Trash Diving: Skincare

Kosmea Rosehip Oil

I love rosehip oil. I use it every night during my skin care routine. I won't write too much about rosehip oil right now since I plan to do a whole spiel about it later. I enjoyed this rosehip oil. There was no scent but it was an orangey-yellow colour. It would tint my face slightly orange depending on the amount I used, but the colour would disappear once absorbed. I would say be careful if you're on the fairer side because I don't know whether this colour would have a bigger effect on you. I'm currently using the Swisse Rosehip Oil which I am enjoying and is clear. 

Would I repurchase? Yes, there are so many other rosehip brands that I would to try before buying this one again. 

Jurlique Herbal Recovery Gel

I received this sample in one of those sample boxes. It was a decent size and provided me with a few applications. I did enjoy using it and it had a lovely lavender smell. I would apply this after my toner and before my moisturiser. It left a sticky residue feeing on my skin afterwards but this disappeared after I applied my moisturiser. 

Would I repurchase? No, not at the moment. Although I did like it I did not see enough results to justify $72 for 30ml. It is possible that I didn't use it long enough because it's hard with serums to see results after just a few applications. I may consider this a few years down the track as I feel like this is geared more towards 'older' individuals.

The Allegra Rhodes Hand Cream and U Skin Solutions Clean and Go Exfoliating Gel Cleanser were both samples in a sample box. The hand cream was heavily fragranced and did not smell like lychee in my opinion. The fragrance was so strong that it would linger till you washed your hands. Great if you love fragrance, bad if you're sensitive to scents! The cleanser smelt like peppermint and had small exfoliating beads. I felt that it did cleanse myself well however, there are better cleansers out there more suited to what I look for in a cleanser. 

Would I repurchase? No, I wouldn't repurchase either of them. The hand cream scent was too strong for my liking and I feel that there are better cleansers out there. 

Natural Being Skincare Range: 
Manuka Honey Day Cream for Oily to Normal Skin
Manuka Honey Night Cream for Oily to Normal Skin
Manuka Honey Eye Cream for All Skin Types

I'm throwing these Natural Being skincare products not because they're bad or finished but because they have expired! I bought these on a whim at my local Priceline several months ago. The moisturisers were on clearance for $3 a piece and the eye cream was on clearance for $2. I'm guessing they were on clearance because their expiration date was coming up in 3 months. After a quick googling on my phone (what did we used to do being smart phones?!) I discovered the moisturisers usually retailed for US$20 and US$16 for their eye cream. For a total of $8 for all 3 products it was a total bargain and perfect to give this brand a try... even if it was only for $3 months. Plus, they contained manuka honey which is meant to be amazing for the skin. 

The moisturisers were good not amazing and something to shout from the rooftops, but good. They moisturised my skin well and was easily absorbed. I did enjoy the eye cream and probably more so than the moisturisers. I found that it gave me the perfect amount of hydration under my eyes and could be worn under my under-eye makeup. 

Would I repurchase? Probably not. I feel that there are products out there that do more for my skin than these. I would recommend these products if you enjoy natural products. They are a brand that is certified by the BDIH, cruelty-free, halal approved and use recyclable packaging. Definitely a thumbs up in the environment category!

Vaseline Body Lotion in Aloe Vera

I finished this humungous bottle of aloe vera lotion. It kept my body moisturised very well in the summer, but now that it's winter here my skin is on the drier side making it not as effective. The smell is nice and refreshing but disappears an hour or two after application.

Would I repurchase? Yes, but not for awhile. This took me such a long time to get through that I'm slightly sick of the smell. Aloe Vera lotion we need to take a break... but I'll come back for you in the summer. 

What have you finished lately?
Jess
xoxo

The Weekend Nail

 

I picked up this Sally Hansen nail polish in ‘Plume 005’ from the Lustre Shine range on sale for under $5 a couple of months ago. I’d never seen the Lustre Shine range before so I was intrigued plus, the two-tone metallic goodness was too good to leave behind even though it was definitely not work appropriate. Well, not in my field anyway. It has been shamefully collecting dust in my nail polish box since I typically don’t paint my nails a colour that can’t carry over to a work day because taking it off and changing the colour after the weekend is such a hassle for my lazy weekend self. Well… that was until last weekend when I finally whipped it out and slapped this ‘paint’ on my nails.

