_

Pages - Menu

Monday, March 27, 2017

A Drugstore Haul

Welcome to haul instalment 2 of 3. As I mentioned in my recent Adore Beauty haul post, I treated myself to some (much-bigger-than-planned) retail therapy a few weeks back and my Priceline order finally arrived to my doorstep after a little "due to high demand" delay.

I'm not going to lie, when Priceline announced their huge sale a couple of days after I received my goods, I basically cried myself to sleep but I mostly purchased products that I needed to re-stock, I believe there's a word for that, genius: repurchase so I suppose I can't be too upset.. you know how sales are: always selling out of what you want.

Here is what I bought:

Fit Me repurchase number thousand over here. I use this baby for the "daily" look, reaching for my trust NARS Radiant Creamy for special occasions. This does provide nice coverage of dark circles, but I tend to use this as an under eye brightener over the top of Maybelline's Instant Age Rewind Concealer, rather than a concealer on it's own as the light shade is amazing for that purpose. It's easy to apply with it's doe foot applicator and creamy formula allows it to spread and blend beautifully, leaving a dewier finish, all the while feeling so soft on the skin and not accentuating any dry patches.

I ran out of nail polish remover a few weeks back, so this was a necessity for me. There are a few different types of polish remover from Cutex (strengthening, acetone free, etc.), but I love how the nourishing offering conditions my nails as much as a product containing harsh acetone can.

La Roche-posay Toleriane Riche
I have been on the hunt for the right moisturiser for me for years and years. I cannot explain to you how painful finding something that works for me has been, so I'm super excited to give some La Roche-posay a try after several blogger recommendations. This is geared towards dry, sensitive skin types which I'm hoping won't be too much on the 'normal' parts of my dry/normal combination, sensitive skin (try saying that five times fast) which can get a tad oily when too much moisture is absorbed in those areas.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel
This is probably my fourth repurchase. I just LOVE this moisturizer. It's a gel that has such a clever formula that continuously releases moisture throughout the day without going too far and leaving the skin looking oily and blegh. It has such a refreshingly light and non-sticky texture that my skin slurps right up. My dry patches have been getting the nourishment they need and my skin looks nothing but supple when I wear it. The scent is lovely. It actually reminds me of jellybeans and does not irritate my sensitive skin like many fragrances tend to.

Essie Nail Polish in 'Blanc'
I've always been a fan of the how chic white nail polish looks and I've had my eye on this exact polish for so long but never actually bought it. Essie, as we all know, is an amazing polish brand so this was a no-brainer to add to my cart to bump up the price up to qualify for free shipping.

I have about 400 make-up brushes but most of them are face brushes. My eye brush collection is seriously lacking - I do not have a fluffy one that is amazing at blending eye shadow in to and over the crease other than the trusty brush that comes in Urban Decay's Naked palettes. I definitely wanted to have one on-hand without the need to dig through my palettes. You can see the quality of this brush just by looking at it and it's narrow, tapered design should make applying shadow to my crease a dream.

I bought this brush to be used as more of a general blender on the lids and/or packing brush. Upon receiving it, it does look as though it may be a tad too sparse in the bristle department to be used effectively as a packer, but it is nice and fluffy, so it should still make a lovely blender.




All in all, I'm more then happy with my little haul (despite the fact that I paid non-sale price for it) and I can't wait to give the few products that are new to me a try.

Are there any products here that you'd like to try for yourself?


Stay tuned for my (soon to arrive) American brand haul!















As always, this post has not been sponsored in any way, meaning that none of the items mentioned have been sent to me, endorsed or paid for by anyone other than me, myself and I.

Friday, March 24, 2017

Friday Finds

Here are a few of my internet finds (and loves) from over the past week:


\\  These DIY crystal planters are amazing!  //
\\  These DIY gold splatter plates are so pretty and so easy to make.  //
\\  Someone please bring me a plethora of fruity pebbles French toast.  //
\\  Look at these macaron cheeseburgers and sugar cookie fries! I'm done.  //
\\  This easy AF messy buns tutorial speaks to the lazy girl that I am.  //
\\  Can we all take a moment to appreciate these rice krispie treat cones?  //


Happy Friday!

