Thursday 27 March 2014

Beauty Products I Miss

Beauty-Products-I-Miss

It's now been almost nine months since I left the UK to go travelling. When I was packing, I aimed to keep my make-up and skin care to a minimum as I was in Asia first and I didn't think I'd wear much. 

To be honest, I never really thought about what I would need once I'd left Asia, and arrived in Australia. For four months I was working in an office and essentially having a regular routine. Having not taken the time to think ahead to what I would want for Australia, it left me wishing I had certain products with me.

So what are those products? It's a mixture of skincare and make up, especially certain brands I can't get over here.

Una Brennan Tea Flower Superfacialist Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask
This is quite possibly the product I miss the most. I was always a firm fan of Origins Clear Improvements mask until I tried this. This works so well with my skin. Whenever I could feel a breakout coming on, it would really help my skin and minimise the breakout or clear it up completely. I come from a hard water area in the UK, but over here in Melbourne the water is incredibly soft. Despite being here for almost five months now I don't think my skin has gotten used to it. As a result my skin has been awful. I feel like I'm back to being a teenager again with the spots I've been getting
Urban Decay Naked 1 & Naked 2
I absolutely love these palettes, but decided not to bring either of them with me. A decision I seriously regret. While I was in Malaysia I tried to buy my favourite shade from the Naked palette - Sin, but typically it was  sold out, and I didn't like any of the similar shades. I ended up buying All That Glitters by MAC, but it's just not quite the same. I have been sorely tempted to order either the new Naked 3 palette or the Naked Basics palette to be sent over here, but I'm so torn. 


Dr Jart Water Fuse BB Cream
This is a product that I actually brought out with me, but alas it has run out. I can't find Dr Jart out here and when I was in Asia I couldn't find this formula. I was quite slow on the uptake with this BB cream, but once I bought it I could see why it is so popular. You barely need anything and it rubs in without feeling greasy. I always thought it offered a pretty decent level of coverage too.

No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Brush
I only got into the cleansing brush movement within the past year. I really was close to packing this and again, it's something I wish I had. I never got around to review this but I really did feel like there was a difference with my skin, and it certainly felt cleaner. I've been tempted at times to treat myself to a Clarisonic whilst being over here.


Benefit Dallas Box Blusher
Dallas is my absolute favourite boxed blusher by Benefit, but when I came away I decided to bring another of their boxed blushers with me - Coralista which is another of my favourites. After using Coralista almost every day now, I'm getting a little bored and would quite like to have some bronzed-ish cheeks!
I can buy Benefit products out here, but they do feel a little pricey still, but the prices always do sound worse in $!

Are any of these products you can't live without? 

Kate x

Tuesday 25 March 2014

Cambodia

Time has passed so quickly that our time in Cambodia was well over six months ago now. Something I have really learnt whilst being away that time really does go quickly - you don't even realise it until you stop to think how great it was. A year away sounds like a long time, but we've already been in Australia for six months exactly of our one year visa.

I was initially a little hesitant about including Cambodia to our itinerary but I am so glad we did. While there we visited Siem Reap, Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh. The highlight was most definitely Siem Reap where we spent the majority of our time, this included spending three days at the amazing Angkor Wat temple complex. Somewhere I recommend everyone visiting at some point in their lives. 

Our travel into Cambodia from Thailand was quite long and tiresome, but once we arrived and found our guesthouse we were quite relieved. 

Considering how small Siem Reap really is, it's so busy and I was very surprised to find how many foreigners actually lived and worked there. We met at least 3 Americans there all who worked as English teachers.

Sihanoukville, also known as Snookyville was a little beachy town on the coast of Cambodia. We had one day of sun before torrential rain hit. From Sihanoukville, you can also get transport to some of their islands such as Koh Rong.

Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, has a completely different feel to Siem Reap. To be honest, I much preferred Siem Reap. I'm sure some may disagree, but everyone has their preferences.

Phnom Penh has most of the memorial sites where the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge occurred. The two notable ones are the Killing Fields which are a little south of PP and Tuol Sleng Prison (also know as S21) which both now serve to remember those who died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and to educate visitors.

Cambodia is truly a wonderful place, we even left Siem Reap with new friends who I hope to visit again one day in the not so distant future.





If anyone has the opportunity to visit Cambodia during time in South East Asia, I would whole heartedly recommend visiting.

Kate x