Monday 30 November 2015

My final eyeliner destash

For the last few months I've been working on reducing my eyeliner collection. I've done two culls (read about cull number one here and cull number two here). A few days ago I did my final cull and got my stash down to a reasonable size.
I started with 26 liners. First up I got rid of the oldest ones, there were some that I remember buying before Chai was born, he's 4 1/2 now! Then I went through and got rid of duplicate colours and any that were hard. Lastly I got rid of colours that I didn't think I'd wear. Easy.

The sixteen winners. There are still a few here that I'm unsure of so I'll continue to cull as I go, if I don't love something it'll be tossed. I've also realised that I prefer felt tip liquid eyeliners over pencils, so I'm going to buy a grey, navy and brown felt tip eyeliner. If you have a recommendation for your favourite brand, please let me know. At this stage I think I'll go with Stila. 

The losers. I wasn't sure about the maroon liners, but when I thought about it I realised that I don't remember the last time I wore a maroon liner, I stick to blues, purples and greys, so the maroon liners went in the bin. 

I'm happy with the liners I'm left with. As I use things up I won't replace them, eventually I imagine I'll have around ten liners, that seems very reasonable to me.

Lip products are up next, it's going to take me ages. I love my lip products and find it really difficult to cull them, however it has to be done. I'll probably do it in two or three stages like I have with my eyeliners. Keep an eye out for the lip product cull posts.

Friday 27 November 2015

FFS Friday - MAC

I haven't been to the city for well over a year now and I really miss it. Whilst I'll always be a country girl, I love the city. In my ideal world I'd have a house in the country and a unit in the city. It'd be perfect. Before we flew out to Bali we spent the night in Perth, I was more excited about Perth than I was Bali!

Due to the limited time I had up there and having both boys with me, I planned everything that I wanted to do with military precision. My first stop was MAC. I ruthlessly went through my collection to get empties. I ended up with 18 empties, enough to get three lipsticks. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to play and swatch to my hearts content when I was at the counter, I made my selections online so that I could tell the m/a which lipsticks I wanted.

I went to the David Jones MAC and the girl who helped me was lovely. I was looking for a new foundation so whilst she was helping me with that she asked another (blonde girl) to get the Back 2 MAC lipsticks out. What is it with MAC staff being so rude? There's always one. I'm sure it must be a job prerequisite. This time it was the blonde. She had such a haughty, rude attitude I felt like slapping the bitchy expression off her smug face.  

Despite seeing that I had two small children with me she took her own sweet time. In the time it took the nice m/a helping me to discuss foundations, get me a sample of one foundation and help me select a Cream Colour Base alternative, little miss haughty hadn't even got the lipsticks. She was too busy sorting through my empties. She got them out and very carefully examined all eighteen of them. She'd look at the top and bottom then open it up and look inside, pulling faces as she went. Seriously. I have no idea what her problem was. Maybe she was checking to make sure they weren't fakes? Even if she was, does it matter what was inside the lipstick and gloss tubes? I don't have a problem with her looking at everything but there was no need to pull faces.

When she eventually finished and got the lipsticks, she pulled them out of their boxes and slapped them on the counter. Usually when I do B2M they give me the lipstick in it's box, they just put a cross over the bar code. Not miss nasty pants. Once she'd got the lipsticks she stood there looking at me, so I smiled at her and she glared at me. Clearly she doesn't like the B2M program, or maybe it was just me. Either way, her behaviour was inappropriate. 

If she'd had a name badge I would have lodged a complaint about her, she really was so rude. I don't understand why people like that work in customer service roles!

Monday 23 November 2015

Kosmea Kiss From a Rose lip balm

My love of rose scented products knows no bounds.

If there's one thing I can't resist it's a rose scented product, so when I saw that Kosmea where releasing a rose lip balm I needed it. Tracking it down proved more difficult than I'd imagined, thankfully Echolife heard my desperate cries (emails) and came to my rescue.

Kiss From A Rose lip balm is now in high rotation in my routine. It's a light balm that works really well as a morning lip conditioner, I apply it, do my skincare and make-up, wipe off whatever is left and put my lip products on.  

The texture is light and leans more towards the oily side it's not too oily though, just more oily than waxy. The finish is glossy which makes it ideal to use over lipstick or liner.

I normally like my lip products to be a little thicker and longer lasting, however it smells amazing so all is forgiven.  

