August 2012 Favourites

Hey Pretties

I wanted to share with you today my favourites for the month of August.  I'm super excited to say goodbye to August as we also get to say goodbye to winter here in the Southern Hemisphere and hello to spring so I could not be happier!

As always I like to keep my favourites to just 5 to stop me from rambling and rambling and if there are any questions on specific products I can do a whole review.

Firstly I could not decide which blush was my favourite this month so I decided to include the two I have been using the most.

The first blush is 'Primrose' by Face Of Australia which is a medium dusty pink colour and the second is Fleur Power by Mac.  A stunning pinky/coral colour.

Next is my Inglot colour palette that I recently added to when I went to Chatswood.  I have particularly been loving the top three shades together as a warmer weather combo.

Next is my Revlon lip butter in Peach Parfait.  When I first bought this lip butter I wasn't particularly fussed with it but this month I have been really enjoying a nude(ish) lip and this is the perfect colour for that.

Lastly is a product by Rimmel London and it is the Exaggerate eye liner in noir.  I have not been well this month as I keep getting the flu on and off so I've been trying to get as much sleep as possible.  Quickly taking this eyeliner across my top and bottom lash line with a neutral colour swept across the lid has been getting me ready for work and out the door really quickly.

So tell me, what are your August favourites?

Shopping my stash - Day 1

Anyone with a largish makeup collection knows that you are going to have favourites.  Products will get neglected and start to feel a little depressed if they don't get some love.  That's why I have devoted this week to be a 'shop my stash week' for my unloved products.

The aim of the game is to stop reaching for my favourites and give some of my other makeup a chance.  The pieces I have chosen are ones that I cannot remember the last time I used them.  Today I managed to use 4 less used products!

The first product is old.  Really old.  So old the label has pretty much worn off and I have not seen this packaging for years.  I should probably throw it out, but I hate wastage.  In case you can't tell what it is, it is a bronzer by Covergirl in the shade Soleil.  I actually think they still make this shade but the packaging has changed.  I used this today instead of my Hoola bronzer and it did the job.  I have not fallen in love with it again yet though.

Secondly I gave an unloved lipstick a go.  I still don't like this either.  I got this Revlon lipstick for free with the Priceline gift with purchase bag.  The colour is called Blush and it is a orangy based nude which is not a great colour for me.  It looks like my lips but more orange when I can get it to show up at all.  This I may actually ditch.  I don't like it and I don't think I ever will.

Yup, I'm neglecting an expensive Mac product.  I did my research online before ordering this blush and I really wished I had waited until I went into the store but I am inpatient and couldn't wait and just ordered it online.  I tossed up for about 2 hours between Well Dressed and Dame and decided on Well Dressed.  I wish I picked Dame.  This colour is just a little too sheer for me and I really have to pack it on to get any colour to show up.  I'm pale too!  I don't really dislike this blush but since getting Benefit Thrrrob I rarely use it as the colours are so similar but the Benefit just has way better colour pay off.

The last product I really like.  It is an eyeshadow palette by BYS called Summer Sheen (I blogged about this here and have included swatches).  I bought this back in April and the colours are amazing but sadly it has gotten a little neglected for a couple of reasons.  1. This was an impulse buy and around $6.  I had not long before ordered my UD Naked Palette and it arrived a couple of days after I got this.  Clearly I'm going to be way more excited about my UD Naked Palette that I had ordered and waited on and lusted over for months that an impulse buy. 2. The colours in the pan are very difficult to tell what they actually look like so it makes it pretty hard to put a look together without being covered in swatches.  I don't have time for swatches of a morning lol.  But I used this this morning and loved the look I came up with.  This is a little treasure I think I'll get some more use out of.

Thanks for reading pretties!  Stay tuned for episode 2 tomorrow of 'Shopping my stash!'
 

April Favourites

Happy May my pretties!

The fifth month is upon us (wow this year is flying by) and it is time for April favourites.

