Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Girl's Night Out-Alice Through The Looking Glass

Evening Lovelies!!

A few weeks ago my mum and i headed out to the Girl's Night Out screening of Alice Through The Looking Glass.  If you don't know what Girl's Night Out is, it's an advance screening of a movie held by Hoyts and Marie Claire.  For $30 you get to see a movie (and oh, the recliners at hoyts!  Divine!!), plus you get a goodie bag containing the latest issue of Marie Claire, and a girl's night out Parcel.  I thought i'd show you exactly what our Parcels contained.
This was the bag awaiting each of us on our seats!
 As you can see it's a normal Parcel box, with a Girl's Night Out slip cover.

The contents.
Designer Brands Cosmetics Soothing Lavender-soap and body lotion, plus loofah and eye mask

None of this can be purchased as a stand alone product, but DB have it all in a pack for $12.49 (with a body wash).  This smells lovely, and is all usable.
Designer Brands Dry Shampoo-Brunette-$7.99  

OMG, i love this.  It smells heavenly (it has essential oils in it), plus it does a good job, and it isn't visible in my hair!!

Neutrogena Make-up wipes-sample pack

These will be used, and i haven't tried them before

Neutrogena Deep Clean Cleanser-sample size

Perfect for travelling

L'Occitane Rose Handcream-30ml-$14

I LOVE L'Occitane handcreams.  And being winter this is perfect.

Designer Brands Whipped Mineral Eyeshadow-$8.99

Mine's in Ivory, and Mum's was Mushroom (she handed hers on as she won't use it).  They're highly pigmented, are smooth and silky, and are easily blended. 

Designer Brands LashFood Growth Serum-$19.99

Wow!  This is supposed to help thicken your eyelashes, and help them grow.
Eyeshadow swatch
So, not only did we get to see an awesome movie (i adored it!  I'm not a movie person, but it held my interest from start to finish), but we got a box each worth $51 in full sizes alone!  Plus a copy of Marie Claire!

If you live near a Hoyts that hosts Girl's Nights out, treat yourself sometime and go to one.  It was a great experience, and one i'd happily do again.






Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Lust Have It May 2016

Afternooon all!

If you read my Parcel post yesterday, it'll come as no surprise that i've had my LHI bag for almost 2 weeks.  So it did arrive in May, today's just the first time in a while i've felt up to sitting at the computer.
Another ubiquitous pink bag.  I actually found a use for these the other day, i washed yarn from a jumper i deconstructed in them.  Worked perfectly!
Razzamatazz Perfectly Matte Opaque Leggings-11.95

I've seen other bloggers state they'd have preferred another beauty item over this, but i'm quite happy with the tights.  They fit me!  They're fairly comfortable, and they're perfect for the winter months.  I'd probably be upset if it happened regularly, or the leggings took the place of a beauty item, but as an added bonus, love it!
'Mystery Item' Soak Body Lotion-?

If you search through my LHI or Violet Box reviews you'll find this somewhere.  Others received an Urban Skincare Co body balm.  Both are previous samples, and seem to be a 'holy shit, need to include something else' sample.  Or they're using up leftovers.  This isn't a terrible body lotion, but it's inclusion is just a bit blah.
Lollipops Baume Grenadine-$7.45-full size

This is a tinted ?balm?gloss?oil?.  Smells sugary sweet, gives your lips a lovely hint of colour, and leaves them moisturised.  It feels like an oil on and is non sticky.
Teeez Spectrum of Stars Eye Shadow-$29-full size

The hero product!  I love Teeez products, and this is no different.  Firstly, the packaging is amazing, as i've come to expect from Teeez.  And the product is wonderful, highly pigmented, buttery soft, and easy to blend.  Mine's in the shade Pearly Mist, which is a pewter colour.
Starlooks Luxe Longwear Eyeliner Pen-$20-full size

This is the 3rd? 4th? eyeliner i've received from Starlooks, although the first pen (i think).  This one is brown, it lasts forever (the swatch did, at least), and it seems relatively easy to use.  I just wish LHI would lay off the eyeliners for a bit, the april box had a brown liner too, and there have been more blacks than i can poke a stick at.
PHR Recovery Leave In Moisturiser-$35.95-sample size (LHI are calling this a 'deluxe size'. Deluxe my foot!  A satchet is not deluxe, it's cheap, nasty, and can normally be picked up for free.  Thankfully LHI have stopped sending them out most of the time, but at least call a spade a spade).

I've tried this before thanks to Violet Box.  It worked wonderfully on my hair, but the satchet is single use when you have hair like mine.
Eyeliner, eyeshadow, lip balm
All in all it's a decent box.  A couple of new brands, some new products from previous brands, 1 repeat and leggings :).  The value is certainly there, and i'll use everything in my box.

As it's taken me so long to post this, we're not far off the next LHI!  Can't wait!!







Tuesday, June 7, 2016

The Parcel Winter Edit

Morning Lovelies!!

Long time no chat!  I do apologise, the headache from hell is now 5 weeks old, 3 lots of antibiotics and 4 drs visits and we're still no closer to knowing WTH is going on!  Next step is an MRI.  To top off the headache, my lovely, beautiful kids have bought home both a cough (no other symptoms, just a cough), and a cold, both of which i've had the pleasure of catching.  Life's been hard.

