January Favourites

NARS Deep Throat Blush
This blush came in the NARS One Night Stand Palette (see review here). Deep Throat is a peach, and not as shimmery as the other peach in the palette - Orgasm. I've been wearing this blush everyday for the past two weeks, and I love it, especially in the summer.

MAC Pink Plaid Lipstick
I've recently been loving this lipstick in summer, especially topped with a pink gloss (who thought I'd ever say that). I tend to wear this combo when I'm at work, and it's a nice combo for work or the day time. This lipstick is a matte, but the gloss makes it easier to touch up when I'm at work.

OPI Jinx Liquid Sand Nail Polish 
This liquid sand polish is absolutely lovely and screams summer to me! I recently did a review of all the Liquid Sand polishes I own (check out my review here).

MAC Studio Fix Fluid NC20 
A repurchase of a favourite foundation in a shade down. This foundation has featured in my favourites a few times, and will always be a repurchase.

Essence Liquid Ink Waterproof Eyeliner 
I can't believe I haven't mentioned this eyeliner before, but I absolutely adore it! It's super black, super waterproof, and stays on until you take it off.

Juicy Couture Peace, Love & Juicy Couture Perfume 
I absolutely adore this perfume. It's such a spring scent, super floral. This is my top 3 favourite perfume, but the one I've been reaching for the most this past month.

VO5 Give Me Texture Dry Texturising Spray 
I recently cut my hair pretty short (for me, anyway), and texture is a must. I love this spray to add some texture, and it is so easy to use. This was pretty cheap as well, so if you're looking for a texturising spray, I recommend picking this one up!

The Good News Project 
A new channel that has popped up on Youtube dedicated to delivering good news. Check out Steph here.

And those are my favourites for January! I cannot believe we're already one month down into 2014 - I hope everyone is having a great 2014 so far!
Thanks for reading x

MAC Guilty Passions Brilliantly Cool Crushed Metallic Pigments - review and swatches

For Christmas, my friend gifted me this set of pigments from the Estee Lauder corporate store. This was from a collection in late 2012, and while not readily available anymore, I thought I'd do a quick swatch post on it anyway as this is my first experience with pigments.

(L to R: She's Got Class, Spruced, Moss Garden, I've Got A Crush On You)

She's Got Class is a silver white metallic. It is the sheerest out of the lot when swatched dry.

Moss Garden is my favourite shade out of the four. It is a green with some teal in it. I love applying a bit of this to the bottom lash line to add a pop of colour. 

Spruced is a pale green, that has a grey tinge. I don't have a shade like this in my collection, so it is quite unique in my eyes.

I've Got A Crush On You is a green-brown duo chrome. I have pressed shadows similar to this, but it is quite a lovely shade and I cannot wait to experiment with this. 

These pigments are beautiful, and I am happy to add them to my collection (I was like a child opening a present from Santa when I got these!). Pigments aren't the easiest to work with because they are loose, but you can use them wet or dry and it is quite fun to play around with them! If you like experimenting with makeup, I definitely recommend a set like this (they tend to come out around holiday time). And that is my quick post on these pigments! I definitely have to make a trip to MAC soon to pick up some more pigments! 

NARS x Guy Bourdin One Night Stand Blush Palette - review and swatches

When I first saw this blush palette pop up allover the beauty community, it was love at first sight - I needed to have it. This is my review of the NARS x Guy Bourdin One Night Stand Blush Palette.  The palette features one highlight shade, four blushes and one bronzer.

Devotee is a highlighting blush. In the pan it looks like a beige, off-white shade. It is a quite shimmery shade, and when blended out you can hardly tell you are wearing a highlight until the sunlight hits your face. This is a lovely highlight shade and a great inclusion in the palette. 

Mistinguette is a matte, bright pink. This is one shade I was quite intimidated with, as only recently have I been getting into blushes. But I love how this looks on the skin, and because it is a matte it isn't too scary to wear for those like me. 

Orgasm is a peachy pink with golden shimmer. This is a cult favourite blush, and looks flattering on my skin tone. Definitely one for the spring and summer. 

Laguna is a brown with golden shimmer. To see my review of this product, click here.

Deep Throat is a peach. It is quite similar to Orgasm, but lacking in the amount of shimmer that Orgasm has. Another blush that would suit in the spring and summer and is not too heavy on the shimmer. 

