Project 100 Pan (part 4)

16: Urban Decay Primer Potion – I realise that this is a deluxe sample sized product, but do you know how long this took me to finish up? Long enough for me to classify it as full size and include in this tally, that’s how long. I really love this product and I would have repurchased it, but I already had a full sized (half-finished) tube in my cupboard ready to go.

17 & 18: Carol’s Daughter Rosemary Mint Clarifying Shampoo & Conditioner – I love this duo and will definitely be repurchasing these once I work through the zillion other hair products I have waiting in my cupboard. The shampoo did a great job of stripping excess product from my hair and the conditioner was really moisturising and left my hair feeling silky. The only problem with these is that I don’t think the Carol’s Daughter brand is available for purchase in Australia (I ordered mine from Strawberrynet).

19: Bath + Body Works Icecream Shop Candle – This is another of the mini summer candles that I ordered from Bath + Body Works a little while ago. It was nice but nothing special and I won’t bother repurchasing it if it’s released again next year.

20: MOR Milk Body Butter – I am so sad to see this product go, because the Milk range is my all-time favourite from MOR but it was discontinued a little while ago. I still have two of the Milk bath foam bottles to make my way through, which I should probably try to do ASAP as my new house does not have a bath in it. Hmm.

My Perfume Collection

YSL Cinema, Byredo Gypsy Water, Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille (my all-time favourite) & Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom and Honey

Vera Wang Princess, Aquolina Pink Sugar, Versace Bright Crystal

Bath + Body Works Exotic Coconut, Bath + Body Works Secret Wonderland, Urban Rituelle Mango Milk & Urban Rituelle Coconut and Honey

MOR Marshmallow, Flourish Bath + Body Brown Sugar, Firebird Bath + Body Almond Milk, Firebird Bath + Body Sugar, Flourish Bath + Body Saltwater, Firebird Bath + Body Sugarberry and Taylor Swift Wonderstruck

samples galore!

For years I was someone who owned one perfume and wore it day in day out, but somewhere along the line with this beauty blogging business I’ve managed to accumulate the collection you see above. This is way more than I’d like (or need) to own, so I plan on culling it and using up as much as I can. The perfumes that I tend to wear the most are the Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille (though in the warm weather I tend to wear this at night for special occasions only) and the Firebird Almond Milk and Sugar perfume oils.

Product Review: Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powder in Antigua

I’m sure a lot of my fellow fair-skinned girls can relate to my struggle to find a decent bronzing powder. I’ve always shied away from bronzing products because I could never find something that looked natural enough on my skin, but I think I may have finally found a product that works for me. I ordered the Bobbi Brown bronzer in the shade Antigua after seeing swatches of it online and noticing that it seemed lighter and more pink toned than most bronzers. It balances the line between blush and bronzer, but I’m okay with this because any time I put a brown toned product on my face it ends in disaster. One thing I have to note is that there is some shimmer to the product, which I hadn’t noticed until I caught a glimpse of my face in the train window coming home from work one afternoon. If you’re looking for something a little more mild than your regular bronzing powder, this might just work for you. The Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powder in Antigua retails for $66 AUD and is available for purchase from Bobbi Brown online.

What I Bought: October

ASOS Midi Dress w/ Floral Print & Button Waist – As I mentioned in a recent ‘thoughts of the week’ post, I’ve been on the hunt for a dress to wear to a friend’s engagement party. I decided on this dress from ASOS because I saw it ages ago and thought it was pretty, and when I returned to ASOS to have another browse it was still in stock. I find ASOS sizing pretty random, so hopefully it fits.

GAP Super Skinny Twill Pants – As the pants that I wanted to re-order from GAP had sold out in my size, I had to opt for the next best thing (or at least the closest option); the super skinny twill pants.

GAP Pure Body Tee in White & Black – I needed some good quality tees to wear to work for casual Friday (I find if I pair them with jeans, a statement necklace and a fitted blazer they look appropriate enough for business casual wear) and everything I’ve purchased from the pure body line at GAP has been made of really soft material and been super comfortable.

J Crew Accordion Pleat Top in Black – I received an email from J Crew notifying me of a 25% off opportunity (using code INSIDER, if you are a J Crew insider) so I popped over to the site to have a browse. I saw this and fell in love. It is 100% my style and I can’t wait for it to arrive.

Thoughts of the week…

I went out last weekend with a big group of my friends and had a great time. I don’t often go out clubbing because I usually find the meat-market mindset beyond awful, but the place that we went to plays really awesome old school and current hip hop music so I was swayed enough to go. Plus it was a birthday celebration for two of my best friends’ so of course I was going to be there. Nothing starts a night out better than a whiskey sour.

01) It doesn’t matter how old I get, put a few drinks in me and get me into a club that plays Busta Rhymes ‘Break Ya Neck’ and I will outdance everybody there.

02) Taylor Swift’s album ‘Red’ was finally released, and I’ve had the acoustic version of State of Grace and her duet with Ed Sheeran (Everything Has Changed) on repeat all week. Related: Taylor Swift doesn’t seem to know what a feminist is, which is disappointing.

03) I’m finally up to date with Breaking Bad and can I just say O-M-G. This is an outstanding show, and part of me is glad that I was so late to the party with watching it, as I managed to watch four and a half seasons in a few months rather than having to wait years for new episodes to come out. And now I’ll get to enjoy the final few episodes of the show alongside other fans, which will be stressful and intense and amazing.

04) I am back on track with my budget and meticulously writing down every single thing I spend my money on. It really helps me cut back on the excess money I seem to have no trouble spending.

05) I need some easy no-fuss recipes to work into my weekly menu list. Currently I have about 10 recipes that I rotate between depending on what I’m in the mood for but I think it’s time for a bit more variety. If you have any healthy (but reasonably easy) recipe suggestions please feel free to leave them in the comments below.

06) KIT WALKER Y’ALL

07) I’ve started my running training, and I’m feeling motivated and excited about it again. Sometimes it just takes one little thing to kick start me into gear, and it finally happened for me yesterday. Just in time for summer I guess!

08) This quote really resonated with me this week, so I thought I would share it with you all –

09) I’m going to spend quite a bit of time tomorrow looking through my pre-start home file and picking out fixtures and fittings for my new place. Expect a ‘to build a home’ post sometime soon!

10) I haven’t seen or heard from Trevor all week. I hope he’s alright.

PS:

Urban Rituelle Giveaway

One of my favourite brands at the moment is Urban Rituelle. I’m in love with their fragrances, and once I finish my Project 100 Pan I definitely plan on purchasing a few more items from their range. Urban Rituelle are offering one reader of The Belle Lumiere the opportunity to win a perfume oil and travel trio set in the scent of their choice from the new Tea Ceremony range. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post telling me which scent you would most like to try – White Peony and Rosebuds, Turkish Rose and Vanilla, Hibiscus and Cranberry or Green Tea and Citrus Twist. For a second entry into the giveaway, tweet or post about it and leave a link in the comments below. The winner will be drawn on November 14 and please note that this giveaway is open to Australian residents only. Best of luck!