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Beauty Empties #6

I'll admit: I've been pretty lazy in the past when it came to the collating (read: taking photos) of my empties last year, I just held on to everything until a day where I could be bothered (never) but LOOK AT ME NOW! It's been about two months since my last (huge) empties post and I'm not going to lie, I feel pretty accomplished. How long regular these posts will be from here on out? Who knows but for the time being, let's all celebrate me being substantially less lazy than usual by going through my trash. We're all friends here. Besides, it's not actually a weird thing to do in the beauty-blogging world. Right? Guys?!


This is the first cleanser that I've found that works for me! As you've probably read 4,000 times on the blog, finding a cleanser that works on my dry/normal combination, sensitive skin was hard. I bought this after a recommendation from a few of my blogger pals as it's formulated for dry and sensitive skin. The texture is luxuriously milky - it feels more like you're putting moisturiser on rather than a cleanser. It's creamy and gentle, yet still manages to break through makeup and grit, leaving my skin feeling fresh and more supple than any cleanser I've tried, I guess due to the vitamin E. Because it is so gentle, I can use it to remove my eye makeup without burning the shit out of my eyes, and it's pretty effective at doing so, but I'm also not sure how deeply its cleansing my pores, so I still like to perform a deep cleanse once a week. Whatever the case, it seems to work wonderfully, leaving my face feeling soft and fresh, and less dry than ever.

Repurchase? I already have. The bigger, pump bottle this time.

Though alcohol-based astringents are rather harsh on the skin, I've been using this lil' baby for years because it does THE BEST job of cleaning and refreshing the skin (when your cotton ball comes away brown and grimy, even after washing, you know it's clearing deep down in the pores) without leaving any residue behind. In regards to the 'blackhead eliminating' claims: I honestly don't see a difference when it comes to clearing those nasty things up, although it does get really deep down, so I suppose it's preventing any new ones from appearing - I certainly haven't had any new patches pop up.

Repurchase? I'm on to bottle 99999999999 right now.

I love, love, LOVE this gel moisturizer. It's got such a clever formula that continuously releases moisture throughout the day without going too far and leaving the skin looking oily and blegh. It has such a refreshingly light and non-sticky texture that my skin slurps right up. My dry patches have been getting the nourishment they need and my skin looks nothing but supple when I wear it. The scent reminds me of jellybeans, too, and does not irritate my sensitive skin, which is an added bonus.

Repurchase? Always
.

AVON Naturals Strawberry Body Yoghurt (no longer available)
 This truly does look and smell like yoghurt. It is a lovely, light all-over body moisturiser - pretty standard. It's kind of similar to The Body Shop's offering, only much less greasy (and somewhat cheaper). It sinks right in to the skin, providing sweet-smelling, hydration all day long without any "slimy" residue.

Repurchase? They've unfortunately stopped making this, otherwise I probably would.

Brittney Spears Fantasy Perfume *
This is an old scent, my gosh. I have about 50 perfumes sitting around waiting to use, so I decided to start using up my older ones first. We all know the scent: sweet and vanilla-y. It really took me back to my younger days. Unfortunately, the spritzer just kind of stopped working, so there was a little bit left in the bottle that I ultimately had to throw away.

Repurchase? Probably not. It's lovely, but my taste in perfume has matured somewhat.

