FFS Friday Inspired by GlossQueen!

This week has not been a particularly good one so after gaining inspiration from my good friend Anissa I have decided a FFS Friday post is required.

Anissa's blog www.beautifullyglossy.blogspot.com is awesome and she does the most hilarious FFS Friday posts. I adore reading them but it's maybe not such a good thing if you read them at three in the morning when everyone else in the house is sleeping soundly. I have been known to wake others up with my Miss Piggy snorting cackles of laughter!

So in a tribute to Gloss Queen here we go with a FFS Friday post.

Last weekend the last Perfume Connection in Tasmania closed down. FFS!

On Monday I bathed the puppies and made them look beautifully white and super fluffy. I took them for a walk later that day and the little boy Banjo decided he'd like to roll in a pile of horse poo. FFS! I had to bath him again about 5 times to get rid of all the horse poo in his coat FFS!

On Tuesday I had a severe flare up of my Neurological condition. This caused me to be in extreme amounts of nerve generated pain. FFS!

The pain was so bad I required an emergency appointment with my Specialist FFS! The Specialist asked me if I needed anything stronger for the pain? FFS!

I was referred to another new Specialist. FFS! I needed to send my new Specialist copies of my previous MRI scans in the mail along with the new referral. I went to the Post Office and realised I had forgotten the referral. FFS!

I was prescribed new medications. Like I needed any more of those. FFS! I went to my local Pharmacy who had strangely never heard of my new medications so told me they would get them in for me in around a weeks time. FFS! I walk out of the pharmacy and back to the car. I realised I had left my keys in the Pharmacy FFS!

I get home from the Pharmacy to find some moron is parked over my driveway so I couldn't get in. FFS! I have to Park on the street. FFS! The culprit turns out to be a neighbour's 80 year old Grandpa. FFS!

My Aunty comes to visit and see how I am doing. She brings me a big cake and a block of chocolate. She knows I am an unstable Diabetic. FFS!

My Dad decides he might need to turn the house water off whilst I am in the shower! FFS! After screams of horror and me angrily stomping through the house to see what was happening, Dad looks at me and says ''who showers at 12pm'' FFS!

Yesterday I saw my Specialist. He said ''you don't look well Karen'' FFS!

Yesterday I went to K-Mart and BIG W. There were toys everywhere in those stupid toy sales! FFS! I am blind in one eye. FFS. I run into a toy display and knock the entire thing down. FFS! Everybody looks at me accusingly. FFS!

Last night I went to watch Desperate Housewives on my Hard Drive and managed to delete it instead. FFS!

I have weed my pants a few times lately due to my kidney issues. FFS! I am stupid enough to tell others. FFS! Others think it is hilarious. FFS! My Aunty suggested Incontinence Pads for the elderly. FFS!

I haven't been sleeping well. FFS! Pain has been keeping me awake. FFS! My puppies are also not sleeping well. FFS! They want to play in the middle of the night at sub zero temperatures. FFS!

Female puppy Molly decides she will poop on the foyer floor to save going out in the frost. FFS! When Mum finds it she screams at me. FFS! I end up cleaning it up. FFS! Female puppy decides it might be fun to do it again. FFS!

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have finally split! FFS! As if we didn't see that coming. FFS! I wonder if Suri will get another cupcake, some heels and a million dollars as a parental Divorce gift? FFS!

That is my rant over. FFS!

Project 50 Pan Update!

Sorry it's been a while since my last update! You know how it is, life happens and you get distracted and then you get lazy and can't be bothered. I have exciting news about P50P so stay tuned for my update and pics coming in the next few days!

Project 50 Pan Update!

Project 50 Pan continues! Here are some recent empties including:

9. Moroccan Oil 100ml - Love this even in my baby fine hair. It has made a huge difference in the overall health and condition of my hair. I have tried many other brands but always come back to the original.

10. Pure Satin Shield Leave In Conditioner and Heat Shield - I love the brand Pure. I buy it from my local Hairdressing Wholesaler. This is such a beautiful product and really does protect and nourish my hair. This is a Holy Grail product for me and I have repurchased it at least 15 times. It smells amazing. Pure products contain no sulphates, parabens or nasty ingredients.

11. Nak Diamond Polish - I purchased this to achieve a slick ponytail with no fly aways. It does the job but can make my hair look a little greasy. I probably won't repurchase this.

12. Nak Replends - This is a leave in moisturiser for the hair. It is beautiful and very hydrating without leaving any greasy residue. This is also a product I have repurchased many times.

13. M.A.C Pro Eye Makeup Remover - This is an effective eye makeup remover but I have tried many better ones that cost a lot less. This retails for $34 Australian and to be honest I think that's kind of expensive for an eye makeup remover. I probably won't repurchase this again.

14. Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel - I absolutely adore Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel. As it is a Christmas Limited Edition product that only comes out once a year I always purchase enough to see me through to the next Christmas.

15. Lush It's Raining Men Shower Gel - This is the famous Lush Soap Honey I Washed The Kids in shower gel form. It smells amazing but I do find it a little drying on my skin. I don't find the soap at all drying though.

I am now around 20 empties in on Project 50 Pan. Stay tuned for next weeks update. I am hoping to hit 25 empties by the end of next week which will bring me to being half way through this hideous project.

I wish I could say I am enjoying this but truthfully I am not. I quite enjoy the liberty of buying whatever I want whenever I feel like it. However it is good to be getting rid of some of the clutter and actually using products up (which I rarely do).

