The Body Shop/Makeup Haul

So, Where have I been? Well, honestly I have just been busy.  

I was doing super well with my blog, I was on track, each post was going up as it should but come last Thursday and it just didn't happen and you know why? Well, firstly I wasn't prepared and secondly, I donated blood and wasn't feeling well at all so I took the night off and basically went to bed early. Then Friday I was super busy and the weekend was just chaotic so here I am writing this blog at 12am Tuesday morning. I hope you forgive me xx

Anyhoo, about two weeks ago now I took a trip to Brisbane to watch Suicide Squad - which I loved by the way - and I decided to duck into The Body Shop and Benefit to grab a few products that I have been eyeing off for a while now and I wanted to chat you through it today so here it goes. Also, I posted a Favourites video on my YouTube Channel today and I hope you all love it! I want to ask you if any of you would like me to post any videos regarding body positivity/ workout routines or just weight loss in general as I feel like I have a lot to say but I don't want to bore you all so let me know in the comments if that is something you might want to see? 

Okay, so I have been having a few issues with my skin lately, mostly stress breakouts so nothing too drastic but I found that the products that I had been using weren't really making a difference.  So I decided to go in store and chat with the ladies and find out what would best suit my skin and considering I had seen that few new products had come out in the Tea Tree range I was super excited. So after doing a little Q&A about my skin and finding out what my skin needs the lady instantly directed me to the Tea Tree range.  Turns out my skin is mostly oily which I was pretty sure of but I just wanted to check with someone who knew more than me. haha 

So after taking a look at the range and deciding how much money I wanted to spend I went for the Blemish Night Lotion, the 3-in-1 Wash,/Scrub/Mask, the Toner and the Daily Moisturiser. All in all this came to around $80AUD which I thought was amazingly reasonable and they even had a sale which was buy four or more products and you get 20% off which is why it was so well priced.  I was so happy.  I have been using these products for a good three weeks now and I can honestly say I have seen a great difference, my problem areas have cleaned up nicely and I even added these products into my August Favourites!

Next we have the Benefit products which I have been wanting since the day they came out but unfortunately the closest Benefit counter to me is in Brisbane.. 2hrs away.  I didn't want to buy them online cause I wasn't sure of the shades so I had to wait until we did a trip to Brisbane and can I just tell you how excited I was to finally own these products.  I eyed off a few of their brow range but decided on only the Ka-Brow and Gimme Brow as they are the ones I'm most likely to use and are also a great travel size.  I have since fallen rather deeply in love with these products and they have become staples in my everyday makeup routine.  I won't lie I do think they are a tad pricey but they are too good for me to pass up so I definitely will be purchasing them again! 

Lastly we have the Nyx Liquid Suede in the shade SandStorm and guys, can I just start by saying, NYX HAS OPENED IN MY TOWN!!! So I no longer have to travel 40mins to get to me nearest Nyx counter and they have the full range of products which I am beyond stoked about.  Unfortunately though I have only had a chance to pick up this one lipstick - I will be getting more - but I saw Zoella talking about this product in one of her vlogs and I loved the colour so as soon as they opened I had to duck in and get it! This lipstick truly is gorgeous! The formula is so lovely, it's not too matte and doesn't dry out my lips at all! I honestly can't wait to go back and pick up some more!! Give me some suggestions? What are your favourite shades? 

Anyway guys, I'm going to leave it there and head to bed.  I hope you enjoyed this post and I'm sorry it is so late, I hope you forgive me! If you haven't already please do think about following this blog as I upload every Thursday (Usually) and head over to my new YouTube Channel and Subscribe to that if you would prefer to follow me on that platform! I upload videos every Monday and you don't want to miss any when Halloween and Christmas come around because I am so excited for those! Hands up if you love those holidays too?? 

Until Next Time

BrittanieDe-Anne xoxo

'What's for Dinner?' - Mushroom Stroganoff

Hey there Guys,

How are you all today? I hope you are all having a fantastic week! I am back on the couch tonight about to write up my 'What's for Dinner' post and I'm super excited to share this one with you because it is super simple and so easy, anyone could do it.  So to start off this blog I am just going to let you in on a little secret, if you don't like mushrooms, this post is not for you at all but assuming you clicked on this post that means you like them enough to eat them in a meal so all will be fine! Today I will be sharing with you a yummy Mushroom Stroganoff Recipe I got out of our Vegetarian Cookbook and I have also put a bit of my own spin on it, so I hope you enjoy.  Also, if you haven't seen yet I have started my own YouTube channel, I post every Monday and would love it if you would check it out and let me know what you think as I am so excited about it and would love to connect with more people.  Anyhoo let's get started on this post shall we.

