Cosmetic Cupcake

I've mentioned before on my blog that I'm not a fan of subscription boxes. The beauty subscription boxes I've tried in the past contained products I would never use or buy (such as tanning products!) and the samples were TEENY tiny which didn't impress me at all. So I was a very hesitant when the September Her Fashion Box landed on my doorstop a fortnight ago but I was super surprised with what I found inside!!!


Her Fashion Box is a little different from other subscription boxes. For $39.95 each month, you'll receive a box filled with 2-3 on trend fashion accessories which are tailored to your style - classic, feminine or trendy. You'll also receive 4 full size or deluxe sample sized beauty and lifestyle products which can include makeup, skincare, fragrance, hair and my favourite nails of course! Inside September's box:


I'm quite accessory challenged so this little magazine is handy as it contains tips and styling for the products which are included in each months box for each style.


I have a collection of clutches so I'm pretty happy to add this Memories of McQueen clutch (RRP $39.95) to my collection! It's a classic black clutch with gold baubles and different to what I own which is great.


There were 2 pieces of jewellery included - The Midas Touch ring (RRP $24.94) and the Androgychic ID bracelet (RRP $29.95). I LOVE the ring and it's something I would buy if I saw in the shops myself and I've already worn it out to my friend's wedding!! It's plated with gold and has little diamantes and adds a nice bit of understated bling to any outfit. The bracelet is also plated with gold but it's not my style so I've passed it on to my sis.


The way to my heart is through polish and the September box included 2 Maybelline Color Show polishes (RRP $5.95)!! I received Onyx Rush and Iced Queen. You can never go wrong with a classic black and blurple creme!


Also included is a deluxe sample sized pot of PureTAN Pure Moisture Organic Extra Virgin 100% Coconut oil (65ml RRP $11.95 and 125ml RRP $23.95). I've been wanting to try coconut oil for ages now so this is perfect!! My sis raves about it but I never got off my butt to try it too as I've been finishing up lots of body moisturisers before I try anything new. I love these little pots as they're great for travelling and I'll definitely be taking it to road test when I'm off to HK next month!


Some makeup! Designer Brands Chubby Lip Crayon in Dollface Pink (RRP $$7.99) and Kohl Pencil in Black (RRP $4.99). Designer Brands is a super affordable Aussie brand which I haven't tried before and these look promising. I had no idea they had a chubby lip product!


And lastly is a C2 Collagen firming and moisturising facial mask (RRP $29 for 5 masks). I have quite a collection of sheet masks and I love trying new brands and adding to my neverending stash lol.


Overall: I am really really pleasantly surprised at how much I like the products included in my first Her Fashion Box. Like I said earlier I was very wary when I received it as I've been very underwhelmed with past subscription boxes. The products are ones I would actually purchase myself so I am pretty impressed. I love accessories but I'm so accessory challenged it's not funny lol. I go into Colette or Lovisa intending to grab myself a few items and almost always walk out totally overwhelmed by the choices so I think it's a fantastic idea to have them selected for you in the style you like!!

For me, I think more accessories and less beauty products would actually be better since I'm quite picky with my beauty products whereas I'd love the surprise of new accessories each month. The ring and clutch are fun and one can never have too many for each occasion! I like that full size beauty and skincare products are included instead of teeny sample sizes. I also love that they include polish!!

Is it worth the monthly $39.95 subscription fee? It's on the pricier side for a subscription box but from this box I think it is as the clutch alone retails for $39.95 already. However it's really dependent on the products included for each months box so it would vary from month to month and that's the gamble you take with subscription boxes.

Details: Her Fashion Box is available from www.herfashionbox.com for $39.95 per month for 2-3 fashion accessories and 4 beauty and lifestyle products. You can also purchase Her Fashion Boxette for $24.94 for 2 fashion accessories and 2 beauty products.

Have you tried Her Fashion Box or other subscription boxes like it? Thanks for looking as always!! =)

The products featured in this post were provided to me for consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. My Disclosure Policy can be viewed here.

Hi ladies! I'm finally back after my long absence. I've been back home now for a few days but I've been so rundown I haven't felt like doing much at all let alone come home and blog after work. Plus I got food poisoning a few days ago argh! So annoying! Anyway, here is my haul post for you all which is much requested every time I go to Hong Kong =) I didn't have a lot of time to shop this trip but I actually came home with nearly the same amount of stuff as I usually do or more even *shakes head* I work better under pressure what can I say! Looking at my previous HK haul posts they all sort of look similar.. I always tend to stock up on the same brands and things haha.

WARNING: This post is INSANELY pic heavy! I was going to split it into 2 posts but I couldn't be bothered xp I'm making up for not blogging for so long I guess!


I'm not responsible for creating any lemmings!


My nail polish haul for this trip. Not a lot because I have a crazy amount of untrieds! I limited myself to picking up some lemmings which included Color Club Where's the Soiree, OPI Alpine Snow (I needed a new bottle), 3 of the Essie Luxeffects and Zoya Roxy. The BK holos are getting discontinued so I stocked up on a few colours to include in swaps. Also a Lajour duochrome recommended to me by my fellow polish and food lover Abby. Thanks for the tip Abby! Also two magnetic polishes from a random brand I came across too.


These Canmake polishes deserve a pic on their own! These are their new Nail Topping Coat polishes to create easy ice-cream nail art. They also released a chocolate coloured polish (pictured on the left) with some adorable pastels to help create the look. I was itching to get the pastels too but had to show restraint every time I walked past a Canmake counter since I have dupes at home =( I am SUPER excited to try these out!

