Melbourne shopping day in pictures

hi guys here's my day out yesterday in pictures! plus sneaky peak at vlog too at the end. Hope you enjoy! let me know what you got up to!


First up was lunch, I got the steak and cheese subway, from Subway of course haha, it was so so yummy. I got the honey oat bun.

 Whenever I shop with Mel as she's from Geelong, we always go to Starbucks, this time I tried the strawberry and cream frap and it was so good, I normally get a latte.

 our tradition is taking a cheesy pic together at Starbucks haha.

 next we went shopping at Lush! I bought two soaps, Maypole and Old father time, I adore lush products.

 how pretty are the bathbombs? love taking photos of them, sadly I haven't got a bath though!

 Then Mel wanted to shop for workout gear, she's really into getting fit,

 and of course we had a break and a snack,

 Then we went to Daiso! I love this store and will be going back in a few weeks

 Saw some artist doing floor art, or busking art not sure what but it was so pretty!

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what are you getting up to?

Hugs Jess

Nivea lip butter raspberry rose

Hi lovelies! today I'm posting my thoughts about this pretty little product, from Nivea! I'm sure you've all seen them by now, if not where have you been living? If you know anything about me by now, is that I love a good lip product. Lately I've been suffering from really, dry lips, to the point they are sore and peeling. Not attractive! but I found this in my handbag again, and have been using it daily!

I found this at Coles supermarket on sale, I don't think its actually available there now, which is so so sad. I use this as a primer for lipsticks that are known to be drying. It smooths out any unwanted lines, and makes the staying power of the lipstick, longer.

 The texture of the lip balm is light, and absorbs well into the lips, so it actually doesn't just sit on top like most lip balms. The scent is sweet, a bit of a mixture between Raspberry, and rose which is nice. Not sickly sweet. Available in a flat, round tin, which is good for travelling however I find it hard to open sometimes. It's not slimy on the lips, and its not glossy either, even though it is slightly tinted pink. What I do like is that, the scent doesn't linger, I find some lip scents to be harsh on my sensitive lips.

I have found, a little goes a long way with this product, and it has so far lasted me ages! which is great cause I'd hate to run out of it any time soon.

 I found for the price, the size and the quality of this item makes it a fantastic beauty must have for those who love lipcare products. I keep going back to it, so it must mean that its good. I'm always a sucker for pretty products that actually do work well!

I also have the caramel kiss one, as well, but I've been leaning more towards this as of late! 

have you tried these? 

Hugs Jess

Dupe alert maryloumanizer the balm and boe beauty

Hi lovelies! well I think you should all know by now, that I love a good highlighter! and Maryloumanizer by the balm is by far, one of the best. However not only do I love a good makeup product, I love a bargain!

 Mary loumanizer is an iconic beauty product that every gal should have in her kit! I however don't use this on a daily basis because of how expensive it gets to import into Australia. So when I stumbled across another product, by Boe beauty, they have a range that is $2 and a more expensive range, I was shocked when I found out these two products are actually very similar.

 Similar in size, compact shape obviously, and the product itself, the boe beauty one is a fair bit cheaper looking than its counterparts but that's a given being only, $2. Surprisingly for $2 the consistency of this highlighter, is actually really amazing. It feels similar to the mary lou one, in when first applied however, it can look glittery but, I blend it out with an Elf small tapered blending brush.

 in the pan they look basically the same! just the difference being Boe on the skin is slightly more glittery, however with careful blending it looks the same as Marylou manizer. Which is amazing being, shall I say it again? for $2.

I really feel that they are very similar, texture and on application they apply smooth, and are both pigmented.

What are your thoughts on this dupe?
hugs Jess

elf hd mattifying cream foundation

Hi lovelies! today's review is on the elf hd mattifying cream foundation, oil free. I purchased this on Iherb.com, which is a great site for picking up different things, a lot cheaper than you would in store. At least here in Australia I've found that to be true. I paid just under $5 for this product, and you get 95 grams worth of it in the pan. I do have a rather large foundation collection and I think I will need to use up some before I purchase any more! anyone else like me on this?

 This foundation is versatile! it can be built up to a full coverage look, or sheered out for the no makeup effect and you will still be covered.To me even though it says mattifying it doesn't give a true matte finish, more a demi matte or satin finish. I have dry sensitive skin, and find this foundation hydrating even though it says oil free. I use my fingers, beauty blender or Nude by nature kabuki brush to blend it into my skin, and it gives it a natural finish that doesn't streak.

 The shade range could be expanded in this but I chose the shade porcelain, to match my very fair skin. It's more yellow when swatched which I like as I have areas of skin that tend to look quite red.

 The product itself is actually much bigger than what I expected which is a nice surprise because, usually its the other way around. The packaging is sturdy in its two level casing, and it comes with a mirror!

Pro's not cakey, dewy and long lasting, good price

Cons not enough shade range, I need to purchase this online

I enjoy wearing this foundation! its a great every day wear, and seems to work well with being set with a powder for an all day last. It feels almost like the Rimmel London 25 hour wear with comfort serum, to me. 

Have any of you tried this? what were your thoughts as I've seen mixed reactions to this foundation by Elf.

