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!