Formula 10.0.6 Deep Down Detox Ultra-Cleansing Mud Mask

This product has one of the longest names I've ever seen!  It is a nice gentle mud mask that is in fact ultra cleansing.  I've been enjoying using this every third day or so this month.

Manicare Artiste Stippling Brush no17


Although I've been using this every day since I bought it, I've really enjoying the application I get with this brush.

I don't use if for foundation, but for blush!  It give the perfect amount of colour and doesn't give me that clown look.  Ever.

I've also washed this loads of time and it's still in great condition.  A wonderful brush for the price.

Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie


What would April favourites be without a lip butter!  My favourite colour this month has been Berry Smoothie.  It's the perfect Autumn colour.

I now have 5 of the lip butters.  Eeek!

Mac Blush in Springsheen


My favourite blush this month has been Springsheen.  I would have loved to have picked Melba but I have only been using it for a week.  I've used Springsheen nearly every other day this month though.

It's a pretty shimmery coral colour.

Essence Gel eyeliner in Midnight in Paris


My last favourite for the month is this gel eyeliner.  I've had a great time the past few weeks playing around with different types of eyeliners and this is my new favourite.  I was always a crayon girl but now I'm loving the gel.  So easy to apply and this Essence liner is so black and it was so cheap!




What are your April favourites?

FOTD Tutorial - Make up for shopping

Hi pretties

I thought today I would do a face of the day for weekend shopping!  This is also a fairly neutral look that could easily be worn to work or any occasion really.

How to:

1. Prime - I used David Jones Primer

2. Foundation - I used Benefit Hello Flawless that I received in my April Bellabox.

3. Powder - Natio pressed powder

4. Blush - Mac Melba

5. Lips - Revlon lip butter in Peach Parfait

6. Prime eyes - Mac Paintpot in Bare Study

7. Brow highlighter - Mac eyeshadow in Blanc Type

8. Inner Corner Colour - DB Palette (bottom left colour)

9. Lid colour & Crease Colour - Intensifeye Quad Choc-a-Block shade two from the Australis Nudist Palette

10. Liner - Essence Gel eyeliner in black

11. Eyebrow - Savvy by DB liner

12. Waterliner - Chi Chi in Virgin

13. Mascara - Loreal Extra Volume Collagen

Eye Close up!

That's my look for shopping.

I hope you enjoyed and if you have any suggestions for a look please contact me :)

Sunday night haul night!

Hi Pretties

It's Sunday night and that means haul night!  I hope you all had a great weekend.

This week I bought a few items, not too many though as I am going to Melbourne next weekend!  Hurray!

First thing I bought was a Revlon lip butter in Peach Parfait.  I love this colour, I think it's so pretty.

Second purchase was a pair of false lashes by Revlon in the Fantasy Lengths range.  They are the 99501 Defining self adhesive lashes.  I have not tried these yet, or any lashes in fact but I am excited to try these.

As I posed about yesterday I bought two nail polishes by Ulta3 in Gold Digger and Silver Glitter.  These are so sparkly and pretty :)

For my birthday on Tuesday I bought myself a new Mac blush.  I have a slight addiction with Mac blushes and purchased the colour Melba to add to my collection.  It is a beautiful matte coral colour.  I raved about this blush here.

My last purchase is something I have been searching for for quite a while.  I've been looking for a peach/nude eyeliner and although I am yet to find one I found this white one by Chi Chi called Virgin that is not a bright white, nor is it sparkly so it works perfect for my waterline.

That's my haul for the week!

What did you get this week?

Nail polish collection

Hi pretty people!

Well I mentioned a little while ago in my make up collection storage post that I would show you my products and collection in more detail.  I am getting to this but I am waiting on quite a few products from the US that I would like to include when I show you my favourite products, but nail polish is not one of them :)

This is an overview of all my polishes.  I store them in a wooden box I have had for years and unfortunately the lid doesn't close any more as I have a few too polishes.  I know my collection is not as big as others, but I am really trying to limit my spending on polishes!

