What's in my Rubbish Bin #4

 
Only a small empties post this time. Having these types of posts in the back of my mind definitely helps me with finishing products up, or (as you'll see in this post) parting with products that don't perform as well as they used to.

A few months ago we moved into a new place that has a bath-tub. Naturally, I rushed out to Lush and stocked up on bath products. The first I used is the Sex Bomb Bath Bomb. I was absolutely delighted to see this transform my bath water into bright pink. I've heard this is Lush's most popular bath bomb, and I can totally see why. It smells absolutely incredible, and the scent really lingers on your skin afterwards. My skin felt so hydrated and soft when I stepped out of the bath, and I was left generally feeling incredibly relaxed. It also didn't stain my bath, which I was a bit worried about.
Will probably repurchase.

I really liked the Australis Curve Ink Eyeliner - it was great for those mornings where I was too tired to properly apply eyeliner because this product was marketed to be as easy to use as possible. I loved how black the ink was. Sadly, this product is now discontinued so I will not be repurchasing.

I first read about the John Frieda Full Repair Flyaway Tamer on Hair Romance's blog. I still have about half the product left in the bottle, but the gel has dried out a fair bit, and doesn't perform like it used to. I really like this product for ... you guessed it.... taming flyaways. I have a lot of baby hairs around my face. These are fine if I'm going for a messier look, but when I want to look polished they really annoy me. That's where this product is really useful.
I will repurchase this.

 

I do have a much more in-depth review coming for the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, but to be brief; although this is touted as a dupe for Bioderma's micellar water, it doesn't come come close in my opinion. It has a funny smell, stings my eyes and isn't as effective. Will not repurchase. 

It took me so long to finish Lush's American Cream Hair Conditioner, because I could not make my mind up about it. After finishing the bottle, I think I've worked out that I don't like it. It really weighs my hair down, and after I step out of the shower my hair feels "fried" - which is a really weird adjective to choose, but is the most appropriate I can think of. Fried and frizzy. This is not moisturising in the slightest. I needed to use heaps, even when my hair was much shorter, which means it isn't that economical, and does work out to be quite expensive. It does smell nice (think vanilla milkshakes), and the scent lingers in your hair, which I did kind of like. Unfortunately, that's really the only positive I can think of. 

To end on a high, we've got Dr Lewinn's 4 Fusion Cleansing Oil. I adore this as a pre-cleanse to remove all my make-up, and the majority of my face make-up. I've spoken before about how much I really love this product, and just repurchased it during Priceline's recent skincare sale. 

I will say though, that my bottle did leak a lot of product (so much so that I needed to have paper towel underneath it so it wouldn't stain the bathroom cabinet) and the bottle ended up this weird shape when it was done - does this happen to anyone else?

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Review: Antipodes Apostle Skin Brightening Serum

 

I received this serum for free in the Priceline skincare goody bag (review here) back in July. I wasn't really sure what to expect from it, because claims of "skin brightening" are a bit vague. 

This serum is water-based, aims to correct dull and blemished skin, while minimising facial redness.

 

 

 

The texture of this serum is unlike anything I've tried before. It's really thick, surprisingly so for a water-based serum. It spreads really nicely on the skin, and is almost tacky when first applied. It sinks in really quickly and easily though, and then you don't notice it except for feeling more moisturised. 

I didn't really notice much the first few times I used this product. But after about a week of continued use (applied after cleansing my face, and about half an hour before my normal night cream) I noticed my skin really was brighter. The persistent redness that is always apparent on my cheeks had all but disappeared, and a lot of the hyperpigmentation I had from picking at pimples was no longer there.

This stuff is like skincare magic in a bottle. 

I notice the best results when this is used consistently, but if I forget to apply it a couple of nights in a row, my skin doesn't immediately revert back to what it was, which makes me feel like it's really fixed the overall tone of my skin.

I love this product so much - it actually does what it claims, and to see such amazing results in just a week is almost miracle-level. This serum has totally changed the way I view my skin - although I have managed to control my breakouts, I've always been really self-conscious about my uneven skin tone. I even went to work without makeup thanks to this serum, which is a pretty big thing for me. 

