Favourites January & February 2012 + new dolly wink eye brow pencil

2012 is off to a very busy start!  My diary is filling up with birthdays, bachelorette nights, weddings ... and it's ONLY mid-February.  The more my calender fills up, the more determined I am to take time out and try new beauty and makeup products ... it's my little escape from everyday work and social life.  Thinking about the scent of a new facial cream or the formula of new mascara is surprisingly very effortless and relaxing.  And so, I wanted to share a few new favourites that I have been trying these past few weeks ...


My Beauty Diary Apple Polyphenol Masks ~ 'It has a mild Alpha Hydroxy Acid, which helps reduces the appearance of large pore, refines and hydrates skin'.   I love the subtle fruity apple scent and, while I don't have large pores, I like to use this more to control my oily t-zone while still keeping my skin hydrated.  My skin always feels more 'plump' the day after a face mask.  Price point $16 for pack of 10.


Essential Ultra Honey & Shea Butter Hair Mask ~ Essential Hair Mask is a must for long hair!  It claims to help nourish and repair the end '15cm' of hair, the most damaged and driest parts.  The hair mask has a thick, buttery almost custard texture and, true to its name, leaves my hair feeling soft and airy without weighing down or making making my hair feel oily.  I'm usually not a fan of floral scent, but the Essential hair mask  has a sweet, pleasant honey scent only with a subtle touch of rose.  I use this in the shower in place of my usual conditioner, 1 - 2 times a week.  I love the feeling of soft, silky hair and find myself continually running my fingers through my hair after a hair mask.  Price point A$20.

My Beauty Diary Orange Blossom White Lotus Moisture Mist ~ this smells like Chinese green tea, with a hint of citrus.  It's a very fresh and invigorating scent.  I use the Moisture Mist before moisturiser and before foundation to even out any dry patches.  It comes in a great travel size bottle but unfortunately the nozzle doesn't give a very even mist.  Price point A$10


Fairy Drops Volume Burst Mascara (see previous post for full review) ~ Easily one of my new favourite mascaras!  Love the clay-like formula, which helps to separate and define my lashes as well as keep my lashes curled all day long.  


Kawaii Hair Clips ~ I am forever losing my bobbi pins!  I couldn't keep a full packet of bobbi pins to save my life ... so I decided to invest in some large clips to hold my fringe in place when applying make up.  I figured that because they're just too cute, this will give me an incentive not to lose them!  Price point A$10 for 2 clips.  No brand, I just picked them up from my local Japanese-Korean store. 


Dolly Wink Eye Brow Pencil 3 in Chocolate Brown ~ It pains me to say this, but I do not like the new DW eye brow pencil!  It is very hard, not as waxy or pigmented as I would like, and therefore takes me longer to fill in my eye brows.  Hopefully it will soften as the pencil is sharpened.  I have pretty 'full' eyebrows and use an eye brown pencil more for filling in the sparse areas, and so this may work better for eyebrows with less hairs, that need more definition.  Such a shame, I usually love DW products and was super excited to try something from the new Otana Collection ... hopefully, the rest of the collection will be more impressive.  Price point A$12. 

Dolly Wink Eye Brow Pencil in 3 Dark Chocolate - three-four swatches (right) and one swatch (right)

eye brows ~ Dolly Wink Eye Brow Pencil in 3. Chocolate Brown, eye lashes ~ Fairy Drops Volume Burst Mascara, lips ~ My Color Lips in 11. Pink Pink

Hope you're off to an exciting start to 2012.  

Lots of love

Faye Lu xo