Bold Metals Collection Real Techniques | Review

I purchased this Spotlight Essentials pack from iHerb, as I have done with all my other real techniques brushes as their prices are the best I've found. 

The set features the Tapered Blush Brush (300), the Triangle Concealer Blush (102) and Tapered Shadow Brush (203). It also comes with a Brush roll which is super cute and stores all the brushes. It can apparently be doubled as a clutch, but I'm not sure I'd actually use it that way. 

Firstly, lets talk about the design - how gorgeous are they. The collection has rose gold design for blush and highlighting brushes, gold for base brushes and silver for eye brushes. The bristles of the brush are also coloured at the bottom to match the colour of the body which is a really nice touch. The price point of these brushes is slightly higher than that of the original Real Techniques brushes. However, I really feel like this collection feels more luxurious. The brushes feel really weighty and just well made in general. I love the original Real Techniques collection, but the bristles on this collection are just soooo soft. 

300 Tapered Blush - This brush has a really nice tapered tip so I've been using it to apply highlighter to the tops of my cheekbones. It's a real multi-tasker and is also the perfect shape for under eye concealer and also for contouring! By far my favourite brush in the collection.

102 Triangle Concealer - Because of its triangular shape, this brush fits perfectly under the eye for applying concealer. Also fit on the side of your nose nicely and on the inner corner of your eyes if you have any darkness. 

203 Tapered Shadow - This brush can also be used for quite a few things. I've been using it to set my base eyeshadow. It's also really good for packing on product onto the eyelid and blending it out into the crease - so you can do a really nice quick eyeshadow look. Its also not to dense so can be used to highlight your brow bone. 

Vegan Lemon Coconut Bliss Balls | Baking

Being the new year and all, we're all trying to eat a little healthier. I feel like I succeed at the most of the time, but where I begin to falter is snacking. I love making homemade snacks that are quick to make (these ones are no bake) that you can easily pop in a container and take out with you so you don't end up buying something that's full of sugar and other nasties.

Lemon Coconut Bliss Balls

Ingredients:

• 75 g raw cashews
• 100g (1 cup) desiccated coconut
• zest of one large lemon
• juice of 1-2 lemons (depends on your preference)
• 2 tbs maple syrup
• 75g coconut oil, melted
• 4 pitted dates
• extra desiccated coconut for rolling in

Method:

First, peel the zest of using a potato peeler then pop this and your coconut into your food processor and whizz until the zest is completely blended into the coconut (you may have to stop, scrape down the sides and repeat)

Next, you'll want to add in all the other ingredients and blend again in the food processor. Scrape down and repeat if necessary.

The mixture is quite soft at this stage but will firm up as the coconut oil sets. If you have time, you may want to let the mixture set for 10-15 minutes before you start making them into balls.

Once the mixture is a bit more manageable, roll into small balls and cover in coconut, then pop them in the fridge. They even freeze well if you're worried that you'll eat them all in one go!

These taste so delicious and fresh and are a nice alternative to a traditional chocolatey or peanut butter bliss ball!

February Beauty Box | #LFBEAUTYBOX

What's inside this months box?

First thing that caught my eye in this months beauty box was the Borghese Fango Mud Mask. I love receiving face mask samples as full sizes can often be pricey but I do love a good pamper and love trying new things! The pot is also quite big so I'd imagine you'd get two, if not more, uses out of it. This face mask helps restore moisture and even out your skin tone.

I've never actually used a roll-on eye product so I was excited to receive the Polaar Icy Magic in this months box. The roll-on leaves your eye are awake and refreshed by removing any signs of puffiness, dark circles and fatigue. I've already been using this and feel like it will be super useful once I'm back to uni and those pesky early morning starts!

I'd been hearing so much talk about the skincare company The Ordinary but hadn't actually been able to get my hands on any of their products in Australia, so I was excited to see a product from this brand in this months box. This cream is infused with hyaluronic acid so puts moisture back into your skin, leaving it super hydrated without looking heavy or oily. 

Another brand I'd heard of but hadn't tried anything from is ModelCo. I have been loving swiping the Eye Lites Metallic Shadow across my normal eyeshadow look to add an iridescent effect. 