I am also hoping to do a cull of products soon. I just need to go through everything and throw anything out that's expired or seen better days.



Note: I am not sponsored by any of the above mentioned brands. All products were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.

Bioderma H2O Makeup Remover.

I first heard about Bioderma Makeup Remover from Lisa Eldridge on You Tube. She is a celebrity Makeup Artist with clients including Kate Winslet. After Lisa's Video suddenly videos on this product started popping up everywhere.

The appealing factor of this product to me was the fact that it claimed to be extremely gentle on the face and eyes. Due to having very sensitive eyes and skin that is becoming more sensitive as I get older I was keen to locate some of this and give it a try. So many eye makeup removers burn my eyes or leave a stinging sensation and to be honest I expected that Bioderma would also.

I managed to track down Bioderma from an overseas company and I purchased a couple of 500ml bottles for around $32 Australian each. I can honestly say that I think I have found my favourite eye makeup remover ever! Not only is it extremely cost effective but it also easily removes all my eye makeup and doesn't sting or burn at all. I simply apply a little to a cotton pad and sweep across my eyes.

Bioderma can be difficult to find due to it being a brand mainly sold in French Pharmacies. However I did notice a little sample bottle in this months Lust Have It subscription box so I am assuming they will be selling it in their online shop here in Australia soon.


Note: I am not sponsored by any of the brands or companies listed above. All products were purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own.

Bye Bye Glossybox and I Love This Box Australia!

This month has seen some big changes within the subscription box industry here in Australia. In two weeks I went from being subscribed to all 4 on offer within the Australian Market to now being subscribed to just two.

Glossybox was taken over and merged with Lust Have It! I Love This Box has now pulled the pin and stopped their service. I find it quite odd that I Love This Box went from notifying their customers that they ''may not be able to supply May's box due to logistical reasons'' to closing down altogether. However I can't say that I am surprised. When that first comment about May's box not coming went out my internal radar went into overdrive and I thought ''uh oh this doesn't sound good''.

Now I am left with a Lust Have It and BellaBox Subscription. I think these two boxes have very much been the frontrunners in the subscription box genre here in Australia. I think the level of customer service a company provides is a very good indicator of how much longevity it will have as a business. I have always received excellent customer service from both Lust Have it and BellaBox.

I was sad to see Glossybox and I Love This Box depart the Australian Market as I really do enjoy getting my boxes each month. It's like a little present to myself and it's always exciting to see what's inside. However I must admit I pretty much know the content of my boxes each month because I receive my boxes a few days later than everyone else, due to being in Hobart, I cheat and look at other peoples blog posts to see what's inside!


Note: I am not sponsored by any of the above mentioned companies. My monthly subscriptions are purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own.

Current Favourite Fragrances

I am currently encapsulated in a love affair with two fragrances by Tokyo Milk.

My  first current fragrance obsession is French Kiss Number 15 from Tokyo Milk's original line. It contains notes of Mandarin, Tuberose, Gardenia and Vetiver. This smells so pretty to me without being overpowering or too fruity or floral. I love anything based on France especially Paris and I love that when you look through the bottle from the back there is a picture of the Eiffel Tower staring back at you. This particular fragrance costs around $50 for 30ml and can be purchased online and from selected boutiques.

The second fragrance I am loving at the moment is also by Tokyo Milk but this one is from their line of Dark fragrances. The fragrance is called Tainted Love Number 62. It contains notes of Dark Vanilla Bean, Orchid, White Tea and Sandalwood. I would describe this fragrance as a sophisticated vanilla scent. There's nothing sickly about the fragrance and it smells somewhat grown up. Anyone Who loves vanilla scents the way I do would love this fragrance. Here in Australia Tokyo Milk Dark Fragrances retail for around $70.
The Tokyo Milk Dark Line are larger containing 47ml of fragrance as opposed to the standard line which contain 30ml of fragrance.


Note: I am not sponsored by Tokyo Milk. All products were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.

Project 50 Pan Update!

When I started Project 50 Pan I thought it would be an easy task to complete. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would struggle with making no purchases the way that I have. The first few days were obscene. This was mainly because I was exposed to a lot of gorgeous shops and wasn't allowed to buy anything. Whilst I have had a few Birthdays and Mother's Day to buy gifts for I think it is actually worse buying for other people when you know you can't buy for yourself! Please don't think I'm evil but I found myself resenting my Mum because I had to give her a gorgeous candle that I wasn't allowed to buy for myself for Mother's Day. Lol!

Here I am 15 Days into Project 50 Pan and I am so proud to report that I have not made one single beauty purchase! Even I thought I would have slipped up by now. As much as I have been tempted to shop I keep willing myself not to because I do not want to have to admit that I have failed to you guys and all my Family and Friends who are watching me attempt this! I know a few of my Family and Friends are waiting for me to fail with baited breath! It's not easy though, in fact it is so much more challenging than you would think.

It's time for me to be real here people and as I am all about sharing I think it is only fair that I make a few confessions.

I have raided my big beauty closet (aka a 4 door built in floor to ceiling wardrobe) in search of any products that were half empty or almost finished. I have removed all of them and started using them like a mad woman in a desperate and somewhat pathetic attempt to finish them.

I saw my Mum had finished a hair product and sneakily went through the rubbish looking for the packaging so I could pretend it was an empty of mine. Unfortunately she busted me and said that I was cheating!

I asked myself if one cotton bud was a full sized beauty product and if so could I just use 50 cotton buds and declare the task a complete success?

