Beauty Swap with Sophie from Born to Buy

So, a long, long time ago now, I did a swap with the simply stunning Sophie from Born to Buy. It's true, I am the ABSOLUTE worst Blogger in the history of Bloggers. My life has been pretty complicated in 2013, so my promised post has been too long in the making. I am so, so sorry Sophie! I hope that you all jump over and check out her incredible blog to help me make up for being utterly useless!! On the plus side, my post is atleast making it's appearance in the same year.... so we're all good... right???

Well, now that's out of the way, let's get stuck in to all the goodies Sophie sent me. To say she spoilt me is an understatement. She has impeccable taste and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world when her delivery rocked up at my door. Opening the package revealed a paradise of pink parcels; each treasure individually wrapped and accompanied by a personalised note. How thoughtful can one person be?! Such a rare gem!

The first goodie i uncovered was a Lush Therapy Massage Bar. Now being a Lush virgin I was really excited to try this product out and begin my love affair with Lush. Not only is this massage bar relaxing and soothing, it leaves my skin feeling silky smooth and smells utterly devine. Needless to say I am now a frequent Lush-er, it's my new nirvana.

Next up is the ably named Physicians Formula: Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Glossy Stain in the colour Red. This is just delicious; it is a gorgeous shade of red and lasts all night long. Stay tuned for my comparison between this little baby and my YSL Glossy Stain.

They say great minds think alike, and that was certainly the case when both Sophie and I purchased each other Soap and Glory Hand Food. I had been eyeing this off for myself for quite some time and purchasing it for the swap did little to quench my desire.  With shea butter, macadamia oil and marshmallow you simply can't go wrong, and I couldn't contain my excitement when I discovered this little bottle of goodness in my hot little hands at long last.

Lippy Girl Organic Lipstick in the colour Gob Smacked is a striking pink colour and it reminds me of the pink all the cool girls wore in the old movies I grew up watching - cue Grease, Back to the Future, The Breakfast Club etc etc. The formula is creamy and feels incredible on my lips, and it's organic!! What more could a girl want?

Max Factor Lash Extension Effect: Extreme Lengthening Mascara is one of Sophie's faves which has been discontinued. Let me just say I am so glad that she sent me one of her back ups because this stuff is beyond amazing! It leaves my lashes looking long, luscious and hallelujah it doesn't clump up when I apply coat after coat. The only problem is... what do I do when I run out?? #mustmakeitlast

Let's just take a minute to appreciate the pure genius that is perfume samples! Sophie, how did you know my weakness for such things! So handy to keep in your bag, I never leave home without one, or six! I am loving the T-Swift sent and I can't even begin to describe my adoration for Viva La Juicy! Now to decide if I add them to my never ending perfume wish list???

I told Sophie that I really wanted to get a few more coloured eye liners and boy did she deliver!! The Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl in the colour 007: Turquoise is out of the world. It is the most gorgeous shade, almost a metallic blue-green, and don't even get me started on the the formulation of these babies... So pigmented, so soft, glides on like a dream... Yes, Sophie, you did start an obsession. I now own about 4 i believe... Whoops!!!

Sophie also sent me the Bourjois Paris Smoky Effet liner in colour 72: Dark Purple. Now while it is not as smooth as my beloved Rimmel, it is still an exceptional liner and probably my most favourite coloured eye liner EVER. I have used this a lot in creating that perfect smokey eye. My favourite part of this liner you ask? The smudge brush. This brush changed my life. I adore it and i actually keep this liner in with my brushes because I reach for it so frequently. Let's be honest, who doesn't love a good smudge, especially if you stuff up a winged liner look!

I'll be honest, I screamed with excitement when I saw these!! Yes, I am one of those people who loves a good shampoo and conditioner sample. And I'll tell you why. I travel, a lot, and there's nothing better than chucking a few samples in a zip lock bag. Travelling with containers of shampoo and conditioner is a nightmare, and I can't even talk about those cheap and nasty hotel provided things - sure the bottles are cute, but that's where it ends! After a lot of travel in the past 12 months, my stocks were getting low, so thank you Sophie for replenishing my supplies. My curls are eternally grateful!

WOW Sophie, you have out done yourself. I truly love everything you have sent me and I have discovered some new faves for sure! Thank you so much for taking the time to send me such a thoughtful gift. You are truly a remarkable person and I look up to you more than you could ever know. If you'd like to see what I sent Sophie, check out her post here.

Thanks so much for reading, feel free to follow me on Bloglovin... We all know it's more addictive than Twitter, Facebook and Instagram combined...

Until next time, much love my darlings...

Read More

I'm Sorry...

