Beyonce 'Pulse' eau de parfum

Last week on my shopping trip I walked through Myer's perfume department (as you do, always ... :)) and there in it's glory, flashing lights and all, was Beyonce 'Pulse' on display!!! :) Well of course I had to try it didn't I, I then went around sampling numerous other perfumes on the little cards making myself a little light headed, hehehe, sniffed at the coffee beans and continued on :)

I liked it, I kept going back to the swatch and smelling it and I really liked it.

It's described as being a 'citrus, floral gourmand (someone who enjoys gourmet), anchored by Beyonce's favourite flower, the orchid'.

To me it's much more like passion fruit in a way, very sweet and quite tropical. It smells young and fun and is pretty strong to start with but then gets a little bit powdery as the fragrance matures but not too much. I really wanted a new perfume for the warmer weather and it was a toss up between 'Pulse' and 'Sensuous Nude', can you guess which one I decided to buy???? Yeah, I bought 'Pulse' this time around and am pleased with my puchase.

For $89.00 I got

100ml (3.4fl oz) eau de parfum vaporisor - natural spray
15ml (0.5fl oz) eau de parfum vaporisor - natural spray
75ml (2.5fl oz) luminous body milk
75ml (2.5fl oz) luminous hower cream

The 100ml bottle normally sells for $89.00 (in australia).  There was a choice between the boxed package I chose or you could get a large tote bag with your purchase instead.

The bottle is designed to stand 'upside down' with the large silver lids, which are inspired by Beyonce's costumes, being removable from the bottles and the body milk has a 'shimmer' to it which I didn't realise until I got outside. I felt a little like a vampire when I went in the sun, hahaha, I guess this would look great for night time partying.

Of course you have to remember this fragrance is not a concentrate so for an all-day scent you may need to reapply a few times, a little disappointing that it looses it's fragrance so quickly. That's one of the reasons I went for the boxed package, so that I could carry the smaller bottle in my handbag!! :)

In my opinion this is a scent for a younger person.

The packaging is pretty flash and I'm sure I'll find a use for the box. My only other real disappointment is that it didn't come with the flashing lights like the ones on the display :P hahaha :) and yes, I did ask! hahahaha :D

Sneak Peek of 'NEW' Sigma products ...

Sigma always have something new up their sleeve and this time around it's more than one NEW thing!!! In fact there are quite a few new product releases about to take place over November and December. Some of them are in fact brand new releases and some are repackaged into more convenient sets.

As I haven't trialed or even seen these products in real life yet, I can only show you a few pictures of what's in store and update you as they are released for sale so if you're looking for something for Christmas for yourself or as a gift for someone special, you might want to consider Sigma for that special gift.

Also, a little birdie told me that there will be a 'Black Friday Sale' at Sigma, Black Friday is 24th November which is a day I will be away, so I'll arrange to have a post scheduled for this!!!

The Cities Collection (travel size)

Make Me Up Collection (Travel Edition)

The Bunny Collection (Vegan friendly)

The Extravaganza Face Kit (18k gold plated)

The Extravaganza Complete Kit (18k gold plated)

* All photos curtesy of 'SigmaBeauty'

School Formal 2011 - Two Week Countdown ...

With less than two weeks to go to my Formal I'm pleased to say I managed to cross a few things off my list from last week's post, YAY!!!

Dress:


As I said last week I have my dress already but I wanted to mention that if you do have your dress already or bought it months ago, it's a good idea to put it away where you can't see it all the time, I got my mum to look after mine so I didn't see it all the time, the reason for this is because after a while it may loose it's appeal because you see it a lot!  I've only seen mine about 3 times briefly since I got it home and will be trying it on this coming week with all my accessories etc just to make sure everything works! Then it will go away again until my Formal :) It may sound a strange thing to do but I don't want to fall 'out of love' with it.

Accessories:


This week I found the bracelets for my Formal, I already had two 'marilyn monroe' style bracelets which cost me about $20.00 but I wanted to add to them for a bit of variety and found a bundle of three that will work great, they are sparkly with gold accents, they cost $19.95.  I've decided to wear a pair of earrings I already had, they are a nice medium length large gems set in silver but they're not 'over the top' so they won't grab too much attention.

Shoes and Clutch:


After weeks of searching and trying shoes on I finally found a pair that will work well, Myer had some new stock in on Wednesday and luckily the pair I found are a great match.  They are 'Guess' brand, delicately glittered and very high!! :D ..... some walking practice will be in order before the big event :)  The shoes were initially $149.00 but they were on sale and I got them for $111.00 YAY!!

