Haul of the Week

This week I did quite a bit of lunchtime and after work shopping. I went to Chapel St twice this week! For those who don’t know, Chapel St is located a quick 5 minute train ride out of the city and it is the most incredible street packed full of the coolest shops, bars, restaurants, boutiques and everything else under the sun considered trendy. For instance it’s where the first Australian Topshop decided to set up shop, choosing this location in preference to the renowned fashion capital of Melbourne city centre.

So what did I buy this week?

A Haircut

I went to Chapel St to get my hair cut from my new hairdresser who I’ve only been to once before. He considers himself to be a hair stylist rather than a hair cutter, and the way he works on your hair more resembles an artist than man with scissors. He is all about texture and shaping your hair so it’s so full of movement and body.

My hair is naturally very thick, straight and long with grown out long layers. After cutting the basic shape whilst dry, he then washed my hair with incredible products, threw in a scalp massage, and then cut my hair wet and followed that with a blow-dry. My hair was left more layered, with softer ones around my face that frame my features really well. My hair feels so much lighter, sits naturally so much better, and just looks a lot healthier and shinier. I’m really happy with my haircut!

Orofluido Shampoo and Conditioner

When I was there my hairdresser recommended some shampoo and conditioner to me. It contains three natural oils - Argan, Cyperus and Linseed, and is said to leave hair silky, loose and shiny.

I bought it and after one use I’m unsure whether I love it. The packaging is gorgeous and it smells absolutely divine. I was told I only need a small coin sized amount of both, so tried that. But I found that the shampoo formula did not froth or lather up, and due to this, such a small amount just shampooed one small section of my hair. And my hair is so long. I ended up having to use a lot more than that and even when I had a lot it never seemed to froth up! For some reason I felt it didn’t clean as well due to the lack of foaming. 

My hairdresser did say it was a very natural product free from chemicals, and chemicals aid the frothing in the formulation so perhaps this is why. The conditioner felt very moisturizing and conditioning which was a plus. Afterwards, my hair smelt beautiful, shined like no other shampoo has made it before, had minimal frizz and was very sleek, and felt so much lighter and healthier. So I guess it really did work and did what it claimed on the packaging. I think the shampoo just really let down the products, and the actual shampooing experience was less enjoyable than usual with no foaminess! 

I most likely wouldn’t repurchase as at $25 each I feel you can get better products for your money. I’ll let you know in an update on here if I continue to use it and my experience with it improves.

So so shiny!

Topshop Shop

Nail polish - Flamingo Coral 

I love this colour, I’ve been searching for a medium toned peach pink warm pastel for ages, and this one just looked perfect in the bottle. It looks even better on my nails, and somehow makes my pale skin look more tanned which is always a plus! Brilliant Summer/Spring colour, and loving it on my nails right now. It cost about $10 and the colour is Flamingo Coral. Love it, lasts ages with my Seche Vite topcoat, and applies beautifully. Highly recommend.

*Looks slightly more corally peach than here

Earrings trio

I really wanted a few more small earrings that don’t dangle on my ear lobes, and I fell in love with the bigger dusty pink ones in this trio. And for only $12, it was a great buy to get three pairs of earrings. Really happy with them, they're cheap, look great on, go with everything. Very satisfied with this purchase. In general though I really don't like Topshop jewellery, so it was good to finally find something in the range.

MAC All That Glitters Eyeshadow

One of my four pan palettes had one spot free and I’ve been dying to buy a refill pan for it for ages to complete the foursome! After a long peruse in the MAC Pro shop on Chapel St, I managed to narrow it down to this colour. I really wanted a champagne neutral colour that stood out a bit more than a more subtle colour like Naked Lunch. And I loved the swatch of this on the back of my hand. This refill pan cost $26.

I’m quite happy with it, but think it has a slight orange tinge against my pale skin which I don’t entirely appreciate. Perhaps this will look better on me in the upcoming summer with more of a tan. I also think this suits my blue eyed and/or blonde haired friends better than me. I’ll have to keep playing with it and see how it goes, but I’m slightly disappointed. Any suggestions on what you wear this colour with or how you wear it would be appreciated... I really want to love it! 

