Tuesday 26 February 2019

Flower Beauty Haul

I've wanted to get my hands on Flower Beauty products for years now. A selection of the range is finally available at Chemist Warehouse, so I picked up a few things. I was tempted to buy more but restrained myself to only the things that I'd get good use out of.


I purchased:
Light Illusion Concealer in Fair
In Your Primer Illuminating Primer
Mix N'Matte Lip Duo in Tickled Pink
Light Illusion Foundation in Ivory 

I've only used each product a few times but so far I'm really liking them.

The foundation and lipstick are amazing, I love them both and can see them becoming staples in my routine.

I need to work with the concealer more. It's nice but not amazing and it creases a bit. I'll play around with application and see if I get find a solution. 

I haven't used the primer yet so will report back.

Once I've used everything for at least a month I'll post in depth reviews but so far so good.

Have you tried Flower Beauty? What else should I try from them?
 

Sunday 24 February 2019

Thoughts of the week

1. Why are women held to higher standards than men? Whenever there's a cheating scandal the woman always gets treated a lot worse than the man does. It's ridiculous.

2. Those of you who like reading magic/fantasy books, I highly recommend Juliette Marillier. I particularly love her Sevenwaters series.

3. The new Samsung Galaxy S10 range has just been released, I can't wait to get mine! If you pre-order with Telstra you also get the Galaxy Buds free.

4. I never thought I'd be someone who loves the gym and yet here we are. At the moment I'm going three days per week, I'd really love to get there five days a week but I feel like it's not fair on the boys.

5. I see our new psych this week. I'm really, really hoping that he can help us.

Friday 22 February 2019

FFS Friday - The stupid things people say

Sometimes people say some really stupid things. 

Last week was a particularly bad week for it. 

I was at the park with one of my childless friends, we were watching the boys play. They told me that they don't believe in anxiety, don't think the psych we're seeing next week will be able to help Chai and that they think his behaviour is manic. FFS.

Who says shit like that? 

I have a few childless friends (hi beautiful Emma) who give the best advice. They give me insights into the kids that I wouldn't have thought of. Being childless doesn't mean you can't give valuable advice.

The other stupid thing was a man at the gym. When I'm there it's my quiet time. The boys are in the creche, I have my headphones in, it's my time. 

A man came up to me and started telling me about a motorbike accident he'd had years ago. Why do people do this? I've been told so many heartbreaking, personal stories over the years. I don't understand why people tell such personal things to random strangers.

I decided I'd repay the favour so told him about my friend who had a motorbike accident and lost her leg. 
He looks at me and says "you lost your leg?" WTF?
It's pretty clear that I have both the legs I was born with.

 People can be so very silly. 

Clearly I'm perfect and never say anything silly. Hahaha. Not true, I say silly things almost every day or at least I would if I ever socialised.

Tuesday 19 February 2019

Current sunscreen rotation

I have a tough time finding sunscreens that work for me. They either irritate my skin or my eyes. Thankfully, if they do irritate me I can use them on my body so they don't go to waste. 

Because of how tough it is to find sunscreen, I'm always testing out different ones to see what works for me. 

Today I'll tell you about the sunscreens I'm using at the moment.



Life Basics by Nourished Life SPF 30 Natural Facial Sunscreen Lotion
With all the raves that this gets on the Nourished Life website I was expecting miracles. There were no miracles. Whilst this isn't a bad sunscreen, it's not amazing either. I find it quite thick and a little difficult to absorb. As a daily facial sunscreen it's not love, it's too thick to use under make-up. It's okay for no make-up days, but still not my favourite. 
I've been using it on my chest and arms to use it up.  

Natio Rosewater Moisture Balance Day Cream SPF50+
I searched all over town for the new Natio Rosewater moisturiser and finally found it. I love their rosewater range, the scent is beautiful and everything I've tried is gentle, soothing and lovely to use. 
It's early days (around three week) but so far I'm very happy with this moisturiser. It's light, hydrating and smells amazing. There's nothing sunscreeny about it and I love that I don't need to use moisturiser underneath as it cuts out one step in my routine. At $19.95 it's very reasonably priced, even more so if you get it whilst it's on sale. I got mine during the Priceline sale so paid around $11. 

