Showing posts with label maybellineny. Show all posts

July Buys


WINTER IS HERE LITTLE BIRDS
AND 
IT
IS
FREEZING

Melbourne has been outdoing herself lately, bringing in sleeting rain, cutting winds and mornings so cold that breath comes in cloud puff or smog options. Frost, ice, and even snow in some of the outer suburbs. So, naturally, I've found myself drawn to warmer options beauty-wise and wardrobe-wise too.



Today I had a mini-spree at Priceline and Chemist Warehouse, and honestly, I shouldn't be allowed in their beauty aisles unsupervised. 
Pictured above are my favourite buys, and newer picks, from July so far. Ripped denim is an easy way to look casual and fresh, without compromising on warmth or style. Ribbed knitwear has been a key trend this Autumn/Winter, and I love the creamy colour of this piece from Cotton On. It works with both blue and black denim, and I love it with tan ankle boots. My navy Converse chucks are an awesome wardrobe staple - so, so comfy, and they're perfect for pairing back dark denim, and they'll work beautifully with summer dresses and skirts. Rose gold is my favourite metal, and this watch from Forever New adds a hint of glam to even the most casual of outfits, and I'm in love with my Samantha Wills Bardot Bohemian Ring!

Before bed, when I want to unwind from a busy day at work, I've been burning my Glasshouse Esperance triple scented candle. It's amazing, it smells of apples and mimosas, and it's just the most relaxing scent. 

Finally today I managed to re-purchase the Maybelline New York Age Rewind concealer. This stuff is amazing, and I can't wait to start using it again. I've had to grab the medium-dark shade this time around, but the Goji berry extract won't be any less effective on these big black circles! Another very necessary repurchase was my Face of Australia matte eye primer. Don't let the 'matte' fool you, shimmer shadows and whites look phenomenal over this cream. 

 
Another very necessary repurchase earlier this week, was the Sportsgirl lipstick in Bombshell. I've worn this shade of red for the last five years and each time I whip her out, I get compliments left, right and centre. 


I LOVE this lipstick. Like the Sportsgirl brow pencil, I'm considering buying about, like, maybe fifty of them, just so I never ever run out of my perfect red lipstick. I'll actually die on the inside if this red ever goes out of production!
The perfect red lipstick means nothing if it isn't perfected on the face, so I took advantage of the Priceline 3 for 2 on Australis eyes and lips, and bought myself a lip liner in 'Lady in Red'. 

Australis claim their lipliners are a 'Emollient and vitamin rich formula that won't dry lips out' - I'll report back if that's true!

Making the most of the 3 for 2 promotion, I grabbed another of their Velour Lips Matte Creams. I adore the shade N-Y-Cee, and I've seen a lot of gorgeous blogger selfies with the 'Hono-Loo-Loo' tone. I was a little nervous, simply because nude-based shades don't always work that well against my pale skin, but I was pleasantly surprised!
I felt like Lana Del Ray with this on


I honestly respect Australis so much as a brand and company. Their products are such a high quality, and I'm so glad to know they're completely cruelty free and still at such a decent price. Even without the 3 for 2, $9.95 is an amazing price for lipstick. 

And the last little Australis goodie I picked up is another that I've been seeing splashed all over Instagram. Last month Australis launched their Metalix eye shadow collection. I was a little unsure, simply because they seemed to be very highly pigmented and better suited to going out/event make-up, something I hardly get to do anymore (social life? Oh social life, where are you?!). I popped a little of the tester on my hand of the shade 'Pearl Jammin' and my rose gold obsession struck. The ROSE GOLD MAN. IT WON'T LEAVE ME BE!

In all seriousness, the shimmer and pigment caught my eye, and I figured, for $8.95, could I really go wrong? 



Look at that shimmer! 


I reaaaalllly want to try this shadow with a bold eyeliner and big, false lashes. I feel like this colour will make my blue eyes pop that little bit more, and I can't wait to have a little more fun experimenting. Believe it or not, I've never used a cream eye shadow before, so this will give me a chance to use new techniques and tools. 

