Lime Crime Velvetines (Pink Velvet and Wicked) - review and swatches

Matte lips are my absolute favourite kind of lip. I picked these two up at IMATS in September (see haul post here), and it has been absolute love since (and now I'm wishing I picked up every shade available). 

Wicked is a deep burgundy-red, and Pink Velvet is a hot pink. These liquid lipsticks are the most pigmented, matte, long wearing products I've ever used on my lips. I will apply it in the morning, on my way to work, and won't need to touch it up until after lunch. Once the Velvetines set, they really aren't going anywhere.

(L to R: Pink Velvet, Wicked)

If you love matte lips, I'd recommend picking up a shade that appeals to you and try it out. The colours in the Velvetine collection can be daring shades, but if there is a shade you're interested in, pick it up and try it out.

Thanks for reading x 

Current Favourites

Favourite posts are my absolute favourite (haha) posts to write, but I haven't posted one since July! I thought I would combine a favourites post for the last couple of months.

Ben Nye Neutral Set Colourless Powder
I picked this powder up from IMATS in September. I love to use this powder under my eyes to set concealer. It is a colourless powder, light-weight, and great for setting! Absolutely recommend this powder and it's not too expensive as well! The only issue is that it is loose powder, but I've been okay working around that!

Lime Crime Velvetine in Wicked
Oh my god. Where has this thing been in my life?!?!?! Although it's going into Summer, I will be rocking this lip shade in Winter next year. It's an absolutely gorgeous shade, lasts for hours without touching up. I want to buy every single Velvetine now! I wish every lip colour could come in a Velvetine option. Definitely recommend checking these out for anyone who finds a shade that they like!

Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation in Peach Ivory
I picked up this foundation about a month ago, and I absolutely adore it! It has been on my wish list for quite a while, and I'm super glad that I bit the bullet and bought it. Just a side note - I actually wore this foundation to my graduation last month. I find this foundation is great for dry skin and recommend it for anyone with dry skin!

muk spa Argon Oil Treatment 
I've had this oil for about two months, and my hair routine feels incomplete without it. I feel it adds moisture back to my very bleached hair, and keeps it very conditioned.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow in 30
I absolutely adore this brow product! I will have a review up of this once I have thoroughly tested it, but so far, it is absolutely love!

Marc Jacobs Dot EDP
This perfume is such a summery scent, but I've been breaking out early. It smells just like watermelon and is such a pleasing scent.

And those are the products I've been loving the last few months! I apologise for my absence the last couple of months, but hopefully things will be back up and running soon!

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MAC Costa Chic - review and swatches

I've been meaning to do a review of this lipstick for a very long time. Needless to say, better late than never! This lipstick was an impulse buy - I'd never seen it online, looked up swatches, anything. When a friend and I were in MAC quite a few months ago now, we swatched it on our hands and it looked gorgeous - the only downside was it was a frost finish (not something I look for in lipsticks). Needless to say, it hardly looked like a frost, so we both grabbed one.

I think this lipstick is a great summer lipstick. Although it is a frost finish, it hardly appears so on the lips. The only downside is because it is a frost finish, it's lasting power isn't that great. But it's a great coral pink and I don't really have anything similar in my collection, so it's a win win for me! 

IMATS 2014 Haul

Last Saturday, myself and two friends went to IMATS Sydney (a little too early in the morning, if you ask me). With the thought of not spending too much money, I purchased items I can't necessarily find on the shelves in Australia. In this post, I wish to show you the items I purchased and received. In the coming weeks, I will have reviews of individual products as well. On to the haul!

(I absolutely adore the Lime Crime bag, fyi)

I was really excited to take a look at the Ben Nye products. I ended up picking up the Neutral Set Colorless Powder, which I believe worked out to be $15.

I also had a look at the Lipstick Republic booth and the SauceBox Creme de la Creme Palette that I have been eyeing out for a while was available so I decided to pick it up - this one was $35. 

An item I have been dying to try out for a while is the Make Up For Ever Aqua Brow, which I got in the shade 30. I have used it a few times and so far I love it - but I will have a review up of it shortly. From Make Up Store, I picked up two Eyedusts (for only $13.50 each!) - in Umber and Extravagance. They are pigments from what I have gathered, and the shades are gorgeous. A review of these two will also be coming up!

The Lime Crime booth was very exciting! I picked up two Velvetines - Pink Velvet and Wicked.

I've tried out both colours the past week and absolutely love them - I'll probably end up buying all the Velvetines. 

