2014 BEAUTY HAUL #3 AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I've made quite a few online orders recently and truly believe shopping is the best mood booster (until I  receive my credit card bill for this month). Here are my first impressions of what I got from feelunique: 

MONU Cleansing Balm

I tried it last night and this morning. I love it so much that I have to dedicate a blog post just for this cleansing balm. Stay tuned. 

Elemis Skin Glow Exfoliating Face Wash

I like the scent of this product, peachy fruity but not overly sweet. It's a gel like texture with beads in it for exfoliation. I find the texture a bit too running for me but not a major problem. What makes this product a worrying one for me are the beads. They are not rounded and have irregular edges on them which scratch the skin. As a matter of fact, the beads are the roughest ones I've ever used in any exfoliation product so I am a bit scared of using it daily. If you have sensitive skin like me, I do not think it'll be a part of your daily skin care routine. 

Korres Lip Butter in Wild Rose

BEST lip butter I've ever come across and no, I am not exaggerating.  It's nourishing yet light on the lips. It provides just the perfect amount of colour, which naturally blends with your natural lip tone. The colour does come off a bit when you drink but it does not leave a dramatic kiss on your mug or wine glass and so it's more office or business dinner appropriate if you work in a corporate environment. I also find this product in the end leaving a nice natural rosy tint on your lips, which seems to last forever. I ordered two more shades today so you know I am in love. 

Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick in 16

It's a coral colour on my lips and a satin matte finish. It's long lasting and I noticed it does not transfer much to my tea mug. It's not super drying however it does sink into the dry patches on my lips but a bit of lip balm underneath may solve the problem just fine.

Rimmel Apocolips Lip Lacquer in 401 Aurora

Rimmel Apocolips Lip Lacquer was in so many Youtubers' favourite videos and it's probably a bit of a shock that I only just got my hands on it. How can a lip product neither a lipstick nor a lip gloss be more gorgeous than both? Well Rimmel did it. I love how non-sticky and non-greasy it's on the lips while maintaining great pigmentation. I am happy with the colour I got but I definitely will need to stock up on more colours. It's not very long lasting on my lips, far less long lasting than Rimmel Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick. But I love it equally if not more for it's hiding of the imperfections on my lips.

Have you tried any of the above products? Which one do you want to try the most?

2014 BEAUTY HAUL #2 BODY SHOP

I went to Body Shop today for its Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder and predictably I did not walk out of the shop with just that.

Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder (AU$28.95/11g): I am currently using MAC Bronzing Powder in the shade Refined Golden as my daily contour powder. I have no problem with that one but it does have some fine shimmer in it so I always want to get a matte finish bronzing powder. I've had my eye on the Body Shop Honey Bronzer for quite a while since I heard good reviews from +essiebutton 's youtube. Compared to the Mac Bronzing Powder, which I paid AU$39 for 10g, this Body Shop's one is truly a bargain and I cannot wait to see if I'll fall in love with it.

Olive Body Butter (AU$27.95/200ml): I do not own many Body Shop body butter myself mainly because I find many of the products' scents, although lovely, can be quite overwhelming for me. I enjoy light scent for body cream and this Olive Body Butter seems to tick that box for me.

Peppermint Cooling Foot Spray (AU$14.95/100ml): This was for the hubby. As he always feels hot (even in winter in Australia), summer is not his favourite season to have a good sleep. Hopefully this spray will keep his feet cool throughout the night so that he will not keep waking up from the heat.

Cranberry Joy Heart Soap (was AU$9.95 now AU$4.95/100g): It looks adorable. It smells incredible. It's love.

Body Shop is doing clearance on some of their Christmas stocks and the discount is up to 50% off http://www.thebodyshop.com.au/Category.aspx?Id=oc. I did not know this before I went to the store today and the store I was at did not have all the clearance products they have on the website. Otherwise I would definitely grab the cranberry shower gel to try.

What's your most recommended product in Body Shop?

2014 BEAUTY HAUL #1

It's definitely a beautiful thing to receive a beauty parcel on the second day of the new year and I cannot think of any better things in my first 2014 beauty parcel than organic skincare.

Pai Skincare Christmas 2013 Limited Edition AU$50 (Great value!)

I love the packaging and I cannot wait to try out the products in the set:

Organic Muslin Face Cloth

Rosehip BioRegenerate Oil 30ml

Rosehip BioRegenerate Face Mask 50ml

MADARA Purifying Foam AU$15 (on sale, was AU$25)

MADARA comes from Latuia, a small country in Northern Europe. You can read more about the brand and the company's products from their website: http://www.madara-cosmetics.com/intl/about/values/ (as a business graduate I do tend to have a good browse about company's profile etc. :)

On the packaging it says this facial cleanser can deeply and gently purifies the skin and removes makeup. It can regulate your oily zone while soothing dry areas. I have not used any of the products yet so I cannot say much about the result. However, I do notice alcohol is included as one of the ingredients and that got me a little bit concerned. I usually do not have break out problem but my skin can be sensitive at times and I hope the alcohol in it will not irritate my skin. I'll have a post about this cleanser if I end up really liking or hating it.

PATYKA ABSOLIS Rose Face Toner AU$25 (on sale, was AU$50)

On PATYKA website http://laboutique.patyka.com/en/ it has "Beauty Portrait" and when you click it it'll lead you to a few questions about your skin problems and your age. In the result page it'll put together a list of products as recommendations to tackle your skin issue. Although the questions are not the most detailed ones, I think it's a good way to try out some products of a brand.

Back to this toner, it's alcohol free and smells like roses (as if I needed to emphasise it). I am sure it'll be pleasant to use this toner and I hope it can be a bit more hydrating than some other organic rose toners I used before.

I got everything in this post from I AM NATURAL STORE as after some browsing online I think the prices for the products I want to get are quite competitive. They offer free shipping in Australia wide orders over AU$50 and that's another advantage to shop there if you live in Australia. I also received a small gift from them as you can see in the photo: a Vanilla blackberry scent fragrance (trial size). I am not sponsored by them but just want to share this online shop with you as I had a lovely online shopping experience with them.

What did you get for your first beauty parcel in the new year? Have you used any of the products in my parcel? Please leave a comment if you do as I would love to hear what you think of these products.