Updated: My Perfume collection

I find that scent can be a very personal thing. Of course it will make you smell good, but other than the obvious, scent can invoke many emotions, feelings and even nostalgia. Maybe you have a clear recollection of how your mother used to smell or her favourite perfume, you can still remember a scent of your favourite summer that brings it back to life, or even the smell of your favourite food...

To me, scent is SO important, some even have their own personal scent, their signature if you will.
I've already told you all the story previously about how I occasionally come across that perfect vanilla scent, and then it disappears again. Occasionally I'll also come across a smell that brings back instant memories from my favourite times in my life, usually with my best friend, many years ago, when we basically had a whole summer to ourselves and felt so free and grown up. Ultimate nostalgia.

My fave scents are from the fruity and floral families. Although, I do not like rose scented anything. Side "slightly off topic" story: Jurlique make amazing skincare, but make everything friggin rose scented. It drives me crazy!!! Whyyyyy??

Vanilla Kisses Impulse body spray was the very first scent to give me everything I know about the power of a scent, since then I've definitely moved onto bigger and better (ok, maybe not better, but certainly different and more "adult") things.

These are the perfumes in my current rotation...

Please also note that I am most definitely the kind of perfume buyer than is predominantly visual first, them smell second haha. However, I do have to like the smell in order for me to buy a bottle. My white whale is definitely Angel by Thierry Mugler. I LOVE that bottle, but cannot stand the smell. I've tried SO many times to go back and try it at different stages of my life, but I just don't like it! *sad face* #firstworldproblems

* Katy Perry Killer Queen Royal Revolution *

First example of a visual delight that turned into a purchase. This one is the blue bottled version, which is her newest release. I was very pleasantly surprised with the smell, and funnily enough, did invoke a smell from somewhere in my teenage years. I always feel a little bit lame when I buy celebrity perfumes, I don't know why though, as they do smell pretty good!

Eau De Parfum
Top Notes: Pomegranate and Pink Freesia
Middle Notes: Jasmine, Orange flower and Sandalwood
Bottom Notes: Blackthorn, Vanilla Orchid and Musk

Where/ when do I wear this: This is an "everyday" perfume for me.
RRP: $34 (for 50ml)

* Circus by Britney Spears *
Another celebrity perfume. One of the perfumes I own that's not visual-over-scent purchased. I can't remember how or why I ended up purchasing it, but it's actually a staple in my collection now and I'm on my third bottle.

Eau De Toilette
Top Notes: Raspberry Zest and Apricot Blossom
Middle Notes: Blue Peony, Lotus and Orchid
Bottom Notes: Vanilla, Musk and Violet Candy

When/ where I wear this: My everyday everyday perfume.
RRP: $29 (for 50ml)

* Daisy by Marc Jacobs *
To me, this is just spring! Floral and light, I always feel pretty when I wear this. The bottle is so adorable too with the rubbery daisies on the cap. Onto my third bottle of this as well.

Eau De Toilette
Top Notes: Strawberry, Violet and Pink Grapefruit
Middle Notes: Gardenia, Jasmine and Violet
Bottom Notes: Vanilla, Musk and White Woods

Where/ when do I wear this: When I want to feel pretty (rather than rockstar haha). When it's sunny outside and I'm feeling energic and lighthearted.
RRP: from $69 (50ml)

* Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf  *
This is my absolute favourite perfume I own. It's very floral and delicious. Although this is definitely an expensive one, it is worth it.

Eau De Parfum
Top Notes: Green Tea and Bergamont
Middle Notes: Sambac Jasmine, Centafolia Rose, Freesia and Orchid
Bottom Notes: Musk and Patcholi

Where/ when do I wear this: On special occasions.
RRP: from $119



* L.A.M.B by Gwen Stefani *
You must be laughing at all these celebrity perfumes by now right? This is the only fragrance I own that is quite heavy, woody and most definitely a night/ winter scent. Even though it is described as a floral, I find it very heavy and definitely not how I would describe it. Probably a woody oriental in my opinion. The bottle itself is quite heavy but I LOVE the design and how it looks.

Eau De Parfum
Top Notes: Violet Leaf, Water Hyacinth and White Freesia
Middle Notes: Jasmine, Rose, Lily of the Valley and Orange Blossom
Bottom Notes: Frangipani, Peach, Helitrope and White Musk

Where/ when do I wear this: This is my go to bottle in winter. I find it too heavy (for myself) any other time of the year.
RRP: from $19

* CKin2U *

Ughhhh my Fave daytime, summer fragrance. I'm currently on either my third or forth bottle of this! I feel so energetic and fresh when I wear this. Definitely the fruity/ citrusy one of my collection. I really love the matte white bottle too. Simple but amazing. The only thing that makes me sad about the design however, is that you can only see how much you've got when you're almost out.

