Mecca Beauty Loop Level 1 Box

Hi guys! It's Mecca Beauty Loop box time again, can you believe it? It always seems to come around super fast (or maybe that's just me). Anyway, let's have a look inside the Level 1 box, shall we?

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Patina
I'm loving the flattering dusky pink shade of this liquid lipstick from Stila. This is definitely a colour I'd normally go for. I'm noticing as I get older that bold, bright shades make my lips look thinner and it's the nude hues that improve my appearance (I mean I've known this for ages, but been in denial, haha). This feels great going on and is a very light formula. However, it dries down super fast and I'm not that keen on the lip feel once it's dry. I'll have to give this a few more tries.

Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Face Butter
In my opinion this 5ml sample doesn't smell very pleasant, although it does feel nice during application. It absorbs into the skin quickly, but the deal breaker for me is the dreaded rubbing off of the product. It balls up, thus making makeup application over the top a pain in the arse. I'm quite disappointed that I can't use this as a base for makeup and might just use it as a body moisturiser instead.

Elemis Peptide4 Night Recovery Cream-Oil
I loved the subtle fragrance of this 2ml sample. It had a really light texture and was a joy to apply. I couldn't be stuffed trying to disperse the remaining product into a sample pot for later, so I just used the whole lot, applying the leftover to my neck and arms. This left my complexion glowing and my skin felt soft and nourished.

Verso Antioxidant Turmeric Booster
I haven't tried this 2ml sample sachet yet, but I'm keen to see how it goes!

You may be interested in Priceline 2018 Top Product Picks!

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Disclaimer: Reviews are my honest opinion. There are no affiliate links in this post. Please see the Disclosure page for further information.

Are you a fan of any of these products? If you picked up a Beauty Loop box what was inside and did you like the selection? 

Makeup Haul Part 2: Mecca Maxima!

Well hello again! Today I'm featuring Part 2 of my Makeup Haul, all the goodies I bought from Mecca Maxima during my recent Melbourne trip! If you missed Part 1, you can check that out here: Makeup Haul Part 1: Sephora!

Even though Sephora is huge, I must say I prefer shopping in Mecca Maxima, because I find the staff super-friendly and helpful. Case in point: when a certain creamy nude lipstick was unavailable, one of the Sales Assistants spent ten minutes looking for alternatives, even getting a few other staff members onto the task as well. In the end, she had about 20 creamy nude lipstick swatches all over her arm, haha! Also, Mecca Maxima stock two of my favourite brands, Too Faced and Soap & Glory! I had such fun hauling this lot of goodies over two visits. Hope you enjoy!


Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush (Sparkling Bellini)
Too Faced Love Light Prismatic Highlighter (You Light Up My Life)
NARS Blush (Orgasm)
Stila Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow (Rose Gold Retro)
Urban Decay VICE Lipstick (Manic)
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Soap & Glory The Breakfast Scrub
Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker XL (Clear)
Soap & Glory Smooch Operator Lip Butter Balm
Origins Mega-Bright Dark Circle Minimizer {free sample}
GlamGlow SuperMud Clearing Treatment {free sample}
GlamGlow GravityMud Firming Treatment {free sample}
GlamGlow ThirstyMud Hydrating Treatment {free sample}
Perricone MD Pre:Empt Brightening Eye Cream {free sample)
Perricone MD Firming Eye Cream {free sample}
Perricone MD Cold Plasma Eye {free sample}
Perricone MD Advanced Eye Area Therapy {free sample}

I have to say I completely stuffed up with the Too Faced Love Light Highlighter! I wanted the rose gold shade Ray Of Light, but it had been put back in the gold You Light Up My Life tester position and I totally second-guessed myself and got the wrong one! Then I had time to exchange it as I was still in Melbourne but forgot to take it with me the day we went back into the city. So now I have the gold one (which I don't like the look of), when I was actually after the rose gold one. At least I got my Perfect Flush Blush shade right!

I finally caved and bought the cult classic Orgasm blush from NARS, and the stunning Stila Magnificent Metals liquid shadow in Rose Gold retro was a no-brainer. It's just so pretty! I hope it looks just as good on the eyes!