I have been burning 5 candles at once trying to get rid of them. I am trying to stick to the same scent family but desperate times call for desperate measures right?

I have never successfully completed a task anything like this before. It is kind of gut wrenching to think of all the hardship going on in other parts of the world and even here in Australia and here I am worrying about not being able to buy beauty products because I am on a self imposed ban! Something I am realising though is we live such a privileged existence and I shamefully admit I kind of like it! I never realised how much money I spend on beauty goods and how I gravitate towards the beauty counters, toiletry sections and cosmetics departments of stores. It's like waving a red flag at a bull when I enter a store.

Here is a picture of my empties so far:

1. Nak Aromas Shampoo with Argan Oil - This is a good general shampoo that I have repurchased many times. It has the added benefits of argan oil and it leaves my baby fine hair soft and hydrated. It retails for around $18 for 250ml and is available at Price Attack, wholesalers and various salons and online stores.

2. Lush Oatfix Fresh Face Mask - This mask is another product I constantly repurchase. It is made with Oats, Bananas, Crushed Almonds and Vanilla and is designed for dry or sensitive skin. I like to use this mask if my skin is looking a bit dehydrated and dull. It leaves my skin feeling soft and hydrated. This Mask has a limited shelf life of around 3 weeks and must be kept refrigerated. It costs around $16 for 75g and is available at Lush Stores as well as online at www.lush.com.au

3. Wotnot Face Wipes - I was initially put on to these wipes by my friend Anissa over at www.beautifullyglossy.blogspot.com The appealing thing about these wipes is that they are all natural with no added nasty ingredients. They are great at removing makeup and taking the day off. The one thing I did find with these wipes is that the essential oils in them did irritate my sensitive eyes a little bit. Wotnot Wipes retail for around $15 for 25 wipes.

4. Lydia Jordane Eye Lifting Cream - I have loved this eye cream for many years now. My eyes are very sensitive and this eye cream doesn't irritate them at all. I could never be without this in my skin care routine even though I use other eye creams this is the old faithful I always end up coming back to. It contains lots of beautiful ingredients including Yeast Beta Glucan, Hyaluronic Acid, Vegetable Ceramides, Phyto Ceramide, Rosehip Oil and Evening Primrose Oil. It retails for around $56 for 15ml. It can be purchased via professional beauty salons and online.

5. The Body Shop Earth Lovers Watermelon and Eucalyptus Shower Gel - I love the Earth Lovers Shower Gels from The Body Shop. They smell amazing and are also free from Sulphates, Parabens and Colourants.  They cost $14.95 for 250ml and are available at The Body Shop or www.thebodyshop.com.au

6. Beauty and The Bees Rosewater Toning Mist - Beauty and The Bees is a Tasmanian owned company that makes natural products free of sulphates and nasty chemicals. The Rosewater Toning Mist smells absolutely gorgeous. It is without doubt my favourite rosewater that I have ever tried. It costs $19.95 for 100ml and is available at www.beebeauty.com

7. Lush Twilight Shower Gel - This lavender scented shower gel was a limited edition product from Lush for Halloween last year. It is not currently available but I am hoping that Lush will bring this back this year for Halloween. It is lavender scented but not in an old lady stinky kind of way. It almost has a candied sweet scent to it probably because of the tonka note in it. I have loved using this product especially in the evening before bed.

8. Alpha H Phase 1 Wash- This wash has been renamed Clear Skin Daily Face Wash. It retails for around $34 for 100mls of product. This face wash was recommended to me by a friend when I was experiencing constant small breakouts around my chin. It contains Eucalyptus and Tea Tree to heal, calm and soothe the skin and help control excess sebum. It is designed to prevent future breakouts.

When I first started using this product I noticed within a week my breakouts were healing and my skin was calmer in general. This face wash is designed for people aged 12-40 with oily skin types.

I have a few more empties but have decided to hold them over until my next Project 50 Pan update. Are any of you attempting your own no buy or use up project at the moment? If so how are you going?


Note: I am not sponsored by any of the above mentioned brands or companies. All products were purchased with my own money and all opinions are entirely my own.

Project 50 Pan (eeeeeek)!

I am a shameless over consumer. I excessively collect beauty products and shamefully admit that I never even use half of them. For some reason I just keep buying them and it wasn't until recently that I realised how out of control my little beauty habit had became. I was watching an episode of Hoarders on TV and my Mother turned to me and said ''you are going to end up on that show''! This in itself wasn't a revelation. I am a Hoarder (although I prefer to call it an avid collector). I think the fact that I still have my Barbie Doll collection from my childhood stored in my Dad's garage will attest to this!

It suddenly occurred to me the sheer volume of products I have is taking over my home and I am not using even a fraction of the products that I buy. I decided to have a good look at the state of my home. Three large double bedrooms and a study have been taken over by my beauty collection. Chests of drawers intended for clothing are filled with makeup. Wardrobes are stacked from floor to ceiling with scented candles, many of which have never been opened let alone used. The Bathrooms are cluttered with more products than a small village of women could ever use in a lifetime. Heaven forbid the house ever catch on fire as the volume of perfume I have is enough to cause a massive explosion.

