Inglot Galaxy Eyes/ New Years Eve | FOTD

 Firstly, I want to apologize for being so absent! I've been a terrible beauty blogger, but the thing that has been setting me back is not being able to access it on my phone. I can look at my blog, but I can't log in and post drafts like I normally do so it's very frustrating. And I'm usually too lazy to get out my computer or if I am using it, I'm doing other things.

Anyway, this is definitely not a "of the day" post seeing how this makeup is quite a bit older now, but of course I still wanted to post it! I did this before I got the Vice 2 palette, after seeing a video from Thatgirlshaexo & realizing that I have very similar colours anyway. Now that I have that palette, they are indeed similar but I can still see differences, so I don't feel as guilty for having similar colours.
All the colours I needed happened to be in my Inglot palette, but I think it's a very dupable look.

Wow on my screen my face looks extremely photoshopped, I can assure you that it's not!

Nyx Lip Liner Collection | Review & Swatches

Lip liners are usually disregarded and I admit I don't use them as often as I should & only if I "need" to, so I don't believe in spending a lot of money for them! I love the Nyx lip liners, because they are so affordable and they have a huge selection of colours.

6 of the Nyx lip liners I have are the slim lip pencil & 1 long lip pencil, honestly I'm not sure what the difference between them are apart from the length of them. I like to buy them on Ebay from Joys Cosmetics because if you buy more than one it becomes cheaper! & I've been buying from them for years & have never had a problem [By the way, she now stocks Real Techniques brushes at a really good price! (N/A)]

Whats Your Vice [2]? | Urban Decay Palette Review & Swatches

Although it's been out for a couple of months I have only just got my hands on the Urban Decay Vice 2 palette, which is my first "colourful" one from them! I knew I wanted it ever since i missed out on the first addition last year.
It's a bit sad that Urban Decay doesn't ship internationally, and I wasn't sure where else I could get one without going through a mail forwarding service, so when I posted about it on Instagram one of my US followers who I've "known" for a few years offered to buy it & send it over for me, I was so happy!
Of course afterwards I found the website www.tarazz.com.au which is basically is a mail forwarding service from Sephora so the prices are different to what you'd find through Urban Decay, and then I didn't realize it was actually on Beautybay which I've used a fair few times!

How to perfect your lipstick | Pictorial

 Sometimes just chucking on a lipstick isn't going to cut it, especially with some formulas that like to make their way over your face, or does that just happen to me?
I've found that applying my lipstick this way, using different lip liners & doing it in different layers helps it to stay put & last a lot longer, too. This is not something that I do everyday but when I have time & I'm wearing a bolder lip colour I like to spend a bit more on the lips.

Spring Fling Makeup | FOTD

 Hey guys I apologize profusely for the lack in posts lately! I was relying on my phone to post my drafts as I wanted to but it's still not allowing me to log in, and I've barely had any time to get on the computer properly lately :/

But anyway, I feel like I've barely worn any typical spring makeup as it has taken a while for the weather to change from cold & miserable but when we get a warm day, it gets hot!
Because of the slow transition I've been doing whatever I feel like with my makeup, but I do have a few products I've been saving particularly for spring that I haven't gotten good use out of but I can still carry them into summer.
And in case you're wondering, this isn't a Spring Fling look as so (that's a school event in the US or something, right?) but it's one of my favourite ways to wear spring appropriate makeup!

Buxom Full On Lip Polish | Review

One of the last minute buys that I knew I would regret not buying in America was the Buxom Full On Lip Polish. After hearing about it from Shaaanxo on Youtube & knowing that Sylvia from MakeupAsExpression loves them too,I had to test it out.

 I found it hard to pick out which colour I wanted! They all seemed fairly sheer but there were so many similar colours, in the end I had to keep re-swatching before I settled on Katie.

Glammed Up | Royal Blue & Silver Ball Makeup

Hey beauties!
A couple of weekends ago we went to a charity ball called The Ball Of Hope to raise money for mental health & Telethon which is an annual Western Australian fundraising organization that raises money for children with illness, so it was a good cause to get dressed up & help contribute towards that. In fact the Telethon child for this year is a girl from my home town so it felt even more meaningful. It was a fun night, we enjoyed a photo booth that they had where you dress up with props. But of course the fun part was getting ready.

You will see my dress in a moment, I was so excited to get and it got here with one week to spare so I was very thankful for that. With the makeup, of course I wanted it to be glamorous & I took the colour theme for my dress and hoped it wouldn't look too matchy-matchy.