I eventually settled on an Urban Decay VICE lippie after a long swatch-fest of most of the lipsticks in-store, and picked up the Primer Potion as an afterthought when checking out the cute minis near the checkout. I'm currently using a Too Faced Shadow Insurance mini but it's nearly gone and this will be a good way to compare them.

I had to pick up a tub of my Holy Grail body scrub, Soap & Glory's The Breakfast Scrub, which smells like freakin' pancakes and is a must try in my opinion! And then came some disappointment, when the raved-about $6 Sugar Crush Body Spray was out of stock and my beloved Sexy Mother Pucker lip plumper had changed packaging and was only available in Clear, not my preferred Half-Baked. I got it anyway, but I really wanted the tube with the doe-foot appplicator instead of the squeezy-tube bullshit I bought. I discovered the Soap & Glory Lip Butter Balm near the counter and hot damn, guys, it smells like coconut ice! Sweeeeeet!

I gotta say Mecca are so generous with the samples! I was discussing a GlamGlow mask set I saw online, but unfortunately it was no longer available, so the Sales Assistant took it upon herself to make me up some samples instead (I didn't even ask). And on my other visit, another lovely staff member took my list of samples I was interested in trying and said she'd prepare as many of them as were available while I continued to shop. (They probably knew I was hardcore haulin' from the fact that I had half the store in my basket. LOL).

Linking up with Monday Makeup Madness Open Slather and All Mum Said link ups!

You may be interested in Makeup Haul Part 1: Sephora!

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Have you tried any of these beauty products? What's your favourite? If you have a recent haul post link it up below so I can have a read!

Beauty Hauls: Sephora, Mecca Maxima, etc!

As you may know, I recently enjoyed a fantastic trip to Sydney with my family. I was incredibly patient, enduring two full days of non-shopping related activities such as playgrounds, the beach and amusement rides, before I even saw the shops. I basically waited until the third day of the holiday to shop like a Mofo visit Mecca Maxima and Sephora, because I'm just that considerate. LOL. You may see a product theme in the form of MASKS. I went batshit cray-cray for masks for some insane reason (I'm still trying to work it out?) and decided I needed every mask known to man. Check out my beauty hauls below!

For starters, a tiny lip mask haul from Cosmo Cosmetics, a small store selling luxe brands (eg SK-II) at heavily discounted prices, immediately rendering me 100% suspicious. I steered clear of those and got these fun-looking lip masks, because I've never tried a lip mask before and by gosh they look like a good time! Besides, all the packaging is in Asian symbols, adding to the excitement, because I don't know what any of it means! Also, you can put them on your boobies (I asked WTF the cartoon meant and she said you can put them on your nips, and I burst out laughing and went red).

This is perfectly normal

Items Hauled:
Pure Smile Choosy Fruit Lip Mask
Pure Smile Choosy Gold Pearl Lip Mask

Oh My God, you guys.........

Wall to wall makeup in Sephora *dies*

Next up, Sephora. Oh how I was looking forward to this experience! It didn't disappoint, even though they didn't stock Sleek or Leaders InSolution (online only, apparently). Still, it was two floors full of makeup and skincare goodness, a beauty lovers dream! I was served by a lovely man wearing a full face of makeup (you don't see that in Adelaide!) and he kindly gave me some free samples with my order, although I did have to ask. I kept the purchases to a minimum (lol, see below) since I'm better off getting the Stila, Too Faced, etc from Mecca because their rewards system shits all over Sephora's. Here's my mask-heavy haul...

Items Hauled:
Dr. Jart The Book of Masks
Sephora Green Tea Face Mask
Sephora Lingzhi Face Mask
Sephora Lingzhi Sleeping Mask
Sephora Lingzhi Eye Mask
Sephora Pomegranate Eye Mask
Sephora Lotus Eye Mask
Sephora Ginseng Eye Mask
Sephora Multi-Texture Sponge
Sephora Rouge Cream Lipstick in Sexy Game
2 x Clinique Foaming Sonic Facial Soap (free sample)
SK-II Facial Treatment Essence Eye (free sample)

This was a spontaneous haul because my son wanted a nice bath in our hotel room, so we needed some bath bombs. Of course, being a huge Lushie, I don't need much convincing to visit a Lush store! The Sales Assistant let him push the buttons on the cash register and stick on the labels, so that was pretty cool, too!

