Friday 30 September 2011

September Empties

September has been another huge month for me empties wise, I'm so pleased with myself. At the same time I really don't know how I'm managing to finish so many products. The only thing I can put it down to is that I'm too busy to play around with my products so I'm using the same things all the time. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I'm finishing things. If I keep going at this rate it won't be long until I manage to make a dent in my unused product pile. If only I could start using up some of my make-up too.
Herbal Essences None of Your Frizzness Shampoo - I really like this. It smells great, it's effective and it's cheap.


wotnot Facial Wipes - My hg face wipes. Others just don't compare. Read my review here.


Haus of Gloi Sanctum Whipped Soap - Love this. I'm yet to meet a HoG product that I don't love. I'll be reviewing this soon.


In Essence Detox Body Polish - Love this too. Another great product from In Essence. It's a little pricey though and didn't last very long, but I'd still buy it again. 


She Mermaid Salt Scrub - A great scrub and it's very reasonably priced too. This is going to be one of those products that I'll purchase over and over again.


SunSense Pre Tan Scrub - This would be great for people who fake tan as it's super gentle, however as I don't fake tan it's not a product I'd buy again.




Nivea SOS Intensive Balm hand cream - Brillant for super parched hands. My review is coming soon.



Naturals Collection Coconut Waterless Hand Gel Cleanser - Smells amazing and isn't drying. Not really much else I can say about this one.



Haus of Gloi The Brier Path Soft Bubbling Scrub - Love!


The Body Collection Coconut and Vanilla Exfoliating Body Polish - I was glad to see the end of this. It didn't contain enough scrubby particles to make it effective. I won't buy this again.


Bath and Bodyworks Sweet Pea Body Lotion - This smells beautiful. 



Innoxa Daily Moisture Protection - A good SPF moisturiser. I didn't love it, but it was effective and something I'd purchase if I was looking for a cheap facial moisturiser with SPF.


Ardell Brow Sculpting Gel  - My hg brow gel.



Haus of Gloi Vice Sugar Exfoliant - Vice is my favourite HoG scent.


Origins Never a Dull Moment face scrub - This smells lovely however I didn't find it to be very effective, it just doesn't have enough scrubby bits in it.


Nougat Fig and Pink Cedar Nurturing hand cream - A beautiful scented hand cream, I'd happily purchase the full size version (if I didn't have about ten hand creams waiting for me to use).


Presence de Bach perfume - Gorgeous! Review coming soon.


Estee Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator - I really like this. Review coming soon.

Thursday 29 September 2011

Jurlique competition time!!!!!

The lovely folk at Adore Beauty have kindly agreed to sponsor a giveaway! This means that I have three of my favourite Jurlique hand creams to give away. 

If you haven't tried Julique hand creams you are missing out. I've been using them for years, they are my favourite hand creams. All of the fragrances are beautiful, however my favourite is rose, it's such a beautiful scent. If you'd like to experience the wonderfulness of Jurlique hand creams then race over to Adore Beauty and buy one now (or enter this giveaway and hopefully you'll win one.)


If you'd like to win a Jurlique Rose Hand Cream all you have to do is post a comment telling me what your favourite brand stocked at Adore Beauty is.


To see more Jurlique products visit Adore Beauty.

Oh, and if you want to receive 20% off your Adore Beauty order, head to their Facebook page and Like it. Once they receive 3000 likes there will be 20% off storewide for 3 days.  

Commpetition ends 28 October 2011.

Sorry international peeps, this competition is for Australian residents only.

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Models Prefer Airbrush Brush


Models Prefer is a new range that has recently been introduced to Priceline and I was lucky enough to receive some of their products to review. I've also purchased some products as the quality is amazing.

I purchased their Airbrush brush (the one on the right) after a visit to Mecca Cosmetica. They were putting foundation on me and they used a brush that felt amazing. It was the Chantecaille Blush brush. As I'm not willing to pay Mecca prices for a brush, I went in search of a cheaper alternative and found the Models Prefer Airbrush brush.

This has now taken the place of my beloved Beauty Blender, that's how good it is! The reason I prefer my Airbrush brush to my BB is that it's quicker to use and gives the same amazing finish and coverage that I get from my BB. It is designed to be used to apply liquid foundation. I'd never considered using a brush like this to apply liquid foundation, but it truly does a beautiful job. 

Airbrush brush is a bargain at $14.99 (AUD) and is available at Priceline.

Monday 26 September 2011

The end of P50P

P50P has come to a grinding halt. I've decided that it's time to admit that I'm totally useless at not buying lip products. No surprise there.