Goulue is a raspberry pink with a slight shimmer. I absolutely love this blush, and think it will be perfect in the autumn and winter. 

These blushes are pigmented, but also quite buildable - a little goes a long way! They last well on the skin, and if you are after a high end blush, I'd recommend checking out NARS. I'm happy to add this to my collection, and it is perfect for travel. 

That's my review of the NARS One Night Stand Blush Palette. If you can still get your hands on it, I recommend it! 

OPI Liquid Sand - review and swatches

Today I have a review of the OPI Liquid Sand nail polish. A while ago I bought a set of four mini Liquid Sand polishes from the Mariah Carey collection. I was really only sold on one from the set (Get Your Number). Last week I purchased a few more Liquid Sand polishes, so I thought I'd do a review on each polish I own in my collection.

Liquid Sand is described as a textured matte finish nail polish. Because of this, a top coat is not recommended, but I find a little top coat doesn't change the appearance all too much. This is personal preference though, and up to you if you want to use a top coat or not!

I have found that the bottles tend to dry out quicker than traditional nail polishes - especially the mini bottles. 

For the purpose of this review, the swatches below are of 2 coats of polish without a top coat.

(Swatches with no flash; L to R: Honey Ryder, Jinx, Get Your Number, Can't Let Go, Stay The Night, Kiss Me At Midnight, It's Frosty Outside, The Impossible) 

(Swatches with flash)

Honey Ryder is a gold. The texture of this polish is like sand, but unlike the majority of Liquid Sand polishes, this has no chunky glitter throughout. It is more finely milled than those with junky glitters, but definitely has the texture of sand. 

Jinx is one of the newer polishes to my collection. I absolutely adore this colour, it screams summer. It is a coral red/orange, and like Honey Ryder, is more finely milled with no glitter chunks. This one has gold shimmer. This is the one I'd recommend if you wanted to try out Liquid Sand - one of my favourite polishes at the moment. 

Get Your Number is another one of my favourites. The consistency of this polish is more jelly like, and I find that you need at least three coats for full opacity. It is full of holographic glitters, and looks stunning in sunlight!

Can't Let Go is a dark purple. This one is full of glitters and some bigger sized glitters - much more different in appearance to Honey Ryder and Jinx, which feature no glitter. 

Stay The Night is a black base with red glitters. This isn't as chunky as some of the other polishes, but definitely a lovely polish and looks more matte than the other polishes.  

Kiss Me At Midnight is a really pretty shade and reminds me a lot of OPI Last Friday Night, just in Liquid Sand form (see dupe post of Last Friday Night here). This one has silver glitter throughout it.

It's Frosty Outside is a silver. It has silver glitter throughout, but because it is the same colour, the glitter is not as noticeable as some of the other shades. 

The Impossible is a reddish pink with holographic micro glitters and bigger glitters. This isn't a favourite polish of mine, as I'm not the biggest pink fan, but it is a lovely shade. 

I really do like the OPI Liquid Sand nail polishes. I adore glittery nail polishes, so these were going to be a like for me from the beginning. If you love glitter polishes, I'd recommend picking up one colour and giving it a go - or purchase a set of the minis to test out (just be careful, these will dry out quickly). Even if you aren't much of a glitter fan but love doing accent nails, one of these polishes would really amp up an accent nail. These types of polishes are described as a matte, but the presence of glitter or shimmer doesn't make it super matte. Stay The Night looks the most matte out of the ones in my collection. These polishes last well on the nails, and like most glitters, unfortunately are not the easiest to get off. But a little acetone and rubbing and they get off relatively easily. 

(Here's the mani I was recently wearing, Jinx and Honey Ryder)

And that's my review of the OPI Liquid Sand polishes. Thanks for reading, and if you have any other suggestions of posts you'd like to see - let me know below! X

22 Things Before 22

I got this idea from Alice and I think it's an awesome idea! Basically, you write up a list of things you want to do before your next birthday - I'm turning 22 on the 31st of July, so I've got 22 things. Some of these are things I want to purchase, some are things I need to do, some are things I want to do. Here we go!

1. Clear out my nail polish draws 
Nail polish is where my love for beauty began. I have four draws filled with nail polish, and it hardly fits! Some colours I don't like, some are probably past their use by date. I need to minimise my nail polish stash.

2. Pay off credit cards 

I'm horrible, I need to get this done ASAP.

