2015 Christmas Beauty Haul

I had so much fun sharing the beauty goodies I recieved last Christmas so I decided to do it again this year! I feel so fortunate to receive any presents and the last thing I want is for this post to come off as selfish or bragging, so with that being said lets get into the goodies!

About a week before Christmas my besties and I exchanged Christmas gifts, and I excitedly received the Stila Eternal Love liquid lipstick trio which contains a red, dark nude and plum, Mac Lipliner in Brick and Illamasqua blush in Dulcet. All I can say is my best friends know me too well and I have been using all the products like crazy. My sister gifted me the Chi Chi Spices palette, it has wonderful pigmentation and all the colours are beautiful- I have been getting good use out of that too! And Lastly for lip products my partner gifted me the Jefree Star Liquid Lipstick in Redrum. It's such a beautiful red that I wore Christmas day, the formula is fantastic too. 

I joined in two games of Santa Grab over the festive season and funnily enough I received Lush for both, but I'm not complaining! The Butterfly set contains a Ro's Argan oil body conditioner and a Sultana of soap both of which I can not wait to try. I also received a Magic wand which smells so sweet and delicious, unfortunately I don't have a bath but I'll save this one for a night away! 

Now I may or may not have picked out my gifts from the boyf this Christmas but when you reallllly want something it's hard not too! Black Opium by ysl has been on my wish list for so long and when the Christmas gift sets came out I was so excited. The 30ml set came with a free travel sized ysl eyeliner and mascara, the box is too beautiful to throw out too. Another item which has been high on my wish list for quite some time is the Glam glow Youth Mud. I finally got to test it out Christmas day and loved the way it made my skin felt, I can't wait to test it out some more. And being the lash addict I am I was so glad to find the Glam eyes two pack of Gwen lashes in my stocking, they're so full and pretty!

My Mum picked out a beautiful Akin Body moisturiser and hand cream for me this year, turns out she purchased them for my sister and I during the Priceline skincare goody bag sale, so she split up the extra products between us for Christmas which was so nice of her. I received the Australis One night tan, Modelco tan exfoliating wipes, Physiogel daily moisture therapy cream, Swisse Micellar water, original chapstick and the Nip and Fab exfoliation pads, so many new goodies to try! 

And last but certainly not least, I entered Hailey's amazing Christmas giveaway this year and to my surprise I won the Too Faced Le Grand Chateau! The packaging is too die for, and it contains three palettes and a travel size Better than sex mascara, I seriously jumped around the room like a loony person when I found out. Hailey's blog rocks so if you haven't already checked it out you need to asap!

That's all the amazing beauty goodies I received for Christmas this year! I feel like it would also be possible to do a haul post on all the cat items I received this year, I received that many! But I won't become that much of a crazy cat lady and stick to beauty. I hope you all had a really lovely Christmas!

Monique xx

Christmas Beauty Haul

I had a great christmas this year spending some quality time with friends and family, and I was also very fortunate to receive some gorgeous gifts- the majority of those being beauty related! I did have my eye on a few products which you can view on my 2014 Christmas wish list, very lucky for me I received close to all of them! 

Scents I received were the Stella Honeyed milk candle which smells delicious, as well as the Bath and Body Works Bergamont Woods candle, which has more of a masculine scent - a nice change from every other candle I own lol. I also received the YSL Parisienne perfume which was high on my christmas wish list, it smells amazing and how beautiful is that packaging? Thanks Mum! 

For hands and nails I was ecstatic to receive the OPI Coca Cola 10 pack of style set, it includes 9 miniature bottles and a top coat, so adorable! I also got a I Love Strawberries and Milkshake Hand cream which smells so good you could eat it and a new manicure set which is always handy.

Yay lip products! An EOS lip balm has always been on my wish list and I was so excited to receive one from one of my besties. I also got the Body Shop Born Lippy in Strawberry, holy dooly it smells too good to use. The Bare Minerals Give It a Twirl lip gloss duo was an awesome surprise as I have always wanted to try out their products. I have already used both colours as they're just so pretty, and they have a great formula for a lip gloss! And lastly for lip products my sister got me the Limecrime Velvetine in the shade Utopia, I have been wanting to purchase this for my 21st and nearly did before my boyfriend stopped me and hinted that I may be receiving it for Christmas - not that I'd be complaining if I had two!