Eau De Toilette
Top Notes: Pink Grapefruit, Bergamont and Red Currant leaves
Middle Notes: Sugar Orchid and White Cactus
Bottom Notes: Vanilla, Amber and Red Cedar

Where/ when do I wear this: My everyday scent in summer.
RRP: from $19

* With Love by Hilary Duff *

This one has a very sexy feel, so this is my go-to when I go out clubbing or something "nighty". It's a bit darker and deeper, which makes it a perfect night scent, which you can get away with wearing outside of winter. It is described as a spicy oriental.
Side note: The bottle is almost empty as i've had this bottle for years, not that I party like some wild person haha.

Eau De Toilette
Top Notes: Spices and Mango
Middle Notes: Cocolobo and Mango Blossom
Bottom Notes: Amber and Musk

Where/ when I wear this: Night time events like clubbing, or drinks with the girls.
RRP: from $39

I also really love Beyond Paradise by Estee Lauder but need to grab a new bottle.

* My top fave 3: *

~ Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf

~ CKin2U by Calvin Klein

~ Daisy by Marc Jacobs

FRAGRANCE TIPS:

~ Eau De Toilette is a shorter wearing fragrance with between 5-15% fragrance oil (usually about 10%), which means you need to reapply more often. 

~ Eau De Parfum has a higher % of fragrance oil (roughly 10-20%, usually 15%), which is why it lasts longer, smells stronger and is typically more expensive. 

~ NEVER rub your perfume eg; rubbing your wrists together, as it actually "bruises" your perfume and changing the way it comes off on you. 

~ When trying out a new fragrance from the counters, make sure you get the assistant (or yourself) to actually spray your skin (not those pieces of card), as everyone has different skin/ body chemistry, and what you smell on someone else, may not actually smell like that on you! 

~ Try not to spray your neck/ décolletage as most fragrance has alcohol in it, which can dry out your skin, and over time can result in you having more wrinkles in those areas (especially combined with sun exposure and not moisturing that area every night along with your face routine)!

~ Don't have you perfume collection where the sun can "see" it as that can actually make your perfume go off quicker than the expiry date. 

What does scent mean to you? Do you have a signature?



All fragrances are available from Priceline, Myer, David Jones, Chemist Warehouse, and Perfume Connection. 
I purchase the majority of my perfumes from Priceline as it's usually cheaper and I get Priceline points which = quarterly rewards etc.
Prices are from the Priceline website.

What I'm Currently Using: haircare

Soooo, I'm definitely not the best when it comes to hair. I'm definitely a pony girl and the most elaborate style I can achieve is a French braid (messily, of course). I wish I was one of those girls who ALWAYS has cute hair, even the ability to do a nice frontal side braid thing would be nice.

However, I definitely try to take care of my hair as much as I can. Of course, I still do the wrong thing occasionally. I still over-straighten my hair, which is one hard task to try and un-do after years of straightening over the same piece of hair to make it as straight as possible! It seems to be the reason I always have 2 spots near my temple that are always broken and wispy. I'm only learning to not tie my hair up when it's wet, but I have finally stopped brushing my hair whilst wet. I also dye my hair... A lot... Since I was 12... All kind of colours.... So you can imagine the mess going on. I'm also trying to grow it long, so refuse to cut it, coz we all know that's how we get long luscious hair without extensions, right? Right? Please tell me I'm right? I honestly think it would be so much easier, and god have I been tempted, to just shave my head a-la Britney 2007. So, if you're like me, and also about as brave as what I am, aka not brave at all, here's a heads up on my fave products I use to prevent more damage from occurring...

First up, let me just say, I'm pretty *lazy* and wash my hair max twice a week. I hate washing my hair. Even if I do use awesome stuff. Ugh! Worst beauty job for me.

Shampoo/ Conditioner:
I rotate a lot so I'm currently using Tresemme Platinum Strength shampoo (the black with purple writing new one) and Tresemme Thermal Recovery conditioner (the white with red writing one). I like them both so far (been using for about a month) and would recommend them.

Treatments:
Moroccan Oil treatment oil:
UGH! THE SMELL! Why hasn't someone made this scent into a perfume, or candle, or something! I LOVE the smell SO MUCH! I use this every time I wash my hair, on my mid lengths-ends of my hair and around my temples on those wispy bits. This is my holy grail hair product and will buy religiously. Definitely makes my hair more smoother and in better condition.

