Hiatus

It is with a heavy heart I have to put this blog on a hiatus. Hopefully it won't be for longer than a month.

I hope you all are well

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theBalm the Manizer Sisters Luminizing Collection - review and swatches

I picked this trio up from Sephora Online a couple of weeks ago, and you can see my review and experiences here. Mary-Lou Manizer has been a favourite highlight of mine for years, and I've always been intrigued to try the other two that theBalm offers. I was super excited when I saw this on Sephora Online, and I paid $43AUD for it. It is now sold out unfortunately, but during my research online, I have found it is now stocked in David Jones for $39.95, and can be purchased here. It should also be available in store, and there is a nice feature that lets you check if it is available in your local store.

Mary-Lou Manizer is described as a golden beige highlight. This works well on light skin tones, and is an intense highlight. I absolutely adore this highlight. I also love using this as an inner corner highlight because it is very intense. Cindy-Lou Manizer is a pinky highlight. This shade is definitely too dark for me as a highlight, but works well as a blush. Because it is a highlight, it is shimmery, so a light hand works best with this when using as a blush. It is also a great blush topper for matte blushes. Betty-Lou Manizer is a bronze highlight. On deeper skin tones, this would be absolutely gorgeous as a highlight, but I can use this to bronze up the skin lightly, or as an eyeshadow.

(Mary-Lou Manizer, Cindy-Lou Manizer, Betty-Lou Manizer)

I do own the full size Mary-Lou Manizer, and it comes with 8.5g of product. Each pan of these "Manizer's" come with 3g of product, which is still a good size for a highlighter. The palette also comes with a mirror, which is a nice touch. Because of the size of the palette, it isn't a big mirror, but it works okay for on the go touch ups. The palette is small in size and made of sturdy cardboard, and features a magnetic closure. This means it is great for travel. I'm happy with this purchase and would recommend it for any highlighter lovers out there. If you haven't tried any of theBalm face products before, this would be a great product to start out with. 

Thanks for reading,

X

Hourglass Modernist Eyeshadow Palette in Exposure - review and swatches

My beautiful best friends gifted me with two of the Hourglass Modernist Palettes for my birthday - Exposure and Graphite. Up for review today is Exposure. Exposure is the purple toned palette of the bunch. It features five shades which can be used in combination to create a purple eye look. Three out of the five shades are purple in tone. This palette can be purchased from Mecca Cosmetica, Maxima and Mecca Online for $85. Hourglass describes this palette as the "plums" of the bunch.

(Just a comparison with the size - top is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush palette, bottom is the Eyeshadow Palette in Exposure).

Hourglass describes these palettes as "an artist-inspired eyeshadow palette with seamless colour transitions offering effortless blending in a single pan. The innovative multi-press, three-dimensional design, combined with a fine, creamy consistency, introduces a new level of control for blending and picking up pigment. Available in 7 curated colour palettes".

The only issue I really have with these palettes (and all Modernist Eyeshadow Palettes) is that there are no shade names. Of course, when you look at these palettes and how the shades are set up and intertwined, they are absolutely gorgeous. I just like to have a name for the shadow. 

Exposure #1 is a shimmery beige, and described as a champagne. This shadow swatches beautifully and can be used as an allover lid shade or as an inner corner highlight or brow bone highlight. 

Exposure #2 is an aubergine. This shadow has a matte finish. I tend to find shadows with a matte finish are usually harder to blend, but this shadow blends absolutely beautifully. 

Exposure #3 is a metallic bronze gold. Such a nice inclusion in this palette and allows the wearer to mix things up. This is the star shade in this palette for me (I'm a diehard for bronze golds), and it is very pigmented. 

Exposure #4 is a blackened plum. This shadow has a pearl sheen. 

Exposure #5 is a more cool-toned dusty mauve. This has a shimmery finish.  

Hourglass states the following for each of the Modernist Eyeshadow Palettes:

- Complementary colours for base, crease, and eyeliner allow for endless customised looks with one palette

- Artist-inspired palettes feature a range of finishes, from matte to metallic, for countless combinators, from subtle to dramatic

- Unique sculptural design provides superior control for picking up and blending pigment

- Each shade and finish is specifically calibrated to work with the other formulas within the palette

- The finely-milled, creamy formula - the first of its kind - is exceptionally soft, long wearing and crease-resistant 

- Shimmer shades may be applied wet for more dramatic colour

This is definitely a luxury eyeshadow palette. For makeup loving friends that you may have, this is a great gift, or if you want to buy yourself a present. It is a pricey palette, and you can get a lot more shadows in other brands for much cheaper, but looking at this palette in my makeup collection makes me extremely happy. I like the combination of the five shadows in this palette, and in Graphite as well. Next time you're in Mecca (or wherever you may be able to purchase Hourglass) take a look at the palettes and swatch them. I don't think you'll be disappointed. 

