Mini Benefit Baby Haul

Oh what's this? Both "mini" and "baby" in the title? Well, it's accurate. I wanted so badly to try out the Benefit They're Real mascara, because although I've heard a mix of both good and bad, you have to really try it out for yourself to give an opinion. And I also heard it was a really wet mascara, so yeah. I like wet mascaras. After seeing that Sephora's Beauty Insider program was giving a mini They're Real mascara and a mini Watt's Up! cream highlighter as a gift for member's birthdays, off to eBay I went as, clearly, they don't have Sephora in Australia. It turned out brilliantly for me, as not only did I find a seller that was auctioning off their Beauty Insider birthday pressie for about twenty bucks (hey, it's a good deal considering Aussie prices), but they were also including three other Benefit freebies which included a deluxe sample size of High Beam, and a sample of Stay Don't Stray and Garden of Good and Eva.

They're Real mascara

Ah the reason for the whole purchase, I don't really see this mascara as being as super wet as I've heard, but I'll guess I'll see when I actually apply it. The only thing I can say is that, daaang, that brush is spiky with longer bristles. It might be a tad painful if I try putting it too close to my eyes as I've found with other plastic brushes. 

Watt's Up! cream highlighter

A champagne cream highlighter. Have also heard good things about this, and, surprisingly considering my skin tone, I've never had a champagne highlighter, so this should be a good step. It blends really easily as I found when swatching it.

High Beam liquid highlighter

I have actually had this before, I think in the Benefit Finding Mr Bright kit. They call it "model in a bottle" and I was so tempted to shell out for the full size, but this deluxe sample should tide me over for a while. It's a pink pearl liquid highlighter, but, again, blends so easily into the skin and just makes you really look lit up and, not too sparkly, but just enough shimmer on the cheekbones. 

Stay Don't Stray eye primer

I've never had a huge amount of eye primers, but I really should use them more. Obviously, my eye make up has held up a lot better when using primers, so hopefully this will be what turns me around to consistent use.

Garden of Good and Eva eau de toilette

I have never tried any scents by Benefit, so I really didn't know what to expect. Unfortunately, this sample was almost empty when I got it, but it smelled pretty good. A tiny bit floral, a tiny bit herbal, but that kind of "water" scent I like. Water doesn't even have a scent, does it? But that seems to be the description of scents I like. I will admit though that when I first sprayed it on my wrists, it was definitely a bit stronger and I wasn't a fan. But it wears away to a really wearable scent.

left to right, without flash: Watt's Up! swatch, Watt's Up! blended, High Beam swatch, High Beam blended

With Flash

Natural Sunlight

Overall, I feel this was a pretty decent find on eBay, considering what I ended up with. I'm liking the highlighters, and the mascara looks promising. I'm even interested in the eye primer, knowing how good the primers from Benefit are. And the size of these mini's are just so cute too! Makes for easy travelling, sadly though, will probably entice me to eventually buy full sizes. 

Shop My Stash: Spring

It's both a good and a bad feeling when you go through your collection and see what products you previously loved or new products that you neglected. Good, because you remember how much use you got out of a certain lipgloss and it was pretty much your go-to, and bad because you realise there was this eyeliner that you bought relatively recently and have not even really used it yet. But then again, it just allows you to start using those new products you forgot about rather than going out and purchasing "oh, I'm in need of a powder, I thought I got one recently though...".

And here I present to you my findings when I was home and had time to spare. I pretty much live out of home, so I rarely get to visit my cute collection I've been building up, so this was nice to pick up products that I used to love forever, and, again, ones that have not had so much love.

left to right: matte bronze, translucent, blissful

Without Flash

With Flash

Natural Sunlight

MAC Bronzing Powder in Matte Bronze

This is actually one of the first MAC products I ever owned, and, boy, I used this every. Single. Day. It's not really shown well in the photo because of the angle, but I have made quite a dent in this powder from so much use, but just LOOK at how much there still is. I use it mainly for contouring, as it is a matte bronzer, but also a light dusting all over the face gives a nice tanned look, which is good because we're just coming out of Winter now and I have gotten pale. But, yeah, if you're new to MAC and are unsure of what to get, I really recommend this bronzer, it is matte, not too orange, weartime is amazing, and lasts a ridiculously long time too. 

