Package in the Post

A few weeks ago I was perusing eBay (as you do), when I came across some iPhone cases which I had seen on Tumblr before. I absolutely loved these cases because they are just super cute and come in such pretty colours. I thought I'd do this little blog post to show you what they look like because you might want to buy one for your phone as well! This is a different sort of post than what I normally do, but I thought you would all still enjoy it. 

I live in Australia, and they took about 2 weeks to arrive, which was to be expected. They have quite a few different colours to choose from, but I chose purple and green because I don't have any cases in those colours and I just thought they looked super cute. The links for the cases are below, as well as some pretty little photos that I snapped for your viewing pleasure. 

You can buy the purple case from here and the green case from here and they cost me $1.39 each with free postage! Was that a bargain or what? I love eBay. Each case is a perfectly tight fit on my phone and the colour's were almost identical, but the green looked a little different, but still very pretty. I am over the moon about my new purchases and I can't wait to show them off. 

I'm so pleased with them and the fact that they are exactly how I expected them to be, and they weren't broken upon arrival (yippee!). I highly recommend checking this seller out if you are in the need for a new phone case. 

Much love! 

My Current Skin Care Routine

Hello hello, 

Sorry I have been a little bit absent, I was just in a rut and did not know what to blog about! I’ve always been a little hesitant to write up this post because I don’t have the most perfect skin. I am still searching for those magical products that do the trick, but I’m not too sure whether I’ll ever find them. In the meantime, these are the current products that I am using on my skin at the moment. To be totally honest with you, I am not completely happy with them all. You will notice that I use a lot of different products, and perhaps that could be my problem! I have oily/combination skin and these are the products that I am currently using. You may notice that you use some of these as well, or perhaps you’ve used them before and they didn’t work for you. I’m just posting these because I love to know what other people are using, so thought you might be curious as well. 

To start with, my basic three-step routine:

T.N. Dickinson's Toner and Cetaphil cleanser.

Cleanser

I use this cleanser twice a day, morning and night. I have tried numerous different products from all different brands, and I am quite happy with this one I am currently using. It is the Cetaphil Oily Skin Cleanser. This product was actually recommended to me by a doctor a few years ago. I used it back then, but then for some strange reason I stopped. Then a month or so ago my friend Lauren posted her skin care secrets on her blog and I noticed that she used this cleanser, so I decided to give it another shot. 

Toner

I have been a bit funny with toners over the years, and I know that they are the sort of product that some people say you need to use and others say you don’t. I for one benefit from using a toner, particularly because of my oily/combination skin type. The toner that I am currently using is T.N. Dickinson’s All Natural Witch Hazel toner. This is another product that Lauren recommended, and something I really like about it is that it is all natural! Your skin will probably love you a whole lot more if you stick to more natural products rather than those filled with chemicals. I do have to admit that I’m not a massive fan of the way it smells, but as a toner, it is great! 

Innoxa moisturiser, Re-gen cream, Garnier dark spot corrector.

Moisturiser

For starters, let me just break the myth that people with oily skin shouldn’t moisturise! You definitely still need to moisturise, no matter what your skin type is! You will recognise my moisturiser as it featured in my April favourites post. It is the Innoxa Skin Clear Anti-shine Blemish Control Lotion. I do quite like this moisturiser, and I only use it in the morning because it contains SPF 15 and there isn’t much point of wearing sunscreen at night. Plus this moisturiser is a little too heavy for nighttime, I think. Basically I just really like this product and I love the way my foundation applies on top of it, plus my skin is a fan of it as well! 

At night time, when I am not using my Innoxa moisturiser, I am either using my Re-gen cream or my Garnier Dark Spot Corrector (you can read a review of it here). I do quite like both of these products because they aim to correct dark spots caused by blemishes. Neither product has done a miracle working job, but I have noticed a difference, it just takes a while. 

The next three products are the little extra things that I use on my skin to help keep it happy and as clear as possible. 