I used to own a really similar product from Lush in school and would use it during exam time religiously! This Works Deep Sleep Stress Less is an oil that you massage into your pulse points that helps you destress, releases nervous tension and promotes restful sleep. It can also be inhaled to relieve mental fatigue!

As someone who is iron, Vitamin D and calcium deficient, I do have a selection of pills that I'm meant to take everyday (but often don't because there's too many and I tend to forget!!). I showed the My Vitamins Catwalk Queen to my GP who said whilst it doesn't contain everything I need, had a high dosage of Vitamin D3 and would be good to try. These capsules also include Vitamin C and zinc which help to maintain normal hair, skin and nails. 

I feel like the samples in this box were all really decent sizes and the fact that theres the Elle magazine thrown in makes it well worth it!

You can subscribe to the Look Fantastic Beauty Box here from just $25 a month.

What do you think of this months box?

Lush Rosie Gift | Valentine's Day

What's inside?

• Sex Bomb Bath Bomb
• Ro's Argan Body Conditioner
• Jason and the Argan Oil Shampoo Bar
• Titsy Totsy Bath Bomb
• Rose Jam Shower Gel

 

Product Empties / January Favourites

I'm the kind of person who loves to keep switching up what products I'm using, so when I finish a product, you knowwwww that I've really been loving it. So from the start of Jan I started to collect a whole bunch of products, most of which I have repurchased because I looooove so much, and I've decided to do a little empties / what I've been loving in January. 

Emma Hardie - Moringa Cleansing Balm

I've already done a post on how much I love this product here so I'll keep this short! It's such a dream to use, takes of your makeup so so well and leaves your skin feeling smooth, supple and just happy. Already repurchased, yep. 

Soap & Glory - The Breakfast Scrub

You can tell from the state of this packaging that this is a well loved product! I love pretty much every Soap & Glory product I've tried but the scent (maple but not too sweet) makes it one of my all time faves. I use it to exfoliate in the shower and leaves my skin feeling oh so smooth and soft.  

Nuxe - Rêve de Miel Lip Balm

This product sits on my bedside and I apply it every night to my lips and when I wake up it's still there! It is quite thick, hence why I use it at night, but it means I don't wake up with chapped or dry lips and when I'm ready to do makeup, my lips are already soft and ready for whatever lipstick or gloss I want to apply. 

Lush - Ro's Argan Body Conditioner

I received this product as a gift and I have loved using it. I love how lush comes up with these new and amazing concepts - this is a skin conditioner that you use in the shower and then rinse off. It leaves your skin feeling so moisturised that you don't need to use anything when you get out of the shower. This is a big plus for me in the winter months when you want to chuck on your cosy pj's straight away. PLUS it smells amazing.

S-factor - Diamond Dreams Shampoo and Conditioner

I remember first hearing about S-factor years and years ago from Zoella in one of her favourites videos, so when I saw a deal on feel unique for this set, and I was in need of new hair products, I decided to give them ago and I was NOT disappointed. It smells so good, like strawberries and cream, and leaves my hair feeling smooth and shiny.

Bourjois - Magic Nail Polish Remover 

(for some reason I've taken a photo of the french written side/name ahah)

This is one of those quick nail polish removers where you insert your finger, let it soak for a second, pull it out and the polish is gone. I love how easy this is to use as it doesn't drag the nail polish all around your fingers. It's also super useful as if you chip one nail, you can easily remove polish off that nail and re paint without accidentally getting nail polish on the rest of your nails. The scent is also quite nice for a remover as well. 

NARS - Radiant Creamy Concealer

Although this is a full coverage concealer, it doesn't cake or crease on my skin at all and I love using it for concealing my dark circles and brightening under my eyes. 

Kiko - Extra Sculpt Volume Mascara

I bought this mascara after hearing KathleenLights rave about it and OMG do I love it. It is more of a 'clumpy' mascara, not overly clumpy, but it focuses more on adding volume than it does separating the lashes. 

Setting up my Kikki.k Planner for 2017

I received my medium Kikki.k Planner (personal planner size) last year and whilst I loved using it, I felt like I didn't use it consistently enough just because the layout wasn't customised to my needs. This year I've done tons of research and have already started setting up my planner for use throughout the year. 

