Monday, August 26, 2013

♡ My Australia Haul ♡

♡ Aloha Lovelies ♡

You will most likely know by now if you've been reading my blog that I left for Australia. So now that I'm back, I've decided to share with you the things that I bought when I was over there! As it has been a week since I've arrived back in Vietnam, I have tested out most things and can already give you my opinion on them.



I'll start off with the item on top of my list. My intention was not only to buy it for my own use and to see why it was so hyped about, but also to try it and post my experience with you here on Daisy Locks. So look out for a review very soon...

So far my experience with it has been great with this lip lacquer from Rimmel. The Apocalips have been raved about because of their intensity and lasting power, and I can truthfully confirm that both of those things are true. 
I got "Stellar", a beautiful bright red that can be blended to give a warm berry tint to the lip. It is a little tricky to apply because of its messiness, but once you get the hang of it, I'm sure it will become part of your makeup staples. 
I must admit, it was a little expensive for my liking, but since reasoning with myself, I have come to understand the price. 
A little goes a long way, and there is enough in there to last you about a year. 


Regret purchasing?   Nope



 I've been a fan of the Colour Tattoos from Maybelline for quite some time now, so when I was browsing through the makeup counters in Target and spotted this colour, I had to get it. 
"Inked in Pink" is a beautiful rosy colour that doubles as an amazing shadow and base. It's staying power is phenomenal, lasting pretty much all day long. So the packaging doesn't lie when it says "24hr".
As you can see, already I have gotten quite some use out of it, and will definetly be buying the same colour when I see it next.
Only dislike? The formula for this one (And this one only) is a little less "hard" in comparisons to my other Color Tattoos. 

Regret Purchasing?    Nope
I picked up this item when strolling through the Target makeup counters (which I did far too often). I tell you what, its very rare for me to be straying from my comforting family of Maybelline mascaras, because both my friend Georgia and I are very strong Maybelline mascara lovers. We're both such big fans that Georgia was very shocked to see that I've betrayed our beloved mascara. But don't you worry, as I still love and cherish my Maybelline Falsies, I was on the lookout for a mascara that appeared natural, and gave my lashes just a little something extra. Quite like something that was appropriate for school wear. 
If you can't tell from the packaging, I've been showing the clump crusher some love. I was taking it to school, but when my pencils were dirtying up the bright green colour of the container, I brought this little guy back home.
It does an amazing job at brushing through your lashes, applying the smooth formula equally across each lash. I like to apply a little at the base line of my lashes, and very lightly brush vertically upwards across the rest of my lashes for school.
As natural as this mascara appears, it is buildable. I wouldn't say it is at the party level of mascaras, however. There are no regrets so far with this purchase, and I'm considering going out and buying another one.

Regret Purchasing? Nope


I had a list that was worked done to a fine art for the items I wanted to buy in Australia. This brush wasn't on the list, but I do certainly need it. 
So far, I can't say I'm loving it. It's not a very soft brush, and is slightly scratchy, and with every wash, bristles fall out. 
However, it does a great job at blending out my shadows, and contouring in the crease, so it will have to do for the meantime until I buy a better blending brush. Recommendations in the comments below would be appreciated. 

Regret Purchasing? On a scale of one to ten on regretting this purchase, 1 being a loving it and 10 being seriously regretting it, it's a 6.

This face powder was at the top of my list. If you don't already know, my face is as oily as a Mcdonalds cheeseburger, and prone to breakouts. I was very surprised this time around when purchasing this powder to see that it was, in fact, non-comedogenic, which means that there won't be any sneaky pore-clogging going on.
This is my second one of these guys, and certainly not the last. It provides a nice amount of extra coverage, and the lasting power is good too. It seals in your makeup for pretty much all day, and creates a very nice matte finish. 
As always, I was very impressed with this Maybelline product.

Regret purchasing? Not in the slightest.

Eugh, I'm going to start off with apologising about my nails. It's what school does to them! Oblivious nail biting, and tapping on desks. 
Ulta3 nail polishes were on sale for $1.50 for one, or 3 for $3, and I couldn't help but reach into the big stash to pick out a colour I had been eyeing off for some time now. If you can't already guess, nails aren't my forte. I've never been good with them, and haven't cared too much on polish quality, which is very bad. That doesn't mean that I don't love brands like OPI, Essie and Revlon, but if I like a $2 nail polish, I'm buying it.
Every time I stroll through the Myer beauty section, I'm always finding myself wandering over to the Essie nail polish rack, and picking up Mint Candy Apple. I'm still not sure why I never caved in and bought it, and why I immediately picked up a colour close to it in a not-so-great-quality brand, but what's done is done, and I now own the colour I've been eyeing off for ages. 
Saying that, it's not really a dupe for Essie's Mint Candy Apple, but the colour is still very nice. And it was cheap as chips. 

(As a little side note, if you're American, is this nail polish brand the Ulta brand? as in from the store Ulta?)

Regret purchasing? No, but I am regretting not purchasing Mint Candy Apple. 

