February Favourites

Welcome to a slightly belated February Favourites! Please forgive the lack of photos in this month’s post. If I’m completely honest, I’m typing this at 11:18pm and really don’t want to get up and set up the little corner I use to take the pics. I’ll be more prepared next time. Scouts honour!

Let’s get into the good stuff!

NARS SHEER GLOW FOUNDATION (SIBERIA):

After trying quite a few different foundations over the month I came to truly appreciate Sheer Glow and the way it treats me. This foundation doesn’t ever fail me. I can apply it however I want. Sometimes I’m lazy and just use my fingers, other time I like a dense buffing brush, then there are the times I like a looser brush and of course we can’t forget the almighty blending sponge (both the Beauty Blender and the RT Miracle Complexion Sponge). I just love this stuff. I’m now onto my second bottle and the couple of months I went without it sucked. I’m just glad I finally realised my true feelings for this little bad boy before I wasted more money on others that will never measure up.

TOO FACED NATURAL EYES PALETTE:

This has been my go to palette since I bought it. The colours are so beautiful and pigmented. I love that it has a great balance of finishes so you can create amazing day-night looks. I’ve even been using the darkest matte brown shade to fill in my brows, which says a lot because I usually prefer the gel method of brow filling. This is just an amazing palette!

TOO FACED MILK CHOCOLATE SOLEIL BRONZER:

Yep, another Too Faced product. This stuff is great. I love the finish it leaves and the colour is spot on for my pale complexion. It’s not too orangy, reddish or ashy. It gives my face colour and dimension without looking like my foundation it just too dark for me. Oh and the smell!! It’s everything something made from cocoa powder should smell like!

TOO FACE HANGOVER PRIMER:

Last Too Faced product I swear! I really like this stuff. I was a bit unsure of it at first (as I’ll discuss in the upcoming review), but I’m definitely enjoying it now. It’s nice and hydrating. Plus I love the coconutty scent it has. It makes my skin feel glowy and rejuvenated.

CIRCA HOME PEAR & LIME SCENTED SOY CANDLE:

I had a sample of this a while ago and after Christmas I use some of my present money to pick a full sized one up. I absolutely love the smell of this. I smelled all of the other ones like this that they had in stock and I honestly didn’t really like any of them. There’s just something about the Pear & Lime that is so yummy to smell. I can’t even describe the scent, mainly because I suck at describing scents, but trust me it smell delicious!

VERONICA MARS BOXSET:

I must have been living under a big fat rock, because up until last month I had never seen even one episode of this show. I’d been wanting to watch the movie for ages, but figured I’d need to be familiar with the show first. Once I finally got around to watching it I couldn’t stop. I’m pretty sure I watch all three seasons and the movie in about two weeks. I was obsessed. Who am I kidding, I’m still obsessed. After all, wasn’t it me downstairs tonight watching all the episodes again with my sister, who coincidentally is now addicted too. I feel like the embodiment of that Big Bang Theory Penny meme. You know the one… Oh my God, I need help!

January 2015 Favourites

Today I am bringing you my favourite things from January. I’ve decided that this year I’ll have a healthy mix of beauty and random stuff in my monthly favourites since I really want to branch out and cover more stuff on here.

Without any further ado or babble let’s jump in!

MODELS PREFER TAPERED FACE BRUSH:

I bought this a couple of months ago (I think) and it’s really only this month that it’s been getting a real work out. I’ve used it for both blush and setting my foundation. I’ve more recently been using it for setting foundation and I love it. I love that it’s not so huge that powder gets everywhere, but it still covers a good amount of you face in one hit. It distributes my Hourglass Ambient Light Powder beautifully. It’s so soft and glides over the face so lightly that it doesn’t disturb any of the makeup it’s going over.

#GIRLBOSS BY SOPHIA AMORUSO:

I know I have a review of this, so I won’t go into too much detail, but I wanted to mention this because I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I started and finished reading it. She gave such good advice and shared some really important lessons throughout the book. It’s so well-written and so easy to read. I highly recommend it!

M.A.C. OMEGA EYESHADOW:

I love this eyeshadow!! It’s the perfect cool brown crease shade. I wear it all the time. I’ll either wear it just in the crease, with a light shade over the lid or I’ll just slap this baby all of the lid. The other day I wore it over the top of my Bad to the Bronze Colour Tattoo from Maybelline and it looked beautiful. Another way I have been wearing this is as a contour. I find it hard to find a contour that I like, and this guy has been working a treat. It’s great because I can be really light-handed with it and it makes my contour look really natural. It makes me want to bother with contouring, which is very rare.