Well! I'm back!! And my goodness have I MISSED YOU!!! Life's been pretty difficult lately and I've just not been able to devote myself to EsteemBeautyxo as I would like or as I should. I am so very sorry to have neglected you all, but I promise I am back and excited to rediscover my beloved hobby that honestly brings so much joy to my life.

You're probably wondering where I've been??? There's a bag full of reasons as to  why I've been MIA and I want to take a quick moment to share some of it with you all. But first of all,  I just want to say please don't think I don't love doing EsteemBeautyxo, I absolutely do; but putting yourself out there can be rather intimidating and confronting and when you're not feeling your best it's really hard to take that leap of faith. I haven't had the confidence in the last few months to get on and write or film. I've wanted to, boy have I wanted to, but on the days I feel 'good' about myself the day seems to fly right by, and then the rest of the time I feel a bit 'crappy'.

If you've followed me for a while, particularly my YouTube channel, you will know that over the past 12 months my darling husband has spent a majority of the year away overseas for work. Now, we live in Melbourne but are both originally from Adelaide. Our family is in Adelaide, and whilst I have truly amazing friends in Melbourne, I still get very home sick and having Luke away makes things even harder. We've been married for almost 3 years now (how time flies!), and marriage honestly changes a relationship. He is my family now; and when we are so far apart it feels like half my heart is missing. Even worse than that, I feel off balance and I am just not myself. It's enough of an effort just to get through each day with a smile on my dial. I literally felt as though I was just plodding through. I did all I could do to stay strong and that took all my energy. You may think that's quite pathetic, but long distance relationships are hard enough, trust me I did it for nearly 3 years, but a long distance marriage is even harder. And to make matters worse you have to deal with people's idiotic comments that feel like a knife though your heart. Despite how difficult that time has been, he's home now and we are slowly but surely settling back into our routine and enjoying spending time together again. It's amazing how much better I feel having him by my side and I feel so much more confident with his unwavering support.

I've also had a lot of other changes to deal with recently; it has been a really confronting time. I started a new job, which is fabulous! But with any new job there's a period of adjustment. I've found it quite challenging to settle in and find my feet, but I am finally starting to feel at home. I am working with a gorgeous bunch of girls and without their support, and the support of my amazing uni gals, during Luke's absence I doubt I would have gotten through it all. Unfortunately, whilst Luke was away I also had my first ever block placement in a Primary School. This was an absolutely fantastic experience and it really confirmed for me that I want to be a teacher. Having said that, it was an extremely challenging time. There is so much pressure, so much work and I have never been more exhausted in my life. Teaching 5 days a week, and then planning and then working weekends, so essentially being on the go 24/7 really took it's toll on me. I was really sick after placement and I am only now is my health starting to improve.

And finally, I found it really hard to deal with the negative comments. Not from readers, not from viewers. Sure I had the occasional negative comment, but nothing that upset me greatly. I have struggled with the negative comments and lack of support from friends and family. It's really hard to sit down and write, or sit in front of the camera, when you have loved ones giving you a hard time. Blogging requires you to really put yourself out there and reveal parts of your life; whilst I love sharing my life and thoughts with you all, some people don't understand. It wasn't until the other day that I logged on to my YT for the first time in far too long, and I cried my eyes out when I saw that I had nearly 500 subbies and over 12,000 views. Eventually I thought to myself, 'why am I letting these few people upset me?'. I realised that while they may not be interested in what I have to say, there's 500+ people who are interested. And as horrible as this thought is, I thought 'are there even 50 people who want to listen to you and your negativity?'. I very much doubt it. EsteemBeautyxo is something I LOVE, and life is far too short to not spend every day doing exactly what you love.

Only now do I feel as though I can re-start my blogger life. Some of you may know that I actually started blogging before YouTube, and I am hoping that after a few blog posts I will have it in me to get back behind that camera again. But part of me feels that no one would want to see my face on YT again. I've been gone for so long, I don't deserve the beautiful subbies that I have, let alone their support or understanding. I've been struggling with stress, depression and anxiety lately, perfectly normal because of all the changes that have been happening lately, but I really need to get back to doing something for me; something to take the edge off. Cue EsteemBeautyxo! EBxo is a great hobby for me and something that I love - I think my fears and other people's opinions caused me to forget that for a while. And for that I am truly sorry, I would like to thank Sophie from Born to Buy, Lauren from MadameM00 and Laila from TheLailaa for their support throughout the difficult time. They may not know it but they have been guiding lights for me in recent times and I am drawing on the strength I have found from them to re-start my beloved EBxo.