I'm going to break this post up into brands and from left to right give you the names of the colours :)






Orly


Walk Down the Aisle
Aspen
Strip Down
Not so Dusty Rose














OPI


DS Reserve (my first OPI!)
No name on miniatures (natural pink)
No name on miniatures (natural flesh)
Lourve Me, Lourve Me Not

Rimmel


Pop Rose
Lively Lillac
Style Hunter
Instyle Coral
Shocker
Mocha Fever
Double Decker Red








Essie (Fall Collection)


Lady Like
Very Structured
Power Clutch
Carry On







Ulta 3


Jade
Bon Bon
Flashback Fuchsia
Freesia
Black Plum











Random


LA Colours - Aztec Orange
TBN - Barely Pink
TBN - Rich Red
Australis - Peek-a-Boo
Max Factor - Diva Violet
Chi Chi - Miss Personality
Revlon - No Shrinking Violet




Coats


Cutex Diamond Extra Hard
Ulta 3 Speed Dry

 Stay tuned for more collection posts!

Road tested - Revlon Lip Butters

Hi Pretties

I’ve FINALLY had the chance to give my Revlon Lip Butters a good trial. Yea! Now I have 4 of these babies, 1 was a gift a couple of weeks ago from my man and the others I picked up at Priceline in their buy one get one free sale when I got the beauty bag.

The colours I purchased are (L-R) Crème Brule, Cupcake, Sweet Tart and Berry Smoothie. I so badly want to love everything about these cult items, but I’m only 75% sold on them! I think they staying power is a little different between the colours, as is the moisture they provide. I think the packaging is really cute but I think they are WAY overpriced. Getting them buy one get one free is great, but I wouldn’t pay the $21.95 AUD for them.

Without Flash

With flash

Crème Brule: I think this colour is a beautiful nude. I do have highly pigmented lips, so it does take me several swipes to build up some colour and when I do I get a very wearable pale browny/nude colour. This lip butter goes on very smooth and initially feels quite moisturising but after half a day or so I found this butter turned out to be quite drying and started to settle into the cracks in my lips it had created. This is such shame because I love the colour so much! I do find I have this problem with most nudes though so it is really nothing new.

Cupcake: By far the sheerest of the lip butters I purchased, this is a very pale cool toned pink and it could be my pigmented lips but I find the lasting power of this particular lip butter to be quite poor. It only seems to last about an hour where the others last much longer. This shade is quite moisturising and still feels great even after the colour has faded to a sheer gloss.

Sweet Tart: This is a hot pink that gives you a great punch of colour. It is very bright, but still wearable and not too in your face. Very moisturising and very pigmented. So pigmented in fact it lasts around 5 hours even with eating and drinking! The downfall I feel to this colour is that it does smudge out a little from your lips and give you what I like to call a ‘bolognaise ring’. This could probably be solved by using lip liner, I just don’t use them.

Berry Smoothie: My first and favourite lip butter. My man bought this as a gift for me the first day we saw them as I had been talking about them for weeks. This is a great autumn colour (read about my favourite autumn lipsticks here!), and has great staying power. I didn’t find this colour to run either with this one, unlike with Sweet Tart. I don’t think this lip butter is quite as moisturising as Cupcake and Sweet Tart and within a few hours my lips started to feel pretty neutral but upon inspection in the mirror the colour was still quite strong and my lips didn’t suffer and cracks so I’m happy.

It seems that the Revlon Lip Butters are a little hit and miss in my opinion, some being great and others not as much. I’m generally happy with them, but do I think they are worth they hype? Probably not; and this comes down to the RRP in Australia. I don’t think they are worth $21.95 when they are only about US$6. I’d happily pay $6 or even $12 AUD as our products are generally twice the price, but not the RRP of $21.95.

What is your experience with the lip butters? Do you love them? Or are they a bit overhyped?

