Review: Michika Cloth Facial Mask*

I'm really excited to talk about this product today, because I have fallen in love while using it the past few weeks! The Michika cloth mask was made by Larisa, who formulated it while she was a breastfeeding mother. Because of this, it contains simple ingredients and no harsh chemicals. Instead, it is packed with green tea, anti-oxidants and hyaluronic acid.

Hyaluronic acid is naturally found in the body, and is a really beneficial ingredient in skincare. It is able to penetrate the upper layers of the skin, and helps to lock in moisture.

 

The benefit of a cloth mask over a serum or any other type of mask is that the sheet prevents evaporation, thus helping to keep the product on your skin, and allowing it to really sink in. What I love about this particular sheet mask is that it also comes with little eye flaps!

I've been using this mask on a Sunday night, after my nightly shower, after my stretching session. I pop it on, lay back and relax!  There's something really indulgent about just taking a few minutes out of the day to do something good for your skin. 

If you're more of the type to do other things while wearing a mask, then the eye flaps can fold right down and you can easily go about your business. 

The sheet mask itself is a little big, but it does cover well, leaving no air bubbles. 

If you're a loyal reader of this blog, you'll know that my skin is dry. I try not to get sucked into emotional marketing language, but "irresistable hydration" really is the way to describe how this makes my skin feel! And this is going to sound weird...but my skin always feels really plump after using this. I seriously love this mask. There was a noticeable difference in my skin, both immediately after using it, and when I woke up the next morning.

The serum is non-sticky, and sinks in quite nicely to my skin after the sheet comes off. This is nice, because I hate that feeling you get with some masks where the product is overloaded, and your face feels all drippy.

The mask comes packaged in a foil sachet, keeping the serum fresh. This is pretty standard with cloth masks. I like that the expiry date is very clearly stamped onto the sachet. 

The label on the sachet also clearly indicates all ingredients in the serum, not just the active ingredients.


Check out the website here for more information about the mask, including how to purchase it.


Disclaimer: This product was sent to me for consideration. This has in no way affected my opinion of it.   For further details, please check out my disclaimer.




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My Week in Pictures #34

It's been a busy week for me lately!

Today is my 21st birthday, which is INSANE. I also had my party on Saturday, which was a lot of fun. To add to the crazy, I've been working full time this week and next, and next week I go back to uni! I feel like I've hardly had a holiday to be honest!

I've got so many things planned for this little bloggy, and so many posts lined up, and just on the down low...maybe a giveaway too! I've just struggled a bit lately because I'm out of the house for most days about 11 hours. The sun sets before 5pm here, and I don't usually get home until at least 8pm. So stubborn me hates taking photographs in artificial light but I'm thinking I need to just get over that and get on with it. What do you think?



Mum came down from Queensland for my party and brought me and my sister these cute animal beanies.

 

They have little pockets for your hands too! Super cute!

 

J made me karage chicken for dinner the other night and it was insanely delicious. I nommed it down and then took the left overs for work the next day. I'm trying to make more of an effort to bring food to work, rather than buying it. I also relaxed on Sunday night with a sheet mask. Keep an eye out because I have a post coming up about this one that I'm wearing - I love how the serum makes my skin feel and can't wait to share it with you!

One of the girls from work hurt her leg last week during her shift, and was unable to make it to my party. She dropped by on Monday with these choccy's and a card to thank me for being so understanding (silly because she was injured!!) and to thank S for covering her shift for her. So sweet, and I'm never one to turn down a Lindt ball! 

As always, I'm enjoying snuggles with Rommy in the mornings before work. It's been so chilly the past few mornings, and starting my day with a cute kitty cat just makes me so happy :) Rommy is so curious...he was checking out all my gifts I brought home after my party on the weekend...I had to break the news to him that he's a cat, and doesn't drink champagne. 

On Sunday we went out to yum cha at Canterbury Leagues...absolutely freakin' love this place. We've been here many times before for birthdays and family gatherings, and Sunday was a bit of a combination of the two. So much food, so much deliciousness, such good company to be in

Rommy's so funny with wrapping paper. He plays with it for hours, jumping between the paper and the green canvas bags we have out for him. I'm excited to share more about my birthday as the week continues (crazy it's the end of July already...). Would you be interested in a presents post? I was absolutely spoilt this year, with friends and family being incredibly generous, but would hate for anyone to think I was bragging or ungrateful?

What did you get up to this past week?

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Canberra Haul

I did a spot of shopping over the weekend while we were in Canberra... we were out at the shopping centre, and walked past this place called 'House of Cosmetics'. J told me that was where he bought the nail drying spray he got me for Christmas last year, so we went inside to see if they had some. They did! Hurrah!

Quick note: The Apocalips lip lacquers were picked up in Priceline, and I will be doing a post later this week about these colours. If you missed it, check out my original review here. 