Rather than just throw in the towel and admit defeat, I decided to get rid of fifty lip products. So whilst I haven't finished fifty products, I have reduced the size of my collection by fifty products.


I managed to finish fourteen products, I've thrown out four products and I'm giving away thirty two products, to bring me to a total of fifty.

The bonus of this for my readers is that I have twenty two unused products to give away. I'll be giving away eleven products to two people. The first two people to comment on this post saying that they are interested will get the products.

This is the pile of all the products I cleared from my collection. Pretty impressive.

Saturday 24 September 2011

Bub Update

Last weekend we moved bub into his own room. It was something we'd been discussing for a while and that hubby had wanted to do for a few months. I'd resisted because I don't want to be getting up to bub all the time, it's much easier to reach over and get him out of his cot than it is to get out of bed and go into his room. Plus, I like him sleeping next to me, I know he's safe and can check on him whenever I want. I'd planned on keeping him in our room for twelve months, however after a two week growth spurt that saw me getting up to bub every two hours I knew that we had to move him into his own room for the sake of our sleep and our sanity.

Moving him felt really strange. Setting up his room was fun but thinking about my little boy sleeping in there all on his own was upsetting, and seeing our room without his cot in it didn't look right. Our room looked bare and empty. Thankfully we have a sleep alarm so I didn't have to worry about him being  okay. If it wasn't for the alarm I probably would have been checking on him all night.


When it came time to go to bed I made sure bub was settled in his room then went to bed and had the best sleep I've had in ages. I got up to feed bub three times, however in between feeds I slept really well. It turns out the reason I slept so well is that hubby was getting up to bub! Other than when he was first born, hubby has not gotten up to bub at night, so it was lovely to have him help out. After getting very little sleep that night due to looking after bub, hubby has finally realised how exhausted I've been the last six months, so has been helping out at night on the weekends, which is great. It's amazing how much better I feel after getting more sleep. 


Bub was quite unsettled the first night in his room and woke up every few hours. We'd been explaining to him all week that he was going to move into his own room but that didn't seem to help (which is not surprising considering he's only six months old). I spent some time during the day playing with him and feeding him in his room to get him used to it and make it more familiar to him.


It's nice to have our room back. We don't have to creep around the room when we want to go to bed, we can turn the light on, watch tv, talk etc without having to worry about waking bub. I didn't realise how much I'd missed being able to get ready for bed in my own room. I feel a bit like my right arm is missing not having bub there, but I know this is a step we have to take. 


The second night of bub being in his own room was even worse. He woke up every hour and wanted to feed every two hours. 

The third night he slept for nine hours straight! He's only done that once before. I managed to get five hours sleep in a row, which was bliss. It could have been six hours but I woke up to check on him and as I was just about to fall asleep again bub woke up for a feed.
  
Since then his sleeping has been good some nights and not so good other nights, but it's getting a lot better. I'm relieved about that because it shows that bub was ready to move into his own room, we must have been disturbing his sleep with all our rustling and moving around.

He's such a beautiful little baby. He's really happy and easy going, but very determined at the same time. At the moment he's trying to crawl. He gets on his hands and knees and rocks backwards and forwards. He's figured out that he can launch himself forwards to get things, but it means that he often face plants. Thankfully he is tough and doesn't usually hurt himself (plus I make sure there is nothing hard for him to land on).

Hubby and I have decided that I'm not going back to work and I'm really happy with that decision. I hate the thought of someone else looking after him so I'm glad that won't be happening.

Wednesday 21 September 2011

What would you cut back on for beauty?

The news tells us that times are tough and everybody needs to cut back, but what would you stop spending on before you stopped buying cosmetics? The Adore Beauty Budgeting for Beauty Survey asks the tough questions.
Its only 3 questions and there is a surprise at the end of the survey. I've done the survey so I know what the surprise is, but I'm not telling :) However I will tell you that it's worth doing the survey to get the surprise.

To complete the survey, click here

You have until October 10 to complete the survey.

Monday 19 September 2011

Weekly Weigh In

It's been a few weeks since my original post, so I'm not sure why I'm calling this the weekly weigh in. I aim to do this post weekly, whether that will happen or not is another matter.

Slowly but surely I'm losing my baby weight. So far I've lost 26kg's and I have 4kg's to go. It's a great feeling to have only a single digit amount of weight to lose, it sounds so much less daunting than 10kg's did. I'm really pleased today as I lost 1kg last week and am finally under 70kg's. It was one of my goals to get under 70kg's.

I'm starting to look and feel like myself again. I can see my old figure under the extra weight now, it's nice to feel normal again. For ages I haven't looked like myself and I'm really pleased that I'm starting to look like me again.