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September Goals

 

I sent my phone in to get repaired during August. The inner earpiece was broken, so I couldn't hear a damn thing when making phone calls. Which I actually do kinda often, so it was a bit of a nuisance. I was told it would take 5 days, but it's now been longer than 2 weeks. I've been using my friend's old iphone, but it's still got all her things on it, and no real battery life, so I only really use it for using calls and texting. Anyway, this is a long-winded way of saying I have no photos from the past month. Which is why my "week in pictures" posts have disappeared, and why you get the delightful photo above of me in the bathtub for this goals post. 

Let's review August's goals.

AUGUST GOALS

- Complete the August splits challenge

I got really sick in August (still recovering, almost a week of work sick), and totally lost momentum. I'm starting my own September splits challenge to try and make up for it. 

- Train handstands 5x a week

Nope again. Same excuse as above. 

- Buy Meg and Dad a birthday present

- Finish at least one book

I almost didn't think I would cross this one off, despite really focussing on reading this past month. The book I spent most of August reading is like, 700 pages long, so I'm still a few hundred off finishing. But I did buy one book, and finished it in a couple of days - it was that good. (And yeah, I'm one of those people who usually has a few books going at once). I plan to review it properly during September.

- Take clothes to charity bin and photograph clothes to sell

Half completed. I gave two garbage bags worth of clothes to the charity bin. Still have not photographed those clothes I want to sell. I think part of the reason I've been delaying on this is because I don't even know what I'll do with them once I take photos of them. Do things still sell on ebay? 

- Get back into a regular gym schedule

Nope. Sickness, etc. 

- Organise Alex drawers

I did organise my Alex drawers! (mostly). 

SEPTEMBER GOALS

 - Train handstands 5x a week

- Stretch 5x a week

- Buy J's birthday present

- Get Dad a Father's Day gift (this should have been an August goal, really)

- Finish two books

- Organise my filing cabinet

- Organise the basket of stuff in the bathroom

- Find a storage solution for my sock drawer

- Review our New Zealand itinerary, and make sure everything is ready to go!

- Go to the gym once a week

There's quite a few things on that list, but I think I can get it all done. 30 days, that's plenty of time, right? 

How's your goal-setting and goal completing going? I love hearing what other people are focussing on for the month!

 

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Review: True NARS lip pencil set

 

I received my tax return the other week, and decided to use some of it to treat myself. I stumbled across this limited edition NARS lip pencil set in Mecca and it was love at first sight.

 

Firstly - that packaging. Oh me, oh my. 

The lip pencils come in a hard case with a slot for each of the three pencils. The graphic artwork on the top of the case is stunning, and there's a giant mirror on the inside. This set is so beautifully packaged up and would make a perfect gift. A jumbo size pencil sharpener is included in the set, which is really thoughtful of NARS - you won't have to bother yourself with picking one up since it's all included. 

Honestly, the packaging is absolutely stunning, but it's quite bulky so pretty impractical to take travelling or throw in your handbag. I think of it more as a collectible that looks beautiful on top of my vanity.

 

The set comes with two satin lip pencils and one velvet matte lip pencil.  All lip pencils are full sized.

Included in the set is Yu, Luxembourg (both in the permanent line), and limited edition Provocative Red.

Yu is a bright, fucshia pink. 

Luxembourg is watermelon red - probably my most favourite of the three pencils. 

Provocative Red - the matte in the set - is a deep, muted red.

 

The texture and staying power of these is well worth the money spent on them. All three are beautifully smooth and creamy, and apply like a dream. They don't dry my lips out, although they don't really moisturise my lips either. The two satin lip pencils make my lips look shiny and juicy.

Provocative red is really velvety (as the name would lead you to believe)

Each colour lasts 3.5 - 4 hours on the lips - they do stain a bit, which I think helps with the staying power quite significantly, but they don't come off in the middle leaving a ring of colour on the outside of your lips, like some staining lip colours do.

(L-R: Yu, Luxembourg, Provocative Red)

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