Hi ladies! How was your weekend? Here in Sydney we had a 3 day weekend to celebrate the Queen's birthday but unfortunately I spent most of it sick. I did manage to squeeze in a spot of shopping at World Square on the weekend though with my sis and D in the city! I thought I would share with you a few Winter finds I stumbled across!

We started off with breakfast at Palate cafe which I've wanted to try for ages. My sis gets lunch from Palate most days she's working and she RAVES about the green tea latte. My sis and D both got the Palate big breakfast while I had eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and a chai latte. Unfortunately my poached eggs were a little overdone but all in all it was delicious and very reasonably priced too!


My main shopping objective of the day was to get the Napoleon Perdis Blush Patrol but unfortunately they didn't have any in stock!! I've put my name down for one and fingers crossed they'll be in stock by the end of the week. The makeup artist tried it on me and it is SUPER pigmented and gave me a wonderful glow - perfect for Winter. It also lasted all day until I took my makeup off at 11pm which is fantastic!

Napoleon Perdis Blush Patrol and Bronze Patrol
Napoleon Perdis Blush Patrol:


Next stop was Priceline to check out the sales. Lanolips are currently having a buy 1 get 1 free sale (A STEAL!) so I picked up the Lemonaid lip aid for my sis and one for a friend too. I have about a million lipbalms but I love the smell of Lemonaid so it's a staple in my handbag.

Hello ladies! For those of you celebrating Christmas, how was your day? I hope you had a wonderful day and enjoyed being in the company of family and friends. I had a very quiet Christmas Day. Since it's Summer here we have a cold lunch of seafood, salad, cold meats and dessert of pavlova (except I totally forgot this year so we didn't have it BOO) and then I usually visit the boy's family for dinner. This year however most of his family is overseas so we didn't do too much. I received some wonderful gifts from the boy and my family. We don't usually do big gifts as that's saved for birthdays and anniversaries ;) I also received 3 wonderful swap packages on Christmas Eve which I'll post about later!


My parents gave me a Country Road voucher as the tote bag I had my eye on was out of stock so this way I have a year to choose a style I like yay. You'll notice an I.O.U from my mum for a bottle of nail polish LOL. She rocks! My sister's present isn't pictured because it's being shipped to me from JB Hifi - Criminal Minds Season 4! Woot. The boy was very naughty and gave me the newest Maroon 5 album as well as the Marc Jacobs Daisy Pop Art edition EdP!

Daisy is one of my favourite perfumes and how cool is this red and black bottle! It came in a really cute clear bag and had a small sample bottle of Vera Wang perfume too.


The boy and I went to check out the Boxing Day sales early in the city as he wanted to purchase a few things. So many people! I only picked up 2 things as I bought too much stuff in HK and I also didn't find the savings to be that much. I guess I expect dirt cheap prices haha. I did pick up a pair of black Miss Shop heels for half price which was nice. I wasn't even in the market for these as I need a pair of nude heels but these looked great on and I do need to replace my pair of black dress heels so it was perfect timing!


I also got these cute pair of bow studs from Sportsgirl with an extra 30% off. I have a thing for bows =p


I've been wanting to go to the much hyped about Charlie & Co. burgers at Westfield Sydney and finally got the chance to try it out for lunch. I got the Wagyu & Co. burger - which comes with beetroot relish, pickled gherkin and aged cheddar on a sesame bun:


Also the parmesan and truffle fries:


I was underwhelmed by the food. Maybe I chose the wrong burger but it definitely didn't live up to the hype or the price for me. In all honesty my local seafood shop does MUCH tastier burgers! The bun wasn't soft and the patty wasn't very flavoursome. The pickled gherkin and beetroot relish just didn't really blend together well for me either. The parmesan and truffle chips were delicious but not worth the $8 price tag. Rather disappointing as I was really looking forward to it.

What did you do on Christmas Day? Did you check out the sales too? What did you buy?

Last week was a particularly tough week at work for me so I decided to take a half day ADO (Allocated Day Off) and do a little bit of retail therapy at my local Westfields for a very mini but nonetheless mood lifting haul.

I think cheap and cheerful finds are always good to lift your mood! At Sportsgirl I purchased a pearl and rose bracelet which was $19.95.

Pearl and rose bracelet
I also purchased Sportsgirls All Night Fighter - under eye brightner, a steal at just $12.95.


All night Fighter - under eye brightner
I normally use MAC Select Moisturecover for under eye circles etc but I thought I would give this a go for times when i don't need to look my absolute stunning best (HA!) such as for work. The applicator is a bit annoying to use so i just blend with my ring finger or if I have time with a concealer brush. Coverage is OK for me since my skin is very fair.

Swatched without blending
I would definitely repurchase All night fighter as a cheaper alternative to the higher end brands.

My last haul was clear tool box from Riot! Art and Craft. I've been searching everywhere for the perfect clear carry box to store all my nail stuff and I finally found it! I wanted a box that was clear, sturdy and with a large compartment on the bottom for polishes and a tray on the top to store odds and ends and most importantly within my $20 budget. After searching high and low in the dollar shops, Target and Kmart I thought I would try my luck at Riot!. Here's what I found:


It's large enough down the bottom for all my polishes and nail art polishes too and the top holds all nail related bits and pieces perfectly. Annnnd it was only $19.99!

How do you store all your nail supplies?