It's been a long time since I've used a parcel forwarding service - i.e., back when the Australian dollar was up! There'd have to be some really good excuse to buy from the USA nowadays and that time has finally come. :D
Pat McGrath Labs was my primary reason!
Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish 003 in Nude and Golden
I bought both sets. Each set includes a shiny stick highlighter + balm duo, a highlighting pigment and a buffer (003) brush. These are limited edition and already look to be out of stock on Sephora! Like most makeup lovers, I adore highlighters. I was mostly keen on the interesting duo-chrome effect of Nude and also I'm not a huge fan of highlighters with very strong yellow tones, but after seeing many reviews, I am most excited for the clear balm and the unique, gorgeous wet, dewy effect it gives. It's what I'm looking for nowadays when my skin feels and looks so dry and dull (with age, being a new mum and winter setting in). I figured if I get both, I'll end up with two of these balms and it'll be worth it if I do end up loving it! Fingers crossed this will help bring youth back to my skin (at least the look of)! :-P
I think I will be reusing the pretty little sequins to make several little sensory toys for my little one. I'm sure she'd love them. :-) Otherwise, I could see these might also be nice to use to fill a brush jar and keep the brushes standing upright if you were so inclined.
Very excited for these products and glad I didn't miss out!
Of course, there were then a few other things that then needed to add to my shopping list...
Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish 003 in Nude and Golden
I bought both sets. Each set includes a shiny stick highlighter + balm duo, a highlighting pigment and a buffer (003) brush. These are limited edition and already look to be out of stock on Sephora! Like most makeup lovers, I adore highlighters. I was mostly keen on the interesting duo-chrome effect of Nude and also I'm not a huge fan of highlighters with very strong yellow tones, but after seeing many reviews, I am most excited for the clear balm and the unique, gorgeous wet, dewy effect it gives. It's what I'm looking for nowadays when my skin feels and looks so dry and dull (with age, being a new mum and winter setting in). I figured if I get both, I'll end up with two of these balms and it'll be worth it if I do end up loving it! Fingers crossed this will help bring youth back to my skin (at least the look of)! :-P
I think I will be reusing the pretty little sequins to make several little sensory toys for my little one. I'm sure she'd love them. :-) Otherwise, I could see these might also be nice to use to fill a brush jar and keep the brushes standing upright if you were so inclined.
Very excited for these products and glad I didn't miss out!
Of course, there were then a few other things that then needed to add to my shopping list...
Chanel 2-In-1 Foundation Brush Fluid and Powder (8)
I've got the mini version of this brush from the holiday collection from a couple of years ago (see here) and it's one of my favourites to use. It's similar to the Shiseido Perfect Foundation Brush (8), which was the first brand to release this type of brush. They sold it in Australia for a while then for whatever reason, the supply from Paris has stopped. I'd been waiting and waiting for it and not knowing when it will be restocked, I decided to get it from the USA as part of this haul. It's also available in Harrods online, which also ships to Australia if you were interested. So I'm very happy that it's finally in my hands! ^_^
Clé de Peau Beauté Concealer
I have the shade in Ocre/Ocher for my medium, olive (~NC30) skin. I'd have to say this has been my all time favourite, all-round concealer for under the eyes and blemishes. While it is extremely expensive, my first one lasted me at least a couple or so years! I'd been desperately trying to use the last bit of concealer so sparingly for fear of running out of it and having to live without it! *sigh* #beautybloggerproblems ;-) But, a little goes a long way. So it's great value for money in the end, but it's hard to come by! I highly recommend it if you have the chance. I have never done a proper individual review of this fantastic workhorse staple, but I'm sure I've featured it in a few favourites posts before.
Tarte Tartelette in Bloom Amazonian Clay Palette
This has been out of stock in Sephora.com.au for a while and have been 'umming and ahhing' about it since I have so many neutral eye shadow palettes already. But, I suppose the fact that it's been hard to get made me want it more along with the pretty packaging and colours. I'm pleased to own it now and play with it!
