Mask of Magnaminty

 

I have seen the future, and in it, my entire skincare routine consists of Lush products. And my wallet isn't very happy about it. I've seriously been loving Lush stuff these past months, starting when I got Grease Lightening. But now I've come to rave about another skincare product that actually gets a lot of love online - the Mask of Magnaminty.

 

A friend of mine actually bought it, and gave me about two or three masks worth. Before I started using it I used to get really big pimples that generally left horrible scars, but ever since the first use I've been amazed at how clear my skin has been. So when I realized that I didn't have much left from what my friend gave me, I rushed to Lush and bought my own pot. It doesn't come cheap (here it was $5.900 Chilean pesos, about $12 US dollars, for the small pot of 4.4 oz), but I think it's worth it.

 

Since it's not one of their fresh masks, this one lasts up to four months, and you really don't need a lot to cover your whole face. I usually leave it one for about 15 minutes and then gently rub it before taking it off in the shower.

The only thing I don't really like is the smell - at first I thought it had gone bad (I even asked my friend if it was near the expiration date), but I ended up getting used to it after the second use.

 

 Mask of Magnaminty

LUSH USA ($12.95)

 

What's your favourite Lush product?

My Nail Saviours

              

               As a nail polish junkie, I used to do a really bad thing - I took off my nail polish with my nails, which only resulted in horribly uneven and fickle nails. Needless to say, nail polish chipped off immediately and my nails broke constantly. One day I decided enough was enough, and bought Growth Spurt at a local nail salon. After putting on a coat or two every two days for about a week I saw a lot of improvement, and so it became a staple of mine - I use it as a base coat every time I change my polish, which is every week now. It's lasted me a long time considering how much I use it, and I think I'll be repurchasing it when it's finished - it's a great product at a great price (here in Chile it's considerably cheaper than the OPI version).

              The reason why I scratched off my polish in the first place was because my nail polish removers always left my fingers dry after I used it. Enter this funny-looking bottle: FYO is acetone free, and it also has keratin and almond oil to keep your fingers hydrated. After ten minutes of  trying to figure out how to use it (you turn the top part counter-clockwise and then you pump out the product into a cotton pad) I was marvelled - it took off polish quickly and it didn't dry out my fingers. I've already used half of it and I will be repurchasing after I finish it.

And that's it! What are your staple nail products?

 

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Soy alguien que está obsesionada con los esmaltes de uñas, y antes hacía algo muy malo - me sacaba el esmalte con las uñas, lo que solo resultó en uñas débiles y horribles. Todos los esmaltes no me duraban nada y se me rompían las uñas a cada rato. Un día decidí que ya estaba bueno, y compré Growth Spurt en Intersalon. Después de ponerme una o dos capas cada dos días como por una semana, mis uñas mejoraron muchísimo, así que ahora lo uso cada vez que me pinto las uñas, como base. Me ha durado mucho considerando lo mucho que lo uso, y creo que volveré a comprarlo cuando lo termine - es un muy buen product a un precio muy asequible (acá en Chile es mucho más barato que la version OPI).

 

La razón por la que me sacaba el esmalte con las uñas en primer lugar es porque siempre que usaba el quitaesmalte, los dedos me quedaban demasiado resecos. Y de ahí apareció esta botella rara: FYO es un quitaesmalte que no tiene acetone y que además tiene keratina y aceite de almendras para hidratar los dedos. Después de estar diez minutos tratando de averiguar como se abría (mueves la parte de arriba en el sentido contrario del reloj y después apretas la tapa para abajo con un algodón para que salga el producto) estaba encantada - remueve el esmalte rápido y no te deja para nada los dedos secos. Ya llevo como la mitad y definitivamente lo volveré a comprar cuando lo termine.

H&M Home Wishlist

I recently learned that H&M has a home section (of course, it doesn't exist here in Chile) but that didn't stop me from going on the website. Now I want to buy most of the items in stock, but these are my favourites:

Penguin Cushion // Napkins // Towels // Jar // Teal Pillow // Dishcloth

 

What's your favourite item?

Spring Inspiration

I know all (or nearly all) of the blogs that I follow are excited for the arrival of autumn, but here in the southern hemisphere we're getting ready for spring! Apart from a horrible allergy that I get every spring, I'm looking forward to longer days and more sunshine.

Source: Tumblr

Empties No.1

I have so much stuff piled up that I'm going to split these into two posts! So here's the first batch of products that I've used up:

 

- Bodycology White Gardenia Shower Gel & Foaming Bath. I really liked the scent of this, but it didn't lather that much.
Repurchase? If it were on sale, I would.