Baby Bum SPF 30
Baby Bum is the sunscreen that I use when I need to reapply sunscreen after swimming. It doesn't irritate my eyes, absorbs quickly and stays put. 
I wouldn't recommend it for under make-up as it has quite an oily finish so would make foundation slip around too much. It's great for beach or no make-up days.
If you don't like scented products this won't be for you as it has quite a strong scent. 

Invisible Zinc Sheer Defence Facial Moisturiser SPF50
If I could only pick one sunscreen this would be it. High SPF, non greasy, non irritating and quickly absorbed. I get mine when it's on sale at Coles, so pay around $15. Woolworths and Priceline also sell it, but their full price is $34 and Coles sells it for $27.50.
I've tried both the tinted and untinted versions and like them both. They work well both under and over make-up and can be used in place of primer. 
I do need to use moisturiser underneath as they feel weighless on my skin, but that's not a big deal 

Mecca Cosmetica To Save Face SPF50+ Superscreen
For about a year To Save Face was my favourite facial sunscreen. It's a great primer, works well under make-up and isn't irritating. 
All of a sudden it started randomly irritating my eyes. I have no idea what went wrong. I can still use it, sometimes it irritates me and sometimes it doesn't. I'll finish the tube I've got but probably won't buy another tube, which is a real shame because it's a gorgeous product.  

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Ultra SPF50+
If it wasn't for the chemical scent I'd really love Anthelios. The scent isn't as strong in this version as it is in the Ultra Light Fluid but it's still noticeable and I don't like it at all. 
Other than the scent, there's nothing I don't like. It's quickly absorbed, feels lovely on my skin and doesn't irritate my eyes. At $29.95 it's not cheap, however I get mine when it's on sale and usually pay around $17.

Kiss Ready Skin Sun Veil Skin Balm
Whilst this isn't officially SPF rated, it's estimated to have an SPF of around 25. I've used this in really hot weather and not been sunburned so it definitely works. 
On days when my skin is sensitive and dry, I turn to Sun Veil. It's very gentle and hydrating so ideal for parched summer skin.

What's your favourite facial sunscreen? 

Sunday 17 February 2019

Thoughts of the week

1. The trial of the accused Claremont serial killer is commencing in July and I am fascinated. They've started preliminary hearings so I've been reading all I can on it. This is something that's haunted Western Australia for 20 years now.

2. The gall of some companies amazes me. I keep on getting an email from a company wanting to collaborate with me. They're offering 20% off their products in exchange for promoting them. Hah. I don't think so.  

3. You know when you bump into an ex and realise that you dodged a bullet? That happened yesterday. I saw a guy I dated for about 12 months. We split up because he was messed up and wouldn't get help. Clearly nothing has changed. He was with his partner, child and family. The whole time we were there he sat down whilst his partner ran around after their child. Didn't offer her his seat, didn't help with the child, just sat there. 
Tiger would never do that. If we're out, both of us are looking after the kids. If there is only one chair he gives it to me. He'd never sit down whilst I stood next to him.

4. The price we pay for cosmetics here is still ridiculous. The Lancome L'Absolu Gloss is $52 here, in the US it's $25. How do they justify that? 

5. To my great surprise Chai has loved the learning we've been doing lately. It's all play based so lots of fun and he's really enjoying it. I'm so pleased. 

Friday 15 February 2019

FFS Friday - I'm raving I'm raving

You know when you make a change, hoping that it'll work but knowing that it won't? We did that. We f@#$ed up.

Chai has never been great at sleeping. Ever. The only time he sleeps well is in our bed. Tiger can't sleep with him, Chai wriggles and kicks too much when Tiger is in the bed. If it's just Chai and I he barely moves. Strange. 