Items Hauled:
Blackberry Bath Bomb
Intergalactic Bath Bomb
FUN Green
Mint Julips Lip Scrub

Swatch Til You Drop, right?

Mecca Maxima time! I was expecting the QVB store to be quite large, but it actually isn't! Anyway, I had my list ready (as I did with Sephora) and had a grand old time swatching, smelling and putting everything in my basket! I tossed up between the Too Faced original Chocolate Bar palette, the Semi-Sweet and the Bon Bons one, but I'm pretty happy I went with the original. Again, the customer service was phenomenal; I had multiple SA's helping me, discussing beauty and explaining the difference between the palettes and how to use each of the free samples.

Someone has a Soap & Glory addiction

Items Hauled:
Origins GinZing Eye Cream
Korres Lip Butter in Wild Rose
Stila Color Balm Lipstick in Evangeline
Too Faced Chocolate Bar eyeshadow palette
Soap & Glory SoaperHeroes set
Soap & Glory Sexy MotherPucker Lip Plumping Gloss
Soap & Glory The Breafast Scrub
Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter Body Moisturizer
GlamGlow Brightmud Eye Treatment (free sample)
Ren Keep Young and Beautiful Firming and Smoothing Serum (free sample)
Perricone MD Neuropeptide Face Activator Serum (free sample)
Perricone MD Advanced Eye Therapy (free sample)

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What would you have picked up?

I Found Mecca!

I found MECCA. And I shopped there! I had a rare appointment in the city recently, and although it was medical and a bit stressful, all I could think about was visiting Mecca afterwards and finally swatching the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders. I powerwalked there so fast I was kind of puffed out and sweaty when I got there (what a dork!). Well not super sweaty, but my skin was not completely dry and that's my excuse for why the powder swatches oxidized on my inner wrist! I don't know what the hell that means, but the Sales Assistant insisted they were oxidizing (basically most of them went a weird, darker colour). So devastated! I ended up getting Mood Light with the intention of using it as a blush (since it's a pale pink), but it's so subtle and sheer it actually looks amazing all over my face as a setting powder. When I wear it as a blush, I layer it over another blush as it barely imparts any colour on its own. I'm loving this product and am keen to return and try swatching everything again (this time not after a long, brisk walk!).

I was disappointed the small Mecca I visited didn't stock Bobbi Brown, as I wanted to try out the Correctors for dark under eye circles to know if I should be going for Bisque or Peach. I'll be visiting the city again in June (seriously, it's usually years between my trips to the city) and this time I'll hit up the Mecca Cosmetica in the Myer Centre which is probably way larger and stocks more brands.

Anyway, at least I visited at the ideal time of day, mid-morning and well before the lunch time rush, so I was the only customer in store and I got a lovely Sales Assistant all to myself the whole time! I swatched most of the Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eyeshadows and decided upon Vintage Black Gold, but seriously, they were all so pretty and sparkly. It comes with a tiny Stay All Day Liquid Eye Primer bottle and accompanying dropper, which I've read in reviews is not nearly enough for the amount of eyeshadow, but I guess it's still better than a slap in the face with a wet fish.

Then I had an epic lipstick swatching session, tossing up between the NARS and Hourglass nude shades. I had my final three choices applied to my lips (and felt super special, as I'm never one to get makeup applied at the counters!) and decided Hourglass Femme Rouge Velvet Creme lipstick in Mural was the one for me. I'm definitely getting a NARS lippie next time as the shades were gorgeous.

I had already joined the online Beauty Loop program but was told the instore one was separate, so I was joined as an instore Beauty Loop member as well. They didn't seem super keen to hand me a free sample when I asked (lol, I always ask, especially if I've just spent nearly $150 on three products), but after a list of what they don't do samples of, she did make up a tiny pot of Sunday Riley Start Over Active Eye Cream for me.

Hourglass Femme Rouge Velvet Creme lipstick rrp $39
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder rrp $59
Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eyeshadow rrp $44

Let me know in the comments if Mecca stores usually include free samples with purchases, I'm interested to know!