January Beauty Haul

Today I’m doing a little haul on some of the beauty products I received for Christmas, and also just picked up myself. I love trying out new products, and am always on the search for my holy grail makeup and beauty items! There are still SO many products I want to try, and get my hands on, but for now I hope you all enjoy this little haul. Let me know if you have tried any of these products, and make sure to give me some recommendations for my next purchase!

1. The Body Shop

I don’t usually shop at ‘The Body Shop’, simply because I’m not really into bath and body products that much. Plus I’ve always thought they were a bit overpriced. However, I received these gifts for Christmas and absolutely love them! I’ve always thought the Body Shop makes great gifts, and love the fact that most of their products include fair trade ingredients. I received the Coconut Body Milk Lotion, which is a really light spray-on moisturiser. It smells absolutely delicious, and exactly like summer! I also received this Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion … And this is so incredible. I REALLY love this product. If you have blemish prone skin like myself, then you need this in your life. The lotion sinks into the skin to help improve the appearance of blemish damaged skin, and leaves your face feeling so soft and smooth.

2. Essence Mascara

I bought this mascara after a recommendation by beauty YouTuber Dani Mansutti, claiming it was the best mascara she had ever used. Let me just start by saying this mascara is SOOO cheap! I bought mine from Priceline for under $5.00, such a bargain. The best thing is that it actually is an amazing mascara; it makes my lashes really full and thick, without being clumpy. I can’t stand clumpy mascara’s, so this one is perfect for me. There are a few others in the range as well, so I would definitely recommend trying these out.

3. Boe Beauty

Another absolute bargain! Boe Beauty is sold in Big W stores here in Australia, and has recently reinvented itself. It used to be a really low-end beauty brand, but in the past few months it has come out with some ‘higher’ end products as part of their new line, though everything is still really affordable. This primer is really great, and does the job perfectly (and it’s only about $10!). I also really love this bronzer, it has just the slightest amount of shimmer and isn’t crazy pigmented so it’s really easy to work with and build up.

4. Lorac Pro Palette

If you know anything about makeup, you would know how much this palette by Lorac has been raved about. I put this on my Christmas wish list, and was lucky enough to receive it off my parents. It really is an amazing palette, and I think the best thing about it is the variety in shimmer and mattes, and that all of the colours are really wearable for day or night. Even though the eye shadows are all great, I still think it is overpriced for what it is. I could probably find a cheaper palette (such as the Chi Chi ones), which would all do a similar job. In saying that, I am still very much in love with my Lorac palette!

Sydney IMATS Haul

This was my first time attending IMATS, and I honestly couldn’t contain my excitement! For any beauty and makeup lovers out there, it is literally your idea of heaven. This year, Sydney brought us some of the best brands and prices, and pulled together an amazing trade show. It’s really tricky to get your hands on some of the big names in makeup here in Australia, so having brands such as Limecrime, Sigma, Ben Nye and Inglot definitely made it worth the trip (and the 4.30am wakeup!).

So, let’s get straight into it, here are all the goodies I picked up this weekend! Let me know if you have tried any of these products and what you think; I can’t wait to start playing around with it all!

Ben Nye

I’ve been a fan of Ben Nye ever since I bought the luxury cameo powder about three years ago, and I still have it to this day! The quality is amazing and it is definitely worth the money to buy a product that lasts so long. I’ve been searching high and low for a plum eyeshadow, and this one is TOO DIE FOR! I also picked up the banana powder and a pretty-pink blush, which I’m keen to try out.

Sigma and Crown Brushes

Can we all just take a moment of silence to appreciate the fact that I am now the proud owner of two Sigma brushes? The hype around these brushes is insane, so of course I had to see for myself what I was apparently missing out on. I was planning to buy more than two, but at $36 a brush … I would have been in debt for the rest of my life. They do feel beautiful and soft though, so hopefully they are worth the price! I also grabbed two crown brushes, which were pretty cheap!

Mac

I love everything about Mac …. Except maybe the price tag. The Mac stall at IMATS was absolute mayhem, and it was obvious every single person wanted to get their hands on everything Mac. With 20% off everything, you are getting a pretty good deal, so of course I picked up another pro-longwear concealer (I have no words to describe the perfection of this product), and also got a lipstick in the shade ‘Japanese Maple’, which is a really beautiful nude!

Social Eyes and Model Rock Lashes

One of the highlights of the day was meeting the ever so beautiful Karissa Pukas, a.k.a Satnightalright from YouTube. She came to do a meet up, and generously gave away two pairs of lashes from her brand Social Eyes to everyone that came! I had such a fan girl moment; I’ll leave a photo of us together at the end of this post. I also got three pairs of Model Rock Lashes, at $3.95 a pair (BARGAIN!).

Beauty Blender

This is another product I have heard raved about over every social media platform. Apparently it makes your foundation and/or concealer look flawless, so I bought this double pack for $25, which I was pretty happy with! Now I can finally throw out my cheapo sponge and make room for these new beauties.