How to wear Lime Crime Serpentina lipstick

The Lime Crime website describes Serpentina as a "seductive deep emerald-green with a snake-like sheen. Think Poison Ivy!". Yes, think Poison Ivy! 

I decided if I was going to put on green lipstick, I was going to go all out, and chucked on some long falsies from MUA. I actually like how this turned out, but it's definitely not everyday makeup.

At first, I thought the NYX Seafoam Green eyeliner would be good to outline my lips, but the colour was too frosty in my opinion. Then I decided to try the Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Pencil in 031 Jungle Green, which worked well.

(L to R: Rimmel Jungle Green, NYX Seafoam Green, Lime Crime Serpentina)

This lipstick is quite bold, so some sort of lip liner needs to be used. I applied the Rimmel pencil on the outline of my lips and blended it in a little. I really like this colour, and I wish I was brave enough to wear it out (maybe someday...). I am very happy to have this in my lipstick collection. Maybe someone will have a dress-up party soon and I'll go as Poison Ivy! (I can hope)

So there you have it! If you own this lipstick, or something similar, I would recommend using a lip liner that somewhat matches the colour to give your lips a bit more definition and to have an outline to apply the colour. This is quite a fun colour! I love Lime Crime lipsticks, and I can't wait to get my hands on some more!

Thanks for reading guys xo

Kitsch Snitch's 500 Follower Giveaway!

Hi guys,

Just a quick note that the first Australian beauty blogger I started reading on blogspot - Kat from Kitsch Snitch - currently has a 500 follower giveaway that ends in a few days. She's giving away the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette, the Real Techniques Starter Set, and an original BeautyBlender.

You should all head over and check out her giveaway! Her blog is an absolute favourite of mine. Here's the link for the giveaway. 

April Favourites

I'm going to try not repeat products in my favourites consecutively, but let's be real - some products are just always going to be my favourite.

Beauty:

Too Faced Matte Eye Palette
I've had this palette for about a year, and it's sad to say I've only just started appreciating it - because the Midnight eyeshadow has become a perfect colour to lightly fill my eyebrows in.

Nivea Lip Butter in Caramel Cream
THIS SMELLS LIKE HEAVEN. It soothes my lips, but honestly every time I open it I go to heaven because it smells amazing. The only complaint I have about this product is the packaging - but honestly, it doesn't bother me that much - it's just not all too hygienic.

Sigma Small Angle E65 Brush
I love this brush to apply powder the brows. It is perfect. I think I'm going to have to purchase a back up of this brush.

NARS Laguna Bronzer 
I'm very happy I added this bronzer to my collection this month, and I have been using it on a daily basis since I got it. It's not completely matte, which does bother me a little, but for bronzing as opposed to contouring (still loving my Sleek Face Form for contouring) it is wonderful.

Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Foundation in 150 Buff
This may be my new holy grail foundation, I'm not going to lie. It is so easy to apply, the coverage is great and the colour match is good. It's the first foundation I'd be comfortable to wear without setting or applying powder on top, because it is so seamless. I love to apply this with my fingers or a brush. I just love this foundation! I have the original Revlon ColorStay liquid foundation in the same colour, and I really didn't like it. This, however, I love.

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush
This is my holy grail dry shampoo. I may as well include it in a favourites ;) It does it's job well, and the smell is amazing.

Edward Beale Argon Oil Leave-in Treatment
I've been using this product for about four months and I still have quite a bit left. I put it in my ends specifically every time I wash my hair, and it leaves my hair smooth and for some reason I love the smell of this stuff! I would recommend this leave-in treatment and it's fairly cheap from Priceline.

MAC Brule Eyeshadow
This has recently become an eyeshadow I can't live without. It's a perfect allover lid colour, and brow highlight. It's matte, which I prefer in a brow highlight (not the biggest fan of shimmer).

YSL Parisienne Perfume
I received two samples of this when I bought my YSL lipstick recently, and I am hooked on this smell. I'm going to have to buy a full size of this, but it won't be until after I go overseas... although it goes on sale in a few days at Priceline and I just received my Sisterclub voucher so I may have to purchase it...

