Loot from down undaaa!
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Bodycare, Make-Up & Beauty
Ok I’m back from my self-imposed Christmas holiday break! XD A couple of minutes after I uploaded my previous foodie entry, I realized I’ve blogged about the sights and the food in Melbourne but totally missed out on what I bought from there lol oops. Here we go:
OMG I was a nut in LUSH. I got lost trying to find the store, walking up and down the street for a good 20 mins before I caught the scent of bath bombs 10 metres away. Seriously if you know roughly where LUSH is but can’t find exactly where the store is, rely on your nose. The store gives off a very distinct yummy “LUSH” scent which is kinda overpowering but in a good way ;P
So I bought the Christmas limited edition shower gel Snow Fairy which smells really gross and plasticky in the bottle but when you try it in the shower, you get this nice powdery candy scent which lingers on your skin forever.
Two toners too, Breath of Fresh Air & Tea Tree Water (Thank you Naomi!) - I love Lush toners, you can just spray it on your skin straight from the bottle. It’s very light and even if it gets into your eyes, it doesn’t sting.
Two solid shampoo bars: Karma Komba and Ultimate Shine which are the two top selling shampoos in LUSH (in Australia at the very least lol) I think it’s a cool concept, there are no bottles (+1 for mother earth) and despite common misconceptions, the bars actually lather pretty well. You get a free tin to store them in if you purchase two bars too!
American Dream is a vanilla infused conditioner made with no silicone. I’ve read that conditioners with silicone (which is what 99% of hair conditioners in the market have in their ingredients) actually weigh your hair down so I’ve been wanting to try out a non-silicone conditioner. American Dream seems like the perfect candidate for that. C’mon it’s made from honey water, vanilla pods, fresh oranges and fresh strawberries - I am so there.
I also got the fresh face Crash Course in Skincare mask which has smells like lemony cupcake batter and spreads on the skin like a dream!
Even my dad caught on the LUSH bug (I was in the store for half an hour and he got annoyed waiting for me so he went in to see what was all the fuss about HAHA) and bought the infamous Honey I Washed the Kids soap I talked about in my previous LUSH entry.
My ROCK CHICK gift set I bought for myself! It’s got a small bar of Rockstar soap and a Creamy Candy bubble bar which I used in the bathtub at the hotel we stayed in. It was amaaaazing! The whole room was bathed in this fluffy vanilla candied scent, the bubbles were aplenty and the water was tinted a pale pink. I stayed in the tub for a long, long time and only got out when my toes were all wrinkly.
Handmade soaps!! From left to right: Orange & rose, bubblegum blueberry (my fave!) and African pumice scrub soap. I actually have a lot more but they’ve been given away to friends and family.
Mor Cosmetics is an Australian brand I got introduced to in Melbourne. Their packaging is to die for and beneath all that jazz, their products are very well-made. They sell all kinds of stuff from body butters to bath salts. Check out their website and be stunned by their beautiful packaging.
I bought their Moroccan Mint body butter from their Emporium range - MOROCCAN MINT BODY BUTTER! That’s something you don’t see everyday!
BLACK & GOLD /o/ /o/ /o/so so pretty!
L’Occitane Foot Cream I got from Duty Free! This is my HG foot cream! I get dry feet easily and this is the only foot cream that works for me. It’s creamy but sinks into the skin fast and who doesn’t love the signature L’Occitane lavender scent?
And last but not least, I bought another tube of YSL Rouge Volupté ;P It’s really cheap in duty-free, SGD$37 when it costs USD$34 in the states which works out to be about SGD$50. That’s a good discount y/y? I bought it in shade 26, Tender Peach - I’ll swatch it soon!
I apologize in advance if this entry is riddled with grammar errors, I’m so tired D: I’ll catch you guys soon!
Tags: beauty: yves saint laurent, bodycare: l'occitane, bodycare: mor cosmetics, LUSH
Trust the French to make us sigh.
Posted by ilyana | Filed under Bodycare, Make-Up & Beauty
Sigh in pure bliss and absolute joy, that is.
I was having a nice sushi dinner with my good friend, Jacq. Just two single girls greedily swiping off plates of sushi off the conveyor belt (ok honestly, the only greedy person was me). After ordering countless salmon avocado gunkan sushi (my favourite!), we left the restaurant with our bloated tummies and headed out to do some shopping.
I had wanted to get a tub of The Body Shop’s new Peach body butter which by the way smells absolutely divine like it was made of ice cream but to my horror, all The Body Shop outlets were closed.
I cursed under my breath. It was absolutely ridiculous, it was only 7pm - why were the shops closed? Jacq then quickly pointed out to me that we were in the central business district, affectionately referred to as the CBD in which all shops closed at 7pm. Aah, a rather enlightening moment there.
We decided then to walk to City Hall where shops only closed at 9pm or later (Oh thank heavens.) The walk to City Hall was pretty amusing, not so much the walk but the people we encountered. I’ll elaborate no further because if I do, this entry will probably not see the light of the nifty “Publish” button.
When I got to City Hall, I suddenly remembered there was a L’occitane store there which I’ve been meaning to check out for ages because I’ve always, always wanted to get their Cherry Blossom solid perfume tin ever since Naomi made me sniff hers a couple of months ago.
Here she is, keeper of my heart. As I opened the tin, I breathed into the clean, floral scent of cherry blossoms and was won over by delicate..almost romantic act of applying the warm fragrant wax on my wrists but of course, that’s just the French woman in me speaking.
I like applying it on my pulse points e.g. behind the ears, neck and wrists after a bath and especially before bedtime; it just has such a calming effect on me and oh, the luxury.
As I was paying for the solid perfume (and shamelessly asking for samples as well), I noticed a pretty basket on the cashier counter filled with bundles of foot cream and shea butter wrapped up together. Looking down at my poor tired feet, I drifted off into my own little world where my feet would be treated and moisturized with care. I could see it vividly, a nice foot scrub and some L’occitane foot cream.
Did I mention the foot cream? Oh yes, I did. Well I bought the damn thing and HELLOOOOO HAPPY FEET! I was seriously amazed at this little tube and what it did for my feet, goodbye dry skin (btw, how adorably quaint is the paint tube-like packaging?!). It’s got 15% shea butter in it, together with other essential oils. Its lavender scent is so soothing and it absorbs into your feet in a jiffy, what’s there not to like?
This tin of 100% shea butter was included in the bundle I bought. I wasn’t really impressed by it on first try because it was really hard and waxy but I now use it daily as a lip balm. It’s got a faint cinnamon + mint scent, it’ll take some time for you to get used to its thick consistency but that’s what I like about it actually - it lasts through a meal and there’s no need for reapplication.
I’m beginning to think myself as a L’occitane fan as of now and that really isn’t a very good thing for I can see myself buying more of their products lol. If you’re new to the brand, I recommend you check out their cherry blossom range and their foot + hand creams!
Good luck with...