Tony Bianco Flats

I fell in love with these taupe leather black bowed flats in the store, and even more when I tried them on. They have an incredible cushioned sole which makes them the most comfortable flat I’ve ever worn. I just had to buy them, plus they match my much worn favourite Mimco Taupe bag. I tend to wear pretty flats to work then change into high heels for the day, because my commute does not mix well with heels. So these will be great to wear with my office clothes every day (my office dress is quite semi-formal, and more stylish than full suits etc). These flats cost me $75.

So that's about it! Let me know if you have any comments about any of these purchases, or any recommendations about the All That Glitters eyeshadow - I really want to love it! 

Hope you guys all have a great weekend, and depending on where you are in the world - happy start of Spring/Autumn/Fall! :)

My Favourite Beauty Products - August 2012

Thought you might like a glimpse into the beauty products I love. This is not an exhaustive list, but comprises my current favourites in all areas. I will update it as my preferences change, and keep in mind this is simply a list, more comprehensive reviews of items will come later.

Foundation:
-Liquid: Use The Body Shop Moisture Foundation (#2) as a day foundation, and NARS Sheer Glow (Mont Blanc) at night/special occasions. When these run out I’m purchasing Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua. Haven’t quite found my Holy Grail foundation yet, but I absolutely loved the Chanel sample they tried on me in store. So fingers crossed it is The One!

-Powder: Use Maybelline Mineral Power Powder Foundation (Classic Ivory, Light 2) everyday when can’t be bothered to do liquid (did a review on this below).

 

Also, I always use MAC Prep + Prime Translucent Poweder on my T-zone to set my liquid foundation and stop it looking shiny.

Skin Primer:

Napoleon Perdis Auto Pilot Pre-Foundation Skin Primer

Blush:
NARS Deep Throat Blush

Bronzer:
NARS Laguna Bronzer

Highlighter:
Napoleon Perdis The Ultimate Contour Palette (Comes with blush, bronzer and highlighter)

Eye shadow:

MAC eye shadows hands down! My favourites are MAC Satin Taupe for day, and MAC Club for night.

Mascara/Lashes:
-MAC Plush Lash was the best I’ve used so far, but I’m still searching for my holy grail mascara. I’m always seeking big, bold, intense volume lashes.

-I also use the Ardell Heated Eyelash Curler

Eye Liner:
Tend to use an angled brush and eye shadow to line my eyes, but if I want a solid/liquid looking line I use Maybelline Blackest Black Gel Liner.

Eye Primer:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer

Lips:
-Balm: Revlon Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake and Burt’s Bees in Pink Blossom
-Gloss: MAC Hot Pink (It’s a nice subtle pink, not like the name suggests)
-Lipstick: MAC Sweetie, but I don’t tend to wear a lot of lipsticks. I favour lip tints and coloured balms and gloss.

Skincare (Face wash, toner, moisturiser, scrub, serum):
-Dermalogica is my favourite brand of Skincare. I use the Essential Cleansing Solution, the Multi-Active Toner, the Skin Smoothing Cream, and the Gentle Cream Exfoliant.
I also use Clarins HydraQuench Cream (Normal to Dry Skin) and the HydraQuench Cream-Mask (Dehydrated Skin). I alternate the Clarins HydraQuench Intensive Serum Bi-Phase and the Dior One Essential Skin Boosting Super Serum.

Fragrance:
My favourite is Gucci Eau de Parfum II, followed by Miss Dior Cherie and Jo Malone’s Nectarine Blossom and Honey

Nails:

OPI and Essie are my favourite polish brands. I love Essie’s Mint Candy Apple (Pale Green) and OPI’s Mod About You (Pale Pink)

Bath/Shower Products
Love Lush bath bombs (particularly Butterball!), St Ives Vanilla Shower Gel, I Love...Strawberries & Milkshakes Bubble Bath (and really want to try Philosophy’s Cinnamon Buns-it smells divine!)