And finally, I bought myself my own little jar of Coconut Oil. I've been borrowing from Mumma Sparrow's cooking cupboard lately and I figured it was time I got my own. Aside from its dandruff fighting properties, and its incredible smell, you can use coconut oil to make exfoliants, face masks, hair masks, and hand moisturiser.


And that's it!

I promise my next post isn't too far away little birds!
Until next time,
Tweet tweet xx

Logies 2015: My Favourite Looks AND a re-creation!

The TV Week Logie Awards have been and gone, full of frocks, shocks, and of course, gorgeous tans and perfect make-up!

Right off the bat, have to say my unrivalled favourite look of the night was the glowing, glamorous, GOLD winner Carrie Bickmore in Paolo Sebastian.



From the gown, to her hair, to her lip colour, to her beautiful acceptance speech, this gal didn't put a foot wrong!

Beauty-wise, aside from Carrie, three other girls caught my eye and made my jaw drop. Scherri-Lee Biggs (channel 9), Rebecca Judd (channel 9) and Lucy Nettlefold (channel 7) stole the show with their looks, and I loved each of them for different reasons. 

Lucy Nettleford. WOW.

Where to begin? For starters, that gold, winged smoky eye is incredible. A slight twist on the grey/black tones I'm used to seeing on the red carpet. THE CONTOURING. The contouring on this girl! It's incredible! And that brow game! Every part of this look is ON POINT and perfect. I love that her hair was pulled back to show off that gorgeous shadow work, but curled and soft over her shoulders. 


Bec Judd

Ah, who doesn't love Bec Judd? And her MUA, Chantelle Baker, who SMASHED IT. Honestly there's not a thing I'd change about her make-up. Beautiful contouring, full brows, smoky browns to set off her gorgeous tan, and a pale pink lip to leave her coral Jaton Couture gown as the star. The only teeny tiny thing, really teeny tiny, is the hair. I loved the cut of her gown, the v-neck and the coral lace, but I feel like leaving her hair all down covered too much of it. I would've opted for a low, sleek side sweep, perhaps a bun or braid, something soft enough to compliment the sharp lines of her gown, but a little less overwhelming. 



Scherri-Lee Biggs 

OH MY GOD THIS GIRL. THIS GIRL AND HER FACE. WHAT EVEN IS THIS. HOW. HOOOOOWWW. 

Lips? Perfect. Brows? ON POINT. Contouring? UNBELIEVABLE. Lips? So on trend it's ridiculous. Lashes? Big and beautiful! Hair? Wonderful! 

I can't even deal with this, oh my GOOOOOSSSH.

SERIOUSLY ARE YOU EVEN A HUMAN?

I asked my Instagram followers what look they'd like to see, and Scherri was the pick! So today I attempted to re-create Scherri's look (by Jade Kisnorbo) in my little bathroom sitting on the floor.


Not too bad!

Scherri has a long face, whilst mine is quite round and for want of a better word, fat. Likewise Scherri has these beautiful almond-shaped eyes, whilst again, mine are quite round. The shape of the liner and the effect of the shadows was never going to be exactly the same. I also blended the bejesus out of the shadows as I was going to uni and a cafe, not a red carpet haha!

I loved the smoke and drama of Scherri's look, but I had to make this wearable for a daily outing. For that reason I also avoided false lashes, which would have really emphasised the darkness and drama of her eyes. 
The lip shade is perhaps a step down from hers, however I am LOVING Bitten by Sportsgirl right now and any chance I get to wear it, I take! 

For my hair, I knew I wouldn't have time to achieve the volume and texture of Scherri's hair, so I left my damp hair in a French braid overnight, and combed my fingers through the waves before I left. 

I also love that this look gave me a chance to use my AC On Tour palette PROPERLY. As I suspected, this palette was wonderful for helping me to capture the drama and severity of Scherri's contouring, and for a look that is so fabulous and formal, the powders worked like a charm!



Some nice contouring work happening!