Clearly I need to take action and stage a self induced intervention. Enter Project 50 Pan! I started telling friends and family that I was going to use up 50 products across the entire beauty spectrum before purchasing one more single item from the Makeup, Hair Care, Skin Care, Candle or Bath and Body categories. Of course everyone I told of my mission laughed and told me they couldn't wait to see me fail. It became obvious to me that I have became a joke and that nobody thinks I can stop beauty shopping. I decided I needed to make my commitment to this cause known so I hereby pledge to donate $200 to a charity of my choice for every breach of Project 50 Pan I make. Yes that's right $200! Ouch that will hurt. As much as I like to donate to charity I do not want to be donating money in that volume to them on a regular basis. In fact so determined am I to be successful at project 50 pan that it is my hope to not have to donate any money at all!

It is going to be tough because barely a week ever goes buy that I don't make multiple beauty purchases. Shopping for beauty products has became such a huge part of my everyday life. I have spent so much money building this ridiculous collection of stuff and at the end of the day I need to take responsibility for all the money I have wasted and start looking for more productive ways to spend my time and my money. I am hoping that project 50 pan will help me save some money and start to make inroads on my massive beauty collection. I will be posting regular updates on my progress of project 50 pan right here on my blog. I am asking all my subscribers to get behind me and support me on my quest to successfully complete my goal.

This is going to be hard for me and I am sure I am going to need your help to keep me motivated on my quest. I will be posting pictures of my empty products along the way. On completion of project 50 pan I will be randomly selecting a subscriber to give away a prize to. I am unsure what the prize will include as yet but it will include the much sought after Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette amongst other things. So here we go - Let project 50 Pan begin! Wish me luck!

Note: Things such as Toothpaste, Deoderant and Mouthwash are not included as beauty products. They are essential products that are allowed to be repurchased. However all other items including shampoo and conditioners are a part of Project 50 Pan as are makeup wipes, removers etc.

My Second Visit To The Benefit Brow Bar!

My regular readers will remember that just prior to Christmas I had my first visit to a Benefit Brow Bar. Whilst I was away I decided I would give them another go and see how my two experiences compared.

On my first visit you will recall that the Benefit team tried to sell me everything but the kitchen sink but the service I received was great. I wish I could say the same this time. Upon walking into the Myer Store the actual assistant that ended up doing my Brow Shape was standing outside smoking. After signing into the brow bar she returned inside the Brow Bar and called out my name. Thankfully she did use some hand disinfectant before commencing my brow shape.

I took my seat and told my service consultant I just wanted a brow tidy. She was very rough with me and I can't remember feeling so much discomfort before during a wax. She was slapping wax on and ripping it off very roughly, not even applying pressure for some relief after taking the wax strips off. Thankfully my ordeal was over in under 7 minutes. We conversed very little. What truly surprised me was that she didn't try to sell me anything. I was a little concerned that she didn't bother to freshen up my makeup or conceal any of the redness which stuck out like nobodies business after she had finished. I didn't care I just wanted out of there!

The next day I had red bumps all around my brows. I have experienced this before on a few occasions but it isn't typical. This settled within a few days and in general I was very happy with how my brows had been shaped. Now a week later they look great. However the unpleasant experience really wasn't worth it.

My general thoughts are that I will not be returning to a Benefit Brow Bar again anytime in the near future. I would much prefer to stick to a Beauty Salon where I am made feel comfortable and welcome. I am really disappointed because I love Benefit as a brand. I think that I will stick to just purchasing their products in the future.


Note: I am not sponsored by Benefit or Benefit Brow Bars. My service was fully paid for by my own money and all opinions are exclusively my own.

Diesel Loverdose

This week I purchased the brand new fragrance offering from Diesel. I was particularly looking forward to the release of this fragrance since I heard the notes in it included Mandarin, Lemon, Star Anise, Gardenia, Jasmine, Licorice, Vanilla, Ambrox, Cedar and Sandalwood. When I had my first sniff of Loverdose I wasn't at all disappointed.

I like sweet fragrances. I always have, although my taste is somewhat maturing as I get older and I now wear fragrances from all fragrance families, the days of smelling like a sickly sweet lolly shop are thankfully behind me. I guess as I approach my mid thirties my life experiences and I like to think a little bit of wisdom is making my taste perhaps a tiny bit more refined than it once was.

Loverdose is still a sweet scent but it is a little more grown up than some of the other sweet scents on the market (Britney Spears I am looking at you). Diesel created this fragrance with the 25-55 age group in mind. I personally think age should not influence scent and that anyone can wear any scent regardless of age.

The bottle is a translucent purple heart with faceted glass which resembles a diamond. It has a black lid and a black sword going through the bottle from the inside (eludes to a sword through the heart one would assume).

This fragrance lasts a long time on my skin and I love wearing it. Best of all at the moment if you buy a 75ml bottle from Myer or The Perfume Connection you get a 30ml bottle for free as a gift with purchase. The 30ml bottle is gorgeous to keep in your handbag. The 75ml costs $110.

I would recommend this fragrance to anyone who likes a sweet scent. It is so feminine and pretty.

Note: I am not sponsored by Diesel, Myer or The Perfume Connection. This fragrance was purchased with my own money and all opinions are entirely my own.

Clean Fragrances

Last weekend I had a little interstate trip and did a little shopping. I went a little crazy on fragrances.

I was wandering around Kit Cosmetics when I came across the Clean Fragrance range. I am currently loving crisp clean scented fragrances so naturally I had to stop and have a sniff.