I don’t know why it took so long really. I couldn’t stop staring at my nails and tilting my hands in all different directions to see the different colours. The dominant colours in this nail polish are a metallic green and an orangey-gold, but you can definitely see hints of blue as well.

The brush is a standard brush that is slightly on the thinner side. The nail polish applies well and lasts a good few days before chipping. I apply 2 coats to get an opaque finish and top it off with my Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat.

Jess

xoxo

Topshop Cream Blushes

Topshop Cream Blushes are a new addition to my makeup collection. I first purchased 'Flushed' which is the one in the pan pictured above and wrote about it in a shopping haul post I did. I was definitely impressed with it after several uses that when I paid Topshop about a week or two later I did a sneaky purchase and bought 'Acting Up' which is in the stick form PLUS it was on sale for only $9 (usually $20). 

'Flushed' is a bright almost neon pink that looks scary in the pan but once applied and blended in, it leaves a lovely pink glow flush to the cheeks. 'Acting Up' on the other hand is a straight up bright orange which I also love. Both forms of blushes have great pigmentation that also allow you to build the colour intensity on your cheeks to whatever your heart desires.

The lasting power of both these blushes is amazing. I find that they last for a good 5 hours on my cheeks if I don't set it with a powder blush, and if I do.. well those suckers will be there until I whip out my Bioderma and take off my makeup for the day!

Both blush forms are easy to use; however, if I had to choose one for 'ease of use' I'd choose the stick form. All it takes for me to apply this blush in the morning is to swipe the product once directly on each cheek then blend in with either my brush or fingers (both will work wonderfully). With the blush in the pan form I usually take my clean fingers dip it in the product and then blend it in with either my fingers or brush. I don't know why but I also feel like the stick form is more sanitary and is definitely less messy in the morning.

In terms of colour, I have been loving 'Flushed' and have been sporting this on my cheeks most days of the week. However, during winter I usually lean towards the pink blushes anyway and during the summer I lean towards the coral/orangey blushes so I can definitely see my colour favourite change once the weather heats up!

My favourite brush to use to blend in these blushes has been the Real Techniques 'Contour Brush'. I purchase all my Real Techniques blushes from iHerb because they simply have the best deals on these brushes for all of you Australians out there. I used a coupon code to get $10.00 off my first purchase. If you were thinking of purchasing from iHerb and would like a coupon code. My code is MST826 which will give you $5 off your order for orders less than $40.00 and $10 off your order for orders of $40.00 or more. The only downfall with this site is that shipping isn't free, BUT it is very reasonable.

All in all I love these blushes. I much prefer the packaging of 'Acting Up' but right now the colour of 'Flushed' is more up my alley. I did spy a pink blush in the stick form at the store that wasn't on sale.. but am now considering even though I shouldn't buy anymore! *step away Topshop...step away from Topshop*

Jess

xoxo

Polish of the Week: Revlon Colorstay Spanish Moss

Polish of the week is this nail polish from the Revlon Colorstay range in 190 Spanish Moss. Despite my extensive Revlon nail polish collection, this is the only one that is from the Colorstay range that I own. I do like a good Revlon nail polish. The price point is reasonable (plus, Priceline usually have specials on Revlon nail polish) and is half the price of OPI and Essie brands here in Australia which are around $20 for 1 bottle. Ridiculous right?! We always pay so much more for beauty items here! 

Onto the nail polish...it is appropriately named since I would describe this as a khaki moss colour. The colour is muted and therefore I can wear this for work. It is also a colour that matches very easily with your outfits which is a bonus. It lasts fairly well on my nails as it lasted 3 days without chipping, which is definitely good for me! In fact, the photo above was taken 3 days after application. Considering my OPI nail polish chips after a day this is definitely longer lasting on my nails. 