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Primer
I bought this primer last year and I loved it. I was in Target earlier this month and they had a sale on Maybelline cosmetics so I decided to pick this up again. I love this primer. It is silicone based, and I like to use it especially on my t-zone.

Random:

Lm Candles 
If you live around Sydney, I HIGHLY recommend my friends at Lm Candles. I'm a little bias as I personally know the girls, but their candles smell divine and they are always adding new scents. I've just finished burning a Watermelon candle, and the one pictured above is Grape. If you love candles (who doesn't) please check out their facebook page. You won't regret it ;)

Tegan and Sara
Their new album Heartthrob is just on repeat, always. I saw them at Groovin the Moo on Sunday in Canberra (for the third time!) and it was amazing just like the first two times. You need to check them out. NEED.

Sleek Acid Palette - review and swatches

When Lipstick Republic was having a 20% store wide sale, I decided to pick up two things (see haul here), one of them being Sleek's Acid Palette. The palette came to $11.96. The neon colours appealed to me most in this palette, as I don't have anything like it in my collection.

The palette is a matte black case excluding the "Sleek MakeUP" lettering, which is shiny. The back of the palette identifies it as the Acid Palette. It also comes with a double-ended sponge tip applicator. 

And here are the beautiful shadows! The two blue shadows at the end of the palette are the shades that excited me the most when I first opened this palette.

Above is the first three shades of the first row - a darker pink, a white (lol), and a neon yellow - the top is swatched alone, the bottom is on top of Urban Decay Primer Potion. 

Above is the last three shades of the first row - a neon orange, a darker shimmery blue and a lighter shimmery blue (which is extremely pigmented - with or without a primer)

[I don't know what happened here - I tried to retake this photo so many times and it still came out looking yellowy]

Here is the first three shades of the second row - a darker purple, a mossy green and a neon pink. The use of a primer didn't show an extreme difference in these three shades, but it did help the colour payoff a bit. 

And lastly, the last three shades of the second row. A neon green, a smokey looking blue/silver shade, and a black. The use of the primer did offer more colour payoff. 

The white eyeshadow doesn't show up at all, with or without the UDPP. Besides this, the neon yellow in my opinion is the least pigmented, and even with the help of the UDPP it doesn't appear very pigmented. Perhaps on a base it would show up a little better. However, for the price I really can't fault it.

I personally love the two blue shadows at the end of the first row. They are pigmented, with or without a primer. I wouldn't mind paying the $11.96 I did just for those two shades.

Overall, I am pleased with this palette. Because it is drugstore, I wasn't really expecting the neon shades to be amazing, but the neon green and orange in particularly show up pretty well with the use of an eyeshadow primer. I'm glad to add this to my eyeshadow collection, and I look forward to getting some use out of it.

Coastal Scents Eclipse Palette 15 Concealer Shades - review and swatches

About two months ago, I decided to finally place an order on Coastal Scents. The products are cheap, and the reviews not so bad, so I decided to give it a go. I ended up just purchasing one product to try out, because the shipping was weight based and I didn't want to end up spending too much when there were other products I wanted to purchase (heheh). Concealer is something I'm not in excess off, and I like doing people's make up, so I thought the Eclipse Palette, which contains fifteen concealer shades, would be a good product to try out.

So the palette comes in a box like this, and the back packaging lists the ingredients and has a picture of the product.

And above are the products, fifteen shades - one highlighting shimmery shade, a green shade to counteract redness, a lavender shade to correct yellowness, and the Coastal Scents website says that the yellow shade can conceal black, blue or purple imperfections. The eleven other shades are concealer shades, ranging from light to dark. The lightest concealer shade in this palette is even too light for me - which means I'm not as pale as I thought!

I've been using the palette on and off since I got it. I've tried contouring with the darker shades, which hasn't turned out too bad and is a good experiment. The only thing I don't like about this palette is the highlighting shade - I do not like extremely shimmery highlighters. 