Ingredients

25g Butter
1 Onion, Finely Chopped (I used Shallots)
450g Mushrooms
1Tsp Tomato Puree
1Tsp Wholegrain Mustard
150ml Creme Fraiche
1Tsp Paprika, plus extra to garnish
Salt and Pepper
Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley to Garnish
Optional - 1Cup Rice

So firstly you will want to heat the butter in a large frying pan.  If you are using rice this is when you will want to start cooking it so that when the meal is finished the rice will be ready to serve also.  Remember to keep stirring the rice while you are making the stroganoff.

Add the onion to the frypan - or in my case I chose shallots because my partner doesn't like onion but will quite happily eat shallots - and cook gently until soft.  Then add the mushrooms into the frying pan and stir-fry for a few minutes until they begin to soften.  

Next stir in the tomato puree and mustard, then add the creme fraiche.  Cook gently, stirring constantly for approximately five minutes.  Lastly, stir in the paprika and season to taste with the salt and pepper. Garnish with the extra paprika and parsley sprigs and serve on a plate with the rice immediately. 

Now as I said, I decided to add rice to this dish and I am so glad I did.  The recipe states that it is for four people but with rice mine ended up just enough for two so if you were trying to make this for four people I would highly, highly recommend that you double the ingredients.  As for the cost of this meal it is really inexpensive, I would say I spent at most $20 buying the ingredients, taking into account that I had the spices, mustard and rice already in the cupboard.  But in all honestly this meal is one of the cheaper options I have found for a great vegetarian dish.  If I were to make it again - which I definitely will be doing - I would add more vegetables to it.  I realise it is a 'Mushroom' Stroganoff but I feel like it can really be made into something more filling by just adding a few more vegetables but that is completely a personal choice. I truly did love this dish, it was so simple and quick and is definitely going to become a staple dish for us.  What do you think? Would you eat it?

Thankyou so much for tuning in again and I hope you all enjoyed this post! Let me know if you try out this dish, be sure to tag me on which ever social media site is best for you! Please if you have time head over and check out my YouTube channel, your support would mean the world to me and I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Once again I hope you are all having a wonderful week and I'll see you all again in my next post.. Which will hopefully be either a Haul post or a How to post, which one would you prefer? 

Until Next Time 

BrittanieDe-Anne xoxo

LustHaveIt/BellaBox - June/July Unboxing

Hello There Everybody!

I just want to start off by saying I am sorry.  I am sorry that I neglected to post my June Unboxing, I was so caught up hunting for Pokemon and room decor that I let it get too late and couldn't post it.  But here I am today to show you what I received in June and July.  Also, just so you know, this post is late because there was trouble with my Lust Have It box and it arrived late so I had to wait for it too.  I'm going to try and keep this post relatively short as I tend to ramble on a lot during these kind of posts, so let me know what you prefer in the comments! Also, exciting update, I have set out a schedule for my blog and YouTube so that you can now know what to expect, I have decided that I will take the blogs back to one a week and post that on a Thursday and I will be posting one video a week on my YouTube channel (You can find that here) and that will go up on a Monday! Don't forget to head on over to my channel and check it out, leave some suggestions in the comments of what videos you might like to see! I would love to interact with you guys more! Anyhoo, lets move onto the actual post shall we! 

First I'll start with BellaBox. The box that I received in June was very skin orientated which I really did appreciate as when winter comes around everyone's skin can get a bit dry and it's nice to get some new products to try.  In this box came a bag of Your Tea's Skin Magic Tea (fullsize), Neutrogena HydroBoost Water Gel (sample size), a Dermal Therapy Lip Balm (fullsize), a Mizone Tone Up Sheet Mask (fullsize), a Cetaphil Skin Cleansing Wipes (fullsize), a Colgate Optic White Toothpaste (samplesize) and a Magnetix Nail Polish (fullsize).  July's box wasn't so heavily focused on skin care but it did have a variety of products.  In this box I received a Klorane Shampoo with Quinine and B Vitamins (sample size), a Klorane Conditioner with Quinine and B Vitamins (sample size), a Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy Intensive Cream (fullsize), a Gosh Mono Eye Shadow (fullsize), a Revo Lip Balm (fullsize), a Palmers Facial Cleansing Oil (sample size) and a Baimeni Hydrating eye and Face serum with Hyaluronic Acid.  To be 100% honest with you I haven't tested a lot of these products out but there is one product that I used in June and have been using non stop throughout July and now August and that is the Dermal Therapy Lip Balm.  I tried this one day because my lips were really sore and within 20 mins they felt amazing.  I was a little concerned when I first applied it as it made my lips feel a bit tingly and I was so surprised with the result I haven't stopped using it.  There are a few products from these boxes that I am dying to try and they are the Skin Magic Tea, the Tone Up Sheet Mask and the Eye and Face Serum.  They look so amazing and anything that will help to make my face look flawless is a win for me so I shall let you know when I try those out! I'm going to leave this here and if you want any more information just leave me a comment below and let's get onto the next box! 

