Pretty. Winter Favourites.

So Spring is definitely here in Australia and the weather is really starting to warm up. I am basically pretending it is Summer already as I will be missing out on a real Summer (not that I mind missing 40C days and insane humidity!). Lucky me, I get two Winters this year, albeit one far more extreme than the other.

I thought rather than doing a month by month favourites I'd fill you in on a few things I was hooked on over winter, though they are pretty much still in high rotation!

1. My favourite body wash was Bathox Dry Skin Milk and Honey body wash. I cannot possibly convey how amazing this smells. Winter was a month in which I basically stopped eating sweets, and this became my sort of daily sugar fix. It smells like rich and yummy caramel sauce  and leaves the skin smelling oh so nice. Plus it is moisturising and managed to stop my legs turning into scaly ickyness over winter.
2. For foundation I have been flicking between my long term favourites, Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum (read my review here) and Garnier BB Cream for those days when I want a light coverage that just evens out my skin tone.
3. Pretty sure I found my holy grail mascara. By complete accident I found Rimmel's Day2Night mascara and I haven't used anything else since. I hate, like really hate, volumising mascaras. I think they make my lashes look clumpy and awful, so I tend to veer towards lengthening products, but even then I am not always that happy with the result. This is one of those gimmick products that claims to do both (it has two lids that when removed leave a different amount of product on the brush) but I only ever use the lengthening part. It has the perfect amount of product on the brush, leaves my lashes separated and long and holds a curl really well. I am seriously in love with this!
4. I didn't realise what a difference makeup brushes could make until I got my hands on some amazing ones. Obviously the Real Techniques brushes are not new, but they are relatively new to me! They were recently launched in Australia but the price was so ridiculous I ended up getting them from iHerb (highly recommend this store!) I got the Core Collection which of course has the much coveted Buffing Brush but the other brushes have been amazing also. Using my two favourite foundations with the Buffing Brush makes my skin look amazing and pretty much halves the time I spend on my makeup. 
5. With my oily skin a constant problem, I do tend to lose any powder eye shadows pretty fast, so I was excited to try the Maybelline Colour Tattoo cream eyeshadows to see if they would last longer. These shadows are a great consistency, though a little goes a long way and you need to blend fast before they dry. When they do dry though, they do not budge until I take my makeup off. I got the colour tough as taupe because I thought it would be a good matte base shade and I love the colour. It errs towards purple unlike some brownish toned taupes which I like. It is also one of the only matte colours they have released. I want to try the others but can't justify it right now!

xx Samantha Alice

Pretty. A London Wish list

So I hit the three month from my departure mark tomorrow and I sort of can't believe it. It feels so distant, yet as I start to get things sorted (my to do this is scarily long) it creeps ever closer. I am beyond excited to leave and part of me wishes I was off tomorrow, but the other part is glad to have these few months to organise myself and prepare! Perhaps the strangest part of my preparation is buying warm clothes. Not 'Australian' warm clothes, but 'oh my god my face is going to freeze off' winter wear. The strange part is that I leave at the beginning of December and here that means almost Summer weather and 30 C days! Even now, with the lovely spring weather, it feels wrong to be buying ear muffs and winter woolies. I really only want to buy a few basics from Australia, just enough to get me from the airport, to my accommodation and then out into London to explore (and possibly shop?). Here is my London Winter Wish List:

// 1.  Pieces Chunky Knit Scarf // 2. Gypsy Cable Knit Socks  // 3. ASOS Athens Leather Chelsea Ankle Boots // 4. ASOS Fit and Flare Coat //
// 5. ASOS Popper Parker // 6. Topshop Geo Panel Tote // 7.  Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream //

I guess most of the list is pretty self explanatory; I want comfy boots I can slip on and off easily without having to deal with laces or zips, a coat that will go over many layers, a new black bag that will fit loads and some intensive moisturising balm to help with dry skin caused by the cold. 

91 days and counting...

xx Samantha Alice 

Pretty. Bourjois Plower Perfection Foundation.

This foundation from Bourjois is their 'long lasting' base, that like most of their liquid foundations aims to boost radiance and natural glow. It is a thick consistency that splits a little in the bottle so needs to be shaken before use. I was really excited to try this as I love Bourjois foundations and I had heard it was great for people with oily skin. I am always on the lookout for foundation that will last on my skin and not end up in a greasy slick. However, I really didn't get on with this foundation and here is why!