Apologies for the pic heavy post!

3 Different Ways to Exfoliate

Hi Beauties!
Exfoliating is definitely an important part of your skin care routine, to aid in the removal of dead skin cells which reveals the gorgeous skin underneath, preventing a buildup which can make your skin look & feel dull & lifeless. This post isn't exactly about different groundbreaking ways to exfoliate but more about different formulations in the exfoliaters I am currently using. 

 I went without exfoliating over a period of time, except for a few aspirin masks here and there but all I needed to do was buy another one, but wasn't sure what.
Over the past few months I've found a few products that have been able to work in conjunction with each other, which may seem over the top but I make sure not to overdo it by letting my skin rest for a few days in between. I don't recommend it for everybody but I haven't had any bad reactions and my skin is always feeling soft & smooth.

 DMK Micro Peel, Biore Warming Anti-blackhead cream cleanser, Michael Todd Tropical Fruit Enzyme Exfoliant Scrub

DMK Micro Peel

 The DMK Micro Peel is the main exfoliant that I make sure to use weekly. This 'peel' (note- I do not have any extra peeling occur afterwards) works chemically unlike typical exfoliants which work mechanically. It has a thin, runny consistency & applies like a masque, which slightly tightens the skin so it's not going to run off the face. After 5 minutes I rinse it off with cold water & moisturize.
This is the most expensive skin care item I own at $68 but I can see it lasting a long time as I use it strictly once a week and I only need the size of a 50c coin.
-Can only get through a salon that sells DMK skin care. Learn more here

Biore Warming Anti-blackhead cream cleanser

This is actually a cleanser but it has similar properties to a scrub. I use this 2 nights a week if needed, usually when I notice a pimple starting to appear because it helps to bring it out so it can heal, or uneven texture around the forehead, nose & chin. I do actually notice a big difference with the presence of blackheads on my nose & chin & I like the warming feeling that it provides. It has a very thick & sticky texture with very small beads in it, which works pretty nicely as a very gentle, healing scrub.
-Can buy from Woolworths or anywhere that sells Biore products for around $12.

Michael Todd Tropical Fruit Enzyme Exfoliant Scrub

 This is a product that I'll also use just as an extra boost, and I make sure not to use it within 3 days of using the DMK Micro Peel. It is a creamier exfoliant that smells divine & glides really smoothly over my face without feeling too harsh & leaves it feeling smoother afterwards.
-$18 from the Michael Todd website

Comparing the different textures of each product

Remember to use products that are made for your skin type & to cleanse & moisturize as normal!
What is your favourite exfoliator?
xx

This is not a sponsored post, all products bought with my own money

My MAC Lipstick Collection

Hello dolls, sorry for the lack of posts/ comments!
Today I am bringing you my MAC lipstick collection. I've posted my lipstick collection (back then, anyway) sorted out by colours, so I do have some of these in there but I wanted to group my MAC ones all together and do a generalized review.

MAC has to be one of my favourite brands for lipsticks, because I can really notice the quality compared to cheaper brands. The biggest differences are the pigmentation, how they apply & how long wearing they are. I find some of the brighter/ deeper ones stain my lips so much that I still have a tinge on my lips when I wake up in the morning.

The packaging is quite simple with the usual black, bullet shaped tubes, but I like how the Viva Glam ones stand out with pink instead of silver on the inside. I also love the standard vanilla smell that all MAC lipsticks have.

MAC lipsticks have come in 9 finishes: Matte, Satin, Frost, Cremesheen, Cremesheen Pearl, Lustre, Amplified, Amplified Pearl, Glaze. Wow that's a lot more than what I thought there was until I looked it up. For a great in-depth description of each finish, this blog describes them better than what I could ever do.

Hue

A light nude pink, Hue is perfect for when you don't want a full on nude look.The glaze finish is the most natural out of them all, providing a subtle colour but also lasts the least amount of time, which is ok because it is easy to reapply.

Creme D' Nude

A nude peach colour in a very moisturizing & creamy formula which makes it only last around the 2 hour mark, but is also easy to reapply. It has a decent amount of coverage but is still fairly natural.
Myth

A pink-beige nude which I find way too creamy & have to smooth it out with my fingers after applying it from the tube, but it is perfect for a blanked out lip look. You can tell from the skin swatch how much comes off from a light application. Is anyone else's the same? From what I've read it is one of the more drying shades but it is not like that on me at all.