(Pictured Above Left to Right - Clean Shower Fresh EDP, Warm Cotton EDP and Fresh Laundry EDP)

There are around five different fragrances in the Clean range. I decided to get three of them in the 30ml bottles ($45 each) because I couldn't decide which I liked better. You can also get the fragrances in 60ml bottles for $76.95 each or the cute 10ml roller balls for $24.95 each). As far as I know Clean fragrances are sold exclusively through Kit Cosmetics and Mecca Maxima Stores in Australia.

I have worn each of these fragrances and I still can't decide which one is my favourite. They last a good six to eight hours on my skin so their staying power gets a big thumbs up from me.

When I apply these fragrances they make me feel so fresh and clean (hence the name). The scents evoke feelings of just getting out of the shower and feeling all crisp and clean or perhaps even just getting into fresh white sheets on my bed.

Anyone that knows me personally will tell you that perfume is like my crack. It makes me happy and can transform my mood in an instant. I am digging these Clean fragrances like nobodies business and I am so hooked on them that I am considering ordering the others that I didn't get. Best of all Clean is an eco-conscious collection so no harm is done to the environment with these.

Call me strange but this morning I bathed my two fur babies Banjo and Molly and it suddenly occurred to me that the Clean Fragrances would smell good on them to. Okay so there's nothing worse than the scent of wet doggy, so after their blow dry I spritzed a little Warm Cotton into their coats. I get the impression that Banjo was really feeling it but Molly still prefers her beloved Katy Perry Purrrr. I'll keep that in mind for future reference LOL!!

For anyone who likes clean, crisp, fresh scents I highly recommend checking out the Clean range. The best thing about them is that they aren't common so you will certainly have something unique when wearing them.


Note: I am not sponsored by Clean fragrances or Kit Cosmetics. All products were purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own.

Long Time No See!

Hi Guys,
I am so sorry for my eight week absence. I haven't been well and unfortunately with my health status that means sometimes I will disappear off the face of the earth for a while.

I am sincerely sorry for the lack of posting on my blog recently. I am very much an all or nothing type of person and I didn't want to do posts when I wasn't feeling great and able to give my all to them.

I hope every single one of you are doing well and having a great 2012 so far!

So without further ado I will get started on what we are all here for and get back to posting.

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding.


Kxo

Happy New Year Blabber!

Hey Everyone,
Sorry I have been so absent from posting during December. I have been very busy with lots of social occasions and Christmas etc and things tended to get a little bit busy. I am now back and refreshed and excited to start blogging more regularly from now on.

I hope everyone has had an amazing start to 2012.

Christmas was crazy and to be honest I am so glad that it is over! Boxing day I am usually out shopping the sales like a mad woman but I was so exhausted this year that I slept all day. The thing is on Christmas day we have a huge day with so much crammed in that we literally don't stop. Up at 5am and rushing for breakfast followed by visiting the cemetery's where the graves lie of loved ones past. We then hot foot it up the East Coast of Tasmania to my Mum's Sisters house (around a 2 hour drive), have a huge seafood and traditional Christmas lunch then we hightail it back down south (another 2 hour drive) and host around 30 for Dinner. Christmas Day usually ends sometime early on Boxing Day Morning. Boxing Day we have friends and people we didn't get to see the day before over again. It's all very draining!

New Years Eve was very quiet. I honestly couldn't have thought of anything worse than being in big crowds surrounded by drunk hooligans watching fireworks. Something tells me I am getting old! Instead we went to my Cousins house for a lovely dinner and helped celebrate her Husbands 40th Birthday. We were home at 9.30, mainly because I was worried about the puppies if anyone started letting fireworks off in the park lands down below. Here's where the story gets really pathetic, when the clock struck midnight and everyone else was screaming Happy New Year I was in bed!

New years day was great. I got to catch up with all my relatives at my Uncles 60th Birthday and have a good chat with my cousins who were home for the holidays from Queensland. It's always great to see them.

On January 2nd I went to The Taste of Tasmania which is a part of the annual Summer Festival here in Tasmania. Basically it all coincides with The Sydney To Hobart Yacht Race (which I love).

Tasmania is known for it's amazing food and produce especially it's fruit and seafood. The Taste of Tasmania is Basically a big food festival showcasing some of Tasmania's best food and wine. On Monday I spent much of the day there enjoying things such as Pink Eye Potatoes With Sweet Chilli and Sour Cream, Huon Valley Mushrooms with Chilli Plum Sauce, Thai Chilli Calamari with Palm Sugar, Mixed Tasmanian Berries amongst other things!

I hope you have all had a great holiday season whether you celebrate Christmas or not. I hope 2012 brings all you want and more. I look forward to getting to know you all more throughout the year.

I want to thank each and every single one of you for your support with my Blog. I honestly still can't believe that anyone would want to read anything I write. As many of you know I have multiple illnesses which keep me confined to home a lot and this blog gives me an outlet to talk about the things I love such as makeup and beauty products. Again thank you so much for your support and friendship.

If anyone has any requests on blog posts you would like see please feel free to make your suggestions in the comments below.

My Visit To The Benefit Brow Bar

I recently made my very first visit to a Benefit Brow Bar. Having never visited one before I had no idea what to expect. I approached the Benefit Brow Bar in at Myer with caution as I wanted to suss things out before I committed to the experience.

The first thing I noticed was that there was a hive of activity around the Brow Bar. There seemed to be people everywhere both on seats and looking at products. I thought this was a positive sign but continued to lurk in the background trying to take as much in as possible.

Finally I was busted by a Benefit Staff Member who asked if there was anything they could help me with. I explained I wanted a brow shape and before I knew it my bum was on a hot pink seat and I was holding a hot pink mirror in my hand.

