Zoo Trip & The Program

Hey friends, 

Sally here. So recently some of my friends from Canada came down on exchange and we've been taking them around here there and everywhere. Last weekend had some nice weather so we took them to the zoo so they could have a look at some Aussie animals which were all rather lazy and asleep. My favourite animals were the tigers but the baby elephant was so cute! While we were there we had a picnic too which was nice even though I need to make a mental note to myself not to bring chips as it seems to be everyones staple food. Anyway, it was a lovely weekend and here are some pictures from it. I've been trying to get into photography so if you want to check out some of my photos, click: Here

Also, recently I've been trying to pick up my reading again as I've been a bit slack this year. Elle Fowler (a YouTuber) recommend in one of her videos the book, 'The Program' by Suzanne Young. I'm so impressed with this book I could barley put it down. Basically it's about a suicide epidemic effecting 1 in 3 teenagers which is contagious. For example someones, friend commits suicide, then they becoming depressed and commit suicide and then the cycle continues. They are unsure of how this all started but anti depressants have stopped working. The Program is a group of handlers that work to try and stop this epidemic. They come in and erase the contaminated part of your memories that are causing the depression and then let you off to start your new life. In the book, the protagonist, Sloane gets taken by the program but she fights against it. She doesn't want to forget so she hides a ring given to her by her boyfriend James and a photography of James and her brother in her room in hopes that when she returns from The Program it will spark some memory in her.

That's all I want to say for now because I really want you to read the book. It sounds like a really depressing and uncomfortable topic but I can assure you the book is a can't put it down book and I read it really quickly. I'm just about to start the next book in the series called The Treatment so I'll let you know about that when I'm done reading it.

Hope you guys have all been well!

Love Sally.

xxx

Benefit They're Real! Push-up liner Review and Happy 13 Months!

Happy birthday to The Tweedlers! Well technically, 13 months, kinda missed it last month haha :P
I thought I might come on here to do a quick little review for y'all. My sister recently purchased the Benefit They're Real! Push-up Liner and with all the buzz that has been going around it online, I, of course had to borrow it from my sister and give it a go.

First of all, it claims to be the "FIRST EVER lash-hugging gel liner in a pen! This matte black gel formula won’t smudge, budge or dry out, and the innovative soft AccuFlex™ Tip hugs your lashline from corner to corner. The closer the line, the bigger the eye"

I do agree that it's lash-hugging, matte and hugs your lashline from corner to corner. However, I don't really agree with the rest.


The Pigmentation:

One click is supposedly sufficient for both eyes, but I made the mistake of clicking three times (sorry sister!). Both my sister and I ran into the problem of it drying too fast, so it was really hard to go over the line to make sure the line was perfect. Because of that, the line was streaky and started clumping and flaking. Once it dried, it felt really heavy on the eyes. Even after it was fully dry, it still felt heavy and wet, as if it stuck all my lashes together by the base. Not a good feeling.

Removal:

After about 15 minutes, I couldn't handle the heavy feeling on my eyes, so I decided to remove it. I mean, I was only at home, and wasn't leaving the house so it would be pointless to leave it on anyways. Removal was an absolutely disaster. The flakes I mentioned from before seemed to un-dry itself (as in it went from a dry flake back to it's original form!) and was just clumpy and a bother to remove. The now-chunky-wet-mascara bits were everywhere in the hollows of my eyes, from my brow to the apples of my cheek. I usually remove my eyeliner (MAC black track gel eyeliner) with one, maybe two cotton pads of my Biore eye and lip makeup remover, but with this, it took me around 5 but it still wasn't off. 

The Application:

The idea of the applicator really is great though. The nib is a flexi-plastic slant that disperses the eyeliner and it really does hug the lashline. But, I feel like the nib is too stiff and it pulls on my eyelid when I apply it, and that isn't a good thing because it could cause premature wrinkles.
My sister agrees with my review, but she didn't like the applicator at all. Maybe it's her monolid eyes or something, but she found that the nib doesn't hug her lashline and she finds it hard to flick out and do a wing.

Verdict:
It's such a disappointment that this product wasn't great for me. You guys know that I love Benefit makeup (see my gimme brow review and rockateur blush review) and the packaging is amazing and all, but I can't be biased towards this product because of my past experience with this brand. Unfortunately, neither my sister and I will continue to use the They're Real! Push-up Liner, and will definitely not repurchase it. With that being said, our thoughts of the brand will not be swayed by the one failure and will continue to purchase our other HGs (and possible new products!) by this brand.

Lots of love,
Juliana xox