My Mario Badescu Skincare Regime

Mario Badescu Skincare

I was introduced to the Mario Badescu range by Abigail from The Shrinking Wallet about 12 months ago and since then, I've really incorporated the products into my everyday skincare regime. She introduced the Drying Lotion and the Healing Cream to me because I was having a lot of problems with break outs and I'm a little embarrased to say that I went out and bought them but... I barely used them because I'm super lazy.

However, it really sparked my interest in the brand and I've since purchased 3 additional products. I went to Kit Cosmetics with the intention of only purchasing the toner but the sales assistants there are always so knowledgable and helpful that I couldn't help but buy the other 2 products as well.

Buttermilk Moisturizer ($28.95): I picked this up because it was blue! It really caught my eye and it's meant to be good for my combination/sensitive skin. I did put off using it for ages though because I couldn't get my head around the blue colour and it freaked me out a little. When I got around to using it though, I found out that it's not quite hydrating enough for me and it also smells like grass. The annoying thing about the packaging for this (and the toner) is that it has a bit of a... pull up spout(?) where moisturiser can sometimes get clogged up in and dry up.

Spout/opening on the toner and moisturiser

Aloe Vera Toner ($22.95): I've been using this every morning and night and I'm not sure if it really does anything for me. I just felt like I had to have a toner in my skincare regime. This has no fragrances or alcohol which ticked all the boxes for me (it's so hard trying to find a toner that doesn't have those 2 ingredients!). I pour this onto a cotton pad and wipe it all over my face. It does leave a bit of a tingling sensation.

Vitamin C Serum ($64.95): The sales assistant sold me on this when she said that all the staff at Kit Cosmetics swore by this. It's meant to brighten my complexion and I use it every other night. I've heard that Vitamin C serums are also good for fading acne scars but I'm not sure about this. It hasn't stopped me from slathering it on generously over acne scars though :P I've definitely seen an improvement in brightness on the days after I use the serum.

I've really enjoyed using the Aloe Vera Toner and the Vitamin C serum so I'll definitely repurchase those. I wouldn't repurchase the moisturiser as it's quite expensive and not moisturising enough.

What's your go to skincare item to help with breakouts and acne?

September Favourites!

I seriously can't believe that September is over and we're less than 3 months away from Christmas! I'm super excited for Christmas and I'm already planning a post about what to buy for the significant people in your life so keep an eye out for that around November/December. Feel free to leave a comment on this post if you'd like me to include ideas for specific people (e.g. boyfriend, best friend etc).

So for the whole of September, I reached for the same products over and over again. They've worked so well for me that I haven't felt the need to use anything else.

September Favourites!

1. Giorgio Armani Designer Lift Foundation SPF 20 in number 5 (warm beige) (AUD$90): I bought this a few weeks back and I've used it every day since. It's a very runny fluid that can be built up to a medium coverage. I was sold this as a "full coverage foundation" which it actually isn't and it doesn't cover my acne scarring. I like that even when you build it up, it still looks natural and not cakey. The colour is a perfect match for me too (I'm between NC25-30 in MAC terms).

2. Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Powder in number 5 (AUD$88): I bought this at the same time as the foundation as I really need to set my foundations for them to last all day. It is a tad too light for me as I'm quite heavy handed when I use it so I'm on the hunt for another powder but this was a staple in September.

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Powder and MAC Duo Lash Comb/Brow Brush

4. MAC Duo Lash Comb/Brow Brush (AUD$13): This is a travel friendly lash comb and brow brush.  I carry it everywhere with me as I always sleep in and end up doing my makeup on the train to work or to uni. I only use the brow brush end though and it's really efficient at combing my brows before and after shading them in.

5. MAC Eyebrows in Lingering (AUD$30): I've been using this brow pencil all year and I'm onto my third one as I seriously use it every day. A MAC sales assistant recommended this one for me and it's a tad too light but I can get away with it. It makes my eyebrows look more soft than sharp and defined (which I prefer) although I'm looking at buying a darker one soon.