- Whoosh Shower Jelly. The concept of a shower jelly baffled me a bit at first, but after you get used to it and learn to take small amounts so that it doesn't slip and fall all over the tub, I fell in love with it.
Repurchase? Yes, already did!

- L'Oreal Pure Zone Toner. I really didn't like this - I didn't think it did anything for my skin and the scent was so strong it made my eyes water.
Repurchase? No!

- Garnier Skin Naturals Day Moisturizer. I didn't like this one either - it left a weird residue after putting it on.
Repurchase? Nope.

- Neutrogena Oil-Free Makeup Remover. This was a terrible makeup remover. As a waterproof mascara user I've been searching for a good makeup remover, and this is not it! It never fully took off my mascara - I always woke up the next day with panda eyes, no matter how many soaked cotton pads I used.
Repurchase? No!

- MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC30. It had good coverage and was moisturizing enough, but I still didn't love it enough to make it my holy grail concealer.
Repurchase? Maybe someday.

- Cala Aloe Vera Make-up Cleansing Tissues. I wasn't really impressed with the way they removed my makeup, plus they sometimes felt like I was cleaning my skin with sandpaper. 
Repurchase? No.

Have you used any of these products? Don't you hate having to pile up empty stuff for these kinds of posts?

ASOS Wishlist

I had been a good girl until yesterday, when, bored and in need of a break from studying, I caved and went into ASOS. This (of course) only resulted in me wanting to buy all of these:

 

 

 

1///2///3///4///5///6

 

What have you been craving from ASOS?

 

How Much Does Your Face Cost?

I saw this post a few weeks ago in Eyeshadow Addicts Anonymous's blog, and I thought I would give it a go!

THE RULES: Add up the total cost of all cosmetics used to complete a typical day look, excluding skincare and brushes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FACE

1. MAC Studio Finish Concealer. $17.000.

2. Rimmel Powder. $3.200.

3. Garnier Roll-On. $5.000. 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Petrizzio Bronzer. $3.990.

5. Essence Cream Blush. $1.290. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EYES

6. Avon Quad. $4.990.

7. Essence Eyeshadow. $1.290.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. L'Oreal Volume Lash Mascara. $6.490.

9. Rimmel ScandalEyes Eyeliner. $3.200.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIPS

10. Oriflame Lipstick. $1.490.

 

TOTAL: $48.040 Chilean Pesos ($95.17 US Dollars or $59.72 British Pounds)

 

I've got to admit, I wasn't scared of doing this, but holy moly! I can't believe that nearly all of the items are from the drugstore and it still adds up to so much. I'm officially appalled.

 

How much is your face worth?

 

Books to Read

 

I've been on a spending ban for quite a while now, specially when it comes to books. I have this huge pile to read, and with going back to uni there come other expenses (mainly printing) that need to be prioritized. So this is the list of books I'll be reading before I buy any more. If you want a review of any of them, leave a comment below! :

1) The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I only bought this one because I wanted to buy a new book (here in Chile the selection of books in English is terrible) and I had just seen Easy A.

2) The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I was halfway reading this about a year ago while at the beach, when a wave hit us and the poor book got wet. Because it's so huge it spent at least a two weeks out in the sun before drying out completely, and by that time I had already started reading something else and forgotten nearly all of the story.

3) The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. I also started reading this one, but I'm a traitor when it comes to books - I just change whenever I find something more exciting to read.

4) Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. This was my Christmas present. I had started reading Les Mis while I was at school, but since it was a library loan it meant that I had to 'return' it and check it out again every three days, I gave up. Now that I have my own copy I can finally read it at my own pace!

5) London Bridges by James Patterson. I found this one on a sort of car boot sale, it was the only book they had and it happened to be in English, so I quickly picked it up. I've had it for a couple of years, though, and still haven't cracked it open, and that needs to change.

Do you have any books that you've been planning to read but are still sitting on your bookshelf?

Motivation: Paris

I'm back at university and taking six career courses instead of the usual four plus other more general courses. Taking the six courses was the only way to make sure I don't fall behind one semester - it's going to be a lot of work, so I need to remind myself that it's all going to be for a greater cause: I want to go to Paris as an exchange student for a semester.

