Oh spring... where art thou?

Melbourne is notorious for having four seasons in one day. Lately though, I've been feeling that all we are getting are the cooler seasons. Where is the sun? Did spring not make its appearance last month? Why has she forsaken us? And why does this perturb me so much?

Let me tell you a little story. The story begins with me complaining about how much clothing I have, and how I can never find anything to wear when I need it (nothing new if you talk to girls frequently). I one day have a lightbulb moment and decide to pack away all my winter clothing and anything chunky and knitted (jackets included). Where do these all go once I've packed them up? Because I have no room, it goes into storage, of course! So that when it starts getting chilly I can put all my summery stuff into storage and bring out all my winter stuff... *snorts*. Let's be honest, I'll most likely forget about it and buy new winter stuff because once it gets cold again, I'll be complaining that I have nothing to wear! But anyway...

So after 4 days of blissful sun in Melbourne, and spending some time in Italy where the weather was beautiful, I come back to Melbourne and find that it is experiencing an ice age in the middle of spring. Talk about bad timing! I am forced to wear the same thin, so-called "wind cheater" (such false advertising) over my chunkiest hoodie and gym pants when I have to go outside (which is every single day). All I have sitting in my makeshift closet right now (which is an entire story all on its own) are pretty, summery, light clothing that I cannot wait to put on and strut around in. Although...

... is the universe secretly doing me a favour by preventing me from baring my flabby belly to innocent bystanders? Should I exercise to be taut for summer, so people don't experience second hand embarrassment for me? Am I just being given more time to get my body into shape? And if so, then I think Melbourne will be in a permafrost state because my laziness knows no bounds.

Spring, where art though? Goddammit, I just want my cellulite ridden thighs to jiggle in the warm breeze already! C'mon spring... show your face!

Snapchat evidence of me, freezing in my room.

NARS All Day Luminous Weightless foundation review

It's only been a million years... but I have finally created a new video for YouTube! I've been meaning to buy a new foundation for the longest time but have always put it off seeing as... well, you know... I never wear makeup as it is. But then an event comes along and I feel like shit with my undone face, amongst the glamorous cake faces of the night.

As much as I hate wearing foundation, I hate standing out even more. I'd rather blend in and be one of the girls. So it was about time I got my hands on a new foundation to try! Watch the review below, but if you don't have the 3-ish minutes to spare, I list my thoughts and key points after the video:

What I loved about it:

• It really does feel weightless
• The colour match for my skin was perfect (Barcelona)
• The finish is very natural - not too matte, not to shiny. It was just the right balance which resulted in quite a lovely velvety finish.
• Very easy to apply as it was quite a runny liquid and very much like the NARS Pure Radiance tinted moisturiser (which is my go-to product)
• It barely oxidised on me. I have the kind of skin that turns any foundation into an oompa loompa shade and this one oxidised only just a teeny tiny bit.
• I didn't get to try this out for myself as I had only a small sample container to go by, but it comes in a sleek glass bottle with a pump which I already know I will love. What's not to love about a pump?!
• It does not contain SPF so it is perfect for flash photography, which happens fairly frequently during events/night's out!

What I didn't like about it:

• It did oxidise, albeit by just a tiny bit
• I didn't use a powder with it, so maybe that would have solved this problem, but it felt like it never really set. If I rubbed my face, some would come off.
• It got a bit shiny as the day went on. Nothing that blotting or a dusting of powder wouldn't fix, but I'm the kind of person that doesn't do stuff like that throughout my day simply because I don't like carrying extra makeup and brushes in my bag.

Final verdict? I like it enough to buy. When I did the review, I wore it to work. I'm quite active and busy at work, on my feet all day and sweating and such. I really put it through its paces. However, my intended purpose for a new foundation is to wear it to events or night's out only, which means it suits my purpose just fine.

Shopaholic strikes again!

I'm at it again. Buying things I don't need. Buuut... sale. So why not? Here are my latest purchases:

Kookai dress - $40

Kookai top - $50

Guess dress - $149.95 (I had 20% off)

Guess top - $79.95 (I had 20% off)

Flannel shorts - $150

Today I actually spent my time packing up some clothes and shoes and transporting it into my storage unit... only to refill the space I made with these new purchases. Go figure. Here's some pictures from Snapchat of my day (follow me! "luvrin"):

Shoe addiction, confirmed.