Unfortunately they only had the one can left; I would have loved to pick up some more to stash away! :( I also picked up a nail polish removal pen, and a glass nail file. The nail polish removal pen was a slight disappointment. We got home, I opened it up, eager to try it out and the nib was completely dry. I have worked out though, that if you dip it in nail polish remover it works fine (it is also supposedly refillable, however, I am yet to work that out).

I also picked up four O.P.I nail polishes, at 4 for $40. I don't own many blues or greens, so I went with (in order of L-R) Blue My Mind, the top coat, Fly and Ogre the Top Blue

I also re-stocked on some DUO eyelash glue, and got some tip guides. There are three types of 'tips' in this packet, so I thought that would be fun to trial.

I also bought a set of really cute cow egg cups and spoons. (As seen in first photograph) I can't help myself...they were too adorable for me to not pick them up, and they were on sale!

What silly and serious things have you picked up from the shops recently? 




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My Week in Pictures #33

This week was so boring and uneventful, that I don't have many photos to share at all. I've been working heaps, and when I'm not working I'm fixing up our house still, so none of that is really photograph-worthy.

J and I did head off to Canberra this past weekend though, to visit his parents. We were only there for two nights, so didn't get up to much.

On Saturday night we went out to dinner, to Pulp Kitchen (geddit!? Pulp Fiction...ha ha!), in Ainslie. The food was pretty incredible, and the dessert even better. I ordered the dark chocolate mousse and oh my...was it delicious. I never wanted that dessert to end. The menu is seasonal, and the wine list really extensive. The restaurant hasn't been opened for all that long and has already earned heaps of awards, and a chef's hat!

On Saturday we did a bit of shopping (stay tuned tomorrow for a haul post!) and hung out at home with the kitty cats...

Dixie is the craziest, prettiest cat I've ever met. Unfortunately the only photos I got of her were her sitting on top of the water heater!

Tosca on the other hand, loves her photograph being taken...

Saturday was a beautiful, sunny, wintery Canberra day. Unfortunately the weather turned, and on Sunday it was miserable and wet. We decided outside was too cold and just hung around inside instead.



What did you get up to this past week? Do you also have a cat who loves sitting at the door and/or windows?



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Tutorial: Green Eyes

This is one of my favourite eye make-up looks, and I always get compliments when I wear it. 

 

These are the main colours I've used in this tutorial; 

INGLOT: matte 372 (top green) and 504 (bottom green)

URBAN DECAY: Sin and Naked, both from the Naked palette. 

To really intensify the colour, I've used Maybelline's Colour Tattoo in Edgy Emerald as a primer. If you don't have this, you can just use a regular primer, or even one with a white base to make the colour pop. 

1. I apply the colour tattoo with an Ecotools concealer brush. I just really like the shape of this brush for slathering the colour across the eyelid. 

2. From the inner corner to about halfway across the eyelid, apply the matte green. 

3. Continue into the outer corner with the darker green. 

4. Smudge some more of the darker green into the crease, to create more definition and dimension. Make sure you blend in this colour well. You want to create somewhat of a gradient between the two colours. 

5. Blend out the edges with a fluffy brush. At this stage I've added a bit of Naked to the browbone and blended it in as well. 

6. My eyes are quite small, so rather than using an eyeliner on my waterline, I continue to blend Naked down to the outer corner of my bottom lash line. 

7. I add a bit of Sin to the inner corner, to brighten up my eyes

8. Finish off with some eyeliner on the top lashline and a coat of mascara. 

I've been using the Volume Glamour Max mascara from Bourjois...I love the thick bristles for adding heaps of volume to my lashes. 

Keep the rest of your face fairly neutral...I'll usually apply a tinted lip balm for a hint of colour. Really though, you want your eyes to be the focus of this look. 

Have you rocked green eyes before?

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Review and Swatches: Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers

I can not even tell you how long I have spent trying to source these from England. No, I can. About 6 months. 6 long months, I have been waiting and waiting for these to become available. FINALLY they are in Australia! I picked these four up recently in Priceline, from memory they were about half price. I believe there's 8 in total, but my local priceline only had half of them stocked. Bummer!
I love the name of these lip lacquers...I'm a sucker for a good pun, and Rimmel have continued the theme through the naming of the shades, which I totally respect.

HOW INSANE is the pigmentation in these? That is literally one swipe of product, onto the back of my hand. 

Before we get into the nitty gritty, I will comment on the packaging, like I always do. Quite frankly...I love it They lip lacquers are sturdy, they look cool; the lids are prism-y and kind of crystal looking. Again, dedication to a theme; I totally approve of and respect this. I also love how the bottoms are clear, so you can see the colours without having to search for the names of each shade. I also love that the colours displayed on the packaging are pretty true to the colour of the product. It makes it so much easier for me to decide in the mornings on a colour to wear. 