Alpha H liquid gold, Formula 10.0.6 mud mask, The Body Shop lotion.

Spot Treatment

I use The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Lotion on those bad days when I break out terribly. Tea tree is a natural antibacterial which helps to soothe and clear breakouts. This isn’t the most hands-down amazing product ever, but it is pretty good. I will generally use this at night time and my skin normally looks a bit better the next morning. 

Liquid Gold

I do admit to jumping on the Alpha H Liquid Gold bandwagon. I was a bit hesitant to spend more than $40 on this, but in the end I did. To be honest with you, it hasn’t worked wonders for me just yet, but as products normally take a long time to actually work on my skin, I haven’t given up hope just yet. After a few more months of using it I will write a proper review on it to let you all know what I thought. For now, I will continue to use it every other night, and pray that it does work a miracle on me like it does for everyone else! 

Face Mask

This product also featured in my April favourites post and it is probably my most favourite skin care product out of all the ones I use. It is the Formula 10.0.6 Deep Down Detox mud mask. As you would have read in my previous post I honestly love everything about this product. Whenever I’m feeling stressed or my skin is particularly bad, or I just want to treat myself, I pop this face mask on and let it work it’s magic. This product truly lives up to all that it claims to do and that is why I love using it so much. My skin always looks so much brighter, clearer, happier after every use. If there was one product I would really recommend buying it would be this one! 

So they are all the products I use on my skin, but here are some extra things I use as well to aid in reaching the goal of clear skin.

Lemon water and Twinings green tea.

Lemon Water

It’s no secret that if you drink the recommended amount of water your skin will look nicer, so I like to do that bit extra and add lemon to my water. This makes the water high in antioxidants as well as so good for your health in many other areas. It improves weight loss, boosts immunity, helps your body absorb calcium, clears your skin, works as an antiseptic, cleanses and stimulates the liver and kidneys, and many more! Just go and google it and loads of results will come up. Plus, water can sometimes just get a little bit boring, so putting lemon in it makes it more exciting! I always notice such a difference in my skin when I’m drinking lemon water on a regular basis.

Green Tea

This is my second little skin care secret. Green tea has so many positive health benefits so you should drink it no matter what state your skin is in. As for me, drinking green tea is almost crucial and I really should drink more of it. I try to have at least one cup a day, but a lot of days I forget (whoops). Though when I do remember and consistently do it, I notice such a difference in my skin. Sometimes it really helps to work from the inside out, rather than always the outside in.

Trust me when I say that I am no healthcare professional, I have just learnt some things over the years. That is why I have shared my current products and other little tips with you. I hope and pray that one day I will have full control over my skin and it will really love me, but until then. I hope that you’ve either learnt something new or are inspired to try a new product after reading through this post. Let me know in the comments down below what products you use and what has and hasn’t worked for you, or any other tips and tricks you’d like to share.

Much love. 

April Favourites

It's the marvellous month of May so you know what that means...It's time for my April favourites post!
I started doing the monthly favourites post last month because I needed something to get me blogging again, and it had to be something I could continue on a regular basis, and monthly favourites seemed like the perfect option. Plus I'm an uber nosy person and love to see what everyone else is loving, so why shouldn't I join in too?

I've got quite a few favourites for April, so I do apologise that this post will end up being a teeny bit long and rambly, but oh well. 

The first thing I absolutely loved through April is the Rimmel London Wake Me Up foundation in shade 103 'True Ivory'. This foundation has actually been raved about by quite a lot of people (Zoella and Tanya Burr in particular), and so I just had to give it a go. Even though it isn't a matte foundation, I find that it does have quite a semi-matte finish on my skin anyway. It's SPF 15 which is great, and it smells really nice as well - I'm weird, I know. It definitely does make my skin look and feel really nice and refreshed, and it's just such a nice foundation to use and quickly became my new favourite. I bought mine off asos because it was only $14.33 on there which is much cheaper than buying it in store. I love the fact it has an orange lid and that the bottle is glass because it just gives it that little bit extra. 2 massive thumbs up from me! 