Left to Right: MAC Eyebrows in Lingering
and Bourjois lip crayon in 

6. Bourjois Color Boost Lip Crayon in Peach on the Beach (AUD$15): I really put of buying this lip crayon as I already have SO MANY lip crayons and I rarely get a chance to use them. However, I bit the bullet when Bourjois went on sale at Priceline and I picked one up for 25% off. It's a gorgeous peach colour that pulls a bit pink on my lips. It's super glossy and really smooth. However, the one that I got was already a bit broken and the top part of the lip crayon completely snapped off and then I left it in the car last week and my boyfriend found it completely melted :( I was so devastated and I was freaking out that I wouldn't be able to replace it as I'd bought the last one from my local Priceline. I ended up running to the city Priceline store after uni and I luckily found another one!

I'd love to know what your September favourites were (link me your blogs if you posted about it!) or if you've tried any of the things I listed in this post :)

My eye cream journey!

I only started to get into using eye creams this year as I've never really been concerned about under eye bags and darkness under the eyes. I started to use them though as I thought that I might as well start using them sooner rather than later. I know that there are people who say that eye creams are a waste of money and unnecessary but I really like patting eye cream on and just taking a quick moment in my day to close my eyes and relax :)

There are 2 eye creams that I've been rotating a lot. The first one is the Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado (AUS$39/14g) and the second is the RE9 Arbonne Corrective Eye Crème (AUS$77/15ml). I think I've mentioned before that I don't like my skincare items to have alcohol or fragrances in them (things with fragrances make my skin itchy and I just have a personal preference to avoid alcohol where possible) so I was really limited in the eye creams that I could use. Every time I found an eye cream that I wanted to try, I would look at the ingredients list and have to put it back because fragrance or alcohol featured at the top of the ingredients list. I'm not an expert in chemicals and anything of that sort so I don't know if these eye creams have any other nasties in them or not but they haven't irritated me at all so far.

Left to right: Arbonne Corrective Eye Crème and
Kiehls Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado

The other thing that I love about these eye creams is that they're not heavily fragranced. I've used a lot of skincare products that smell like a florist or smell like a swamp and they've always made me gag or made me feel like my face is on fire or itchy. It's safe to say that I barely even register a scent with the Kiehl's eye cream but if I smell it really closely, it has a very faint sunscreen smell. The Arbonne one has a faint sour/floral/citrus scent. I'm actually not sure how to describe it but it does have a slightly sour scent if you smell it really closely.

Edit: I did some research on the Arbonne eye creme as I was trying to pinpoint the smell and it turns out that it contains orange oil, clover and rosemary in it. It also has alcohol in it which i try to avoid but it's mid way down the list rather than at the top.

Arbonne Corrective Eye Crème consistency

Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado

Prior to using eye creams, I never worried too much about eye bags or dark under eyes and I currently still don't. The only time that dark under eye bags were really obvious on me was when I hadn't slept well for days at a time. After using eye creams every night, I would say that the skin around my eyes has stayed quite smooth (as it should) and I haven't had an episode of dark under eye bags even though I don't sleep all that well due to uni assignments.

The most important thing about these eye creams though is the fact that I don't get any milia at all with them! My biggest concern with using rich creams in the eye area was getting small white bumps that would be hard to get rid of. I would repurchase both the products based on this alone.

Pump of Arbonne Corrective Eye Crème

The Arbonne Eye Crème was sent to me for review and I've really enjoyed trying a more expensive eye cream and seeing if the results were worth paying more for. After testing it, I get the same results from it as the Kiehl's eye cream that I purchased. If I had to choose between them, I would choose the Kiehl's one based on the packaging. I love the idea of an eye cream in a jar rather than a pump bottle but that's my personal preference. I know that there's a whole anti-jar brigade out there who argue that when a product is exposed to air, the ingredients become less potent. I totally understand that which is why I purchased the smaller tub (so that I could use it up quickly). For those anti-jar people, go for the Arbonne one, you can't go wrong with it. The pump has never gotten jammed on me before and it'll obviously keep fresher for longer since the product doesn't come in contact with the air.