This is what my dashboard looks like - I don't like to have too much going on in terms of decoration and have stuck to a colour scheme so things look neat. Most of my dashboard items are from this kit from Kikki.k which I purchased in the January sales and is still 50% off! It comes with some really cute and useful stickers as well as quote cards, a ruler/bookmark and 2 rolls of cute washi tape. 

As you can see in the photo above my planner is split into 7 different sections. I currently have no use for the Shops & Restaurants section...(let me know if you have any ideas)

but here is a breakdown of what I do use:

Monthly View

Here I like to jot down any holidays or important events, birthdays or due dates. There isn't that much room for writing so this is just for major things that are happening during the month so I can see them at a glance. 

At the beginning of this section I also used the little folder I received in the dashboard kit to house my Goals for 2017. 

Weekly View

I use the Weekly View to plan my day in more detail - writing down any appointments or work shifts and occasionally some tasks that I need to get done. If there's a whole load of tasks I need to get done in a day, I'll write these down in my planning section as otherwise I find the weekly view gets too messy and cluttered.

Planning

After seeing Lily Pebbles video about Bullet Journalling I was super intrigued and wanted to give it a go. I didn't want to invest in a separate journal though as I'd already paid for this planner soooo I decided to try and incorporate the method into my planner. I ordered some inserts from Vie en Paper's Etsy shop that are dotted just like the original bullet journal.  

In the Planning section, using the dotted inserts I like to draw up a monthly goals tracker to keep tabs on how often I am exercising, reading, blogging, budgeting and keeping on top of my emails. I also like to use the dotted inserts to create daily to do lists that won't fit under my daily page view. 

If you're interested in learning more about bullet journalling check out bulletjournal.com. There are also tons of videos online!

Uni

One thing I wanted to customise in my planner was having a section dedicated to University. I searched Etsy for ages trying to find inserts that suited my needs but after having no luck decided to create these ones myself! And I love them!

Behind this semester layout I've also got some more dotted inserts that I'm planning to write to do lists for each course I am taking as well as a break down of tasks that need to be done for each of my assessments. The best thing about the dotted inserts is the flexibility you have in customising them to suit your needs. 

Budget Review

In the last section, I have started using the inserts that came with the planner (did not touch them at all last year!). This year, I've going to try and keeps tabs on what I am spending my money on. I did this consistently when I was travelling in Europe and it's really useful to see how much you're actually spending on things (mostly food and coffee for me hahah ohhh and alcohol) during a week. On a separate page I've also kept tabs on how much I'm earning a week so I can get a rough idea on how much I'm spending compared to earning. 

Hope you found this post interesting/useful and inspired you to get organised for 2017! xx

January Beauty Box | #LFBEAUTYBOX

What's inside this months box?

Trifle Cosmetics Liquid Glow - I looooveee this highlighter and the fact that I've been introduced to another brand. I think it would suit many skin tones as well as it suits my darker complexion and isn't too light as it has a rosy hue.

Jelly Pong Pong Fairy Lashes Mascara - also a brand I've never heard of. Haven't actually got around to using it yet but am excited to try it as it promises to give length and volume to your lashes and, well....who doesn't want fairy lashes???

The Vintage Cosmetics Company Rose Gold Tweezers - I've been needing new tweezers and I NEED anything that is rose gold so you could say this is a match made in heaven haha. They have a really nice slanted tip allowing you to precisely pluck your brows. Also, did I mention they are super cute and rose gold?

Nuxe Nuxellence Éclat - my favourite lip balm is the Nuxe Rêve de Miel but I haven't actually tried anything else from Nuxe. Super excited to try this as it contains Hyaluronic Acid which I've heard loads about. This also retails at $80AUD for 50ml so to receive a 15ml sample is pretty impressive!

Pixi Brow Tamer - I've heard sooooo much about Pixi but again never tried anything from the brand so I was so happy to receive a full size of this - it is amazing!!

Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask - also a brand I'd never heard of that I am keen to try. Kind of wish there was something a bit different instead though as I received the Phillip Kingsley Elazticizer last month (which is THE BEST hair product ever).

Apart from the last item, which I'll still use anyways, this months box was super amazing as usual. I also love the 'New Year, New Adventures' theme of this month and can't wait for the adventure that is receiving a box every month!!!!!