The first part of the process at a Benefit Brow Bar is to sign in. You sign your name in a book which puts you in order of waiting line. In my case there was no waiting time at all and I was taken straight to a Brow Station. The next step is to discuss whether you want your brows waxed or shaped using tweezers. They will also offer you a tinting service. A general brow shape using wax costs $25 or $30 for a shape using tweezers with no wax. Your service also includes a full mini makeover at the conclusion of your service.

The first thing I noticed was how clean everything looked at all the stations. There were bottles of alcohol and hand sanitiser everywhere. All sets of tweezers were all removed from sterile bags and every brow pencil was sharpened again after use on a client. This was all very important to me. The staff were also beautifully presented in their black and hot pink outfits.

In total about 15 to 20 minutes was spent waxing and shaping my brows. My consultant was extremely friendly and made me feel instantly at ease with her. She talked to me like a best girlfriend all the way through my brow shape. She did a great job of my brows and they were immaculately groomed at the end of my consultation. I was extremely happy with the brow shape provided.

However I sensed from the time I entered the Benefit Brow Bar that I was going to have Benefit products pushed onto me throughout the entire service. My hunch was spot on. Being very familiar with the Benefit brand and owning quite a lot of their products didn't seem to help me much because despite owning most products my consultant tried to sell me everything that I didn't have regardless of whether it suited me or not!

In the end it became quite uncomfortable. Every product she suggested she proceeded to collect from the stock cupboard and put in a pile for me to purchase at the end. I was sitting there thinking to myself ''how the heck am I going to get out of buying this stuff''! I ended up buying over $300 worth of product from the Benefit Brow Bar, some things I really love but others I certainly didn't need or even want for that matter.

My Mum also decided to get her Brows shaped and tinted so I had to wait around for her. To my horror despite having just had my brows done and purchasing $300 in products I had the very same girl that shaped my brows as well as two other Benefit girls trying to get me to buy more products. It even got down to them trying to bribe me with Gifts With Purchase if I purchased more items. It made me very uncomfortable in the end.

Overall I was really happy with the level of technical service given to me at the Benefit Brow Bar. These girls certainly know what they are doing when it comes to shaping brows. The entire team is incredibly friendly (there were about 11 girls working there on this day probably as it was so close to Christmas). I love that you don't need to book, you simply turn up and wait your turn which is so convenient. A little tip I was given was to avoid turning up between 5 and 6.30pm because that's when a lot of people finish work and it gets ridiculously busy.

However I must admit that I was turned off by the pushy sales assistants. They really put the hard sell on me as far as products were concerned and trying to get out of buying their suggested products that I didn't want was rather embarrassing and uncomfortable.

Benefit Brow Bars also offer services such as Body Waxing and False Lash Application.

Note: I am not sponsored by Benefit Brow Bars and all opinions are my own.

I'm Back With A Haul!

Hey everyone. Sorry for the long absence and lack of posting. I have been interstate on a little Christmas Shopping expedition and as it is the silly season things have been rather busy with Christmas parties to attend and shopping to be done. I have also been a little unwell and have had quite a bit of trouble with my Diabetes. Thankfully now I seem to be making some headway with that and appear to be on the right track.

I had a blast whilst I was away. I did some great shopping and caught up with some gorgeous friends and family. I ate at some amazing places also.

Unfortunately I can't show you any major purchases until after Christmas because my major purchases were bought for me as gifts and I have been asked not to reveal them until after December 25th. Rest assured I won't keep you in the dark and will be showing you my gorgeous gifts after Christmas! Yay for designer handbags I say!

I purchased a couple of things, little Christmas Gifts for myself whilst I was away that you might be interested in. What am I talking about, of course you'll be interested this is a blog for complete beauty junkies like me after all.

What is it that makes taking a look at other peoples hauls that makes us so happy? Is it living vicariously through others or more just getting a thrill that someone else is as mental as you are about pretty beauty products?

Without further ado here is my little haul of beauty loot from my recent trip:

Benefit So Hooked On Carmella Fragrance (30ml for $59.95) - This is my third bottle of this fragrance. I absolutely love it. As my regular readers will know I am a sucker for anything sweet smelling or gourmand. This fragrance has a gorgeous vanilla oriental type scent. The packaging is darling and looks like a little cocktail shaker (as do all the Benefit Crescent Row fragrances). This makes such a cute gift that I picked a couple up for friends!

Benefit They're Real Mascara ($38) - I haven't used this yet but I am so excited to give it a try as I have heard such amazing things about it. I will definitely review it after I give it a try!

Benefit Glam Therefore I am Palette ($69) - This is a Limited Edition set for the Holidays. This palette took my eye and I ended up buying it for the cuteness factor. I love the little mini sized Girl Meets Pearl and Bad Gal Mascara. Also a purchasing point was the limited edition face powder/highlighter combo. I love Benefit's Life On The A-List Gloss and who doesn't want another four eye shadows to add to their ten million others? Whether I end up using this will be a question to be determined in the coming weeks! I always buy things like this and put them away and forget to use them.

Benefits Ticket To Glossy Town Mini Lip Gloss Set ($49) - Another of Benefit's Limited Edition offerings for the holidays this set contains six of Benefit's best selling lip gloss shades.

Benefit Instant Brow Pencil in Light ($38) - Nothing special about this just a dark blonde brow pencil with a brush on the end to work through the product.

