July Lust Have It

A couple of days ago I received the July Lust Have It pack. Rather than muck around I'll just get straight into telling you about the contents.

(The cosmetic bag this month was bright orange)

(Please forgive my little man's inquisitive hand in the photo)

The pack contents were as follows:

1) Baby Foot Exfoliating Socks (1 x pack, RRP $29.95) - These look very interesting. I don't really have rough feet at all but will be happy to give these a go just before it warms up again and thongs become a staple footwear item.

2) Matrix Deep Smoothing Shampoo (50ml sample, RRP $29.00 for 500ml)

3) Matrix Deep Smoothing Conditioner (30ml sample, RRP $29.00 for 250ml) - I don't know why the conditioner sample is smaller than the shampoo one as surely I'm not the only person on earth who tends to use more conditioner than shampoo?

4) Mirenesse Velvet Lip Lift Moisture Shine (1.5gm mini gloss, RRP $39.95 for 4.5gm full size) - I already have 4 more of these glosses in other shades as they are one of my all-time favourite lip gloss. I love this deep bright pink shade that I got which is No. 39.

5) Avene Gentle Eye Makeup Remover (25ml sample, RRP $22.95 for 125ml) - I've never tried this product so will be interested to see what it's like.

6) Avene Ystheal+ Cream Anti Ageing (5ml sample, RRP $49.95 for 30ml) - I received another sample of this in a previous box and wasn't really a fan.

All in all I think the contents of this box were reasonable and I was super happy about getting a makeup item FINALLY in the form of the Mirenesse Lip Gloss. The shampoo and conditioner samples are always handy for going away and will definitely be included in my bag next week when we go to Port Macquarie for 5 days.

I have to admit that I'm getting quite sick of the cosmetic bags now. It was a nice novelty the first couple of times but is getting a bit silly now. Seriously, how many of these things do they think we need? I've found they make great play toys for my little man as he loves to fill them with things and then empty them out again so at least they are getting some sort of use :-)

What does everyone else think of the July pack?

Michelle xx

Covergirl Lip Perfection Lipstick in Kiss

Lately I have had a new love in the form of this lipstick. It's such a soft, creamy lipstick which has amazing colour pay-off and feels super moisturising on the lips.

The shade I have is called Kiss and it is a soft peachey/apricot shade with a hint of frost. I was a little bit worried when I first bought this lipstick because the first couple of times I wore it all I could see was frostiness and I wondered if I had a dud tube! Luckily, it must just be the coating on the outside of the lipstick which contains the frost as when I used it a few more times it seemed to reduce by a huge amount and now is at the pretty peachey/apricot shade that I fell in love with in store.

A Little Bit About Covergirl Lip Perfection:
Lip Perfection Lipsticks combine colour and moisture to give you more supple lips in just seven days. In a single stroke lips are enhanced with colour. After a week silk-therapy moisturisers ensure lips are smooth and soft. The formula contains avocado, shea and aloe butters.

Apparently these lipsticks are supposed to improve the condition of the lips if used for at least 7 days consecutively but this isn't something I've really noticed as I use a lip balm every day as well as my lipstick anyway. It certainly feels moisturising when on and wears off nice and evenly too. I get around 2-3 hours of wear out of this lipstick (a little less if I eat or drink).

One thing I love about this lipstick is the base matches the shade almost exactly which is great when searching through my stash as it really stands out. It also has a subtle sweet taste which is kind of vanillary. It's not unpleasant but definitely noticeable for a while after applied to the lips.

I love the Kiss shade I have as it goes with almost any makeup look and suits my pale skin tone really well. I will definitely be looking at acquiring another one or two of these in different shades in the future.

Has anyone else tried these lipsticks?

Michelle xx

Napoleon Perdis Haul and Happy Birthday to me!

Tomorrow is my birthday - Yay! So, as a little treat to myself I decided to attend a Napoleon Perdis backstage event at my local David Jones yesterday where I got a gorgeous makeup look done for my birthday dinner and ended up coming home with some things that I've been eyeing off for a long time.

I have to admit that prior to this the only NP product that I'd ever personally tried is the Auto Pilot primer so I really wanted to get a feel for the products at this event and get to know a bit more about NP makeup.

Here was my little haul:

1) Sheer Genius Foundation in Light Look 2 - This is such a lovely smooth foundation to apply and is easy to build coverage or wear sheer depending on what type of look you want.

