October Beauty Box Has Arrived!

After the day I had at work yesterday it was nice to come home to a little present waiting for me in the form of the October Beauty Box.

Again it was a bright pink cardboard box and inside was another one of their signature black boxes with the pink bow with the description card telling you all about the products that were sent. Truthfully, I don't know how many of these black boxes I'm going to want hanging around the house soon. These boxes seem a little bit of a waste of packaging to me as they can only have so many uses, but the novelty of them is still nice.

Anyway, this is how the contents looked once I opened the box:

And then when taken out of the box:

This month I got the following:

* Biotherm Aquasource Moisturiser - Apparently this is an intense moisturiser for normal and combination skin. The only other Biotherm product I have used is the Softening Exfoliator for the body which I just love so it will be nice to try this moisturiser to see what another one of their products are like.

* John Frieda - Full Repair Full Body Shampoo & Conditioner - This claims to be a complete hair repair line with lightweight Inca Inchi oil that weightlessly repairs the look and feel of overworked hair. I'll be interested in trying this as I have very fine hair with no body at all so if this actually does what it claims I will hopefully notice.

* Shiseido Sheer Matifying Compact Foundation in Natural Fair Ivory - This is apparently a creamy-type foundation that provides optimal coverage and highly translucent sheen. It claims to help minimize the visibility of pores and subtly covers fine lines and imperfections. I was glad to get the Natural Fair Ivory in this product (not sure if there were different shades given to anyone else) as I am quite fair skinned and it is rare for me to get a foundation sample that I can actually use.

* Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days - This moisturiser claims to give intense hydration for 7 days. I'm not that excited about receiving these samples as I've been personally using this moisturiser for ages anyway so I might just keep these ones for use when we go away overnight or something as they are a good size to put in a toiletries bag.

* Calvin Klein Fragrance in CK One Shock for Her & Him - The description of this fragrance says it is edgy, sexy and impulsive. CK One Shock for Her is a sensual floriental fragrance and CK One Shock for Him is a bold oriental fragrance. I quite like the smell of the male one but am not too fussed on the female one yet. It may grow on me though.

So there you have it. I must admit I'm still not that impressed overall with the Beauty Box contents compared to the two Lust Have It boxes I've received so far. I think I might end up cancelling my subscription this month as I can see a point where I will start to experience a bit of 'Sample Overload' soon anyway if I continue with subscribing to both.

Beauty Box seem to have toned down their request for you to review the products this month too. I'm guessing the uproar that was caused last month with some members getting a bit offended at the thought that they 'had to' review was noted and they have changed their approach by saying it will 'help them better meet your individual needs' if you review.

Does anyone have any opinions on the products received with this month's box or did you maybe receive different products in yours??

A.S.A.P. Daily Facial Cleanser Review

I have been using this A.S.A.P. Daily Facial Cleanser for a little while now and I have found it a great product so far.

Here's what the product claims:

A rich, non-greasy formulation, gently and deeply cleanses the skin of makeup and grime without drying or irritating. Contains 12% Glycolic Complex buffered to pH5.5 to loosen and invisibly remove dead skin cells leaving your skin feeling refreshingly clean and smooth.

In a way this cleanser is kind of fun to use because it is super duper slippery to apply (I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but it kind of has the consistency of KY Jelly) and you really only need a very small amount because it seems to spread a very looooong way. I usually use an amount equivalent to 2 or 3 grains of rice (seriously!) and that is enough to cleanse my entire face and neck.

It foams really nice and rinses off without any yucky residue left on your skin which is something I love as I suffer from oily skin. My face always feels nice and clean after cleansing with this product rather than with some others that make me feel as if I need to clean my face again.

It's also non-drying which is great as I hate it when you cleanse your face and then feel like it's a race against time to get your moisturiser on before your skin cracks open which some other cleansers I've tried have felt like.

Overall it's a great everyday cleanser which thoroughly removes all traces of makeup and leaves the skin feeling clean and refreshed.

I've also just started to use the A.S.A.P. Daily Exfoliating Facial Scrub so once I have used it for long enough I will give you my opinion on that too.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

Michelle

My Favourite "Oh My God I'm So Late" Saviours

I'll admit it. I'm always late. BUT, I have a 'Get out of being late free' card as far as I'm concerned after having a new baby in March this year. No matter how organised I think I am, bub always has other ideas and yep, because of this, I'm always running late.

Because of this fact I have gotten into a bit of a makeup habit lately and have realised that there are a few basic products that I have been using practically every day because I know they are easy to apply, are good colours and get me out the door without making me even later than I usually already am.

These beauties are:

* A.S.A.P. Sheer Tint Moisturiser SPF15 - I have just realised that I left this out of the photo but if you want to see what it looks like I have reviewed it here. I am in love with this tinted moisturiser. It is so easy and quick to apply and it's just the best tinted colour I have come across as yet and gives a really nice even coverage.

* Australis Pressed Powder in Natural - Probably the best pressed powder I have ever tried and considering how cheap it was the best value too. It goes on so smooth and doesn't seem to crease in the fine lines of my face even after being on all day. I usually put this powder on top of the A.S.A.P. tinted moisturiser and that is usually enough to make my face look good to go.

