Review | Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

Haul | Priceline

Review | NARS Sheer Glow

Musical Monthly | What am I loving right now?

Hi guys!



I really need to do an update post, because a lot has changed in my life these last few weeks and I want to vent with you all and tell you all about what I plan on doing with my life. But as a small filler, I thought I'd talk about some tunes I've been really digging this month. Music is such a huge part of my life and I'm pretty much listening to music every spare moment I have, especially travelling to and from work and when I'm scrolling through tumblr.


My top ten songs this month have been:

• Right Back At It Again - A Day To Remember

• You And I - One Direction

• Another You - Of Mice & Men

• How Does It Feel - Citizen

• Hooligans - Issues

• FU - Miley Cyrus

• Can We Dance - The Vamps

• Fantasy Girl - Man Overboard

• Free Now - Sleeping With Sirens

• Therapy - All Time Low

These songs are the ones that I found myself always coming back to when thinking of what to listen to. Some of these songs are new and some are a little old, but still great songs. I know my taste in music is a little all over the place, but I don't like sticking to a certain genre when it comes to music. 

A few albums I've really been loving this month are:

• Common Courtesy - A Day To Remember

• Youth - Citizens

• Issues - Issues

I plan on doing one of these monthly, as I discover new bands and songs that I genuinely enjoy listening to. I might even throw in a few reviews of new albums being released. I plan on making this blog more of a lifestyle blog, where I blog about everything and anything really. From beauty to food to music. Just anything really.

Until next time my loves,

Maria :)

Best Friends 18th | OOTN

I've always been one to love dressing up, especially for parties. But I do sometimes find myself over dressing at times. My best friend Kevin turned 18 this week, and to celebrate he threw a pretty rad 18th birthday party at his house. I didn't want to over dress like usual, so I tried to create a smart-casual look. As I was in a rush to get ready, I forgot to take a proper photo to show you all my outfit. But I did manage to snap a quick selfie of what I wore at my friend's house in this large mirror they have. It's not the best photo, but it shows of the pieces in my wardrobe. Also, at this time, I wasn't exactly at my soberest moment, so forgive me if I look a little funky.

                                   

What I wore | Get this look 

- Black crop top : Supre

- White Skort : Mink

- Red Cardigan : Cotton On

- Black Sandals : Target 

As you can tell, I'm not one to spend a large amount of money on clothing. The most expensive item I wore was my skort, which was only $29.99. 

The night was definitely one to remember, and it was lovely catching up with people I hadn't seen since we all finished high school in November! ((Well most people. For some it wasn't so nice!)) This was a nice and short blog post, but it's just a filler as I'll be doing my first ever monthly favourites post soon! 

Until next time,

Maria. 

My Skin Care Routine | Bye acne!

Hello, I'm finally doing a beauty related blog post! Three cheers for me?

Being a teenager with raging hormones, I suffered from acne while I was fifteen and sixteen years of age. This really damaged my confidence because my acne was leaning more towards the cystic acne side. My face was covered in blemishes and redness, all due to acne. While acne is a mass of break outs, cystic acne is the same, except some break outs are under the skin and are inflamed and swollen. My cystic acne was so bad, that the break outs would turn into infections and the area around the break out would swell up really badly and be filled with infective fluids. I've had about ten extreme cystic breakouts, which lasted around three to five days. I had to be injected with antibiotic needles once a day, for five days straight and my face felt like it was the size of a watermelon!

Not only did having acne and cystic acne hurt, but it's was embarrassing. I saw that the majority of my friends had clear skin and I began to really feel down about the way my face looked. That's when make up came in handy. I do blame myself for using make up on my damaged skin, as it didn't allow my skin to breathe and try to heal itself. But the make up made me more confident. I think something that damaged my esteem a lot, was hearing that people were saying "yeah she's attractive, but her acne is gross". Peoples comments about my acne hurt me a lot, especially when it's from people I know. 

I came to the conclusion that my acne was due to genetics. My dad had acne when he was young, and my brother developed it around the same age as me. While my acne was treated with acne medication (can't remember what it was called sorry!) and acne creams (Epiduo), my cystic acne died down too. My treatment lasted all of six months and then my skin was finally clearer. After being off the medication and cream, I began to try skin care products that suited my skin and helped with controlling my acne. I've come up with the perfect skincare routine that does not cause amass break outs and makes my skin look nice. But, I am still a teenager so my face does break out every now and then. 

Step 1: Removing make up | Make Up Wipes. 

Before I start any of my deep cleansing and such, I make sure to remove at least 80% of my make up with a make up wipe. I just feel it works a lot better than just straight away cleansing. I like using wipes that are very soft and don't need much pressure when taking off make up. With make up wipes, I've never wanted to spend large amounts of money buying something that will be used up very quickly. That's when I found $2 make up wipes from the Aldi brand "Lacura". In a pack, comes 35 wipes, which I think is such great value. Hands down, these make up wipes are so amazing. They glide over the skin and remove make up quickly and smoothly. It goes to show, you don't need to spend large amounts of money on skin care products. 

Lacura Cleansing Wipes
Aldi - $2

Step 2: Cleansing | Removing Dirt, Make Up and Oils. 