FOTD - Make up for work

Morning Pretties


I thought I would start the week off with a face of the day!  Being that it is Monday morning, it's a work make up day!


I generally like to keep my work make up pretty and understated (sometimes I'm a little bolder) but this is a general look for work that is achievable in no more than 10 minutes and you are out the door!

Face
Loreal Matte Morphose souffle foundation in 115 - applied with fingers
Natio mineral pressed powder in light tan - set with Nude mineral foundation brush
Mac Springsheen blush - applied lightly with Manicare Artiste stippling brush 17

Eyes
Savvy by Db eye brow pencil
Mac paint pot in Bare Study - applied with fingers
Mac eye shadow in Naked Lunch - applied with Models Prefer MP24 small eye shadow brush
Covergirl lash perfection mascara in very black
Essence gel liner in 01 Midnight in Paris - applied with Essence slanted gel liner brush to top lash line
(Name worn off) white shimmer crayon - applied to tear duct and brow bone

Lips
Revlon lip butter in 090 Sweet Tart - just one swipe

Well there you have my face of the day for work make up.

Have a good day pretties.

Sunday night haul

Hi Pretties


Well it's that time of the week again.  The weekend is coming to an end and it's time for my Sunday night haul blog!  I promise you this one has been a big one!

Now I must admit, I didn't actually buy everything here.  If you read my Priceline gift with purchase blog post earlier this week, you will see that a very large portion I actually received in that bag.


Products from Priceline gift with purchase bag
Eco Tools - 100% recycled plastic bath sponge in purple. This is nice and soft
Nude By Nature - Soft focus illuminator
Models Prefer Multi purpose sponge in hot pink
Rimmel - I love lasting finish nail polish in 185 Mocha Fever (I already own this colour)
1000 Hour - Nail Foils in a purple/silver patterned colour
Manicare - Soft Touch Tweezers
Covergirl - $10 off card (not pictured)
Revlon - Colour Burst lipstick in 035 Blush
Innoxia - Lovely Lips lipstick in Honeysuckle
Australis - Paparazzi Perfect High Definition blush in Poser
Press and Go - Nails in a zebra type pattern
Natio - Mineral pressed powder in Soft Tan
Priceline - Calming facial wipes
Max Factor - Xperience Volumising Mascara in black
Models Prefer - Kohl pencil in matte black
Savvy by DB - Luxury Liner in Shimmering Slate




Below are this weeks actual purchases;

As you can see, its still not a bad haul.  I did buy most things on special too, so I got some bargains.  I am actually now on a spending ban for the next three weeks.  So no hauls :(  But I will be going to Melbourne in a couple of weeks so I'm saving my pennies!


Products I purchased
Revlon - Lip Butter in 055 Cupcake
Revlon - Lip Butter in 095 Creme Brule
Revlon - Lip Butter in 090 Sweet Tart
Revlon - Color Burst lipstick in 070 Soft Nude 
Australis - Make Up Finishing Spritz
Essence - Gel eye liner in 01 Midnight in Paris (black)
Essence - Gel eye liner in 03 Berlin Rocks (purple)
Formula 10.06 - Deep Down Detox Ultra Cleansing Mud Mask
Modern Living - Lipstick organiser (I bought 4 of these and they hold 9 each)
Maybelline- Master Precise liquid liner
Models Prefer - MP24 small eyeshadow brush
Essence - Angeled eye liner brush
Essence - French manicure tips


For years I have only used crayon eye liners and I'm being a little adventurous a the moment and have branched out and bought a liquid liner and the gel liners.  I LOVE the gel liner.  I got the black for $5.95 and the purple for $3 and I think they are fabulous.  Maybe a little too much for everyday, I think I'll use the Maybelline liquid eye liner for during the day but the gel just seems to give my eyes that little extra pop.


I bought another Models Prefer brush.  I'm actually getting up quite a collection of these now and I think they are great value for money.  I don't think I have paid full price for any of them and I haven't paid any more than $15 for my most expensive brush which was the bronzer brush.  I think this one was around $11?