As with the BellaBox, LustHaveIt also had a lot of skin care products in their June box which I was quite happy about, unfortunately I don't like to change up my skin care routine often so I haven't had a chance to try any just yet however I do want to test them out.  Firstly, I received an Edgy Tempting Cosmetics Eye Liner Pen (fullsize), a Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub (sample size), a Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Wipes (sample size), a Sasy N Savy Peppermint N Lavender Sea Salt Foaming Cleanser (sample size) and lastly a Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting BHA Liquid.  However July's box was mostly Makeup Orientated which was lovely to see and I can't wait to try the products I received even if it did arrive late.  Those products are a Teeez Cosmetics Desert Metals Mascara (fullsize), a MPrincess Mineral Blush (fullsize), a Gosh Matt Duo Eye shadow (fullsize), an Essenzza Fuss Free Natural Face Masks and a Lipstick.  I do really like Neutrogena products so I am really excited to try the products I received from that brand. I am also super excited to try all the new makeup products as I love finding new and good quality products, so I will have to get back to you and let you know what I think of them? Maybe I could do a first impressions post reacting to all of these products? Do you think you would like that or is this post enough? Let me know in the comment.  

Sorry again that I had to squeeze these two months together but I really did want to show you both months boxes. I hope I didn't ramble too much and you did enjoy the post.  If you would like any more information just let me know in the comments and I will get back to you asap! Thank you again for tuning in guys and I will see you all in my next post next week!

Until Next Time

BrittanieDe-anne xoxo 

LashSensation VS BetterThanSex Mascara

Hello Everybody!! 

How are you all today? Can you believe it is August already? Christmas will be here soon! Also if you haven't seen yet, I started my own YouTube Channel! You can find it here, I would love for you all to go have a look and maybe subscribe! I am so excited for it and hope for it to be an easier way to connect with all of you! 

Anyway, a few weeks ago I posted a blog comparing two high end Foundations so I thought today I might try the same thing but with two different mascaras.  So here I have for you my thoughts and comparison between the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara and the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara.  Just keep in mind that one is a high end mascara and the other a drug store. However to be honest, both of these are real go to mascaras for me and I'm really excited to see how different or similar these two products are, so lets get started! 

Okay, so the Better Than Sex Mascara is on my left eye and the Lash Sensational is on my right.  On first thought I would have to say that it probably wasn't a good idea to compare two mascaras that are so different as one is high end and one is drugstore and also one is waterproof and the other is not.  However I did so lets talk details.  I would have to say when I was wearing them they didn't feel all that different which was very surprising to me, I thought for sure the formular would feel different.  Also the application was very similar.  I would say that the Lash Sensational ended up a bit clumpy and the Better Than Sex gave more length, but looking back at the photos they don't look much different.  I love how both of them wore on my lashes, the Lash Sensational stayed true and was definitely waterproof and as you would assume the Better Than Sex was real easy to remove so in that respect they both did what they claimed.  I would have to say that I preferred the Better Than Sex the tiniest bit more only because it wasn't as clumpy and was easy to get off however if I want to wear a mascara that will last a long time I would 100% reach for the Lash Sensational.  

As you can see in the picture above, both mascaras gave about the same amount of length and both sat beautifully.  I won't lie to you, I absolutely loved both of these Mascaras, I think they are both fantastic and do the job they claim.  For a drugstore Mascara the Lash Sensational really stood out for me and will definitely be a staple of mine in the future.  I'm really excited to try the non waterproof Lash Sensation and see how that one wears.  In the future I might think a bit more carefully about the products I compare haha.  Let me know your opinions on which you think look better?

Also, if you would like to see videos like this on my channel I would absolutely love to do them! Let me know if there are any products you would like me to compare, I love giving my opinion! haha 

Thank you so much to any of you that have already had a look at my YouTube channel, I really appreciate it and I hope you enjoy my upcoming videos.  I also just want you to know that i won't be leaving my blog any time soon but I will only be posting once a week for a while until I get used to the work load! I hope you are all having a wonderful week and I hope to see you soon! 

Until Next Time

BrittanieDe-Anne xoxo