My Birthday Round Up! 🎉

My birthday falls towards the end of January and if you follow me on Instagram you may have seen a few pictures I already shared from the day. I intended to write a blog post as well sharing what I treated myself to throughout January. There were a few items I wanted to get my hands on and I totally used my birthday as an excuse!

A couple of days before my birthday I booked in for an hour long therapeutic massage and it was lovely to be pampered. My muscles were a little sore the next day but thankfully the day after that on my birthday the aching had subsided.

My birthday was very chilled out. I woke up at 4:30am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I got up around 6am to feed Halo, tried to go back to sleep for a little while but wasn’t able to. At 8am I got up properly and started the day with a coffee in my favourite cup. Mum and I went out to get a chocolate sponge cake and for the majority of the day I did chores around home. I showered, listened to music and did my makeup in the afternoon ready for my boyfriend to pick me up in the evening. We’d decided to do an evening treewalk through the local forest and it was magical, all the lights are beautiful! My favourite section was one that looked like the lights were specks of glitter. I took plenty of photos and videos and loved the experience. I’m not worried about heights so being up in the trees didn’t scare me and because it’s dark you can’t see the ground and it doesn’t feel like you’re up high.

I don’t expect presents from other people and it’s truly the thought that counts. People say that I’m hard to buy for but I joke in response they don’t know me well enough! I don’t mind spoiling myself anyway, it’s the whole independence thing. My mum gave me money and my boyfriend got me a beautiful pair of earrings. My brother is giving me a Sephora gift card which I plan on putting towards the Pat McGrath Mthrshp Mega: Celestial Divinity Palette.

Here’s what I treated myself to:

Bras from Triumph

I find bra shopping difficult as I have very narrow shoulders and I’m petite but curvy. A lot of straps are too wide set and slip off my shoulders. I purchased two bras from Triumph last year and they fit incredibly well, they’re stylish, comfortable, good quality and the straps don’t fall down. I purchased three bras at the start of January and the order came to less than $100 which is very reasonable for lingerie. Understandably I’m not going to share pictures of me wearing the bras but the collage above shows the styles and colours I chose.

BECCA Highlighters

BECCA highlighters have the most beautiful formula, they’re soft, buildable and blend like a dream! Pretty much all of my highlighters are BECCA and it’s fun to mix and match which shade I wear based on my makeup look that day. I purchased the BECCA x Barbie Ferreira set from Sephora which contains three mini shades: Vanilla Quartz, Rose Quartz and Champagne Pop. I already own a mini of Champagne Pop so I will gift this to someone. Vanilla Quartz is stunning and a great one for day to day.

I also purchased the full size of Prismatic Amethyst (not from Sephora). I love purples on me and the duochrome shift in this shade is surprisingly wearable and doesn’t look too intense. This can be applied with a subtle hand or really built up to intensify the purple, it looks great with all purple makeup too!

BECCA Lipgloss Trio

I actually made two Sephora orders in January and this lipgloss set was the basis behind the second order. This set is also part of the Barbie Ferreira collaboration and the glosses are absolutely stunning. There are three shades Sparkle (a sparkly gold), Facet (a sparkly purple and my favourite shade in the set) and Foiled (a sparkly pink). Foiled is the most pigmented in the set but honestly all shades are wearable and are great as lip toppers. The gloss is not sticky at all and the small size is great as it won’t be difficult to use these up!

Fenty Gloss Bomb in Fenty Glow

I’m having a moment with lipgloss lately. I’m loving wearing glosses on their own on no makeup days to keep my lips nice and plump and applying glosses as toppers over lipsticks. Fenty Glow is the original gloss bomb shade and it’s supposedly universal and suits everyone. On first impressions I did find the shade a little warm but it’s still nice. I look forward to wearing it more and finding lipsticks in my collection to pair it with.