Nip+fab Kale Fix Dry Skin Moisturiser
After years and years of painfully searching for the right moisturiser for me, this was probably the best one I'd tried to date. The concept of superfood for the face really intrigued me. I used it daily, which would be ideal for drier skin types (although I prefer a moisturiser with SPF for during the day), but if you're an oilier gal, this would be better used at night as it's a little on the thick side. Not at the thick, goopy, uncomfortable level, but thicker than your standard day-time moisturiser. I usually pair it with a drop or two of my rosehip oil before bed and it has truly done an amazing job at comforting my dry patches, and I truly do wake up with softer skin than I ever have before. I also very much appreciate the pump mechanism. The only thing I have a slight issue with, is the smell. It's not unpleasant, per se, it's.. well.. it's hard to describe. Like perfumed kale? Yeah. Not unbearable but definitely a surprise when I first used it.

Repurchase? I'm trying La Roche Posay's Toleriane Riche right now, but I would repurchase this if I decide that it works better.

AVON Glimmersticks Waterproof Eyeliner (Blackest Night)
I've been using this eye liner for longer than I can remember. I've tried so many others, and this is what I keep coming back to when I want a waterproof liner. It doesn't glide on as smoothly as smudgeable formulas (obviously) but if you're looking for solid lines that stay put all day - this is your liner. It doesn't work the best on the waterline, so I only use it on my top lash line, but it is waterproof, smudge proof, super black and retractable (goodbye, sharpening) which is all I'm after, really.

I always try my best to avoid face wipes, but I've always got a pack on my table on the rare occasion I'm feeling too lazy (drunk) to properly remove my makeup before bed. These are far more gentle than any other brand I've tried, and don't sting my eyes at all. Best of all, a tenderness I  usually get around my eyes when using wipes isn't present at all. They also do a surprisingly good job removing makeup - even waterproof mascara, which is always difficult for me to take off. The wipes do leave a slight residue behind, but it actually feels like a lotion - not greasy or sticky at all and absorbs quickly, leaving my skin unexpectedly soft and moisturised.

My lawd this is expensive! $70 will get you a pack of 5 sheet masks. Luckily I received a single mask in a subscription box a while back and completely forgot about it until recently. This is obviously geared towards more mature skin than what my 23 year-old self has as it claims to help reduce the visible appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It did make my skin feel wonderfully soft, plum and radiant, though. A lovely little treat if I do say so myself.

Repurchase? Not likely. My skin just isn't in need of the benefits this offers.



There truly is nothing more soothing to me than being able to finally throw away a handful of empty products that I'd been holding on to for a while and hey! If you still haven't got your fix of snooping through others' rubbish (you weirdo), be sure to check my previous empties posts!

Is there anything here that you'd like to try for yourself?














As always, this post has not been sponsored by anyone, in any way, meaning that none of the items mentioned have been sent to me, endorsed or paid for by anyone other than me, myself and I. This post does, however, contain one or two affiliate links. Feel free to find and purchase the products mentioned elsewhere if you don't get down like that. I will always disclose such information using an asterisk (*) for full disclosure to my readers.

Monday, March 20, 2017

A mini Adore Beauty haul + A sneaky discount for you!

I've been feeling a little lacklustre lately, so I treated myself to a lil' (and I mean lil') Adore Beauty* (amongst others. Stay tuned) haul to perk myself up again. Although I didn't purchase much, it really did the trick. I picked up a few products that I've been dying to try and finally got to restock my supply of (perpetually sold out) No Colour Powder. All in all, a successful endeavour. Who says retail therapy is nonsense?



I think I'm about the only person who didn't immediately jump on the Benefit brow collection bandwagon. Instead, I stuck to my good old Rimmel Brow This Way Kit and waited until now to tentatively purchase two products from the range. The waterproof formula was calling my name; "It would be perfect for my full-day-of-work-followed-by-a-gym-session lifestyle", I thought to myself, and Rimmel's drugstore offering certainly isn't water or smudge proof. I absolutely LOVE the natural looking fibres that attach themselves to the skin and hairs. They create such a textured, natural looking fullness whilst helping to keep unruly hairs in place all day.

Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil
This was more of a curious buy. Although I've mastered the art of outlining with my Rimmel kit, the smudgy formula and the shape of the brush doesn't make it the ideal tool for that purpose. This pencil has such a thin applicator, making it so damn precise (as the name suggests) when outlining the brows. It's also great at giving a natural look when filling in sparse areas. The size and shape of the pencil makes drawing light, feathery, hair-like strokes super easy. As with Gimme Brow, this pencil is also waterproof.

Both Benefit products were bought in the shade 03 Medium which matches the natural colour of my brows much better than the Rimmel offering, which only offers two shades, both of which are too dark for me.

RCMA No Colour Powder
This was a (much awaited) repurchase as I previously mentioned. It actually made an appearance in my latest favourites post that's how much I've been digging it lately. This powder is amazing at setting my whole face as well as baking my under eye area and sharpening that ol' contour. It works to effectively keep my concealer in place, matte and from creasing throughout the whole day without changing the colour of the base that is underneath. It feels soft, silky and light on the skin, and brushes away with ease once you've baked to your heart's content. I've been reaching for RCMA's Translucent Powder whilst the No Colour Powder was sold out, which is also does an amazing job, but I'm more than glad to have this back in my life.


On a related note, I was conveniently sent a not-at-all-related-to-my-order but still handy "refer a friend" discount code from Adore Beauty recently which I thought I would share with you here because whythefucknot?

Just purchase your products here and use the code
BFF3935
at the checkout to get $10 off your first order. Code expires on 3 July, 2017.

For full disclosure, I earn $10 off my next order for each person who purchases via the above referral link in return. Win-win.


All in all, I'm super happy with my mini Adore Beauty haul. Stay tuned for my soon-to-come Priceline and (gasp) American brand hauls!



* As always, this post has not been sponsored in any way, meaning that none of the items mentioned have been sent to me, endorsed or paid for by anyone other than me, myself and I. I am, however, an Adore Beauty affiliate, meaning that this post does contain affiliate links. Feel free to find and purchase the products mentioned elsewhere if you don't get down like that. :)

Friday, March 17, 2017

Friday Finds.

Here are a few of my internet finds (and over) from over the past week:


\\  How wonderful does Boozy Cereal Milk Egg Cream sound?  //
\\  This DIY wool woven basket takes a plain paper basket to a whole other level.  //
\\  Let's all take a sec to appreciate the silliness (and awesomeness) of these DIY balloon hats.  //
\\  I would slather myself in this DIY vanilla latte coffee scrub every single day.  //
\\  Any and all of these breakfast crostinis would be more than okay in my book.  //
\\  There's rainbow Jell-O and then there's this rainbow Jell-O. A whole other level.  //


Happy Friday!

Monday, March 13, 2017

My Month on Instagram - February 2017

If you've been following Christie's Take on Life for any amount of time, you'd surely know by now that I'm a major lover of Instagram! It's the perfect outlet for posting inspiration and little snippets of life, and seeing what my favourite bloggers and friends are up to.

There are so many times that my Instagram posts never make it to my blog, and that's a damn shame because I consider myself to be quite the photographer..

..Not really, but it's a shame nonetheless!

Instalife over the past month looked something like this:


Did you all pick up some of LUSH's limited edition Valentine's products? I only ended up with two pieces from the collection, but I feel as though I made a damn good choice.


Oh look! The Sweet Peach Palette. *queue obvious sarcasm* I bet you haven't seen that on every form of social media ever lately.


Guys! More specifically, Perth guys! Get on down to Little Bird café in Northbridge and order the Halloumi burger. You may thank me after your multiple mouthgasms.


As you can see, my February wasn't the most insta-filled month. I've settled back in to the swing of work now, but it was somewhat difficult to begin with. Here's to an increase in my Instagram presence this month!

I love finding pretty new feeds to follow on Instagram; leave your account deets in the comments, or come find me: @christieee__x!
 