I love most of the colours I picked out; 

Apocaliptic is a beautiful deep berry, which I'm absolutely loving for winter. 

Stargazer is a gold coloured nude with a heap of glitter in it. Don't love this one on my lips to be honest...it takes a while to blend out into something wear-able. 

Stellar is a cooler-toned red; if you're into corals you'll love this one. It almost seems to have a pinkish base to it too, which is nice. 

Nova is a really pretty pink and I actually like this one a lot more than I thought I would. 

All of the colours dry easily on the lips and the staying power is a couple of hours, less if eating and/or drinking. To be honest, I was slightly disappointed with how long they last. Considering the amount of colour you get in a swipe of product, I expected it to really cling onto my lips and hang out there for a while. I did have to re-apply several times throughout a 9 hour day, with the colour fading off the inner part of my lips first, leaving that ugly ring of lipstick. 

The formula of these is really creamy, albeit quite thick. I personally have found this makes it a little tricky to apply, but I'll get to my tips for that later. 

The scent of these probably won't be to everyone's taste. If you're one of those people who can't handle weirdly scented lipsticks, you'll probably want to avoid these, and in particular Stargazer. I noticed that one had the funkiest smell of all of them. I can't even really describe the scent...it's like cheap, synthetic plastic.

The lip lacquers come with a doe-foot applicator. Honestly, I think the formula is way too thick and wet to apply with one of these and ends up quite messy-looking; especially the darker shades. 

I've found the best way to apply these is by swiping some product on the back of my hand and then applying with a lip brush. This allows for a far more prescise application than you could possibly get with the built-in applicator. If you're in a situation where you don't have a lip brush, just make sure you scrape off any excess product onto the rim of the lipstick and start off with a small application and build up. This is one of those lip products you NEED to blot with, otherwise they will never dry on your lips, and will slip and slide like nobody's business. 

Also; make sure your lips are nicely hydrated and have been exfoliated before you pop some of this on... I didn't do that when I swatched these onto my lips, and as you'll see in the below photos, this is one of those products that clings to the dry patches. 

Top-Bottom: Stargazer, Stellar, Nova, Apocaliptic

The above photos were all taken with the exact same lighting conditions, and applied with the doe-foot applicator. You can see in the first and second swatches where the pigment has grabbed onto my dry patches. You may also notice that the application of stellar and apocaliptic is slightly messy. Like I  mentioned earlier, this can easily be avoided by using a lip brush, but as long as you have a tissue and some make up remover on hand, you'll be fine either way. From normal standing distance, I doubt anyone would really notice the application is less than perfect. 

Overall, I love the colours of these. I think they are fantastic for a liquid lipstick, and I may go purchase the other four shades if I can track them down. This is quite a high maintenance lippy though, so if you're not into that I'd give it a miss. If you love beautiful coloured lips regardless of what it takes, then this is the product for you! 

Have you tried these out yet? Is liquid lipstick something you're into?

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My Week in Pictures #32

Man oh man, was June busy!
You will be pleased to know that I am now done with uni for another semester (results come out on Tuesday...wish me luck!) and I am done with moving house.

What is it with cats and boxes?

I find moving to be such a stressful experience, and I could not bring myself to blog or do anything fun really, when my house was chaos. Pretty much all of our boxes are now unpacked, but I'm still settling in and finding a home for everything. We're sorting through all our junk and getting together a big pile of stuff to donate. I am taking this as a good excuse to clean thoroughly! So really, my life in the past few weeks has been pretty dull.

I have been loving the sunny days in Sydney lately!! Snapped this photo of the park across the road from where I work. I'm thinking of making more of an effort to go sit in the park in the sun (or shade...sun safety, yo) during my breaks at work.

 

Our new house has been insanely cold. Which sucks, because I do not deal well in the cold. But it's also been quite nice because Rommy gets quite snuggly in the cooler weather. Here he is sleeping in the crook of my leg the other morning. 

Our new house does also have a clothesline and a backyard though, which is a total luxury! 

I've also been in party-planning mode, with my 21st coming up in a few short weeks. Parties are hard to plan! We went back and forth on the venue a few times, before deciding to just have it at my dad's house. We are now going back and forth between getting caterers or DIY-ing the food. My mum's handling the decorations, but I'm stressing about the space...it's got a lot of work to be done to it! Hopefully it comes together, but I'm a total noob at this, and am finding it more difficult than it should be, surely! 

Photo courtesy of Studio Verve

I also performed at my pole studio's open night a few weeks ago. I've been waiting for them to upload the video of the performance. So until they do, here's a sneak peek photo :)

What have you been up to lately? I MISS YOU ALL! 
Do you have any party planning tips?



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