My boyfriend was such a sweetheart and got me not only the first Lorac Pro palette but the second one as well! I was in disbelief at first and as you can see I have already made good use of them both. Another thing he got me which I haven't been able to put down are the Nic's Picks Real Techniques brush set, such amazing quality and I will get plenty of use out of them along with the Lorac Palettes. And finally I was gifted the amazing Anastasia Brow Pomade in Taupe, I have wanted this for the longest time and it was definitely worth the wait, such a fantastic product that I'm sure will be seen in my posts a lot.

While I was editing my post I realised that I forgot to include another candle, lip balm and a Maybelline colour tattoo I was gifted! You can see the stunning orange colour tattoo in my previous post if you were interested. Well that's all the beauty related gifts I received from my loved ones this Christmas, I feel really privileged and spoilt to have some amazing friends and family in my life! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

Monique xx

FOTD: Sunset Eyes and Coral Lips

Its really beginning to feel like Christmas, It felt more real for me yesterday as I had an early christmas lunch with my partners family. Weirdly enough despite it being a family gathering I decided to try out some new colour combinations I wouldn't normally wear.

• Mixture of CoverGirl Outlast foundation and Rimmel Lasting Finish foundation
• Mac Pro Long Wear Concealer
• Australis Fresh and Flawless powder
• Benefit Hoola Bronzer
• Mac Soft and Gentle Highlighter
• Hard Candy blush in Skinny Dipping
• BareMinerals Marvellous Moxie gloss

• Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Fierce and Tangy all over the lid
• Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette in crease, outer V and brow bone
• Revlon single eyeshadow in Sunlit Sparkle as inner corner highlight
• MUA Glamour Nights Palette red shadow in crease
• Rimmel Wonderful Mascara
• Unbranded individual Lashes
• Elf black liquid liner
• Mac Brow pencil in Lingering
• Lash Control clear lash and brow gel

I really loved the way it turned out and think I think I'll be rocking this look a lot in the hotter months! Thanks for stopping by my blog and I hope you're enjoying the festive season!

Monique xx

Top Tips For Becoming a Savvy Online Shopper

If you're a savvy online shopper like myself this post will be old news you to, but I know for some the world of online shopping can be a little intimidating. With Christmas fast approaching and the shops getting busier by the day, there isn't a better time to jump online and have your gifts ordered straight to the door - you'll probably save yourself a load of cash too!

1. Make a Paypal account

The first step to becoming a savvy online shopper is feeling at ease and knowing that your money is safe. Many online stores now accept and prefer Paypal as a method of payment, and it very quickly became my favourite method too (lets be honest it definitely beats typing your card details out every time you make a purchase). I have been a user of Paypal for a few years now and it takes away the worry of chasing back your money should your item be damaged or not even turn up. The process is fairy simple to create an account and theres no fees unless you plan on becoming a seller. You can shop online knowing you have a safety net should something go wrong, what have you got to lose!

2. Do Your Research

Dont settle on the first bargain you find online. In my opinion nothing is more annoying than purchasing an item and then seeing it cheaper somewhere else, It pays off to have a look around at different sites. Also if its your first time buying from an online site make sure you check out whether its reliable,  read some customer reviews and see if they provide an estimate delivery time- especially when ordering items in time for Christmas!

3. Ebay It

Yep, Ebay It! Being one of my favourite places to shop I just had to mention Ebay In my post. It may sound silly but when I'm out shopping I will Ebay the item I'm looking at in the shops to see if its cheaper online, and 9 out of 10 times It always Is. Now that you have a Paypal account theres no reason you can't shop confidentially on Ebay, sellers have feedback ratings which can straight away tell you if they are worth buying from or not. If an Ebay seller has 50% positive feedback give them a miss, 90% and above your good to go! Another must for me when using Ebay is selecting the 'worldwide' option on the left hand tab when browsing, often when you start a search for an Item Ebay has a default location setting which only shows the buyer certain products, when you select wordwide all the items then become viewable and in most cases cheaper!