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Glow and Mood Boosting Powder in Translucent

Also another first, this is the first Physician's Formula product I ever purchased and owned, I think when Priceline had 50% off this brand one day. I use it kind of like how you would use MAC's Mineralize Skin Finish powders. As a bit of topping/setting on the cheekbones and t-zone. It does apply really sheer on the face, especially if you use the brush that is included, and, while it doesn't really act as a setting powder, it adds a nice touch and very mild shimmer. A good investment for Spring coming up to look fresh and cute.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in Blissful

More firsts here, when I picked out my first both my first Tarte product and first Amazonian Clay Blush. It is a matte, medium, almost rosy pink that helps you get that baby-face, sweet girl blushing effect. I actually like applying this with a small foundation brush, and gently patting it on the cheeks to have more control on placement with this pigmented blush. Again, another good choice for the arrival of Spring.

left to right: midnight sky, belladonna

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With Flash

Natural Sunlight

Face of Australia Budge Proof Eyeshadow in Midnight Sky
This just swatches beautifully, is a little tricky applying on the eyes though, but nothing a blending brush can't help. Just a really nice deep blue shade with a hint of sparkle in it and I love the dryer texture of this cream eyeshadow. The one thing I will say though, is that it is really not "budge proof" as the name claims, and you will need a primer underneath, but it's a surprisingly easy colour to wear. Adds a nice bit of colour to your face while still being work appropriate. 

Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Belladonna
I hauled this lipgloss pretty recently in this post, but damn, how the hell did it escape my memory? Super pigmented, more of a lacquer than a gloss, so it is a tad bit sticky, but the brush applicator is a great help. Quite a thin tube, so you can easily pop it in your bag or purse and it smells good too. It's a darker colour than what I would usually wear during the day, but this colour would be nice for an evening out with the upcoming season.

So what good finds I have in my collection, god, it feels so good to go through your collection and find things that you want to wear again. Just feels nifty and the pocket appreciates it too. I love using up my products too, so I should definitely shop my stash more frequently.

Nail Polish for Ants

I've never been consistently into nail polish. Sure, I had phases where I wanted to decorate my nails in cute prints and rhinestones, even had pretty long fake acrylic nails (at-home kit) that I did myself. But it always happens for a short moment, and then I start losing the interest to paint my nails and keep them looking prim and professional. But I had wanted the NYC Ballet mini collection by OPI for so dang long and I only recently gave in and acquired it.

My Pointe Exactly
A sheer grey with a tad bit of purple/blue tone to it. While I do love this shade, and have many a time painted a similar hue on my nails, it's a tad too deep to suit with my skintone. An in-between colour, not quite white enough and not quite earl grey enough either, but a single coat would be nice.

Care to Danse?
A pale, lilac pink. Again, it is sheer. Love this shade, it just brightens your nails a bit and adds that "healthy pink" to it too.

Don't Touch My Tutu
A sheer, clean white with maybe a hint of beige. My favourite shade of the lot, I've tried many a time to pull off white nail polish, why didn't I ever try going sheer? Possibly the hardest to apply, along with Care to Danse?, just because it's hard to get it even for someone that is not so super great at painting their nails.

Pirouette My Whistle
Fine silver glitter pieces in a clear base, with larger silver glitter pieces. Adds a really nice sparkle to your nails, I enjoy putting this on top of Don't Touch My Tutu, for that cute looking manicure, but I can imagine this being nice with My Pointe Exactly too.

Two Coats

Three Coats

Well, I think I may have found my everyday nail polishes to reach for. I love that they're all sheer, they add a tiniest bit of gloss to your nails and just look nice and well-made-up.These polishes are really easy to apply too, and I just love the size of the bottles - good for when you're travelling; and, because they are sheer, I think that's what helps them to apply so easily and dry relatively quick too. I know that the pictures look a bit splotchy, but somehow once it dries fully, it evens out a bit and settles, so that makes it great for amateurs like me too. 