IMATS Sydney 2013

As some of you would know, I went to IMATS in Sydney yesterday and I bought myself a few things :) I'd been looking forward to IMATS for months and I managed to drag myself out of bed nice and early in the morning to head to Darling Harbour where IMATS was being held. I was planning to be there before 9am but my boyfriend was running late as usual so we got there around 9.30am.

When we got there, there was a small line outside where people had to wait to get wristbands. Our wait was about 5-10 minutes but I can only imagine what the line looked like at 8.30am!

Tip for next year: If you can't be bothered to wait in line and can afford to pay an extra $15 for your ticket, don't buy it beforehand and pay $50 at the door for your ticket instead (the tickets pre-sell for US$35). There was no one in that line at all. However, this would be dependant on whether or not the tickets sell out before you get there.

Crazy crowd at the Mac Pro stand around 10.30am

I'd planned to buy a few things from MAC but skipped buying anything as the line was pretty crazy. The picture above shows what it was like at 10.30am when I was leaving and keep in mind that the MAC Pro stand is in the top right hand corner! I probably would've waited if I hadn't run out of money :P

I also bypassed the Make Up For Ever stand as their lines were quite similar to MAC. PM Studio had a stand selling MUFE products so I lined up there instead. Well actually, they didn't really have a line. People just stood wherever they wanted to and tried to catch the eye attention of one of the workers. It kind of worked in that there were heaps of people who were spending ages on swatching and there were people like me who knew exactly what they wanted. I picked up a Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer in number 6. I already have numbers 7 and 8 but I needed a lighter one for my jawline. It was $30 compared to US$32 from Sephora and the normal $43 from PM studio.

Tip: If a stand has a crowd rather than a line and you know what you want, stand in a spot where it'll be easy to catch the sales people's attention. Don't be silly and stand on the side like I did. Don't look down as the moment that you do, they'll look up and miss you again.

Make Up For Ever products at PM Studio's stand

Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer in number 6

The main reason I went to IMATS though was because I wanted to pick up a few Hakuhodo brushes. You can buy them online but I figured that instead of paying for shipping, it was better for me to just pay for my IMATS ticket and buy them in person. The brushes were ALL so soft and super expensive. The queue was quite orderly except except for the people who didn't understand the concept of a queue and pushed in. The sales people were all Japanese and so friendly. They kept offering trays for us to hold our brushes in and giving us advice about which brushes were best for what. Unfortunately, the brush that I wanted had sold out and I think that the girl in front of me bought the last one.

Tip: If there's something that you specifically want, go to the stand straight away! Don't take your time to wander around. There'll be plenty of time for that after you buy what you came for!

Hakuhodo Brushes

I picked up H2274 and H3007. H2274 ($54) is a powder and liquid brush. H3007 ($42) is a retractable angled face brush. There were no "discounts" at Hakuhodo but the benefit of buying them at IMATS was that you didn't have to pay any conversion fees. The total cost of the 2 brushes was US$96 so I paid AUD$96. If I'd bought them online, I would've had to pay the bank fees for the currency conversion as well as pay extra for the brushes as the Australian dollar is not on par with the US dollar.

Hakuhodo Brushes

I also stopped by the Velour lash stand. They're super expensive lashes that are made out of mink hair but it's ok as the minks don't get hurt in making the lashes (or I wouldn't buy them!). They normally retail for $29.99 but they were $23 a pair at IMATS. I picked up Are Those Real? and Got it from my Momma! (which will be shipped later as they didn't have any stock). I do kind of regret buying 2 pairs though due to the cost of them!

Velour lash stand

Are Those Real? lashes

The next couple of things were purchased from Embryolisse and Model Rock (I think). Embryolisse's Lait-Crème Concentre was $25 for $75mL compared to the usual $35 cost. The Duo lash glue was $7.95 compared to the normal $9.95 and the lashes were $5.95 each compared to the usual $11.95/pair. There was also a "buy 10 for $55" deal on them. I picked up 2 pairs in Cleo. To be honest, if I'd bought the Cleo lashes first, I probably would've only bought one pair of lashes from Velour. I passed on getting any other lashes as I couldn't find any others that looked natural. Most of them had kinks in them or were just really poor quality.

Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentre

Duo lash glue and Model Rock lashes in Cleo

And lucky last, I also checked out the Bdellium stand as they had adorable pink brushes! I didn't buy any though as I didn't know what the cost was and I thought that they'd be really expensive. I'm absolutely kicking myself for not buying any though as I've been told that they were all around $15 or under.

Bdellium brush stand

And that concludes my IMATS experience :) Did any of you guys go and how did you find it? I left after an hour as I'd run out of money (I was trying to be really good and stick to my budget) and my boyfriend and I wanted to go eat lunch. I was also getting quite annoyed by the rough crowd. I felt like I was really being pushed around at some stands.

There were lines at every stand and people kept complaining or pushing in. I felt that lining up gave me more opportunity to swatch and look at things while waiting but some people were very touchy about the lines. If you do go to IMATS next year, bring a friend so that you have someone to talk to while you wait :)

I took my boyfriend along and he was the best entertainment ever! I wrote down some of the things he said so that I wouldn't forget because they were so funny at the time. He doesn't understand the point of makeup and why we love it so much.

"Everyone there was a makeup addict.... I saw so much cake face!"

"It looks like they just grabbed it (makeup) and *smacks his hand into his face*"

"One girl was trying to promote her makeup to someone and said "I'm wearing it right now" and I was thinking 'b*tch please... you look like an orange!'"

"The guy you bought lashes from.... Dear lord!" (He had giant panda eyes with glitter and sparkles)

"It's like Comic Con... but for makeup!"

And one last thing, if you're going next year, don't forget to take makeup wipes with you! Take along a little travel pack or something if you plan on doing lots of swatches.

- Jen

Her Fashion Box September Edition

I came home today to my Her Fashion Box subscription which was a really nice surprise as I didn't get the tracking email this week. I obviously opened it straight away and took photos so that I can share with you what I got :) I hope it'll be helpful to people who may want to sign up with Her Fashion Box or who want a sneak peek of their September box :)

Her Fashion Box September Magazine

Clutch: The clutch is definitely not my style but they've styled it really nicely in the magazine. It has a chain so that you can wear it. I wish I got the classic box because their clutch was black with gold studs.

Clutch

Inside clutch

Silver Ring: Oh my gosh! The ring is absolutely gorgeous! I'm just really sad that it doesn't fit on any of my fingers as it's really big. I think it can be adjusted but I also have small fingers so it's still too big. Every box got this ring but in different colours.

Silver Bracelet: I kind of liked the bracelet but it reminds me of those really ghetto... masculine ID bracelets. Everyone also got this and in different colours. Apparently the colours we got were based on our profile but I swear I would've put gold before silver.

ID bracelet

Bracelet on arm

Pure Moisture Coconut Body Scrub: I love body scrubs and it's a really cute small size. It'd be enough for one use on the body so I think it should be popped in a drawer for when you go travelling.

Coconut Body Scrub

Maybelline Color Show Nail Polishes in Coral Crush and Blue Freeze: This was probably the best part of the box! The nail polish colours are absolutely gorgeous. I've heard a lot of good things about the Maybelline nail polishes! (and they keep going half price at Priceline and Chemist Warehouse!)

