L'Oreal Skin Perfection cleansers

A couple of weeks ago I was reading UK Glamour and saw ads for some new L'Oreal products that got me a bit excited. Drugstore versions of an oil cleanser and a micellar water? Yes, please! Of course they won't be available here for eleventy million years - if ever - so I was straight on to eBay to get them into my hot little mitts as soon as possible. It was great timing too because I had about a week's worth of makeup remover left.

Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution
I have to admit that I was not impressed with Bioderma - I didn't find it particularly good at removing my makeup and I felt I had to pull and drag at it and then use a cream cleanser to make sure I got everything - and since that's the only other micellar water I've tried I didn't have terribly high hopes for this one. However, it's great. Both Lil and I have used it and it removes all makeup easily - even my long wearing foundations. We also both used it for removing mascara (not waterproof so I don't know how it would go with that), and it did an excellent job and didn't sting our eyes. Lily has decided this is the best makeup remover she has used and wants me to buy it all the time from now on.

Skin Perfection 15 Second Miracle Cleansing Oil 
Emulsifying oils are my favourite type of makeup removers, but this is the first drugstore one I've ever seen and usually they're around $50+ a bottle so I have been trying to wean myself off them and make do with other kinds of cleansers. This one works as well as any of the high end ones I've tried like Dermalogica Precleanse, Shu Uemura Cleansing Beauty Oil and so on. However, although it says on the label to use on eyelids, I found it stung my eyes a bit so I would use a separate product for those. I have been using this every night and then following with a cream cleanser to double cleanse, and my skin feels super clean without being tight or stripped.

In short, I give both of these a big thumbs up. I'm sure when they hit our shores and the freebies start getting dished out by PR you'll hear more about them but in the meantime if you're not averse to stumping up your own dollars, you can find them on eBay. I bought mine from this seller.

November Empties and Chuckers

Le Empties

Aveda Invati Exfoliating Shampoo, Thickening Conditioner, and Scalp Revitalizer
I'm in the middle of trialling these at the moment (I have a second lot I'm working through) so I won't say anything about them as yet.

Puretopia Whisk Away Creamy Face Cleanser
This was one of the products I picked up for gratis in Beauty Heaven's first Beautorium, and I really like it. I have already blagged another one that Jacquie gave me from one of her blogging get-together freebie scores. I don't even know how much it is, but I would repurchase it for sure - I loves me some cream cleanser. I use it after removing make up at night, and I like that it doesn't leave my face feeling tight.

Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Towelettes with White Tea Extract
Sabine from Echolife sent me these a while ago, and I do like them quite a lot, although it says on the packet 'removes dirt, oil and make-up without rinsing'. Dirt and oil, sure, but makeup... noooo. It didn't do much to remove any of my makeup at all. That's not really a deal breaker for me since I rarely use face wipes to clean makeup off anyway (that's naughty!) - I usually use them at night when I've had a makeup free day and can't be bothered going through a full cleansing routine, which is at least a few days a week in the hotter weather. For that purpose, they're great, and I would repurchase them. I liked them a lot better than the Wot Not ones I got a while ago from the Beautorium - those leave a weird film that I hated.

Palmolive Naturals Ultra Moisture Milk & Shea Butter Shower Milk
I think this turns up in about every second empties. It's cheap, I like the smell, and it feels nice. I will continue to buy it.

Garnier Ultra Lift SPF15 something or other
It doesn't say what it is on the jar. Some kind of moisturiser. I picked it up at the supermarket when I needed a moisturiser with SPF in a hurry, and I actually really liked it. It doesn't do anything fancy, but it's nice under makeup, and it was pretty cheap from memory. I would buy it again. It does have a weird smell though - bordering on citronella.

