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Monday 25 July 2016

Beauty Graveyard // Empties July 2016

My last beauty graveyard post was in March and I just couldn't put off this post any longer as my little bag of empties started overflowing! This post mentions everything from hair, skincare and makeup bits, so grab a cup of tea and get comfy.


Starting off with hair products - I'm so surprised I've finished so many hair products because I hardly do anything with my hair to be honest. Of course, it wouldn't be one of my empties post without a Schwarzkopf Ultime Biotin Volume Dry Shampoo. I go through this stuff like its going out of style, but it's my fave dry shampoo and I still have heaps of backups from the last Priceline 40% off haircare sale. Also from Schwarzkopf I've finish up an Ultimate Oil Elixir Serum. I really enjoyed this because it left my hair feeling super soft and incredibly shiny and I would usually use this before blowdrying my hair. I haven't repurchased but would consider repurchasing in the future.

I've also finished up some high-end hair care as well. I've been using the Michael Van Clarke 3 More Inches for the last couple of months and really enjoying it. I finished up both the shampoo and conditioner in travel sizes and since repurchased the full sizes. I do much prefer the shampoo as it is really clarifying but doesn't take all the weight out of my fine hair. The conditioner isn't my favourite however, as I feel like other conditioners leave my hair feeling much softer. Not too sure yet if I would repurchase the full sizes again, I'll probably try something different. Finally, I finished up the Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Primer. I love this stuff as a heat protectant and isn't heavy at all in my hair. Already repurchased.



Next up are some body products. Nothing too exciting here, another Rexona Clinical Protect which is my favourite deodorant and of course I've repurchased. I also used up a Mitchum Clinical Deodorant, which I didn't mind at all in terms of its effectiveness but the packaging was so annoying and incredibly difficult to wind up so I will not be repurchasing. Finally, I've also used up a travel size of the Korres Guava Body Butter. This stuff is heavenly! Such a pretty, non-overwhelming scent and so moisturising. I did originally buy this as a hand cream to keep in my handbag, but it is a little heavy and takes a while to sink into your hands so I would recommend this more for the body. Haven't repurchased because I have too many body butters/moisturisers but definitely will in the future!

I've finished up a heap of skincare in the last couple of months! I'll start with the products from Origins. First is the High Potency Night-A-Mins Cream. This is a really beautiful night cream packed full of essential oils. It really does re-energise your skin overnight and leave it looking really fresh and bright, however, I had a bit of sensitivity to it because of all the essential oils and it left my skin really itchy. Next up is the Original Skin Renewal Serum. This serum was great at adding a little extra hydration to my skin, but to be honest I hardly noticed any difference when using it - and I went through the whole bottle, would pass. Finally, is the Never a Dull Moment Scrub and WOW I love this stuff. It smells delicious and I noticed such an immediate difference in my skin after using it. I usually leave it on my skin as a mini mask and let the enzymes work a little longer. Fantastic at leaving your skin super soft and glowing! On the most part I love Origins products and they work really well for me but I have decided not to purchase their products anymore because they are not cruelty free.

I've also finished up a deluxe sample of the Kate Sommerville Gentle Daily Wash which I absolutely loved using particularly in conjunction with my Clarisonic. It gave a really deep clean without being harsh or stripping. Would definitely consider purchasing the full size (when I don't have 7 different cleanser already!). Another sample size I've used up is the Korres Wild Rose Moisturising Cream, another product I loved. I loved the scent of this, how hydrating it was and how it absorbed really quickly as well as working wonderfully under makeup. Would consider purchasing the full size. So many travel sizes! I'm also finished with my Josie Maran Aragn Milk which I included in my May Beauty Favourites. I have purchased the full size of this because *love heart eyes emoji* - just obsessed! I've also used a Skyn Iceland Icelandic Relief Eye Pen which is probably the only eye cream I've been consistent with using because it works so well! Its really refreshing and gives a nice amount of hydration without being too heavy. Every other eye cream I have used in the past has been too heavy and given me milia under the eyes so I absolutely swear by this stuff! Already repurchased. And finally for skincare, I'm getting rid of my Clarisonic Acne Brush Head. I was kindly gifted this at a Clarisonic event last year and it is only just launching in Australia in the next month. I really loved this because the bristles were longer than the regular sensitive brush head which means you could get a deep cleanse without it being too harsh. I just repurchased the Sensitive brush head again to get me through but will probably go back to this one in the future.