For the last few years the boys have slept in a queen sized bed. When Tiger is away, they go to sleep in their bed then come into my bed during the night. When Tiger is home they start in their bed then when Chai comes into our bed Tiger gets into bed with Eljay. 

The boys sleeping has been a huge issue for Tiger. We've tried to get Chai to sleep in his own bed but it just stirs up his anxiety and stuffs up his sleep. Over the years we've had advice from several professionals but nothing works. Tiger gets very angry about not being able to sleep in his own bed, I think it's pointless being angry about something you can't change. In my opinion as long as we're all sleeping, I don't care where we sleep.

About four weeks ago we went looking for drawers for Chai and came home with a bunk bed. FFS. 
We still need drawers.

I knew it would be a bad move but Tiger has been so angry about the sleeping situation that I knew he needed to try something. Tiger thought that if the boys were in separate beds they'd sleep better because they weren't disturbing each other. 

The first night Chai was very anxious and didn't want to go to sleep. He eventually went to sleep and was in my bed by 10pm. Eljay slept until 4am in his bed then got in to bed with Tiger and went back to sleep. 

The second night Chai took ages to get to sleep again and was in my bed by 10pm. Eljay slept until 5am in his own bed.

The third night Eljay slept all night in his own bed. Success! For the rest of the time Tiger was home Eljay slept in his own bed all night. Chai didn't. To add to the fun, Tiger's now even angrier because he's now sleeping in a single bed! FFS.

Since we got the bunk beds Chai's anxiety has got steadily worse. He's taking ages to get to sleep, he's had to start taking Melatonin again and even with that he takes around an hour to get to sleep. He's extra clingy (he's sitting next to me touching me right now) and is super anxious about everything.

Most nights he's in my bed before 9pm. Last night he went to sleep at 8.40pm and by 10pm he'd come into my room five times. FFS.

Added to that, Eljay has stopped sleeping in his own bed and is waking up around midnight to come into my bed. FFS.

I'm now getting less sleep than I did when they were sleeping in a queen bed. Clever us gave the queen sized bed away, so we can't go back to sleeping in that, which means I'm stuck in non sleeping zombie mum mode for the foreseeable future. FFS. 

Through this I've realised something that I never wanted to know. 
I hate being touched when I'm on the toilet. Yep, Chai's anxiety is so bad that he tries to sit on my lap whilst I'm on the toilet. FFS.

He's seven! Seven year olds should not want to be in the room whilst their mum is on the toilet.

This whole situation is making me rage, my tolerance levels are very low and I desperately want a few hours alone. 

To all of you having a rough time, I see you, you're amazing, we've got this. 

Tuesday 12 February 2019

My latest Adore Beauty order

Whilst I'm not on a no-buy or low buy this year I am being more mindful of my purchases and not buying things that I don't need. 

Last month Adore Beauty had an offer where you could get a gift pack with your purchase so I stocked up on a few essentials. 


I ordered the Wrinkles Schminkles Chest Smoothing Kit, Skinstitut Vitamin C powder and Even Blend Serum.

They're all essential in my routine. If you have chinkles (chest wrinkles), give Wrinkles Schminkles a go. On nights where I use the chest pad I don't wake up with chinkles, when I don't use it, I have chinkles. 

Skinstitut Even Blend Serum and Vitamin C powder work beautifully together. I've tried using them alone but they don't work as well. Together they are magic and make a noticeable difference to my dark patches.

The gift pack I received contains a Jane Iredale lip balm, Esteee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, Clarins Multi-Active night cream and Clinique Moisture Surge overnight mask. 

There was a tim tam but I gobbled it up straight away, before the boys could steal it.  
 

Sunday 10 February 2019

Thoughts of the week

1. Cousins are great. We've been spending more time with family lately and it's been wonderful. I've really loved seeing the boys bonding with their cousins. In 30 years time it'll be them watching their kids play with their cousins. What a beautiful though that is. 