I never really thought of myself as someone addicted to shoes. Sure, I buy my fair share and have more than I really need. But lately I have been finding it hard to find places to put away the new shoes that I keep buying. In the past 5 days, I have obtained 5 new pairs of shoes (all heels, all high and all unnecessary). What's going on? Why do I keep buying shoes that are impractical and don't serve any purpose for me other than to take up space in my room?

These are the shoes that prompted my questioning, ordered online on sale for $80 from Kookai. In fact, I should have been concerned on Saturday, where I was out by myself in the city, window shopping to kill time before meeting up with a friend for her birthday dinner. The window shopping turned into an actual shopping expedition, and I spent $160 on a pair of heels from Tony Bianco. They weren't on sale or anything, I just decided that they looked nice with my outfit and I wanted to wear it for the dinner. 

I also tried on a pair of brown, suede soled wedges that didn't particularly look good or anything, but they were really comfortable to walk in while giving me height. They were on sale for $80 and I wanted to buy them as well but didn't want to be lugging around two shoe boxes at the dinner. So I asked the sales assistant to put it on hold for me, and I went and purchased it the following Monday.

If you follow me on Snapchat (luvrin) you would have seen all these photos before. I'm quite prolific on Snapchat! I'm always alone so it's not like I have anything better to do. And therein lies the problem... I'm alone. If I were with someone, I would not be shopping for myself. I would be engaged in conversation, or assisting whoever I'm with with their shopping or whatever. Also, me being single plays a huge part in this ridiculous addiction I have. There is no one for me to focus on, so I focus on myself. Well, I have the kids, yes, but I buy them things all the time anyway and it doesn't count because they always need new things. But me? No, I don't need to be buying ten pairs of heels per month, yet here I am... *sigh*

I even returned a pair of heels today that I had ordered full price from Tony Bianco. I had ordered them a week before and had just received them on Monday (yes, that very Monday that I bought the wedges on hold for me)! I really liked them but they were far too high for me and I found them quite uncomfortable. Not to mention, I had already bought the pair from Tony Bianco on Saturday that were the exact same colour and very similar in style. I would have kept it if I hadn't felt so guilty about already owning a pair that was just as nice, but far more comfortable.

Today when I got home from work and saw the package from Kookai for me, I knew I had a problem. Who needs that many pair of heels? I don't ever go out, so it's not like I will get much use from them right now. I really need to stop buying shoes... maybe I should start dating again, haha!

A video posted by Rin (@makeupdownunder) on Jan 7, 2016 at 3:46am PST

Online shopping sleep disorder?

After a massive shopping expedition at Chadstone for some christmas gifts for family, what does one do? Go home and shop some more, of course. Thank you, world wide web, for being such an enabling c**t. 

I did only buy sale items, though... well, two were full priced but if I signed up to recieve newsletters I'd get 15% off those items - technically still a sale, right?

And who doesn't need shoes? We always need them! We cannot leave the house without them... *rakes brain for more excuses to try and justify the purchase* 

Isn't it ironic that I had to spend more on a 7 year old's shoe, than I did on my own?! How does that even work? Even my teenager's shoe cost more than my own. Hmmm!

It's nearly 2am and I'm half asleep. I've noticed that I tend to do a lot of online shopping at this time. In the morning I've forgotten about all these purchases until I  recieve the confirmation emails, PayPal receipts and tracking advice. Maybe this is a form of sleep disorder? In which case, it would probably end up costing me less to go see a specialist.

Can't wait for my purchases (that I've forgotten about) to arrive, though! It's always a pleasure signing for my parcels.

Melbourne Central VIP Haul - Summer Tops

The fruits of my spoil today at the Melbourne Central shopping festival. All items purchased were 25% off from Guess and 20% off from Superdry. I intended to buy just one top that I was waiting for to go on sale but of course, once you pop, you can't stop ;)

GUESS Hot Legs swing tank - AUD $49.95

GUESS Asymmetrical Sharkbite tank - AUD $69.95

GUESS Instinct tee - AUD $49.95

GUESS Printed Snake Top camisole (coral multi) - AUD $49.95

SUPERDRY Grey Cross Stitch crop cami - AUD $44.95

SUPERDRY Blue Cross Stitch crop cami - AUD $44.95

GUESS  Military Denim crop top (rockdale wash) - AUD $ 99.95

Crest 3D Whitestrips Vivid: before & after, demo + review

I purchased a pack of Crest whitestrips from this website a week ago and gave them a try (on video)! My teeth have never been white but I wanted to see if it would make any difference at all.  I think it did, what do you think?  The above photo is the before and after.  To see the demo and review, watch the video below.

Direct link to video: http://youtu.be/o3poJxiG6iw