LonVitalite facial mask, Designer Brands Chubby Pencil and Eyeliner: I'm not a huge fan of LonVitalite or Designer brands. I'm pretty certain that I've gotten LonVitalite facial masks in other beauty boxes before and I remember being really put off by the poor english writing on the packaging. I felt like it wasn't a trustworthy brand. I also don't like Designer Brands as I've tried their eyeliners before and haven't liked it. In saying that though, the chubby pencil is a really gorgeous nude pink shade :)

I think that despite me not liking some of the box (but that's the nature of subscription boxes!), it's well worth the money. I wish that I'd gone with the classic box (for the clutch) and gotten gold or rose gold jewellery instead of silver. I do love the concept of Her Fashion Box and I'm looking forward to seeing what they bring out in the coming months :)

Now for some exciting news, I'm heading to IMATS in Sydney tomorrow and I'll definitely be blogging about it as it's my first time going. As I'm going to be lucky enough to buy some goodies there, I feel like I might accidentally neglect the Her Fashion Box that I've just reviewed so I've decided to give it away to one of my readers. Just leave a comment saying what you liked most about the box (and your email address) and I'll choose a winner in 1 week :)

Let me know if you're also going to IMATS tomorrow (Tweet me! @jjjwei). It'd be nice to see some friendly faces there :)

Edit: The winner is Michelle! Congrats :) I've emailed you.

Benefit Haul

I did a Benefit haul recently (you can read about it here) for some goodies for myself but then I decided to do another order as I needed to buy some birthday presents. Obviously, I didn't want to pay for shipping if I didn't have to, so I bought myself some more stuff in order to qualify for free shipping :)

Benefit Haul

Now onto the products:

1) Benefit Rockateur Blush US$28

This is Benefit's newest blush and I wanted to try it because I'd read reviews that said that it was softer in texture than the other Benefit blushes. I also didn't have a rose gold blush in my collection already so I was kind of curious. I know people who have done reviews on this blush and have been like "oh... Benefit have reduced the size of the blush but kept it at the same price" but seriously, does anyone actually often finish a blush..... or like ever? So does it really matter?....

I was planning on doing a review but this blush just doesn't photograph well as it's so sheer. I did a swatch on my arm using the brush it came with, a different blush brush and my fingers and it just wouldn't show up very well! It's a sheer but slightly build-able blush so it's noticeable when it's layered onto the cheeks but it's so annoying to photograph! I may still do the review...

Benefit Rockateur Blush

Here's an attempt at trying to swatch it:

Benefit Rockateur swatch

2+3) Benefit Hydra Smooth Lip Colours in Juicy Details (natural pink) and Tutti-Cutie (sheer coral) US$19 each

These are SO amazingly smooth! They just glide right across the lips and they're an absolute dream! I love these so much. Juicy Details is a medium coverage and Tutti-Cutie is very sheer. They're just amazing for a no-fuss lip product.

Benefit Hydra Smooth Lip Colours
Left to Right: Juicy Details and Tutti-Cutie

4) Benefit Dandelion blush US$28

I haven't actually used this one yet but I've been wanting it for like 2 years now but I could never justify buying it before. I'll let you know how I go with it :)

Benefit Dandelion Blush

What Benefit products should I try next?

Get To Know Me Tag!

I've seen this tag floating around and I found a set of questions that I thought were quite interesting to answer (I found them on the Tried and Tested blog). I thought I'd give them a go and let you get to know me better :)

1. Bold eyes or bold lips?

Bold lips! I love a bright pink or coral lipstick.

2. If you could only blog about one brand's products, which brand would it be?

LUSH! I love their products and they have such a huge range of stuff that I could blog about. I have quite a few favourite products from LUSH but there heaps of things that I haven't tried yet.

3. Your most used/loved product.

Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer

Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer! I cannot live without this stuff! I have like 5 tubes of it. I love using this for concealing scars and pimples around my forehead, temple and nose area. It might seem a tad expensive but it honestly lasts forever.

4. Would you rather have forever flawless skin and not be able to wear any other makeup or never be able to wear a base (foundation, bb cream) but being able to wear eyeshadow, mascara, blush, eyeliner, lipstick etc.?

Hmm... I would absolutely LOVE to have forever flawless skin but it would be no fun to not be able to play with makeup like lipstick and blush. I think I would prefer not to wear a base but only if I was still allowed to use concealer. Concealer wouldn't count as a base right?

5. The one thing you hate most about applying makeup.

Trying to cover blemishes! I have really bad acne scarring in some places (like my right cheek) and it's near impossible to completely cover them up.

I'd love to know your answers to these questions!