Priceline does it again...

Priceline has done it again! They keep bring out amazing sales. In my opinion, the best ones to check out would be:

• 40% off all Maybelline Color Sensational Lipsticks. This means $10 Vivid Lipsticks. Vivid Rose from the Vivid Range, I have my eye on you! 
• 40% off of the entire range of Physicians Formula
• 30% off of the entire range of Covergirl
• 30% off of the entire range of Bourjois - maybe I should consider picking up the Healthy Mix Foundation that everyone raves about and see what the fuss is all about for myself!
• Buy 1 Get 1 Free Sally Hansen Nail Colour
• 40% off of Nivea Lip Butter Range - I will definitely pick up one of these coveted lip products

But in all honesty there are a heap of great deals so I say just check out the catalogue. Find the catalogue here!

How am I supposed to save with all these sales AND to top it off retail stores have begun their end of financial year sales. I'm in serious trouble... I may have bought a couple more things last night which I will show you all in another blogpost. Maybe I should just avoid the shops for awhile?

Are you all taking advantage of the sales? Or are you being good and saving your dollars? :)

Jess 

xoxo

Fuelling my candle addiction...

In the past couple of years I have grown to love candles. I love the way they fill the apartment with an amazing aroma. I particularly love candles in the winter. There's something so homely and cosy about lighting a candle and drinking a cup of tea, coffee or even a hot chocolate! The best candles I've tried are the Glasshouse Fragrance Candles and love Bordeaux and Monte Carlo the best. Bordeaux is described as a vanilla, dark-chocolate and hazelnut scented candle and Monte Carlo is a fig and guava scented candle. However, at $39.95 for a 350g candle they are not the cheapest things to buy. I find it hard to justify almost $40 for a single candle. 

So in comes the little DIY-er in me! I purchased all the necessary bits and pieces (e.g., wicks, jars, soy wax, fragrance) from Aussie Candle Supplies. Shipping was reasonable and didn't take too long to get to me in Melbourne from Perth. The site has instruction sheets that tell you how to make your own candle. Turns out making a candle isn't as simple as melt the wax, add in your fragrance and pour. You have to work out the % of fragrance load that your wax, your pouring temperature, melting temperature etc. 

This was my second attempt at making a candle. The first time I made a candle I used only 1 wick but I found that it didn't burn nice and evenly. Candle-making is all about trial and error I've found. I will make a more detailed blog post after I work out the best method with my supplies. The one burning here is Hot Fudge Brownie which smells amazing! I purchased this fragrance from Live in Spirit - a candle supply shop here in Melbourne. 

Now that I've had a taste for making candles I want to make more in all different scents! I think I have a new addiction...

Have you ever tried making your own candles before?

Jess

xoxo

A little spot of shopping...

I have never been to Highpoint Shopping Centre...until last Sunday! It was renovated a couple of years ago and you can definitely tell between the "new" and "old" sections,  unlike Westfield Doncaster Shopping Centre. When they renovated that shopping centre the whole centre was redone and therefore you can't tell between the "new and "old" sections. It leads to a more appealing shopping experience. But renovations aside, let's move on to more interesting things! Firstly, lets start off with my outfit, which I also posted on Instagram (yourdailybreak). 

Top: Bardot

Jeans: Cotton On

Jacket: Target

Necklace: Asos

When I go shopping I like a fuss-free simple outfit that is easy to change out and in of in the change rooms. There's nothing worse than spending longer changing back into your clothes than trying on potential new items! I paired my khaki jeans with a loose black top and a striped blazer that I got from the Target kids section! Given I'm only 5 feet I find that I can shop in the kids section and I'm not ashamed to say it. Clothes can be a lot cheaper! For example, I picked this blazer up on sale for only $11 a couple of years ago. It did have heart-shaped pockets but they were easy to remove with an unpicker. I accessorised with a simple silver spiked necklace and wore my black flats (not pictured). 

The end of year financial sales have begun so I did pick up a couple of bargains. From Equip I picked up the mint green and magenta (camera distorted the colour) necklaces for $3.75 and $4.50 respectively, down from $14.99. Bargain! I couldn't decide between the colours so I picked up both. I justified it by telling myself that the cost of both of them was 50% off a full price one. Does that make sense?! haha. The things we do to enable ourselves. 

Highpoint has a Topshop so I HAD to see what they had available. Nothing really grabbed my attention in the clothing section, but I did pick up this Cream Blush in 'Flush' . I was surprised by the price as it was only $12. We all know how Australians get charged a LOT more than America for make-up. Absolutely ridiculous if you ask me, but this price was a pleasant surprise! I will keep you guys posted on whether I like it or not. If I do.. I might be entering dangerous territory and feel the need to pick up every colour! Next on my list to try is their lipsticks. I've heard good things about them so I want to see what the fuss is about for myself!

I dropped by Price Attack to pick up a teasing comb. This blue one was only $4.95 and was the only one they had available in the store. I've always wanted one because my hair is dead straight with little body. I also picked up O.P.I's Can You Tapas This? The sign said it was a discontinued colour and therefore was only $10. We pay $19.95 for an O.P.I nailpolish here in Australia so $10 is a great deal. 

Last but not least was my favourite purchase of the day. It was this grey blazer (boy, do I love my blazers!) from the brand Miss Selfridge. I picked it up from a store called Superglue. I've never seen this shop before but loved it! So many different brands and EVEN a little coffee shop inside! This blazer was not on sale unfortunately and was $75; however, the cut and the fit of the blazer was perfect for me and too good to pass up. I did try it on several times before biting the bullet and purchasing it though. 

Will you be taking advantage of the end of year financial sales anytime soon?

Jess

xoxo

Follow me on Bloglovin'!