M.A.C. CREAMSHEEN IN PEACH BLOSSOM:

This is the lipstick I mentioned in my Christmas Haul. I got this when I used my M.A.C. gift card. I’ve worn this so much this month. I don’t honestly wear a lot of lipstick. I usually stick to lip balms and tints. This has changed how I feel about lipsticks completely. It’s so creamy and lovely on the lips. It builds nicely, but it can be sheer as well. It is the perfect peachy nude for the colour of my lips and my skin tone. It looks like my lips but better!

M.A.C. BLUSH IN LOVECLOUD:

Last M.A.C. product I promise. This was the other product I got with my gift card and I literally have not worn another blush since I bought it. It is the perfect pink. Although it is a little on the cooler side, I find it to be more neutral than anything. It’s really buildable and pigmented and has the slightest sheen to it, which gives your cheeks the perfect healthy glow. I just love this so much! It’s as good, if not better than my favourite blush, which is the Estee Lauder Pure Colour Blush in Peach Passion.

BURT’S BEES ULTRA CONDITIONING BALM:

This is the best night time lip balm I have ever used. I get really dry lips and I find that this keeps them nice and hydrated all through the night. No other lip balm I have even used, not even my Benefit ones, do that. I wouldn’t recommend this under lipstick, although I do if I don’t want a tinted one, because it’s the only untinted one I have at the moment, but if you have one that’s a little less moisturising I recommend that, because lipstick and stuff can slip and slide over the top of this balm. It makes your lips look nice and supple. I just love it so much!!!!

THE FLINTSTONES:

This is a really random one, but there is a reason to the madness. I spent the better half of this month with a terrible ear infection. I felt terrible and spent a lot of time lying in bed like a miserable bump. Usually when I’m sick I opt for watching my ‘Star Wars’ collection (yes, even Episode One), but I felt like watching ‘The Flintstones’ this time. So, I cracked out my DVDs. I have seasons one to three, and I like that there’s about seven episodes on each disc, so I didn’t have to get up to change them. I grew up watching this show. My mum use to tape them in the morning for me when I was a kid. She even sat there and took all the ads out, so the VHS was just straight cartoons, no ads. I still love this show (and I’m not embarrassed!) and am glad I had the DVDs on hand.

NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL BY LENA DUNHAM:

This isn’t a shocker. I’ve completely fallen in love with Lena Dunham and this book really cemented that. I’m hooked on her now, and if it weren’t for all the other books on my list to read, I’d read it again and again!

BAREMINERALS FOUNDATION IN FAIR:

I rediscovered this stuff this month while I was sick. There were times when I needed to venture outside and this is the foundation I would slap on quickly. This shade is pretty much a perfect match for my skin tone, and unlike every other mineral foundation/powder I’ve tried, I don’t have a reaction to it. All the others make me red and itchy, but I don’t react at all with it. I did ever so slightly with the matte formula, which I tried first, but the original formula is totally fine. It looks beautiful on my skin, and even in the crazy heat we’ve been having here, it stays nicely throughout the day. I wore it for 12 hours yesterday and it only went patchy at about hour 10 or 11.

AUDREY HEPBURN T-SHIRT:

I got this from K-Mart for about $15 a few weeks ago and have lived in it since. I got a bigger size so it was loose and I could laze about in it. It’s so comfy and it has Audrey on it, need I say more. Audrey Hepburn is my favourite actress of all time, and I admire her wholly. I didn’t even think twice about this shirt. Usually I wouldn’t spend more than a couple of bucks on a shirt I wasn’t going to wear anywhere but the house, but this is different. It Audrey Hepburn!

Best of 2014 - Random Stuff

Today marks the end of my Best of 2014 series. It’s covering all the random stuff I loved over the year. I really wanted to share some of my favourite books and movies, etc. especially since I only started this site in the middle of the year and I wouldn’t have review pretty much any of it.

Let’s jump in!

BOOK – THE HOBBIT:

I was very proud to finish this book. I know it’s not that big of an achievement to get through such a small book, but for some reason I have a lot of trouble with the amount of description that Tolkien put in his stories. So, to finally finish this book was really exciting for me. I really loved the book and it really helped in the wait for the final movie. I just wanted to give it a shout out since it was kind of a mini Everest for me!

BLU-RAY PURCHASE – FRIENDS BOXSET:

This is the best show ever! I have loved this show for years and I seriously wore out my DVD collection, so when I saw the Blu-ray boxset for really cheap I had to have it! I have watched it over and over again throughout the year. I can’t even tell you how many times. Friends is my favourite show of all time and I will never grow tired of it. It’s the show I go to whenever I don’t know what I want to watch, so I’m so glad to have a really good quality boxset!

