ElectroCat

This morning I woke up and realized that it was a last day of 2015. I will probably have a quiet but enjoyable celebration of coming 2016 New Year with my husband. I read my post from last year and it inspired me to reflect on 2015. It seems like I have achieved most of my aspirations from last year. Traveling was probably the highlight of this year. Locally I traveled to... Melbourne Sydney Byron Bay, Lennox Head and Ballina Stanthorpe Internationally I went to... Austria Home (Ukraine) New Zealand There was some new experiences...like music festival (I went to the Future in March and had so much fun) ...and wine tour in New Zealand (Central Otago) ...and embraced a new hobby of growing orchids Financially I seems to be better off too. All but one credit card have been paid off and cancelled. My remaining credit card has very low limit and gets paid off in full each month. I use it for travel etc. bu...

I spent three days at home lounging around, watching TV and taking naps. It was wonderful but I started to get a cabin fever so today I decided to get out and check out the shops. Shopping on Boxing day in suburban shopping centers scarred me for a while with standstill car parks, people everywhere, screaming kids and mostly useless leftover stock on offer. So I figured Brisbane CBD was my best bet. I found car park on the street straight away only short 5 minute walk from the center. Queen street mall was still packed with crowds and I saw few shops letting only limited numbers of people at a time (Windsor Smith and Hype). I went to Zara, David Jones and Myer (only one level as I couldn't handle going up the escalators), L'Occitane and Topshop. I didn't bother with the change rooms as the line ups were huge and I though it would be easier to return something instead (like the cute yellow dress I picked up from Topshop but it just doesn't suit me). Anyways I ended...

I was expecting my parcel to arrive in the mail any day now and it finally got here. First thing I've noticed is the wide variety of products included. It made me very happy as it is the whole point of me subscribing to this service. 1. Lonvitalite masks Coconut Milk and Red Wine (value $16) They are pre-moistened cloth face masks that are supposed to be worn for 20 minutes. I hope they smell nice. 2. Michael Kors Gold edition perfime sample - Rose Radiant Gold 1.5 ml (value $3.30) I usually don't have a very good luck with MK perfumes but this one is quite nice. It opens up with lush white florals with pink pepper in the background. It is not terribly unique but I will wear it. 3. Sally Hansen nail polish in Right Said Red 14.7 ml (value $14.95) Classic bright creme red. Too bad I already have similar nail polishes like OPI Vodka and Caviar. 4. Maybelline Colour Elixir in Fuchsia Flourish 5ml (value $17.95) It looked very bright in the tube and I instantly w...

I was impatiently expecting my MC parcel arrive in early September but it was delivered to me only few days ago. I was particularly excited about this one as it is a special 20th Anniversary edition. So this is what I got... 1. Redwin Coconut Balm - value $5.99 I love the original PawPaw Ointment and keep coming back to it after trying other alternatives. However I am keen to give this product a shot. It basically has lots and lots of various oils plus a bit of beeswax. 2. Frizz Ease Smooth Start Shampoo and conditioner - value $32 I find John Freida products is somewhere in-between your stock standard supermarket brands and higher-end professional products. I know that this particular line been around for a long long time so they must me doing something right. As a bonus it smells very nice and has creamy consistency. Hopefully my fine blonde hair likes it too. 3. MOR Rosa Noir Hand and Body Milk - value $5 I prefer milk consistency of body products in summer as it is a...

 I actually finished 20 item in the last three months and threw away a huge bag of lip glosses and lipsticks that I haven't used for a while and figured out won't have an urge to use in the future. I am happy with a small selection of lipsticks, few lip glosses and few lip balm floating around my bags and drawers. I also went on few trips so it helped me to finish few travel-sized products I had stashed away.   1. L'Occitane Verbena shower gel (travel size) My overall impression - Thick clear shower gel that foams up nicely. Oh and the scent is gorgeous, I actually prefer it to the perfume version. Would I buy it again? - I wouldn't say no to it if I got it as a GWP or on sale but I probably wouldn't pay full price for this product. After all it's a shower gel and they all tend to be more or less similar.   2. Klorane dry shampoo My overall impression - As you may know I am a big fan of this dry shampoo. It has subtle scent, give...

 It is that time of the year when David Jones releases their bi-annual deluxe sampler tote which is available for $19.95 with any beauty purchase. I have been getting them for few years as I got lots of nice product to try out of them and overall I think they are a great value (often valued over $100) In my tote I had... David Jones tinted day cream and daily face cream My skin is very temperamental and can break out easily so these are going straight into donation, tinted cream has mineral oil in it so it is a big no-no for me personally. St. Tropez bronzing mousse Comes in a cute 50 ml bottle and is perfect to take with me on my next holiday. I also get way more applications out of the mousse formula compared to gel or cream. Ecoya limited edition candle This miniature candle has warm but clean and subtle scent, right up my alley! Bonus points for cute glass jar. KORA Organics lip balm I had good experience with Kora products so far but wouldn't pay...

 On Saturday I had a day to myself so I seized an opportunity and went shopping at DFO (Direct Factory Outlets) near Brisbane Airport. I've been trying to plan my shop trips to avoid unnecessary purchases. So my goal for this trip was to get some new work appropriate tops and gym gear as I have just started new 12 week challenge. Plus my old gym clothes are super worn, faded and stretched and I would like to still look presentable after my workouts as I will be catching a bus home after the gym. Overall I had a very successful trip.  For work I picked up two tops, one from Country Road ($10, reduced from $79.95) and the striped one from Witchery ($30, reduced from $69.95). Both of them were from the faulty rack but both faults were easily fixed. CR top had a pen mark which was removed with some rubbing alcohol and pre-wash stain remover and the stripe top had tiny hole at the back from security tag.   Lorna Jane shop was my next stop. I must admi...

 I like winter. The days are shot but sunny, the sky is clear and the light comes down at a nice angle. It is a great time to go for a walks during the day and snuggling in front of TV at night. I also love to embrace layered clothes and rich scents. So here is my current winter favorites.  Keiko Mecheri Cuir Fauve perfume - sweet, smoky and mysterious. It smells very polished and opens up nicely during cooler months.  Zara leather jacket - got it in Singapore couple of years ago and been wearing it lots! It is super-soft and super-comfortable and can be worn with so many different outfits!  TOPSHOP cutout booties- they make my legs look slender and are super comfortable to wear. I never want them to fall apart.  Amouage Epic body creme - ultimate luxury. I love Epic perfume and decided to get matching body creme when it was on sale at David Jones. I find that my EDP can be full on so body creme is a softer version of the scent...

  1. Benefit They're Real Mascara My overall impression - I got this mascara as a part of my Sephora set I picked up in US. It had one of those new plastic brushes and claimed to transform your eye lashes into something that resembles false lashes. I found the brush to be very stiff and "scratchy" and got very stiff spider legs look. Would I buy it again? - No, even though it gave me decent length the lack in volume department was a deal breaker for me. Plus I want my mascara to make my lashes soft and plush.   2. Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Hair Mist My overall impression - Well balanced fragrance, neither too sweet or floral. Just clean, modern and pretty. It has a good balance of citrus, rose and patchouli notes mellowed by vanilla. I would wear it when I wanted to smell good but not too overpowering. Love the frosted bottle with square lid too. Would I buy it again? Yes, it served me well! I got this hair mist in 2010 because I loved C...