To replicate the look, I used a hodge podge of different products. For my base I used my Cetaphil moisturiser, Face of Australia matte eye primer,  and Nude Airbrush primer. To re-create the smoky shadows, I used the Too Faced Natural Eyes palette, and the Chi Chi Glamorous Bases palette. The Maybelline New York Hyperglossy liner allowed me to create a fine line with great shine, and a teeny tiny wing like Scherri's. Maybelline also helped me to conceal the bags under my eyes (they're Gucci) with the Revitalise concealer, and I used the Australis 4 in 1 concealer creams to cover up redness. Today I played it simple with my Maybelline NY Dream Pure BB cream, and my Rimmel Stay Matte powder for setting. I used the Chi Chi Rose blushes, after I'd had some fun with my AC On Tour palette. I tried to re-create Scherri's big, black lashes with the Australis Mega Lash mascara, topped with the Spotsgirl Fibre lash mascara. 

I tried my best and I felt pretty glamorous today, must say! 

Stay tuned, I'll be posting more recreations of my favourite Logies looks later this week!

Until next time,
Tweet tweet xx

Shaking the Foundations

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL, PEOPLE.

I haven't had a chance (or the moolah) to get my Holy Grail foundation, my adored, my beloved Inglot YSM Creme foundation for MONTHS now. And as anyone who has ever struggled to find the perfect foundation will tell you, those months you go without,  they are the worst!

So these months wandering the wilderness of the Priceline aisles and Mecca, I've come across a few wonderful, and a few not-so wonderful, substitutes. The process of choosing these foundations, and using them, has taught me two things -

ONE: WOW. WOOOOOOOOOW. WOW THERE ARE A LOT OF FOUNDATIONS. SO MANY FOUNDATIONS. JEEZ.  and
TWO: I AM SO PALE.



















Above are swatches on my arm of my current foundations in natural light and shadow. No prizes for guessing which shade is my 'tanned' one!

From wrist to elbow, the foundations I'm currently using are Dream Pure BB Cream by Maybelline New York, Revlon Nearly Naked, Bobbi Brown Long Wear Finish, Australis Stay Put in Nude and Natural Beige.


Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream with 2% salicylic acid has been a favourite of mine for a while now, since I graduated from my old fave, Dove tinted moisturiser. This is a product I use on days off, when I'm heading to the beach, and quite often in summer. I find the finish is light enough to not feel cakey, and the colour is a good match too (I use the light shade, no surprise). I still find I need to conceal under my eyes, and redder blemishes, so this isn't the 'one stop shop' it claims to be. I'll often use a powder on top too, just for a little more coverage and a less dewy finish. With SPF 15+ and a moisturiser-like texture, this is my pick for easy days relaxing or shopping.







Revlon Nearly Naked foundation  is a liquid formula designed for light coverage and a 'natural' finish. I received a sample pack of these foundations in a copy of Girlfriend aaaaggeees ago, and when I used the little testers I found 'Shell' most closely matched my skin tone. Something must have happened between then, and me buying the product, because 'Shell' doesn't match my skin tone so well these days. Whether I chose the wrong shade (I was tossing up between 'Shell' and 'Ivoy') or the colour mix changed slightly, I'm not sure, but I do know that there's other parts of this product that I don't like.
For starters, liquid foundations on dry skin are a nightmare. Your poor skin is so desperate for moisture it'll suck up your foundation, meaning clogged pores and a not-so-flawless finish, and I find the formula to be quite sticky. I have to give it a solid five to ten minutes to set before I pop on any kind of powder. Where my skin dries out the most, around the nose, it turns patchy quite quickly, and I find I do need to re-apply.
That being said, once the foundation is set, and if I'm having a good skin day, it does sit quite nicely, and doesn't leave a dewy finish. It's similar to my Stay Put foundations in that it does indeed STAY (perhaps that's why it's so sticky?), but it's a product I rarely reach for these days, as I know it'll just leave me frustrated.

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Foundation is by far, one of the most expensive products I've ever bought myself.
One frantic afternoon before a shift at work, I bustled into Mecca and essentially cried "HELP ME!". I'd run out of my Inglot, had no BB cream, and needed to look work appropriate (i.e. NOT like a troll from a Disney film). I was so panicked and stressed about not having any decent make up, I bought the foundation, primer AND concealer to boot.
Oh my little birds, how I wish I'd waited.