MAKEUP BRUSH – NUDE BY NATURE KABUKI BRUSH:

I have a ton of makeup brushes, but this is my old faithful. I have repurchased about five of these brushes. I always keep one in my bag and I have two in my collection at home. I use one for liquid/cream foundations and the other for mineral and setting powders, depending on what my foundation routine is. I just love this brush. It’s one of those items that gets pushed to the side when new products come on the scene, but is always there waiting for me when I need it. I always go back to this brush, no matter what amazing brushes I’ve added to my collection.

PERFUME – VERSACE BRIGHT CRYSTAL:

 I’ve always bounced from perfume to perfume, trying to find my perfect scent and I think I finally found it in this perfume. I wish I could describe the scent, but I can’t except to say that I never want to stop smelling it. I haven’t really worn any other perfume since I bought this. I just love it so much!

MOVIE RELEASE – GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY:

This might be a bit of an obvious one, but I went back through all the movies I saw last year (that were released last year) and this is the one that when I saw it I immediately went ‘Yep, that’s the one!’ I just loved this movie! It was funny and easy to watch. I’m a big fan of the Avenger movies and this one is up there as one of the best ones I’ve seen. I much prefer superhero movies that don’t take things too seriously (except the Dark Knight trilogy, but that’s Batman, he’s in a league of his own!). I think there was a lot of cliché parts to this movie, but that didn’t bother me at all. It was definitely the cast ensemble that made even the most cliché parts easy to take in and love.

BOOK – AUDREY HEPBURN, AN ELEGANT SPIRIT:

Ahh, Audrey Hepburn. My favourite actress. I have seen nearly all her movies and think there will never be anyone like her again, but I also think we should all aspire to be even just a bit like her. This book was written by her son, Sean and in it he includes family photos, which gives a unique insight into her life outside Hollywood. It’s a very real depiction of her life, not just the good parts and it’s so beautifully told that I was very sad to come to the end of the book. A really great read, I definitely recommend it.

MANGA SERIES – MIKI FALLS:

This is a series created by an American artist, Mark Crilley. It’s a really good series. Unlike Japanese manga, his books are printed in western style, so from left to right. That makes it much easier to follow, which is cool. His drawings are great. They have so much detail and he seems really knowledgeable about Japanese culture, which he appears to stay very true to. I couldn’t put these down when I got them, and I think I even read them again straightaway when I finished them.

T.V. SERIES (DISCOVERED LAST YEAR) – TRUE BLOOD:

I know, I know, this is old news, but I only started it last year. I watch the first episode years ago when it first came out and wasn’t interested, but last year I caught a season two episode and was hooked. So I borrowed the DVDs from someone and watched them all up to season five. Then I couldn’t get my hands on season six (bummer). Foxtel recently added a channel called Boxsets, and they played the entire series so I finally got through the rest of the show. I just love it now (although, as far as vampire stuff goes, Buffy is still better)! I watch episodes on Foxtel if they’re on, and it definitely became an obsession once I discovered it last year!

NOTEBOOK:

This is truly a random one, but I loved this notebook this year. As a writer, I love to write down my thoughts and issues and happy moments and I filled this notebook up with all of those for a good part of the year. I’m very picky with notebooks used for this purpose, and I had a few unfinished ones before I found this one. I just love it. It’s red and vintage-y looking and I love that it had the sepia/yellow-y colour paper rather than the stark white paper. It might sound strange to gush so much about a notebook, but if you write a lot you’ll understand!

That’s everything I loved throughout 2014! Well, not everything, but that’s my narrowed down list anyway! I hope you guys enjoyed this series and are having a great first month of the year! 

Best of 2014 - Lip Products

Today’s post is my Best of 2014 covers my favourite lip products for the year. Just like the eye products, there isn’t a set structure to these favourites. I just picked my most loved, most used products for the year because, like eye products, I didn’t have anywhere near as hard a time picking them as I did with the face products. It’s taking me a while to get these up, especially this week because my internet has been down. It went down Tuesday afternoon and only came back on late this afternoon. Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen again! Hope you guys enjoy this post!

BENFIT CHA CHA BALM:

This is the best lip balm I have ever bought. Ever. Sure it’s $26, but I really don’t care. I use it all the time. I also have Posie Balm now, which is every bit as good, but I just love the orange tint Cha Cha Balm gives my lips. I’m all for orange, especially since it’s my favourite colour. It goes really well underneath lipstick and gloss and also looks great by itself. I love to pair it with Posie Tint to achieve a nice almost coral/peachy tint on the lips. It’s so hydrating and smells so yummy! I really want to get the other shades as well because these are amazing balms!

