Clarisonic Mia 2 | Review

Ah, the Clarisonic. This is definitely not an unknown product in the beauty world, however it took me a while to finally decide to splurge on it. I've been using this for a few months now, so I decided it was time to share my thoughts on this with you. I'll start off by saying that I have oily/combination skin, I suffer from blemishes and little scars left behind after a blemish has gone. For the first two and a half months I used this every night, but now I only use it every second night. 

I don't think this is something that absolutely every single person must own, but I do think it's worth the money. I've used a few other cleansing brushes that are supposed to be dupes for the Clarisonic, but nothing really compares. I won't bother explaining what it does and how it works, because either you already know, or it is very easy to look up online. To give you the general gist, it's basically an exfoliating brush that you use with your cleanser - I use mine with the Dermalogica Clearing Skin Wash (the MediBac Clearing one). As I said, I use mine every second night now because I felt like using it every night was a bit too much and too harsh for my skin. 

This works well at really thoroughly cleansing your skin. It always leaves my skin feeling softer, cleaner and smoother. I think it's helped with my breakouts, because it is properly cleansing my skin, but it hasn't made them completely disappear or anything. With continued use, I imagine I'll keep seeing positive results, so I'm going to stick with it. 

I feel like Clarisonic's among the beauty world are a bit of a love/hate thing, but I guess the fact that I never went and got my money back after the 90 days speaks for itself! 

Antipodes Skincare | Review

Let's just say, I'm a sucker for skincare! I'm always up for trying new things, however I've tried to keep my routine pretty consistent because all the chopping and changing really doesn't help. In saying that, I've stumbled across some awesome products which were absolutely inspired by Estée (of essiebutton). I've been using these few things for about 3 months now, so I think it's been long enough for my thoughts to be genuine. I bought mine off BeautyBay, however Antipodes is also stocked in Priceline, Myer and David Jones. 

Antipodes Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream

Oh. My. Goodness. This moisturiser smells so incredibly divine. Seriously, you need to go and smell it! It's the most nice and natural vanilla scent that makes you (almost) want to eat it. I do have oily/combination skin, but I find that I tend to get dry patches in the winter months, so this helps to keep those at bay. It doesn't leave my skin feeling oily or greasy, and makeup applies well on top of it. I haven't had any issues with extra breakouts, and I would possibly go as far to say that this has actually helped my breakouts (along with other products too, of course). Big statement, but I think it's true! 

Antipodes Avocado Pear Nourishing Night Cream

I don't love this scent as much as the day cream, but it isn't awful. I just find that this one smells a lot more organic. It is also a lot more hydrating and nourishing, as the name would suggest, and so does leave my skin feeling a little greasy - however it isn't anything that I can't handle. I don't mind because I know that it is really helping to hydrate my skin while I sleep, and when I wake up there isn't any greasy residue left on my skin. This night cream is very rich, so in the summer months I will probably have to use something else, but for winter it is perfect. 

Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask

This mask is interesting because manuka honey is an antibacterial, so this really helps with blemishes and things like that, but is also incredibly moisturising and not stripping or drying at all. I tend to use this more when my skin is on the drier side rather than the oiler side, because sometimes it's a bit too hydrating. This mask is almost like a hybrid between a moisture mask and a spot-clearing mask, which is definitely an interesting combination. Of course it's no miracle worker, but I have enjoyed using it so far. 

As I've had such a positive experience with the few Antipodes products that I've tried so far, I am definitely wanting to try some more from the range in the future. Have you tried anything from Antipodes that you could recommend to me? If you have, make sure to leave a comment below. 

What's On My Desk

My 'What's On My Bedside Table' post went down so well the other day (read it here), so I thought I would do another one along the same line. For all you nosey ones out there, this is what's on my desk! As you can see, I don't really keep too many beauty products on here, except for the Burt's Bees lip balm, and I'm not really sure why I don't. Also, my Kate Spade iPhone case is from the Apple store, in case you were wondering, and my laptop is a 13" MacBook Pro. 