Benefit Pencil Sharpener

This is the most basic item to purchase but it’s a necessity. My old pencil sharpener from school days is cracked and everytime I’d go to sharpen my Rimmel brow pencil the lead would snap and I’d end up wasting a lot of product. This sharpener caters for three different sizes and it even comes with a handy little cleaning tool. This sharpener is also baby pink so it’s totally my aesthetic.

Marc Jacobs At Lash’d Mascara

I added this mascara to my order on a whim so I could qualify for free shipping. I have really enjoyed trying sample mascaras this past year and this sample was $24 for 8.4g of product which was a lot fairer priced than sample mascaras from Tarte or Benefit. I haven’t tried anything from Marc Jacobs before but this mascara sounds good, it aims to lift and volumise which sounds great for my lashes. The black and gold striped tube is neat too!

Body butters from The Body Shop

Ever since The Body Shop store in my city closed down I have missed it greatly. I now am strategic when I buy and try to make a bigger order as I can’t pop into town for a look anymore. I wanted to utulise my 20% off birthday discount and I was running low on body butter so purchased two in scents I hadn’t tried before. I purchased a 50ml of British Rose as I didn’t know if the scent would be too strong (it’s not on first sniff) and a 200ml of Japanese Cherry Blossom Strawberry Kiss. I finished up the regular Japanese Cherry Blossom a little while ago and it’s one of the best I’ve tried. I love the strawberry range too so the combination of both scents is a match made in heaven.

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Do you treat yourself for your birthday? Have you tried any of these products?

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December Favourites + Highlights 2020

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas Day even if you weren’t able to do what you had originally planned. Mine was very low-key, I was at home with my mum and one of my aunts and we had a big lunch. We didn’t really do presents which helps keeps things less stressful and the food was really yummy! I scored the crackling on the roast pork, was on cream whipping and strawberry cutting duties for dessert and also helped with general prep and cooking.

I’m ending the year strongly and going out with a bang with these favourites! These all make me happy and have brought me lots of enjoyment over the past few weeks.

1. Kylie – DISCO – I was meant to include this in November’s favourites but somehow it slipped my mind. I am a huge Kylie fan and every time I listen to DISCO I love the songs more. The overall sound of the album is very cohesive and Kylie co-wrote on each track as well as engineering vocals and synths at her home studio during the pandemic. The sound is very much in Kylie’s dance-pop lane and it is exactly what 2020 needs, 50 minutes of energetic fun that makes you happy and forget about any worries for a while. This is my favourite Kylie album since Aphrodite. Standout Tracks: Magic, Miss a Thing, Real Groove, Say Something, I Love It, Dance Floor Darling and Celebrate You.

2. Steps – What the Future Holds – Another album that I have not stopped listening to since release! This album is incredibly special as the booklet is signed by all members of Steps and 11 year old Chanelle never dreamed she would own something like this. It’s even more special as I was meant to be seeing Steps in May but because of Covid the show was cancelled. I was heartbroken but I’m determined to see them live one day. Steps represent so much happiness in my life and I’m thankful the album was released this year. Vocally I feel Lisa and Lee shine on this album (they all sound good but it’s clear to see the vocals are shared more evenly and these two have such beautiful voices as well). Standout Tracks: What the Future Holds, Something In Your Eyes, To the Beat of My Heart, One Touch, Under My Skin, Heartbreak In This City and Come and Dance With Me.

3. Fenty Gloss Bomb in Fu$$y – This gloss arrived in September as part of a mini set and I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned it in a favourites post yet. I’ve really enjoyed wearing gloss this year and found some great formulas that aren’t sticky and feel comfortable. Fu$$y is described as a soft romantic pink, it has a little bit of shimmer and can look quite sheer when worn on it’s own but it’s lovely on no makeup makeup days or applied over top of a lipstick for a bit of shine. The scent of this is amazing, it needs to be made into a fragrance (you can thank me later Rihanna).