2. I've been ruthlessly decluttering my lip products lately and it's very satisfying. I've come to realise a few things: 
I have held onto a lot of products that I don't love. 
Having so many products means I'm not using the products that I do love.
A lot of the products I don't love or enjoy using.
Some of the products are over seven years old. I don't want to be putting them on my mouth!

3. I've started swimming with the boys every day and they love it. I'm not overly fond of swimming, I've been scared of  water my whole life and I hate getting water on my face. I used to watch the boys swim but would never join them because I didn't want to get my hair wet and get splashed. A few weeks ago I decided that I didn't care about my hair getting wet and I explained to the boys that I hate being splashed and I won't swim if they do splash me. 
Now, they don't splash me (very often) and we happily spend at least an hour in the pool each day.

4. Weleda will soon be releasing new products in the Skin Food range. There will be a lip balm, a light moisturiser and a body butter. I can't wait!

5. I hope you're all having a beautiful day. 

Friday 8 February 2019

FFS Friday - Ranting

It's Friday! Time for me to tell you what's been annoying me lately. I can't believe I haven't whinged about this before, because it's been annoying me for a very long time.

Spring onions. Yes, that's right, spring onions are pissing me off. Remember when parsley was the garnish of choice?
Every meal that was trying to be fancy had a parsley garnish. 90% of the time that fancy garnish ended up in the bin. Thankfully we've moved on from that and now we have spring onions instead. Every meal that's trying to be fancy has raw spring onions sprinkled on it. FFS.

I really, really don't like raw onion in any form. I've decided that spring onion as a garnish is worse than parsley. At least with parsley you could just put it to the side, trying to pick out all the tiny pieces of spring onion is a nightmare.

A few weeks ago I even found spring onion on a pizza. WTF? Pizza isn't fancy and it has no right to try to pretend to be fancy.

Truth be told, none of the meals that try to look fancy by wearing spring onion are actually fancy, they're not fooling anyone but themselves. 

Instead of convincing us they're fancy they're pissing people off. I did a poll at work years ago and didn't find one person in favour of the raw spring onion garnish. I couldn't even find anyone who liked raw spring onions. 

I'd love to know who decided to replace parsley with spring onion. Terrible idea. Very terrible. They should be ashamed of themselves.  

Monday 4 February 2019

January Empties

Hello February! We survived the first month of 2019! 

This month makes six years that we've been living the FIFO life.

I've been in declutter mode for the last few months. I'm going through my clothes, make-up, skincare, the kids toys and anything else that comes into sight. It's fun and satisfying. I've still got a long way to go, but every little step makes a difference.



BX Earth Bodywash
Regular readers have probably had enough of seeing this in my empties. It's a staple in our house. We love that it's gentle, non drying, smells great and isn't expensive. 

Tarte Drink of H2O Hydrating Boost 
This is a gorgeous product for adding a light but hydrating layer in summer. I used it on hot days in place of moisturiser. Whilst it wouldn't be hydrating enough for winter it works very well in humid summer weather. 

Palmers Facial Cleansing Oil
I enjoyed using the Palmers cleansing oil, but it's not a favourite and I won't repurchase because I can't use it on my eyes. I like a cleansing oil that I can use all over, this one irritated my eyes so I won't buy it again.

Lush Rose Jam Shower Gel
I'm thrilled that Rose Jam is now permanent, I used to buy it and hoard the bottles when it was limited edition. This is one of my all time favourite scents, I have the fragrance spray too. If you like rose scents, this is worth checking out. 

Black Chicken Axilla Deodorant
All the hype about Axilla deodorant is right, it's a great product. If it came in a tube it'd be perfect. I use the sensitive version, there's a regular version for those that don't have sensitive pits. I love that this also comes in a small size, which I carry in my bag so I can reapply in summer. 

The Physic Garden Soothing Skin Salve 
A few months ago I decided to add a retinol product to my routine. Despite starting slowly and only using it once a week my skin was not happy. It took two months for the dryness to go away and the product that got my skin back to normal was my Soothing Skin Salve. I'd apply a layer every night and slowly but surely my skin got happy again. This is great for sensitive or irritated skin and something I'll always have in my collection. 

