Merry Christmas to Me

NARS voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir? palette.

blushes: deep throat, dolce vita. eyeshadows: molokaï, antananarivo, rangoun & lhasa.

NARS foreplay blush palette with orgasm, a matte pink, matte peach and gold shimmer.

NARS blush in gaiety

first things first, i hope everyone had a great christmas! i think i said it last year but i'm not much of a christmas person. i generally keep my expectations on the low side and it worked in my favour because christmas was actually better than expected this year. i also temporarily lost my sanity and decided going to the city for the boxing day sales would be a fun thing to do. the crowds were insane but i did walk away with some amazing things so i don't regret it, i just think i've had enough for about 5 years until the memory fades and i start to think it's a good idea again.

so this post is a mixture of christmas gifts and sale purchases. the two NARS palettes were snapped up pretty much as soon as i laid eyes on them, both for about half price and both were the last ones left in the shop! the voulez-vous palette is perfect because i really only wear neutral shadows and every colour in it is so wearable. i would've had a much harder time deciding whether or not to buy it if it were full of bright shades i'm not sure i'd get much wear out of, and the blushes are lovely too, i'd actually had my eye on deep throat already so i'm glad to have gotten my hands on it.

the foreplay palette is a really interesting concept, the largest pan is their famous orgasm blush (which i already own and love) and the idea is that the matte peach and pink blushes, combined with the gold shimmer highlight are supposed to be the components that make up orgasm (pretty cheeky calling it the foreplay palette)! as for the single blush in gaiety, this was the number one NARS shade i'd had my eye on, it's the prettiest barbie pink shade and it looks so fresh and doll-like on the cheeks. i was in the city with my mum and we ducked into myer for a wander on the beauty floor and just before we have to leave to meet people for dinner she asks "is there anything you'd like for christmas?" of course the answer is EVERYTHING but with limited time i chose this blush and the clarins gentle exfoliating toner (below).

clarins is one of my favourite skincare brands, and around christmas every year they have such great deals on their products. all of the above (except for the exfoliating toner) came in a pack together that includes a full size beauty flash balm, which i use all the time as a primer, a full size hand & nail treatment cream and generous travel sizes of the one step exfoliating cleanser, eye contour gel, hydraquench cream and the moisture-rich body lotion, as well as the toiletries bag. my mum gave me this pack for christmas this year and the equivalent pack with similar products last year, so i know it retails for around $80.00. if you were to buy the two full-size products on their own you'd already be spending more than that so it's really good value. an extra bonus that my mum took advantage of this year as well as last christmas is when you spend over a certain amount on clarins products you get a set of 6 bon bons with clarins samples inside! definitely the best bon bon prizes i've ever had.

stila colour me pretty lip & cheek palette

shades: kitten, peony, gerbera, rose, petunia

just LOOK at this palette! as soon as i heard about this i knew i'd have to buy it as a christmas present to myself. i've raved about the stila convertible colours on here before and i own two single shades already (gladiola and petunia) which are two of my favourite blushes, so naturally when they release a 5 colour palette for only slightly more than a single blush buying this is non-negotiable. they have a great formula and the prettiest, most flattering colour range, i really can't recommend them enough.  

antipodes grace gentle cream cleanser, ananda antioxidant-rich gentle toner, rejoice light facial day cream

la roche-posay eau thermale sping water, elizabeth arden eight hour cream, la roche-posay toleraine, 

elizabeth arden eight hour cream nourishing lip balm, elizabeth arden eight hour cream intensive daily moisturiser. 

and finally, all of the above skincare products were bought in the boxing day sales. as with the clarins gift pack, antipodes had put out a full-size cleanser, toner & moisturiser pack for christmas which was being sold for $80 at myer, but on boxing day antipodes products were 30% off so i only paid about $55 for all three - talk about a bargain! i haven't actually tried anything from antipodes before but their manuka honey mask is a cult favourite and i love trying out good quality organic skincare brands like antipodes, grown alchemist and aesop. i've only used each of these a few times so far but they're all really lovely products and i'm so glad i picked them up.

priceline's offering for the post-christmas sales was 40% off all skincare, which of course is the best time to try out a few new products. i've heard so much about the eight hour cream and when i saw the three products from the line in yet another gift pack for $29 less 40% i thought i'd give it a whirl. i hope if any of you decided to hit the shops after christmas that it was as satisfying for you as it has been for me. and more importantly i hope you all spent christmas with people you love and that you're all looking forward to the new year.