Jess 

xoxo

The Ultimate Cookie

This picture doesn't do this cookie justice. This cookie is what I would like to call 'The Ultimate Cookie'. Cornflakes, marshmallows and chocolate chips all in one cookie? Yes please! The combination of all these textures and flavours in one cookie is definitely one of the best I’ve come across. This ‘Cornflake-Chocolate Chip-Marshmallow’ is by Christina Tosi. I have the Momofuku Milk Bar recipe book and this was the first thing I decided to try from it. 

Christina Tosi is the founder, owner and chef of the Momofuku Milk Bar. This amazing place is the dessert branch of David Chang’s Momofuku Resturant Group. One day when I finally get to visit New York I will definitely be paying this place a visit. One day…

Cornflake-Chocolate Chip-Marshmallow Cookies from Christina Tosi’s Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook

This recipe makes around 15-20 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature 
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 cups of Cornflake Crunch (recipe is below and is also from the Milk Bar Cookbook)
• 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 1/4 cups mini marshmallows (I cut up normal sized marshmallows since I couldn't find any mini ones)

Method

Cream together the butter and sugars for 2 to 3 minutes on a medium-high setting with your electric mixer. Scrape down sides of bowl, then add egg and vanilla and beat for an additional 7 to 8 minutes.

Lower speed to low and add flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with a spatula.

Keep the mixer on low, add cornflake crunch and chocolate chips and mix until just combined (around 30 to 45 seconds). Add mini marshmallows and mix until just incorporated.

Using an ice-cream scoop portion the dough out onto a prepared baking sheet. Pat tops of cookie domes flat. Wrap baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 week. Do not bake cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees celcius (not fahrenheit!).

Arrange the chilled dough at least 4 inches apart on prepared baking sheets and bake until puffed, cracked, spread, and browned on the edges, about 18 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheets.

Cornflake Crunch (Makes around 4 cups)

Ingredients

• 5 cups of corn flakes
• 1/2 cup milk powder          
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 9 tablespoons melted butter

Method

Preheat oven to 135 degrees celcius (again, not fahrenheit!). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.

Place cornflakes in a medium bowl. Using your hands, crush to one-quarter of their original size. Add milk powder, sugar, and salt and toss to combine. Add butter and toss to form small clusters.

Spread cornflake mixture in an even layer on prepared baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake until clusters are toasted and smell buttery, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

NOTE: This cookie is extremely buttery. In fact, I feel like it is too buttery for my liking. The cornflake crunch has a fair amount of butter and the cookie itself has another decent amount of butter. I would recommend reducing the amount of butter you use. I will for sure be doing this next time I make them (I have leftover cornflake crunch in my freezer as it can be left in the freezer for up to one month).

Buttery-ness aside. This is my favourite cookie that I’ve baked to date. What are your favourite types of cookies to bake/eat?

Jess

xoxo

Trash Diving: Makeup, Haircare and Nails

Welcome to a new segment on my blog that will be lovingly named "Trash Diving". It's a take on the "Product Empties", "What's in my Bin?" etc. videos/posts. Basically, I will be writing about skincare, makeup, haircare and nail items that I have thrown out or will be throwing out because they are finished, didn't work for me or because it's simply time for them to be thrown out. 

Today's post will cover makeup, haircare and nails and I will post about my skincare items soon. I find makeup and nails the hardest items to finish up whereas I can go through skincare a lot faster. These posts will not occur monthly which other bloggers and you tubers can do.. I simply do not finish products fast enough!

Makeup
Inglot Cream Concealer in 24
This is my "holy grail" concealer for blemishes. On my oily/combination skin it stays put all day and especially if you set it with powder. This colour was too dark so I purchased the same concealer in the shade 26 which is lighter. I mix the two together to get the perfect shade. 

Verdict? This concealer will always be my go-to concealer for blemishes. It doesn't budge once you set it with powder. Who doesn't love that?! I will repurchase this and have already purchased a new one! 

Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara
Lets me provide you with a quick overview of the lashes I have ... straight lashes that point downwards and struggle to hold a curl. I also struggle to find mascaras that don't smudge. Not the most ideal lashes to have are they? But you have to work with what you've got! 

This mascara claims to improve the overall appearance of your lashes and reveal longer, more luscious lashes. While I found that this did add some volume and length to my lashes (nothing to boast about), it did not hold my curled eyelashes and smudged after 2 hours. I used this only when I knew I'd be out for a quick lunch, coffee etc. Bit of a bother really. 

Verdict? I will not be repurchasing this mascara. Panda eyes are not cute. The end. 

Haircare
Lush - Rub Rub Rub
I bought this product initially as a body scrub; however, was told by the sales assistant when I bought it that it could be used as a shampoo too. I purchased it to replace my Lush - Ocean Salt which I previously used as a body exfoliator and since it was much cheaper (try $22.50 for 120g of Ocean Salt vs. $12.95 for 250g of Rub Rub Rub) I thought I'd give it a whirl. It does smell quite fresh (I'm terrible at describing scents!) and I quite like the smell. However, I have to admit that I much preferred the Ocean Salt in comparison to Rub Rub Rub in terms of its 'exfoliating abilities' but I much prefer my own scrubs to the Ocean Salt (see my DIY post here). 

As a result, I ended up using this more as a clarifying shampoo. The first ingredient is sea salt which helps get rid of the build-up from hair products and daily grime. I found it particularly good to wash out my weekly coconut oil hair treatment as I find my usual shampoo is not strong enough and I can be left with a oily cast in my hair. I only used this on a weekly basis though. It would be too stripping to use every time you wash your hair.

Verdict? I'm not going to repurchase this right now. I have the Bumble and Bumble Sunday Shampoo on my list to pick up (I may have already done a sneaky purchase on lookfantastic) as I've heard great things about this as a clarifying shampoo. If I don't like it, I will repurchase this but as a clarifying shampoo and not an exfoliator. 

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Tropical
I posted about this in my Colours of the Rainbow Tag (Link!). I love this dry shampoo. It does it's job well - soaks up excess oil from second-day hair and also adds volume to your hair. The only downfall with this product is that it can leave a grey cast on my black hair so I spray it under the top section of my hair to hide it. I have tried the Batiste version for dark hair but this also left a slight cast and I didn't like that smell as much. The tropical scent which smells like coconut is definitely my favourite. 

Verdict? Yes, I would definitely repurchase this. Unless I find a dry shampoo which I don't have to be too careful with a white cast left on my hair, it will always be on my dressing shampoo. Jodi on YouTube from Goo Roo Beauty recommended Toni & Guy's Dry Shampoo on one of her videos so I picked it up from Coles for $12 on the weekend since it was on sale. I have tried many dry shampoos so I will be doing a comparison post about them. 

Nails
O.P.I - Lincoln Park After Dark
Definitely a cult favourite nailpolish. It's a dark almost black purple but unfortunately OPI nailpolishes just don't last well on me. Don't get me wrong though, I love this colour and especially during autumn/winter. I'm throwing this out because it has simply dried up to the point where I can't even open the bottle anymore!

Verdict? I will not repurchase this. This colour is definitely "dupe-able" and I'd rather buy a similar colour from Essie, Revlon or Rimmel which have a much better staying power on my nails. 

What products have you all finished lately?

Jess

xoxo

Polish of the Week: O.P.I - Can You Tapas This?

I purchased this O.P.I's nail polish in 'Can You Tapas This?' on a recent shopping trip which I posted about here, and I also instagrammed a photo of it on my nails. Sidenote: if you're not following me on instagram, please do! @yourdailybreak. Anyway, this nail polish is a red-chocolate brown shade which is perfect for these cold winter days. In fact, since I've bought this nail polish it's the only shade that I have been wearing on my nails. Considering I have a sizeable collection, this is definitely saying something! I don't find that this nail polish (or any O.P.I nail polish for that matter) wears well on my nails as it chips after about 2 days for me but the colour is just so damn appealing that I continue to use it! It has definitely become my "go-to" winter shade. 

