Four more NARS compacts later and I realize... the amount of blush I have is ridiculous, the amount I spend on makeup is ridiculous and the only thing I can see in my near future is being diagnosed with compulsive hoarding...

So on my list of New Year's Resolutions will be: To only buy makeup once I've hit pan (I'm aware that this rule will be tweaked through the course of the year but ..eh, I tried.)

But with one category of cosmetics aside, I've been won over by the fresh handmade cosmetics of LUSH. I've drifted in and out of interest with LUSH in the past but I fell back into relapse when one of my best friends, Fiona, let me have a big ol' whiff of her Snow Fairy lip balm.

I gave LUSH a visit, bought some soaps, recieved some samples and we literally spent a whole night watching LUSH hauls on the tube and discussing bubble bars and bath ballistics. Next thing you know, I'm a sworn LUSH fanatic and seeing that one of my new faves in blog world has already fallen into the same ordeal (yes jenny, that is you, hah!) just reassures me that it's okay, spending this much on soaps and such is not that ridiculous ....and I am not alone hahaha.

So I mentioned in my January 1st post that I had a few LUSH things to discuss, I haven't actually got to use them all yet so the best I can do for now is pictures and scent descriptions which is kind of hard because everyone interprets scents differently. I guess this will be "useless-LUSH-rave" for short.

Honey I washed the kids
Is meant to calm sore, sensitive epidermis with rich aloe vera lather to leave the skin feeling smooth. It's LUSH's best selling soap and the scent is described as "sticky toffee and honey with hints of bergamot and orange". I can't smell the bergamot or orange and the smell of "sticky toffee and honey" is really slight, it kind of smells like hardened caramel. The honeycomb top smells a bit sweeter than the rest of the soap but the sweet smell is very subtle. See what I mean by it's hard to describe the scents? haha

Rockstar
Is meant to give a "creamy candy bath" and smell like "sweet, vanilla perfume" but it actually smells exactly like Red Skins! Like sweet raspberry candy and the scent is amazing in the shower. I sliced a chunk to use as hand soap and now I can't stop smelling my hands.. how very lady-like! :P

Vanilla in the mist
There are actually black streaks on top of the soap which are meant to be "real vanilla pods, from the vanilla orchid, dried, crushed and fragrant." The scent should have a dash of coconut and tonka but I think it smells exactly like coconut. Sweet, soapy, coconut.

Ice Blue
Is meant to wake you up in the morning and leave a "peppermint lather" on your skin but it's very minty, kind of smells like toothpaste. I hate the smell of toothpaste.

Sea Vegetable
Has a crust layer of sea salt and black pieces of arame seaweed which should nourish and revive dull skin and "give it the scent of the seaside". LUSH describes the scent as lavender and lime oils but it's sort of like minty menthol.

My LUSH Hitlist for 2010 (in no particular order) so far will be:
1. Porridge
2. Sultana of Soap
3. Butter Ball
4. Chox Away
5. Angels on Bare Skin
6. Snow Fairy Shower Gel
7. Cupcake face mask
8. Ma Bar Bubble Bar
9. Sunny Side Bubble Bar
10. Honey I Washed the Kids solid perfume
11. Mask of Magnaminty
12. Dream Cream

So, the main reason for my lack of updates was because my parents had taken their camera on their Vietnam/Taiwan trip but they're back now! I actually just picked them up from the airport this morning.

Even though I told my mum didn't know what I wanted from Taiwan.. I think she sort of picked up on my fascination with studded things - the amount of studs on the shoes is a bit ludicrous but it was a sweet gesture and it made me laugh haha thankyou mother! She also bought a couple more Fendi goodies from Duty Free for herself. My favourite of her Fendis was her Black Chef Med Boston but she was using it for the day so I'll snap a picture next time.

This entry took forever to do, my brother is downloading Avatar and my laptop is about to have a meltdown. Avatar by the way, is one of the best movies ... ever.

P.S A little side note for those who made it to the end of this entry - Bardot will be having FINAL REDUCTIONS of all sale items starting Tomorrow (Tuesday 12th Jan) we're taking 20% off ALL sale stock! Have fun and ciao bellas! xx

Clothes & MU

This afternoon I got two flat microdermal piercings on my back, just under my neck. Then something scary happened when I got home. I was in the bathroom with my brother explaining to him how to clean the piercings for me then my hands and arms began to tingle and when I looked up into the mirror my vision was gone.

The next thing I remember was staring at the mirror again and everything was really faint and grainy, my vision only came back when I sat down. My brother told me I was about to fall and began shaking and he held me upright for about 5mins until it stopped. I wasn't scared or nervous before I blacked out, it just sort of happened out of the blue.
Has this ever happened to anybody before? Did I just faint? Did my piercings have anything to do with it?