L'Occitane Almond Apple Cleansing Oil ($39.95 for 200ml) - This cleansing oil has been discontinued to my absolute horror! It is my favourite cleansing oil! I was horrified when I learned it had been discontinued but thankfully a L'Occitane store I visited had a supply stashed away and I was able to get hold of one.

Benefit Powderflage - This is a powder light reflecting concealer from Benefit. I was given this as a Gift With Purchase.

Soap and Glory Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser ($36.95) - This is a deep pore cleanser that is deeply purifying. It contains essential oils and comes with a muslin cloth.

Mor Marshmallow Perfume ($69.95) and Scented Candle ($20) - Mor's Marshmallow range has been a long time favourite of mine. If you like musk you will love this scent. I was lucky enough to find the candles in a factory outlet store so purchased some for my Mum also.

Too Faced Glamour To Go Dream Edition Palette ($32.95) - I get these limited edition palettes from Too Faced every year. Initially I purchased this for a friend but I decided I liked it enough to go and get myself one also. They are awesome little palettes that contain eight eye shadows, a bronzer, blush and lip gloss. They are perfect for travel and the packaging is gorgeous!

Natural Company Duck On A Rope ($14.95) - Is this not the cutest little thing you have ever seen? It is scented with Sicilian Grapefruit and smells amazing. I got these for my God Daughters but couldn't resist one for myself. How cute is this going to look hanging in my shower?

Jelly Belly Travel Candles in a Tin ($12.50 each) - If you didn't know that the Jelly Belly gourmet jelly bean company also make candles to match their jellybeans you do now. These candles smell exactly the same as the flavours of the jellybeans. I got 2 x Blueberry, 1 x Bubblegum and 1 x Crushed Pineapple. The best thing about these candles is that they are calorie free.

M.A.C Creme Color Base in Pink Shock ($36) - This colour is avaialble from M.A.C Pro only. It is an amazing bright pink shade. I will use it on my cheeks and lips.

Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph ($42) - This is a gorgeous bubblegum bright pink. The Illamasqua packaging is just gorgeous and their products are highly pigmented. I purchased quite a few things from Illamasqua but you will have to wait until after Christmas to see them!

Jo Malone Rosewater and Vanilla Cologne Intense ($230 for 100ml)- This is my second favourite Jo Malone scent. I am absolutely obsessed with Jo Malone fragrances. Come to think of it I must do a post on all my Jo Malone Products. Jo Malone products are not cheap. However they are so unique and special that I can always justify the spend. This is my second bottle of Jo Malone Rosewater and Vanilla. It is very soft and feminine not sickly sweet at all. It lasts a lot longer than the regular line of Jo Malone Scents because it is from the intense range which come in a black bottle as opposed to clear and are more concentrated.

I hope you enjoyed my little Pre-Christmas haul. I am looking forward to sharing my Christmas Haul with all of you!

Note: I am not sponsored by any of the above mentioned brands. All products were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.

Christmas Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations Fluffystuff73 who has won the Pink Powderpuff's Christmas Giveaway! Please e-mail me your address at banjoandmolly@hotmail.com and I will get your package express posted to you next week in plenty of time for Christmas.

For those of you who didn't win, don't stress as I am going to be doing other epic giveaway in the new year! Perhaps even more fabulous than this one!

Cheers

Kxo

Christmas Gift Ideas For Her!

So Christmas is basically 24 more sleeps away which means if you haven't started your Christmas shopping you had better get your skates on.

Buying gifts for other people can be a traumatic experience. We've all been there, running around the shops, looking for the perfect gift only to find the left over dregs of cheap rubbish still sitting on the shelves. You have to stick to a budget but you want to find something that you know the recipient will like and get some enjoyment out of.

Shopping for friends if often the most fun but also often the most difficult. Sometimes you just want to give a token gift to say Merry Christmas, have a good one and other times you want to spend a little more and make the gift a really special one.

Here I have some gifts that cost under $50 that you can give to the girls in your life, your Sister, Bestie or even your Aunt. You could even give them as a stocking stuffer. I hope these ideas give you some gift buying inspiration.

Philosophy Candy Cane Trio $22 from www.sephora.com or www.skinstore.com A great gift that comes in a cute as a button festive gift box. It contains peppermint scented shower gel, body lotion and lipshine.

O.P.I Best Of The Best Collection $44.95 from www.adorebeauty.com.au This gorgeous set of nail polishes includes ten of O.P.I's best selling shades. You could give this to one person or break them up and give to multiple people.

Kikki-K 2012 Mini Diary $24.95 from www.kikki-k.com I always buy a Kikki-K diary every year. I usually get the big one but this year I decided to get the smaller one mainly because it will be easy to keep in my bag. They are the cutest diaries and contain little slots and pockets to store things and also have cute stickers included.

Glitzy Glam Small Terry Makeup Bag ($10) and Key Chain ($10) with Personalised Initial from www.shopglitzyglam.com Glitzy Glam is an online store owned by You Tube Beauty Guru Sisters Elle and Blair Fowler. I love their store and have purchased many items from them over the past couple of years. Items usually only take around 7-10 days to ship to Australia and the turn around time is super fast and there is something in everybody's price range in the store. I purchased these two items for myself and a few friends. They make such adorable gifts and are really great quality.

L'Occitane Mini Hand Creams $9.95 from www.adorebeauty.com.au These make an awesome little stocking stuffer. They would also make a nice gift for the host of a Christmas Party or even your friends Mum.