Hugs 

Jess

what my 2016 blogging resolutions are

what my 2016 blogging resolutions are 
So I don't usually do new years resolutions, but these ones are better because I think its more a long term goal that I am able to actually work towards for my bloggy here. So here are my resolutions for 2016!

1. Use Twitter more.
I've never scheduled a tweet! sounds weird to me, I do like to do things in the moment but I know with school coming up for me, I'll be needing to use this option.

2. Be more social.
Comment more on blogs I read, I do occasionally do this but I want to do this more! I find blogging can get a bit lonely otherwise.

3. Be more organized.
Not sure how I'm going to do this, but I'll try and schedule posts, and plan more in advance for the days where I have writers block.

4. Spend time networking.
Again this is because I want more bloggy friends! I try and spend time on the blog and creating content, and then all I hear are crickets chirping, it seems a very empty space sometimes.

So there you go, my blogging resolutions! what are yours?

Hugs Jess

coconut revolution my no poo method that's saving my fried hair

Hi lovelies! today's post is an exciting one, because I love anything to do with hair care, I've been around the block, quite a few times regarding shopping for hair products, and treatments and even hair stylists appointments to try and save my, very unruly, thick and almost unmanageable hair. It's become a love hate type of relationship!


However I've actually been seeing a huge improvement with my hair using this method, and even hair growth! my hair generally grows out thick, not long. My hair is coarse, brittle, and damaged, but its slowly liking me again with the hair care I've been using.

Coconut revolution, is a new brand to me, I first saw them a few months back when I was in Melbourne central, I looked around and stored it in the back of my mind. I stumbled across this soap at an independent grocery store that is by me! and it was on sale for approx $3 something which is way less than what it usually retails on their website for, just under $10 a bar. I've heard of people doing the no poo method on their hair.

...Some had mixed results, some had great results, others hated it, I however am loving it! I believe that traditional shampoos and conditioner either dry out my hair more, or mask it temporarily and doesn't actually treat my hair problems. Which is frizz, dullness, and split ends.

I've researched their product, and they are an ethically based company, meaning they don't test on animals. However I cannot find their status on how they are using organically based cold pressed coconut oil as they are grown in Thailand. They do however use sustainable practices to harvest their coconuts.

I adore the packaging! I know, the product is not about the packaging, but how cute is the paper? the lilac represents it being lavender scented, and its sleek, and actually feels nice, not cheap. The soap itself is wrapped neatly too. Now onto the soap, the soap delivers an excellent lather! I like the scent, it cleans well, and moisturisers, however due to them using parfum and not essential oil, I can't use it in certain body areas! I did however try it on my hair this month as part of the no poo test. I love it! I first deep condition with an avocado oil, and sleeping in it, and rinsing it out with the soap as a shampoo, then conditioning it with apple cider vinegar.

This soap is amazing! I think for my body I might get the unscented one next time, It was my fault for not checking the ingredients. So far with this method I'm actually enjoying what I'm finding, I do this twice a week, I used to wash my hair every other day. I deep condition with coconut cream twice a week, and just rinse it out with apple cider vinegar. And no, you don't smell when using the vinegar it doesn't linger.

So have you tried the no poo method? tried any of Coconut revolution products?

Hugs Jess

Review & Swatches: Australis Velourlip Matte Cream Lipstick how I wear a vampy lipstick shade

Hello all! I'm so excited, I'm finally on the valour lip bandwagon! I purchased my first ever Australis valour matte liquid lipstick from Kmart the other week and have been wearing it non stop! I bought the colour doobai as that was the shade I'd been lusting after for ages! the next colour I want to get is the deep purple one called Tok-i-o!

so here are swatches, how I apply it and I hope you enjoy it!

Lipswatch, I used natural lighting only from window light, and no filters, I adore this colour! its pigmented and a delight to put on.

I picked it up from Kmart for $9.00 which I think is a fairly good price for this type of product! I was worried I'd hate wearing it, but I actually found it very, comfortable and easy to wear and apply! it didn't dry my lips out either.

First off I prep my lips by giving them a gentle scrub a dub dub, it really helps for the presentation and the wear time of the lipstick. I actually found it better with the Maybelline Better skin item then any other I have in my stash. I also lathered on lipbalm before hand and Palmers coco butter formula is my fave.

The lip product itself, glides on with a traditional doe foot applicator, gives an impressive matte finish, and is opaque in one swipe. It's also very easy to use because it dries quickly, I'm always smudging my lipstick when cleaning up the edges and that defeats the purpose of cleaning up the edges! But this I have no problem with!

On me it lasted a good 5 hours before drying off a little, but it doesn't flake, cake, smudge, or leave any bad stains. I did however find if I applied too many layers, like more than 2, it started to get crumbly. Almost like I had lipstick pilling on my lips, or lint haha.

I think I also want to get Hon a loo loo next as well haha, tell me, what are your favourite lip shades or products to wear at the moment?

Pro's 
Easy to apply
Long wearing
Affordable
Vegan

Con's
Doesn't layer that well on the lips
Need to prepare lips with lip balm

Hugs Jess