This product stars in my post on how to manage acne, so for more information, go check it out.
Essentially, I've bought two lots of this product before, and it's worked wonders, so it's no surprise that I went to repurchase it for the third time.
I went to see my doctor when we went back to Australia to talk about my skin, and she prescribed this once again along with some anti-bacterials for my face, and my skin has never been better.

When you purchase this gel, try to buy it somewhere like Chemist warehouse, rather than your local pharmacy, as it is a lot cheaper and you will find that they have great deals where you can save lots of money.

Regret purchasing? No

I've done a review on this product, so I won't babble on it. If you'd like to know why I wasn't very impressed with this mask, jump on over to this post: http://daisylocks.blogspot.com/2013/08/formula-1006-cooling-mask-review.html

So unfortunately, I must say that I do, in fact, regret purchasing this product. I must give the packaging a thumbs up though!


No surprise as to why I bought this guy. When I bought it it was actually reduced to a fraction of the price, but I also needed another one as my old one ran out.
I love this scrub with all my heart, and it will forever be a part of my skin care routine. It's quite coarse though however, so not ideal for those who prefer gentler scrubs.
It does a great job at really softening and buffing your skin, and as it contains salicylic acid, it also aids in clearing your skin free of blemishes.

Regret purchasing? No

I bought this moisturiser from Cetaphil due to recommendation from my doctor. My skin is more sensitive to sun light when I'm on my prescribed anti-bacterials, so therefore I had to invest in a good sun lotion. As I am very lazy with sunscreen application, I decided to buy a moisturiser with SPF in it, so that I couldn't forget.
So far, so good. The only down-side to this product is its scent.

Regret purchasing? No 

Again, this product stars in my "How to get rid of acne" post, so for a further review, check out this post: http://daisylocks.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-to-get-rid-of-acne.html

This cleansing bar is great for fully ridding your face of grease, grime and makeup from the day, and is very light, which is always nice. I highly recommend it, however a friend of mine claims that it never really did much for her skin, and didn't help with clearing her acne. 
I think anyone who has used Cetaphil will possibly agree you will either love or hate their products.

Regret Purchasing? No

All the aussies out there will understand my love for this product. Let me tell you a little story so you can understand why.
One day, I was cleaning out the garden, and ripping up palm fronds to fit into the garden bin. I accidentally ripped open a home to a very protective wasp, who stung my finger. I rushed inside, ran cold water on it, jumped about and yelling for a little, and nothing happened (surprise surprise). I then remembered that small red tube that lies up in my room, and applied this baby right onto the sting and bam, immediately the stinging stopped.
Moral of this story: Lucas' pawpaw ointment is magic and don't rip open wasp homes. (Sorry Mr. Wasp)
This product is also an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G lip balm.

Regret purchasing? never in a million years.


During my trip, I became quite fond of morning walks by the ocean. Unfortunately, I thought I had forgotten my workout gear (which I found on the day we were leaving), so I went out to Cotton On to pick up some. These were my favourites from the bunch, and they were by far the comfiest. 

Regret purchasing? No

I practically lived in my black skinny jeans for about two weeks in my stay. I needed to buy a new pair, and I had been wanting a pair of light blue or mint green jeans for a long time. So I found this pair in Ally for $35 in away my money went. They are also high-waisted, and quite comfortable. 
As a little side note to prove how much movement they allow, I was able to crawl around with my baby cousin in them.

Regret purchasing? In all honesty, I found the perfect pair at Forever New, and would have preferred them over these, but they were a lot more expensive. 



My mum introduced me to this site: http://www.fishpond.com.au/ and now I will never again buy in a bookstore. Their prices are crazy cheap, and there is a much larger range to choose from. I had a few books I wanted to buy this time around, and all of John Green's were at the top of my list. The only book I don't have is Will Grayson Will Grayson.
I have read all four of these, and can honestly say that I loved three out of four of them. An Abundance of Katherines is good, don't get me wrong, but I liked the other three better.






I think that Lauren Conrad is the beauty and fashion queen. I bought her Style book about two years ago, and when I saw that she released this one, I flipped. I have finished reading this one also, and my brain is now filled with thousands of very helpful tips. She covers a wide range of topics, like the obvious hair, makeup and skin care, as well as how to take care of your body, exercising and how to de-stress.

I loved the movie, and I love Nicholas Hoult, so quite obviously I had to read the book. It's the only book and movie I have read and watched that has been so different, yet I have strongly loved both. I highly recommend it to you. Even if you're not a fan of the zombie genre, it still is a very enjoyable read.

I'm finishing off this post with a pair of shorts I bought not too long after I got back from Australia, and I've been living out of them so I decided they deserved a spot in this haul. They also were cool enough to be the star of a styling post, so look out for that.

That's it for today everyone! I hope you're all enjoying your week. I'm surrounded by an everlasting pile of homework that is calling out to me (and I've been procrastinating like crazy so I really must get back to it), so I'll end here. Talk soon!

Until next time, Lots of love,

♡♡♡

2 comments:

  1. I love everything! The fault in our stars is an AMAZING book!

    ReplyDelete