Read More

Why Do I Wear Makeup TAG

Well my beauties! I've been Tagged by the lovely Sophie at Born To Buy to do the Why Do I Wear Makeup TAG. Personally, I love participating in a good tag, so I was so excited to be Tagged by Soph.


This is only a short tag, just four questions in total, but it's pretty interesting. I really love it because it gives you a bit more of an insight in to me and, most importantly, my OBSESSION with makeup.




1. When did you begin loving make up?
It’s difficult for me to pinpoint the exact moment that my love affair with makeup began. I guess that as a teenager I was always interested in makeup… constantly swatching products when I would go shopping with my mum. I have always enjoyed putting on makeup for a special occasion, but that was kind of the extent of it. If I am to be completely honest my real ‘obsession’ with makeup began only a couple of short years ago, when I began to watch YouTube videos. I was going through a particularly challenging time in my life and watching YouTube became an escape from my life. It all began with a few How To videos for hair looks and from there I discovered the incredible and captivating would of Beauty Gurus. Now, at this time in my life, I was feeling particularly low. I had very little self confidence, I really disliked myself a LOT and I was not enjoying life. A makeup tutorial video by the lovely TiffanyD appeared in my suggestion box and that was it… I WAS HOOKED. Makeup became my obsession and once again my life had meaning again. I finally had a hobby, a passion, a creative outlook and I haven’t looked back. My obsession has led me to this whole other world of blogging and vlogging; it has bought me so much joy and happiness and I have ‘met’ some truly remarkable people. Makeup has opened my eyes to a world of beauty and for that I am eternally grateful.

2. How do you feel without make up?

Honestly, these days I actually feel completely confident and content with or without makeup. As my love of makeup has blossomed so too has my appreciation for natural beauty. That’s a big part of the reason why I started EsteemBeautyxo. I believe that beauty radiates from within, and it is through the use of makeup that one’s true beauty can be enhanced. So, my love of makeup has enabled me to develop the confidence to be comfortable in my own skin. Don’t get me wrong, I love to wear makeup… and there’s a lot to be said for the added confidence boost that the perfect red lippy can provide, but ultimately, I now feel gorgeous in my own skin. I am proud to rock a naked face… I have discovered Esteem Beauty, a certain kind of self confidence that can only exist once you have learned to truly love yourself, inside and out.

3. What do you like about make up?

I love how makeup can enhance your natural beauty and increase your self confidence. The perfect foundation, lipstick or eye shadow (Yes! I’m talking about you Cappuccino, Please!), has the power to make you feel on top of the world… and like you can achieve anything. Makeup makes you feel beautiful, and after a while you believe your beautiful, with or without that killer red lip. Makeup has transformed the way I see myself and more importantly, the way I feel about myself. I also LOVE that you can be so creative with makeup. I am an artist with a gorgeous blank canvas to create the perfect masterpiece. I can literally spend HOURS experimenting with new products and playing around with new looks. It’s the perfect way for me to escape from the reality of life in to my own private nirvana. Makeup brings me such joy and happiness… not to mention that excited-giddy feeling in your stomach when you discover that amazing new product that just might change your life!


4. List three 'Holy Grail' items
Garnier BB Cream for Oily/Combination Skin
You know I love it, I’ve harped on about it until I’m blue in the face. If you haven’t yet tried it, YOU NEED TO!! I love it, it’s my holy grail… enough said.

Essence Eye Shadow in Cappuccino, Please!
DOMMsmiles introduced me to this little pocket rocket and it has changed my life… I actually use this Every. Single. Day. No exceptions. It’s just the perfect colour… ideal for highlighting or great as a base to aid blending. It’s an exceptional product and it’s a steal at under 4 bucks!!

Essence Lip Liner in #11 In The Nude
This is the perfect Nude colour for my lips and I adore it! I reach for this too often, seriously, I’m already on my second… but at $1.99 a pop it’s a love affair I can afford to keep. The formula is so creamy, it glides over my puckers like a dream. This is a MUST for every girl, you can’t live without it. Do yourself a favour and pick on up next time your at Target or Priceline… your lips will thank you for it.


I hope you guys have enjoyed this TAG!! Sorry I have been MIA. I have started a new job and uni has gone back (third year!! OMG I can’t believe it). I am trying to get back on top of everything and get in to a bit of a routine! In the meantime, please check out my Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube… You can keep up to date with me there.. if you want to!!

Remember… Beauty shines from within…

xo Lisa xo

Read More

Just a quick post tonight beauties! I've just started my new job, so things are a little hectic at the moment, but I PROMISE many more blog posts are in the works!! 

In the mean time.. I've just filmed my January Favourites! Feel free to check it out below!! A full blog post is on its way xo

xo Lisa xo 

Read More