NYX BUTTER GLOSS IN CRÈME BRULEE:

A cult favourite and it’s so easy to see why. This is so pretty on the lips. It makes your lips look so hydrated and supple. It goes really nicely over pick lipstick, helping to tone more vibrant shades down a little, which is what I like. I also wear it by itself. It doesn’t have super longevity or anything, but hey, it’s lip gloss. I like that it’s not too sticky as well. I don’t wear lip gloss very often, but this is one of the ones I reach for when I do.

REVLON KISSABLE BALMSTAIN IN RENDEZVOUS:

I have three of these and Rendezvous is by far my favourite. It’s a nice vibrant orange shade. It’s really buildable and can be worn as a light stain on the lips too. I don’t find these particularly hydrating, but I just make sure I use a balm underneath. I love these for colour and longevity. You can wear really vibrant shades and layer them on to be really pigmented or sheer them out for a light tint, and they really do leave a great stain on the lips, so even after you’ve been eating and drinking you’ve still got a hint of colour to your lips.

BENEFIT POSIE TINT:

I finally bought a couple of the Benefit tints later in the year. I got a triple pack of luxury sample sizes. In the pack I got Cha Cha Tint, Sun Beam and Posie Tint. Of the three Posie Tint is the one I use the most. I use it both on my lips and cheeks and I love how it looks for both. I love this for lazy makeup days, when I want to look presentable but want to put as little effort in as possible. All I do is slap on some foundation and concealer, then brush this on my lips and cheeks. I usually top it off on my lips with the Cha Cha Tint, for some hydration. It’s a great invention and I can’t believe that I went so long without it!

M.A.C. ROCKY HORROR LIPSTICK IN STRANGE JOURNEY:

I know talking about limited edition stuff is a bit of a no-no in the beauty blogging world, but I can’t resist gushing about this one more time! I don’t wear a lot of bright lip colours, but when I got this I wore it almost exclusively for about a month. I would wear it really pigmented or sheered out and it was amazing either way. I love the formula, especially since it’s a matte shade, and I had heard that M.A.C. matte shades weren’t all that and a bag of potato chips. This was the first M.A.C. lipstick I bought and it made me want to buy all of them, just because. It’s the perfect shade of red for me because it’s quite warm toned and doesn’t make my teeth look really yellow. As far as bright red lipsticks go, this is my one true love and that’s why I had to include it in this post! 

So that's it for my favourite beauty products for 2014! The final post will be all random stuff that has won my heart over the year!

Best of 2014 - Eye Products:

Welcome to my next ‘Best of 2014’! This one covers my favourite eye products of the year. It’s not structured quite the same as the ‘face products’ one was because I didn’t have as hard a time trying to limit my choices. As much as I love eyes products, I’m very loyal to a few items and am very sure in my knowledge of which I love the most.

Let’s get started!

CHI CHI NUDES PALETTE:

I did a review on this ages ago and I love it as much now as I did then. The texture of the shadows is so creamy and pigmented. It is a shame that it doesn’t have many matte shades, but still, there are a million different looks to create with this palette. As I mentioned in the review, I got this palette because I was having trouble getting my hands on the Urban Decay Naked palette and I’d read that this was very, very close. In comparing photos I can’t see that much of a difference, and in comparing the quality (once I got my hands on the Naked Basics palette), I really don’t notice that much of a difference. The Urban Decay ones might be a little more longwearing, but that’s it. For the price, the Chi Chi shadows are fantastic. I highly recommend them to anyone.

E.L.F. EYELID PRIMER:

When it comes to stopping my eyelids from creasing this stuff is it. Nothing I’ve tried, from Paint Pots to other primers to mattifying powders have even come close to this stuff. I love it. Best $3 I have ever spent. It does run out quickly, but at three bucks who cares? I never thought I would find something like this. It is one of my all-time favourite makeup products. It just makes doing my makeup so much easier. I only buy the peach toned one. I’ve tried the white and it kind of sucks. The peach is amazing. Covers my dark circles and stuff too!

MAYBELLINE COLOUR TATTOOS:

I have two of these. One in Barely Branded and the other in Bad to the Bronze. Both of them are awesome. I still need to use the E.L.F. Eyelid Primer with them, but if want I can just use them as a colour alone, with a bit of setting powder on top or they can be great eyeshadow bases. I love them and think that they’re as good as Paint Pots from M.A.C. The only problem is that they haven’t released any matte ones here in Australia yet. I’d get them all if they did!