There's something in this product, whether it's the formula, or my skin, or my primer, or the weather (??!?) that makes it turn CRAZY on my nose. The rest of my face remains set and flawless, but my nose, for whatever reason, turns into a blotchy trainwreck. Lately I've been using it simply because the colour match is so perfect, and that's upsetting too. For a foundation to match so well, and then to leave a part of my face patchy, it's just disappointing. I've found, however, that using my Rimmel Stay Matte powder and Australis finishing spray, that I can stop the nose-patchy business, most days. Warm Ivory is an almost identical colour match for my skin, and in winter, when there is no fake tan or mass amounts of bronzer, having a good colour match is even more important.
To the right you can see a close up of my arm swatches. Bobbi is the third stripe and even from a distance it's clear which product is sitting a little better. Above it is the Revlon foundation, but believe me, it looks a lot more yellow on my face than any other product does.




Now y'all know how I feel about my Australis Stay Put 16 Hour foundation. I have raved about this product, I didn't use anything else this summer, and I've tagged it about a million times on Instagram. I think, though, I've also mentioned the issues I have with this product, and the main one, the big one, that I can't ignore or excuse, is the colour match.

To the left is the shade 'Nude', and whilst you can see it's in the same colour wheel as the other products I've discussed, it's still significantly darker than my Bobbi or Revlon foundations. It's the lightest shade Australis currently have on the market, and lemme tell you, being too pale to wear the lightest shade of something is a real bummer. In summer I could get away with it, as the liquid/creme foundation buffed down fairly well with my Rimmel powder, but once the weather turned cold and the sun started to hide away, I was one cake faced little lady.

For events, or nights out, or functions, I'll still use this product, as the more dramatic lighting calls for a stronger foundation, but alas, I've shelved my fave until the summer comes back.

Finally we have another Australis Stay Put 16 Hour foundation,
 the first one I ever bought, in Natural Beige. Considering I often describe my skin tone as beige, you can imagine how bummed I was to discover this was NOT in fact my perfect match, outside the Priceline lighting. This is in fact my 'tan' foundation; a lot of beauty bloggers have a different foundation they use when they're wearing a fake tan, and this is mine. Simply looking at the swatches above, you can see why. It's SO DARK. It's so, so dark! I wouldn't even call it beige, I'd call it... not beige? Tan? Natural Tan? Yeah that sounds better, because that's the colour all my friends are, naturally, during summer (while I'm over here wearing my broad brim hat and reapplying invisible zinc, because I'm the pale whale). Again, I love the finish of this product, and I love that it does what it says, it STAYS PUT. Especially in summer, when sweating is a bigger factor, it's great to have a product that doesn't smudge or roll off during the day, especially during a long haul shift followed by a party (something I did quite a few times over summer 2014).

BB cream and powder
Australis Stay Put in Nude 
Bobbi Brown in Warm Ivory

I'm planning on buying a new Inglot foundation as soon as I use up my Bobbi Brown (I HATE wasting products I've spent a lot of money on, so even if it's not 100% right, I'd rather use it than waste it), and I'll be posting lots of pics to Instagram, and on here, as soon as I do. Y'all will probably hear me squealing in delight, because as Loz Curtis says, when you find your Holy Grail, there's literally nothing better.
Funny story: the last time I went to Inglot (March 2013, I KNOW RIGHT?), I walked in and asked the lovely counter girl for the YSM foundation. Then I MIND BLANKED and FORGOT what shade I was. Completely forgot, I'd been using this foundation for THREE YEARS and I FORGOT.
The lovely counter girl took one look at me (wearing my BB cream, by the way) and said "Yep, 41."
I AM A 41. THIS GIRL HAD NEVER SERVED ME BEFORE. Inglot, I don't know how you train your staff or what you do, but YOU DO IT WELL. It was insane. And also insanely wonderful, so big thanks to Inglot girl if you're reading this and remember me from two years ago (probs not, but worth a try!).

That's it for me little birds, as always, if you disagree or want to share, please feel free to comment!

Until next time,
Tweet tweet xx
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