New Year, New Mail

In the last days of December, I received an unexpected email from Sue of voyage dans le temps informing me I'd won her blog birthday/Christmas giveaway. This was the second giveaway I'd won that month, which made me feel very lucky indeed. Sue was sweet enough to notify me after I hadn't replied to her initial email to check my inbox (her message was actually sitting in my spam!) and was super prompt with delivery despite the busy Christmas/New Year's period. I rarely ever get parcels sent to my place (in fact, I don't think I've received one in years), so I was introduced to the new parcel pickup close to where I live, which has now apparently replaced the local Post Office. When I made my way there on Monday afternoon, there were about 20 people in front of me and the sun was out in full force, but no queue or blistering heat could've stopped me from waiting in line to retrieve the package!

I hit the jackpot with all the fantastic goodies featured in the giveaway: two individual eyeshadows (Laura Mercier Twilight Grey and Bobbi Brown Black Charcoal 2F), one full-sized Essie polish in Funny Face, the Essie Resort Collection 2011, Red Cherry lashes in #46, MOR Emporium Body Butter in Hibiscus Bloom, Urban Decay Glide-On 24/7 Shadow Pencil in Clash and Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Charm. Sue even included a Christmas card which was yet another thoughtful touch. Everything but the Revlon lip crayon was new to me, and though I already have Charm, it is my favourite shade along with Sweetheart, so I'm certainly not complaining about having a backup!

l-r: Laura Mercier Twilight Grey, Bobbi Brown Black Charcoal 2F

Laura Mercier Twilight Grey is a cool, medium to dark matte dove grey. I love these purplish/grey/taupey colours, and Twilight Grey seems perfect for a sultry but sophisticated smoky eye.

Bobbi Brown Black Charcoal 2F is a true matte black. It's one of the best of its kind I've come across, though it did take several swipes to build up to full opacity. I prefer the Laura Mercier matte formula as I think it's overall smoother and not quite as patchy, but the Bobbi Brown is still very good in the scheme of mattes, especially since I've encountered my share of underperforming black shades (Stiletto in the Too Faced Naked Eye palette, anyone?).

Urban Decay Glide-On 24/7 Shadow Pencil in Clash is a turquoise/aqua with silver shimmer. The crayon is very smooth, creamy and glides on. The staying power is impressive — I swatched my wrist in the morning, and there's only the faintest signs of wear 16 hours later. I rarely, if ever, wear coloured eyeliner, but Clash seems an ideal place to start, especially as it's such a summer-appropriate shade.

These Red Cherry lashes in #46 came at such an opportune time, as I have lost the last two pairs of lashes I've worn and was looking to buy another pair. For whatever bizarre reason (mainly due to the fact my room is a shameful pigsty with every available surface covered in junk), I keep losing just one false lash out of each pair, making the other one that I still have useless. Kind of like losing a sock. #46 is very full, flirty and feminine, while still looking delicate and refined.

The packaging of the MOR Emporium Body Butter is super pretty, with the floral design that has gilded details, MOR stamp and white ribbon. Hibiscus Bloom is described as "pink jasmine, sweet pea and soft plumeria mingled with the crisp notes of juiced grapefruit, honeyed apricot blossom and a touch of warm musk." I mainly smell frangipani and white flowers — there is a mellow softness but a slight tartness to it as well. The scent reminds me a bit of the kai fragrance, which I've fallen in love with and would totally have in my handbag right now, if the tiny 3.6ml roll-on wasn't $78. I don't use body moisturisers much, but I know that I'll genuinely look forward to using this because of the beautiful fragrance.

l-r (thumb to pinky): Funny Face, Fair Game, Lion Around, Your Hut or Mine?, Da Bush

All these new Essie polishes to my collection are a welcome treat as well. I don't have many Essie polishes and would change that, if they didn't retail for $18.95 here. Funny Face seems to me like a quintessential Sue colour — at least if it were a lipstick!

A huge thank you to Sue for holding such a generous giveaway! I always enjoy reading fellow Aussie bloggers and Sue is no exception. I can always count on her blog for helpful, detailed and honest beauty reviews, a glimpse into her personal life and social outings, and some seriously drool-worthy food pictures. Happy birthday to her blog and here's to another year of blogging ahead!