I also picked up a few tools - a Precision Duo Foundation brush, a spatula, and a metal pan. I also picked up empty stackable containers, which I thought would be good to put some pigments in and include in my kit. 

I also picked up a Royal and Langnickel Black Patent 26-Compartment Brush Belt - and it was only $10! This will definitely make doing makeup on other people easier with the brushes all in one place around my waste with this brush belt. Super excited to use this!

And lastly, Karissa Pukas crashed IMATS and was handing out $3000 worth of lashes from her brand, Socialeyes Lashes! I got the Alluring and Minx lashes - and am super excited to try them out! 

Now that I know what to expect, I think next year I will seriously be stocking up on brushes for my kit! IMATS was such a fun experience, and there were so many great brands available that aren't readily available in Australia. Were you at IMATS Sydney or attended any IMATS over the world this year? What did you pick up?

Thanks for reading, 

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Clarins Eye Quartet Mineral Palette in 09 Odyssey - review and swatches

My beautiful best friend gifted this to me for my birthday back in July. I have had time to play with it since then, and am ready to write a review! So, get ready blog readers - this may be the prettiest palette I own!

I absolutely adore the packaging of this palette. All the Clarins products I do own have super adorable packaging, and in my opinion are the best brand to splurge on!

The palette consists of four shadows and two smaller brushes. The shadows are mineral based and can be used wet or dry. There is a medium brown with shimmer, a darker brown with shimmer, and a beige-gold with shimmer. But the star of this palette is the indescribable gold shadow.  It looks like it is loose leaf gold, very strange consistency - but surprisingly enough has minimal fall out. 

Because all shadows are shimmery, this palette is not ideal in creating a look by itself. But paired with something like the Urban Decay Naked Basics, you could create many looks! The pigmentation of these shadows is amazing (especially the gold!) and the shadows are super smooth. With a primer, these shadows last incredibly. Once summer hits, I can imagine myself getting a lot of use out of these shadows. The lighter brown and the beige are great shadows for work, as well! The palette also consists of a mirror, which makes it great for travel and is always an added bonus!

These Clarins eyeshadow palettes never disappoint. Hope you guys enjoyed this review, and look out for many more - I'm trying my hardest to bring more posts to you guys!

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MAC Dodgy Girl - review and swatches

The one thing I can never have enough of is lipstick. From the recent MAC Kelly Osbourne collection, a lovely friend of mine gifted this beautiful lipstick to me. This lipstick is described as a "light lavender" and has a matte finish.

Although described as a matte finish, I find this more of a satin-matte. It is a matte lipstick, but not nearly as drying as other matte lipsticks I own. 

(MAC Dodgy Girl)

(L to R: MAC Dodgy Girl, Lime Crime Airborne Unicorn)

Although this is a bit more out there for some people, I love wearing this lipstick. Because it is matte but not nearly as drying as some matte lipsticks, I find it can wear well throughout half the day without needing a touch up. It does lean a bit more pink when compared to other purple lipsticks (like Airborne Unicorn), but I adore this lipstick! It is quite similar to Airborne Unicorn, but next to each other you can see the difference.

If light purple lipsticks interest you (or any purple, really), I'd recommend checking this one out if it is still available. 

Thanks for reading, and I promise it won't be such a long wait until my next post!

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MAC Face and Body Foundation - review and swatches

I have, rather quickly, fallen in love with this foundation. I purchased it a few months ago, and have reached for it quite a lot. This is my review of the MAC Face and Body Foundation, and I am using the shade C2. This foundation costs $60 for a massive 120 mL bottle - or $49 for the 50 mL bottle. I believe the 120 mL is only available at Pro stores, or online from maccosmetics.com.au

MAC describes this foundation as a 'water-based, water-resistant foundation that provided long-lasting, natural coverage for face and/or body. Ideal for all skin types. Face and Body Foundation provides sheer, natural looking coverage in an easy to blend, water-resistant formula. The long-lasting formula is available in a wide range of colours and contains several emollients to help moisturise and condition the skin. It delivers professional looking results that meet the exacting standards of beauty photography and is ideal for perfecting the face and body'. This foundation is super liquidy, and super light. 

For the purpose of this review, I am going to do a before (no makeup), middle (just the foundation), and after (everything else done). 

