A tad less excessive

Howdy partners,

I'm not sure if you recall but many millennia ago I posted a little ditty about the fact that whenever I am forced (by an armed guard with a very pointy bayonet, no less) to journey from my humble abode to a far off distant land (in a word, Adelaide), I feel the need to carry with me at least twice my weight in beauty products. A phenomenon which causes my long-suffering bf severe bewilderment, arm-strain and long bouts of uncontrollable swearing. I therefore resolved to cull my ever-expanding travelling beauty stash when I went a-travelling last week, resulting in this:

and from another angle, this:

 
and from a third, more birds-eye-esque angle, this:

(Don't worry, that is not someone sitting on the toilet next to the products in this last photo, it is simply the case of a very unfortunately positioned jacket)

So, as you can see, I have whittled everything down to the bare essentials:

·         shampoo and conditioner (Pantene Pro-V Extra Straight Shampoo & Extra Straight Conditioner ($7.99 each)) - I know Pantene is supposed to be really horrible and stripping (not in an erotic way) and damaging to your hair, but I've never found anything else that makes my hair as shiny and clean and, dare I say it, bouncy as this, I even kind of noticed the straightening effect on my normally terribly unruly locks;

·         cleanser and exfoliator (which I could not leave at home as my voyage fell on an exfoliation day - is everyone as anal about exfoliation as me? Not anal exfoliation obviously, although each to their own, but rather a bit finicky about facial exfoliation? Perhaps that's enough about this increasingly unsettling path I'm heading down), currently I am employing Neutrogena's Deep Clean Cream Cleanser ($13.99) - which I have been using for ages and have never found anything better than, it actually contains salicylic acid so I suppose it gives you a mini-exfoliation every time you use it - and Biore's Skin Preservation Even Smoother Microderm Exfoliator ($19.99) - which I'm really liking due to it's fine beads which aren't as rough as other exfoliants can be - to perform these tasks;

·         other products of note in the loot include Al'chemy's Ginkgo & Jojoba Intensive Moisture Vitamin Masque ($18.95) - which is excellent for making hair look (and feel) rather healthy; Formula 10.0.6.'s Deep Down Detox Ultra-Cleansing Mud Mask with orange and bergamot ($8.99) - a really good purifying mask, I usually use it after exfoliating just to make sure I get all the nasties out of those all-consuming pores; Garnier's Fructis Style XXL Volume Restructure Thermo-Active Texturising Spray ($7.95) and Schwarzkopf's Straight & Glossy Heat Defense Zero Frizz Spray ($8.99) - for volumisation (not a real word) and heat protection respectively; as well as Biotherm's White D-Tox [Bright Cell] Moisturiser ($94.00 - a bit pricey I know, but I got it in a pack with a White D-Tox Make-Up Base from Myer for about $100, so there are bargains out there to be had) and QV face's Revitalising Eye Cream ($15.99) too boot!

So I think I have gotten a little bit better, at least I shouldn't be getting back spasms from lugging that lot around anytime soon!