Apart from that, I'm happy I got the dermals done. The one on my right is just perfect but the one on my left seems a bit alleviated, I think I have to go back for another painful adjustment. The adjustments were the worst part of the whole procedure :( I have to put spot bandaids on them for the next 2 weeks, hopefully they heal fast and everything turns out a-ok!

And now here is the major haul bomb! I've been so busy I haven't been home in time to take the photos in natural light so the majority of these piccies aren't in the best quality :(

First with the MU
NYX lippies from Cherryculture, the last 4 are old NYX lippies I already had

Just realized I forgot to label the swatches! L-R: Creamy Beige, Orange Soda, Celene, Baby pink

L-R: Electra, Narcissus, Strawberry Milk, Thalia, Perfect, Honey, Circe, Rea, Creamy Beige

MAC Blushes in Trace Gold, Springsheen, Style & Peachykeen

MAC Cream Colour Bases in Shell & Hush

Stila Illuminating Finishing Powder in Gold, I placed it next to the Bronze to compare

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer NC20, MAC Paint Pot in Painterly. Stila Convertible Eye Color in Onyx (Dual shadow & liner)

Chanel Pro Lumiere Foundation, The MAC blushes again.. just to fill in the space haha

Now for the shoes! I have a new obsession with wedges, they may not be everyones cup of tea but they sure as hell do it for me!

L-R: Ava Lace Up Hiker boots (from Topshop's opening @ Incu in Paddington), Dolce Vita Cut-out Wedges (Urbanoutfitters), He who sees field boots (Urbanoutfitters)

L-R: Heels from ZU, Sandals from Wanted

Yes, I do realize all my shoes are black. No matter how hard I try to stay away from that colour.. I can't!

Moving onto accessories and bags.

Kidada for Disney Couture - Fairest of Them All Necklace

Necklaces all from Sportsgirl, gloves from Urbanoutfitters, Rings from Bardot, Diva & Equip. Bag from Bardot, thrifted brown bag.

And finally the clothes! Its so hot but I found myself buying a clothes for the winter, I guess at the rate the weathers been going you never know when I cold front will hit(?) hopefully hahaha

L-R: ASOS Ladder longsleeve jumper, ASOS slash back dress (front & back)

L-R: Portmans Maxi, Bardot Maxi, Seduce Maxi

L-R: IT girl maxi, Forever New dress, Staple dress (Abyss)

L-R: Bardot shirt, Mink jacket, IT girl top

L-R: Mink crop top, Witchery cardi, Sportsgirl dress

L-R: Top (?), Sportsgirl dress, Anise shall

L-R: Bardot Cinderbox jacket, Bardot jumper, Topshop jumper (Incu)

L-R: Sportsgirl top, Minkpink shorts, ASOS top

L-R: Kenji crop top, Forever21 fringe vest, Top (??)

L-R: Bardot jumper, Ladakh shall, Ladakh top

L-R: Ladakh crop jacket, Ladakh crop top, Ladakh top

L-R: Ladakh top, Ladakh top, Ladakh jumper

The Ladakh & Anise buys were from the sale. I know I was meant to notify when the next sale was going to be but it was mid-exam time and I had no clue until the morning of the sale by Wendy's morning wake-up call LOL

Now to explain the extensive haul like I said I would.. I did mention that the boyf had a lucky turn at roulette, he managed to score himself enough for the home entertainment system he'd been wanting and a shopping spree for his girlf :) I don't remember exactly which items of clothing were from the spree but I can tell you that I was given a limit to spend within a 1 day span and it was a lot more stressful then it was bliss! The bliss only set in when the shopping bags arrived home but my conscience was still weak, I had myself a shopping hangover the next day even though I knew most things were courtesy of a Star City cheque haha. I'm satisfied though, the shoes really put the icing on the cake and to my Paulfish - this Christmas, next Valentines, Anniversary, Birthday.. whatever the occasion.. I would not be able to accept another gift from you. I would like a card though.... actually write me a nice letter.. LOL

My amateur nail art isn't coming far along, I realized while doing Fiona's nails the other day- I do not have steady hands! I was trembling with the deco pens and kept ruining the nails :( but it felt good to have a nice girly day of shopping and nails. I did the leopard print on Tammy using Great Barrier Beige, V and Black LA colours art pen, blue/black on Fiona using For Audrey & Black LA colours art pen and the white/black on myself using Liquid Leather and White on white ..yes, that last hand with the ugly wrinkly fingers are mine :(

Phew, done and done.