Olay Total Effects Anti-Ageing 7 in 1 Eye Cream
I bought this because I was totally out of eye cream and just needed something in a hurry (I have gone from having way too many different products to forgetting to replace or stock up until I'm down to the last drop of things - ugh, must meet somewhere in the middle). How can an eye cream fight 'the seven signs of ageing' when it doesn't even have  a sunscreen in it? The cream itself felt nice - it reminded me of Clinique All About Eyes - but it really didn't do anything much, and it's not worth the $35 or whatever it was that it cost. I wouldn't repurchase it.

Luxe Organics samples: AHA Cream Exfoliant, AHA Toner, AHA Cream Cleanser, Antioxidant Toner
I really loved these products, and I would have bought full sizes of at least some of them, except that somewhere between the time I first bought the samples and the time I decided to get more, they stopped shipping overseas. I sent an enquiry about it, they didn't respond. I sent another enquiry four days later and they did respond to that one, with an apology for not replying the first time (and there was me ready to give the benefit of the doubt and assume they didn't get it), but not exactly falling all over themselves to sell me anything. Yes, they would ship to me if I spent at least $35 (not a problem - what I wanted would have been over that amount) and shipping would be $30 (for stuff weighing less than a kilo, that's a problem). From memory it was a few weeks from my order before they shipped it too, so given that their customer service just came across as... well, less than stellar, I decided to give it a miss. Shame, because some of their stuff is REALLY good. Noodles had a little trial pack of stuff suited for her skin too, and she also really liked it. Oh well. Onward and upward!

Pure Luxe Cleansing Oil
I bought this a while back with some eyeshadow samples, and I really like it. It doesn't have mineral oil in it, as most of the commercial cleansing oils do. I'd probably consider getting a full bottle when I'm closer to using up a bunch of other makeup removers I have around the place.

Le Chuckers

Bio Sculpture Gel Cuticle Conditioner
Another Beautorium freebie. I have very dry cuticles and this just did nothing at all for them. I used it most nights, just because it was there, until it got down to where it was hard to get anymore on the brush, so it's going in the bin. Needless to say, I would not repurchase.

Silk Naturals Organic Lipstick in Fashionista
This was more brown than I had expected, and therefore I never wore it. It also had a soft, slightly greasy texture that I didn't love. I wouldn't repurchase it.

Silk Naturals Lip Stains in Vamp and Doll
Now these I did like, but I kept forgetting about them because they are so small and they got lost in among a box full of other lip products. They are super stainy and last for ages, and the formula is similar to the BeneTint one. They are a little bit drying on the lips though. I'm throwing them out because one of them smells a bit weird now, and since I bought them both at the same time, I figure the other one is probably not far behind. I doubt I'd repurchase, not because I don't like them, but just because I already have eleventy million lip products I don't use.

(Fairly) Recent Shopping

Despite having been using Silk Naturals skin care for quite a long time and really liking it, I'm a fickle soul and no matter how good something is I want to try different things, so I have been picking up some other skin care products here and there over the last couple of months to see what else I might like. I've also bought a few perfume samples, despite swearing not to buy any more perfume in the forseeable pretty-much-ever, but tell me - how am I expected to go on Etsy and not look at perfume? Huh?

(Again, I must apologise profusely for the photo quality - I think I'm going to have to actually lash out when I have some cash to splash and buy a camera. Ben loaned mine his to his mother. Rude!)

iHerb
I have checked out skin care products on this site eleventy billion times, but aside from the cult brands like Queen Helene, a lot of the brands seem fairly obscure and it's hard to find reviews of them. Eventually I figured I'd just try some Beauty Without Cruelty cleansers and toner, since they were cheap as chips anyway and they'd get used up eventually even if I didn't love them. the Queen Helene Mud Pack Masque and Oatmeal and Honey scrub were just thrown in to make shipping worthwhile (this is before they brought in free international shipping for orders over $40) and are more for Noodles than me.

I bought the BWC 3% AHA Complex cleanser, the Vitamin C with CoQ10 cleanser, and the Balancing Facial Toner. I meant to buy one foaming cleanser for the shower in the morning and one cream one for double cleansing at night, but accidentally got two foaming ones. Slightly annoying, but on the plus side neither of them are drying, as foaming cleansers can be. Still leaves me short a cream one though. I quite like the toner - it's nothing fancy but it does what toners are supposed to do, and it's a nice big bottle so you get your money's worth.