URBAN DECAY NAKED BASICS PALETTE:

This is perfect travel palette. There are quite a few looks you can get out of it, and the quality of the shadows is great. They last ages on my eyes and I love matte shadows. It’s so small and compact. I take it everywhere when I travel. If I’m only going away for a few days or overnight it’s usually the only eyeshadow I take. It’s the best eyeshadow purchase I’ve ever made!

MAYBELLINE MEGA PLUSH MASCARA:

This has to be one of the bast mascaras I've ever used. The formula stays great no matter whether it's brand new and still quite wet or whether it's older and starting to dry out. It lasts for ages too. I bought my first one at the 2013 Boxing Day sales and have only had to repurchase once since. Both times I managed to get it on sale for half price, which is $10. I initially really wanted to try the Clinique Lash Doubling stuff, but I just can't justify it now, because I love this so much and I don't wear mascara that much as it is. Also, I know waterproof is a gripe for a lot of people, but this one doesn't bother me at all!

BENEFIT GIMME BROW:

This will be the only brow product I’m going to mention. That’s mainly because it’s the only one I’ve love consistently throughout most of the year. This is a little bit of a luxury purchase, but I love it. It’s not really thick, which is nice, but it sculpts and fills the brows nicely. It’s a great cool toned dark brown that is perfect for my black eyebrows. I love that I can wear it alone or sweep it through to set whatever I used to fill them in properly. Just a really great eyebrow product guys, I really recommend it, especially for people who like their brows done, but are lazy… like me!

Best of 2014 - Face Products

Welcome to the first of my Best of 2014 posts! I’m going to split these up into four different categories: Face, Eyes, Lips and Random Stuff. Today’s post is going to be Face products. I had to kind of put my thinking cap on for this one, because face, or base products are some of my favourite makeup products. So I decided to split the post up into best ofs for different types of face products. Now that I’ve thoroughly confused everyone, let’s jump in!

I thought I’d include face prep stuff too, like cleanser, etc. I’ll list everything in order of how I would apply it to my face.

BEST FACIAL CLEASNER – PHILOSOPHY PURITY CLEANSER:

I was a bit hesitant to name this the best, not because it’s not good, but because I discovered it very late in the year. Strictly speaking I understand these Best Of posts to be about products you’ve used thoroughly throughout the year, but oh well. This is quite possibly the best cleanser I’ve ever used. I was hesitant to try it because I was under the impression that it was quite foamy and having dry, sensitive skin that wouldn’t really work too well. Now that I’ve finally been using it I can’t believe that I wasted all that money trying all those other ones I’ve tried this year. It’s so good, guys, I can’t even tell you. It gets all my makeup off, and I don’t need to use another cleanser afterwards. As a bonus, it has little to no foaming which means my skin doesn’t get that dry tight feeling, which in turn means I don’t go as red as a tomato in the face.

BEST MOISTURISER – AVEENO POSITIVELY RADIANT DAILY MOISTURISER:

I had a really hard time choosing between this or the Sukin Moisture Restoring Night Cream, which is amazing as well, but ultimately the Aveeno one won out. I love this moisturiser. I spent a good part of the year searching for a good daily moisturiser that didn’t break the bank, and this is the one that fit the bill. I had originally fallen in love with the Clinique Dramatically Different moisturiser, but this one is even better and so is the price tag. It’s so creamy and light. It gives a nice glow to the skin and doesn’t leave a greasy film on the skin. I rarely use a primer and find that foundation sits beautifully on top of it.

BEST PRIMER – LAURA MERCIER FOUNDATION PRIMER:

I’m almost certain that this is the original one. I know there are a couple of different types, but I’m pretty sure this is the original. I just love it. I don’t where primer that often because I find it hard to find a primer that doesn’t make my foundation go cakey, but this one doesn’t at all. In fact, it’s quite hydrating. My favourite foundation to use this under is the original Bare Minerals mineral powder foundation. I only have a sample, but it has lasted me a long time. I opened it in October and I still have a bit left. A little goes a long way it seems. I think I will definitely purchase the full size of this.

BEST FOUNDATION – BOBBI BROWN SKIN FOUNDATION STICK:

This one surprised me. My initial review of this was not a glowing review at all, but since then I have made my way to a second stick of it. Since my initial review I have really fallen in love with this foundation. It’s so light and creamy and builds beautifully. It’s also one of the only foundations I’ve ever bought that matches my skin tone perfectly. The first shade I had, which was Porcelain, was slightly darker, but the new stick I have in Alabaster is perfect. I love how easily this blends out, and if I’m feeling lazy I don’t have to powder this and it looks just fine, especially if I want to look a little dewier.

