Pre-Sydney Mini Haul

I'm going to take a minute to discuss the weather in Brisbane right now.

Horrendous. Absolutely horrendous.

The air conditioning on the bus did not suffice. Also, the bus on the way home had a broken air conditioner. Obviously I have the best luck in all the land.

When I got home, I thought I'd take an early shower to cool off a bit. Let's just say I had my shower set to the coldest temperature and it was still too hot, and now I've just hit a wall. Maybe I have heatstroke or something.

But then again, maybe not. I probably wouldn't be able to type anything out.

I bought a few things today before I went to Sydney. I really wanted a new non-exfoliating cleanser for rotation (because the scrub is too harsh) and the NARS foundation pump (even though my current one is on its last legs) for the other unopened bottle I have. I also wanted to find a chartreuse nail polish.

And bought I did.

Oops. Didn't realise there was water on the bench. I took these photos after I used the cleanser in the shower.

Fi, Grace, Sandra and Gina all recommended Mario Badescu's skincare range and I checked these recommendations against Makeupalley (here and here), both of which have a rating of above 4.0. And now I am in possession of both.

Did I mention that they don't test on animals?

Perfecto.

Did I also mention that I walked out of Myer with not one, but two compliments on my shirt?

Perfecto x2.

The Glycolic Foaming Cleanser ($22.95, available at Kit Cosmetics, Mecca Cosmetica and Beauty Bay) is quite gentle.. well, so far anyway. The consistency is like honey and it takes a little more effort to sud up but it's nothing I won't get used to eventually. As of right now, I can't make the most informed opinion because it's only been a few hours since it went from the shelf to my bathroom.

However, from the one time I have used it, my skin isn't irritated and it wasn't stripped post-wash. I felt very refreshed stepping out of the shower, until he heat hit me. There was another cleanser I was looking at but it didn't foam, which is a real deal-breaker for me. I just want to feel clean, and to me, the image of being clean starts with suds.

A lot of suds.

The Seaweed Cleansing Lotion ($22.95, also available at Kit Cosmetics, Mecca Cosmetica and Beauty Bay) is something I was a little more dubious about. I saw the word "cleansing" and immediately thought.. no. I have no idea why, since people even told me it was a toner.

I must say that my skin is feeling very nice right now. It has a weirdly appealing scent to it.. nothing I can really pinpoint, but it certainly doesn't smell like seaweed. Nothing fishy.

So far it hasn't revolutionalised my skincare routine, but then that's a completely unreasonable request, considering that it is extremely new in my life. Hopefully I can see the benefits soon enough.

It has to be popular for a reason, right?! Let's hope I'm not one of the rare people who suffer adverse, irritating effects from regular use.

If you follow me on Twitter or Tumblr, you might know that I recently bought a chartreuse (or almost chartreuse) dress. Basically I wanted a matching nail colour and I have been hunting and hunting for one. L'Oreal New Money isn't available in Australia and I can't find OPI's WTSAY either.

I came across Illamasqua Radium ($22.00) on Temptalia and decided to bite the bullet. As it turns out, Myer's Stocktake Sale brought it down to $17.60. Still a bit steep, but I went for it anyway.

Let me just say that chartreuse is definitely not a colour I would wear on the daily (I prefer pastels and darks), but I wanted something to match the dress.

Also I am completely aware that the polish swatch looks disgusting. I did it in literally 2 seconds purely to show the colour.. which ended up not even being that accurate anyway. It's slightly greener in person. The only thing I'm not completely happy about is the shimmer, but hey, I found a polish that matches the dress exactly.

I predict that it looks a bit nicer with two coats.

Like, infinitely nicer.

And last of all, I finally bought a NARS Foundation Pump ($4.00 from Mecca Cosmetica).

Considering my current bottle is almost finished, I think it would be completely counterproductive to use it right now, but I do have another bottle (the sheer matte version), which will be used very soon. I imagine the next bottle will be much more mess-free, more hygienic and just better.

The sales assistant at Mecca was lovely. He gift wrapped it for me (completely and 100% unrequested by yours truly) because he said I would want to get my money's worth. What a sweetie.

It's nothing special really, but I do feel accomplished because I felt like my life was over after I couldn't find this pump. Anywhere. I thought they stopped selling them at Mecca and that made me sad.

So, this marks the end of yet another successful shopping trip. I feel like I'm getting better at shopping - I'm not so impulsive (granted, I do have most of the current products that I've wanted). Today I tried the Illamasqua liquid foundation and under eye concealer and I can say that I think I prefer to match myself.

It actually annoys me when sales assistants assume I know nothing about the brand. Do I really come off like that? I do get a bit excited and flustered, but not enough to warrant someone telling me what different products are used for.

Anyway, rant aside, I'm totally excited for Sydney tomorrow! .. Mainly because of the shopping. Someone please save me.

Le sigh.

Le broke.

Le desperate.

I hope you're all enjoying your break and lots of love! x