Luxe Organics
I found this shop while I was trawling Etsy for natural skin care products. I decided to check it out since they had sample sets, and at the time there was a sale with 20% off everything (which appears to still be going). Shipping took a while on this one, but my mail generally has been really slow so I suspect a lot of stuff is getting held up in customs. I decided to try one of each sample set available - the Youth Collection and Antioxidant Collection for me, and the Clarity Collection for Noodles. Each of these comes with four samples of skin care products. The only one I've tried so far is the Youth Collection, which I've been using for a week or so, and really enjoying. That one comes with a cream cleanser, cream exfoliant, toner and serum. It's a bit annoying that they are all in little jars - even the toner - but let's face it, who among us doesn't have little empty cosmetic bottles around? I just decanted it into an old serum bottle that I cleaned out first.

Since I've been using them my skin has felt really soft, and you get a good amount to try out properly. The full price for each set was about $10AUD (and I got the 20% off - score!), and shipping all up for the 3 was $8.50. They come packaged beautifully in little boxes wrapped with string, and I also received a free sample jar of Hemp Lotion, but I haven't quite worked out what to do with that yet.

Blushie
I was sucked in by the description of The Cake Is A Lie, and that turned out to be one of my least favourite of these perfumes. They're a bit hit and miss as far as longevity and scent. A couple of them smell quite generic - the Vanilla Cupcake smells like every other Vanilla Cupcake scent on Etsy, the Caramel Latte has that caramel note that veers way too close to vomit, Pink Frosting is pretty but very sweet and sugary (and to be fair, that's exactly how it's described) and much more suited to a teenager than an old codger like myself - but a couple of them are really lovely. I liked True Rose a lot, and I really loved Gypsy Woods, a woody, musky, unisex fragrance that would be perfect for cold weather, or slathering all over Ryan Gosling. I'll be getting a full size of that one some time in the near future. The order came with a little sample of soap and that was really lovely - and I'm not generally a fan of bar soap. It smelled divine too.

Overall, if you're into smelly things that tend toward the foodie side and a few florals, I think this shop is worth checking out. You can get perfume samples in sets of 3 or 6 (your choice of scents), and soap samples in sets of 6 or 12 for pretty reasonable prices. I paid about $12AUD for the samples and $4.60 for shipping.

The Garden Bath
I mentioned this shop recently on my Etsy Lerve post, and I was in like a shot buying as soon as the owner reopened. Although I know I will definitely be getting a full size bottle of Chocolate Passion and Fresh Roses, which are two of my old favourites, I wanted to get some samples first and check out what else I might like to get my mitts on. I haven't tried all of these out yet, though from what I have played with, I definitely want a bottle or two of Vanilla Nutmeg, a limited edition on sale until the end of the year. It's one of those gorgeous warm, wintery vanillas with a delicious spice note. I cannot stop smelling myself when I am wearing it. So good! Caramel Apple didn't work on me at all - it was very sharp and sickly and I had to scrub it off after about 20 minutes.

The longevity varies - Fresh Oranges disappeared on me fairly quickly, but I put Vanilla Nutmeg on at about 4 in the afternoon (let's be real - the moment I ripped that package open), and I could still smell traces of it on my wrists the next morning. You can get sets of 6 samples for about $9AUD, either a particular collection or choose your own, and postage to Australia for samples is about $4.

February Empties

Al'chemy Conditioners Macadamia and Wheat and Unscented Wheat Free: I hate that I always run out of conditioner before I run out of shampoo - it ruins my love of symmetry! I really like these conditioners - I've already bought another bottle of the unscented one.

Palmolive Naturals Shower Milk Milk & Olive: An old staple, though I usually get the one with the brown lid. I'm trying to go more natural with this sort of thing, so not sure if I'll buy it again.