Image credit: Tumblr

Street Style Icon: Leighton Meester

There's no doubt that Leighton Meester became a fashion icon for her portrayal of Blair Waldorf, but, personally, I like her street style better. She wears very simple combinations that can be dressed up or down depending on the situation. Here are a few examples:

Images credit: leightonmeester.us

Cyzone 'Acqua' Nail Polish Review

Even though it's still technically winter here, we've had more sunshine-filled days than rainy ones, making it the perfect opportunity to start wearing those pastel nail polishes that I love so much.

 

 

 

I've been searching for the perfect mint colour for quite a while now. For some reason I have a feeling I would stop searching if I tried Essie's 'Mint Candy Apple', but the shop that stocks the brand here has never ordered it, so I'm still looking.

 

What I like about Cyzone's Acqua nail polish is that depending on the light, it can either look like a soft blue (like in the picture above) or much more greener, like in the following picture. The consistency is just perfect - it's not too thick, but it's not too runny, and it lasted about four days without chipping on my very-prone-to-chipping nails (seriously, nail polish barely lasts me a day). The only downsides are that it's a tiny bottle (it's only 5 ml) and that you can only get it every few months, as it doesn't appear very regularly in the Cyzone magazine. So I'd definitely recommend ordering it when you see it!

 

 

 

What nail polishes have you been loving this month?

 

****

Aunque técnicamente todavía es invierno acá, han habido muchos más días soleados que nunca, por lo que es la perfecta oportunidad para usar los colores pasteles que me encantan tanto.

 

He estado buscando el color menta perfecto hace bastante tiempo. Por alguna razón tengo el presentimiento que dejaría de buscar si encontrara 'Mind Candy Apple' de Essie, pero la tienda que trae esa marca nunca lo ha ordenado. Así que sigo en la búsqueda.

 

Lo que me gusta del esmalte Acqua de Cyzone es que puede verse más azul o más verde dependiendo de la luz. La consistencia es muy buena - no es muy gruesa ni tampoco demasiado líquida, y duró como cuatro días en mis uñas (generalmente los esmaltes me duran un día sin que se me salga). Lo único malo es que encuentro que la botella es demasiado pequeña, y que aparece una vez cada meses y solo se puede comprar por la revista Cyzone. Así que definitivamente lo recomiendo si es que lo pillan! Cuando yo lo pedí (hace varios meses ya) me costó $3.490 pesos chilenos, pero Cyzone cambia los precios de sus productos con cada revista.
 

¿Qué esmaltes han estado usando este mes?

 

 

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British Playlist

I'm soooooo sorry for not putting any posts up these past weeks. I'm now on my winter break - I passed all of my classes (thankfully!) and I was just so exhausted that I've only been sleeping and watching Game of Thrones.

 

Music is always the thing that gets me through things that I don't want to do (specially the gym), and studying for exams was no exception, so I decided to create this playlist. As I was looking for songs, I didn't realize how many British artists I had in my iTunes library. Before I knew it, I had two pages worth of songs, so I had to narrow them down to 20. It's still a pretty long playlist, though! (Also: this playlist doesn't include The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, or else it would end up being at least 300 hundred songs long).

1. Hello - Oasis.

2. Friday I'm in Love - The Cure

3. Under Pressure - David Bowie Feat. Queen

4. Layla (Unplugged) - Eric Clapton

5. Back to Black - Amy Winehouse

6. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

7. The Importance of Being Idle - Oasis

8. Say You Don't Want It - One Night Only

9. Don't Let It Break Your Heart - Coldplay

10. We Get On - Kate Nash

11. Grade 8 - Ed Sheeran

12. All This And Heaven Too - Florence + The Machine

13. Missing You - Imogen Heap

14. If It Hadn't Been For Love - Adele

15. The A Team - Birdy

16. Get Lucky - Daughter

17. Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now - Joss Stone

18. Under the Sheets - Ellie Goulding

19. Forgive Me - Leona Lewis

20. Left Too Late - Florrie

 

Listen [x]
 

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Grease Lightening Review

I'm so so so so so sorry for not updating! I'd love to say that it's been because I've been in exams like everybody else, but the sad truth is that I still have a few weeks to go of classes before even starting my exams. Anyways (enough complaining), a few days (more like a week) ago, I got a volcano of a pimple on the right side of my chin that just wouldn't go away, no matter how much I squeezed and put toothpaste on it. Enter Grease Lightening, which I bought after reading pretty much all the reviews I could find online.