I spoke in my skin care routine blog post about trying the 10.06 masks in the sachets and I liked them so much I bought the full sized product while it was 20% off at Priceline.  I think it was down to $7.


So as you can see, I purchased 4 Revlon lip products.  Now I refuse to pay full price for Revlon lipsticks.  I think the price is ridiculous and rather than pay $22 a lipstick I'd rather pay that little bit extra and get a Mac lipstick or something (another reason I love Rimmel lipsticks so much, they are so cheap!), but when Priceline had their 2 for 1 special on, I thought it was time to stock up on the lip butters and the nude I have been lusting after for a long time.  I'm pretty pleased with the lip butters.  I don't find Creme Brule to be overly moisturising, but it is a nude and that's generally the case with nudes.  I think the Color Burst lipstick in Soft Nude is much more moisturising that Creme Brule actually, but the pinks are great.  I now have 4 lip butters.  Hurray!


I showed you my make up storage last week and I have actually now added some lipstick organisation to my vanity and given my blushes their own drawer in my big pink case.  They are all very happy in their new homes!  The lipstick holders were $5 at Target and I purchased 4 of them as I forgot to count my lipsticks before I went.  I do have a whole holder spare at the moment now.  I'm very happy with these holders as they seem to be a lot better quality than the Priceline ones, but much cheaper.


So anyway I'll leave there with my Sunday night haul.  No hauls for three weeks.  Ahhh so long with no new products but I do have loads of new things to play with :)


What did you haul this week?

My 5 favourite autumn nail polish

Hi Pretties

Happy black Friday!

I thought tonight it might be fun to do an autumn favourites post. You can read about my favourite 5 autumn lipsticks here. I'm dedicating this post to my 5 favourite nail polishes for autumn :)

With Flash

Without Flash

So it's no secret I love my dark colours for autumn. Especially purples :)

Starting from the left hand side we have;
Essie Power Clutch - A shinny deep olive green
Rimmel I love Lasting Finish in 030 Double Decker Red - That perfect bright red colour
Ulta3 Black Plum - A plum/burgundy colour with shimmers
Revlon 790 No Shrinking Violet - A deep purple with shimmers
OPI Lourve Me, Lourve Me Not - A slightly warmer purple with shimmers

I always wear my Cutex Diamond Extra Hard as a base as it stops colour from transferring onto my nails and keeps them nice and healthy. Since I change my nail polish so often this is critical for me.

What are your favourite nail polish colours this autumn?

Priceline Gift With Purchase

Hi Pretties

Those in Australia would have no doubt seen Priceline's current gift with purchase. To receive you just spend $60 on the participating brands to get the goodie bag filled with over $220 worth of stuff! I thought I would do a short post for those tossing up whether this is for you or not.

Now seeing as Revlon also have buy one get one free, and I have been eyeing off a few lip butters and lipsticks for quite a while, I easily reached my $60 with a couple of other purchases. More about those on Sunday in my weekly haul post!

Below is the bag I received.

I'll start with the bag. To be honest I think it's hideous. It's very much not my taste and pretty flimsy. But it kept my goodies contained so I'm not complaining too much.

Products
Eco Tools - 100% recycled plastic bath sponge in purple. This is nice and soft
Nude By Nature - Soft focus illuminator
Models Prefer Multi purpose sponge in hot pink
Rimmel - I love lasting finish nail polish in 185 Mocha Fever (I already own this colour)
1000 Hour - Nail Foils in a purple/silver patterned colour
Manicare - Soft Touch Tweezers
Covergirl - $10 off card
Revlon - Colour Burst lipstick in 035 Blush
Innoxia - Lovely Lips lipstick in Honeysuckle
Australis - Paparazzi Perfect High Definition blush in Poser
Press and Go - Nails in a zebra type pattern
Natio - Mineral pressed powder in Soft Tan
Priceline - Calming facial wipes
Max Factor - Xperience Volumising Mascara in black
Models Prefer - Kohl pencil in matte black
Savvy by DB - Luxury Liner in Shimmering Slate

Now considering most of the products I already purchased were buy one get one free I really got loads of stuff for my $60. I'm very excited about it. I pretty much don't need to buy mascara for a year, and eye liner for about 2 years with all the free ones I have received lately as gift with purchases!