Silk Naturals Intensive Moisturiser: I was a bit iffy about this at first - it didn't seem overly moisturising - but once I got used to it not having all the silicones and slippy fillers that come in commercial moisturisers I liked it quite a bit. I would repurchase this, but not until I've used up other things I have. Trying not to be wasteful!

Balmain Ambre Gris EDP 5ml decant: Love this, even though it's a cheesy old lady fragrance. What am I saying, I adore cheesy old lady fragrances. I would definitely buy a full bottle - in fact it's on my FB list - but I'm on a total perfume ban for the forseeable future, so not sure when that will happen.

Silk Naturals Coconut Argan Cleansing Conditioner: Noodles used this and really liked it, so I'll probably get her a full size next time I do a Silk Naturals order.

Silk Naturals Vitamin C Peptide Serum: Really liked this and will definitely buy it again, but as above with the moisturiser, I'm using up other things first.

Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Visible Skin Renewer: This came in a GWP a couple of years ago and I never used it. It's been knocking around for a really long time now, so I'm chucking it.

Skin 79 BB Cream Miniature Set

A couple of months ago Wayne Goss did a video about BB creams, where he just announced that they were all pretty much a scam and not to bother with them. After people quickly pointed out that there was a huge difference between Asian BB creams and Western BB creams, he wrote a disclaimer in the video notes stating that he had been talking about Western BB creams. Considering that Asian BB creams make up about 90% of the market, and he hadn't stated in the video he was talking specifically about Western BB creams, he made himself look like a dickhead. And there is no point to me telling this story other than to say, do your research before you shoot your mouth off, lest you look foolish in front of your audience.

Having said that, it is true that there is a difference, and that Western BB creams are - by and large - not really BB creams, but tinted moisturisers (looking at you, Garnier). Asian BB creams are hardcore.

I heard about these ones in a video that Kat from Beauty by Kitty did recently. Honestly, BB creams are not really my thing - I've tried a few and wasn't overly jazzed with them, but I had a look at the My BB Cream website while I was watching the video and found that they had a trial kit of 4 different creams for $18, so I figured it wasn't much of a loss to have a go.

Shipping was about $6 and it arrived really quickly - from memory I ordered it on a weekend and got it on the Tuesday. It comes in a little box, and there were several sachet samples thrown in as well. I think it would have been better to include samples of different products from the ones I was actually buying, but oh well - a freebie's a freebie, amirite?

Now this is going to be a mega post, so I'm cutting it. Click the linkie if you wish to continue!

January Empties and Chuckers Part 2

I already did a January Empties post in the middle of the month because things were starting to pile up. The second half of the month was slower, so there weren't that many more after all.

EMPTIES

Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser
This belongs to Noodle Arms, though I used it a few times. I'm undecided about whether to repurchase - at the moment she's using Silk Naturals cleansers, and after reading the ingredients on the back of this I'm not overly impressed with its contents, so I'd say probably not.

Nature's Goodness Olive Leave Mouthwash
I talked about this in my Echolife haul post, so I won't say any more about it except that it's a definite repurchase once I finish the Listerine Zero bottle I'm working through.

Garnier Clean Sensitive Gentle Eye Makeup Remover
I found I had to do a bit of pulling and rubbing to get eye makeup off entirely with this, so I wouldn't repurchase it.

Silk Naturals Pore Refining Toner
This is the third bottle Noodles and I have gone through - it's a really lovely hydrating, moisturising toner. It's really annoying that it only comes in 60ml bottles, though. Definite repurchase.

Silk Naturals Awesomesauce 5ml sample
Another of Silk Naturals' many serums. I liked it, and I'd probably buy a full bottle at some point, but I've got the Vitamin C one still going at the moment.

CHUCKERS

Apologies for the hair there - gross! I'm afraid my bathroom always has stray hairs around no matter how diligently I clean it, because I shed like a mofo.

