September Empties

It's empties time again. I've always loved empties posts, it's great to see what people have used up.

If you follow me on Instagram you might know that I sorted through my skin care this month. I've organised it so that I know exactly what I've got, which has been great. I decluttered a few things and tossed out products that were old or nearly empty.

Having everything sorted has made it so much easier. Now when I run out of something I can just get another one instead of hunting through my stash, not finding what I need so buying a new product. I've also added a few more steps into my skincare routine and my skin is loving it.

If you have a largeish skin care collection I highly recommend sorting it out so you know exactly what you've got. I also recommend not posting about it on Instagram because you'll get lots of negative and judgemental comments.

Now, on to the empties.

Co Lab Dry Shampoo
It's been a huge revelation to me that dry shampoo no longer leaves an awful white cast. I've avoided them for years because of this, but now I don't have to. I like the Co Lab dry shampoos, they come in a nice range of different fragrances and the can lasts for ages.

No Pong Deodorant
If you're after a bicarb free natural deodorant then No Pong is worth a try. They've just released a new fragrance which I'd really like to try. I love how soft and creamy this is, it's very soothing on my pits. The only thing I don't like is that it stains my shirts. The stains come out but only after soaking my top for two days.

Perfect Potion Hand Sanitiser
Now that hand sanitiser is a daily necessity, I've been on the hunt for ones that don't irritate or dry out my hands. This one is a winner. It smells lovely, doesn't cause rashes and doesn't give me lizard hands. 

The Body Shop Chocomania Beautifying Oil
Who remembers when TBS had their chocolate collection? It was so good, I wish they'd bring it back. That was years ago and I've been hoarding this gorgeous oil ever since. 
It was way too old to use on my face so I used it as a shower oil.

Andalou Naturals Instant Brightening Face Mask
I have a full size of this mask, it's lovely. It doesn't irritate my sensitive skin but leaves it feeling smooth and looking brighter. 

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub
I love Soap and Glory scrubs but this one isn't a favourite, it's just not scrubby enough for me. 

Naked Bean Coffee Body Scrub
Now this scrub is scrubby enough for me, it's lovely. You really can't go wrong with coffee scrubs.

Avene Day Protector Tinted BB Cream
I really liked this and will probably buy a full size next time it's on sale at Priceline. It gives good medium coverage and didn't irritate my eyes.


Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask
Hmmm. I'm still on the fence about Glow Recipe. Their products are nice but over priced and over hyped. 
Whilst I like the sleeping mask I don't think it's amazing. It gives good hydration and I enjoy using it but I probably wouldn't repurchase. 


Dermalogica Age Smart Biolumin C Serum
I got three uses out of this cute little bottle which isn't enough to form an opinion.


L'Occitane Immortelle Night Serum
I'm now on to my second bottle of Immortelle. I find it's great for hydrating and works well under other products. I don't think it's something I'd be rushing out to buy as there are plenty of cheaper hydrating serums available.


Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair
I just don't get the hype. There's now a different formula of ANR so I'd be interested to see if it's any better. This formula did nothing for me.


The Inkey List Collagen Booster
After using a whole bottle of collagen booster I can say that it didn't make any difference to my skin condition. I finished it two weeks ago and there's been no change in my skin so clearly it did nothing. 


Glow Recipe Pineapple C Bright Serum
I used this for a week and enjoyed it. It didn't irritate my skin and played well with my other products. 


Glow Recipe Banana Soufflé Moisture Cream
If you're after a yummy smelling, light moisturiser this is for you. I can see it being my go to summer moisturiser. Being light it absorbs quickly and works well under sunscreen. Plus, it looks pretty. 


Ren Keep Young and Bright Eye Cream
Whist the tube is a decent size, there was only enough product for two uses, so I'm not sure why I bothered including this in my list as I have nothing to say about it. 


Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Marine Boosting Mist
I really liked this and will probably buy a full size bottle when I've got through the ones I currently have. It's gentle on my skin and gives a good boost of hydration. 


Dearest Lips Lip Scrub
I love every single Dearest Lips product and the lip scrub is no exception. It's super scrubby and tastes great. Being compostible is an added bonus.

Isn't this a great pile of tosses!


Most of them are nearly empty and expired. I have no idea why I didn't finish them before moving on to something new. 


The Frank Body face spray and mask, Kmart Coffee mask, Blessed by Nature night cream and Sephora face mask all irritated my skin. I held on to them and tried them several times but they just don't work for me so there's no point holding on to them. 


Did you finish many products this month?

Thoughts of the week

1. So Bradley Edwards is the Clarement serial killer. He was found guilty this week. The families must be so relieved. I really feel for the family of Sarah Spiers. I hope they get some closure soon.