I also found my Clutch for the night, it's satin with sparkles down the centre which match with my 'marilyn monroe' bracelets nicely.  It's an 'Arabella' brand and the cost of the clutch was $34.95 down from $59.99 :) :)

Hair:


I've cut back on using heat on my hair as much as I can this week and using a 'Deep Conditioner' to keep it looking and feeling great.  I went to get my hair dye but they didn't have the right colour that I want so I will have to keep looking in different stores this coming week and find it, I really want it dyed by the end of the week :/

Nails:


Not much has been done to them as life keeps getting in the way and keeping me busy :/ I haven't broken any so that's a good thing :P

Skin:


I've drank a lot more water this past week and also more green tea.  I've had a little breakout on my chin which is a bit annoying but this is what happens sometimes so hopefully it will settle down again by Formal.

Tanning:


So I've decided to go 'natural' for Formal, after being burned last weekend and getting 'strap marks' I'm making an effort to apply lots of suncream and stay out of the sun as much as I can.  Wearing different styled tops when out walking will help too so that I don't get a definite line going where my tops are.

Makeup:


I've been practicing different methods of applying my foundation to get a 'flawless' finish this week.

Transport:


Our transport times were finally confirmed by the Company and everyone agrees on everything so that is good know.  There are about 14 of us travelling together to the Formal and we get the vehicle for one hour, should be good :D :D

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Lately I've noticed quite a bit more stress at school between friendships, with final testing coming up this week, formal arrangements to make, schoolies events to finalise and just generally finishing our education it's such a lot to think about but it's still important to take time out for ourselves in between everything else, no point in making yourself sick with worry and stress, I'm making sure I go for walks with my boyfriend and to socialise with my friends outside of school, it helps keep me relaxed and grounded which helps me to enjoy the end of my schooling :) :) :)  Remember to breathe!!!

Schoolies 2011- Almost Here!!!!

I'm getting so excited now because along with the end of School Graduation and Year 12 Formal comes Schoolies!!!!  For anyone not knowing what this is, it's a celebration by all Year 12 School leavers at the end of their schooling :) In some States it's also called 'Leavers'.


It usually goes for about 3 -4 weeks, generally the first week is for Queensland the second for New South Wales and then the third for the other States (although this does change some years) .... but that doesn't mean you can't go whenever you want.  It's a week long party for you and your friends and usually the first time you get to go away without your family :D 


The most famous place to go is Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in Queensland, it's where 30,000+ school leavers go to party and party hard, so if that is your scene then that's the place for you.


Of course not everyone wants to be part of that 30,000+ crowd so they choose other destinations for their party week.  There's Byron Bay in New South Wales, Lorne in Melbourne, Victor Harbour in SA, Rottnest in WA and the Whitsundays in Northern Queensland, just to name a few, that all have planned Schoolies events and security.  If that's still not your thing you may want to find your own place to enjoy yourself and just hang with your friends, many choose quieter spots along the coastline or some even go to Bali or Fiji for their celebrations, the choice is yours!! :) Probably best to choose the location that suits your personality and your budget the best.


For a full look at Schoolies and to find out all locations visit 'Schoolies.com'


Wherever you decide to spend your time remember to make it great.  Be with friends you can trust and have the time of your life with :) :) Over the years 'Schoolies' has got a lot of bad press because of a handful of incidents, there's so many good news stories come back from schoolies, not everyone goes to get drunk and cause trouble!!  It's easy to get a bit nervous about going to Schoolies but If you choose the destination to suit your needs properly you should have a great time :)


Leading up to Schoolies it's easy to forget basic boring stuff such as budgeting, shopping etc etc so take a bit of time to discuss things with your friends before you go, you don't want to find out everyone has twice as much money as you so they can do heaps more stuff than you, that would really suck!!!!! Remember too, you will probably need a 'house budget' for basics like nibblies, coffee, juice,  toilet paper etc, you know the stuff you never want to run out of :) Even in a lot of resorts you will only be given the basics for your room so you and your friends will have to buy stuff. Take advantage of free breakfasts and nibblies whenever you can and fill up through the day hahaha that way you wont have to buy as much food each day and may only need to buy your dinner :P


What to take:
yourself :)
your friends  ..... hahaha
your Year 12 ID !!!
money - you need enough to buy food, drinks and entertainment every day you are away and extra for emergencies :) different locations call for different costs (check before you go)
clothes - if you're lazy and don't want to wash, take enough for the whole week!!
makeup - of course :)
shoes - comfy ones
mobile and recharger - if you're on pre-paid be sure to have plenty of credit


Don't take:
bad attitude
anything too valuable


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The 'Red Frog Crew' is a Schoolies Support Network which has a positive presence in the Schoolies party week, they offer help in many ways from cooking and cleaning to emotional help when it's needed. They also provide entertainment and chill-out zones throughout the week in some destinations :)


Take advantage of the 'Red Frogs' people who are there to help you, they will come and cook you up some frog pancakes if you want them to, they will also walk you back to your accommodation if you get stranded or feel unsafe in any way!! :)  


MOST IMPORTANT THING:  STAY SAFE!!!, there's a life beyond schoolies!!!!! :D


Be sure to have their number keyed into your mobile - 1300557123

School Formal 2011 - Three Week Countdown ...