Maybelline Lash Stylist Mascara
I'm pretty sure this was discontinued a couple of years ago - I picked it up a while ago for $5 in a Chemist Warehouse clearance bin. In theory I love mascaras with a comb instead of a brush, because I hate clumpy lashes and they do a good job of separating them. Unfortunately, in practice I got sick of poking myself in the eye at least 4 times a week, so it's going.

Bioeffects EGF Serum 3ml sample
This was some high-falutin' serum sample that came in one of those monthly boxes and I was using it under my eyes because I didn't really know what else to do with it. However, after reading this article that Sarah posted on Twitter, I stopped immediately, and frankly I wish I'd never touched it now. :-/

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Glossybox has learned very quickly how to get good publicity in the Australian beauty blogging community without actually being worthy of it: give out free stuff. Generally, the positive reviews I've read and seen on YouTube have been from people who have received a free box. Those who paid for it often tell a different story. Not true in all cases, but there's a definite pattern there and it seems to be the modus operandi for businesses trying to get a name for themselves in the beauty world these days. Never mind actually being good at what you do - throw a couple of parties and ply some chicks with champagne and macarons, give them a bag of goodies and sit back and watch the accolades roll in.

After getting the Lust Have It box a couple of times I realised that these monthly box things are essentially junk, so I cancelled it. Seeing everyone's monthly reviews of various boxes hasn't swayed my opinion, so why did I sign up for Glossybox? And more importantly, why did I sign up for Glossybox while watching a video where jodik76 slammed them for their craptacular customer service. What can I say? I'm impulsive. Actually, I looked at their brand list, and it looked pretty impressive. I should have known that it would be less Bobbi Brown, Clinique and Shu Uemura and more Mirenesse and Nivea. Foolish me.

The Good

Value wise, this is a major score - a 30ml bottle of Advanced Night Repair retails here for $105. (Unfortunately, this is the only Estee Lauder serum I don't particularly like, but that's not Glossybox's fault - I fit the profile as someone who would be perfect for this. I can probably swap it with someone for something I'd use). The alternate of this product was a Kosmea Daily Facial Exfoliant. The full size is $39.95 - not exactly a comparable product. And I don't believe that the one sent out was a full size. If I were on the receiving end of that and my mates all got the ANR, I think I'd be a bit pissed off. If they're going to alternate products to 'personalise' the boxes (really? what about me made you think I'd wear blue eyeliner on my tightliner?), they should be of roughly equivalent value. It would have been better to send ANR to old farts like me, and perhaps the Estee Lauder pore-minimising serum or the illuminating one to the younger subscribers.

The Bad

And here we have the TVSN clearance bin. There is no escaping Mirenesse - their tentacles are everywhere. I hate their stuff - it's overpriced junk. And I wasn't even aware Sheer Cover was still around. I thought that had died off 10 years ago when mineral makeup companies exploded on to the scene. A lip gloss in a pot (bleh), and a moisturiser that looks oddly like calamine lotion. As for the Nivea body lotion, seriously? I could buy a bottle of that at my local supermarket for about $5. Not exactly what I'd expect from a box business that throws around words like 'luxury' and 'innovative'.

The Ugly

Now, I don't know about you, but when I think of monthly cosmetic boxes, one thing that definitely does not come to mind is fake tattoos. Perhaps those Chanel ones that were around a couple of years ago for about 5 minutes until everyone got over the cuteness factor and realised how silly they were, but these? I saw them in Angela's review before I had even received my box, and though I was unimpressed with the other stuff, this was enough to make me cancel my subscription immediately. (Oh, and can I tell you how painful it is to leave this mob? They make you click box after box and respond to email confirmations and then click more boxes going are you sure you want to leave? Are you sure? This is what you're missing! Look at more of what you're missing? Are you sure? OH MY GOD GET AWAY FROM ME!)

There's a gap in those tattoos because Noodles decided to channel her inner bogan and get into the Oz Day spirit. And before everyone gets up in arms, it's not that I object to tattoos in general - I have two myself - but come on. If I wanted to shop at The Reject Shop, I'd shop at The Reject Shop. This garbage does not belong in a supposedly classy beauty box.