Did you get the Priceline gift with purchase bag?

My favourite 5 autumn lipsticks

Hi pretty people!

I thought today I would share with you my top 5 favourite lipsticks for autumn! Yes, I know there are 6 in the photo but one I always wear with gloss, so I count them together!

Without flash

With flash

The first swatch and the front left lipstick is by David Jones and it is the colour Antique Musk from the Moisture Cream range. This is probably one of the darkest lipsticks you will catch me wearing as I am quite pale, but it is a pretty dusty plum colour and is the perfect shade for darker clothes (I normally wear with black) this autumn. I got this in a pack, but from memory this range is around $14.95. I will definately be wearing this colour right into winter. I find this formulation to be quite moisturising which is a bonus for the cooler months!

Second swatch and front middle in the top picture is the much lusted after Revlon Lip Butter. This particular shade is in 050 Berry Smoothie. Another colour perfect for autumn with a great formulation. It is so nice and creamy and I think I will use this little baby up VERY quickly! RRP $21.95

Next is a colour by CHI CHI called Centerfold. This lipstick is a muted, matte nude which is very pretty, but unfortunately quite drying on the lips. However I love this shade so much I will persist with it and use loads of lip balm underneath. I have quite pigmented lips so this is the perfect colour to mute out my lips to make them truely nude. RRP $18.95???

Fourth lipstick and top left in the top photo is a Mac lustre in the colour Lovelorn. This is a new purchase for me but I know I'll be wearing it year round as it is a super pretty medium pink. The formulation for this is great and this is not overly moisturising, but it is not at all drying. It is shiny without being too lipglossy. RRP $36

Lastly are the two I group together as I don't wear either along, but together this lipstick and gloss make a great glossy nude combo. The lipstick is by Maybelline in the colour 132 Nude Blush (I think this is discontinued and I purchased for $5), and the lip gloss is by Essence in the colour 01 Pure Nude. RRP $3.95.

So that's my favourites for this autumn, and tell me, what colours will you be wearing?

Sunday night haul

Hey all I hope you all had a great weekend! My week has been busy busy as I have been moving into a new house and have had to spend a lot of time putting together flat packs and packing and moving and cleaning and basically doing a lot of boring things!

I still had the chance to buy a couple of items this week and did get a lovely new house present off my wonderful boyfriend. He got me my first Mac Paint Pot! He even remembered the colour I wanted ♥

So my haul this week is as follows;

Mac Paint Pot in Bare Study
Rimmel Lasting Finish lipstick in 006 Pink Blush
Sally Hanson Salon Effects in 360 Laced Up
Sally Hanson Salon Effects in 340 Girl Flower
Rimmel Lasting Finish nail polish in 170 Lively Lilac (another gift from the man)♥
OPI Nail Lacquer in Lourve Me Lourve Me Not
Revlon Lip Butter in 050 Berry Smoothie

So that's all my new products for the week. I'm very excited about my Mac Paint Pot as I have been eyeing this off for a long time and of course the Revlon Lip Butter which I got for only $5 at my local chemist (the sales girl rang up the wrong price).

What are your favourite new products??

NOTD: Purple Ombre Nails

Ombre nails are very hot at the moment and purples are a great autumn colour. Why not combine the two?

Starting with a base coat, work from your thumbs with the darkest colour and finishing up your little fingers with the lightest! I've used Cutex Diamond Extra Hard, Revlon 790 No Shriking Violet, Australis Peek-a-Boo, Rimmel 170 Lovely Lilac and finished with Ulta3 Speed Dry Top and Base Coat.

What are your current nail trends?