This is my bare skin: 

I'm quite pale - I have quite a few freckles, some pimples, but my main concern is redness and the fact that my face is pink while the rest of my body leans yellow. I'm not too fond of heavy coverage foundations anymore - anything I really need to cover I can use concealer, and with dry skin, I find less is really more. I mainly use foundation to correct the colour of my face and to even things out in terms of redness. Working a 9-5 job, longevity is also really important. 

As you can hopefully see, the foundation is quite liquidy, and quite yellow-toned - which I love! 

Here I am with just the foundation on. It hasn't covered my freckles, but it has evened out my skin tone and there is no redness. Light coverage, and it looks dewy. 

Now I have added under eye concealer, eye makeup, concealer for any blemishes, a bit of bronzer and a bit of powder to lightly set the foundation (and of course - brows!) 

Conclusion

This foundation is light coverage. It is great at evening out my skin tone, and is water resistant which will make it a good foundation for summer. It does what I would want an everyday foundation to do, and if I need anything more, that is where concealer comes in. The price is relatively good too, when you think about how much you pay and how much you get. A standard foundation is 30mL, where although this foundation costs $60, it comes with 120mL - four times that of a standard foundation.

And here is a photo with the flash - I think this foundation photographs beautifully! 

I haven't tried this foundation on my body - because the thought of foundation on my body scares me! But I understand the concept, and if I needed to cover anything on my body, I would try this. 

And that is my review of the MAC Face and Body Foundation. It took a while, but I am so glad I got around to trying out this foundation because I absolutely adore it! If anyone is interested in picking up this foundation, I would say bite the bullet and do it! I don't think you will regret it at all! 

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July Favourites

July is my favourite month of the year (yes, my birthday month). Working full time, I need products that just work and are fuss free, and unfortunately, nothing changes much in my makeup routine anymore. However, I do change a few things up, and have found a few new favourites this month.

First, the Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil. I love to use this product at night, lather it allover my face to moisturise. This product hasn't broken me out either, which is a big win!

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW20 is my go-to under eye concealer. This one is basically used up, but never fear, I repurchased another one yesterday. This concealer does not budge, and for glasses wearing girls like me, is not budged around by glasses (the struggle I have with under eye concealers).

The Lady Gaga Fame Perfume has been my go-to scent this winter. It is sweet, but not overpowering, and an absolutely beautiful scent. 

Maybelline The Falsies Big Eyes Mascara is a new find from this month. It is a double-ended mascara, one brush for top lashes and one for bottom lashes. I actually love using the brush for bottom lashes on both my top and bottom lashes. I don't think Maybelline mascaras ever disappoint. 

And finally, my new lipstick favourite - Chi Chi Viva La Diva in Lady Bump. I absolutely adore this lipstick. It is matte, but not in a drying way at all. Quite moisturising, a daring colour, and an absolute favourite for the winter season. 

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MAC Pure Heroine - review and swatches

I love purple lips! I really do. And when I got a text one morning from MAC telling me they had an online exclusive where you could pick this up only for a day, I couldn't say no. Pure Heroine is from the Lorde collection, is an amplified finish, and is described by MAC as a "deep, rich shade of plum".

It's very hard to do justice to this lipstick in photos, but I will try!

This lipstick is definitely one of the more deeper shades of purple I have, and would work well with an ombre lip. Amplified (and glossy) finish lipsticks are not one of my most loved types of finishes for lipsticks, but I still like this lipstick. It's nothing like I have purchased before, and makes a great addition to my collection.

In Australia, this lipstick retails for $36 - the standard price of MAC lipsticks in Australia. It's still available on the MAC website (not too sure about in stores), so if you're interested, I suggest checking out the website. 

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Shop My Stash #5

I'm behind by a week on this one, but better late than never, right? These following 5 products will be on my to-use list for the next two weeks.

Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Tousling Spray Gel
This is a hair product I have that has just been sitting around. Time to pull it out and try use it up!

Revlon ColorStay Mineral Finishing Powder in 010 Brighten 
I picked up this product almost two years ago, and have hardly used it. It does say it is a finishing powder, but this is definitely a highlighter - much like the MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes. I've really been loving highlighting recently, so I'm sure I can use this product no problem!

Clinique Blushing Blush Powder in Bashful Plum 
My blush mission seems never ending. The one blush I can use over and over again is Benefit Coralista. This shade seems like it would be a good one for winter, so I'm going to try it out (and hopefully fall in love).