Ingredients:

*This product was provided for review.

Saturday 21 November 2015

Saturday Skincare - Matrixyderm AM/PM Moisturiser

A few years ago I had as much time as I wanted to spend on my skin care routine. Now, I spend a few minutes each day doing the essentials as quickly as possible. Because of that I love products that are multi purpose or AM/PM (saves space on my bathroom cabinet). 

Matrixyderm says: Produced under highly controlled conditions - every jar of Matrixyderm contains pharmaceutical grade, highly refined, Matrixyl. Proven to increase collagen production. In addition, every jar of Matrixyderm is infused with Active Manuka Honey, Collagen and Vitamin E - allowing your skin to improve on a cellular level - reducing the appearance of fine lines, improving visible firmness, and providing you with beautiful younger looking skin - guaranteed. Clinically proven to reduce your wrinkles and smooth your skin in just 60 days.

Big claims. I used Matrixyderm for 60 days (longer in fact, I've finished my jar now) and can now report on my results. 

Overall, this is a lovely moisturiser. It's ideal for people with dry skin, it absorbs quickly and doesn't leave any greasy residue. I used it alone, with no serum or hydrating spray and it provided enough hydration that my skin didn't feel tight and uncomfortable after a few hours. 

Whilst I didn't notice a huge difference to my wrinkles, I did notice that my skin looked plumper, felt softer and I looked healthier, like I'd had a great night's sleep (which I rarely do).

Interestingly, the results were more than cosmetic, my skin still looks great since I've stopped using Matrixyderm. It's been three weeks now with no regression in my skin condition.

At $49.95 a tub it's not cheap, but for a product that acts as a day and night cream I think it's good value. If you want to buy more than one jar at a time you'll save money, but two jars and you get one free, buy three and get three free. A 50ml pot lasted me three months with twice daily use.  

If you aren't sure if Matrixyderm is for you they have a great offer on their website. Try Matrixyderm and if it doesn't work for you they'll give you double your money back.  

Ingredients:


*Note - This product was provided for review.

Friday 20 November 2015

FFS Friday - Stompy

It's Friday again! I thought it was Friday yesterday, so this is my second Friday for the week, bonus. 

Eljay has well and truly hit the terrible twos. FFS.

We didn't go through this with Chai, he's an easy going boy. Not FFS.

Eljay has definitely got my stubbornness. FFS.

I've renamed him Stompy because his favourite thing to do is say NO! then stamp his foot and refuse to move. FFS.

I just can't win when he's in Stompy mode. FFS.

Take yesterday for example. He wanted a toy so I gave it to him. When I did he got angry, yelled NO at me then stomped his foot. I took it away and he got angrier so I gave it back again and he threw a tantrum. Nice.

I'm very tempted to throw my own tantrum to see what reaction I get. Hehe.

Eljay and I are both sick. FFS.

I'm losing my voice. FFS.

I've also got a cold, a chest infection and something I'll tell you about soon, Eljay has gammy eyes and a chest infection. FFS.

All he wants to do is feed. FFS.

I'm getting ready to wean him and had him only feeding to sleep, now he wants to feed all day. FFS.

He won't be distracted either. FFS.

The child has a one track mind. FFS.

No lie, he'd ask me for a feed at least 100 times a day. I kid you not. FFS.

He asks over and over and over and over again. FFS.

He even tries to negotiate! He's 2! Our convo goes like this:
E: Eed (feed)
M: No
E: Little eed
M: No
E: Need it
M: No, it's not time for a feed. 
E: Please Mummy
M: No baby, it's not time for a feed, you only feed when it's sleeping time.
E: Leep (sleep) Mummy
M: You want to go to sleep?
E: Eh (yes)
M: But it's 7am, you only just woke up
E: Tired. Leep Mummy
M: I think you're tricking me, you just want a feed
E: (big yawn) Leep Mummy, need leep
M: I'm not going to feed you baby because it's too early for a sleep. Do you want a drink?
E: EED!

That goes on all day. He just won't give up. Weaning is going to be fun.

But I digress. As I mentioned, Eljay and I are both sick. We went to the Dr yesterday to get ourselves checked out. I've had a sore ear for a few days and I knew it wasn't going to be good news when he looked in my ear and said "Wow. Cool. Wow. That's really cool. I have to show someone this cause it's cool. You don't see that very often." Not what you want to hear from your Dr. FFS.