4. Avoid Fakes

Following on from tips two and three, unfortunately replica Items like to float around the internet fooling consumers into thinking their getting the same authentic item at a fraction of the price. This can be especially frustrating for my fellow beauty lovers, although if you stick to some simple guidelines purchasing replica items can be avoided. Although I just preached about my love for Ebay, as a general rule I don't purchase high end beauty products from there as many sellers put replica items up for sale. It can be frustrating on Ebay trying to decide if the seller is putting authentic items up for sale as often the customers buying the products will think its authentic when its not, and therefore leave a positive feedback rating. New customers see the positive ratings and then purchase once again, giving the seller an even higher Ebay rating and the spiral just continues from there. When doing a web search for an expensive item be sure to use words such as 'authentic' and 'genuine' as you'll find it'll actually filter out a lot of the replica websites. Stick to reliable sources for buying expensive items, especially makeup, jewellery and handbags! Although if you don't mind the odd replica item, aliexpress.com is a cool bargain website, who doesn't want a 'naked palette' for $10!

5. Coupons

Honestly, I buy nothing online before checking for a discount or coupon first. It may seem stingy but sometimes you can save 20% and upwards off your order, for example most online stores often send emails out with new discount codes, or in general you can just do a quick google search and you'll find different discount codes being promoted. Even better is using a coupon site that finds all the best deals and discount codes for you, keeping you up to date without the hassle - so much money can be saved with just the click of a button!

Now you've got a Paypal account, you've done your research, got your discount codes and your ready to shop till you drop. Hopefully you find this post somewhat useful, and if you have any online shopping tips yourself please do let me know in the comments!

Monique xx

My Christmas Wish List

Can you believe it's THAT time of the year again!? I absolutely love Christmas time so I decided to do a little post harmlessly sharing what I would love to find under the Christmas tree this year. Who knows you might even find some great gift ideas for friends or family (or yourself hehe). So in no particular order here is my christmas wish list for 2014!

1. YSL Parisienne Eau De Parfum: I'm am a complete and total sucker for gorgeous packaging, so when I first laid my eyes on this perfume bottle I didn't even need to smell it before wanting it in my life. Thankfully It smells just as beautiful as it looks, floral and sophisticated. I would love to add this baby to my current scents although I just can't justify buying it myself when I have sooooo many perfumes already (hint hint santa). It's also hugely discounted at Chemist Warehouse at the moment with the 50ml bottle only being $49.99!

2. Anatasia Beverley Hills Dip Brow Pomade in Taupe: An absolute raved about product that I'm also dying to get my hands on. I wont stop trying out new brow products until I find my absolute holy grail, and I think that this product is definitely a contender! I think the shade 'Taupe' would be a perfect match for my blonde hair. Unfortunately its currently out of stock which is such a shame as the brow pomade's are less than $30 shipped to Australia from Net-A-Porter.com. 

3. Lorac Mega Pro Palette: I'll try not to get too excited over this palette BECAUSE IT'S FRICKEN SOLD OUT EVERYWHERE. Why Lorac why, I have been checking amazon like a crazy person but nope I don't think its coming back. I have seen the palette floating around on Ebay although I wouldn't be surprised if fake replicas have been made already. Such a stunning palette that I'll just have to admire through the internet, although I would be extremely happy if santa happened to place the original Lorac Pro Palette under my Christmas tree.

4. Deep Thought Heels in Black: My 21st is coming up in early January and my twin sister and I decided on a Masquerade party. I have already purchased my gown and these heels would be perfect to wear with it. These heels along with many other stunning designs are currently only $30 with free express shipping from Popcherry.com. 

5. Real Techniques 'Nic's Pics' Brush Set: I am a huge fan of real techniques brushes so as soon as I saw this set I knew I had to have it. You can never have enough makeup brushes right! The whole set is around $30 from Iherb.com which I think is an absolute bargain for 5 high quality brushes.

Andddd I'll just add the whole entire Mac store onto this list. That's the items I've had my eye on this year that I would feel very fortunate should santa put one under my tree. Let me know if you have anything on your christmas wish list! 

Monique xx