My Year 12 School Formal is in three weeks time so to keep myself on track and maybe help a few others out there I thought I would do a 'Three Week Countdown' to the event :)  This is 'Week Three'

Dress:
I have my dress already picked out but if you don't, now is really the time to get that out of the way! When I picked mine I tried to wipe my mind of any 'pre-conceived' ideas and styles and just went for what was available.  Luckily for me the very first dress in the very first shop was IT!! :D I just loved it so there was no reason to keep looking, YAY!! I hope you find your perfect dress just as easy.

Accessories:
Picking accessories can be done at the same time as buying the dress but we all know that you don't always find what you're looking for.  I purchased some earrings, ring and bracelets but left the dress in the car when I did this and when I got home they just didn't look right with the gown :(

With three weeks to go and my mission is to try to find the perfect accessories for the night.  My dress is patterned and strapless so I'm going for some medium length dangly earrings, bracelet and ring and forgetting about a necklace as I want to draw attention to my face.  I can either go 'vintage' or 'semi-sparkly' with my dress and have about three colours that would work.  Luckily my dress has some extra long laces on it that reach the ground so I'm able to trim a sample of the end to pop in my handbag so I don't forget the colours when out shopping.  I also gave my date a sample this way for his suit/accessories.

Shoes and Clutch:
I still need to find the right shoes!!! This is probably the hardest job so far, I've looked at so many shoes in my area and none shout 'PERFECT' to me so I'm still looking and hoping for new stock.  I would really love to get them this week because that would give me time to 'play' in them around the house and break them in :)  I was also thinking a small clutch bag would be good on the night, one that will do the job but not draw a lot of attention as my dress is patterned so it's probably best to keep a clutch more simple. There's not a lot you need to take with you to Formal but here's a sampling of what to put in your clutch:

Lipstick/Lipgloss
Mirror
Powder
Eyeliner
Mobile Phone
Perfume
Small Camera

Hair:
I booked my hair appointment a couple of days ago, I thought it would be a nice treat and pamper session to have my hair done for the day.  I will be getting a trim this coming weekend to tidy it up and may be re-dyeing it 'darkest chocolate' so it doesn't look tired and dull. I haven't settled on the exact style yet but it will probably be an updo of some type :)

Nails:
Let's not forget about our nails!!! I tend to forget about these little things a lot but I'm making a real effort to have them looking nice for Formal.  I'll be keeping them well trimmed and filed and using my cuticle cream by Burts Bees to get them looking as nice as I can. I'm still deciding whether to get a new set of Gel Nails or not? I'll let you know :) Toe nails are just as important, if you're wearing a lovely pair of peep toes or sandals you want your toes looking cute so some pampering is recommended for toes too!!

Skin:
I've started to drink more water this week, the weather is warming up and I want my skin looking nice so water can be your best friend.  A once a week face mask should help out too.  Don't forget the skin on your shoulders, chest and back areas.  If you're wearing a strapless dress or even shoestring straps you're going to be showing off the skin in those areas so try a gentle exfoliating scrub on your back and shoulders once a week.  Don't use this on your chest as the skin here is quite gentle, a cleanser on this area would probably work better and don't forget your neck :)

Get someone to help you with your back and gently massage the scrub in for you.

Tanning:
To tan or not to tan??? Now may be the right time to think about your tan, if you want a fake self tan or spray tan and have never had one before at least you have three weeks to get it right, do not leave it for the week of the event!  For spray tans try to go to a quality salon, recommendations from friends are probably good for this one. Remember some self tanners can rub off in humidity (like sweating when you dance).

If you want a real tan, remember those tan lines!!!! They are not a good look in a strapless dress so be very careful not to get sun burned! :/

Makeup:
Start looking around for ideas for your makeup.  Book your makeup appointment now if you haven't already. I'm doing my own makeup for my formal as I feel comfortable about it and if you are too, start trying different looks now so that you know exactly what you want on the night, write down what you use in a book so that you don't forget and even take a photo up close so that you can look at it a couple of days later and see if you still like it and that it works well in photos.  Apparently a lot of the SPF foundations don't always turn out well on film/camera so test it out! :) :)

Transport:
By now hopefully you've arranged some sort of transport for the evening.  You will need a way of getting to the event and returning. There's a lot of ways you can arrive, helicopter :), motor cycle (watch that dress hahaha), Limo, Hummer, Carriage etc... Car hire can be a bit expensive if you go alone but if you book with a group of friends it will cut the costs down drastically and you can all arrive in style together, remember to allow and confirm time for photos before your formal if you want them.  Getting home or to an afterparty etc doesn't need to be as fancy, just be sure to have a safe and reliable ride to get you where you need to go and tell your parents or family exactly where you will be for safety's sake!!! You may want to change out of your formal clothes before partying on so they don't get ruined so arrange some extra clothes for this.