Above swatches is the highlighter shade, the green colour corrector, the purple and the yellow. They are quite pigmented (except the highlight shade, but it doesn't look too bad swatched). 

Above are the lighter shades of the palette. I find that working the concealer with fingers as opposed to brushes warms it up and makes it easier to apply - and easier to swatch! 

And these are the darker colours of the concealer palette. You can see, especially with the darker colours, that the concealer shades lean a bit orangey, or salmon coloured. Salmon coloured concealers are good to cover under eye circles, but I really don't find these concealer shades are particularly good for under eye circles. On me, it creases, even when I set it with a powder. If I know I only need the makeup on for a few hours I will use this, but if I need my makeup on all day (i.e. at work) I won't use this under my eyes. I do use it for redness and blemishes, almost on a daily basis.

Overall, I'm really happy to have this in my collection. It will suit quite a range skin tones, and the colour correctors are good if you don't have any in your collection. I don't regret this purchase. I paid around $30 for the palette and the shipping to Australia. The palette came in under two weeks.

MAC Spoiled Rich Quad - review and swatches

The recent MAC Archie Girl's Collection that has come out featured two eyeshadow quads - Caramel Sundae and Spoiled Rich. I picked up Spoiled Rich, as it is was the one that appealed to me with it's beautiful purple shadows.

See how adorable the limited edition Archie's Girls packaging is?!

And see how pretty the eyeshadows are?! The palette comes with four shades - Pin Up Purple, a frost finish, Spoiled Rich, also a frost finish, Ron Ron Run, a satin finish, and Gravel, a matte finish.

The first row is the eyeshadows swatched without primer or a base. The second row is the shadows on top of Urban Decay Primer Potion, and the third row is the shadows on top of NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk. The shadows performed better on top of the UDPP, which I always use when doing eyeshadow looks. To be honest, without a primer the eyeshadows are a little disappointing. The purples don't look pigmented at all.

Here I am with all of the shadows on. I used Pin-Up Purple all over the lid, Spoiled Rich in the outer corner, Ron Ron Run in the outer corner and in the crease and a little bit of Gravel in the outer corner to deepen the eye look. I really, really, really like the look of Ron Ron Run. I didn't think I'd get much use out of it compared to the other colours, but it looks so beautiful on the lid. The eyeshadows appeared much more pigmented on the lid, but I did pack them on quite a bit.

Overall, I am happy with this purchase. The eyeshadows aren't as pigmented as I would expect from MAC, but I still like them. This palette retails for $72 in Australia.

Empties/Products I'm Chucking Out #1

These are over the last two-three months or so - I keep forgetting to do this post. I don't think I'll do it monthly, because I don't go through products that quickly. But I think I've hoarded enough empties to do this post.

Australia 3 in 1 Wipes
I hated these wipes. I still have half of them left, but I couldn't use them. The wipes are extremely dry, not moisturising at all. My skin has become really dry lately, and I could not use these wipes at all. I will not be repurchasing these, ever.

Swisspers 25 Facial Cleansing Wipes
I love these face wipes. These Swisspers ones and the pink Johnson's ones are my favourite. It does the job, and the wipes smell nice which is a plus. I may repurchase when I run out of the wipes I have now (I went to Costco and got a 6 pack of the Johnson's face wipes for $20, which is awesome!).

Target Essentials 80 Cotton Pads 
These cotton pads did the job, and I had no issues with them. I don't really go into Target much, but next time I am in I probably will repurchase these.

ELF Super Glossy Lip Shine SPF15 in Pink Kiss 
I hate lip glosses. I hate glossy lips, to be honest. I wasn't a fan of this, but it came in a bulk lot of items I purchased last year that had a few products I wanted to try. I don't use this at all, so I'm just going to throw it out. I would not repurchase this, or any other of the ELF Super Glossy Lip Shines.

Clinique High Impact Curling Mascara in 01 Black
This is a baby sample of my favourite mascara, I love the wand of this mascara and will definitely be repurchasing when I run out of the full size. This has dried out, but I don't think there was much product left anyway. I kind of forgot that I had this mini sample.