Angel

One of the most perfect pink nude lipsticks I own, I do not find this as frosty as what everyone else claims it to be. I can see why this is a cult classic!

Please Me

A matte muted pink lip colour which is more forgiving than some mattes which will dry out your lips completely & tug on application, which this does not. One of my favourite muted lip colours of all time!

Snob

A satiny-matte finish that is a cool toned lilac-pink, a bit less dramatic than Saint Germain, which makes it a wearable barbie-pink and is non-drying!

Crossswires

A gorgeous coral-orange that I thought never really tried when I received it from the lovely Amalia in a blog sale, but started wearing later and really appreciated the colour. It is perfect for spring & day time & has a lovely sheen thanks to the formula!

Viva GLam Nicki

The first MAC lipstick I had ever bought by myself, that i had to go back & buy as a gift for a friend because I loved it that much! This can pull off different colours on different people, on my friend it looks fuchsia somehow but on me, a vibrant, almost neon coral-pink. DAYMN! Such a nice formula, it applies nicely & lasts a long time.

Impassioned

The first MAC Lipstick I had ever lusted over, is finally no longer a lust! This beautiful amplified finish makes the warm watermelon pink colour stand out & makes it a long wearing, moisturizing lip colour.

Girl About Town

A fuchsia berry colour that I could assume would look awesome on any skin tone & colour. Another amplified finish that leaves your lips glossy & moisturized.

Candy Yum Yum

So glad I ended up buying this at the last minute! A gorgeous **bright** candy pink colour that will be sure to make you stand out. It is matte so it lasts for ages and is slightly drying but I find it very forgiving to wear.

Morange

A super bright, neon orange lip colour that applies exactly the same as Impassioned & is extremely pigmented with just one swipe. This is lovely to wear with minimal makeup or a brown smoky eye.

Ruby Woo

A classic blue-based red lipstick which has become a cult favourite, Ruby Woo is super matte which also means it is one of the most drying lipsticks I own and tugs on your lips when applying, but also lasts throughout pretty much anything & even when it wears off, your lips are so stained that you almost only need lipgloss to freshen it up.

Rebel

An almost impossible colour for me to wear, mainly because I find it way too creamy (just like Myth- I think I got both dud shades from a flash sale website!) I can't get this to apply evenly, so I have to stain it on. It looks a lot more scary in the tube but when applied is a deep plum-berry. I have no idea why it doesn't work on me because everybody else loves it!

 Edit: Just realized that I forgot to include the arm swatches!

L-R: Hue, Creme D' Nude, Myth, Angel, Snob, Please Me, Crosswires

L-R: Viva Glam Nicki, Morange, Candy Yum Yum, Impassioned, Girl About Town, Ruby Woo, Rebel

So that is my MAC Lipstick collection. I am very happy with it and think I have a nice selection of brights & nudes. My favourite colours, if I had to pick any, would be Angel, Please Me, Viva Glam Nicki, Impassioned, Morange & Ruby Woo, although I do love them all.

Let me know what your favourite MAC lipsticks are, or your favourite brand for lipsticks!
xx

Smashbox Master Class 2 | Review & Swatches

The first time I had ever walked into a Sephora was when I first eyed this beauty.. the Smashbox Master Class 2 palette. I wasn't sure about it but when I found out the value I knew I had to have it. Definitely something that would come in handy for traveling (next time!) & in a makeup kit.

Pretty Purple & Pink | FOTD

Hi dolls! The other week I was wanting to play with some of my purple eyeshadows. I had a vision of pairing it with a pop of pink in the center of the lid & peaking out from the edges of the purple. This is what I came up with & I hope you enjoy it.

Too Faced Pretty Rebel | Review & Swatches

One of my favourite buys would have to be the Too Faced Pretty Rebel palette. Just look at it and you'll know why! I was so excited when I saw Thatgirlshae on Youtube use it & then realize that I was able to access it! Woot! Unfortunately it is Limited Edition so I am unsure if it is still around but if you are able to get your hands on this palette then do so if you're into dramatic, glittery makeup. Let's get on with it!

FOTD's Abroad | Complilation

So I didn't always go to the effort of doing my makeup, as when you're on holiday you usually like to keep it simple, like during the day time I would keep it to a minimum especially in the hotter climates where it would just sweat off.

Here are mainly some of the night time looks I would wear out, testing out my new products. I'm going to put down a brief product description so please let me know if you want to know anything specifically!