Friday, March 10, 2017

Friday Finds

Here are a few of my internet finds (and loves) from over the past week:


\\  Look at these DIY flamingo slippers! LOOK!  //
\\  How cool do these DIY geometric mirrors look? Seems simple enough, too.  //
\\  I'm going to get my St. Patrick's on with rainbow lucky charms chocolate bark.  //
\\  How much fun are these DIY fruit balloons?  //
\\  This ombre chair makeover is giving me life right now.  //
\\  An iced lavender dirty chai latte is definitely something that I could get behind.  //


Happy Friday!

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

March 2017 Goals and February Look Back


A look back at February's goals:


Sell some stuff
"We're building a house and both Jesse and I have that much junk accumulated, I don't know how we'll fit it all in. I'd like to sell some good condition bits and pieces that I no longer need/use (for more money for shoes, obvs). Bonus points if I can get Jesse to do the same (I'm doubtful. Very doubtful)."

Cross: I don't know where February went, but boy did it pass me by. I hadn't even got the chance to think about what I wanted to sell, let alone actually sell anything.



Take more photos
"There was a point in time when all I did was take photos, nowadays, my Instagram is suffering. I don't know if it's just because I generally don't do a lot outside of work and sleep, or whether I just got lazy but I'd definitely like to get back in to documenting my adventures."

Cross: I did take a few photos, but definitely not as many as I would have liked to.


Lose 2kg
"I weighed myself last week, and it turns out that eating better and exercising contributed to a weight loss - who would have thought?! I haven't seen a loss in a long time and although I'm still heavier than I was before Christmas, I've lost a good 3kg of the Christmas weight that I gained. Ka-ching. Hopefully this high will motivate me to lose a further 2kg this month."

Cross: What even is this "weight loss" business anyways?


Save my money
"With the holidays and my break from work, I've been spending a lot lately. Since we've just started paying our loan repayments and still need to buy a lot of furniture, etc. I'm going to try to go on a bit of a spending ban this month and build my balance up some more."

Tick: Ka-ching!

Goals for March:

Buy more furniture
Our house is going up fast. While we are in no dire need for furniture right now, my organised self is not satisfied with the few bit and bobs we have ready to go. I'd definitely like to add some more pieces to our stash this month.

Eat better on weekends
I do so well to eat right during the week but as soon as the weekend rolls around, that all goes out the window, which I'm 100% sure is why I'm not reaching my weight-loss goals. I'd like to completely eliminate all weekend take-out meals and unnecessarily snacking on junk food all month long. Sorry Jesse.

Find a damn pumpkin spice latte
In case you didn't see my mood board, we've just entered Autumn here, and I'm sad to admit that in my 23 years of life, I have never experienced this "pumpkin spice latte" thing that I see plastered around the internet come Autumn in the US. It's just not a "thing" here in Australia, but I'm determined to find one this season. DETERMINED!

Learn how to use my camera's manual settings
I have seen post after post after post about how much better photos turn out when you adjust the manual settings rather than leave it up to 'auto' to figure out. I've been interested in expanding my photography skills and knowledge for quite some time, but I'm usually in a rush (or can't be bothered) to nail out my photos and I constantly find myself falling back in to using the auto setting because it's that much easier. I'd definitely like to learn how to effectively use my camera's (Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1) manual settings this month and, in turn, improve the overall quality of my photos.


What are you hoping to achieve this month? 

Friday, March 3, 2017

Friday Finds.

Here are a few of my internet finds (and loves) from over the past week:


\\  Yes to this simple marbled incense holder DIY.  //
\\  Hi. I don't mean to alarm you but unicorn blondie sundaes!  //
\\  Look at the gloriousness that is this DIY holographic acrylic glitter calendar!  //
\\  This giant macaron cake is all of my dreams come true.  //
\\  This DIY Mean Girls burn book vase is my absolute life.  //
\\  How delectable does a flower petal and walnut scrub sound?  //


Happy Friday!


Wednesday, March 1, 2017

February 2017 Beauty Favourites.