Other than this week, I've been losing around 600 to 700 grams per week. My Dr has told me that this is a healthy amount of weight to lose whilst I'm still breastfeeding. He cautioned me against trying too hard to lose weight as it may affect my ability to breast feed. So whilst I'd like to lose weight quicker, as long as I continue to lose weight I'll be happy.


I haven't been doing anything drastic to help me lose the weight, I've just continued to watch what I eat, I only eat chocolate or lollies twice a week and I have smaller portions. I'm very fortunate that I don't like junk food, so I haven't had to alter my diet much (other than the chocolate and lollies). I prefer to eat a mainly vegetarian diet of fresh fruit and veggies and find I feel a lot healthier when I eat that way. I'm also exercising as much as possible. At first I was trying to go on long walks for around an hour, but I found that doing that meant if I was busy or tired I didn't do any excercise, so now I try to go for a walk every day, even if it's just to the end of the street and back.

Both Sarah and Dee have done great posts recently on how to lose weight and keep it off. There are only three things I'd add:


1. Eat only when you are hungry, not just because it's meal time. I try not to eat just for the sake of it. Just because it's lunch time doesn't mean that I need to eat. If I'm not hungry I don't eat, meal time or not meal time.

2. Eat when you are truly hungry. Thirst is often mistaken for hunger. When I feel hungry I drink a glass of water then wait fifteen minutes. If I'm still hungry I'll have something to eat.

3. Don't eat until you are full. I hate feeling full so never eat until I feel full, I eat until I don't feel hungry anymore. It takes a while for the stomach to register that it's full, by which time I've eaten too much so end up with that horrible full feeling. By eating until I'm not longer hungry I eat less and don't get that horrible full feeling.

Friday 16 September 2011

There is nothing beautiful about headaches - 3 things better than 'panadol' for headaches

Most of us have suffered from a headache, and know that it can have a debilitating affect on your life. There is nothing beautiful about a headache. Here are three things better than “Panadol” when having a headache:



1. WATER


Yes, water!  Dehydration is one of the main causes for headaches.

Some months ago I visited a sports therapist for my neck and head aches. She suggested that I would be dehydrated and that would be a contributing factor to my neck and head aches. I was initially upset to hear this, as to me it sounded like a simplistic answer. “Drink water - and everything will be fine...” However, I decided to give it a go and increase my water intake daily. And guess what! It works. Not only have I reduced the frequency of my headaches, but other muscle cramps as well.


It has been estimated that 75-80% of Australian adults do not drink enough water. Whether these figures are exact or not, it can be safely said that most of us do not drink enough water.  We reach for other fluids, such as coffee or soft drinks, but the glass of water seems to be too heavy to lift up.

There are varying opinions about how much water one should drink, but why not give this a go: increase your water intake by 3 - 4 glasses per day for a week and see how you feel. 


2. SUFFICIENT SLEEP


Sleep, wonderful sleep....
Adequate sleep is a tremendous help in reducing headaches.  Reducing your caffeine intake, sleeping in a cooler temperature or natural herbs and remedies such as valerian root extract or chamomile tea may help you to improve the quality of your sleep.


3. MASSAGE

Nothing beats a relaxing massage...
There have been several medical studies showing how massage can benefit tension headache sufferers and also migraine sufferers. However, even a brief session of self-massage can bring some relief from headache.


Try this:

Place your hands on either side of your head; using the pads of your fingers, press down gently and move the skin back and forth.

Press down gently with your fingers on your temples and move your
fingers in small circles.

Press down gently with your fingers on the back of your neck, especially around the area at base of the skull.

Continue to massage your scalp in this way until you've covered your 
entire head.

You can also try a simple acupressure technique: Grasp the skin between your thumb and forefinger and squeeze for 20 seconds. Release and repeat this three - four times.


Increasing your water intake as well as making sure you get enough sleep together with having a regular massage will make you feel more energetic and help you to enjoy a headache free life!

Unbooked.com is the perfect place to find your qualified massage therapist. Book and pay online – no headaches, it’s simple!
·         1 hour acupressure massage at Max Therapy, Melbourne

·         Indian Head Massage at Manhor, Windsor (Melbourne), $30 http://unbooked.com/service/1395

·         Aromatherapy Massage at Bayside Acupuncture and Natural Medicine, Hampton (Melbourne) $85 http://unbooked.com/service/1979

Find a qualified massage therapist near you on http://unbooked.com.
  