Turns out I have a cyst on my ear drum. FFS.

That explains why it's sore. FFS.

The other Dr came in to take a look, they discussed treatment for a while, left the room, discussed it a little bit more then my Dr came in and told me that he'll give me antibiotics and I need to make an appointment for next week to check if it's okay. FFS.

Added to that, poor Eljay has glue ear, so he needs to be checked next week too. FFS.

Naturally this all happens when Tiger is away. FFS.

The Dr's last words to me where "All I can say is good luck. You're going to need it." Truer words were never spoken. FFS.   

That's all the fun parts of my week. Please tell me all your exciting news so I can feel better about something. Or link me to your Priceline sale haul posts. Or whinge, whatever takes your fancy.

Tuesday 17 November 2015

October Empties

I just realised that I haven't posted my October empties! Better late than never.
L'Oreal Casting Creme Gloss conditioner - This comes with my hair colour, it's a great, super hydrating conditioner. 

Earth's Best Toothpaste - I get this from iHerb for the boys, it's all natural and they love the flavour.
Aveda Shampure - If they made a perfume in this scent I'd buy it, it's amazing.

Ole Henricksen body scrub - I found this a bit too oily for my liking. It's a great scrub, but I'd rather it be less oily.

Sanctuary Spa White Lily and Damask Rose body wash - I had high hopes that this would smell like roses but it was more lily than rose, which made me think of old ladies. It's a shame because this is a lovely, hydrating body wash. I'd buy it if it didn't smell like old ladies.

Swisspers Rosehip face wipes - Along with Wotnot, the Swisspers facial wipes are my all time favourite. You can't go wrong with any of the Swisspers wipes.

Anatomicals Cocoa body wash - Chocolate lovers you all need this, it smells amazing. Unfortunately I only used a little bit before the boys got hold of it and tipped it all down the drain.

Meyer's Clean Day hand soap - Another one of the products I get from iHerb. I've loved all the Meyer's products I've tried. This costs around $6 (depending on the exchange rate), it's all natural and non drying.

De Lorenzo Ruby Red shampoo - If you have red hair you need this in your life.

The Body Shop Dead Sea Salt scrub - Love, love, love. If that's not enough information you can read my full review here.

Matrixyderm moisturiser - I've got a full review going up on Saturday, but if you can't wait until then, this is a lovely moisturiser for dry skin.
Nivea Invisible deodorant - It's deodorant and it works.

Dove deodorant - As above.

Palmolive Sweet Pea hand sanitiser - This is one of my favourite hand sanitisers. It's non drying and smells lovely. It also works well at disguising dirty public toilet odours, just rub in on your hands and sniff them instead of the gross toilet smells.
Wotnot facial wipes - I love the original Wotnot wipes but these ones are horrible. They have a really strong marzipan scent that I couldn't stand. 

When face mask - This seemed really nice, but I didn't get to use it properly. I put it on when we were away then a few minutes later Chai woke up with a sore ear so I had to take it off.
Caudalie Beauty Elixir - This is a face spray that's meant to be used all over the face, including the eyes, but it has mint in it. I'd never use mint on my eyes. I didn't like the minty tingle that it gave my skin, it wasn't irritating but I associate that sensation with irritation and I really don't like it. 

Mercure Conditioning shampoo - Hotels are really lifting their game with toiletries, this was surprisingly good.

Natio Spa Organics Pep Up body cleanser - Somehow I have seemingly endless tubes of this, I have no idea. I suspect that the skin care fairies keep on replacing it every time I finish a tube. It's nice but not amazing. If the skin care fairies are going to replenish something, I'd rather it was one of my Subtle Energies products (I'll have a word to them about that).
These are all tosses. Some of them are old and others I just didn't love. The YSL was one of my all time favourite lip balms, I'm so sad they don't make it anymore.

These three are tosses as well. The Model Co Daily Face was okay but way too dark for my pale skin. The Pop lipstick was just crap quality and the Fresh Sugar lip balm was so soft that it was unusable.

Friday 13 November 2015

FFS Friday - Stranded

Last week we went to Bali. I didn't want to go but our friends were renewing their wedding vows so off we went. FFS.

At first things went pretty well and we were having a good time, then the volcano erupted and it all went south from there. FFS.

We were due to fly out Saturday. Not FFS.

Friday I slipped over and hurt my knee. FFS.