* Clinique In-A-Rush Blush - I'm not sure if you can even still buy these but if you can I recommend getting one quick smart! This is the quickest and easiest and most convenient blush I have ever used. The blush is held in one end of the stick and the blush powder is pressed into the other end. You simply twist the end with the brush onto the powder to apply as little or as much colour as you want and then apply. So, so quick and easy.

* Bourjois Pump Up The Volume Mascara in Black - This is one of the best mascaras I have had in a while. It never goes clumpy or hard and makes my lashes look super duper long and thick. It's got a tilted brush so you can get right into the corners with ease. If I'm really in a rush a swipe of this on my top lashes is all I'll do to open up my eyes. Otherwise, two coats on the top and one on the bottom lashes will make my eyes really stand out.

* Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Super Shimmer in Lucky Penny - This is a great colour that looks pretty just on it's own because of the slight shimmer and it borders on being kind of a pinky brown. I usually just apply some of this all over the lid and am good to go. Being a neutral colour you don't have to be so cautious when applying it so when time is of the essence this is the eye shadow I always reach for.

* Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm - I love this lip balm and always apply it first before applying any other gloss or lipstick. It's got a nice cooling effect and when applied it makes my lips feel hydrated and smooth for hours.

* Maybeline Colour Sensational Creme Gloss in Sugared Honey - This is an awesome lip gloss and has become one of my staples. It's a really pretty shimmery pinky plum colour that just about matches everything. It also stays on really well and never makes my lips feel dry or sticky.

Well, that's it for my favourite quick and easy "Oh My God I'm So Late" fail safe products. With the help of these beauties I can usually have a pretty decent face on in under 5 minutes. With a small baby who's sometimes screaming the whole time I'm trying to get ready just for the sake of it, I've really become to appreciate items like this that can save me time and even my sanity!

Does anyone else have any other products that are their favourite time savers?

I am now my own boss......

Well it's official, I issued my first ever invoice under my new little business name yesterday and it felt so weird! I was extremely nervous filling it out and printing it off and handing it over. I was just waiting for the person I billed to look at it and laugh or criticise or something even though we'd already agreed on my fee beforehand!
I still have my normal job as an employee in an accounting firm two days a week and if this new business takes off I'll most likely let that go and just concentrate on working for myself and building up my little venture. I can't wait for all my hard work and effort to go to purely benefitting me instead of a rich boss. It's going to be so satisfying (as well as a little scary too!)
By the way, my new business for anyone interested is Beagle Bookkeeping Services and, as the name suggests, I'll be doing accounting and bookkeeping work, mainly on a pick-up and drop-off basis so I can do the work from home and not worry about child care for my little bub. It's going to be very weird being out of the pressure filled environment of professional accounting and auditing which is what I've done for the past 13 years but I think this little business will be a good venture to balance my work life with my new little family without the stress I get from my other job.
Who knows, once I finally manage to finish my CPA qualification I may decide to become a tax agent too which will mean a whole knew range of services I could offer. Baby steps though....... for now I am just getting enough satisfaction from looking at my first ever invoice and I can't wait to do some more!

I Just Love A Gift With Purchase!

Well I decided to browse through my local David Jones today in the hunt for a nice perfume for my mum for her birthday next week and I was very excited to see that it's Gift With Purchase time again for most of the cosmetic brands.
Poor hubby let out a huge moan once this discovery was made as he knew he was about to be dragged from counted to counter so I could compare every one and decide which gift took my fancy.
I ended up taking a liking to the Clinique one this time and thought that I nice bottle of their Aromatics Elixir would be a great gift for mum (and would therefore mean a great gift with purchase for me, hehehe).
This is what I got:

* Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser - 50ml
* Dramatically Different Mousturising Lotion - 30ml
* Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief - 15ml
* All About Eyes - 5ml
* Blushing Blush Powder Blush in Smoldering Plum
* High Impact Mascara in Black
* High Impact Lip Colour SPF 15 in Peach Pop
* Turnaround Body Smoothing Cream - 50ml
* Silver cosmetics bag

I've always wanted to try the Dramatically Different Moisturiser as I've heard many good things about it and I previously purchased one of their lip colours a while ago that I fell in love with so was very excited to get another one in this gift. This lip colour is a nice sheer peachy red which isn't too bright to wear on a daily basis - see below:

The blush is a nice sheer plum colour which is a bit different to the pink blush colours I normally go for so I'm interested to start experimenting with it and see what other colours look best while wearing it:

I must say that I really wish cosmetics companies would stop giving a cosmetics bag away every time they have a gift with purchase. I seriously have so many of them and they are always that bit too big to be practical for putting in your handbag to keep makeup in for touch ups during the day. It would be nicer if they gave away another small product or a scarf, or just something different. Seriously, how many cosmetics bags do they thing people need??

Anyway, that my little splurge for today. And the best thing is that both me and my mum come out of it a winner. Yay! (But we don't need to tell her that :-))