I don't even want to talk about the vouchers. VOUCHERS ARE NOT SAMPLES.

I'm not overly bothered that I spent $15 on this pile of crap. I've spent $15 on piles of crap many times before. It's the cost of a magazine and a coffee. I should have bought the magazine and the coffee. My final thought is that Glossybox should put less effort into arse-kissing bloggers and more effort into putting together thoughtful, good quality, comparable boxes and working on their customer service (I haven't had any issues, but I've heard a lot of horror stories).

And that's me done with the monthly box fad. Next!

Mid-January Empties and Chuckers

I'm doing a mid-month empties post as I've done a bit of cleaning out recently and things are starting to pile up.

EMPTIES

Gaia Geranium and Palmarosa Creamy Cleanser
The smell of this is quite strong but that doesn't really bother me. I double cleanse with an oil cleanser first and follow with a cream cleanser. I usually use Clarins Cleansing Milk but this one's cheaper and I like it quite a lot, so I will be repurchasing this as soon as I have a chance to get to Priceline.

Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil
One of those trials that comes in a monthly box. Meh. It's not bad but there are plenty of other cleansing oils out there that do the same thing for less money. I wouldn't repurchase this.

Silk Naturals Green Tea and Aloe Serum 5ml
I talked about this in my last empties post, when I used another one I had. Wouldn't repurchase for now as I have my beloved Oatmeal serum, though this is nice.

Kerastase Elixir Ultime
Another one from a monthly box. This is a hair oil that Noodle Arms used and LOVED. She wants me to buy a full bottle, but she already has a Macadamia one, a Silk Naturals one, and the Moroccan Oil that is technically mine but I never use, so I told her she can use all those first and then we'll talk.

NP Set Lash and Dash Mascara
One of Noodles' contributions, this came free with a Dolly or Girlfriend mag. She said it was crap.

CHUCKERS

Pantene Aqua Light Shampoo and Conditioner
At first I didn't mind the shampoo but I always hated the conditioner. And now I hate the shampoo too - it doesn't rinse out properly! No matter how much I rinsed, when I put the conditioner in it would get all frothy again. I'm not a Pantene fan, and I don't buy into their bullshit "myths about Pantene" campaign. Those "myths" are true, though to be fair, they're not the only shampoo and conditioner guilty of loading up with silicones. I didn't pay for these, and I certainly wouldn't buy them. I've been using them for a while now to try to get rid of them without being wasteful but I just can't stand them anymore.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser
I can't stand companies that pretend to have a philosophy (see what I did there?), which is why I generally avoid The Body Shop and Dove. This cleanser is the same garbage you'd buy in any supermarket brand but it's marketed as something 'pure'. It even has COLOURING in it. I've had this in my shower for months as I like to have a quick face wash in the mornings with a foaming cleanser, but I can't seem to get through it. There's not much left but I just can't bear looking at it in the mornings anymore. It pisses me off too much.

Perfumatory Night Shift Body Cream in Death By Vanilla
The quality of the product itself is quite good, but it smells like a kid ate a bag of caramel lollies and then threw them back up. I would not repurchase.

Revlon ColorStay Foundation in Sand Beige
There's only a smidge of this left but again it seems to just keep going forever. I've had this for a couple of years and I've noticed it starting to oxidise fairly rapidly lately so it's time to go. I would repurchase, though not at the prices we pay here.

Naked Tan Goddess Bronze Self-Tanner
I'm starting to believe the monthly boxes are largely a glorified throwout table (particularly after reading Stacey's latest box post). This came in the first Lust Have It box in August and the use by date was December. Noodles was using it and she liked it, so she'd probably repurchase it.

Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Firm and Total Eye Care SPF15
Both almost full, both expired - wasteful of me. I didn't like either of them (hence sitting around being wasted) and I wouldn't repurchase.