2) The One Concealer - If anyone ever told me to try a concealer that is a peachy-pink tone I'd probably go 'thank you very much' and back away slowly. But, I've now been totally converted to thinking that this concealer is the best thing ever invented. When the makeup artist applied it and suddenly I looked like I actually got a peaceful sleep the night before and didn't in fact have a toddler making me an exhausted wreck I wanted to buy every tub of this they had in store!

3) The Ultimate Contour Palette - Oh boy! I have had a very unhealthy obsession with this palette for a very long time but just never bit the bullet and bought it. Yesterday I was in the 'hell, it's my birthday!' mentality so decided to get it. I am in love!


Then, as a little bonus there was the following gift-with-purchase which was also quite awesome in itself:

It contained the following items:
1) Skinny Latte Nail Polish
2) Colour Disc in Naturelle #55
3) Long Black Mascara in Double Black
4) Auto Pilot Skin Primer; and
5) Lip Patrol lipstick in Private Kiss

Plus, the cosmetic bag is so cute with three separate pockets on the front and one at the back. It will be great for taking on holidays.

All in all I loved my little makeover and the makeup artist was just lovely. I tried taking photos of the finished look but was having a bad camera day and just couldn't get the lighting right to really show everything off so ended up giving up.

I've got my eye on a few other items now for the next time I'm near the Napoleon Perdis counter, with the Pale Rider Eyebrow pencil and a Luminous Lip Veil in Coral Island on the top of my list.

I'd love to know what everyone's favourite Napoleon Perdis product is?

Michelle xx

July Bellabox - Essential Beauty Buys

So, I got the July Bellabox this week and instead of the contents coming in the usual cardboard box they were loosely packed into the outside cardboard packaging and a small cosmetic bag was also included. It's obvious the regular box wasn't used due to the contents being so chunky.

Here is what came in my Bellabox for July:

1) You, Me & Everybody Shady Lady Daily Face Milk (75ml Full size, RRP $9.99) - A daily moisturiser with SPF30+. This will definitely come in handy.

2) Carmex Moisturising Lip Balm (10gm Full size, RRP $5.99) - I've heard so much about Carmex lip products but have never tried them myself. I'm interested to see what all the hype is about.l

3) Neutrogena Deep Clean Foaming Cleanser (Full size, RRP $13.99 for 175gm) - I've used this in the past and it's a decent cleanser.

4) Nutri-Synergy Sensitive Skin Cleanser (100ml trial size, RRP $15.95 for 500ml) - This is a non-foaming cleanser for sensitive, very dry or problem skin. Sounds just like my skin!

5) Ulta3 Nail Polish in Mulberry (Full size, RRP $2.00) - There are good polishes for their price.

6) ELF Eyeshadow Brush (RRP $3.99) - Another eyeshadow brush is always handy.

7) Royal Moroccan Hair Repair Shampoo, Conditioner & Serum (1 x sample sachet of each, RRP $29.95 for 100ml Serum, $17.95 for 300ml Shampoo, $17.95 for 300ml Conditioner) - I always love trying new hair products to see what they do to my fine and frizzy locks.

8) Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub (15ml sample size, not written up on card) - Hmmm, two cleansers and a scrub. I'm seeing a bit of a trend with this box. Maybe they think I have a dirty face?

9) Givenchy Pi Neo (Sample sachet) - This isn't pictured as my hubby has already taken off with it. I quite like Givenchy scents so will be interested to see what this one is like.

Well, this was certainly a jam packed box that was great value for money this month. Yet again I missed out on any makeup as I noticed that some other boxes got an Almay mascara which would have been a welcome addition. Oh well, all of the items I did get will certainly get some use.

Michelle xx

Jurlique Sweepstakes

How gorgeous are Jurlique products? Well, I am lucky enough (and also very excited too!) to give you the opportunity to win a lovely prize pack from Jurlique which includes the following products:

* Rose Moisture Plus Moisture Cream
* Rosewater Balancing Mist; and
* Rose Moisture Plus Moisturising Cleanser

20 very lucky readers will have the opportunity to win this prize which is valued at $114 AUD.

It's also super easy peezy to enter. All you have to do is click through the options on the widget you see on my sidebar on the right. There are three simple steps:

1) Log in to Facebook
2) 'Like' Jurlique on Facebook; and
3) Follow 'Jurlique' on Twitter (this step is optional)

No purchase is required and anyone over 18 in Australia can enter. The official rules can be viewed by clicking on the bottom of the widget if you are so inclined.

The competition ends on the 27th July 2012 and the winners will be announced on the 1st August 2012 and contacted directly by Jurlique.

Good luck everyone!!

Michelle xx