3. Save up $2000

This shouldn't be too hard. I want to go back to England in July 2015, so if I'm able to save this by my birthday next year that should cover my flight there and back. I'm hoping to bring my grandmother back with me, so I need to do this. 

4. Reach 120 posts on this blog
I know I can do this, I just need to be consistent and motivated! After this post, 48 to go!

5. Have a huge clean out in my room 
I am a hoarder - I will admit it. I have so much stuff in my room, and some of it really just needs to go. I have a huge cupboard, which is where most of my hoarding is stored.

6. Plan a holiday 
My friend and I want to go to Hawaii this year, so hopefully by my 22nd birthday I will have planned it.

7. Lose 5 kilos 
This is on my to do list for 2014, but I'd like to do it before my birthday in July.

8. Get a new job 
I've had my current job for 3 years, and I'm only a casual. I'm almost done with uni (this year I'll only be doing 2 units for the first semester, and not attending second semester) which means I will have time to work instead of study.

9. Fill my MAC palette 
I currently have 10 shadows in my palette, so only 5 to go!

10. Cut a front fringe 
Once summer is over, I will do this! It's been a while since I've had much of a fringe, so I'm excited for this!

11. Get my full license 
On the 1st of March I can go for my full license, so I have enough time before my birthday to get it!

12. Clean out jewellery
Over the years, I've collected a lot of jewellery. I have nine piercings in my ears, so I have a lot of earrings - but I hardly use them! One thing I want to tackle before my 22nd birthday is the amount of jewellery bits and bobs that I hoard.

13. Get outside of Sydney 
Go on a long drive somewhere, even for a day - just get out of Sydney!

14. Purchase a Chanel makeup product 
Who doesn't want Chanel makeup? I'm thinking probably foundation or eyeshadow - but I will definitely do this before my birthday!

15. Read five new books
I love reading, but haven't had any time to read for what feels like years (and probably is). Before my 22nd birthday, I want to read five new books.

16. Wear more vibrant lipsticks 
Lipstick isn't something I wear everyday - but it should be! This I'll probably document on my instagram - @_crystalised

17. Get a tan
This is my summer challenge for myself - I can do it!

18. Watch five new TV shows
I love finding a show that I enjoy watching, so before my 22nd birthday I want to get through five television shows.

19. Do the Project Ten (or maybe five) Pan
I think I'll start with five products (I don't know if I'll be able to make it to ten before buying a new product). This one I will document on my blog.

20. Purchase the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette 
I'm an Urban Decay junkie - I'll admit it! Need to get my hands on this palette sometime soon.

21. Change my degree/figure out what's next 
I only have 2 units left of my degree, and I'm considering doing a double degree - I need to figure this all out pretty soon.

22. Buy a new set of Sigma brushes 
I love Sigma brushes, and I want to purchase a new set of them - maybe the blending brush set.

And those are the 22 things I want to accomplish before I turn 22! I'll probably update this monthly or so, I have a good six months to get this done!

Thanks for reading guys, and feel free to join in on this too! 

Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara - review

While cleaning out the folder I store the photos for this blog on, I came across photos I had taken for an intended review of the Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara - but had never posted! It has been a couple of months since I purchased the mascara, so I think I have had enough time to thoroughly test out the product for a review.

This mascara receives a lot of praise in the beauty community, and a couple of months ago I was in a cosmetics store in a shopping centre about 15 minutes from where I live, and saw the mascara for $7.95. Of course I had to pick it up!

This mascara is advertised as a volumising mascara, and while it does give some volume, I adore it because it is great at lengthening. 

This photo is with flash, and I hope really shows the effect mascara can have. On the left, I have the mascara on the top and bottom lashes, and on the right I have no mascara. Instantly, my eyes are more open and wide.

To begin with, I have very short lashes - so I love this mascara because it lengthens. There is a bit of volume, but I love it so much because it lengthens. 

The brush isn't anything spectacular, just a lot of short bristles (not rubber bristles).  

My thoughts on the Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara 

Overall, I love this mascara! If you have short lashes, this really lengthens, and if you have long lashes - I'm sure your lashes will look amazing with one coat of this! It's relatively cheap (even in Australia), and is a great mascara. I don't find it the most volumising mascara, so if that's what you are looking for, maybe give this one a miss. But for length, I love it, and this is definitely a mascara I would repurchase. Thanks for reading, and if you have any other mascara suggestions (one that will make it look as though I have the longest lashes ever) please let me know!