Johnson's Moisturising Day Cream
I mentioned this in my March Favourites. I love this day cream, have repurchased it since and will repurchase it again.

Girlz Only Dry Shampoo in Party Nights
This dry shampoo is only $2 at Target, which is amazing. I bought this a while ago, and I can't really remember the scent. It worked well, but the nozzle broke and it still has a bit of product left inside. I might try some other Dry Shampoo's from Girlz Only (I think there is 3 scents), but I wouldn't rush out to repurchase it.

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush
THIS IS MY FAVOURITE DRY SHAMPOO EVER. It is a little pricey, but it works wonderfully and the scent is my favourite. I have repurchased it since I ran out, and I've nearly run out of that one, but I will repurchase this over and over again.

Redwin Sensitive Skin Vitamin E Cream
I use this as an all-over body moisturiser, and I love it. I love the smell, and it's good at moisturising. I've already repurchased this since running out.

Maybelline Expert Eyes Eyeshadow Quad in Island Shimmer
This product isn't very pigmented. It is quite shimmery, so the only way I think it could be used is as an inner corner highlight. I don't really like it, nor think I need it. I might see if my Mum wants it, but otherwise, it's being thrown out.

Benefit Erase Paste in Light
I decided to depot my Erase Paste because I thought there would be a bit more product in there to last me another month or so. I'm so glad I did, because there was so much product left! I've depotted it into a Clinique eye cream jar, and there is quite a lot of product in there. When I run out of it, I will be repurchasing. It is a great under eye concealer.

Australis Primer
I got this in a set four or so months ago. For $15, I got the Australis Ready Set Go Translucent Finishing Powder, the Australis Makeup Finishing Spritz and this primer. I've tried this primer before, and didn't like it, but the set was worth it as the two products I wanted alone would have cost almost $30 - with the primer, over $40. I used the primer up, but I wouldn't repurchase.

Fennel Acetone Free Conditioning Nail Polish Remover
I picked this up in a chemist a couple of months ago. When I have acrylics, I use acetone free nail polish remover so it doesn't destroy the acrylic. This nail polish remover was good, but I wouldn't go out of my way to repurchase this particular brand.

Katy Perry Purr Perfume 100 mL
I've had this bottle for almost a year, and have just finished it. I love the smell of this perfume, and have already repurchased a smaller sized bottle. The only complaint is the packaging design - I have dropped this perfume a million times, it has fallen over a million times, and in the picture you can see that the bottom has actually chipped. Nonetheless, I love this perfume.

Revlon Skinlights Face Illuminator in 01 Golden Lights
I have had this for about five years I think. It's still got a ton of product, but it is old, and I think I should chuck it out.

Ulta3 Perfect Finish Loose Powder in Champagne
This colour is too dark, and too orange for me. I probably used it once, but it was too dark. Time to chuck it.

Maybelline Fit Me Pressed Powder in 115 
I loved the Maybelline Fit Me range last year. I've been through two or three of these powders. I've fallen in love with the MAC Studio Fix Powder though, so I probably won't repurchase. However, this is a very good powder for setting foundation.

And that's it for my first empties post! Thanks for reading xo

Mini Haul - Lipstick Republic

Last week, Lipstick Republic was having a 20% off store wide sale and I had to purchase something. At the moment, I'm trying to save money, so I'm not allowing myself to spend money on make up (it's not going too well), but I decided to purchase two things that I've really wanted for a while, while the sale was on. Lipstick Republic stocks some international brands (Sleek, ELF, OCC for example) that are really hard to get in Australia.

I ordered the ELF Cool Bronzer, and the Sleek Acid Palette. Two NYX pencils in Gold and Seafoam Green were also thrown into my order, which is awesome because I don't own a shimmery green, nor a gold eye liner. I think the green will also work well with my Lime Crime Serpentina lipstick - I might do a tutorial with these two sometime soon, as I'm yet to really test out Serpentina.