I can't help adding nail polish collection, they're just so easy to buy and perfect when you don't feel like spending a lot of money but still want to bring something home with you from a shopping trip! Does anyone else feel this way? Or is it just me trying to rationalise how many I have?

Jess

xoxo

Grain Shame OOTD

Excuse the grainy-ness. I could not for the life of me take a whole body shot in focus today. This is actually a screenshot from an iMovie video that I resorted to instead *hangs head in shame* I hope you can kinda make it out! I paired a flannel shirt under a black knit jumper and wore my burgundy jeans. I kept accessories to a minimum but wore a chunky necklace. You can't really see it but the bag I carried was my navy Longchamp bag which is by my feet in the corner of the photo. It's really not necessary to see it anyway. Everyone knows what it looks like! 

A simple outfit to go out for coffee with a friend who is in Melbourne from Adelaide :)

Top: Salvation Army

Jumper: Zara

Jeans: Dejour Jeans

Necklace: Topshop

Bag: Longchamp

I promise the next outfit post will not be so grainy!!!

Jess

xoxo

Natural Product Love: Coconut Oil

As I sit here with my hair slathered in coconut oil, I thought it would be fitting to write about some of the uses of this amazing product. There are already many write-ups on this topic; however, I thought I’d share with you my top 6 ways of using coconut oil. You can find coconut oil pretty much everywhere from grocery stores to health shops. I bought mine from the Great Earth Discount Health Store in the Melbourne CBD. This jar cost me $6.50, so it’s cheap and easily accessible!

So lets move onto the uses.

Deep conditioning hair mask

I decided to begin with this use since this is what I’m doing right now! This is probably to what I use coconut oil most often for and why I bought it in the first place before discovering all the other ways I can use it. I use this mask on a weekly basis and I find that it softens and increases the shine in my hair. It is much cheaper than any store-bought hair masks.

1.    Melt the coconut oil by either rubbing it in between your hands or in the microwave. If you use the microwave make sure it’s on a low setting and you don’t put it in for a very long time. Coconut oil has a very low temperature point so be careful!

2.     Cover your hair from root to tip in this stuff and let it sink in for at least 20 minutes, the longer the better. 

3.     Rinse it out in the shower and then follow up with a double shampoo-ing and conditioner. I suggest using a cleansing shampoo first as I found that when I didn’t use a cleansing shampoo my hair was left with an oily cast. Not. Pretty.

Moisturiser

Use coconut oil as a body moisturizer by rubbing some coconut oil but don’t apply too much as I find it can leave a greasy feeling

Body Conditioner

If you find that using it as a moisturizer can be a bit too greasy, use this as a body conditioner! As opposed to Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner (which I documented my love for here), apply this before you enter the shower. Slather you body with coconut oil and let it sink in for at least 10 minutes before hopping into the shower. Soft smooth skin will be yours!

Make-up Remover

To use it as a make-up remover, rub it gently onto your face/eyes and then remove with a hot cloth. Wait? Oil on your face?! Well, I have normal/oily combination skin and it works great for me and has not broken me out to this day. So don’t be alarmed by this suggestion!

Lip Scrub

Lip scrubs are so easy to make. One way I make my lip scrubs is to mix coconut oil with brown sugar. Don’t worry if it solidifies, once it hits your lips the warmth of your fingers with melt the wax again. Scrub and then rinse away. Voila! Soft smooth lips. Lipstick application is always easier straight after this and you will not have those horrible dry cracks that can appear due to flaky lips.

Shave Cream

Rub it onto your skin to prevent ingrown hairs and cuts, and shave away. It’s as simple as that!

Hope this helped some of you! My favourite use is of course the hair mask! Have you ever used coconut oil for beauty purposes? What are your favourite ways to use it?

Jess

xoxo