I slipped on some wet tiles and cracked my knee cap right on the corner of a step. FFS.

It really, really hurt. FFS.

Eljay had slipped over first and I was going to get him when I slipped over. FFS.

Tiger was at the pool swimming with Chai, so I had to get myself and Eljay back into the hotel room and then get hold of Tiger. FFS.

Poor Eljay was crying because he'd hurt himself and I could barely walk. FFS.

It took me three phone calls to get hold of Tiger. FFS.

I called reception and they gave me the number for the pool bar. I called that number but it was the beach bar not the pool bar. FFS.

They gave me the number for the pool bar who then couldn't find Tiger. FFS.

I don't know how that's possible, he was the only big bald guy staying at the hotel. FFS.

Eventually they found him and he came back to the room to rescue me. Not FFS.

The next day my knee seemed okay and we were going home anyway, so I didn't bother seeking medical treatment. There's no way I'd let a Bali Dr near me anyhow. 

Bali hates my knees. Last time we were in Bali I slipped getting in to the shower and tore my anterior medial ligament. This time I thought I'd go one better. FFS.

Saturday we were due to fly out when we received a text message saying our flight had been cancelled. FFS.

It was rescheduled for Sunday and we were able to keep our hotel room so we weren't too bothered. FFS.

That night Chai woke up crying because he had a sore ear. FFS.

We gave him some panadol and he went back to sleep. The next morning he said his ear was okay. Not FFS.

Earlier in the week Eljay had developed a rash all over his legs, groin and feet. FFS.

Sunday I noticed that it was blistering and was also on his hands, then he started saying his mouth was sore too. FFS.

He had hand, foot and mouth disease. FFS.

We were going home so I made a Dr's appointment for both boys and we packed up and headed to the airport. Not FFS.

We'd checked in our luggage, got our boarding passes, gone through immigration/customs, bought our duty free and were sitting down having lunch when Tiger got a SMS saying our flight was cancelled. FFS.

I checked the flight list and our flight was still showing as departing, so I headed to the boarding gate. There was no-one there. FFS.

I couldn't find anyone from Jetstar. FFS.

We headed back to customs and they told us we had to go back to the check-in counter. FFS.

When we got to the check in counter we found our luggage sitting there unattended and one of the suitcases was open. FFS.

The Jetstar staff couldn't give us any information and when we asked for help with a taxi or hotel they said it was beyond their control and they couldn't help with that either. FFS.

We headed back to our hotel and thankfully they still had a room for us. Not FFS.

That night Chai woke up again with a sore ear. FFS.

He'd also got a cold and his eyes were getting a bit sore and crusty. FFS.

Poor baby. 

Eljay's mouth was getting worse. He was waking up every few hours crying cause of the pain. Panadol wasn't helping. FFS.

With no information from Jetstar about when we'd be flying, we didn't know what to do. Trying to phone them was impossible. They either didn't answer the phone or it was engaged. We got through once and the hotel receptionist accidentally cut us off then we couldn't get through again. FFS.

I just wanted to get home. Both my babies were sick, my crohn's was rumbling and I'd run out of my asthma preventer so my asthma was getting worse (not helped at all by the ash cloud making it quite dusty). FFS.

Every time our flight was cancelled it was rescheduled for the next day, but we wouldn't get notification of that until between 10 and 11pm, so Tiger was staying awake and then making the necessary arrangements. FFS.

He eventually managed to get through to Jetstar and explained that we needed to get home because the boys were sick, I'd run out of my asthma medicine and my Crohn's was rumbling, so they put us on the medical priority list. Not FFS.

Our Monday flight was cancelled and we were rebooked for Tuesday. Tuesday we headed to the airport, checked in, got through customs and were sitting down, about to get some lunch when you guessed it, our flight was cancelled. FFS.

They cancelled three flights at once so when we got back to the check in desk it was chaos. FFS.

They wanted to talk to the medical evacuation people one by one, so Tiger lined up whilst I looked for our suitcases. FFS.

We were waiting there for three hours. FFS.

Luggage was being bought out three or four at a time on trolleys so it was an hour and a half before I found our suitcases. FFS.

We finally got out of there. This time we'd been clever enough to reserve our hotel room, so once again we headed back to the hotel. FFS.

My knee was getting worse and worse, not helped by having to lug suitcases and children around. FFS.

Jetstar assured us that we'd be flying out the next day so at 7am we headed to the airport for the third time. FFS.

