Personal Microderm, PMD, Review

I purchased the Personal Microdermabrasion (PMD) at home device, back in March. 

I had heard of the PMD device via beauty blogs and beauty youtube videos. I was intrigued by this DIY, at home microdermabrasion, and looked into it further. I read reviews on blogs and watched 'how-to tutorials' on youtube, to get an understanding of how it works, and how other people like myself found the device. I had a look at the PMD website, that was very user friendly and found out that they shipped to Australia. I purchased the worldwide powerpoint plug - in PMD, so I was able to use it here in Australia and I also used a discount code I found on a beauty youtube video, which helped a lot with the cost. 

The shipping took less than 2 weeks from memory and was packaged very well. Some parts of my face are uneven in skin tone, I have a combination/oily skin type and I am susceptible to blemishes every now and then. I like to invest my money into products for my skin, not only resulting in using less makeup but feeling more confident in my own skin and in years to come my skin will hopefully still look youthful. I purchased the PMD to improve the look, feel and texture of my skin. I wanted my skin to look more even, be more smooth to the touch, have my pores look smaller and have less blackheads on my nose. 

The first time I used the PMD I felt confident because I had researched into the device so much on youtube. I knew that the device made quite a loud sound and that you had to move the device  quite quickly upwards along the face, pulling the skin taught. I feel as though, if I didn't watch the videos on youtube, and relied only on the videos on the PMD website, I wouldn't have been as informed and I would of grazed my skin because I had held the device in one place for too long. 

I use the PMD device on completely dry skin and use the sensitive skin disc. I wash my face with a cleanser at night, and then let it air dry completely. I then use the PMD device on my skin and then once finished use my toner and night cream. I use it at night, in case of redness. 

After using it about three times, (I use the PMD device once a week, or every second when I see my skin doesn't need it as much) I had gotten used to it, and it was much easier to use and manoeuvre around the contours of my face. 

After using the PMD device for a coupled of months, I am very pleased with the results. My skin is much smoother, pores are much smaller and I get less blemishes. My skin products go on much smoother and so does any makeup I use on my skin. I also use the PMD device on my back, as I have light blemish scarring on the top of my back and a little bit down my spine. I had to explain and show someone else how to use it, which wasn't hard, so that they could use the PMD device on my back. I haven't used the PMD device on my back as much as I have used it on my face, but I can tell it is making a difference. 

Have you tried using the PMD? How did you like it?

Night walkers and Contour

I recently made a purchase off MAC cosmetics online. I had seen a new collection come out called "Face and Body". Within the collection was a product called, Pro Sculpting Creme. It was a contouring product used on the face. I have had my eye on the Tom Ford contour and highlight duo, but it isn't  easily available in Australia. So when I saw that MAC was offering something similar I jumped on it. I bought the Pro Sculpting Creme in the colour Copper Beech. I am in the shade NC45 when I'm a bit darker, right now they colour match me at NW35, but its way too light for my liking, so I'm using C6 in  the Face and Body foundation because it matches me perfectly. I also bought the brush that was available in the collection, the 163. Its a long, flat top brush. I have used the Pro Sculpting Creme numerous times now and love it ! its the perfect shade to use as a contour on my skin, its easily blend-able and is quite pigmented. 

I also bought a new blush, called Modern Mandarin. It's a bright orange, with a satin finish. It is SO pigmented, I only apply a small amount. I love oranges and peachy tones for blush on my skin tone, so when I saw this bright orange I had to give it a try. 

It's Spring here in Australia and the weather is already starting to warm up. I'm sure it's going to be a long hot summer this year, I think this blush will look even better on my skin when I'm a little bit darker!

As you can tell in the photos I also made a purchase off Solestruck.com. I LOVE that website. Both pairs of shoes were greatly reduced !! Their sales are great, the quality of the shoes are amazing and you save so much ! I bought a pair of flat, loafers by Sam Edelman, with a black snake skin finish. They are a very narrow make, luckily for me, my feet are quite narrow so they fit like a glove. The sole of the shoe is so padded its like walking on marshmallows ! Perfect for work everyday and casual nights out.

I also got my hands on some Night Walkers, by Jeffrey Campbell. They were reduced to just over $90!! They are usually priced at just under $200. I wanted a black pair or cream/beige but they were still full price or sold out. They are a suede baby pink pair, and are surprisingly comfortable to walk in. I wore them for the first time to a friends 21st party. At first I felt like I was going to fall over, especially when standing still. I had to hold onto someone ! After a while I got used to it. I was on my feet the whole night and let me tell you these are more comfortable than most of the heels I own.