4. In the Frow x Edge of Ember Birthstone Necklace and Nova Ring – In October Victoria (known as In the Frow on YouTube) launched a jewellery collaboration with Edge of Ember. I picked up two pieces and whilst I spent more than I tend to on jewellery I don’t regret it! The pieces are dainty and beautiful and the quality is up there too. I’m not a fan of chunky, heavy pieces and prefer things that are subtle and elegant.

The silver Nova ring is lightweight and simple but it goes with everything, the stone in the middle is a white topaz. Usually I prefer silver to gold but what drew me to the birthstone necklace was the simplicity of one stone on the chain. My birthday is in January so my birthstone is garnet and the red and gold work well together. The length of the chain is adjustable which is nice depending on how you like necklaces to sit and what you’re wearing with it.

December Highlights

• I took some time to reflect on the year that has been and unwind and get ready for 2021. I know lots of people hate January but I really appreciate the slow period and setting things up to begin again.
• Finishing work on Christmas Eve and knowing I have almost two weeks off. This is my first proper annual leave since February that won’t involve hospitals and where I can do things for me.
• My boyfriend finishing work early on Christmas Eve and coming to see me after not being able to see each other for a week. He also came to visit on Christmas Day so we could exchange presents.
• The first bite of pavlova on Christmas Day was amazing!

December’s Spotify Playlist:

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How was your month? Share one of your highlights in the comments!

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Full Face of First Impressions

I have acquired some new makeup recently and there are enough products to warrant trying out a bunch together for a dedicated post. I love trying out new makeup and enjoy watching videos and reading about other people doing the same. Before purchasing products I always research and look up plenty of reviews and over the years there aren’t many products I’ve purchased that I really haven’t liked.

Products listed in order of application. Products marked with *** are new:

1. Natio Daily Defence Face Moisturiser SPF 50+*** – Natio face products work well for my skin. Their products are full of good, natural ingredients and the price you pay for the quality you get is sensational. The main ingredients in this moisturiser are Aloe Vera and Vitamin E which are wonderful for dry skin like mine. SPF 50 in a moisturiser is great too and this one doesn’t smell like sunscreen. It feels light and non-greasy on the skin. It spreads easily and soaks in quickly without leaving skin feeling like it’s parched.

2. BECCA Skin Love Brighten & Blur Primer*** – This primer was part of a set I purchased at the end of 2019 and I have been waiting to finish up a couple of other primers before trying this one. The primer is lightweight and blends easily into the skin. It’s less runny than something like First Light by BECCA and more akin to the texture of the Hangover Primer by Too Faced. I love the sound of this, it aims to smooth, brighten and nourish the skin and diffuse the look of pores to allow makeup to apply flawlessly over top.

3. Rimmel Professional Brow Pencil in 002 Hazel

4. Lancôme Teint Miracle Foundation in 005 Beige Ivoire*** – Since trying a couple of high end foundations I see a difference in how my skin looks and the overall finish of my makeup is nicer and more flawless. This particular foundation is a favourite of one of my closest online friends (Nadine) and she has dry skin as well so I knew it would be a winner. I purchased the lightest shade available 005 Beige Ivoire which leans a little yellow but in a good way that I can make work. I don’t know if bronzer on top would be too much right now but in summer when I’m a little less fair it should be fine. The formula is extremely lightweight to allow for breathable coverage and a natural glow. The texture is quite runny as it is a water based foundation but that also helps product spread easily over the face. I usually wear one layer of foundation but to test how this builds I used two light layers around my nose and chin where I get redness. The foundation built nicely and didn’t cake or settle into lines.

5. MAC StudioFinish Concealer in NW10

6. Fenty Beauty Mini Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Setting Powder in Butter*** – I got the mini size of this powder as a back up for when I have finished my Rimmel Match Perfection loose powder. Fenty Beauty’s powder is ideal for all skin types and the powder does feel silky smooth once applied. I have been enjoying using powder to set my concealer recently as it does make a difference to the overall look of my makeup. I purchased the shade Butter as it is one of the shades recommended for fair skin tones and aims to give a soft, brightening effect. I have heard a few people say this powder is messy but I’ll have to use it a few more times to see whether or not that’s true. The combination of this powder with the other base products left my skin feeling like velvet.

7. BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in Champagne Pop*** – This is the third of these little mini highlighters I’ve purchased and they are some of my favourites! Champagne Pop is described as a soft white gold with pinky peach undertones. In comparison to the other minis I own by Becca Champagne Pop is warmer and more golden than Opal and Moonstone. This shade isn’t too golden for my liking and it’s absolutely beautiful on the skin, Becca highlighters have a lovely, soft formula that blends into the skin effortlessly.

8. Rimmel Magnif’Eyes Eye Primer*** – I have been using Milani’s Eyeshadow Primer but I notice sometimes it makes my eyelids dry and different eyeshadow formulas can be hard to apply and blend over top of the Milani primer. I’m a big fan of Rimmel and this primer was half the price of the Milani one. It reminds me a lot of Urban Decay’s Primer Potion which I love, looking forward to using this more!

9. Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette*** – I love neutral palettes and I know this has been discontinued but it’s an absolute classic! I picked this up brand new a couple of months ago and it has been sitting in my drawer since. I used the shade Bootycall as a base shadow, Tease to deepen the crease and Suspect all over the lid. I used the fluffy side of the double ended brush that comes with the palette to apply Bootycall and Tease and my ring finger to apply Suspect. The shadows were incredibly easy to work with and blended like a dream. I can tell I’m going to get a lot of use from this palette.

10. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara – This mascara isn’t brand new to me but I haven’t spoken about it on the blog before. Does this mascara live up to its name, no, is this mascara the most lengthening and volumising I’ve used, also no. It is however a decent mascara and as the formula dries out I enjoy it more. The formula was very wet when I first started using it and it didn’t layer well and would smudge. I probably wouldn’t repurchase the full size of this mascara but I’m glad I’ve tried it.

11. BECCA Glow Gloss in Foxglove*** – I purchased three Glow Glosses from Becca and Foxglove is my favourite shade out of the three. It is a muted plum with cool silver pearl and gives me MAC Syrup vibes. The formula has little flecks of glitter but this doesn’t feel gritty on the lips and it’s very subtle. The gloss does have a minty scent and a bit of tingling upon application but nothing uncomfortable and it stops after a few minutes. The formula isn’t sticky, it’s very comfortable to wear and the gloss is nicely pigmented.

The Finished Look

Overall I’m impressed with how this look turned out and I’m a fan of all the new products I tried. Standouts after the first use that I’m looking forward to trying more are the moisturiser, foundation, eye primer and eyeshadow palette.

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What do you think of this look? Have you tried any of these products or purchased any new makeup recently?

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Empty Products #13

My second empties post of the year! I currently seem to be getting one of these posts up every other month which is satisfying and makes sticking to a low buy easier. When it comes to a low buy I don’t restrict myself with a dollar amount and I still allow myself the occasional impulse purchase. I find I’m working through products more smartly and I’m able to identify what I enjoy and what (if anything) is missing from my collection.

Makeup/Beauty

1. Urban Decay Primer Potion

Up until 18 months ago I hadn’t tried an eyeshadow primer but now I’m sold on the difference they make to the longevity of my eye makeup. This primer from Urban Decay is one that is well loved and one I’d heard a lot about and it is really good. I picked up the 5.7g size and it lasts a long time, a little goes a long way. If you’re curious about eyeshadow primer or are on the fence over this one, I highly urge you to give it a try!

Repurchase: Yes.

2. Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer

Over the past couple of years Fenty Beauty have been making a real name for themselves and to date this is the only product I have tried from the brand. I picked up the 15ml version to see if I like the primer and at first I was on the fence about it, it felt nice and soft on the skin but it was just an ordinary primer. This primer is more on the matte side and I really started enjoying it when I paired it with foundations that verge on being too dewy to create more of a satin finish and keep excess glow at bay.

Repurchase: Maybe – I would at least consider picking up the 15ml size again.

3. MAC Pinklite Strobe Cream 30ml

One thing MAC’s Strobe Cream has going for it is it’s versatility. You can use this as a moisturising primer, mix a little bit in with foundation for a subtle glow or apply it on top of foundation for more of a blinding effect. I used this like a primer on top of my moisturiser as I didn’t find the cream moisturising enough on it’s own for my dry skin. I would be interested to swatch the peach and silver shades to see what they look like on my skintone. It’s a shame not all shades come in the small 30ml size.

Repurchase: Maybe.

4. Rimmel Scandaleyes Lycra Flex Mascara – 003 Extreme Black

This mascara is my holy grail! It gives length and volume and the formula is super easy to work with. In my experience this is one of the only mascaras I’ve tried where the formula stays the same from when the tube is first opened. The mascara doesn’t flake or smudge and is a breeze to remove at the end of the day. I was extremely happy when I found out the extreme black shade wasn’t being discontinued, the product was just being re-packaged. I am yet to try a re-packaged tube however.

Repurchase: Already have a backup.

5. Maybelline Dr Rescue Top Coat

The bottle is not technically empty but I can’t get any more product out and it’s time to call done on this one. The top coat itself is excellent but the brush is really thin and doesn’t pick up a lot of product at once. The amount of product that gets left behind in combination with the small brush is a little disappointing.

Repurchase: Not sure. Value for money wise this is good but I think I prefer my Revlon top coat.

Skincare & Fragrance

6. The Body Shop Shea EDT

I love the Shea range from The Body Shop but this EDT was my least favourite out of all the scents I’ve tried. I thought this scent would work as a fragrance but I didn’t like it on me.

Repurchase: No.

7. Palmer’s Moisture Rich Night Cream

This is a good, inexpensive option for nighttime but I definitely need to apply my facial oil when I use it. My current night moisturiser is more hydrating and lately I have been able to get away with applying that on it’s own without the facial oil. This was the second time I’d purchased this cream so I do like it but I think there are better options.

Repurchase: Maybe.

8. Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm

I purchased this tub in April 2019 and 98% of the time I have worn makeup over the past year I have removed it with this. It is a little pricey but for me the price tag is worth it; my skin doesn’t get irritated, my skin has improved since using the balm regularly and the product isn’t scented or full of harsh ingredients.

Repurchase: Yes.

Body

9. Nivea Invisible Anti-Perspirant – Clear

I haven’t gotten around to trying a different anti-perspirant yet but I will! As you know these feature in every empties and it’s a great everyday staple.

Repurchase: Yes.

10. The Body Shop Moringa Body Yogurt

I first mentioned the Moringa body yogurt in my November 2019 favourites. If you find body lotions and body butters too heavy and want more of a lightweight, gel texture you will enjoy these. Product absorbs quickly, it’s great for all skin types and you get the same amount as you would in a tub of body butter for a cheaper price. A great all over body moisturiser!

Repurchase: Yes. I’d be interested to try other scents too.

Discards

1. Soap & Glory Hand Food – Hydrating Hand Cream

I purchased this hand cream at the end of 2018 and it sat sealed in my beauty drawer for around a year before I got to using it. I noticed at the start of the year only a couple of weeks after opening the hand cream the texture changed to an oily, greasy mess. I shook the tube to try and mix the product back up but that didn’t do anything. The product must have gone bad which is a shame because I’d heard good things about this hand cream and it’s scent. The cream itself did feel nice on the skin and for the price it’s very reasonable. I’m not inclined to repurchase but I’d happily try this again if I received it as a gift.

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What was the last product you finished up?

