May 2013 - Lust Have It

Hey lovelies! Hope you're having a wonderful start to the weekend despite the dreary weather if you're in Sydney. Today I finally had time to pick up my LHI from the post office, which arrived on Tuesday. Before receiving my box I was quite anxious as to which box I would be receiving as this month seemed quite meh...

So lets get started!

Etude House - Dear My Blooming Lips

I've been meaning to review this product for a LONG time now but I never came around to it. You might not remember but I mentioned I made a second Koreadepart haul in my Magic Pole Mascara post and one of the items I bought included Etude House's Dear My Blooming Lips. When I received it I actually realised I ordered the wrong item and was supposed to order one of their Dear My Jelly Lips. I don't remember looking at the name when I bought it so I was deceived by their similar packaging! My fault though.

As I mentioned, I purchased this from Koreadepart for $8.55 not including shipping. I chose the shade OR211, which isn't one of the main or original colours from their range but there are over 24 shades available! You can also purchase this on Ebay for around $10-11 including shipping or any other retailers that stock Etude House.

NOTD: OPI - On Her Majesty's Secret Service

I haven't abandoned my blog just yet! It's been a week since I've blogged properly but I admit I've been feeling super sluggish and stressed lately because of (1) my retarded sleeping patterns: sleeping at 5am and waking up at 2.30pm (2) I'm behind on my uni work so I'm barely passing my tests; and (3) I just handed in my 2,500 word taxation essay and it drove me literally crazy. Kudos to those who do taxes for a living; I don't know how you do it...

In the past week I've also received my new specs, monkey onsie which I purchased from Ebay, and my Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake Lens which I've been excited about.

[cr: Ebay]

[cr: ephotozine]

Now enough of my ramblings!

For the past week I haven't had time or wasn't bothered to even paint my nails, which is a first. Last night I decided to dig through my collection and picked out one of my OPI polishes that I don't think I have used before. If you haven't seen my instagram, the polish I picked out was OPI - On Her Majesty's Secret Service from their Skyfall collection and it's absolutely gorgeous!

Depending on the angle from which you're looking at, and how many coats you apply, the colour of this polish will look different. The base colour is sort of a sheer grey with blue undertones from what I remember when I applied the first coat. After the second coat, my nails appeared more bluish green. This is because the polish is packed with tonnes of various shades micro glitter. From what I can see, there are traces of blue, gold, green, purple and even pink!

As expected from OPI, the brush is excellent and the formula went on smoothly! The photos don't do any justice as to how pretty the polish looks in person. It's a perfect shade during Autumn / Winter but with a bit of glam.

What's your favourite shade to wear during the colder seasons?

Hopefully for the next three weeks I can post more regularly until my final exams kick in and before I head off to LA + Vancouver! Have a lovely week ladies!

Aliexpress.com

Being the stingy & cheap person I am, I love it when I come across websites selling products at dirt cheap prices. We all know that manufacturing a product would only cost a couple of dollars but the reason why companies tend to retail their products at a ridiculous price is due to research and development costs, marketing costs, etc...

When I came across Aliexpress.com I was astounded by the prices at which the products were sold at. I am certain the most popular website people most often visit for cheap deals is Ebay but sometimes Ebay doesn't cut it. While browsing Aliexpress, I found quite a number of products that are cheaper than those listed on Ebay even if it was by a measly dollar or two. There were some fishy products that really caught my attention though e.g. Clarisonic Mia 2 for $35? Or maybe the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette for $8?

I should point out that Aliexpress is owned by Alibaba and the majority, if not all, the suppliers are based in Hong Kong and China. We all know China is most famous for their counterfeit and replicas. Obviously you would not purchase beauty products before certifying they are genuine and safe; checking feedback and reputation is important! Anyways, here is my conversation with one of the suppliers of the Naked palette:

Click here for product link

Closely examining the pictures, it's hard to tell whether the product is fake or not. However there has been positive feedback though it may only be "excellent" or something. Would you purchase a Clarisonic dupe for about one-third of the retail price, though unsure about the quality?

Aside from beauty and make up products, I was really tempted to purchase wall decals (a world map decal being sold for $90 here but can be bought for $9 here) and some phone covers since I am always bored of using the same one.

Wall decal on my wardrobe!

There are a number of bad reviews around the web about Aliexpress / Alibaba being a scam and fraud but then there are also a number of people with good experiences with Aliexpress. Alibaba is also responsible for Taobao, which is a very legitimate website - also known as China's version of Ebay. I am so hesitant about whether or not I should make an order since I have great urges of wanting to buy something! What would you do if you were in my position?

Have you made any purchases from Aliexpress before? 

Would you make a purchase in the future?

May Her Fashion Box - Classic

Another month has passed meaning another month of beauty / fashion boxes in the mail! The first box to arrive this month is Her Fashion Box and I must say it is such an improvement from last month. It felt more like a fashion box instead of the lame fake tan and razor.

As a thank you present for completing their feedback survey, Her Fashion Box included a bracelet in my box! I think that's how I received the Redken argan oil last month.

Now here are the goodies I received this month (if you haven't seen my instagram!):