Sunday 6 January 2013

Christmas/New Year's Haul

This Christmas, I decided to go snowboarding and camping with close friends instead of staying in the city so I've barely had time for shopping. However, I've managed to pick up a few things at the airport and at drugstores nonetheless. 

Body/Hair Care Products
L'Occitane Verbena Body Lotion from L'Occitane counter
Vaseline Total Moisture 24Hour Nourishing Lotion from Drugstore
Neutrogena Rainbath Refreshing Shower and Bath Gel from Costco
Kiehl's Rice & Wheat Volumizing Shampoo from Kiehl's counter
Rice & Wheat Volumizing Conditioning Rinse from Kiehl's counter
 On the second day of holiday, my friends and I decided to go to Costco on a whim to see if we could pick up something we liked. Surprise, surprise, I found my favourite shower gel there and ended up purchasing it. The Neutrogena Rainbath shower gel is one of my favourites because the scent reminds me of a German shower gel my aunt used to give me whenever she visited. 

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm crazy about moisturising, so I picked up two lotions this holiday - the Verbena body lotion that I absolutely love from L'Occitane and one from Vaseline. I intended to use the Vaseline lotion throughout the winter, but I found the lotion to be quite thin, and not as nourishing as I'd imagined which is quite disappointing. The scent is quite pleasant, but is a bit strong. As always, I'm saving the L'Occitane Verbena lotion for the summer because I find it to be rather light. 

The shampoo and conditioner I purchased from Kiehl's are one of my favourites because it's targeted to flat, thin, or lifeless hair, and my hair has always been quite fine and flat. This shampoo never fails to give a little 'oomf' to my hair and I like how light the scent is. 

Facial Products:
Lash Curler from CVS
Benefit '10' Bronzing/Highlighting Duo from Sephora
Chanel Hydramax + Moisture Boost Cream from Chanel counter
Kiehl's Clarity-Activating Toner Sample from Kiehl's counter
Bourjois  123 Perfect Liquid Foundation from Drugstore
Revlon PhotoReady Eye Primer and Brightener from Drugstore
Revlon PhotoReady 3D Volume Waterproof Mascara from Drugstore
Revlon PhotoReady 3D Volume Mascara from Drugstore
Revlon Colourstay Liquid Eyes Pen from Drugstore
Revlon Colourstay One-Stroke Defining Liner from Drugstore
Maybelline Hyper Sharp Liner from Drugstore
Burt's Bees Beeswax Lipbalm from Burt's Bees counter
Systane Ultra Lubricant Eye Drops Duo from Costco
Shu Uemura Skin Purifier Cleansing Beauty Oil from Airport Duty-Free
When I saw a tiny eyelash curler at CVS, I knew I had to get it - whenever I'm curling my lashes, I could never get the ones on the side, so this little guy is the solution to my problem! Because my eyes are quite dry and I tend to wear contact lenses for longer than recommended, I often need eye drops to keep me from scratching my eyes out. 

Airport duty-free is one of my favourite places to purchase beauty products, and I picked up the Shu Uemura cleansing beauty oil because my Mum raves about it whenever we shop so I decided to give it a go. 


(please excuse how pale my hand looks, I'm usually tanner!)
I've heard many good reviews about Bourjois's liquid foundations and decided to give it a try to see how I liked it. Since it's winter and I haven't been anywhere tropical lately, I got the shade 53 Light Beige. Although I love how light the foundation is, it dried out my skin and emphasised how dry my cheeks were. I chose the 123 Perfect foundation over the Healthy Mix Serum because I thought it would give me too much coverage. On a second thought, I should've purchased the latter because I love the dewy effect it has. The light pink swab is the Revlon PhotoReady Eye Primer and Brightener. I was surprised at how much I liked the product, because it really did brighten my under eye area and had a similar effect to the eye brightener I purchased ages ago from Benefit. However, I found the applicator to be quite troublesome and glitchy - I usually have to wait at least five to ten minutes for a tiny drop of product to appear on the brush. 
Benefit '10' Bronzing/Highlighting Duo from Sephora
I've always been a fan of Benefit, but funnily enough, I've never purchased any of their bronzers or blushers before. When I went to Sephora to pick up a present for a friend, I decided to try out the '10' bronzing and highlighting duo. I found them to be quite sheer, but it does give you a nice glow and is super handy if you're in a rush since you can apply both highlighter and bronzer together. 
Crabtree & EvelynGardeners Hand Therapy from Crabtree & Evelyn shop
Chanel Hydramax + Moisture Boost Cream from Chanel counter
Kiehl's Clarity-Activating Toner Sample from Kiehl'sBurt's Bees Beeswax Lipbalm from Burt's Bees counter
Boots Tinted Lipsalve from Boots