My next favourite beauty product is the Napoleon Perdis Eyeshadow Duo in shade 'Barbados' (shown above). I have been lusting over this eyeshadow duo for quite some time now, and it was on sale at Big W a few weeks ago for half price so I had to pick one up. Sadly, the sale has ended and it's back to it's regular price of $16, but I would happily pay full price for it because I am in love. Both shades are perfect when worn alone and perfect when worn together. I just quickly pop this on in the morning and it looks great with whatever look I am going for. This is by far my new favourite eyeshadow and you can find it here. 

I have always wanted to see if I could rock the red lip, and in April I decided to give it a go. The lipstick I tried and fell in love with (thanks to Zoe) was the Kate Moss for Rimmel London Lasting Finish Matte in shade 107 (shown above). Rimmel London is quickly becoming my favourite drug store make up brand, and this lipstick is to die for. The shade is so beautiful, and even though it is quite bold, if you can pull it off it looks amazing. I like to think I can pull it off! The colour is so beautiful and pigmented, and it has such a soft, velvety, matte finish just like it promises to. I bought mine from Big W for around $10, but asos now sell them for $8.75, so if you know which shade you want, get it from there. 

I've slowly begun to expand my make up brushes collection, so I bought the travel size Ecotools bamboo 5 piece brush set off eBay. Don't fret, the seller I bought it from was legit and it was a great price of $9.90 which is what they sell for in America, whereas here they're more than $20 usually. Sadly they sold out, but I'm sure if you look around you can find another seller. For me, the stand out brush was the mineral powder brush (shown above). I use it for blush and bronzer and it is so incredibly soft on your skin, like you would not believe! It has become my new favourite brush, and what's even better is that it'll be super easy to take with me whenever I should need it. 

Now moving onto skin care. In April I came across what is now my favourite face mask. It is the Formula 10.0.6 Deep Down Detox ultra-cleansing mud mask. For starters, this mask smells incredible. It's scent is orange and bergamot, and it just smells so refreshing, without being too overpowering. I love it's packaging (it's orange, hello!) and it does such a good job at detoxifying the skin. My skin always feels so much better after using it. While it's no miracle worker, it is still such a treat to use, and with continued use I have begun to notice a difference in my skin. If anyone is on the hunt for a new face mask I cannot recommend this one enough! It cost me $8.99 from Priceline. 

Another skin care product I've really loved is the Innoxa Anti-shine blemish control lotion. This is a moisturiser which has anti-shine properties in it to help keep your skin shine free and protected (SPF 15) all day long. This was a teeny bit pricey for a moisturiser, I will admit, and cost me $23, but it was money well spent. It promises to reduce breakouts by 32% in 4 weeks, and I haven't used it long enough to tell you if that's true or not, but it didn't cause any so that's a good start! My foundation applies really well on top of this and it's just a great product over all. Although I bought mine from Big W, you can find it at Myer, Big W or Priceline. 

My last, but definitely not least, April favourite is the perfume by Taylor Swift called Enchanted Wonderstruck (shown above). This is Taylor's second perfume (a second addition from Wonderstruck), and smells absolutely gorgeous. It's described as being an alluring scent with an irresistible blend of luscious wild berries and sugar-glazed petals, wrapped in a touch of sensuality for a captivating signature. I just bought the travel sized set because it was on sale at Myer at the time, and I can't get over how beautiful the packaging is. It's so easy to take with me wherever I go and I've just become super obsessed with it over the past couple of months. You can see it here at Myer. 

Well once again that wraps up my April favourites post. I hope you enjoyed seeing all the things that I have been particularly loving over the month of April. Hopefully for my May favourites I'll make a YouTube video of them instead of just a written post, but we'll see how we go. 

Much love! 

All About Me.

Hello again! I thought I'd be a little bit different today and upload TWO posts instead of just one. This little 'about me' post has been sitting in my drafts folder for quite some time now and I thought it was about time I finally uploaded it. I tweaked my answers a little so it's as up to date as possible. Hope you enjoy reading all about me. Oh, and I got this from the lovely Zoella. Much love!