Ok, so this is like my 'Three Week's to Go' list of things to get organised, join me next week and see if I got them done and what still needs to be done!!!! :)

October Lust Have It and Beauty Boxes ...

October is almost over, where did it go????? So here's a quickie post on the October Lust Have It and Beauty Box (now known as Glossy Box) and what I like in them.

Lust Have It

This month we were treated to five products

1.  Genifique Youth Activator by Lancome x 2 Sample tubes

I'm trying out the 'Youth Activator' but it's not really a product I would buy just yet as I'm only young so I don't really think this is a product for me, may even give it to my mum.

2.  Cream Blush by Lime Lily Cosmetics, mine was in the colour 'Temptation'

I like this, the colour looks dark but once blended it works well and you can use it on your lips as well, bonus!!

3.  'Honey I washed the kids' soap by Lush

Love this!!  It smells so devine :D

4.  Collagen Orange Drink by Taut

This was a surprise to get in the box, I would never purchase this product myself but I guess some people would.  It's important to read instructions and contents before sampling things like this because you may be allergic.  This particular product contains 'shark cartilage' so anyone who has an allergic reaction to seafood should defs stay clear!

5.  The 'Resistance' Range by Kerastase x 6 sample sachets (2 of each)

These samples contained 2 each of 'Bain De Force Shampoo', Ciment Anti - Usure Treatment (Conditioner) and 'Ciment Thermique - Reconstructor Milk'.  It did take a bit to understand what the last two were exactly but that's no biggie.  Love these, especially the 'Reconstructor Milk' which I'm actually considering purchasing.

Beauty Box (now called Glossy Box)

Four samples were in this box along with a 'Beauty Treat'

1.  John Frieda Full Repair Full Body Shampoo and Conditioner

A good sized sample tube of each, I quite like the feel on these on my hair so there's no complaints here. There was also a $4.00 off voucher with any 'John Frieda' purchase from Priceline.

2.  Shiseido Sheer Matifying Compact Foundation

Firstly, this is just so CUTE!!! I love getting samples that look like this :D  Haven't really had a chance to trial it and it's not quite my colour so I'll let you know if I love it at a later stage. This also came with a complimentary 'make-over' voucher that can be redeemed from any Shiseido counter.

3.  Garnier Body Intensive - 7 Days x 2 sample sachets

A body lotion that's designed for dry skin, this product feels lovely on and does what it says.  No problems with this one :)

4.  Calvin Klein Frangrance - CK Shock for Her and for Him

We received two sample bottles of each, I can't say I was in love with these at all, unfortunately they are not my kind of scent but nice samples anyway.

Beauty Treat - Biotherm 'Aquasource Moisturiser'

This was a great sample size, I've been using this since I got it and am liking it a lot :D  This also came with a 'free sample' voucher redeemable from Myer which I will probably make use of next time I'm there :D

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So this month was pretty good for samples, there were only a couple of disappointments, mainly the orange drink and the youth activator (only because I'm young).  I will get both boxes again in November.

Beauty Box is now known as 'Glossy Box' which is an overseas sample box company so hopefully that experience will reflect in the contents of the Australian box, not that I've been disappointed yet.  So next month there will be no Beauty Box.

Bella Box also started up this month, I missed the first shipment of this one but will order the November box to see what it is like.

I Love This Box is another sample box starting in November so it should be an interesting month.

As I don't intend getting 4 boxes each month I will decide which of the first two boxes I intend to keep - Lust Have It or Beauty/Glossy Box.  I will then narrow my choices between 'Bella Box' and 'I Love This Box' over the following three months - sample city here I come hahaha!! :D

GIVEAWAY - Sigma Beauty ...

I'm having a Giveaway on my YouTube Channel :D

For a chance to win either:

Your choice of two of the Bare, Flare and Dare eyeshadow pallets
$50.00 Gift Voucher
$20.00 Gift Voucher

From Sigma Beauty, just check out the video and follow the instructions!!!

This Giveaway closes on 1st November, 2011 (Australian time) and you can enter once a day.

GOOD LUCK!!!!! :)