1
Eyes: Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Bad To The Bronze, MAC Woodwinked, Urban Decay Naked 2, Maybelline Master Precise
Face: Nars Laguna & NYX Peach
Lips: Maybelline Vivid's in Fuchsia Flash, Nyx Butter gloss in Peaches & Cream

Last haul for a while! Holiday buys

I like to think that I'm all shopped out for a while.... now that I have basically anything I've ever wanted to add to my collection there is no need to buy anything for a loong time. Everyone was right about shopping in the US, everything is so cheap! Except there's one little thing that is not mentioned to often and that is service tax, a % charged on top of your purchase, for those who didn't know. But in the end that doesn't really matter too much because everything is much cheaper than home & it's just like if the GST wasn't included in our products.

So anyway, in almost each place we visited I went to Sephora more than once. My Fiancee didn't mind once he found out they had free Wifi so that was good to keep him happy while I shopped, and in some places where wifi was harder to find, he actually asked if we could find Sephora which is something I never thought he would say! So we both won. I also enjoyed visiting MAC on a few different occasions and loved what most of the drugstores had to offer. So let's stop blabbing & get into it!

**Disclaimer: Sorry for the huge post with lots of photos. Everything bought was paid for with my own money & over a period of 5 weeks. I'd hate to come off bragging which I'm not because I'm just so happy with my new goodies!

I'm back! Happy holiday snaps.

Hey guys, so I've been back settling into home & reality for a week, catching up with family & friends and remembering how to work again, although I wasn't gone for that long I suppose it's true that once you catch the traveling bug, you don't want to stop. I had left my blog in the hands of my scheduled posts, although for some reason that never worked so I had to physically post them myself! Has that happened to anybody else?

So I wanted to compose some pictures to post.... but considering I have over 2K it was so hard to choose! If you are a follower on my instagram you may have seen some already. It's going to be a pretty brief & to the point post but I hope you enjoy it!

L.A: 1. Hollywood Sign waay in the background. 2. Santa Monica Pier. 3. Walk of Fame 4. Rodeo Drive

Make Me Blush | Collection Part 2: High End

So I've already done the first part to my blush collection over here but here is my current High End blush collection, although I will be updating soon to accommodate the new ones I have recently purchased. I am super happy with my blush collection now although you can never have too many blushes!

MAC
Sometimes the quality is really noticeable with higher end brands, as I've found with MAC their blushes have great pigmentation & amazing lasting power. I'm hoping to expand with a couple more of their mineralize skin finishes. I also have a couple of Cream Colour Bases but I consider them to be highlighters although can be a base for blush. Out of the powder blushes I prefer the normal formulation as the sheertones obviously don't turn out as pigmented as they look in the pan & in a finger swatch.

Sebastian Hydre Conditioner | Review

Generally I don't always use the same shampoo & conditioner from the same brand or particularly the same product line. I've been using Wella SP Colour Save shampoo for a little while now but I've been switching in between conditioners with Wella & Joico. We've had the line Sebastian in for a little while now, but I didn't think it out until hearing lots of clients have been loving a few different shampoo & conditioners, so what did I have to loose!?

Fresh & Peachy | FOTD

Going through my older FOTD's, I found this summery peachy look that I wore a little while ago. I noticed I had followed through the peachy look with the lips & cheeks onto the eyes with a touch of a warmer colour in the crease, and paired with dewy skin & keeping the lower lash line clean adds to the summery look, which was not my intention haha.

Lancome Travel Chic Golden Edition | Review & Swatches

My lovely Mother-in-law got me the Lancome Travel Chic palette from her travels in Europe which is exclusive for Duty Free at the airports. I actually included this in my What's in My Makeup Travel bag post but then decided afterwards, is it worth me taking? I was always going to bring my Naked 2 palette but I thought I'd better test it out to see if I would actually use it.

MAC Blue Brown Pigment | FOTD

Soo this is a really old FOTD that I posted to my Instagram probably a few months back & also in my MAC Samples post to showcase the gorgeous Blue Brown pigment from MAC. It is full of duochromey goodness with a two-in-one colour effect that you can apply & blend, adding more dimension while cutting out on application time.