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Collective Haul (Fashion, Beauty + More!)

I notice I go through stages with spending, I can go for a few months without buying anything and then I tend to buy in clusters. I do prefer to buy things together rather than going to the shops every week and I’m not actually spending more, I just get things at the same time. Last weekend I popped into town to look for a few bits (which I managed to find) and last Monday I placed my first Sephora order. I found it interesting that I ordered from the New Zealand site but the products came from Australia despite there being a physical store here in New Zealand. Not complaining though as I qualified for free shipping and the items arrived within four days of placing the order.

On with the haul!

1. Light Wash Denim Jacket

I purchased a borg style denim jacket off ASOS last year in one of my usual sizes and I’ve worn it a couple of times but it’s too oversized. The seam where the shoulder meets the arm is halfway between my shoulder and my elbow and it looks like I’m an American footballer wearing padding. I will try and sell the jacket as it’s still in good condition but over the past few months I have been looking for a replacement. I ended buying this light wash denim jacket from Pagani – it’s a store I often forget to visit but should make an effort too because the clothing is stylish, good quality and reasonably priced. I had a look online and saw a few different styles of jacket and went in store to try them on. I was torn between this and another jacket in a size up but when I held them up against each other there was barely any difference in size and this one fitted a tad nicer when I tried them on. The other jacket was more of a mid wash blue which I didn’t think flattered my hair as much. The jacket I ended up going with has a relaxed fit and I don’t have to roll the sleeves up too much; the proportions seem right for my body. This will go with anything and is a great staple to have.

2. G-String 2 Pack

Maybe this is TMI but I haven’t worn a g-string before. I bought these to wear underneath a bodysuit I purchased last year which I haven’t had the chance to wear yet because I didn’t have suitable underwear to wear with it. I went with classic black which will match the colour of the bodysuit and these also looked comfortable and not too skimpy.

3. Fiona Gibson books

I read a book from this author a short while ago and thoroughly enjoyed the story and her writing style. She has a romance, chick lit style and her books seem humerous, sweet and make for nice easy reads. Both books came to $12 which for brand new books is a steal!

4. Flower headband

I bought this for a Mexican themed quiz night I went to a few days ago. I was going for a bright, colourful scheme and paired this with glowy, bright makeup (let me know if you’d like me to recreate the look) and a black and white outfit to make the colours pop. Quiz night was a success, our team came 4th out of 26 teams and we were only six points behind the team that came 1st overall.

Onto the Sephora goodies!

5. BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector – Royal Glow

I have heard Rachael (Helpless Whilst Drying) rave about this particular shade and I also have a mini of Opal so I know how beautiful BECCA’s highlighters are! I love all things British and the packaging of this product and the crown embossed into the powder are adorable nods to the royal family – the inspiration behind this highlighter. This shade is supposedly limited edition so I wanted to grab it while I had the chance.

6. Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer

Since Fenty Beauty launched I have heard plenty of positivity surrounding the brand. I was tempted by the Gloss Bombs but I’m on a lipstick ban this year and didn’t want to break it. I’m halfway through my current primer and liked the sound of this one so I got it to try when my current one runs out. I purchased the 15ml size as opposed to the full 32ml size.

7. ZOEVA Rose Golden 230 Pencil Brush

Funny story behind this brush, I had planned to buy it when I ordered ZOEVA brushes from Beauty Bay at the end of April but pictures made this brush look bigger than it actually is so I purchased the 240 Luxe Petit Pencil Brush instead. When the 240 arrived it was absolutely tiny and whilst I have small eyes I was left wishing I had gone with the 230. I used the 240 on my lower lash line but because of it’s size I felt like I was poking my eyes and it wouldn’t be effective for the purpose I wanted it for; to apply shades in the outer V. I haven’t had a chance to use the 230 yet but the bristles are lovely and soft and the brush doesn’t look too big.

What was the last thing you treated yourself to?

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