Yesterday, however, a mystery parcel slip turned up on my doorstep (oh, and my illustrated copy of Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone!  It is gorgeous, and a must have for any HP fans), and i managed to get to the post office to pick it up just before it closed last night.  Sitting outside i saw another woman walk out with her Parcel, and i crossed my fingers hoping the slip was for mine.  Lo and behold, it was!  And so here i am!
I can't believe it's winter!  But the contents of the box are perfect protection against the cold.
10 items in total, 4 full sized!
Garnier BB cream

This is listed as a bonus, so no need to tear strips over the size.  I might get a single use out of it.  I've used this in the past, though, it isn't the best BB cream ever, but it's a decent tinted moisturiser.

Burt's Bees Tinted Lipbalm-$12.95-full size

This is a 100% natural lip balm, with a tint.  I'm not normally a fan of Burt's Bees (their products are ok, but expensive), however i've had this balm on all morning, and i quite like it.  Mine's in the colour Zinnia, which is a peachy pink, it has a faint raspberry-ish scent which disappears quickly, and over 2 hours later my lips still feel moisturised.  The tint is only light, you're not going to end up with brightly coloured lips, but it's the perfect addition to your handbag for dry lips.
The Body Shop Drops of Youth Concentrate-$69.95-sample size

This is an organic potion that supposedly encourages the skin's natural renewal process, leaving you with glowing skin.  Sounds...........interesting.  At least with this size sample you get to trial it for a decent period before forking out for a full size, plus it gives people who can't make it in to a store a chance to give a Body Shop product a go (i used to live in an area that didn't have a Body Shop, i know i can order online or through Body Shop At Home, but the products are expensive, and it's a huge risk to buy something without being able to test it first).

Nivea Sensitive Caring Micellar Water-$9.97-full size

*snore......zzzzzzzzzz*  Wasn't there the Garnier version in the last Parcel?  I think i currently have 5 full bottles of Micellar water here.............................  2 Swisse (it was cheap, i'm a sucker for a bargain), 1 Unani from LHI, and the Garnier and Nivea from The Parcel.  I know people love the stuff, and i think it's ok, but i tend to use a cleansing oil as a makeup remover instead.  Maybe once the Face Shop oil i'm currently using is finished i'll try and get through some of these.

Garnier Wake Up cream-$19.99-full size

Despite the name, this is a sleeping/night cream.  Slather on, leave overnight, 'wake up to more radiant skin'.  It has rice micro peptides, and is supposed to fight dull skin and fatigue.  It has a definite scent, i rubbed some on my hand 30 minutes ago, and i can still smell it, which may prove to be a problem for some.  It almost smells cologne-ish.
Rituals Cosmetics Fortune Oil-$18-sample size

This is a sweet orange and cedar wood shower oil.  On contact with water it becomes a foam, which helps hydrate your skin.  It smells delightful, and is something i'm interested to try, plus it's from a company i haven't tried before.

MOR Rosa Noir Hand and Body Milk-$39.95-sample size

*YAWN*  I am so disappointed to see this product.  This is my 4th parcel, and the second time i've received this (it was in last year's spring edit).  Firstly, i don't think MOR is worth the money (yes, it's lovely, but not for the prices they want), and secondly, there are only 4 women's Parcels a year.  Surely it isn't too much to expect to not get double ups in the same year.  Comes across as lazy, especially when there are so many other awesome products and brands out there.

Colgate Optic White High Impact White-$9.99-sample size

Surprisely i'm happy to receive this.  I have a bit of an issue with toothpaste, and i love being able to try different ones out without buying the full size.
John Frieda Frizz Ease Forever Smooth Anti-Frizz Primer-$16.99-full size

What a mouthful!  But, i so can't wait to try this out (i would have when i washed my hair last night, but i hadn't taken photos.  The things i do for this blog).  Applied to wet hair, this is a leave in treatment, that uses coconut oil and glycerides to help align the structure of your hair.  So, in theory, it should help more with each use.  I hate my hair, it's long, thick, frizzy, with next to no definition.  It looks fantastic when straightened, but with 3 kids i don't have the time nor the inclination to straighten my hair every 2-3 days.  I've had success with John Frieda products in the past, so hopefully this becomes a holy grail product.

Klorane Shampoo with Quinine and B vitamins-$20.95-sample size

This helps hair become everything i just said my hair was.  It helps with thinning, lifeless hair.  Maybe i should run as far away from it as possible.  However, being such a small sample i'll probably give it a go.  Again, this smells quite cologne-y, actually a lot of the products in the box smell quite masculine.
Burt's Bees lip balm
All in all, whilst this isn't the worst box i've ever received (i think that honour still goes to Glossy Box), it isn't the normal standard i've come to expect.  The Parcel normally has a Hero Product, there really isn't one this month.  And there isn't really anything exclusive, nothing that makes it feel overly special.  Add the fact that there is a double up, plus a similar product to the last box, and it makes the whole box slightly disappointing.

Value wise, the value is there.  The full sizes alone are worth $59.90, over double what i paid for the box.  And it fits the winter season.  And i'll use everything.  But, yeah, it's just not what The Parcel team normally come up with, and some of it feels like an after thought.

I'll be interested to see what others think of it.