Priceline sale = H A U L!

I'm such a nerd...

The moment I heard Priceline was gonna have a 40% off-all-cosmetics sale, I made a list of things I've been dying to try.....

Here's a pic!

TOTAL SAVINGS?     $31.28!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  My day has officially been made!

Here's why _these_ were on my gotta-try-it-list....

Essence!

• European brand.  I saw their displays a couple of years back when I was spending winter in Prague.  Wasn't sure abt buying anything becoz it was _so_ affordable and I couldn't read Czech!  But, fast forward a few years and they're here!  
• Their stuff is really cheap (aka 'cheap as chips' in the local vernacular) but everything I've tried is good.  They get good reviews online e.g.
• XXXL lip gloss in 'Nude Kiss'.
• Their eyeshadow singles 
• They have a cute display.  It's hard to resist. 
• I've repurchased their twist up concealer brush (think YSL's touche éclat) twice.  It's actually that good I prefer it touche éclat.   
• Emily from BeautyBroadcast recommended their "I heart extreme" mascara but it was already sold out.  Poo.  So I consoled myself with another mascara from their range ;)

Covergirl & Olay Simply Ageless Eye Concealer in 210 (the lighter of the 2 colors available)....  

• this has good reviews and I'm fascinated by the swirly-ness (not a word, I know).  Hehehe.

Rimmel Stay Glossy lip gloss in 'Here to Stay'

• I __love__ these lip glosses.  They have such a nice texture.  
• I've suddenly decided to try more nude lip colors so what better way than to try with one of these lovelies?  To date, I have 4.

Covergirl 'Clump Crusher' mascara in blackest black

• This recently took over the blogosphere. 
• I'm crazy about mascaras but refused to pay f**king AUD$17.95 for something that was USD$7.99 in Walmart when I was in TX a month ago.  Yes, I should have bought it then and I've paid the $10.10 today to learn that lesson.

....final thoughts on mascara (of all things):  

I never buy waterproof mascaras.  I hate it when things are that difficult to remove.  

I try to only buy 'tubing' mascaras.  Blinc, Mirenesse, L'oreal Beauty Tubes and several of the Australis range are examples of tubing mascaras.  ...Occasionally, I branch out and buy things like the Clump Crusher though.  Call it peer pressure ;)

I don't wear mascara everyday.  Probably only 3-4x a week.

My eyelashes are naturally curled and quite long.  Not thick but long.  They look better when actually curled but it's not absolutely necessary.  I don't look for mascaras to further curl my lashes or to 'hold' the curl.  

I don't chuck out my mascaras at the 3-6month mark just becoz they are "old".  I'm the only one who uses them and no, they never start to smell odd at that stage.  I only chuck them if they're gluggy or dry.  

This usually takes them to the 6-9month mark....  Sorry beauty-bloggers but I've got to disagree with the general consensus here.  And for the record, I'm a doctor AND I've never had an eye infection. So there ;)

   

Continued: USA Haul! (last instalment... reviews to follow)

Alright, here it is everyone - the last of my haul pics!

There are a couple of quick reviews contained within (they are italicised to make them stand out a little more).  I'll also start doing proper reviews abt the other products I bought.

Some of this stuff is from the one and only Sephora!!  There's no Sephora in Western Australia so I was  absolutely thrilled to go one at the Austin Arboretum.

• Ole Henrikson 'The Naked Truth' trial pack - contains the Truth Serum Collagen Booster (the famous Vitamin C serum I've read so much about) and the Truth Creme Advanced Hydration.  I'm really keen to try these.  They've got great reviews and they were nice when swatched in the store. 
• Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturiser x2 -  Wow!  This idea is brilliant!  I've seen good reviews on these.  I love all these scents already.  Can't lose!  
• Tarte 'Awaken Your Complexion' Set - Contains Maracuja oil, brush, Creaseless concealer, Amazonia clay finishing powder.
• Maracuja plants are actually passionfruit plants.  Every Aussie should be familiar with these... makes them a lot less exotic, huh?
• Oil - I swatched this in store.  It was surprisingly light.  Haven't tried it on my face yet.
• Creaseless Concealer - I've already tried this.  My color is medium.  The coverage is great & it stays all day. The color match for me is perfect BUT this stuff is thick and I need to blot it or it stays tacky indefinitely.  Hmm.  A little goes a long way and so I will def have it for a while.  I won't repurchase becoz it's so tacky though.  
• Finishing powder - cute thing I don't really have any use for.
• Urban Decay Triple Threat Travel Pencil Set - There are 3 mini 24/7 eyeliner pencils in Demolition (deep brown), Zero (black), Rockstar (deep purple).  I already have Demolition which i love so I was thrilled to get these three for a good price
• ***  I have tried the Milani Liquif Eye eyeliners as a cheaper alternative to these.  Sorry but they don't compare.  They are lovely and soft eyeliners BUT they smudge and run on me.  Even when set with eyeshadows ***.  
• ELF eyelash curler - this is my spare!  I already have one which I _love__.  Not scary, easy to use and curls my lashes nicely.  It was only $1 so I couldn't resist.  
• Sonia Kashuk #205 Duo-fibre Crease Brush - quite like this.  Have tried this with my UD palette.  Blends shadows nicely but I don't think it delivers enough colour to the crease to be a 'crease' brush per se.  
• ELF Eyebrow Kit in Medium - love this!  I bought Ash/Taupe online but it wasn't quite my color match.  This is much better and was something I planned to buy.  Yay!
• Ojon Rare Blend Oil - I love the Ojon shampoo and conditioners so I thought I was give this a try.  Also, I'm a sucker for cute little things with liquid suspensions within...  Make what you want of that last sentence ;)
• ELF Golden Bronzer - I wanted the Warm version but it wasn't available at my Target.  Nevermind.  I like this one too.  When it applied, it gives a nice glow.  It's not extreme by any means but I only want something really subtle on a daily basis so I tone it down by combining it with my Tarte 'Exposed' blush.  Perfect work-wear combo. 
• The Urban Decay customisable 4 pan palette!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - I promised myself one of these if I managed to get to a Sephora.  No particular reason.  Just becoz.  It was thrilling being able to try the range of UD eyeshadows.  I wanted a neutral palette.
• I actually was keen on the Naked Palettes.  I swatched the Naked Basics but the colors just didn't really do anything for me.  The Naked 1 and 2 palettes were just a little too much for me.  Hmm... is that even possible? ;)
• My customised palette has Sin, FreeLove, Exposed, Stray Dog