Post by Hela from team UNBOOKED. Join us in our conversation Twitter: @unbookedcom FB: http://www.facebook.com/LookBookBuy

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Brand loyalty

I was thinking recently about how long I've been using Australis products. I worked out that it's been over 20 years.

I'd always thought that I wasn't loyal to any brands, but when I think about it I am. I've been using Australis, Carmex, Blistex, Bonne Bell and Clinique products for over twenty years. That's a bloody long time.

Australis used to make amazing lip balms, I so wish they'd bring them back. They had a chocolate, marshmallow and lime flavour. The marshmallow is the best marshmallow balm I've ever used. Since they stopped making it I've searched and searched for another marshmallow flavoured balm but nothing is as good as the Australis one was.  

Some of the products I've been loyal to are:
Carmex lip balm - the best lip balm for healing sore, cracked lips. It heals my lips within a day or two.


Bonne Bell Lip Lites in Mocha Mousse - my all time favourite lip gloss. It's the perfect mlbb colour and tastes amazing.


Clinique Super City Block - my favourite, non irritating, non greasy facial sunscreen.

Clinique Air Kiss lip gloss - one of my favourite clear glosses.


Blistex - their pot lip balm is nearly as good as Carmex.


Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream - this is really an ointment. It's great for healing dry skin and I always have a tube of it floating around.


Rexona Sport Deodorant - I use the male version.


Dove Cream deodorant - effective and very gentle on sensitive armpits.





Monday 12 September 2011

Australis Limited Edition Nailpolishes

There are two words that are sure to get me (and a lot of other beauty fiends) interested in a product - Limited Edition. I think it's the fear of missing out on a product that's amazing. Clever cosmetic companies have figured this out so are releasing more and more limited edition products to tempt us.

Australis are one of those clever companies, they have just released four limited edition nailpolishes, and two of them are crackle polishes! The polishes are available for six months from 1 August. 


The green colour is called Here Today Gone Tomorrow and the pink is Today's News. They are both beautiful colours that I get a lot of compliments on when I wear them. I don't usually wear nailpolish as I usually chip it the same day that I apply it and I can't be bothered applying nailpolish every day. These polishes are great though, they both last at least four days without chipping. Here Today Gone Tomorrow chipped after four days and Today's News chipped after five days.
I'm really happy with how long  these polishes last, it means that I only have to apply my colour once a week. It should be noted that I didn't use a base or top coat, so if I did no doubt I'd get an even longer wear time.


Today's News only requires one coat to look great, as shown in the photo above.

I applied two thin coats of Here Today Gone Tomorrow. It probably would have looked okay with one thick coat, however as it is a dark colour I thought it'd be better to apply two thin coats.
I'd never used a crackle polish before so wasn't sure how to use these. I discovered that they work best when applied in a thin layer.
The photo above shows how the crackle polishes look when applied correctly and the photo below shows what they look like when applied too thickly.
Not a very good look! The great thing about crackle polishes is that it means you can get extra wear out of your nailpolish as it hides any chips. I find that the crackle polish doesn't chip at all, or if it does it's not noticeable. My crackle polishes last for at least five days.

I love both of the crackle colours. I thought that the white crackle might look like liquid paper, but it looks really pretty over pink and red polishes. The black crackle looks great over everything. 


The crackle polishes are exclusive to Priceline and cost $8.95 each. 

Here Today Gone Tomorrow and Today's News are available from Big W, Kmart, Target and pharmacies for $7.95.

Would I buy these? Yes. The crackle colours are great and the regular polishes are long lasting and a bargain!

These products were sent to me for consideration.

Friday 9 September 2011

Sometimes I wish hubby had a mute switch

Hubby and I are total opposites in some respects. I'm calm, he's a stress head. I have a 'she'll be right' attitude, he worries about everything. When something happens I'm of the opinion that you should build a bridge and get over it. It's happened, you can't change it so deal with it and move on. Hubby dwells on things, wonders why they happened and days later is still talking about them. It drives me crazy! 

Hubby disects and analyses things so that he knows why something has happened where I just want a plan of action to fix it. Hubby has a need to vent and get things off his chest over and over again, whereas I discuss something once then forget about it. It's hubbys need to dwell on things and vent that drives me crazy. I don't see the point in continually disecting an issue when we've already decided on a solution, it's a total waste of time.


Last week hubby had a bad weekend. He was tired and couldn't cope with bub. In my opinion it's just one of those things, no big deal. In hubby's opinion it was a huge deal. He needed to know why he was tired and why he couldn't cope with bub. In my mind it was really simple, bub was having a growth spurt so had been feeding every two hours over the weekend. Obviously that meant we were both tired.