My desk is basically my creative space. I like to keep the essential things on here such as, my diary, my blog and youtube notebook, pens, lip balm, candle, hair ties and bobby pins, tissues and hand cream - as well as a few other bits too. I try to keep it as neat and organised as possible, because clutter stresses me out. I also have those few things stuck on the wall above my desk to help inspire me. 

I hope you enjoyed this instalment in my little 'What's On My...' series that I have now officially begun. Look out for a bathroom countertop and makeup corner edition coming in the future!

Oh, and for anybody wanting to know, I finished the book I was reading that you saw in my 'What's On My Bedside Table' post and I really enjoyed it!  

A Pretty Little Combination

Today's post is going to be short and sweet, as I just wanted to quickly show you guys the nail polish I currently have on my nails because I think it just looks so pretty! Not everyone will be a fan of the two colour look I've got going on, but I love it. I wanted something bright and cheerful to add some nice colour to the winter days. I've used 'Really Red' by Essie and 'Summer Lovin' Pink' by Colour Theory, as well as the standard base and top coat by Sportsgirl. I think these two colours look so cute together and remind me of a lovely warm summer day. Even though it's traditional to go darker on the nails at this time of year, I have no problem bending the "rules" a little every now and then! 

What's On My Bedside Table

Today I was suffering from writer's block, when I noticed my bedside table and I just thought it would make for a nice little post. Perhaps you're a bit of a nosey one, like me, and find it interesting to see what people keep on their bedside tables. If that happens to be the case, then this is definitely the post for you!

As you can see, I pretty much have a few basic bits and bobs on there, only the essentials! The blue plastic mason jar is from Woolworths, however they're also stocked in Target, the Heathcote & Ivory hand cream at the back is from Target, the little green tube is The Body Shop Aloe Lip Care - seriously such an incredibly nourishing and soothing lip balm - and the pink candle is from Ikea. The book I happen to be reading at the moment is Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Leuithan, but the book that's on there will change depending on what I'm reading at the time. I also like to switch up the hand cream and lip balm I have on there, depending on what I feel like using. 

Hope you enjoyed this little peak at my bedside table, let me know in the comments below if you'd like to see more posts like this - perhaps a what's on my desk or what's in my bathroom post? Hope you all have a fabulous week, now I've got some reading to do...

Day Trip to Leura, Blue Mountains

Yesterday my friend and I drove up to the Blue Mountains, and visited Leura and Katoomba for the day. We left at about 8 in the morning, and the drive took about an hour and a half. After making a few wrong turns along the way, we finally arrived and immediately fell in love with Leura. It is the cutest little town! If you're ever able to go and visit, I would definitely recommend it. I'd love to go back sometime in the future, perhaps on a cute romantic date one day (would need a boyfriend for that, but who knows hey!). 

To give you a brief run down of the day, we walked around the main part of Leura for a bit, I bought Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle from a cute little bookstore, bought some sweets from the little candy store, visited the Toy and Railway museum, and went to an amazing lookout that was so cold my hands started to hurt! Then we drove up to Katoomba and looked around in search of somewhere to eat. However that proved to be unsuccessful, so on the drive back to Leura we stopped off at the Leura cascades and spent a bit of time hiking through the bush and experiencing the incredible views. It was so lovely and filled me with excitement when I thought about the days I'll spend travelling the world. If you want to see some more snaps from that part of the day, be sure to check out my Instagram, @samindigo, and be sure to follow me while you're there. We walked around the main part of Leura and found a restaurant there. To be honest, the food was mediocre, but we were so hungry by that point we just didn't care! However, they did have really nice apple cider so that kind of made up for it (non-alcoholic of course). 

Before leaving we bought some scones from the local bakery to take home with us, and set off on the journey home again. It was such a lovely day spent chatting about everything, being wowed by the incredible views, and it was a nice time for me to reflect on a lot of things in my life, and gain perspective again. Now I'm going to enjoy my chewy lemon bonbons that I picked up from the sweets store. Hope you're all having a fabulous week!