Nars Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow in Pool Shark
After seeing this swatched by Bubbly Michelle (one of my fave Instagrammers and beauty blogger), I knew I had to have this gorgeous periwinkle blue. >_< This is one of Nars' "Under Cover" Summer Collection released items. I will await seeing the rest of the collection in person when it launches in Australia to see if any more take my fancy (particularly the new Lip Cover liquid lipsticks)! Can't wait to try this. It definitely screams summer. For some bizarre reason I do enjoy bright summer colours during the colder months (which is where we are at here down-under), well, any day really! It just brings such joy. ^_^
Zara (TRF) Embroidered Tunic Dress
This is the only non-beauty item I purchased. The size I was after here in Australia had sold out everywhere(!), but I managed to find it in the USA website. Yay! This is such a pretty, understated dress and I love how it fits on me for casual wear or dressing it up a bit more for the evening. I especially love that it's a tunic style, so it's more flattering and most importantly, comfortable for my postpartum (and post-C-section) figure. Also, love the grey and embroidered detailing. I don't own that many grey clothing in my wardrobe. It's 100% cotton, so it's super light and breathable. I can see this will still be comfortable to wear in the summer even though it's long-sleeved as the material is reasonably thin. At the moment, I'm looking forward to layering this piece for the winter months.
My Experience with Shop and Box
Fairly quick and simple to use. You are assigned a "boxer" who will shop and box the items for you for shipping. I think their fee is a bit more (a percentage of total amount (13% this decreases as your shopping total goes up - starting at 14%) than the only other parcel forwarding service I used (several times), which was Parceliton (unfortunately this service doesn't seem to be available anymore!), and the DHL shipping option was the only one available for my case from USA to Australia (with or without insurance) and this I think was more expensive than what I'd used for Parceliton (USPS I believe). Nonetheless, DHL are usually pretty reliable (I've used them a lot). Shipping was fast. This one took 4 business days to deliver to Australia via DHL. I chose to pay the additional US$12 for insurance and peace of mind especially since the total of goods was quite hefty! >_< Anyway, check out their site for more information on how to use them. I think I would use them again as they have fast and simple service. Most of my queries were answered promptly. The only thing is that they don't give you a US address, so you can't just log in with your Sephora account for instance and acquire and use your points and other benefits. So that's unfortunate. However, the boxer assigned to me ("Dan") was kind enough to include samples and also offered to try to get any reward items for me (I'm not clear on how exactly that works though, but they are able to!). Also, the advantage of services like Parceliton was they could keep your items in storage for up to three months (from memory) so you can shop within a much longer time frame before consolidating it all together into the one international shipment saving lots of money. If you know of any other similar type service that has that capability, please let me know in the comments below! :-) Another upside to Shop and Box is that you can use them across the globe not just the USA, but only one country at a time though I believe. I'm considering the UK and Japan next! ;-)
Hope this was helpful / interesting. :-)
Let me know if you have any parcel forwarding recommendations as well as any items I should consider for my own shopping cart (not that I really need any more). LOL.
Almost Friday! Hope you're having a great week thus far. x
DO NOT REPUBLISH CONTENT OR PHOTOS WITHOUT PERMISSION
Fairly quick and simple to use. You are assigned a "boxer" who will shop and box the items for you for shipping. I think their fee is a bit more (a percentage of total amount (13% this decreases as your shopping total goes up - starting at 14%) than the only other parcel forwarding service I used (several times), which was Parceliton (unfortunately this service doesn't seem to be available anymore!), and the DHL shipping option was the only one available for my case from USA to Australia (with or without insurance) and this I think was more expensive than what I'd used for Parceliton (USPS I believe). Nonetheless, DHL are usually pretty reliable (I've used them a lot). Shipping was fast. This one took 4 business days to deliver to Australia via DHL. I chose to pay the additional US$12 for insurance and peace of mind especially since the total of goods was quite hefty! >_< Anyway, check out their site for more information on how to use them. I think I would use them again as they have fast and simple service. Most of my queries were answered promptly. The only thing is that they don't give you a US address, so you can't just log in with your Sephora account for instance and acquire and use your points and other benefits. So that's unfortunate. However, the boxer assigned to me ("Dan") was kind enough to include samples and also offered to try to get any reward items for me (I'm not clear on how exactly that works though, but they are able to!). Also, the advantage of services like Parceliton was they could keep your items in storage for up to three months (from memory) so you can shop within a much longer time frame before consolidating it all together into the one international shipment saving lots of money. If you know of any other similar type service that has that capability, please let me know in the comments below! :-) Another upside to Shop and Box is that you can use them across the globe not just the USA, but only one country at a time though I believe. I'm considering the UK and Japan next! ;-)
Hope this was helpful / interesting. :-)
Let me know if you have any parcel forwarding recommendations as well as any items I should consider for my own shopping cart (not that I really need any more). LOL.
Almost Friday! Hope you're having a great week thus far. x
DO NOT REPUBLISH CONTENT OR PHOTOS WITHOUT PERMISSION
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