Tuesday morning he was talking away and I looked at him (not for the first time) and though "I wish he had a mute button". That way he could get things off his chest without me having to listen to them. Yes, he was tired, yes, we know why he was tired and yes, we'd decided on a solution so what was there to talk about? According to me, nothing. According to hubby, lots. Hubby ranted on and on and on for about 10 minutes. At 5.30am 10 minutes of ranting feels like an hour of ranting. Then when he got home from work he talked about it for another 10 minutes. That's in addition to all the talking he'd done about it over the weekend, and also to the guys at work and everyone else who would listen.


I try my best to be compassionate and understanding, however his venting drives me crazy! If he had a mute button I could look at him, nod occasionally and not have to hear any of the ranting.


Imagine how nice life would be if we all had a mute button. We could mute anyone that we didn't want to listen to, it'd be great. 


And that's the end of my ranting :)

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Endota Spa Gel Cleanser

Endota Spa are a beautiful Australian range of certified organic products. I've been trying out some of their products over the past year and thought it was time I reviewed them. Today I'm reviewing the gel cleanser with orange and cehami.

This is a super gentle gel cleanser. It's non foaming, smells amazing and can be used all over the face including eyes. I like to use it as a morning cleanser however it works really well to remove make-up as well. 

For the last few months I've had eczema patches on my eyes that I can't get rid of. Everything I've put on it has been irritating it, even products that I can usually use when I have eczema. This cleanser has been one of the few products that I've been able to use that hasn't irritated my eczema. That just goes to show how gentle it is.

Endota Spa says: Succulent skin starts here. This clearing face cleanser removes the day's grime and gives skin a clean, fresh faced start. Native cehami calms and enlivens, sweet orange detoxifies and eases skin stress. Perfect for normal/oily, environmentally stressed and mature skins.

I paid $38.50 (AUD) for a 90ml tube.

Will I buy this again? Yes, it's a lovely, gentle cleanser.

Sunday 4 September 2011

Haus of Gloi Whipped Soap


Last year I'd been reading on a lot of blogs about Haus of Gloi, however I hadn't tried any of their products until Sarah kindly sent me two of their Pumpkin Butters. After that it was a down hill slide into addiction. All of the products that I've tried from Haus of Gloi are beautiful, I now understand why I read so many rave reviews about their products.

The whipped soap is my holy grail soap. That's saying something coming from a person who doesn't usually use soap as it's too harsh for my sensitive skin. Until I ordered from Haus of Gloi I'd never heard of a whipped soap and when my order arrived I really didn't know what to expect. Whipped soap has a light, airy texture and it kind of feels like it has bubbles in it.

Once applied it feels very moisturising and creamy, it's has the same texture as whipped cream. If you imagine spreading whipped cream all over yourself, that's what whipped soap feels like. Now can you understand why I love it?

I can't see whipped soap on the HoG website at the moment, so I hope they haven't stopped making it, I'll be really upset if they have. I'm currently onto my second tub and was planning on ordering more soon so that I don't run out. A 76 gram tub lasts me approximately five weeks with daily use.

Ingredients: vegetable glycerin, sodium coco sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, propylene glycol, sorbitol, stearic acid, proprietary fragrance blend, shea butter, phenoxyethanol and caprylyl glycol, citric acid, chromium oxide green.

Friday 2 September 2011

Blistex Raspberry Lemonade Blast


Just before I started P50P I bought Blistex's new limited edition raspberry lemonade lip balm with SPF 15. It comes in a pack of two balms. I'm usually allergic to SPF in lip products so I was intending to give these to hubby to use, however I decided to try one out and after finding out that I'm not allergic to them I've kept them both. 

As usual, the first thing that I loved about this balm was the flavour, it's amazing, very sweet and yummy. It's the perfect mix of lemonade and raspberry. 

This is a waxy, matte balm so it's suitable for men as well as women. Due to the waxy texture it lasts well, I usually only need to apply this once or twice a day. It's also great to use as a primer under lipstick.

Will I buy this again? Yes, it's a lovely tasting balm and one of the only SPF balms I can use.


Ingredients: microcrystalline wax, isopropyl myristate, flavours, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, jojoba esters, isopropyl palmitate, ethylhexyl stearate, hydrogenated coconut oil, ethylhexyl palmitate, benzophenone-3, diethylhexyl adipate, polyethylene, myristyl myristate, glyceryl stearate, beeswax, phenyl trimethicone, isopropyl stearate, dimethicone, phenoxyethanol, saccharin, tocopheryl acetate, titanium dioxide, alumina, polyhydroxystearic acid, tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, silica.