Baby Bum SPF 30 Sunscreen
Now that the weather has warmed up my empties posts will feature lots of sunscreens. Baby Bum is what we use on Eljay's face. Like me, he has sensitive skin and most sunscreens irritate him. Sun Bum is one of the few he can use. He prefers Baby Bum over the SPF 50 Sun Bum because he says it feels nicer on his face. I'd prefer that he use a SPF 50 sunscreen, but getting sunscreen on him is such a struggle that I compromise and let him wear this one on his face.

La Roche Posay Anthelios XL Ultra Light Fluid
I didn't mind this so bought the full sized bottle, which I've since given away to my SIL. Whilst it's a good sunscreen I really don't like the chemical smell. The scent does fade quickly but is noticeable for long enough to put me off.
That's a shame because it's quite a nice sunscreen. It's light, absorbs quickly and doesn't irritate. I do find that it's very dewy, to the point that if I don't powder over the top I look like a grease ball. Given the dewy finish I'm not sure how it'd work on someone with oily skin.

Skinfood NZ Exfoliating Scrub
I was sent a range of Skinfood NZ products to try and loved them all. It's a gorgeous range of natural products and most of them smell like coconut. Their exfoliating scrub is gorgeous. It has a creamy base with enough exfoliating particles to give a good scrub. The particles are round so don't scratch and irritate skin. I'll happily purchase this when I've gone through my current stash of exfoliants.

Simplicite Hydrating Floral Toning Lotion
I have no idea why I stopped using facial sprays, I've always loved them but for some reason I just stopped using them. Now that I'm using my facial sprays again, I have no idea why I stopped. The Simplicite facial spray was sent to me a while ago and it's one that I plan to purchase. I like the light, natural scent and how hydrated it makes my skin feel. 

Glow Lab Facial Serum
If I was younger this would be a great serum, however I need serums that do more than just hydrate. If you're after a hydrating serum, you'll probably love this. 

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Fluid
Yet another sunscreen I can't use on my face. I used it on my chest and arms, it did the job.

Sun Bum Sunscreen
Eljay and I both use this, it's one of the few sunscreens that doesn't irritate us. I don't use it as my daily facial sunscreen due to the scent, I'll use it when we're swimming. If they made a fragrance free version I'd happily use it as my daily facial sunscreen.

Avene Eu Thermal Facial Water
I've started using facial sprays again, they make a big difference to my skins hydration levels. This is a good, non irritating one that's easy to find. 

Olay Daily Renewal Cream
Whilst I found Daily Renewal Cream pleasant to use, it isn't amazing and I won't purchase a full size. There's nothing wrong with it, it hydrates and kept my skin feeling soft, but I just didn't love it. 

Danearth Antioxidant Rich Moisturising Serum
You know a product is great when your skin goes to crap after you stop using it. That's what happened when I finished my precious Danearth serum. I didn't make it to the markets to get another bottle, so now I have to wait with rough, unhappy skin until the next markets. 
I purchased this after seeing the difference it made to my sisters skin. She was glowing and her dark spots were significantly lighter. It can be used as a moisturiser if you have oily skin, I use it underneath moisturiser as I have dry skin. 

The Body Shop Banana Body Butter
I'm so sad I finished my Banana Body Butter, it smelled so good. I love how quickly this absorbed, it was great for my scaly legs. What's with that? My legs aren't usually dry but this summer they've been terrible. Anyhow, I'd happily repurchase this but it's no longer available. Eljay loved it too and keeps on asking me for the banana moisturiser.  

Glow Lab Gel Cleanser
I'm a bit annoyed that I didn't pick up another one of these during the Priceline sale. It's a lovely, gentle cleanser. I use it as my second cleanse, having said that, it easily removes my make-up and doesn't irritate my eyes. I love that it has a pump top, all cleansers should have a pump.




Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrogel Mask
I've never used a two piece mask before, what a brilliant idea, they fit so much better! Hydro Boost is a great mask, as the name suggests, it's very hydrating so great for dry, parched skin. I didn't experience any irritation or redness, just soft, moisturised skin. 

Wrinkles Schminkles Chest and Decolletage Smoothing Kit
I've already replaced my Wrinkles Schminkles. It's one of those products that works instantly. When I don't use this I wake up with chinkles (chest wrinkles), when I use it, I wake up wrinkle free. Brilliant.

16 Brand Sage Tea Mask Pack
I had a reaction to this and had to take it off after about a minute. 

Palmers Zero Break Pre-Shampoo 
This was a Chemist Warehouse purchase which I got to qualify for free shipping. It's quite a nice product, you put it in before shampooing then wash it out. I got four uses out of the packet. It left my hair feeling very soft which was nice. My hair is in good condition so I won't repurchase again, however if my hair needed help I'll definitely buy it.

Tatcha Polished and The Deep Polish
I'm not sure what the difference is between these two, they seemed very similar to me. They were both nice to use, I managed to get the water to powder ratio right and my skin felt very smooth afterwards.
There are plenty of cheaper powder exfoliants, so I won't be purchasing either of these. 




This is the result of my pencil and red lip declutter, plus I've been going through my use it or lose it pile.

I tossed my Herbs and Heart Face Mud, it'd gone all hard and unusable. It was about ten months old, so I'm not sure why it went bad but I didn't really like it anyhow. Last year it was all over Instagram and everyone was raving about it, now I don't see or hear anything. I suspect that they were sending it out to influencers and now that's stopped no-one is talking about it. Funny how that happens. If a product was that great people would keep using it and keep talking about it. 

Lush Tooth Fairy had to go because it's started to irritate my gums. I've used two tubs of it before so I'm not sure why it started to irritate, but it was making my gums itchy and that's not a nice feeling. 

Sunday 3 February 2019

Thoughts of the week

1. I'm surprised that retailers are still giving out plastic bags. They're banned in WA, yet I've been given one at JB Hi Fi, Lorna Jane and two take-away stores.

2. One month in to the year and I still haven't made any unnecessary purchases. I've even ordered from Adore Beauty and Mecca without getting anything I didn't need. I'm so pleased with myself.

3. Every time I see photos of children going back to school I feel sick. It just shows how deeply our experience with the WA school system affected me. I am so very grateful we are no longer part of that system. 

4. This week Napoelon Perdis went into voluntary administration. I'm amazed the brand has lasted this long.

5. Why is dealing with Telstra always so painful?

Friday 1 February 2019

FFS Friday - I forgot!

Fark! I forgot that it was Friday! I remembered when we were on the way to the gym. FFS.

I've had no idea what day it is this week. Wednesday Tiger asked me what day it was and I had to check my phone. Sad.

It's been a bit of a blur lately, I don't like when life is crazy.

Tigers parents came to visit and MIL has lost a lot of weight. When I say a lot, I mean at least a clothing size, well over 5kg's, probably around 10kg's. I spoke to her about it and she's going to see a Dr.

It would be so much easier if they lived down here. They live in a crappy country town with a sub par hospital and very limited access to Dr's. Most of the Dr's take at least two weeks to get in to. If they lived here they'd have easy access to Dr's and a good hospital. But, they'll never move and that's their choice.

I don't like have ageing parents, it's not fun. The thought of a world without my Dad in it is awful. 
Mum I don't worry about cause I know she'll live to be over 100, so there's plenty of time left.

Enough sad talk.

I'd really like a job. I'd love to work, earn some money and feel like I was achieving something. I can't see how employment is possible at the moment, but I live in hope. Even working from home doesn't feel possible, I don't have spare time when Tiger is away and only being available to work two weeks out of the month isn't very helpful. 


It'll happen one day.

Have a beautiful weekend :)