May Favourites 2013

I tend to stick to the same ol' products time after time, so I'm not too sure if these favourites videos will be a monthly occurrence but we shall see! Let's start off with makeup first! I always like watching youtubers and reading about other bloggers' makeup favourites the best :)

Makeup

My foundation of choice has been Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua this month. I apply this with my fingers and I find it gives me the perfect light coverage that I prefer. I'm not one to wear a heavy base, the lighter the better for me :)

I have been loving MAC Harmony Blush as a contour/bronzer. It's a warm brown shade that's not too orange. I dust it at the back of my cheek bones and slightly onto my temples. I then use my Napoleon Perdis Colour Disc in 66 which is the perfect rose coloured blush for me and great for work. The colour discs are actually eyeshadows but the make-up artist said it would be great as a blush and she was right! I'm not too sure if you can get your hands on it now though as I did buy it several years ago and it seems they have changed their packaging since. I'm probably pushing the makeup expiry boundaries here. Oops!

I find that the perfect pairing with my blush of choice this month has been Clarins Joli Rouge Lipstick in 703 Ginger. They are in a similar tone and work so well together. The lipstick is also smooth and creamy. I've really been loving Clarins lately. 

My favourite eyeshadow combination has been Urban Decay's Foxy from the Urban Decay Basics palette swept across the lids with MAC's Bamboo eyeshadow in the crease. Foxy is perfect for evening out my eyelids and bamboo warms up my crease. It's an easy 'I don't have to think about what I'm doing' combination! It's also not too heavy which is what I prefer since I have smaller eyes. 

Skincare

On days when I wake up and I'm having a good skin day I love using Origins Vitazing. I would classify this as a skincare/makeup fusion type product. It doubles as my moisturiser and gives me a tint at the same time. I find that when I first apply it, the tint doesn't appear straight away rather, it takes a little bit of time to develop. If you get oily I do recommend powdering in those sections as it can get a bit too dewy looking throughout the day. I like to powder my t-zone if I'm wearing this product on it's own; that is, no foundation over the top. 

Lush's Ro's Argan Body Conditioner is my skin saviour - blog post about this product has already been written here so check it out!

Hair

L'oreal Mythic Oil - I spoke about my love for this product in my 'Colours of the Rainbow Tag' post (Link!)

Fragrance

Chanel Mademoiselle has been the perfume I have been reaching for this month. I bought this when I went to Europe a couple of years ago so I feel like it's kinda special! However, my love for Viktor & Rolf's Flowerbomb last year saw this perfume receive absolutely no love last year. This year, it's quite the opposite! My flowerbomb has been tucked away while this receives all the attention. I only use this in the autumn/winter time though as I find it too heavy for spring/summer. 

What have been your favourites this month? I'd love to know!

Jess 

xoxo

Follow me on Bloglovin'!

Bloglovin' and Instagram!

Just a quick message to let you guys know you can follow my blog by clicking that pretty Eiffel Tower on the right hand side! Follow my blog with Bloglovin 

Also! I recently joined Instagram so add me on yourdailybreak to keep updated with new blog posts, sales, OOTD, NOTD etc :)

Check back tomorrow for my May favourites video!

Jess xoxo

Monochromatic, Mixed Print Kinda Day

Blouse: Asos

Blazer: Thrifted

Jeans: Dejour Jeans

Shoes: Diana Ferrari

Blouse: Asos

Jacket: Club Monaco

Jeans: Dejour Jeans

Shoes: Django & Juliette

This was my outfit today. Excuse the dodgy, blurry work elevator photo taking! I was working for the first half of the day, so once I finished up I changed a couple of things to transition the outfit from work appropriate to a more casual look for a coffee date and Ikea outing to pick up some new lights for the apartment..plus a few other bits of course because who can really go into Ikea without coming out with more than they need?! 

To make it more casual I switched out my black blazer to this tweed jacket from Club Monaco and my black pointed flats to my black lace-up leather boots from Django & Juliette. I went for a monochromatic, mixed print look today. Given the look is entirely black and white, I felt like the mixed prints worked well together. 

Hope you are enjoying the weekend. Oh! and pinch and a punch for the first day of the month :) It's the first day of winter here in Australia and we were welcomed with a rainy day here in Melbourne. Here's to knits, layering and hot chocolates! 

Jess 
xoxo

My Skin Saviour: Ro's Argan Body Conditioner

I've stated in a previous blog post that my skin gets extremely dry during winter. I received a sample of Lush's Ro's Argan Body Conditioner in a monthly subscription box and was extremely impressed with the results! It usually takes consistent moisturising on a daily basis to make sure my skin doesn't get to that ugly dry state. To be honest, I can find moisturising every night to be quite laborious (talk about lazy!). 

Ro's Argan Body Conditioner is like a hair conditioner, but for your skin! You apply this at the end of your shower on damp skin and let it sink in for a couple of minutes before washing it off. It leaves your skin soft and moisturised, so say goodbye to that dry skin of yours because it literally disappears after one use! And the best part? You totally don't need to moisturise after! Big win! The texture is like a thick moisturiser and it smells like roses, so if you don't like the smell of roses I'd probably stay away. But for me, I love the scent. I use it on a weekly basis, but more if my skin needs some added moisture. I will usually use my DIY Coffee Scrub (Link to my recipe!) to exfoliate, followed by my Soap & Glory Clean on Me Shower Wash (which smells amazing!) and then this body conditioner. The result? Baby soft skin :)

At $32.50 for the 225g tub, it's not the cheapest thing but it does it's job extremely well and lasts a decent amount of time! I've had mine for a couple of months and I haven't even hit the halfway point. Definitely check it out if you suffer from dry winter skin blues like me!

Jess xoxo