Heels x 5

This year the tables have turned, it has been a year of shoes for me. It's usually clothes clothes clothes and more clothes. I guess they were on sale more ! Haha and whats bad about my high liking of shoes this year is that I bought mostly heels, I'm tall as it is!
The photos above are of shoes I've bought this year so far. The first two pairs are Cheap Mondays, and the third are Jeffrey Campbells. All of them were bought from Soletruck on sale :) Yay for sales ! 
The fourth and fifth pair of shoes were bought from Wittner, in store. I originally fell in love with the Giraffe printed booties, I've been wanting a pair for ages after seeing someone in the street wearing them. Unfortunately they weren't exactly what I wanted, the ones I saw were a caramel brown, more like a real giraffe, but I love them none the less. As for the other pair of heels, well, I got them for free because the first pair of shoes was over $100, bargain ! 

P.S. I forgot to include a pair of shoes that I bought a couple of weeks ago. They're mint green ! Will add to my next post. 

Real Technique Brushes

I recently bought some Real Technique brushes from priceline. I decided to buy the core sets first to see how I like them. I've used them quite a bit and I love them. The bristles are SO soft. They are so handy to have, there are so many different brushes in their range. I'm pretty sure I'll be buying the rest of the collection soon.

Zara Asymmetric Court Shoe alternative

BettyShoe, Passion Black Suede Pump Shoes  |  Zara,  Asymmetric Court Shoes

I personally, have always loved the Zara Court Shoes. An effortlessly chic and sexy pair of black heels. Unfortunately my feet don't seem to go well with these kinds of shoes, the heel of my foot always comes out of the shoe when walking. I know what you're thinking, what about those 'non slip', 'grip your heel' stick ons? Well those only work sometimes, and unless I can try the shoes on, I don't usually take the risk in buying them, I learnt my lesson! 

Another unfortunate happening is that the Zara court shoes are no longer available, but I have found an alternative. The online shoe store, Bettyshoe, have a pair of heels that are very very similar to that of the Zara ones ! I posted the pictures side by side, so you can easily compare the two. So, if like me, you loved the Zara ones have a look at Bettyshoe, they also have these in blue.

Ankle Cuffs &Thin Heels

Zara High Heel Sandal , Zara Basic Sandals, Tony Bianco Karissa, Karl Leather Wedge Sandals, Mango Sandals

I am in love with strappy sandal heels, go figure, just as we start to hit Winter I fall in love with a not so warm and cosy pair of shoes. I guess it's because everyone that I love reading in terms of blogs are all living in Summer where they are. Pictured above are a few that I love! I'm leaning towards the Zara pair in black, because it seems to be the most sensible option in terms of pricing. If I could have my way though, I'd also own the Karl and Mango heels. I think I'll love this type of heel for a long time, even when the trend has passed. 

Blue Coat & J.Crew Pixie Pants

Coat, Asos | Bottoms, J. Crew Pixie Pants | Top, Cotton On | Shoes, Jeffrey Campbell Litas | 

Watch, Guess

I finally got to wear my Pixie Pants this past weekend. I was shocked when I took them out of the packaging, to feel how firm the fabric felt. It was as if I were holding a pair of jeans in my hand. I tried them on and could understand why people loved these pants so much, they are super comfy. I am quite tall, 5'7/5'8 and the normal length of pixie pants fit nicely. The fabric, I would say is very dense elastic, its firm yet smooth against the skin, and hugs you like a glove. There is a zip at the back with a hook and eye for closure (which is a pain when you need to go to the ladies room!) 

I would recommend getting a size smaller than your usual pants size because even though the size I bought fit me well, after wearing them around out and about during the day, I could feel them sliding down a little bit, which meant I had to pull them up a few times. 

As you can see in some of my pictures there is a bit of gathering of fabric around my knees and a few other places. This size doesn't fit me perfectly. Even though they don't fit me perfectly I am keeping this size, but since I love these so much I'll buy another pair (sometime in future) in a smaller size to fit me better. From there I can compare these ones (size US6) with a smaller size (size US4). 

For those of you who may be wondering I am usually a size Aus 10, sometimes an Aus 8 depending on what clothing item it is.