A lip product haul.

These are all the lip products I bought while in the USA! I got them all from Sephora except the Revlon ones which are from Target. 

Smith's Rosebud Salve - the tube version! If I can recall correctly this lip balm was around $6. I love the rosy scent of it (I don't have a lot of rose-scented products even though I quite enjoy the smell of roses), and it really melts onto your lips. I heard that the version in the pot/tub is more moisturising, but I don't have any problems with this one so I doubt I'll be trying the other one any time soon.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable balm stain in Honey Douce. Or is the name of this colour just Honey? I'm not sure. I LOVE this product, the colour is an interesting one. When I apply it in a well lit room I can see the change of colour on my lips but if not, the colour doesn't show very well. But the shade it really is seems quite different to how it looks on the stick - it's a brighter pink than you would think. The stain lasts really well and doesn't fade/wear off unevenly. And it's minty too! So there's a cooling tingle on your lips when you put it on and that makes me love it even more.

Benefit Benetint is a lip and cheek stain (originally a nipple stain :O!) but the consistency is so watery it's not the easiest thing to apply onto the lips... especially with that applicator (which you can easily mistake for a nail polish brush!). So far I don't really like to use it (the first time I tried benetint the stain didn't last long at all!) and I always gravitate towards other products instead but I'm going to keep giving it more chances and maybe next time it'll be a hit once I try it on the cheeks.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie. I love lip butters and when they first were released in the States early last year I was literally craving to get my hands on them. I only have them in Pink Truffle and now Berry Smoothie but I seriously NEED MORE! Especially after watching this essiebutton video. They are so soft and lovely on the lips; the colour pay off is spectacular and they're moisturising. What else could you want?

Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Illume. This little sample size lip gloss came in the Smashbox Try It Kit which were a set of Smashbox's best-selling products. This gloss has shimmer and glitter but it's this perfect nude neutral colour that once on the lips, looks fabulous. I wish it were a bigger sample though, because mine's almost empty and I'm going to miss it when it's gone! :(

 

Korres Lip Butter in Mango. I think this is the first cosmetics product from a Greek brand I've ever used! These were being raved about in the blogging/vlogging world so I had to pick one up at Sephora to try. I love the scent/flavour, the consistency and the packaging, but sometimes I feel like the colour is unnecessary.  It's really orange but it doesn't look too orange on the lips... I really want to try the other ones, especially Quince (which is a deep pink). The only issue is that it's not a cheap lip balm. It's $12, and I'm not yet certain if I can say it's worth what you pay for.

New York, New York.

I thought I would veer away from the cosmetics for today's post and show you some of my favourite memories from New York when I was there with my sister early in December last year. 

Here's a short stream of photos documenting a few of my favourite moments. I also had some videos but those are trickier to post up... for now you'll just have to deal with mere stills!

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My sister dragged me to the TOYS R US store in Times Square

I really felt for these teddy bears, all stuffed and cramped in this glass box together!

Me wearing Hulk's face

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Enjoying the Holiday Markets at UNION SQUARE

Gorgeous/delicious macarons from one of the stalls at the Union Square holiday markets.
(L-R: Apple Cider Caramel, Red Velvet, Candied Bacon with maple cream cheese)

My sister and I sitting in Union Square Park having a rest from the Holiday Markets
(there were literally hundreds of squirrels leaping through the grass just behind us!)

I lied! Here's a sneakity sneak sneaky video of the macaron stall for you:

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MAX BRENNER after our shopping trip at The Strand Bookstore.

Chocolate syringe!

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Having a relaxing stroll through Central Park.

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New York City really knows how to decorate for Christmas!

Do you see that? There is a CHRISTMAS TREE in that tree!

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Bergdorf Goodman is my favourite store in the world.

Their Christmas decor section was amazing! So intense. And awesome.
And expensive.

Xmas tree decorations can even be EATEN!

Oops! Another cheeky sneaky video I really wanted to add in: 

Wedding display/consultation room

BG rock candy

The whole building/store is filled with amazing display rooms like these. Bergdorf is seriously amazing.

Swanky looking napkin holders

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Back to Central Park

The famous ice rink smack bang in the middle of the park!