Redken Anti-Snap treatment:
I mix this with my Moroccan Oil treatment. I would definitely recommend this for those with extreme damage like I do. I focus this product on the ends of my hair and those front wispy, damaged bits.

Redken Natures Rescue Refining Sea Polish:
This is a pumice like hair exfoliator that I use when I remember. More so, because it has been discontinued vs, when I remember to use it. This is something you use all over to really clean and smooth the hair, and I really work it into my scalp to remove all the dead skin/ hair cells for a "deep clean". Even though it's an actual scrub, it doesn't harm the hair follicles at all. My hair always feels so clean and fresh when I use this. 

Moroccan Oil Repair hair mask:
I use this when I remember or when I can be bothered, so usually once every 2 weeks, which you really shouldn't be using it more than that due to the product being protein based, and more protein in the hair can actually cause major hair breakage. Definitely makes my hair SO much smoother after using this. Again, the smell is lush!












Heat protection:




GHD heat protectant spray:
I buy this when I have cash because well, I have a GHD, so I should use products that go with my device right? Haha. I just like nice things.

Tresemme heat protectant spray:
A fraction of the cost of the GHD stuff, I can't really tell the difference but the boyfie likes this, so I buy this one too.









Styling Products:
Moroccan Oil strong hold hairspray:
Bought this purely for the smell. If you have plenty of cash laying around and wanna blow it on pointless stuff, then this is your item. It honestly doesn't work any better or worse than any other hairspray I've used (usually Tresemme hairspray), so definitely not a "must have". It doesn't leave your hair crunchy though, which is good, staying power is good too. It definitely is a quality product, but there are same quality products for cheaper.

Paul Mitchell smoothing Gloss Drops:
I use this after straightening to make my hair nice and shiny and to smooth any fly always. This is my fave smoothing product I've ever used. It's not greasy and doesn't leave your hair feeling heavy or looking oil slicked and greasy. I'm pretty sure this too has been discontinued, and that makes me really sad.

Batiste Cherry dry shampoo:
I rave about this all the time and is my fave dry shampoo. Highly recommend trying this range. I wanna try the Wild one next!

Schwartzkopf Instant Volume powder:
To be honest I'm not really a fan of this. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not using this properly or the product isn't 100%. When this runs out (or I've had enough), I'll be purchasing the Kevin Murphy Powder Puff Next, as I've heard nothing but good things.




Tools:
Straightener:
GHD: Pure edition
I use my good old trusty GHD! I love it, and highly recommend it. I got the white one from the Pure/Evil collection about 6 years ago. My original one did break after just past 2 years of use, but GHD head office are beyond amazing and replaced it for me, even though I was just out of warranty. The customer service is top notch. If you have a GHD and haven't registered it on their site, seriously go do it in case something like that happens to you. Also, does anyone else feel the need to buy more than one as they're always coming out with awesome new coloured ones? No? Just me, ok then (for the record I only have this one but am very tempted to buy one of the blue/green birds of paradise one ... It's just SO pretty!).

Hair Dryer:
I still use the one my mum bought me for my birthday when I was like 14. I lost the diffuser for it though haha. Still works like a charm too. It's a Remington metallic purple one.

Hair brush:
I've actually been really lazy and haven't bought a new one since I did that post about washing your hair brush. I do have a Lady Jayne shower comb though for when I get out of the shower (obviously...).

Hair Decoration:
I'm starting to use more hair decorations like headbands and those currently fashionable hair pieces that sit around your forehead (think gatsby, Shannon Harris or Karissa Pukas). I also am loving the hair bun for an elegant style bun, and they are SO easy to use. I get all my hair accessories from eQuip.

Something REALLY handy!

Ok, so I know it's not a beauty related item but I definitely thought this product is worth raving about and super handy to have.
If you're anything like me, you're constantly on your phone (to be honest, I may have a slight addiction to my phone) and it's always SO frustrating when you're out and you lose charge on your phone/ it dies. We've ALL been there, let's be honest.

This little device is a self-powered phone/ iPod/ digital camera/ USB device charger that you charge up, then take anywhere to re-charge your device, at a later date, wherever and whenever you like. I keep mine in my handbag so I can re-charge at work if I need to.