BEST CONCEALER – ESTEE LAUDER BRUSH-ON GLOW BB HIGLIGHTER, SOFT PINK:

Being so pale makes it really hard to find a brightening undereye concealer. I’ve used so many different ones and I was so happy to find this one. Sure, it’s $38, but it’s so worth it. For a highlighting product it has a decent amount of coverage and does a great job at hiding my dark circles. Also, it barely creases if I forget to set it properly and pretty much doesn’t crease at all when I do remember. I really recommend this concealer, especially since they have other shades and most people should be able to find one to match them.

BEST SETTING POWDER – HOURGLASS AMBIENT LIGHTING POWDER, DIFFUSED LIGHT:

This powder is perfection. I hate looking too matte, but feel more confident when I’ve set my foundation with some powder, so this is just the ticket! It gives the most beautiful and subtle glow and I really think it lives up to its name ‘Diffused Light’. I feel almost airbrushed when I where this. It doesn’t feel powdery and blends seamlessly onto the skin and any other makeup underneath. This is probably one of my top favourite purchases of all time!

BEST BRONZER/CONTOUR – E.L.F. ESSENTIAL HEALTHY GLOW BRONZER, SUNKISSED:

There’s not a lot to say about this bronzer. Honestly I’m not big into bronzers or contouring. I rarely do it and mainly just stick to blush. But, this is the bronzer I reached for the most when I did use one. It was the perfect tone and lightness for my skin tone and was able to be sheered out or built up. Unfortunately this bronzer’s life was cut short on my trip over the Christmas break (hence the lack of photo). I dropped my M.A.C pro palette (in which I’d depotted the bronzer pan into) and the bronzer was the only thing harmed in the process. It was completely crushed and smashed. I was very sad to see it go, especially since it had a lot of life left in it. I’ll get a new one eventually. It is only 3 bucks after all, but I do want to get some more use out of my Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess one first.

BEST BLUSH – ESTEE LAUDER PURE COLOUR BLUSH, PEACH PASSION:

This blush is beautiful. It builds nicely without being so pigmented that you look crazy after a tiny swipe. The colour is amazing too. It’s perfect for my skin tone and works throughout the whole year and with nearly every makeup look. It’s been my go-to blush throughout the entire year and I can see it being a favourite for a long time.

BEST HIGHLIGHT – THE BALM MARY-LOU MANIZER:

Ugh, this highlight! It’s exquisite! I’ve had it for about 7 or 8 months now, using it on a near daily basis and I’ve barely made a dent in it. It looke amazing along the cheekbones, down the centre of my face and even on my eyes as a quick everyday eye look. Words cannot describe how much I adore this product. It’s right up there with my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder. 

Up next I'll be sharing my Best of Eye products for 2014, so stay tuned for that one! 

November Favourites... A bit late, sorry!

I was originally going to film this post rather than write it, but I also want to film a haul video which has most of this month’s favourites in it anyway so I decided to make this a written post just to break it up a bit. Let’s just jump in!

HOURGLASS AMBIENT LIGHTING POWDER IN DIFFUSED LIGHT:

This is a luxury item I have been wanting for ages but never allowed myself to buy because of its ridiculous price tag. When I first tried out this powder it was about $70, and at just the thought of purchasing it you could hear the tiny screams and cries of your bank account or credit card. Every time I went in Mecca Maxima or Mecca Cosmetica I would hover around the Hourglass section just swatching the powders and blushes, trying to pluck up the nerve to spend that much money on 10 grams of powder, but it never happened. Instead I bought the Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Loose Setting Powder and tried to convince myself that it was even better because it was slightly cheaper and had more product.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, when I was in the new Mecca Maxima. I was waiting while one of the sales girls and the manager were putting out all the stops to help me with a foundation conundrum (a matter that was eventually solved with extraordinary results, if you live near Westfield Garden City on Brissy’s southside you definitely need to pop in there and check the store out), and I found myself hovering once again by the Hourglass stand, except this time the powder was $59, a respectable price drop in my eyes. So, swayed by the tremendous help I received, I bit the bullet and bought the powder. It has been the only face powder (not including under the eyes and a bit on my nose to stop my glasses from smudging my foundation) I have used since I bought it. It is so light and glowy. It sets your makeup without leaving a powdery matte residue, which is exactly what I look for in a powder. It was well worth the wait and the $59. Also, can I just talk about the exquisite packaging for a sec? It’s so pretty! I mean, sure, it gets kind of fingerprinty, but who cares! It’s beautiful!