I don't own a whole heap of OPI nail polishes, so I'm not sure if this is true for their entire range, but these dried on the nails pretty quickly, and lasted for at least two days without chipping, which is like a record for me! And, god, if I didn't love the ballet inspired names too, being a dancer myself and all. These shades all seem to be performance appropriate to (maybe not quite so much the grey), but really, it just really suits my style perfectly. Very much a professional, simple look.

Winter Empties 2013

Finally, I used up enough products to make an empties post. To be honest, it got almost gross to keep hoarding these empty containers, considering how relatively slowly I use up products, but I powered through this season, even using up products I wasn't a big fan of, but couldn't really justify throwing away quite yet because there was still use.

Sadly, only one skincare product, I was sure there was more, but I'm guessing I absent mindedly threw away the empty packaging to reduce clutter in my product filled bathroom. Three makeup products, though, so I think that's quite a good effort; and four hair products, boy do I ever use up hair products.

Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips

Well, who doesn't know about these pore strips? Wet your face, peel back the plastic strip and place firmly onto your nose. Wait until it dries completely, like papier mache, and, bam, when you peel off the strip, along comes all the gunk in your nose. Addictive and effective, will definitely be purchasing this one again, as I've done so many a time before. 

Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation Stick
I've mentioned this product previously and it also appeared in my last favourites post, and I've finally used this up from using this practically everyday. I started off being wary of this foundation, then I started really liking it... and then I just wanted the damn thing to be finished. The coverage is just okay, and it wears off during the day. It sometimes sits on top of your skin and gets all over your hands. But I suppose on the plus side, it is very easy to apply and reapply. Overall though, while I do love the concept of a stick foundation, I won't be repurchasing this one, maybe opting for the Bobbi Brown one next time.

Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara
This product was actually a repurchase already. It works adequately for nice, even. natural lashes, and I really do think that it helps my lashes to grow. I grew fond of the ridiculously huge brush, but, like a lot of (especially) drugstore mascaras, this one wore off and smudged a bit too. I don't think I'll be purchasing this one again, I did quite like it, but I've got some other mascaras to use up and I think work a bit better considering the price. 

Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara
This one isn't technically an empty, but I'm culling it from my collection. I got this in one of those cute Benefit giftsets for Christmas one year, a generous full size mascara. It has a similar brush to Grow Luscious, and the effect is pretty similar with natural, separated lashes, but maybe a tad more glossy. The reason why I'm culling this product, though, is that it just smudges like crazy on my lower lid. The effect is really not worth it to have panda eyes every single time I've used this. 

L'Oreal Elvive Extraodinary Oil

Love this, already repurchased. Really decent price, works wonderfully, not too heavy. I really am loving hair oils and this one seems to work better for my hair than the serums I usually tend to reach for. It makes your hair nice and shiny too, and I think a bit healthier. I use this practically everyday, and there are a couple uses for it, including before shampooing for a deep conditioning, on the ends for protection and all over for shine before styling.

John Frieda Frizz-Ease in Extra Strength Formula

This is also a repurchase, but I'm not sure if I'm going to repurchase it again. It used to be my go-to hair serum, it really made it feel healthy, especially when the ends were burnt and dried to all hell. But I think my hair maybe might have started to get use to it, because it doesn't seem as effective in taming frizz, and is starting to just make my hair feel weighted rather than nourished. 

Edward Beale Hi-Lite Brite Shampoo

This is a purple shampoo that eliminates brassy tones from blonde hair. Well, I don't have blonde hair anymore, but even after I went back to brunette, my boyfriend used the rest of this one up, as he does have naturally dirty blonde hair. This is a really budget purple shampoo, and it's not super effective, but it does alright. I think it works better on naturally blonde hair rather than bleached blonde, but it was cheap and I am a poor student. 

L'oreal Ever Creme Deep Nourishing Masque

I was quite impressed with this hair mask. I usually use the L'oreal Professionel hair range for my treatments, but I saw this new one, and it was on sale in Woolworths, so I thought, hey, might as well. And dang, it smells good, makes my hair feel healthy and soft, I just wish there was more of it. I will probably repurchase this one, once I use up the other Davines hair mask I'm still on.

And those are my empties for the month. Not a whole lot, but I like to think I powered through some of them. Hopefully this should help in cleaning up my collection a bit, here's hoping that I should be able to use up some more makeup products... and therefore have room for more.