lip Scrub