THE BODY SHOP MOISTURE FOUNDATION IN SHADE 01:

I don’t have as much to say about this as I did about the Ambient Light Powder. The colour match is pretty perfect and it has a very hydrating, dewy finish. It’s not super long wearing, so I wouldn’t recommend it too oilier skinned people, but for normal to dry skinned people it will wear okay. I’ve been really liking it paired with the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick, topped off with the Ambient Lighting Powder. It applies well with most brushes, but I like it best with my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. The price point is good too, coming in at just $27.95. All-in-all this is a great foundation.

AUSTRALIS LIP & CHEEK COMBO IN FLAMINGO SKIES:

This is the only product in this month’s favourites that is not something new I’ve bought. I bought this ages ago, but it was lost somewhere in the depths of my makeup drawers for a while, so I forgot about it. I’ve been using this on my cheeks a fair bit lately. I grab my stippling brush and swirl it around both shades to get a really nice, deeper peachy pink colour and then I just stipple and blend it into my cheeks. It gives a really nice flush to the cheeks and because it’s a creamier product there’s no risk of becoming cakey or looking over-powdered.

BOBBI BROWN SKIN FOUNDATION STICK IN ALABASTER:

This is a product that I had sort of discounted ages ago. My skin got really dry and the foundation started to cake up, especially around my nose area. Originally I also had the shade Porcelain, which was a hair too dark for me (big shock, I know). Then a while ago I changed the moisturiser I was using. Now I use the Aveeno Daily Moisturiser, or whatever it’s called and it hydrates my skin amazingly. When I got The Body Shop foundation I would sometimes put the NARS Radiant Creamy Compact foundation underneath for a bit of extra coverage. Then I pulled out the Stick Foundation in Porcelain and tried it, and was amazed at how nicely it sat on my face now I was using a different moisturiser. So, I went out and got myself one in Alabaster and I’ve been using it either on its own or with The Body Shop foundation ever since. I can’t believe I discounted it the way I did. It’s so nice to wear. Not too heavy, not cakey, and if I really didn’t feel like it, I wouldn’t have to set it with a powder. Just a lovely foundation. It might even be my HG foundation. We’ll just have to wait and see.

NYX GEL LINER IN DARK BROWN:

This last favourite might be a bit of a weird one. While I have used this liner as an actual eyeliner, it’s not what I bought it for. I went into M.A.C. a little while ago and tried to get the Fluidline brow gel stuff, but since it was a new store they hadn’t received the shipment yet. The girl helping me told me I could try dark brown gel eyeliner instead. She said even though it’s a thicker formula, it would still work. I wasn’t entirely sure about that, so I certainly wasn’t going to spend 30-something dollars on M.A.C. eyeliner. So, I popped over to Target and got the NYX one. It has been working a treat. I use it to shape out my brows and then top them off with a bit of my trusty old Gimme Brow from Benefit. My brows stay on all day and look nice and well formed, instead of the bushy feeling I always get from pencils and powders. The NYX stuff is cheaper than M.A.C. too, which is just an added bonus! 

I hope you guys enjoyed this long-winded favourites! Sorry it’s coming to you a little late. It would’ve been up last weekend if I had of known I was just going to type it up… oh well, better late than never! Stay tuned for a haul video coming soon! xx

Video: October Favourites

Hey guys!

I know it's a few days late, but here's my October Favourites. I hope you enjoy. I promise the editing will get better next time! :)

August Favourites: E.L.F, Benefit, The Balm & more!

Hey guys!

My August Favourites video is now up on YouTube, so pop on over and check it out. Please subscribe to my channel too! :)

Products Mentioned:

Inglot eyeshadows
Urban Decay Naked Basics palette
NARS Sheer Glow - Light 1 Siberia
E.L.F. High Definition Undereye Setting Powder
E.L.F. Eye Refresh
Australis Lip & Cheek Combo - Flamingo Skies
Benefit Cha Cha Balm
Benefit Gimme Brow -  Medium/Deep
Essence Brow Powder Duo
Bare Minerals Concealer - Light 1
The Balm Cindy-Lou Manizer

July Favourites: L'Oreal, Revlon, ELF, Bobbi Brown and more!

Hey everyone!

I was really hoping that this post was going to be my first video but alas, it was not meant to be. I have a few favourites to share with you all and I’m really excited to have my first favourites post up! I guess I may as well just jump straight in!