Above is the ELF Cool Bronzer. I chose this bronzer over the Warm Bronzer as the Warm Bronzer has shimmer and I don't like shimmery bronzers for contouring. I will have a review coming up on this product when I get more use out of it. One thing that surprised me with this product is its size - it's actually really huge, and much larger than I thought it would be. 

The Sleek Acid Palette is something I never really wanted until recently. I have the Sleek Au Natural Palette, which I really like. I didn't think the neon colours were practical, but the two shimmery blue colours look amazing in the pan. I'm actually really excited to try out the neon colours, and I really don't have anything like this in my collection so for the $11 or so dollars it worked out to be, I can't really fault this purchase. Look out for swatches in the coming days! 

And that's my mini haul! I really recommend checking out Lipstick Republic. This is the third time I've ordered from the site, and every time I do some freebie has been chucked into the package, and I always enjoy using the products.  The shipping is relatively cheap (around $7) and the order comes within a few days - I ordered mine around midnight on Wednesday night and this arrived this morning. I do believe there is also an express option for shipping. 

Thanks for reading xo

MUA Undress Me Too Palette vs. Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

For over the past year, I have enjoyed using my Naked 2 Palette - for the first six months, almost on a daily basis. My favourite shade in the palette - Bootycall - which I love as an allover lid colour, has hit pan drastically, and Urban Decay do not sell singles of this shade. I do have the Naked 1 Palette, but I don't use it as much. When I saw this dupe palette by MUA, I had to purchase it, mainly for the possible dupe shade of Bootycall. My second most used shade in the Naked 2 is Snakebite.

In the photo above, the shades do look very similar. Sadly, the two shades I wanted to be similar in the Undress Me Too Palette (Bootycall and Snakebite), were the most disappointing. 

The first row is the first six shades of the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette - Foxy, Half-Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease and Snakebite. 

The second row is the first six shades of the MUA Undress Me Too Palette - Naked, Devotion, Shy, Fiery, Lavish and Dreamy.

The better dupes are that of Chopper (Fiery in MUA) and Tease (Lavish in MUA). Naked (the Foxy dupe) hardly shows up when swatched, but I'm not a big fan of Foxy as I find it too yellow to work with. Both Bootycall and Snakebite's dupes are not very good ones. Shy is more pink than Bootycall, and way more shimmery. Dreamy is not as dark as Snakebite, and leans more warm than Snakebite does.

The last six shades from each palette look more close to one another than the first six. The first row is the Urban Decay Naked 2 - Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted and Blackout. 

The second row is MUA Undress Me Too - Tranquil, Exposed, Reveal, Wink, Obsessed and Corrupt. 

Tranquil, Reveal, Wink and Corrupt are actually pretty good dupes for their Urban Decay counterparts. Exposed is a bit more lighter and more silvery than Pistol, and the colour payoff of Obsession means that while it is a very similar colour to Busted in the pan, it comes out very sheer and light when swatched. Corrupt is actually a very nice matte black shade, and even appeared darker than Blackout when swatched. It is quite powdery, but a good dupe. 

So is the MUA Undress Me Too Palette a good dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 2?

I would say yes. The two shades I really wanted to have good dupes were a little disappointing, but on the other hand most of the colours in the MUA Undress Me Too Palette are very similar to their Urban Decay counterparts. The pigmentation isn't on Urban Decay standards for some of the shadows, but for the price you can't go wrong. At the beginning of 2012, I purchased my Naked 2 Palette from an Australian seller on eBay for around $70. I could have purchased it off beautybay, but the palette came in two days and since then I have bought from the seller over and over. The MUA palette on the other hand is £4, which works out to be $5.83. No where in Australia are you going to get eyeshadows like these for under $6. I have ordered from the MUA site twice now, and international shipping works out to be $10.95 (£7.50 each order). It's a good deal when you order a few things off the website. The first time I ordered it took almost a month to get my order (it was around Christmas), but when I ordered this palette and a few other things over a month ago (featured in this haul) it came in less than two weeks - which was a nice surprise!
Overall, I would recommend this palette for those that don't want to splurge on the Naked 2 Palette, but still want similar colours in their collection. I love my Naked 2 Palette, and prefer it over the Undress Me Too Palette, but the Undress Me Too Palette is a nice alternative.