Finally onto makeup bits! Firstly I had a big mascara clean out and got rid of all the mascaras that has been floating around in my collection for way too long and just ready to give me some sort of eye infection. The Tarte Lights, Camera, Flashes Mascara was nice and gave heaps of volume but it had a plastic bristle wand which I don't really like. Won't repurchase. Next up, Lancôme Grandiôse Mascara, god I hate this stuff which is such a same because I'm a huge fan of their other mascaras. Again, its the plastic bristle issue but I find this just makes my lashes so clumpy, obviously will not repurchase. Another, plastic bristle brush, the Maybelline Lash Sensational is one I actually really love. I really liked how this made my lashes look, added heaps of length and separation. Will not repurchase though as Maybelline tests on animals :( Finally the Josie Maran Black Oil Mascara, again quite nice but is quite natural and didn't give me the length that I like from a mascara. I think this would be better suited for someone with longer lashes. Will not repurchase.
I'm finally getting rid of the L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper. If you read my review on this product I was less than impressed with this product. Maybe you would like it if you like your brows to feel hard and crunchy. Not even going to link this product because seriously you don't want to buy it. Moving onto some of my favourite products ever, first is the NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. This is my favourite eye primer ever because it allows you to blend shadows really easily over the top, which I sometimes have trouble with if I use either the UD Primer Potion or Too Faced Shadow Insurance. This tube lasted me about a year too, so it's great value and I've already repurchased! I also loved the Kevin Aucoin Precision Brow Pencil and much prefer this over the Anastasia Brow Wiz. Will repurchase once I finish my current brow pencil. I also used up a Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper, which I didn't warm to immediately but it's definitely my favourite liquid liner now I've got the hang of it and I love that it is so intensely black. I've already repurchased. Finally is the NARS Larger than Life Long-Wear Eye pencil in Rue Bonaparte. A product I constantly rave about its a perfect beige shade for the waterline, repurchased of course.

So glad I can finally throw out all of these products!

Let me know in the comments if you use any of these products and if you like any of the ones I didn't!

xx Cat

Friday 22 July 2016

What always happens...Life

Illustration by @bymariandrew

I don't really use this blog as a platform much anymore. It was my outlet to talk about beauty and now my job is to talk about beauty and being busy with uni and work and life its hard to keep a regular schedule. I do still like to share things with you guys and I thought I would do a little life update before uni starts back again.

The last two months I've been on break from uni and to be honest I wish I had done more exciting things but most of the time I spent picking up extra shifts at work, spending the money I had made picking up extra shifts at work on makeup and many solo netflix and chill sessions (sad I know...at least I didn't start playing Pokemon).
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Apart from being super lazy I also really got into listening to podcasts. This American Life is my absolute favourite and I've been going back to earlier years and listening to their back catalog. The best way to listen to new episodes is to subscribe through iTunes but if you want to search and listen to past episodes you'll need to download their app. I also went to see the live show Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host - which was Ira Glass, the host of This American Life, telling stories from the show combined with dancing and it was fantastic and so hilarious. I also listened to every single episode of Starlee Kine's podcast Mystery Show, which surprise surprise, involves solving mysteries. I would highly recommend and Starlee Kine is so interesting to listen to. You can download on iTunes.
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Unfortunately I didn't get to read as many books as I wanted during the break, in fact I only finished one and it was Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places. I didn't realise it was YA when I started reading it, but I continued to read because it was a nice and easy way to pass the time on train rides. I did enjoy it in the end and despite being YA it was really emotionally challenging as it touched a lot on mental illness and suicide. I thought overall the characters were written quite well and were interesting to read which definitely kept me engaged despite the gross teenage love plot. It also had heaps of literary allusions, particularly to Virginia Woolf, which I really appreciated being an English major and Woolf being my favourite author so overall would definitely recommend.
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I just wanted to reflect a little on the picture I included at the top of this post (make sure you check out the artist @bymariandrew on instagram her illustrations are amazing and so relatable!). Something really struck me about her drawing because I feel like it reflects what my life has been like for most of this year. In March, my four year relationship ended. Being single has been really strange for me, especially after so long and to be honest I'm really struggling to be by myself. Of course there has been some great things to come of it and most importantly for me I have never been so motivated to be social and work on my friendships. I was reminded of how many amazing, beautiful and supportive friends I have in my life who make me feel valued and confident. I still struggle with being by myself and having thoughts that I need to be in a relationship (which I know I don't need to). But Mari Andrew's drawing made me realise that love is just one piece in the big picture. In the last couple of months I've been able to still enjoy my life and have adventures and spend time writing and being creative and hanging out with my mum and dancing to Destiny's Child as I wash the dishes. I hope over the next coming months I can become even more confident in myself and truly believe that I don't need a romantic relationship for my life to be fulfilling.

I have got a few beauty related posts all ready to go so look out for those in the next week or so!

xx Cat