This thing is seriously god sent if you have oily skin, because not only it acts as a blemish treatment, but also controls the oiliness if you apply a thin layer to your face. I use it only at night, after cleansing. The pesky zit is still there, but it's almost invisible - I'm very prone to scarring, so the fact that it's dissappearing without leaving a massive scar is well worth the price, at least for me. Here in Chile it's $8.200 chilean pesos (about US$16), but I find that a pump will be enough to cover my whole face, so it will last you for a while.

 

Do you have a favorite product from Lush? Which one?

 

Bloglovin' | Instagram 

 

// 

 

Perdón por no postear! Me encantaría decir que es porque estoy en exámenes como casi todo el mundo, pero la triste realidad es que todavía me quedan un par de semanas de clases antes de empezar con los exámenes. Pero dejaré de quejarme. Hace un par de días (más bien dicho hace como una semana), me salió un volcán de espinilla en la quijada que por más que le pusiera pasta de dientes, no se iba. Así que fui a Lush y compré el Grease Lightening, después de haber leído miles de reviews en internet.

 

 Si tienes piel grasosa, en verdad es un regalo, porque no solo actúa como tratamiento de espinillas, sino que también controla la grasitud si lo pones en toda la cara. Solo lo uso en la noche, después de limpiarme la cara. La espinilla todavía sigue ahí, pero es casi invisible - siempre me quedan cicatrices, por lo que que esté desapareciendo sin dejar huella vale lo que pagué. Acá en Chile cuesta $8.200 pesos (como $16 dólares), pero encuentro que con lo que dispensa me alcanza para toda la cara, así que dura harto.

 

 Tienen un producto favorito de Lush? Cuál?

 

Book Wishlist

So I'm on a bit of a spending ban, specially on ordering books from Amazon. I have a big pile that I want to read first before buying more books, but that doesn't keep me from adding more stuff to my wishlist! (Click on each image to go to the Amazon page). //
Estoy en un ahorro máximo, especialmente comprando libros en Amazon. Tengo una pila gigante que quiero leer antes de comprar más libros, pero eso no significa que no agregue más cosas a mi wishlist! (Click en cada imagen para ir a la página de Amazon).

 

 

 

 

 

What books are on your to read list? :)

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Random April Favorites

I'm so sorry this is going up so late, I've just been so busy with uni! Also, Blogger has been acting really weird for me - it won't let me comment on other blogs. Have any of you guys had that problem too?

1. Mega Thermo and Lipton Yellow Label Tea. Now that we're approaching winter here, it's getting colder, specially in the mornings. I have early classes most days and this keeps my tea warm for hours!

2. Marina & the Diamonds. Between E.V.O.L., How To Be a Heartbreaker, and more recently Just Desserts, I've been listening to Marina non-stop this whole month.

3. The Amazing Spiderman. I've got to admit, I've got the teeeeeeeeeniest crush on Andrew Garfield (Lies. I would have his babies, and that's saying something, considering the fact that I don't really want to have children). HBO premiered this about a two weeks ago, and even though I have it on DVD (Christmas present from a friend) I have to watch it every time it's on TV!

4. Iron Man 3. I went to the cinema to see it with a friend the premiere weekend, and it was so good! I don't want to spoil it, so I'll just say that it's a very entertaining film and that I loved the extra scene after the credits.  

And those are my random favorites! What songs have you been loving this month?

 *****

Perdón por este post tan tarde, pero he estado demasiado ocupada con la U! Blogger además ha estado demasiado raro, no me deja comentar en otros blogs. Alguien más ha tenido ese problema?

1. Termo Mega y Té Lipton Yellow Label. Ahora que se aproxima el invierno acá se está poniendo más frío, especialmente en las mañanas. Tengo clases en la mañana casi todos los días, y esto mantiene mi té caliente por horas!

2. Marina & the Diamonds. Entre E.V.O.L., How To Be a Heartbreaker, y más reciente Just Dessertes, no he parado de escuchar a Marina este mes.

3. El Sorprendente Hombre Araña. Tengo que admitirlo, me gusta un poco Andrew Garfield (Mentira. Le daría mil hijos, y eso es decir algo, considerando que no quiero tener hijos). HBO estrenó la película hace como dos semanas, y aunque la tenga en DVD (regalo de navidad de una amiga), tengo que verla cada vez que está en la tele!

4. Iron Man 3. La fui a ver al cine el fin de semana de estreno, y es demasiado buena! No quiero dar muchos spoilers, así que lo único que diré es que es una película muy entretenida y que me encantó la escena que dan después de los créditos.

Y esos fueron mis favoritos! Cuáles fueron tus canciones favoritas de este mes?