BEAUTY | What I Got for Christmas 2015

Hey lovelies, I hope you've had an amazing Christmas! Today's post comes with much excitement as I begin to unbox and play around with the beauty bits I got this Christmas. I'm really happy with the mix of products I received this year, which included a few surprises I didn't expect! I'll just point out in here that this post is not intended to be 'bragging', I simply wanted to share my little haul with you guys. 

This year things were kept to a minimum, both in quantity and price.

Smith Street Market Musk Stick Scented Body Lotion;

It doesn't really have much of a musky scent to it, or any scent at all really, but I absolutely adore the cute packaging and will probably keep it like this in the bathroom as more of a decoration.

Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm in Lychee Addict;

Everyone knows about baby lips lip balm by now, and I'm sure I'm not the only one with a small stash of them lying around in my room or handbag. This is a new scent/flavour (well, here anyway, who knows how long it's been available overseas before it arrived in little old Oz!), and it truly does smell like lychee's - which is perfect for me because I love lychee's! As usual, the balm is super moisturising on the lips and I'll definitely be getting a lot of use out of this one!

Essie Nail Polish in Wrap Me Up (Cashmere Matte);

My first ever Essie Nail Polish (I know, took me long enough)! I was really excited when I found this colour at my local Priceline - it's the perfect nude nail! It only took two coats to get this gorgeous opaque coverage you see above, however my only qualm with this exact polish is that as it is matte, it is absolutely essential to add a top clear coat if you want this one to last all day (which sucks for me right now as I've recently misplaced my only clear polish, boo). But regardless, it is lovely and I will definitely be wearing it more often when I have a clear top coat at hand!

Covergirl All Day Lip Colour Set (Moisturising Top Coat & All Day Colourant) in 598 Forever Fawn;

This is a pretty interesting pair. The set comes with a moisturising lip balm (supposedly a top coat but I feel it is better used underneath the colour, maybe that's just me), and an all day lip colour in the form of a creamy gloss/lipstick hybrid in a gorgeous pinky-brown 'fawn' colour. To be honest, I probably won't be bothered to use these two together, but it's nice to have a clear, unscented balm that I could potentially throw under matte and drying lipsticks in the future.

L'Occitane en Provence Cherry Blossom Hand Cream;

According to L'Occitane, their hand cream is an international best seller (I don't know much at all about this brand, this is my first product from them), but after some quick google research it seems to have a pretty good reputation. I'm actually not a big fan of hand creams as I feel so icky and uncomfortable about thick, creamy substances being on my hands (it's just one of those personal things), but I'm going to give this one a go because well, I didn't have to pay for it and I may as well try it once or I'll never know, right? It has a soft hint of a floral scent which is quite nice but not at all overpowering.

Creation Lamis Diable Bleu Eau de Parfum Spray 100mL;

This is the perfect drugstore perfume, and one I've been meaning to pick up for a while now. Honestly, if it wasn't for mum I probably never would have considered this perfume. It's pretty much her go-to everyday perfume which she uses in place of her YSL Paris (special occasions mostly), and it is somewhat similar in scent. It's really hard to describe this perfume in any other way though, so you may just have to test it out for yourself, but I will say it's absolutely gorgeous and for only $12.99aud, it's a steal!

Nutrimetics Lipstick in Sparkling Bordeux (discontinued);

This lipstick is really a gorgeous colour, and coupled with a creamy application and no sickly scents (you know, that awful cheaper-lipstick scent that is almost akin to rubber?), it really is a lovely product. This was a hand me down of sorts, unused but not 'brand new', this colour has been discontinued since 2011 which shows how old the lippy is - but that doesn't seem to have affected its quality, and if it has, then I can only imagine how nice it would have been brand new! That said, like most drugstore lipsticks or Avon/Nutrimetics pamphlet beauty products, it doesn't have the best lasting power and does transfer a fair bit. But it's still gorgeous for short spurts of use!

I really hope you've enjoyed reading this post, I certainly enjoyed writing it up and playing around with my new beauty goodies! I'd love to know what you got for Christmas this year, be it beauty, fashion, or other items! 

xx Chontelle Louise