Youtube Inspiration #4: Sharon Farrell

Another inspiration of mine on Youtube is Sharon Farrell. I've only just discovered her in the last couple of months but she has a nice variety of tutorials, from Beauty Icons, Celebrities, basic makeup tutorials & improvised tutorials that she makes up on the spot. This one day I decided to try her Teal & Gold Peacock Eyes , well this is actually again my second attempt, as I had (again) forgotten exactly how she had done it the first time! She used some amazing MAC eyeshadows in hers so I had to try and match it as well as I could! Where I've listed what I used I added her products (next to them).

Make Me Blush | Collection Part 1: Drugstore

So I've done my lipstick collection and that was over 5 parts sorted by their colours, now I'm doing my blush collection. I was actually going to do my nail polish collection first but that one will probably take the longest so I might leave that one till last. Not that I plan on doing it on absolutely every type of product you can have, I want to do the ones that I seem to collect haha such as lipstick, blush, nail polish, perfume & maybe eyeliners, but we'll see as I go along.

I have decided to break this up into 2 parts, Drugstore & High End. I definitely have a lot more drugstore blushes as obviously they are cheaper so I don't feel as bad to have multiple colours by the same brands. It would be way to hard to go by colour, and I was going to go by brand but since I only have a few of some brands & more of the others I thought it would be easier to group like this.
Some of the swatch pictures have been enhanced the tiniest bit with contrast as my camera washed out the colour, and the top pictures are natural light & the bottom are with flash.

Milani & Jordana

First Impressions | Michael Todd True Organics for Dry Skin

When I saw Michael Todd products on Ozsale a couple of months back, I knew I had to try them after seeing many videos from my favourite beauty guru's as of late. So I was trying to go back through the videos and find the products that were most raved about, but instead of trying to work out what I wanted to try, I thought I would go with a Discovery Kit to sample each type of product that can used in a routine, and I also bought an extra item that I liked the sound of.

About the brand...
 Michael Todd is a certified vegan brand created by the founder who set out to create his own product line using as many organic ingredients as possible without unnecessary added water & unhealthy chemicals after finding out how many brands that proclaimed to be organic had included harmful parabens, sulfates etc and also had water as the main ingredient, so the products would go further but also be diluted down.
Each product of his has on the back a percentage of how organic the ingredients in each one are, ranging from 70-96% from the ones that I have so you know what you're using is kind on your skin and to the environment.

The Discovery Kits they have available are for anti-aging, acne or oily skin, dry & normal/ combination. I always thought I had dry skin without the flakiness, but now I think it's more dehydrated- normal, so I went for the dry skin discovery kit.
Skincare products that cater for dry skin are also targeted for mature skin, which I obviously do not have as of yet, so while these products may be described for preventing anti-aging, environmental damage & helping to firm skin, they will be beneficial in the long run because prevention is easier than a cure.
I have been using these products for a couple of weeks now so here are my opinions on them.

Neutral Eyes with Bright Lips | Collective Makeup Looks

Hello lovelies! Today is a collection of, as the title suggests, recent Neutral eye looks with bright lips. I'm sorry that I'm not going to go into too much detail but I will list the main products used! Hope you enjoy <3

Pinkini

Herstyler 1" Titanium Hair Straightener

This was from a sale on Ozsale where I saved $200! I was wanting to buy a straightener to take traveling anyway, and when I saw I could get one, particularly the Herstyler Titanium hair straightener, for $50 I thought I may as well give it a go. I've only ever owned a Remington straightener before, and I've used GHD's quite a few times thanks to working in a salon. When I saw that it looked comparable to a GHD where I could easily curl as well as straighten, I didn't have much to lose.

Stila Counltess Colour Pigment & Turquoise Smudge Stick | Review & FOTD

The last couple of items I got in my Stila Festival of Colour haul are these two, the Countless Colour Pigment in Lyric & Smudge Stick in Turquoise. They are both limited edition along with the After Glow Lip Colours, and I couldn't resist any of them. Whether you're into understated colours, used as a pop along the lash line or go all out wearing anything you desire all over your eyelids, these two products would be suitable for everyone.

What's in my Travel Makeup Bag & Fairwell for now

The time has come for my partner & I as we are finally going on a holiday we have wanted to go on for a few years now, to the land of the U.S, where we can escape the rest of winter and return in spring! I wanted to make a post of what I was going to bring, so I could decide on the products I thought I would need the most.  but I cut out as many items as I thought I could be deprived of, because I will be able to replenish my stock. I am always an over packer but it wasn't as hard as what I thought it would be to choose these items! However I'd actually organized everything I was going to bring makeup-wise a little while back so some things have actually changed now.