Crabtree & EvelynGardeners Hand Therapy from Crabtree & Evelyn shop

I've never been a fan of gardening, but I purchased the Gardeners Hand Therapy because I assumed it would be super rich, and I was right. My Mum and I both have very dry skin, so I find most hand creams to be too 'light' for moisturising my hands. But I really love this one because even though it's moisturising, it isn't too thick when you apply it, and doesn't have an overpowering floral scent (which gives me massive headaches) and just a hint of citrus. And look how cute the packaging is! I would definitely re-purchase this product. 
I really love this moisturising cream from Chanel because I find it to be more moisturising and less oily than the cream I purchased from Kiehl's. Apart from the packaging, I love how they provide you with a little stick to dig out the product - I don't really like digging out creams and lotions from their tubs with my hands. Even though the colour of the cream is a little odd at first, you'll get used to it soon enough. Another thing about this product is that the scent is quite strong - my Mum didn't like it at all and found it overpowering but I love it, so it's really dependent on your preference. 

New lipbalms
Boots Tinted Lipbalm from Boots
Burt's Bees Beeswax Lipbalm from Burt's Bees counter
Neutrogena Lip Moisturizer with SPF 15 from Drugstore
Clinique Lipbalm from Clinique counter
Chapped lips are a huge pet peeve of mine, so I alway make sure I have at least two lip balms in my purse at all times. I recently purchased these four lip balms from Boots, Burt's Bees, Neutrogena, and Clinique. My favourite out of all of them would be the lip balm from Clinique because it is super moisturising, is long lasting, and isn't sticky at all. I've used Burt's Bees Beeswax lipbalm for years, and it's never failed me, I also really like the minty scent it has. I purchased the Neutrogena lip balm  because I've heard from a friend that it is super moisturising, and it is! However, it is a bit too oily for my liking. The Boots tinted lip balm was a massive disappointment as it was not moisturising at all, and the colour was quite odd as well. It didn't apply well on my lips at all and was thick and chunky. When my lips were really chapped, I found the Boots tinted lip balm further emphasised how chapped they were. 
Bobbi Brown Conditioning Brush Cleanser from Bobbi Brown counter
Bobbi Brown Miniature Kabuki Brush and Case from Bobbi Brown counter
I have to admit, these two items were impulse buys - I love Bobbi Brown products and I've been needing a brush cleanser so I wanted to try out their product. The kabuki brush was too adorable to pass up so I thought it was time my old kabuki brush retired. The store clerk was lovely enough to give me the travelling case for the brush as a gift. 
Revlon PhotoReady 3D Volume Waterproof Mascara from Drugstore
Revlon PhotoReady 3D Volume Mascara from Drugstore
Revlon Colourstay Liquid Eyes Pen from Drugstore
Revlon Colourstay One-Stroke Defining Liner from Drugstore
Maybelline Hyper Sharp Liner from Drugstore
 Recently I've really gotten into Revlon products (as you can see). The Revlon Colourstay One-Stoke Defining Liner has been a long favourite of mine and I always purchase it whenever I see it in fear of it being discontinued one day. I've switched from liquid liner to gel liner for a couple years now, but I find liquid liners to be best for the cat-eye/winged look, so I purchased two this holiday. 
From top to bottom:Revlon Colourstay Liquid Eyes Pen
Revlon Colourstay One-Stroke Defining Liner
Maybelline Hyper Sharp Liner
The Maybelline Hyper Sharp Liner is incredibly thin, and would be great for the winged tips, but as a general eyeliner, the Revlon Colourstay Liquid Eyes Pen would be the better pick. Both products can be washed off by warm water and soap, but the One-Stroke Defining Liner by Revlon is a toughie - it doesn't budge at all even with soap and can only be removed by make up remover. 
When I was purchasing these mascaras, I was in a hurry so I assumed they were two different mascaras. But when I got home, I realised they had the same name (but different brushes for some reason?). The bigger mascara is waterproof while the thinner one can be removed by warm water. I've been using the waterproof mascara as a top coat for my upper lashes because when I tried to use it as a bottom coat, it straightened my lashes instead of holding the curl. I plan on using the mascara with the smaller brush for my bottom lashes. 

I haven't had a chance to go Christmas shopping this year for clothes, but I plan on doing a collective haul when my order arrives. Until next time! 

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