2. Carmex have a shop now and you can buy Carmex merch. I'm so tempted. If they had free shipping I'd definitely purchase, but you have to spend over $50 for free shipping and I don't want $50 worth of products.

3. I've been doing the 7 lippies in 7 days challenge on Instagram this week and it's been so much fun.

4. The 7 lippies in 7 days challenge has made me realise that I'd like to start changing up my look. I've been so short on time and focused on using things up that I haven't been playing around with make-up and I really miss it. 

5. Has anyone tried the new Clarins Lip Milky Mousse? It looks really interesting.

FFS Friday - Confuddled

Hello beautiful people. How are you all?

I think Tiger is losing his mind. He's just not making sense at all. Either that or I'm losing my mind.

Take the other day. We had to go out so Tiger bought an unpaid bill with us. I assumed that he bought it with him because he had to pay it in person.
The bill sat in the car then when we'd finished our running around I asked if he needed to go to the post office to pay the bill. He told me that he was paying it over the phone.
Strange.

Me: So why did you bring the bill with you?
Tiger: Because I need the account number to pay the bill.
Me: Okay. But how are you going to pay it?
Tiger: Over the phone.
Me: Right. So why did you bring the bill with you?
Tiger: Because it's got the account number on it.
Me: Oh, so are you going in to the bank or post office to pay it?
Tiger: No, I'm paying it over the phone.
Me: So why didn't you just pay it at home?
Tiger: I don't know.
Me: Are you going to sit in the car and pay the bill?
Tiger: I don't know.
Me: Why didn't you just pay it when we were at home?
Tiger: Not sure.
Me: That makes no sense at all.

I'm so confused. Things like this happen all the time and I'm starting to doubt my sanity because it just isn't logical.

I wonder if he's starting to go senile or if his actions are perfectly normal and it's me who's going senile.

New goodies from Burt's Bees

I haven't done a haul post for a while now, mainly because I haven't been buying anything.

I did pick up a few new goodies from Burt's Bees and one replacement. I haven't fully test them out yet, so a full review will be coming once I've given everything a good go.

The Sweet Mandarin lip balm has been on Chemist Warehouse for a few months now but it's only available in store. It's so mean when they do that, if it's not available to purchase online they shouldn't tease me by having it online. I was so excited when I saw that it was available at Big W.

The Mango balm is a replacement, it's one of my favourite balms but I've had trouble finding it the last few months. I should have purchased two of them.

There was also a hemp hand cream and hemp moisturiser that I was very tempted to get but didn't because I don't need them.


Just a hint for those of you who shop at Big W. I'll go in to the store and the products I want won't be on the shelf, yet I do a click and collect order and they're available. That's what I do now, I purchase all my products via click and collect. They're usually available within a few hours of me placing the order and it's so quick and easy.

Thoughts of the week

1. We've had a few spring like days this week and it's been lovely.

2. This week we'll find out the verdict in the Claremont serial killer case.

3. Has anyone purchased the Bon Maxie Mighty Mini Wallet? I'm very tempted.

4. This week I sorted out my skincare and posted some pictures on Instagram stories. I won't do that again! I was amazed at how many negative and judgemental comments I got.

5. It's sad that people will go out of their way to be unkind.

Saturday Stories - Who Cares?

Following on from last weeks Saturday Stories, here's another topic that's closely related.

One of my favourite sayings is "what other people think of me is neither my business or my concern."

It's a good saying to remember when the opinions of others are upsetting me. So often people try to make us feel bad by being judgemental or sharing their opinion of us. 

It's also a classic bully move. Bullies rely on us caring about and valuing their opinion. When their opinion is no longer relevant then their ability to upset us is gone.

Last week a kid told Chai that he's fat and he has boobs (he isn't fat and doesn't have boobs). We've had several discussions about it.
I remind the boys that hurt people hurt people so we should feel sorry for bullies because they're obviously unhappy.
I also tell them that as long as they know themselves the opinion of others doesn't matter. So this kid called him fat, so what? Who cares what that kid thinks?

When people are being judgemental towards me I remind myself that their opinion doesn't matter.

If someone likes me that's great. If they don't like me that's great too.

As long as I like me, everyone else is irrelevant. 

FFS Friday - Darted

Hello beautiful people. How are you all?

Today I've got a hot tip for you all on how to waste $50.

A few weeks ago my printer stopped working. It'd feed the paper in, start to print then stop and tell me there was no paper.

I checked it out, opened the lid, made sure there was nothing stuck inside it, tipped it upside down and gave it a shake. Didn't help. I turned it off and unplugged it, still wouldn't work. I left it for a few days, it still didn't work.