It comes with a cable connector which has jacks for the above items but importantly, for a lot of people, an iPhone 5 jack (I will gladly be able to give my boss a charger when she asks now haha);
and a car charger which you put into the cigarette lighter port thingy (Do all cars still even have these?) so you can charge while you're driving. It only takes roughly (depending on what you're charging I guess) an hr and a half from 0-100%.

It's about 10cm long and will fit into pretty much any bag/ glovebox/ wherever you might want to keep one etc

It comes in different colours too.
There are also other models for iPads and such too.

Available: smartercharger.com.au
RRP: $39.95 (for the basic phone charger)


* To make a long story short, I was gifted this but opinions are my 100% my own, I've had one before and highly recommend them, obviously. 

High end makeup haul

This has been the stuff I've been lemming for AGES and what I've collected over the past couple months, I know it's not a lot because hello bills/ being an adult/ buying practical shit. But here it is, my LOVES!!

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Highlight powder in Dim Light.
Been wanting this for ages but could never justify spending $62 on it. Fortunately, I put some feelers out for a cp on specktra.net and a wonderful girl, JaimieLee, came to my rescue and picked this up for me, along with the NARS concealer. Unfortunately, along with the tax and shipping etc, it ended up costing the same as if I had picked it up myself. Oh well, still a majorly generous thing for her to do for me and I appreciate it SO much! Anyway, onto the product. I don't know why I was thinking this was smallish, but I was so surprised when I got it! It's HUGE! I mean it's pretty pricy and it makes sense but I was genuinely shocked haha. This powder is finely milled and definitely makes a difference to my face. I find it has good coverage and isn't cakey. Worth every cent and definitely worth checking out.
You can check out Jaimielee's blog here:
Hippopotamuslee

NARS creamy concealer in Vanilla.
Again, been after this from seeing countless beauty gurus using and recommending it. I've been using a temptu concealer palette and wanted to try something different. I really like it, as it has good coverage and it blends out very easily.

YSL Touché Éclat #2 Luminous Ivory (limited edition leopard print).
I have had my eye on this since it was first released about 4-6 months ago in Europe. I've also been stalking my closest DJs for a while to make sure I got my hands on it. Australia FINALLY released it last week of June and I got my hands on one from Mecca Cosmetica. I love, love, love this and it is a repurchase but I was really lemming the leopard print casing. I'll be getting another one as a back up.

Too Faced Sweethearts Bronzing pearls.
Another repurchase of my fave powder. Beauty Bay had a special on all Too Faced beauty products so I thought I'd take advantage and get another one. I'm no where near finished my first one so a pure backup for when I'm ready. I love the glow this gives and is fast becoming my fave face powder.

Too Faced Glitter Glue.
I've never tried this before but I've seen quite a few recommendations on it and now it means I've actually got something sticky to use with my MAC glitters. You can read my review on it below.

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk foundation in 4 (light sand).
I got a sample of this years ago, liked it and I've always wanted to buy a full size bottle, but the fact it's $92 has me running to the hills. However, I use strawberrynet.com.au quite often and they had 10% off all Australian orders (+ an extra 4% off for my 5th order), so it came down to around $60, so of course I bought it.


NARS Schiap lipstick.
Another item I have wanted for yonks! Like YONKS! Strawberrynet.com.au now has this stocked so I bought this too. This shade is a semi-matte.

NYX Pencil Lip liners in Tangerine, Bright Pink, Deep Purple, & Purple Rain.
I needed some lip liners to "round off" my collection, and Cherry Culture we're having a sale so I thought why not. My local Target doesn't sell the pencil lip liners, only retractable ones (which I highly dislike). Pencils are always a winner for me. The only colours I *need* now, are a nice crisp red and a lilac (which I really should just invent/ come up with as NO ONE IN ANY BRAND SELLS, and no, light purple eyeliner doesn't count. I want an ACTUAL light purple LIP pencil!)

Shanghai Suzy lipstick in Miss Amy (Baby Pink). 
A total random purchase. I saw Chloe Morello's tutorial on YouTube and needed the lipstick. So I bought it. It smells like grape bubblegum. It is amazing. They're only $13. It's matte.
ShanghaiSuzy.com (where you can too, smell the deliciousness that is grape bubblegum in a lipstick).

L-R: Shanghai Suzy Miss Amy, NARS Schiap
NYX Deep Purple, Purple Rain, Bright Pink and Tangerine. 

What's next on my shopping list:
The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter
Inglot AMC holographic lip glosses
Makeup Store Atomic lipgloss
Makeup Store glitter liner in Chocolux and Showstopper


What's on your shopping list?
What do you think about what I purchased, do you love or dislike anything and why?