L’OREAL LUMI MAGIQUE FOUNDATION IN PURE PEARL:

I’ve done an actual review on this foundation, which can be found on my Beauty Reviews page, but let me just say again how much I love this foundation. If it weren’t for the fact that the colour match is a little too dark, this would probably be my holy grail foundation. Apart from the colour match, I love everything about this foundation. It’s beautiful and light feeling on the skin. It gives good light to medium coverage. It doesn’t have an offensive smell. It lasts pretty well on me (on oilier skin it might not though). It blends easily. A little goes a pretty long way, and best of all the price point as far as Aussie pricing goes is on the lower end of the spectrum at around $33. This is a great illuminating foundation, and I really just love it!

BOBBI BROWN SKIN FOUNDATION STICK IN PORECLAIN:

Now, I know I did give Bobbi a glowing review like I did with the Lumi, but after I posted the review I decided to give it another go. What I found was that the dry, patchiness I was getting before wasn’t happening anymore. I chalked it up to my new range of skincare and the extra hydrating it is giving my skin. It’s still not my favourite foundation, but I have been really enjoying it this month. I know I definitely like it a lot better than my NARS cream foundation, which only wins in the colour match department because Siberia is the perfect skin tone match for me. I discovered the other day that I can get my NARS to look almost as good as my Bobbi if I let it sit on my skin for a few minutes before moving on to the rest of my base, whereas my Bobbi looks awesome straight off the bat. I don’t have to wait for it to set before moving on with my routine. In the battle of cream foundations NARS vs Bobbi, Bobbi is the clear winner.

ELF EYELID PRIMER:

ELF is fairly new to me. I’ve been wanting to try them for ages, but from what I’ve seen K-Mart has only just started stocking them (or at least the one near my house). One of the first things I bought was the eyelid primer. I got this because I needed a new one and I had forgotten to get one for the day that I had planned to do makeup on some models/willing victims, so on the mad dash to the makeup day I stopped in at K-Mart and wouldn’t you know, right there in front of my was the ELF stand, offering up its $3 eyelid primer. I used it on all the girls and was really happy to see my makeup creations lasting all day. Since then I have got one for myself and have used it nearly every day. I’m really impressed. I have a really hard time stopping creasing, and this $3 little miracle really seems to do the trick.

REVLON JUST BITTEN KISSABLE BALM STAIN IN RENDEZVOUS:

I only have two shades of the balm stains, but Rendezvous is my favourite. I love how you can get a subtle hint of orange, or build it up for a more intense colour. I find the longevity fairly good. At first it did bother me that it wasn’t all that moisturising, but now I just treat it like a really sheer lipstick, meaning I simply use a lip balm/butter to moisturise first. There’s not a lot to say about these balm stains except that I love the ones I have and I can’t wait to try more shades and finishes.

SUKIN SKINCARE:

I have the Sensitive Skin Cleansing Lotion, Hydrating Mist Toner and Moisture Restoring Night Cream and I love them all. Each product does the exact job I expected them to do and my skin is in such great shape from them. The cleanser is nice and calming, but I feel like I get a good clean from it too. The toner is so easy to use. I usually just spray a bit on my hands and pat it in, but you can also spray it directly on your face and just let it absorb. I’ve used it both ways and it works just the same. The night cream is a god-send. My skin was so dry and red and irritated. This cream has helped it to get to a point where I don’t feel patchy or itchy. My skin is smooth and feels plumper. I love this line and I can’t wait to try more from Sukin. Oh, and I forgot to mention one of the best parts! It’s so cheap. My cleanser and toner were only $10 each and the night cream, which will last for ages only cost $20! How awesome is that!

THE BALM MARY-LOU MANIZER:

I have never been a huge fan of shimmery highlights. I just hate the feeling of chunks of glitter sprawled across my face. The Mary-Lou Manizer was something I always figured I wouldn’t like for that reason. When I finally went in to the store and swatched it, I was amazed. It’s shimmery in a very subtle way. It gives more glow and sheen than outright glittery texture. I’ve used this nearly every day since I bought it about 2 months ago, and I love it. It’s so pigmented that you only need a light dusting. I can see this lasting for ages and ages, because I’ve barely made a dent in mine.

KUU KONJAC SPONGE:

Ahh my beautiful Konjac sponge. My most prized possession (in my bathroom)! This sponge coupled with my Sukin cleanser is pure heaven after removing my makeup. It gets rid of the excess makeup, plus all the other yucky stuff I imagine my face accumulates during the day. Its so easy to use, and it works great with or without cleanser, so on days where I haven’t worn makeup I can just use the sponge alone and still get a great clean. I can’t say enough great things about these konjac sponges. They’re just amazing!

So that’s it! I really hope you enjoyed my July favourites. Next month I will really try to make it a video, which might make it a bit more interesting. I would love for this blog to be a healthy mix of written and videoed posts, just to keep it interesting and flex my creative muscles :)