Thankfully it was under warranty so I took it in to be repaired. The service people weren't there.
I took it back in the next day and they told me they wouldn't get it it until the end of the week.
They also told me that if there was something stuck in there then it'd cost me $50. I asked if you'd be able to see if there was something stuck in there and he said that you usually can. We both had a look and couldn't see anything.

Last Saturday we were in hell (aka Timezone) when Tiger got a phone call. Good news, the printer was fixed.
Bad news, it was going to cost us $50.

Guess what was stuck in the printer?

A NERF DART!
FFS!

The boys had been having a nerf battle and somehow managed to get a dart wedged right down inside the printer. FFS.

So not only did we waste $100 at Timezone that day, we also wasted $50 to get our printer fixed. FFS.

Glasshouse Magic Spell Candle

Last year I didn't buy the Glasshouse Halloween candle and I've regretted it ever since. This year I made sure to get one as soon as they came out and I'm so pleased that I did.

Look at this beauty.
Everything about it is gorgeous, from the packaging to the scent.

I haven't lit my candle, it's sitting on the bench with the lid off and my house smells amazing.

Glasshouse call the scent Pumpkin Pie. I've never had pumpkin pie so can't compare, but it's a warm, cinnamony scent that smells homely and delicious.

I love how strong Glasshouse candles are, even unlit they easily fragrance a large room.

This retails for $54.95 and is definitely worth every cent!

Thoughts of the Week

1. It's officially spring although you wouldn't know it from the weather we've had lately. I'm not complaining.

2.  Milani and Iconic London are available at Priceline now. I'll be really interested to see what products they have and what the pricing is. Let's hope it's not inflated like our prices usually are.

3. C got his first black eye this week. He was playing around at my BFF's house and head butted her dog. He can't decide if he thinks it's cool or annoying.

4. I miss the days when beauty message boards were really active. They were so much fun.

5. Despite my best attempts to grow an indoor jungle, I keep on killing my poor plants and I have no idea what I'm doing wrong.

Saturday Stories - Nothing to prove

I was talking to someone a few weeks ago and she was telling me about the time that she shaved all her hair off because a man told her she would never do it as she was too attached to her hair. She shaved it all off to prove him wrong. Good on her.

Here's the thing. She really didn't need to do that because she has nothing to prove. When we trust ourselves we don't need to prove anything to anyone. If someone thinks you're attached to your hair, so what?
If someone has a negative opinion of you, so what?
Often people use these opinions as a way to manipulate us. They'll say something like "you're too attached to your hair" as a way to manipulate. Don't let them.

People are entitled to their opinions, it's not up to us to prove them right or wrong.

FFS Friday - Angels

Hello beautiful people. How are you all? Have you had a good week?

I read something recently that said when people are stressed they either get angry, judgemental or they hide. I'm pretty sure that's not all the signs of stress, but it was interesting. 

I hide. When things are tough I hunker down and plod along until the storm has passed. Once it's over and the sun is shining again I start going out and talking again. 
Whilst I'm in the middle of the storm I stay home, don't talk to anyone, do only the things that I have to and wait for the storm to pass. 

Whilst that's one way of handling things, it means that only the people who know me really well know that something is wrong. Everyone else thinks things are great and they're surprised if later on I tell them what had been going on. 

It's easy to think that someone else has a great life, but the truth is that no-one knows what is really happening at home. 

We've been going through some changes lately and I can count on one hand the people who knew. Five people in total. Two online friends who know me well enough to know that radio silence means something's going on and three people in my everyday life. 

One of my favourite sayings is Friends are angels who hold us up when our wings are too tired to fly. How true is that?

The thing is, they can't hold us up if they don't know that something is wrong. I know a lot of us don't want to bother our friends with our problems, but we should. 
I think it's a privilege when a friend trusts me enough to be raw and vulnerable with me. Being able to support and hold space for someone is a real honour. If you do that for your friends, let them do the same for you. 

Being vulnerable is not weak, it's strong. It's harder to be vulnerable than it is to stay quiet. Be raw, be vulnerable and watch your friendships bloom as your trust in each other deepens. 

That's my lecture for the day.
Stay wild moon child.

Thoughts of the week

1. What a year this week has been.

2. Does anyone else get annoyed with brands who's Instagram posts are mainly of influencers receiving the PR they send them? One of my long time favourite brands does this and I find it so off-putting. I really wish they'd stop.

3. I don't know who needs to hear this...it's time to wash your water bottle.

4. To all of you in Victoria at the moment, I'm so sorry you're going through this.

5. Happy Fathers Day to all the wonderful Dads out there.

Saturday Stories - Trust

Here's another great lesson my ex taught me.

Don't trust blindly

Trust is something that's earned, but once given it can also be taken away. When I was younger I didn't realise that, I thought if someone was trustworthy they would remain that way. Unfortunately that's not always the case. 