In case you didn't see my instagram post, I finally caved and purchased the sweet peach palette after opting to turn it down during its first release. As it turns out, I'm a damn fool and should not have waited so long to get my hands on it. The peachy pinks, corals and bronzes that make up this palette compliment my blue/green/grey eyes beautifully! There is an even amount of matte and shimmery finishes that are so versatile - I've created so many different looks with this palette alone. There are one or two disappointing colours in the palette (ohai, Talk Derby To Me), but that's usually the case with most brands. For the most part, the shades have wonderful colour payoff with a soft, buttery texture and the formula is easy to blend. Then there's the smell; a sweet fruity scent that I actually prefer it to the Chocolate palette.

I understand that there was a lot of drama in the beauty world last year involving Jeffree and his ethics, and I am well aware that many people made the decision to forgo his products because of it. I (obviously) was not one of those people and you can think and say what you want about Jeffree as a person, but there is no denying that homegirl makes a damn good liquid lipstick. I do love all Jeffree Star liquid lipsticks, not just this particular shade, but Gemini specifically made it on to my favourites this month because I just don't feel as though it gets enough recognition. It is a gorgeous warm-toned, rosy nude colour that (as with all the Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lippies) goes on smoothly, is non-drying and dries to a lovely matte finish. It is incredibly pigmented requiring only one coat to achieve opaque coverage, meaning that there is no flaking and it has a delicious scent. This line of liquid lipsticks has been the only one that I've reached for in a very long time.

3. Nivea Lip Butter Caramel Cream Kiss
I have always had chronically dry lips. If my mouth is not constantly slathered in a balm of some sort, you can tell. Badly. The thing about having to constantly use a lip balm, is that your skin quickly adapts and something that worked wonders last week, doesn't seem to get the job done the next. Nivea's lip butter has been my product of choice lately, and it's done amazing things for my flaky lips. One of my biggest peeves when it comes to lip balm is an overly sticky or heavy formula. I. Just. Cant. No matter how moisturising. This, however, is none of those. It's delightfully light on the lips and has a deliciously soft, sweet, creamy butterscotch scent that I can't get enough of whilst,of course, being incredibly moisturising and softening.


4. LUSH Cup O' Coffee
I actually received sample pot of this after spending my Christmas voucher on a whole bunch of other LUSH goodies and I must say, I was hesitant. I'm not a lover of coffee or harsh exfoliates but the girl at the checkout was insistent that it was amazing, and besides, who am I to turn down a free sample? It's a good thing I was talked in to it because I was impressed. So much so that I've since bought a full-sized tub. It does have a strong coffee scent (yadon't say), but if I can deal with it, you can too. The formula is quite grainy, and the applying and the removing of the mask is where the exfoliating happens, but I was beyond surprised at how gentle this mask was, despite the large exfoliating coffee grounds it contains. I highly recommend removing the mask in the shower after your 10-15 minutes is up as it is quite the messy process, but once it's off.. oh boy. My skin feels sososo smooth and sososo soft. It's heaven!


5: RCMA No Colour Powder*
I'm sure you heard about this damn powder from every make-up "guru" and their dog all throughout 2016, but damn is it worth the hype! I've only recently discovered the wonder that is baking my face with a translucent powder as opposed to any other type of powder out there, and holy moly it has changed my life. This powder is amazing at setting my face and baking my under eye area and contour. It works to effectively keep my concealer in place, matte and from creasing throughout the whole day without changing the colour of the base that is underneath. It feels silky and light on the skin and brushes away with ease once you've baked to your heart's content. If this is particular offering is sold out (which it often is), I opt for the RCMA Translucent Powder* instead, which is also does an amazing job.


What products are you loving lately?













As always, this post has not been sponsored in any way, meaning that none of the items mentioned have been sent to me, endorsed or paid for by anyone other than me, myself and I. This post does, however, contain affiliate links in which I receive a small commission from any purchases made through them. I will always disclose such information using an asterisk (*) for full disclosure to my readers. Feel free to find and purchase the products mentioned elsewhere if you don't get down like that.
Thank you fur supporting Christie's Take on Life.

Sharing is Caring!