Benefit Ticket To Glossy Town Lip Gloss Set $49 from www.adorebeauty.com.au I think any beauty loving girl would love to receive this set of lip glosses for Christmas. This set contains 6 mini sized glosses.

Woodwick Bakery Cupcake Candle $35 from www.candelabra.com.au This candle would be perfect for anyone who loves vanilla gourmand scents. Woodwick are beautiful candles and contain a wick which crackles ever so lightly as the candle burns.

Too Faced Glamour To Go Palette $32.95 from www.kitcosmetics.com.au A gorgeous little palette containing everything you need for a complete makeup look. It includes 8 eye shadows, a lipgloss, blush and bronzer. I get these palettes from Too Faced every year. They are fabulous to travel with.

Smashbox Life Is Your Set Holiday Pencil Kit $39.95 from www.kitcosmetics.com.au This set contains 5 Smashbox Eye Liners in shades of Black, Gold, Espresso, Emerald and Sapphire. It would be great for anyone who enjoys experimenting with makeup.

The Body Shop Candied Ginger Mini Gift Cube $24.95 A gorgeous little Candied Ginger gift containing a shower puff, 50ml body butter and a 60ml shower gel.

Kikki-K Sundae Ipad Case $49.95 from www.kikki-k.com.au - This would make a cute gift for anyone with an ipad.

I hope some of these suggestions will give you some ideas for Christmas gifts for your friends and family.


Note: I am not sponsored by any of the brands or companies listed above. All opinions are my own.

Australia's 1st Glossy Box

Today I received the very 1st Glossy Box. I was really excited to receive this one as I have been checking out the British version for a while and let me just say that the British version is awesome.

So here is what arrived on my doorstep today:

The contents of Australia's very 1st Glossy Box Includes:

Jurlique Age-Defying Ultra Firm & Lift Cream - 5ml Sample Tube.

Bio Oil - A full sized 60ml bottle.

Essie Nail Polish Mini - I got Meet Me At Sunset.

Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil - 15ml Sample Size.

Mirenesse 3D Forever Gloss - Full sized in LA Nude.

A bag of Pink Jellybeans.

So there you have the contents of the very 1st Aussie Glossy Box revealed.

My First impressions of this box are good. I really liked everything in it and was especially happy to get to try the Bobbi Brown cleansing Oil. I really like Bio Oil and the Mirenesse Lip Gloss looks like a gorgeous colour. I will stick with Glossy Box for a few more months to see what else is on offer.

Note: I am not sponsored by Glossy Box, I purchased my own subscription and all opinions are my own.

NPSET Time To Shine Lip Gloss Set!

Wandering through Target the other day I happened upon this cute as a button mini lip gloss trio by Napolean Perdis's NPSET range. The best part of all was the price tag, priced at just $15 I thought this would make a gorgeous Secret Santa gift or stocking stuffer for any pink loving girls. Naturally I had to get myself a set and I also picked up a few sets for some girlfriends.

I would be stoked to receive these for Christmas as I am sure any pink loving girl would be. They are great for people who perhaps don't have the budget to spend on brands such as M.A.C or perhaps have a limit on how much they can spend on things such as Secret Santa. As far as I know this pack is the only pack available. There are no other packs with alternative colours. I wish there had of been, I would have gone off!

The glosses are really pigmented and not at all sticky. I think $15 for a pack of three different shades of glosses is very reasonable.


Note: I am not sponsored by Napolean Perdis or NPSET. All products were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.

M.A.C Dazzlesphere Haul

I have been very well behaved so far this season. I normally sweat on M.A.C's Holiday Collections like an alcoholic waiting for the nearest pub to open in the morning!

In the past five years I have just about purchased every single thing from the M.A.C Holiday collections. Of course I didn't really need any of it but since it was there staring me in the face and I was able to purchase it for less than half the price in America as opposed to here in Australia through Hopshopgo I thought I may as well go ahead and get it.

This year has been different. I have realised that I have so much makeup that I have hardly or never used that I have decided to curb my spending. I am finding it hard to justify spending a huge amount of money on makeup when there are people dying from famine overseas and people living in poverty here in Australia.

So for the M.A.C Holiday 2011 I have purchased two things. One of them is for me and the other is for my giveaway which you all need to enter if you haven't done so.

I really liked the look of the Dazzlesphere Ornaments. Priced at $65 from M.A.C Counters and www.maccosmetics.com.au

Being a pinkaholic of course I had to get myself the Pink Ornament and I thought the safe option was to get the Neutral Dazzlesphere to giveaway to a subscriber.

(Pictured Above Left to right- Dazzleglasses in Rags To Riches and Like Venus and Cremesheen Glasses in Fashion Scoop and Petite Indulgence).

This Pink Dazzlesphere is my dream set of lip glosses. By now you would all know that I am obsessed with pink makeup products but usually when I buy things like glosses in sets there's always one shade that I don't like or wouldn't wear, this is not the case with this set. I love every single colour. I like to get a bit of sparkle on my lips over the festive season and I really enjoy M.A.C Dazzleglasses and I am obsessed with Cremesheen's. I think this would make an awesome gift for someone. It is so pretty and I can tell you with no uncertainty that I will not regret this purchase.

I am not going to undo the Neutral Dazzlesphere because I want it to be lovely and new for the winner of my giveaway. However it includes two Dazzleglasses and two Cremesheen Glasses in Boy Bait, Bare Necessity, Over Indulgence and Get Rich Quick.


Note: I am not sponsored by M.A.C Cosmetics. All products were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.