Here's the back story.
When I met my ex he was a hard working, trustworthy man. He didn't drink much, didn't take drugs and wasn't into the party scene.

After we'd been together a few years we moved to Perth where he got involved with someone I later discovered was a drug dealer (the drug dealer is now serving a very long jail sentence). I didn't like him and refused to let him into my house, there was just something about him I didn't trust. 

My ex started going out drinking with the drug dealer and coming home in the early hours of the morning. Some weekends he'd stay out all night. His behaviour changed and I didn't know why. 

I was an innocent country girl who knew nothing about the drug and clubbing scene. One of my friends suggested that he might be taking drugs so I asked him. 

Instead of denying it outright, he got all self righteous and angry that I'd accuse him of taking drugs. I now recognise that his refusal to deny it was proof that he was talking drugs.

I took it on face value and assumed that if he was taking drugs he'd tell me (stupid, why would he?)

There were several things that didn't add up. For example, one morning I was walking to martial arts and saw him coming home in a taxi. When I got home I asked him where he'd been and he said he'd stayed the night at a friends house. I asked why he was coming from the opposite direction to the friends house and he said they'd had to take a detour. Lies.

Other nights he'd say that he'd slept at a friends house but couldn't explain why his clothes weren't screwed up. 

Each time he'd actually been coming straight from the nightclub, he'd been up all night. 

All the clues were there, but I had blindly given him my trust so I ignored them.


Trust people, but don't trust blindly. If things don't add up, find out more. Just because someone is trustworthy at the start doesn't mean they can't change. 

Don't be paranoid, just be aware. 
 

FFS Friday

Hello beautiful people. It's Friday and I don't know what to complain about. Hmm. That's a bit sad. 

Tiger has been off sick this week. He's not one of those pathetic man flu people, he's annoying in another way. 
He won't rest. He wants to get up and do things instead of staying warm and resting. 

When I say do things, I don't mean doing anything helpful, I mean go out shopping or to a cafe. FFS.

I wouldn't mind if he did useful things, but shopping is not useful, it's expensive and unnecessary.

We've had a disaster here today. We ran out of milk so I can't have my second coffee. I can't believe I allowed this to happen. I went shopping yesterday and didn't get milk. That evening I realised we were nearly out of milk but we had enough for our morning coffee so I wasn't too fussed. 

This morning Tiger made the coffee so I wasn't reminded that we needed more milk. It was only when I went to make our second coffee that Tiger informed me we were out of milk. Disaster. 

I have no idea how I'm expected to function without my second coffee. It's inhumane. 

I'm amazed at the different items which have become difficult to get since covid. It' just shows how much we rely on China. I'm hoping that will change now that the world has realised we can't always rely on China.

The shelves of Kmart, Big W and Target are almost bare and online isn't much better. 

Guess what I'm having trouble getting hold of now? Clothes for the boys. I've been trying to purchase plain black tracksuit pants and jumpers, it's been almost impossible. 

Imagine if we bought manufacturing back to Australia. It'd be great for the economy, create plenty of jobs and we wouldn't have to worry about running out of things due to a global pandemic. 

I would write more but my brain doesn't work due to lack of coffee. 

Have a beautiful weekend.

Hi Mrs B. I hope you've had a good week.

August Empties

August was a dismal month for empties. I have no idea what happened, I just didn't get through much. I'm hoping that September is better.

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5
If you have sensitive skin LRP products are your answer. They're magic on sensitive and irritated skin. I always have a tube of Cicaplast, it's a great soothing, multi purpose product. I use in as a face moisturiser when my skin is irritated, on dermatitis and eczema patches and as a lip balm. I've already got another tube on the go.

Chantecaille Stress Repair Concentrate
 I won't bother complaining about how samples are not a great way to test out a product as they aren't big enough. This was pleasant and didn't irritate my skin but that's all I can tell you.

Philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar
See above.

Unknown Sample
I got this little sample from my local Eco Warehouse and it was beautiful. It was a face moisturiser that smelled amazing and was lovely on my winter sensitive skin. When I find out what it was I'll buy a full size.

Naked Bean Coffee Cream Face Scrub/Mask
Naked Bean products are lovely, I've enjoyed every one of their products that I've tried. I used this as a face scrub due to my sensitive skin. If your skin isn't sensitive you can also use it as a mask. It makes a great scrub, there's enough particles to give a good scrub and the particles aren't scratchy.

MOR Marshmallow perfume
This is one of my all time favourite scents. I have a few perfumes to get through, once they're finished I'll repurchased my beloved Marshmallow.

These are all tosses.

The Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue foundation just didn't work for me, it gives little to no coverage so was a waste of time.

The Eve Lom Radiance Transforming Mask is a sticky mess.

The rest of the products are all well loved and quite old.