After I remove make up with the wipe, I start to thoroughly cleanse my skin with the QV Gentle Face Wash. It's important I do this twice a day, so my acne doesn't come back. I cleanse once, to remove make up off my face, and then a second time to remove any extra 'dirt and grime' that may be left over. I spend at least 5 minutes rubbing the face wash on my skin, to make sure I'm cleansing properly. 

QV Gentle Wash
Priceline -  $13

Step 3 (Every second day): Exfoliating | Bye Bye Dead Skin. 

I have very dry skin, due to six months of using the Epiduo cream. As it got rid of my acne, it left my skin very dry and flaky (gross!). It's really hard to maintain my make up during the day, as the dryness of my skin shows, but lately that's been different. I exfoliate every two days by using the St. Ives a Apricot Scrub. I first tried a sample size of this product, and fell in love with it. The consistency is not too grainy, which doesn't make it rough on the skin, but still removes a lot of dead skin. I find that over time, this product works well. 

St. Ives Apricot Scrub
Priceline - $10

Step 4 : Toner | Removing Excess Dirt from Pores. 

During the day, make up, dirt and oils can build up on the skin and in the pores. I use the Toner from Simple, as it doesn't contain and extreme chemicals. It's simple. I pour a small amount on a make up pad and rub it over my face. It makes my skin feel very refreshed and clean. 

Simple Toner
Priceline - $10

Step 5 : Moisturiser | Hydrating the Skin. 

Moisturising my skin is very important for me, as I have dry skin. I also use the moisturiser by Simple. A heavy moisturiser usually breaks out over night, and causes blister-like pimples on top of my skin that really hurt. With Simple's moisturiser, I find that it is incredibly thin and hydrating, and does not feel heavy on my skin. I also use a Coco Butter moisturiser under my eyes, which is very heavy and like a cream. My under eye area is extra damaged and that is the only moisturiser that aids in repairing it and making it smooth. 

Palmer's Coco Butter
Priceline - $13-
Simple Moisturiser
Priceline - $10

I was very on and off with skin care for the longest time, but once I saw an improvement, I began to do this routine everyday, either once or twice a day. Make sure to find a skin care routine that is effective towards you. Don't use a product that is further damaging your skin. Keep trying new products and find ones that work best together!

Until next time lovelies,

- Maria. 

Introduction | Let's begin

Hello there,

I see you've made it onto my blog, god knows why. But I do appreciate you taking the time to have a look around. How do you like it? I put a lot of effort into my blog. I can't believe you were that curious to click on the link to my blog. I'm not a very interesting person. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm very glad someone cares enough to go to the trouble of clicking on a link to know more about someone. But I do question why.

What can I say? My name is Maria and I live in Sydney, Australia. I really do love living in Australia, except for the firery pits of hell summers. I'm definitely more of a snuggle in bed with a hot cup of coffee while it's raining out type of person. I enjoy living here also because it's just a great country. We have a lot of benefits and security living here. And everyone loves us so that's a great bonus.

i'm 17 years old and finishing high school was very scary for me, because thinking about the future gets me very anxious.

You see, I love to write. And with my love for writing and reading blogs, books and articles, I am aspiring to become a Journalist. My first choice was Primary School Teaching, but I gave that idea up once I figured out my true desire for the future. I really want to write for a living.

But, my plans were put on hold when it was too late to change my university course. So, I was left with no other option but to wait until July to start university. Right now, I am currently working at a kids shoe store called Betts Kids. I really do love working there. The girls I work with are amazing and so sweet, and the job itself is great. i fee like i've learnt a lot, even though I only started working there in December (2013).

Music is a very huge part of my life. I can't describe how much I rely on music to get me though the day. My favourite bands are Pierce The Veil, Citizen, The 1975 and Bring Me The Horizon. I also have a guilty pleasure for One Direction. (Don't judge me! They're very talented young lads!) As you can see from the music player above, that is if you looked through the playlist, my music taste does vary. I do mainly listen to my bands, that are related to the genres pop punk, post-hardcore and hardcore. (Also known to society as "screamo" and "emo") But I do like to venture out of those genres. I love the 1975, One Direction, The Vamps and Miley Cyrus. You could classify those as mainstream music, and I won't lie, but some popper songs really catch my attention. You could say, music isn't just my life, it saved my life.

My favourite colour is blue. Do you notice how people always seem to state their favourite colour as one of their first facts? Or it's something a girlfriend asks to test how well their boyfriend pays attention to the small things? That's another thing about me, i like to over analyse situation. I also over think a lot, especially at two in the morning when I'm trying to fall asleep. 

I really love make up. You'e probably noticed that from my blog. It's becoming quite the addiction I must say. My collection is growing bigger everyday and I absolutely love trying out new products. If you have any suggestions, drugstore or high end, please tell me! I also really love fashion. I could ramble for days about all the different styles and outfits and staple pieces I have/want. My style icons are definitely Alexa Chung, Cara Delevingne, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and the fashion queens themselves, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

It's very weird how I don't like myself very much, but am still able to sit here and ramble on about myself like I am a vain person. 

Well, I really think I should stop now. I've probably shared way too much information with you already. But hey, isn't that what having a blog is all about? Sharing your deepest thoughts with people you don't know and hoping they won't judge you? I have always felt very safe on this internet at times.

Well, it was a pleasure. I'd love to know things about you. Why don't you message me on my tumblr some random, pointless fact about yourself? I'd love to get to know you :)

http://be-wild-in-wonderland.tumblr.com/ask

Myself