Care Package Swap with @amourjnfr
Who doesn't love a good ol' care package? I'll admit I (rarely) get packages and in general am not one for gifts, so when Jennifer from @amourjnfr and I decided to do a little care package swap, it's safe to say we both went a little over the top - in a good way of course. I've seen these types of swaps for years on YouTube so it was definitely exciting to do one myself. Of course brands are definitely much easier to get a hold of internationally nowadays, but there are definitely still brands that are easier for some to get than others. We settled on a certain number of brands and decided to get one (or a few) products from each brand - and I think it's pretty safe to say I was over the moon when my package arrived. I walked into my house, saw it on the floor, and basically ran upstairs to dig in. What's in it you ask? Let's get on with it - - and grab a cup of somethin' cause it's gonna be a long one!
It was definitely challenging to think of some brands that I wanted to try and in all honestly, I wasn't completely sure which brands were actually from Australia / better to get directly. Although some of these brands are available in the U.S., they're heap loads more expensive here than they are abroad. I got some Aesop products that I'm stoked to try. The Resurrection Rinse-Free Hand Wash is a bougie little 'treat yo-self' type sanitizer in the same scent as the ever-popular hand cream. I've definitely been needing hand sanitizers moreso lately as getting sick is not an option right now and having a pup means your hands get dirty on the go - a lot. The other one was the Immediate Moisture Facial Hydrosol - a rose petal infused hydrating spritz which refreshes and revives your skin. Warm weather is approaching with the temperatures shooting upwards of 100F/30C degrees this weekend (whoop-dee-doo).
On a similar boat to minimalist packaging goals, I've been wanting to try some bits from Grown Alchemist. I asked for the Deep Cleansing Masque because y'all know I love a good detoxifying mask. This one has ingredients like Cranberry Seeds and Gingko to improve texture and luminosity, and ingredients like Wheatgerm to reduce sebum levels and minimize the appearance of pores. Yes yes yes - sign me up. I have a few too many masks open right now and don't want any to go bad, so I'm going to try and use them up first.
A brand that I've been wanting to try for quite some time now but haven't gotten around to is Antipodes. The Aura Manuka Honey Mask is often featured on everyone's blogs so I'm quite excited to give it a try of my own. Like I mentioned above, I'm trying to use up more masks (maybe one or two) before I crack this one open, but I am so looking forward to trying it. Another item I received is the Ananda Antioxidant Gentle Toner which is a gentle toner to give a boost of moisture and fight environmental aggressors. I've been using some products from Dermalogica recently which help do that, but I'm always excited to add more products like that into my skincare routine. You can never be too safe!
Can we all just take a minute to appreciate all the beautiful goodness of the packaging goals Aussie brands have?
Jurlique is a brand that almost everyone has heard of, and their most popular product has got to be the Rosewater Balancing Mist. Jurlique is worlds more expensive in the U.S. than it is in AUS so I thought it'd be a good time to try something from the brand. Since I already have my a few sprays in rotation (and got a spray and toner in this bundle), I opted for a nice hand cream (cause you can never have too many). I got the Citrus Hand Cream which is different than the typical scent I would get, but it smells lovely and light!
Another one of those cool "it girl" brands that are popping up left and right on Instagram is Frank Body. I've been wanting to try a coffee body scrub for ages since these were released. I tried a coffee scrub from Lush but I absolutely hated the smell, so I'm looking forward to using this to bask in all of its coffee goodness. I'm minority obsessed with body scrubs since I received the most amazing body scrub in Korea - maintenance is key, right? I also received the Creamy Face Scrub which smells increddddible - anything that can smell like my morning coffee is fine. by. me. (PS - these are carried at UO Beauty now!)
Two brands that Jennifer suggested to me were Go-To Skincare and Mecca's in-house brand, Mecca Cosmetica. Upon first look at Go-To I was pretty much sold - how could you not like those peachy pink packaging colors?? Since I hadn't heard much of the brand I was pretty much game for anything from the line she thought would be good. I ended up with the Lips! superbalm and the Face Hero oil. The Lips! balm is one of the best lightweight formulas I've tried, it feels like a light gloss (not sticky) on your lips and has a slight sweet scent - that's because they have a hint of natural pomegranate in it (yasss). The Face Hero is a lightweight oil that is supposed to help hydrate, revive, brighten and insure your skin against fine lines, dark spots, and dryness - yes yes yes. I'm working through some products that are open but I'm probably gonna cave and crack this one open soon. But seriously the packaging of these Go-To products are so so so easy on the eyes.
From Mecca Cosmetica Jennifer picked out some of her favorites for me! I got the Lit From Within Illuminating Primer which is supposed to deliver a glow to the skin (uh, yes please) and something that has quickly become a favorite of mine! You can see it in my posts here and here. She also gave me the To Save Face Superscreen with SPF which is a lightweight, non-greasy formula to give you a little boost of SPF protection under the makeup. In addition, this includes hyaluronic acid (yasss), pomegranate extract, and Vitamin E. Even better? No white cast - hallelujah. In addition, I also opted for the Tinted Lip De-Luscious in the shade Cranberry (check!!! and swatch)
Okay hands down one of the best things about traveling is getting to try all the snacks that other countries have to offer. I was *SO* fortunate to have Jennifer send me a tonnnn. Out of all of the ones I was sent I had tried the Green Tea Kit Kats and Maltesers before. I go in waves with junk food / snacks and eating a ton at once and then nothing for a long while. The Cadbury chocolates also called out to me as Cadbury chocolates in the US do not compare - at all. I tried the Twisties in Chicken and Cheese - yum yum yum. I like how lightweight they tasted and they were nothing like Cheetos (which are a bit too overly cheesy if ya ask me). I'm waiting for the day to crack open my box of Tim Tams, although I did just see that they have these for sale now at World Market. I should probably munch on those and the Violet Crumble soon as they've been sitting in a corner of my room for the last few months (eek).
This was the mooost amazing package ever and Jennifer is one of the best blogging pals you can have! One aspect about blogging that I definitely love is being able to make friendships with wonderful people around the world! Please be sure to head over to Jennifer's blog (here) and give her a follow - she always has amazing content :) And don't miss out on her post to see which products I snagged for her HERE!