After the two other airport visits we weren't expecting to fly, but amazingly we did and we finally arrived home Wednesday evening, four days later than planned. FFS.

We were lucky to get home when we did, we have friends who are still stuck and they've received no contact from Jetstar so don't know when they'll be getting home. Other friends were flown to Darwin and are now stranded in Darwin because Jetstar didn't arrange a connecting flight. FFS.

Getting stuck on holidays sounds like fun, but in reality it's not. Aside from work/school commitments, it costs money. We have travel insurance but couldn't claim until we got back to Australia, so all the extra expenses came out of our pocket. We were lucky that we had the funds available, I feel very sorry for those people who don't have the spare cash to cover their expenses until they get home. 

Yesterday we finally got to see the Dr. Eljay is on the tail end of hand, foot and mouth so he's fine. Poor Chai has the worst ear infection the Dr has ever seen. FFS.

He showed me and all I could see is red and puss. The poor boy, it must be so painful and he hasn't said a word. FFS. 

I've been asking him how his ear is and every time he's said it's fine. Clearly it isn't. FFS.

As for my knee, I'm waiting on x-ray results that I'll get today. The Dr thinks that I fractured my patella (knee cap). FFS.

If I have I'm in a world of trouble. FFS.

I'll have to wear a knee brace for six weeks so won't be able to drive. FFS.

That's just not going to work, the public transport here is crap so I need to drive. FFS.

Fingers crossed I get good news and it isn't fractured. 

Friday 6 November 2015

FFS Friday -

Hello beautiful people! As you read this I'm on holiday. I'll be back to reality tomorrow. Meanwhile you can read about the fun I had in the lead up to our trip. 

Friday I was doing a few last minute things to get ready. 

I needed to put money into my barely used savings account so that we could access it whilst we were away.

Thursday night I realised that I didn't know the pin. FFS.

I wracked my brain and came up with two pins that I thought might be the one. 

I went to the ATM on Friday and they were both wrong. FFS.

I went for a walk hoping that I'd get a brainwave and remember it, then went back to the bank. FFS.

Instead of risking having my card eaten by the machine, I went into the branch and told the teller that I'd forgotten my pin. I gave it one more try and it was wrong. FFS.

Feck. It was the only account that I could use overseas and I didn't know the pin. FFS.

Thankfully National Australia Bank can reset your pin instantly! Not FFS!

How amazing is that?

All I had to do was give my drivers license to the teller and she resent my pin to a generic one, then I went to the ATM and chose a new pin. Magic. Crisis averted. Not FFS.

Next on the list was electrolite icy poles. You'd think they'd be easy to find. Nope. FFS.

It took me three chemists to find them. FFS.

I also wanted a tube of Sudocreme but that too is impossible to find. FFS.

At the third chemist I gave up and just got a tub. FFS.

Friday afternoon I started packing and realised that our second suitcase was tiny. FFS.

Thankfully my SIL had one that I could borrow. Not FFS.

Time for a total overshare here.

I haven't had a period since I got pregnant with Eljay. Three years without a period has been glorious. Of course, the monthly curse decided to rear it's ugly head on Friday, a few days before we left for our holiday. FFS.

Great timing. NOT! FFS!

As with last week, this week has been a total Fully Fitspo fail but a great Fully Fatspo success. I haven't got to the gym once. FFS.

 

Wednesday 4 November 2015

Little Bird Organic Coconut Moisturising Butter

 
A few months ago I was sent the new Little Bird Organic Coconut Moisturising Butter to review. It was still winter so I put it aside thinking it'd be too rich to put on before getting dressed. One night I'd run out of cleansing oil and on a whim decided to give the Little Bird moisturiser a go. It's organic and only has three ingredients so I figured it'd work well as a cleansing balm and I was right! I've been using this every night for at least six weeks and I've barely made a dent in it. I only need a small amount (about the size of a 5c coin) to clean my whole face. It instantly dissolves my mascara and eye makeup and easily removes long lasting lipstick.

It's brilliant as a moisturiser too. I thought it might be heavy like a butter but it's not, it's more like an oil. I melt a little bit between my hands, rub it in and I'm left with hydrated, non sticky skin.

As an added bonus, it smells like toasted coconut.

At only $16.50 for a 250ml tub you really can't go wrong.


Ingredients:

* This product was provided for review.