Continued: USA haul 2 - Stuff we don't have in Oz

This is a combo haul - stuff I have already tried and stuff I've heard about and wanted to try ;)  None of these items is actually available in Aussie stores however.

Let's start with stuff I've already tried:

• NYX Eyebrow kit - I had this is Ash/Taupe which wasn't my right color match.  It's a great product though so I was keen to buy it in Medium
• Rohto Eye drops - love these.  I have to buy these online usually so I was thrilled to see them on store shelves in TX.
• Olay 4-in-1 Facial Cloths - these are kinda awesome.  They're great for travel becoz they are not pre-moistened so they are lightweight and I don't have to worry abt them drying out in the packet.  They can be cut in half and still clean face + neck effectively (the whole cloths are too big).  They aren't enough on their own for deep cleansing - you will still need a scrub once/twice a week but they are great for everyday.  

New stuff I've been dying to try:

• L'Oreal EverCreme Cleansing Conditioner -  I love my Crossfit but have super coloured hair.  Bright red thanks to Revlon Colour Balls in 500.  I already had coarse wavy hair to begin with and so the frequent washing was really taking its toll.  I had read about cleansing conditioners online but the selection (as always!) in Oz is limited.  Certainly nothing not salon-associated (and therefore exorbitant).  Enter this baby... I'd read the great reviews online so I bought it the moment I saw it on the shelves.  I haven't tried it yet so stay tuned...
• Milani Shadow Eyez eyeshadow jumbo pencil in Champagne Toast.  I'm always looking for a great neutral jumbo eyeshadow pencil.  'Nuff said.
• Neutrogena Healthy Volume Mascara - Neutrogena does not have a makeup line in Oz but a lot of the line has good reviews.
• Neutrogena MoistureSmooth Color Stick in Fresh Papaya 
• Neutrogena Revitalizing Lip Balm in Healthy Blush 
• Blistex Moisture Melt - I'm nuts abt lip balms... this thing has shea butter beads in it...how could I resist?
• Physicians Formula Organic Lash Boosting Mascara - this even had a 40% coupon - ended up being $4.50 per mascara!  

**I love Emily Eddington's (aka EmilyNoel83) YouTube channel and blog and many of the products I've purchased throughout my trip comes from her recommendations.  I don't think she's led me astray yet ;)  Check her out on BeautyBroadcast

Any truly outstanding items will be properly reviewed separately 

Continued USA (mini) haul, pics and mini review!

Nail polish -- woohoo!

This is my first Essie nail polish in Mochacino.  It is a beautiful light taupe color with tiny, tiny silver glitter flakes in it.  The glitter is so fine, it's almost a shimmer but I can definitely see the glitter flakes so I don't want to describe it inaccurately.  I've taken a couple of pics with different light so the color can be better characterised.  

The polish had a thinnish texture but went on very smoothly.  Definitely needed 2 coats for the color to really shine through but it was worth it.

On my ring finger, I have Mochacino then a final coat of NYC's Silver Sparkle.

The top coat is the famous Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat!  -- I'm so impressed by this!  There's a lot of online hype abt out and IMHO, it's all true!  Very very quick drying, light and goes on very smoothly.  Fantastic shine!  I've worn this for a whole week over another color and was really pleased to see how it kept my nails relatively chip free despite a long-haul flight and all the associated packing.  The nail polish didn't just peel off in flakes at the end either - I actually had to remove it.  

I usually use OPI's top coat which isn't as shiny and seems to allow me to peel off my nail polish in sheets around day 5.  I kinda like peeling my nail polish (heehee!) so it's not quite a criticism from me.  But it just doesn't compare to Seche Vite at all!

***Final note:  ESSIE & Seche Vite are both available in Australia but at a significant price mark up and are not carried in a lot of stores.  In contrast, I got the Essie at Target and Seche Vite at Ulta (in Texas)   

Essie nail polishes are around AUD$10-14 in Oz (vs. US $7.79)

Seche Vite is AUD$15 and up (vs. US$10 usually but this was on sale that day so it was $5!)

Welcome to the USA: a series of random hauls! (aka Stuff we don't get in Oz)

Hiya!

I'm in TX (my former alma mater thanks to my exchange year at UT Austin) to attend a dear friend's wedding and meet my bf's family.

I love being here! Not least of all because there's an amazing selection of stuff stores in Oz just don't carry.We often have the same brands but only hv a few of the product lines... And at vastly inflated prices.  So I plan to H A U L! while here!

Last night's trip to Walmart garnered these items:
Neutrogena power trip refills (these hv been discontinued in Oz), Q-Tip travel boxes, mini Reese's peanut butter cups and Hard Candy nail polish in Masquerade, Hard Candy baked eye shadow duo in Peace and NYC apple lip balm in Apple Delicious!