I hope you enjoyed this review! And if anyone knows of a good dupe for Bootycall, can they please let me know?! Thank you for reading guys xo

NARS Exhibit A Blush - Review and Swatches

I've always wanted to own a NARS blush, but living in Australia - cosmetics are pricey, and NARS is no exception. I got this blush online, and trying a red blush intrigued me - I used a red eyeshadow last year as a blush for a dress up party, and it actually didn't look quite bad. So onto the review and swatches!

As you can see above, it is quite a bright, bold red and does look quite confronting in the pan. To me, it leans a bit orange, but when blended out it is definitely red. 

To apply the blush, I love the Sigma F50 Duo Fiber Stippling Brush

As you can see from the above swatch, the blush can be applied very lightly. Because of this, it is very buildable - but because it is such a bold colour, I only really want a light wash of it. I find the Sigma F50 a perfect brush to use to apply this blush. 

And here I am wearing the blush. At the moment, I'm a little bit more tan than I usually am. I think when I'm more pale in winter this blush will be perfect to add a nice flush of colour. 

Overall, I really like this blush. It has good staying power, and is a bit more unique than the typical blush colours that are widely available. It is a beautiful red, and I am very excited to get more use out of this colour - particularly in winter. 

I hope you enjoyed this review! What is your favourite NARS blush? 

Favourite Brushes

I just gave my brushes a wash, so I thought it was a good time to make a post about my favourite brushes. This post will cover face and eye brushes.

Face brushes (L to R):

Revlon Blush/Contour Brush - I got this brush in a Revlon set ages ago, and I'm not too sure of the name. I prefer this brush for contouring, as it is significantly smaller than the Sigma F40 (Large Angled Contour Brush) that I also own. 

Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki Brush - For the longest time, this was my favourite brush to apply liquid foundation with. I've had it for over a year, and now it does have a bit of shedding, particularly when I wash it. I still love this brush, and I use it in conjuction with the Real Techniques Buffing Brush I will mention below. 

Nude By Nature Kabuki Brush - I was on the hunt for a kabuki brush, and while in Priceline with a friend a couple of months ago she pointed out a set of brushes that Nude By Nature had, and it was only $30! The kabuki brush was enough to convince me to purchase it, and I'm so glad I did! I use this brush to apply powder, and it is a dream. It is so soft, blends well, and looks flawless. It is definitely my favourite brush of the set. 

Real Techniques Buffing Brush - When I received my last quarter voucher from Priceline, I decided to purchase the Real Techniques Core Collection, as it was the one that appealed to me most! I'm so glad I did, this brush has been a real favourite in applying liquid foundation since I purchased the kit!

Real Techniques Contour Brush - Contouring my face is probably one of my favourite steps in a completed makeup look. This brush is amazing. It is a small domed brush, that makes applying contour in the cheeks a dream. 

Eye brushes (L to R):

NP Set Crease Blender Brush - This brush is wonderful. I have quite small eyelids, and this is a great blending brush for all over lid colour, and to focus colour in a particular place.
Urban Decay Doubled Ended Shadow and Blending Brush - I received this brush with my Naked 2 Palette, and for the longest time I used this brush for a completed eye look. It is a great multitasking brush, and it is still an essential when I'm doing an eye look.
Sigma E65 Small Angle Brush - This brush is wonderful to use when filling in your eyebrows.
Sigma E40 Tapered Blending Brush - Best. Blending. Brush. Ever. I love this brush. It does look a little big, but it is a wonderful blending brush.
Sigma E55 Eye Shading Brush - I use this to pack colour all over the lid.
Sigma E30 Pencil Brush - The day I discovered pencil brushes was a good day. They are good for crease work, and with small eyelids, they are wonderful. This is my all-time favourite pencil brush. If you don't have one in your collection, I recommend getting one!

And those are my favourite brushes! What are your favourites? :)