I’ve been shopping. Nothing new there. I thought I’d bring you a little bit of a collective haul, some products I have picked up between after Christmas to now and although I haven’t started using everything (I have but one face sadly) there will be a few first impressions thrown in also.
Collective Haul – SK-II, Sephora, Rodial, NIOD, Nuxe, Becca, ABH
Ok, firstly I’ll start with a couple of bit I picked up at the Priceline 40% sale (Priceline is the Australian equivalent to the U.S ‘drugstore’ I guess). The brand Rodial has been on my radar for a while now, and while the product I was most interested in trying – Dragons Blood Hyaluronic Toning Spritz – was out of stock I did manage to pick up two other items that were of interest to me. First up was the Rodial Glamtox Cleansing Balm which I have tried a couple times and it was a really nice balmy cleanser. It reminds me ever so slightly of the Emma Hardie Moringa Balm in both texture and scent. While not a dupe as such, if you like the Emma, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that you’ll probably like this Rodial balm. I also grabbed the Rodial Glamoxy 15% Fruit Acid Exfoliating Pads which are in a container of 50 pre-soaked pads. I have yet to try these, but according to the box they are AHA based pads which you directed to use twice daily to get rid of dead skin cells and diminish the appearance of wrinkles whilst also increasing the skins moisture levels.
Although not pictured, I did also pick up in the Priceline 40% off sale another bottle of Bioderma (old fave – love!), the Nip + Fab pads (have not tried) and Hylamide SubQ Eyes (which I’ve been meaning to try for ages, but I want to finish up an eye cream or two before I really crack on with this one – I did test it once though). Hey, when you’re getting 40% off you make it worthwhile!
I picked up the Nuxe Micellar Cleansing Water with Rose Petals off ebay in actual fact in a handy little 100ml travel bottle. I have used a few times and while I don’t rely on micellar water to actually clean my skin (well, unless I am running seriously late in the morning – see here), I don’t mind a quick swipe over to remove the bulk of foundation/makeup before proper double cleansing if for no other reason than to keep my white face cloths from staining and looking tatty. I really like micellar, while it doesn’t get off hugely stubborn eye makeup, it does a reasonable job with the rest of it and it smells so pretty. It is also not drying in the slightest.
A Beautylish order saw me order two much hyped new(ish) released products – the Becca Backlight Priming Filter and the Anastasia Beverly Hill Brown Definer in Medium Brown. I’ve tried both and I’ve got to say the hype is real with both. I love the finish the Becca Backlight Primer gives my skin, there’s no harsh glitter just a really healthy gleam to the skin. You could even use this on bare skin with no foundation if you just want to give your natural skin a luminosity. As far as the ABH Brow Definer goes, I much prefer it to the original Brow Wiz, but I still think I prefer my Hourglass Brow Sculpting Pencil but as I am pretty much out of that, I am going to give the ABH a fair run before even thinking about repurchasing the Hourglass.
Sephora Australia got me trying some of their own brand stuff in the form of Sheet Masks – Rose Mask, Pearl Mask and Job’s Tears Eye Mask and also their Sephora Outrageous Curl Mascara. While I’ve not tried any of the sheet masks yet, I have tried the mascara and it’s good. It’s not mind-blowing and I don’t particularly love the little rubber wand but I can work with it.
Adore Beauty sucked me in when I almost bought this SKII Pitera Essence Set from Sephora but after a little google around I found in cheaper on Adore Beauty and they were also running a promo where you got sent a $20 gift card for use within a year. All in all, I think I saved around $35 buying this from Adore rather than Sephora. Plus Adores postage is lightning quick, unlike Sephoras. I honestly have to say Adore Beauty not only carries a huge selection of brands, they really are fantastic with generous gifts with purchases and discount codes (not affiliated in any way, just really like them!). Anyway onto the set. I have been using the Facial Treatment Essence for the past week or so but I haven’t noticed any dramatic change either way. It is not as hydrating as say, the Clinique Moisture Surge Spray, but I will continue to use and see what results I get as this cult product really does get so many raves. I haven’t tried the other two product included in the set just yet – SKII Facial Treatment Clear Lotion – I believe this to be an acid exfoliant and also a SKII Facial Treatment Mask.
Lastly, if you hang out on Instagram and follow any of the hashtags – skincareroutine, skincarediary, instaskincare etc etc you will notice that everyone and their mum has jumped aboard the NIOD Copper Amino Isolate Serum 1%. NIOD is a division of Deciem with whom I have the lovely experience of dealing with when they have provided me with samples of their products (here, here and here) in the past, but this was 100% bought by me. Caroline Hirons has an amazing post on the benefits of this scientific formulation (as well as NIOD other products) and the comments are a must read as the brands creator answers all of the readers many many questions. In essence though, this serum is a long term health benefit for the skin, rather than a ‘quick fix’. It really is a very interesting read and explains in depth way more than what I can. I haven’t started this just yet (give me another week or two – I am finishing off trialling something else and would like to not confuse myself as to what is achieving what) but to say I am excited to start this is an understatement. I have nothing but brilliant things to say about what I’ve tried under the Deciem umbrella (Hylamide and Hand Chemistry) so I have no doubt that this shall be a winner also.
So that’s all my hauling that happened in January & February (stay tuned – there may be a new March product purchase or two coming up). Have you tried any of these? Is there anything that you’d like to hear about in more detail? Let me know in the comments!