• It is pretty difficult to work into the skin, even with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush (which usually makes foundation go on like a dream).
• It stick to any dry patches like crazy
• It tends to sit on top of my skin rather then blend in with it
• I have figured out that I really don't like full coverage foundation and this is very full coverage!
• It highlights any problem areas, like my large pores and acne scars
• It has a very unattractive matte finish that makes my skin look dull and awful
• The sponge applicator that comes with the product is useless
• And last but not least, it actually doesn't hold up all that well as the day goes on.

I was really disappointed so I am still on the search for my favourite liquid foundation!

Have you tried it and liked it? Let me know in the comments!

xx Samantha Alice 

Pretty. Rimmel London Everlasting Finish. Undressed

I have never really been that into lipstick. I always think it looks great on other people, but always a bit odd on me. Lately though, I have been feeling a bit 'unfinished' with a full face of makeup and nothing on my lips, so I took the plunge and started looking for a lipstick I could wear everyday that I felt comfortable in. For me that meant a nude colour. My skin is darker, so finding a nude that suited me was a little tricky. I am really happy with the colour I picked, and it feels great on my lips! Rimmel London Everlasting Finish feels moisturising and light on my lips; not at all sticky. I picked it up for $10AUD but it is available on ASOS for $8.14.



What do you think?

xx Samantha Alice

Life. Sydney Insta #2.

1.  More Sydney Biennale love
2. Giant light bulb 
3. Fantastic coloured mirrors at Art Gallery of NSW 
4. Shattered 
5. Mirror selfies with Jac from Ruby Blue Emerald Green
6. Sunshine in Parramatta
7. Developed a serious sorbet addiction at Cow and Moon, Enmore 
8. OOTD on a windy day
9. Sydney sunshine 
10. Got swatch happy at Priceline
11. Seriously cheap Thai at Newtown
12. Cutest notebooks at Pentimento 
13. Told you I was addicted 
14. Blurry and hazy Enmore Road 
15. Tilt shift train station 
16. Hanging out at Westmead Hospital 
17. Sunset from the 5th floor
18. Early morning getaway 
19. Out of sequence hazy babes: me and Em from Horsie and Flower 

xx Samantha Alice

Pretty. Currently Loving #1

This week, whilst I am doing my favourite thing (teaching. Yeah I am a nerd) I thought it would be nice to share a few of my favourite things with you all. So here is the first of a few.

Bourjois Rose Exclusif
I go through fairly long stages where I cannot stand lipgloss or lipstick, and sometimes even balm (weirdo?) but when my sister palmed this off to me last week I was a bit excited! This is one of those PH response products that is meant to be a different colour on everyone, and who knows if that is true. This goes a very pretty rosy pink on me and I like it! Although really sticky, the colour and gloss payoff makes it ok in my eyes. Plus, the packaging is lovely and chic. Check out my pics, and maybe give it a go yourself and tell me what you think!

xx Samantha Alice

{Review} Bourjois Healthy Mix Vs Healthy Mix Serum Foundations

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation is all the rage isn't it? Beauty bloggers love the stuff. So I was keen to try it and see how it worked with my oily skin. I went through a bottle and liked it enough to replace it, but when my mum went to get it from Priceline for me because she was near the store, they only had the more expensive serum version so I have ended up being able to try both. So here are my thoughts...

Regular Healthy Mix:

• Very light weight 
• Light to medium coverage
• Very blendable but can be blended too far out to nothing
• Good shade match for my lightish olive skin- number 53
• Doesn't last long- a few hours at most even with my Mattify Cosmetics Ultra powder
• Has a slight dewy finish which isn't great for oily skin 
• Doesn't really set that well on the skin
• Great price for what it is
• Smells ok- I have read about the fruity scent but really couldn't smell it
• Did not make me break out
• The packaging is annoying- the pump leaks and after a certain point no more product will come through even though there is loads left. Because it is a crazy plastic contraption, there is no way of getting to the dregs which is a waste.

Healthy Mix Serum:

• Great texture
• Light to medium coverage though more buildable than the regular version
• Blendable but doesn't go as sheer as regular
• Same shade as regular
• Sets on the face better providing longer wear
• I don't seem to need as much powder to get it to set/last longer
• Has a very slight dewy finish but is much more suited to my skin 
• Around double the price of regular Healthy Mix
• No breakouts so far
• The Packaging is a winner for me- it is glass and the top can come off providing access to the product directly, not just through the pump. The pump leaks a little but so far it isn't an issue.

Over all I like them both, but the serum formula seems to sit better on my oily open pored skin so for now I am happy with it. However, the price of the regular foundation may entice me back as I did like how it looked whilst it lasted.

xx Samantha Alice