Pink Sugar - Aquolina

Scents are important. Scents can be emotive, they can represent your mood, they can make you feel perkier, brighter and better. Scents can bring back memories, reminding you of people, places, moments. And frankly, I don't think there is anything quite as lovely as being told  you smell good. I recently ran out of perfume (Daisy by Marc Jacobs and Princess by Vera Wang - such good perfumes that I have used up two bottles of both in my short lifetime) and it was pretty devastating. I now have the choice of smelling like deodorant (never too pleasant) or a cheap Impulse body spray I bought in an attempt to smell florally.


So I decided to repurchase a perfume I adored a couple of years ago - Pink Sugar by Aquolina. This is a perfume that received compliments every time I wore it, from girls and guys alike!

I've decided that it is probably one of my FAVOURITE SCENTS EVER. That's a big call I know but there is just something really yummy about it.  Pink Sugar was launched in 2004 and it is a very very very sweet scent.  If you like orientals or very fruity scents, this is not the scent for you! But I like sweet things - sweet foods & sweet people - so I looooove it!


This smell reminds me of fairy floss and berries.  It's a very obviously girly scent and while it is recommended for 'young girls' (bit awks) the notes of musk help it to be a bit more adult. It is described as having notes of Bergamot, Sicilian Orange, Raspberry, Fig Leaves, Lily of the Valley, Licorice, Strawberry, Red Fruit, Cotton Candy, Vanilla, Caramel, Musk, Wood, Powder. The scent is very long-lasting, which is important because there is nothing worse than a scent wearing off moments after you spray it. This smell lingers (in a good way) and because of that, people very quickly associate you with the scent. 


For me, the packaging leaves a little to be desired - it looks a little cheap but I love the perfume so much I can forgive this. 


You can't buy it in Australia (which makes me pretty sad) but there are a lot of online sellers. I buy it from StrawberryNet, a cosmetic/perfume/skincare sites that sells a load of brands AND offers FREE shipping (a big tick in my books). It cost me $49 for 100ml which is relatively cheap in perfume currency. 

L'Oreal Studio Secrets Lip Lacquer

The L'Oreal Studio Secrets line is a marketed as makeup that gives women every tool and product they need to look as if they have had their makeup done by a professional (and not some lowly amateur as she rushes to get out of the house at 7am). It includes a range of primers, eyeshadow bases and lip lacquers for particular skin tones and hair colours. 

The range hasn't seemed to really hit it off in Australia. This is possibly because of the price of which makes it as expensive as high end make up - some of the products are about $30 - $40. BUT it has been a big hit in the US particularly the Magic Perfecting Base primer. 

Anyway, the other day I found myself with time to kill in Priceline (a dangerous thing) and came across a sale box of L'Oreal Studio Secrets products all for $5 (a bargain especially considering the price they usually retail for). They were mostly lip products, so I decided I might as well invest in one. 

I chose the red lip lacquer (#651) which said it was suited to 'dark brunettes' (a category I fall into). The texture is a bit like a thick gloss, it's quite sticky and goes on more opaque than your average gloss., though you can definitely wear it sheer.

As a red lip product it works well if you want to wear red but don't want it to look overly dramatic. You could definitely wear it during the day without getting alarming looks from passers-by. It could also be worn over the top of a blue-toned red lipstick to give a more glossy finish. 

Hope you enjoyed :)

Daisy x

Review: Benefit Erase Paste Concealer

I do not get enough sleep. Not because I lead a wonderfully exciting life or because I am very committed to my uni work, but because I just spend so long procrastinating and visiting pointless websites that it is often past midnight by the time I go to bed. (Stumbleupon is a very dangerous website...)

This habit has left with me with terrrrrrible under eye circles. And I mean terrible. I am one of those people who gets asked if they're sick when they don't wear make up (which is why I very rarely go barefaced). 

Concealer is one of my best friends. Honestly, good concealers can do wonders for even the most angry-looking under eye circles. 

When I was travelling around Europe, I had a few too many late nights and early mornings. By the time I arrived in England to visit my family I looked not dissimilar to a walking zombie. So despite being ridiculously poor, I decided to splurge on some concealer. After reading up on some reviews (on websites like Makeup Alley) I went with benefit's erase paste. 

The Good News:

- This concealer is very good at covering up undereye circles without looking like you have two white blobs under your eyes. 

- It comes in a small pot with a little spatula (which is very cute) and makes it easy to divvy out the right amount of product.  

- It lasts for yonnnks. I bought mine back in November 2011 and it is still going!  I literally use it everyday. 

- You can apply it with either your fingers or a concealer brush and you get good results. Just make sure you blend properly.

The Bad News:

- You have to be careful how much you use, because this concealer can look cakey very very easily. You only need a tiny, tiny amount. If you lose your spatula, like me, getting the right amount of concealer out of the pot can be a bit of a pain.

- There is not a huge colour range - there are only three shades. I went for medium because I have olive skin, but I could probably have done with a slightly lighter colour. 

- It doesn't work so wonderfully for other blemishes (but for dark circles it is brill!)

- It is expensive. It cost me £19 in England and it will cost you a whopping $47 here in Australia. And $47 is a lot of money. (It's about 16 coffees...so if you can give up coffee for two weeks, you should consider investing in it)

All in all, I think it's a very good concealer though I'm not sure if it is a HOLY GRAIL concealer. Depending on my funds, I may try and invest in a M.A.C or YSL one next time. (May have to wait for a birthday/christmas/congratulatory present).

If you know any brilliant concealers, let me know :)

Daisy x

A Rather Small Haul

Being heavily in debt, thanks to a trip to Europe last year, has restricted the amount of makeup I can buy. I have had to live vicariously through youtube hauls and other bloggers but the other day I decided that my willpower could not bear it any longer. So I caved and bought some. Hurrah!

I still can't bring myself to make completely outlandish purchases on high end brands (ie. no MAC for me) so this was a very mini haul.  I went to the website Crush Cosmetics.

If you are like me and from Australia, aka the land of far far away, this little website brilliant because you can get a lot of 'drugstore' brands from England and the USA (think NYX, E.L.F, Sleek, Wet n Wild and Barry M etc.) 

AND it offers free shipping for purchases over $60 (which some could argue is a negative thing, because if you're anything like me you end up justifying needless purchases just to get free shipping).

After much oohing and aahing over what products to buy, I finally decided on these: 

E.L.F Powder Brush $9.99

I don’t use this for powder but for liquid foundation. The flat top means it works like a stipple brush so it's good for applying foundation (particularly thicker or more full coverage foundations). It’s density also means that the liquid doesn’t clog up on brush or congeal horribly. When I first used it I sometimes ended up with black hairs across my cheeks, with wasn't too attractive, but it sheds a lot less now. 

Coastal Scents Black Crease Brush $7.95

This brush is just the right shape and density to blend shadows into your crease, I really like it!

NYX Powder Blush in Mocha $11.30

NYX blushes are always very pigmented (take that as a warning to prevent looking like a clown the first time you apply them...speaking from experience). This is a really pretty colour, particularly in winter if you want to look a little more rosy than peachy! These blushes also last forever and ever because you only need to use a little bit each time. 

NYX Round Lipstick $6.95

These lipsticks have a very very creamy formula, and I mean very. I usually have to put on a lip balm prior to applying these to make it a little more sheer. That being said, they stay on for centuuuuries and feel lovely on the lips. This is a mauvey shade that looks really pretty if you have naturally darker lips. I find most pinks look too Barbie doll or cakey on me. 

So there is my rather small little haul (bit of rhyming for you there). Hope you enjoyed :)
Daisy x