Almay intense i-color in 031 Trio for Browns 
A friend of mine (view her beauty blog here) gave this to me as a gift and the first shade in the trio I can't stop staring at. It has slowly become harder to go all out with eyeshadow when I'm at work, but I'll try my hardest to reach for this one over the coming weeks.

Elf Eyelid Primer in Sheer 
This eyelid primer is almost used up, so hopefully I can add this to the Empties bag soon. This is a relatively cheap primer, and it does the job well.

Thanks for reading,
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Current Favourites

I thought I would combine Favourites for this month, considering I haven't done a Favourites since March. These are products I've been loving over the last three months that have really been stand out products.

Since taking off my acrylics, I've been using the Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails Strengthener to strengthen my very weak nails. I've been using this for about a month or so, and I'm very happy with the results - my nails have been growing! Slowly, my nails are recovering from acrylics, although I'll probably end up putting them back on really soon.

I picked up the Rimmel Kate Salon Pro Nail Polish in 706 Classical Red a couple months ago when I was looking for a darker red for the winter months to wear to work. I absolutely adore this shade, and it's what I've been wearing every three weeks or so (I'm actually wearing it on my toes and finger nails right now!). I definitely recommend this one for winter, and these polishes are opaque in two coats (and are relatively cheap!)

The MAC Sculpting Powder in Sculpt is a great sculpting powder for lighter skin girls like me! I've done a review on it here, so check it out for more detail. 

I've been using the MAC Cleanse Off Oil/Tranquil at night to remove any remaining make up after cleansing. This oil hasn't broken me out, and this is my second time purchasing this product. The travel size is $15 (which is what I have) and has lasted me for a while, so if you're interested in trying out this product, I'd recommend grabbing the travel size first. 

My go to base product is the Garnier BB Cream for Combination to Oily Skin in Light. I've mentioned this product before, and although I have drier skin, I find this one works amazing on my skin and the coverage is great! I wear this as my base 80% of the time - it's reliable, it works, and I love the coverage for work days. 

Since using up the L'Oreal Lumi Magique Primer, I've been applying the MAC Strobe Cream after moisturising for added luminosity. I love this cream, and I'm probably going to always repurchase this cream. Definitely recommend it for those wanting dewy and luminous skin, or those with dry skin.

Since bleaching my hair lighter and lighter, I've been using the muk intense muk Repair Treatment  at least once a week, and I love the way my hair feels after using it. The blonde process hasn't been too kind on my hair, but I've been trying my hardest to use moisturising products in my hair to assist in repair.

I picked up the People for Plants Hydration Gel up about a month or so ago, and I use it every night before moisturising. I've found my skin hasn't been extremely dry like it has been in the past, and this gel has definitely assisted in that.

The NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams have been a hit with me over the last few months, and here I have pictured Abu Dhabi. It is a darker nude, but I find it a perfect shade in winter, even though I am light skin toned. Since starting work full time, nude shades have been my best friend, and I love rocking this one. To see my review of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams, click here.

I've really been enjoying layering the bareMinerals Lash Domination Mascara and the Maybelline Colossal Volum Cat Eyes Mascara. The Maybelline separates my lashes, and the bareMinerals adds a lot of volume. A combination I've been enjoying a lot recently.

My absolute favourite and signature scent - Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb. This has been my favourite perfume since I was sixteen, and I will always repurchase it. Back in April I bought a mini set of Marc Jacob perfumes and Marc Jacobs Dot was an instant hit. I love this scent. It is more of a summery scent, but when you get the chance, I recommend giving it a try - at least spray it and see what it's like! 

The two palettes I've been using recently are the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette and the MAC Spoiled Rich Eyeshadow Quad. I think the Naked Basics is my favourite palette ever, and it's a great every day palette. See a more detailed review here. The MAC Spoiled Rich Quad was limited edition from last year, but if I wear any colourful eyeshadow, it tends to come from this quad. Next to Urban Decay, MAC makes my favourite eyeshadows. To see my review of the MAC Spoiled Rich Quad, click here.

And now for a totally random favourite (and possibly the best) - my new 2013 Mazda 3! 

This is my baby Mazzy, and I absolutely adore this car. I bought her in April, and we've been inseparable ever since. Work is an hour drive from where I live, so I thought a new car was a good investment - my old car was on its last legs. I had been eyeing of the Mazda 3 for months, and although it is a much bigger car compared to my Getz, Getzy (and where I work, small cars are much easier to park), I just couldn't think of any car I wanted as much as this one. I'm so glad with my new car.

And those are my favourites from the past couple of months!
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