Vital Statistics:
Me: Samantha Lee
Nicknames: Sam, Sammy, Sammy Sparrow, Sam Indigo
Birthday: 13th October 1994
Place of Birth: Paddington
Zodiac Sign: Libra
Male or Female: Female
Occupation: Student
Residence: Sydney
Screen name: Sam Indigo

Appearance:

Hair Colour: Brown

Hair Length: Medium length

Eye colour: Brown

Best Feature: Possibly my 'snow white' appearance - red lips, dark eyes, dark hair, fair skin

Height: 5ft 5"

Braces?: I had them when I was about 14 years old.

Glasses?: Nope

Piercing: Ears and top left ear (cartilage) 

Tattoos: None.

Righty or Lefty: Righty

Your 'Firsts':

First best friend: Meghan

First Award: I cannot remember! Haha sorry.

First Sport You Joined: Dancing - jazz and tap. Or maybe it was Little Athletics...

First Real Vacation: America

First Concert: Hilary Duff! 

First Love: Yet to fall in love.

Favourites:

Movie: Pitch Perfect, Twilight Saga, Harry Potter, Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging, Wild Child, Raise Your Voice

TV Show: Pretty Little Liars, New Girl, Home and Away

Colours: Pastels, blue, pink

Song: Come & Get It - Selena Gomez. That song is the business!

Candy: Almost anything!

Restaurant: Thai Splendid or El Jannahs perhaps...does Nando's count?

Store: Sportsgirl, Topshop, Kmart, Priceline, loads of places!

School: Who has a favourite school??

Book: Looking For Alaska and The Fault in our Stars by John Green, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Magazine: Dolly or Girlfriend

Shoes: Don't have a favourite pair actually.

Currently:

Feeling: Excited.

Single or Taken: Single

Eating: Biscuits fresh from the oven.

Typing: This

Online: Obviously.

Listening To: Nothing

Thinking About: Taylor Swift concert that was just announced!

Wanting: Too much stuff :(

Watching: The computer screen

Wearing: My Pyjamas (whoops)

Future:

Want Children?: Of course. I'm excited to have them one day :)

Want to be Married: Yes!!!

Careers in Mind: Most probably something in fashion or beauty, and along the journalism line.

Where do you want to live?: Either here in Australia or England.

Have you ever:

Kissed a Stranger: Nope.

Had Alcohol: Yep.

Smoked: Never.

Ran Away From Home: Once haha

Broken a bone: Well I've fractured my collarbone if that counts.

Got an X-ray: Yep

Broken Someone's Heart: Probably

Broke Up With Someone: Yes

Cried When Someone Died: Yes

Cried At School: Yes

Do You Believe In:

God: Yes

Miracles: Yes

Love At First sight: I don't think so.

Ghosts: No

Aliens: No

Soul Mates: Yes

Heaven: Yes

Hell: Yes

Kissing on The First Date: I guess so...

Yourself: Sometimes.

Basic, but yummy, biscuits | Recipe

Hello hello,

It's been a little while since my last post so I thought I'd post a favourite recipe of mine. Now, don't get too excited, this recipe is for quite a basic biscuit, but I'm addicted to them nonetheless. As you can tell, this isn't very beauty or fashion related, but I hope you like it anyway. 
I make these biscuits all the time, and one of my favourite things about them is that I almost always have the ingredients because they're so simple and basic. Without me blabbering on for too much longer, the recipe and photos are down below. Make sure you comment if you make them and like how they turned out, or link me to where I can see how they turned out. 

Recipe

Ingredients

125g soft butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 60g egg

2 cups plain flour

2tbs cocoa powder

Instructions

cream butter and sugar, add egg - combine well

add dry ingredients. mix until combined

grease tray and cut shapes about 5mm thick

bake for 8 mins at 180 degrees celsius 

Happy baking!