Hair Products

Moroccan Oil Treatment , PPS Hydralite Shampoo and Conditioner

Hair Tools
GHD straighter and Babyliss Conical Wand.

NOTE: Still seeking my dream foundation, mascara, eyeliner, and shampoo/conditioner (what I use I do like a lot, but I feel there are better products out there!). Any recommendations appreciated!

But everything else I 100% love and would recommend hands down! I’ll tell you more in the comprehensive reviews to follow...

So that’s my basic list of what I use and love. Is your list similar? What are your Holy Grail products you 100% love and would recommend?

Babyliss Pro Conical Curling Iron Review

Recently I've heard a lot of buzz about the Babyliss brand and their curling irons. I have a GHD straightener and currently use that to curl, but it takes a fair amount of time and effort to curl using that. 

My hair is really long and thick and virtually dead straight, so I was looking for something that would make it easier. Since starting full time work, the maximum amount of time I'm willing to invest in my hair has been a quick 2 minute straighten. But I love the look of curls as they are so pretty and flattering to the face.

The idea behind the conical wand is that there is no clamp, so all one has to do is wrap the hair around the hot wand for a few seconds and voila...curls aplenty!

I pondered for a while over what size conical wand to purchase. The stores in Australia seem to stock two types: the smaller 25mm-13mm one (comes in black and pink), and the larger 32mm-19mm one (comes in black only). 

I heard the smaller one was great for shorter hair, and for creating smaller, more ringlet styled curls. The larger, which was the one I decided on, was recommended for those that have a lot of hair (thick and long), and promised to create looser curls. 

This is what is included - the wand itself with 25 heat settings and an on/off switch, and a heat mat to protect surfaces:

You can see the smaller end on the left of the picture has a circumference of 19mm for smaller curls towards the ends of your hair, and the larger end on the right has a circumference of 32mm for larger curls closer to your scalp. 

So how was my experience using it?

This is my hair before:

And this is my hair after:

I chose to tie up the top section and curl the bottom half first, then let the top section down and curl that after. This took only a slightly shorter amount of time than curling with the GHD, but I think it produced a better curl. I found if you wrapped your hair around the thicker end, or the thinner end only, you could get different size curls. I was really impressed with the curl created if you wrapped your hair around the whole wand, bigger towards the scalp and smaller towards the ends, as a good curl should be!

Yesterday I just had a quick play with it when I bought it, and just curled the top and ends quickly without doing every strand. I found that very quick to achieve a seemingly full head of curls, and I think I will do that in the future. In five minutes it looked like my whole head was curled, as the straight bits were underneath the curls and couldn't be seen anyway! And I have a LOT of hair!

I also used Dove's Heat Defence all over my hair when it was wet before styling to protect it. It smells so lovely and actually complements the shampoo smell! I bought this from Priceline for around $6.

After curling I used RPR hold me forever hairspray to hold the curls. I purchased this from Hairhouse Warehouse for $27.95. It doesn't go crunchy, and smells better than most hairsprays I've used.

If the Babyliss Conical Wand is used on only visible hair, I feel it is the quickest, easiest to use and achieves the best looking curls of any curling device I've tried! And it is pretty cheap compared to some of the devices on the market (i.e. the super expensive GHD!) 

My only complaint is that sometimes the hair slips down the ceramic surface of the wand so it's important to hold it tight and use the opposite hand to the side you are doing to hold the device, with the thinnest end pointing down. Also curl away from your head to create the best face framing curls (always wrap your hair over the top rather than under the device when you first place a strand on the wand). You also need to be careful you don't burn yourself as it gets extremely hot!

Hairhouse Warehouse is currently having a sale on Babyliss products. These wands usually sell for $89.95, but are currently 25% off! But I'd recommend calling ahead if you are going purely to purchase one, as they are so popular and I had to visit three stores before finding one!

What do you guys think? Have you tried this wand? Does it live up to the hype? What device do you think creates the best curl quickly?