Thanks for reading,

X

MAC Magic of the Night Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Oh, Darling! - review and swatches

I checked my emails 12 minutes after I was sent an email from MAC saying the Magic of the Night Christmas Collection was available, and the shade  "Oh, Darling!" was already sold out. I was devastated. The Monday following when this product was released, my mother picked up the last one they had in store - props to you, Mum! This product retails for $51AUD, and if you're lucky enough to find it still in store, I would recommend picking it up!

Photos really do not do this highlighter justice. This first day I wore this, after a full day of work (12 hours of wear on my face) my Mum said my skin looked amazing. The shade is definitely on the gold side, but I find it works well on my light complexion. I have worn this to work almost every day since picking it up. This product lasts all day on the face - I apply it at 7am in the morning, and it is still on my cheekbones when I come home at 7pm. I do use a setting mist from the Body Shop, but it isn't a heavy duty one at all. I believe even without a setting mist, this product would last all day.

It is incredibly difficult to capture the amazingness of this product, but I am glad I picked it up. I don't generally fall into the hype with limited edition MAC collections (except when pigments are involved), but this was an exception.

Thanks for reading,

X

IMATS Sydney 2015 Haul

IMATS is like Christmas for makeup lovers - brushes and make up galore! I attended IMATS over the weekend of the 14th and 15th of November in Sydney, and here's a haul of all the goodies I picked up. If you are interested, click here for my haul of IMATS last year.

I did repurchase a few goodies from last year - the Ben Nye Neutral Set (they were $12 each, so I picked up two), a duo fibre brush from Designer Makeup Tools (the number on the brush is DMT 112S - 20 Precision Duo Foundation), a mixing palette from Designer Makeup Tools, some empty jars for concealer or pigments, and even a product I purchased two of last year that I haven't used yet - but the shade was really pretty!

First up, the most expensive thing that was purchased - the Morphe 35O Palette. Such gorgeous colours, and I'm super excited to try this palette out! Will eventually post a review of this palette, but the shimmery shades are absolutely gorgeous! Look at the last shade in the bottom row - absolutely gorgeous! This palette was $35. 

I picked up three brushes which were only $2 each, so no real loss if they are bad performers. I also picked up two Royal & Langnickel brushes - and they were half price each! The Silk Sharp Line BC498 was only $4, and the Silk Large Smudger BC445 was only $5. The Small Duo Fibre brush was just under $10. 

Girlee Cosmetics - the Brush Egg! This is a travel sized brush cleansing tool. I do have the Sigma Spa Mat which I love, but this is more travel friendly. It was 2 for $10, which isn't a bad price to pay, especially if the product works. Will keep you guys updated!

I also picked up a few MODELROCK lashes - the ones with a red/orange dot were only $2, and the other two pairs were $3.95 each - not bad at all for lashes! I've not tried MODELROCK lashes as yet, so I am very interested to give these a go!

On to the product that I purchased last year that I haven't used. This time, I purchased the Make Up Store Eyedust in Fame. Fame is a light champagne, and swatches beautifully. Unfortunately the lid on this breaks off every time I open it, but I'm really excited to try this one out. This was $13.20. I was super excited for Dose of Colours, but after watching three shades that interested me, I decided two I had close dupes for, so I went with Sand. This is the second most expensive thing I purchased, and it was $28. I picked up two of my beloved Ben Nye Neutral Set Colourless Powder, and these were $12 each. 

(Make Up Store Eyedust in Fame)

And that concludes my IMATS haul from this year! IMATS is such a fun experience, and it's great to be able to purchase from brands such as Morphe or Dose of Colour which aren't readily available on shelves in Australia. 

Thanks for reading,

X

Sephora Australia Online Haul & My Experience

This week, Sephora finally launched their online store in Australia. I placed an order on Monday during the day, when the store launched and by Friday lunchtime it had come (to my work place near Sydney CBD). The website recommends 2-10 working days for the order to arrive, and is shipped from Singapore. When spending over $55, there is free shipping, and I did have a 10% off voucher to use. I ended up spending $78 and purchased two products I was struggling to find online in Australia - the BECCA Cosmetics Opal Glow on the Go set, and theBalm the Manizer Sisters set. I restrained myself from purchasing anything else as IMATS is next weekend.

The parcel was packed nicely with lots of bubblewrap to protect the products inside. I have no complaints as to how the package was packed.

Although Sydney now has two Sephora stores, I have not been to them. One is in the City, and I avoid going to the City, and one is at Macquarie Centre. When I used to attend university at Macquarie Uni, it would've been great, but I have not been to the centre in a long time, since finishing up university last year.

Overall, my first experience with Sephora Online was good. I was expecting the package to come sometime next week, so it's great that it came just before the weekend.

It also came with a sample of the Benefit Porefessional, which I think I've left at work unfortunately. It is only a one time use sample. I like the Porefessional, but for people who have not used the product before, the one time use won't give you much of an opinion.

Reviews of the two products will be up soon, once I have thoroughly tested them out.

Thanks for reading,
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