NYX As If Stick Concealer in Green
I haven't tried the NYX concealer in the pot, but the stick and the liquid ones are craptacular. This is cheap, nasty, waxy, just bleh. And it doesn't work. Definitely would not repurchase.

L'Oreal Panoramic Curl Mascara
I'm pretty sure this was discontinued ages ago - I picked it up for $5 in a clearance bin at Chemist Warehouse. It was snatched up by Noodles, who used it for a couple of weeks and then announced that she hated it. When you take the brush out it has huge globs of formula on it. Ugh.

Bourjois Liner Feutre Felt Tip Liner in Black
Another one that Noodles took and the goober played with it a few times and then announced she didn't like it. She's been hoarding it for months so it's dried out and useless now. Grr! I quite like these so in theory I would repurchase it, though in reality I already have a ton of pencil eyeliners and I don't really use them that often anyway.

Top 11 of 2011

I was hard-pressed to find 11 products I wore this year, let alone 11 favourites. 2011 wasn't a big beauty product year for me, for a number of reasons - I went months without wearing any makeup when I wasn't feeling well, and after realising how much I had accumulated I spent most of the year trying to get rid of a huge chunk of it one way or another. However, when I started digging around I did come across some things that I just loved this year. Quite a few of these are not new, though.

Wet'n'Wild 8 Color Icon Palette in Comfort Zone This is an amazingly good palette of neutrals. WnW really picked up their game when they reformulated their eyeshadows and brought out new ranges. I loved many of their shadows this year, but this palette was my favourite. Reviewed here.

Wet'n'Wild Single Color Icon Eyeshadow in Nutty I was all about taupes this year. This was the one I probably reached for most often. It cost me about $2US, you can't do better than that.

Silk Naturals Oatmeal Serum I am loving almost all of the Silk Naturals skin care products I've been trying lately, but this little beauty is my absolute favourite. It's a beautifully hydrating serum that I like to use under makeup in the mornings.

Shadow Worx Eye Primer This is from Coastal Scents, an online store I generally avoid for various reasons. They had a sale on brushes a while ago and I wanted to get some #217 dupes, but I figured I should buy something else to make the shipping worthwhile, and this was the something else. It's surprisingly good - I think better on me than UDPP. I intend to do a comparison with the two while I'm on holidays so we'll see if I'm right or if I'm just imagining it.

Joey New York blush in Faith I have had this for at least 2 or 3 years, and I use it frequently but I haven't even made a dent in it. It's just a pretty matte light pink shade, exactly the kind of blush shade I like.

Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick in Born With It Perfect, perfect neutral pink. I love these lipsticks generally but this one is by far my favourite.

Lecora lipstick in... Something Rose? Soft Rose? This is an Aldi lipstick that Jade kindly bought for me as we don't have Aldi in Adelaide. Again, it's just a lovely neutral pink. I have a lot of neutral pink lipsticks...

Flourish Bath and Body Perfume Oil in Almond Milk Gorgeous. I reviewed it here.

Everyday Minerals Junior Eye Kabuki brushes These are the brushes that come with their eyeshadow sets and I never bothered using them before, and in fact I almost threw them out. But a while ago I discovered that they're perfect for blending in concealer and my Touche Éclat. Since then I've been using them every day.

NYX Slim Lip Pencil in Citrine I have a few of these NYX lip pencils and they're great. So cheap too - about $3US on Cherry Culture, I think. This one is my favourite because it goes well with all my neutral pinks. A while ago I was buying something on Makeupgeek and they had this colour only on sale for $0.99, so I hope they're not discontinuing it! I stocked up on a couple of back ups anyway. Swatched here.

Illamasqua Angled Brow Brush This brush is all kinds of awesome. It's very stiff so you can be super precise with your brow powder or cream. I have a MAC #266 but it's too floppy and a bit useless. This is probably my all time favourite brush, I love it to death. Reviewed here.

If you want to see more Top 11s, check out Jessica, Sarah, Lilit, Natalie, Suzanne and Jade.