Her Beauty Days

For myself, Christmas involves celebrating Jesus Christ's birthday.
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Pretty sure you've all heard about the amazing 40% off beauty sale Priceline hosted last week!

I was there alright, at midday and my, what a crowded scene it was. A bit cray-cray, I might emphasise.
My friend, being a guy, received this sale to be quite hilarious; there's a lot of females all in one place.

I entered the store, just to pick up a few items I'm interested in and left with a lot more than I expected!
Basically, I put in everything that I wanted to try in the cute basket given to me by the sales assistant.

I present to you the haulage:


Face products

1. Australis Fresh & Flawless Pressed Powder in Deep Natural
Why didn't I discover this earlier? I love it so far; love the inclusion of the mirror and sponge (underneath the pan of powder) and of course, the actual product itself!

2. Maybelline Dream Pure 8-in-1 BB Cream in Light
I've already tried the medium shade, loved it, so I'm picking up the lighter shade because the former is a bit dark for me.

3. & 4. Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation in 100 Ivory and 103 True Ivory
My first foundation! I tend to steer clear of Rimmel's face products but after seeing the princess-themed advertisement, I was lured in. 103 True Ivory was the closest shade to my complexion and 100 Ivory  would be perfect for those days when my face becomes more paler.


Lip products

5. Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids in 910 Shocking Coral
One of my favourite yet unique shades I already have in my collection. Repurchasing this shade because I'm actually running out of the lipstick. Read my review here (it's actually one of my first posts!).

5. L'Oréal Color Riche Made For Me Intense in 370 Crazy Fuchsia
I'm a crazy lover of pink lippies; I'm so glad I picked this up - it's becoming a favourite of mine!

6. L'Oréal Colour Riche Caresse Wet Shine Stain in 102 Romy
I heard these were a probable dupe for YSL (Yves Saint Laurent) Glossy Stains, I love stains and a bit of gloss so I had to try these!

7. Maybelline Color Sensational High Shine Gloss in 90 Electric Shock
This shade is just gorgeous. I think there's something youthful about sporting a pink lip gloss, what do YOU think?

8. Bourjois Color Boost Lip Crayon in 04 Peach on the Beach
I discovered this gem on Sleep and Water's blog. When I saw the shade in real life, I was quite surprised to see what a unique and beautiful shade it was; perfect for summer!


Other products

9. Face of Australia Gentle Make-Up Remover
This is a repurchase. Cheap, does a great job at what it's supposed to do and certainly of a gentle nature.
Comes pretty close to Lancôme's Bi-Facil - that's something quite notable.

10. L'Oréal Super Liner Liquid Eyeliner
I've seen this used by my mum a few times. Curiosity got the better of me; this had to come home with me.

11. L'Oréal Colour Riche Le Vernis in 601 French Riviera
A pretty baby blue polish with darker blue shimmers? How could I resist?!

And that concludes my haul!
I don't understand the relationship I have with sales. Please stop calling out to me!
Well done to those who are on or have completed spending bans!

I hope you've enjoyed this post.

I'm finally back from my month-long absence.
Studying, exams, personal dramas and indulging in comfort food were certainly part of the equation.
I'm so glad to be liberated from my studies (for a while); definitely looking forward to engaging in more of my favourite leisure activities like cooking, hanging out with dear loved ones and SHOPPING.

On the topic of shopping, I am guilty of spending way too much this month.
As usual, I couldn't resist the pre-Christmas sales. I had to get my hands on those limited edition, released-around-Christmas beauty gifts and pressies for the special people in my life.

One unrelated purchase was a relatively new skincare product, Indeed Laboratories (Indeed Labs) Pepta-bright, purchased from Priceline (now available!) at an introductory price.
Now, I've heard of Indeed Labs' Hydraluron (earlier released product) but I wasn't interested in it much as hydration wasn't a main skincare concern of mine.


Pepta-bright is an "ultra-concentrated cream-serum" that helps to
1. Even skin tone
2. Reduce and lighten hyperpigmentation
3. prevent, treat and diminish dark spots
4. Restore luminosity and radiance to the skin
5. Prevent photoaging
6. Stimulate cell turnover
7. Maintain skin's hydration

Points 1. 2. and 3. is what I'm currently looking for in a skincare product. I'm still relatively young (early twenties), so I didn't want to use anything too harsh on my skin. After reading Caroline Hirons' review and others from younger bloggers like myself, I gave it a shot.

So yesterday, straight after cleansing, I applied the serum all over my face, minus the eye area, then topped it off with my current moisturiser. The smell was unpleasant but I didn't really mind. I went to bed and woke up four hours later to cram in a bit of studying before my exams.
Before I even observed my face after waking up, I could feel some inflammation happening under the nose area and a bit on my cheeks. The area under nose and my left cheek were covered in clusters of papules (no whiteheads) that left my skin irritated and dry. This was my first time having such an adverse reaction to a skincare product. I am actually a frequent user of relatively harsh products e.g. contains salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide, so I wasn't expecting a reaction like this.

Fast forward to the next day (that's today!) and my skin has well improved after I continued with my regular skin routine and skipped Pepta-bright altogether. Papules have shrunk and hardly noticeable (some gone) but my skin around the nose and cheeks area is still dry.
There are a few factors to consider why this didn't work for me, but I won't be trying the serum again. Better safe than sorry!

Lesson learned: a product that works for another might not (unfortunately) work for you! I'm a bit letdown by the "results" but don't let that stop you from trying this product out if you're interested.

There is a lack of reviews reporting on adverse reactions, so here's my one!
If you have sensitive or "young" skin, I'll be cautious.
Product is made in Canada if you're wondering.
You can pick up Indeed Laboratories  Pepta-bright from Priceline for $27.99 during the promotional period.

I hope you found this review helpful.
Have a beautiful day everyone!

Update: After consulting with Priceline's customer service, I was told to return the product for a full refund. The product was deemed "faulty" and was to be returned to the company (or so I was told).