My sister made friends with this particular squirrel.

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A lovely, chilly morning walking the streets of SoHo finding cool shops.

Ralph Lauren store window! Definitely rockin'.

I <3 SoHo

See you in my next post!

My New (Real Techniques) Makeup Brushes!

 The other day, my parcel from iherb.com finally arrived! In it contained some of the brushes that had been on my wishlist for a very long time! Real Techniques makeup brushes by Samantha Chapman! 

I lurrve the pixiwoo channel on YouTube because they are so knowledgeable about but I first found out about Sam and Nic from their little bro Jim (Jim Chapman) and his fiancée Tanya Burr (then pixi2woo).

I got three foundation brushes - the expert face brush, the stippling brush and the foundation brush; and four smaller ones - the brow brush, the deluxe crease brush, the base shadow brush and the pixel-point eyeliner brush.

I forgot to take photos when I first un-boxed them so I've used some of the brushes already and you won't be able to see them in tip-top brand spanking-new condition... sorry in advance!

foundation brush

stippling brush

base shadow brush

expert face brush

deluxe crease brush

brow brush; pixel-point eyeliner brush

I love Real Techniques brushes because the bristles are so soft and gentle and the packaging looks so sleek and chic! And also, they are really inexpensive.

Some new fitness clothes I bought yesterday. And also a fitness update.

OH hi!! 

It's been ages since I last posted, I've been... lazy, to be frank. 

I have a whole, great big ginormous list of blog posts to write up, and I was just about to put one up of my favourite memories visiting NYC (w/ photos galore). But then I got lazy. That annoying L word again. 

Anyway, let's get into why I'm posting this now. Yesterday I went in to get my car tire replaced and have my wheels rotated and balanced, etcetra, etcetra. I dragged my sister along with me so we could go to the shops while we waited (Garden City). We went to Myer to sniff some perfumes, and got bored of that fast. So then we went up a level (physically) to look at clothes! I miraculously found some stuff in Miss Shop that was actually within my budget (which is practically $0.00). And I figured I needed some new exercise-y clothes to get me even more excited to work out.

This bright neon-ish coral top was $5 (I thought it was ten, so no complaints here).

It's got that redundant tiny breast pocket going on. I suppose it gives the top a little character? 

Not that clothes need character... (actually, in my opinion, they do).

For the next one I'm taking you outside to my clothes line! 

These pants are what caught my eye initially. They're this bright chartreuse (neon greeny yellow) colour which I love. The material is fortunately quite light and thin but unfortunately see-through. It's a good thing I work out at home, huh? 

These were $10!

Up until the end of February I hadn't taken my exercise (or health and fitness) seriously. So it's been about four years since my body's been in a properly fit state. 

The thing that pushed me to get more serious about my fitness was the fact that after spending two months in America I came back with five extra kilograms. (And I only had Five Guys twice!! lol but I probably shouldn't mention all the Chick Fil A and Chilis and Cheesecake Factory and California Pizza Kitchen and Olive Garden and Red Lobster...)

The things which keep pushing me to work out 6 days a week every week and pushes me to eat cleaner and develop altogether healthier habits is the results I want to see (and am seeing) - a more toned, leaner, stronger body - and Blogilates, a.k.a. Cassey Ho. 

I was watching a video by ClothesEncounters on Youtube about her diet/fitness, and how she lost weight. She mentioned Blogilates, so I immediately looked it up. Blogilates is another Youtube channel by this girl Cassey who does work out videos that include a fusion of pilates/yoga/cardio/interval training and a bunch of other things I probably would have no idea to explain.

Her videos make working out so much fun! On her website you can get a calendar each month which Cassey prepares and gives you a day to day list of videos to work out with and other tasks (e.g. run a mile and record your time- every Mon and Fri)

Check out Blogilates if YOU also need a little boost of inspiration to help get you moving and exercising again! 

 She also has a second channel which has healthy recipes and fitness Q&A vids along with lots of other cool stuff. 

And stay tuned for my next post which will be an exciting one! New makeup brushes! 

(maybe not so exciting for you... but for me it's SUPER EXCOITING!)