Makeup Menu: Saturday Night

I'm not at all seasoned in the art of walking in high heels anymore. The 7pm-12pm slot of my saturday night usually consists of eating a rather large dinner, bath time. a sneaky purchase online and then bed. However, the last few months of the year are always filled with birthdays and parties and so I thought Id share my go to products for a night out. 

Firstly, my main concern for nightly outings is skin and the best evening foundation I have tried is the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk which I wear in the shade 4. I dub this 'perfect skin in a bottle', blends like a dream and sits nicely between a matte and dewy finish. Another base perfecting product I am obsessed with is the Hourglass Ambient lighting Powder in Diffused Heat. I don't know how it does it but this powder completely blurs all imperfections in the skin while giving you an amazing glow. I also like to add a subtle sheen to the tops of my cheekbones and cupid's bow the the Benefit Watt's Up highlighter stick.

Next comes eyes, and although I like to keep it neutral most of the time I do like to add shimmer in the evenings. Firstly I apply a sticky note from the outside corner of my eye to the end of my brow just to keep everything in a nice feline shape, and also make winged eyeliner SO easy. I add a base shadow and define my crease using my trusty Urban Decay Naked 1 Palette and then I spritz a flat brush with this cute bottle of Fix+ from MAC and go in with the most exciting thing about my night out makeup, a pigment. This Makeup Geek pigment in Nightlife is a beautiful bronze colour and gives your eyes the most amazing pop and with a primer it last all night without flaking away or smudging. To finish eyes, I give them a quick curl with the Shu Umerua Eyelash Curlers and add false lashes, the ones Ive used twice now are the Ardell Glamour Wispies which I apply with a little Duo glue. 

Finally, were on to lips and on nights out I do enjoy giving my bold colours a dust off because thats the only time I really get to wear them. The two Ive been obsessing over recently are the Dior Addict Fluid Stick in the shade Wonderland, which goes on the lips very wet and then dries to a beautiful satin finish and is so comfortable on the lips. My second favourite is the Nars Audacious Lipstick in Grace which is a similar colour but dries a little more matte and rarely needs a touch up. 

Everyday Makeup Routine

July 2014 Favourites

Hey guys! A little delayed I know, but here are my beauty favourites for the month of July. 

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet foundation: A natural finish, skin like foundation perfect for oily skin. Its watery formula makes it easy to blend, keeps oil in check and the finish is velvet indeed.

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer: The best concealer I've ever tried. Covers dark circles, blemishes, acne scars, you name it. So easy to apply and blends beautifully.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural: A gorgeous setting powder that never looks too cakey or powdery on the skin, no matter how heavy handed you are. Keeps oil at bay and gives a nice glowing finish.

Maybelline Brow Drama: One of the better brow products from the drug store, a mascara like gel that keeps hairs in place while adding a touch of tint to them. Quick and easy, perfect for natural makeup days. 

Revlon Brow Fantasy: Another brow product I have really been enjoying. The pencil on one end is firm and allows you to fill in and shape your brows exactly how you want and the setting gel on the other sets everything down while adding little bit more colour.

Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette: The first palette I ever owned, and used it to death so of course I had to pick it up again. Too Faced shadows are up there with some of the best. Buttery soft, pigmented, and blend ridiculously well. Theres not a shade in here i wouldn't use and I'm in love with the sleek tin packaging.  

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet: One of the best liquid lipstick formulas around. They came in a range of different shades but for me the brights are where its at. Not at all drying on the lips, even though they are matte and when they dry the colour sticks around forever. No touch ups required

Maybelline Color Elixir: I need these in every shade. A balm/gloss/lipstick hybrid that make your lips look nice and full. 

Garnier Micellar Water: The Bioderma dupe. Read my post here.

The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil: Literally melts makeup off your face. No need to fuss with cotton pads and remover. Just rub into your makeup and wash off, perfect for when you come home from a night out. 

The Lip Scrub

My MAC Quad (Complete)

Look at the beauty! Filling up the empty spots in this palette was more fulfilling and exciting than I'd care to admit. 

From left to right: Nylon, Naked Lunch, Honey Lust and Sable. For an everyday look, I apply Naked Lunch all over the lid with a 217 brush and then blend Sable into the crease and outer corner, then I use Nylon to highlight the inner corners of my eye, and Honey Lust is for days when I'm feeling a bit more shimmery. 

Iv'e been reaching for this palette everyday this month, I'm dreading the inevitable day when I hit pan on one of these shadows. It's unclear at this stage if a tear will be shed.

I loved filling up this palette SO much that I may or may not have purchased a 15 pan bad boy which may or may not be featured fully loaded in the coming months ;)

Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo

If you read beauty blogs you will know that almost everyone who features the Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo adores it, and of course I am no exception.

Amongst the drug store brands there really isn't a very high variety of cream eyeshadows. I have very oily lids so finding one that will stay on is a bit of a mission. And I believe it has ended.

This eyeshadow is the most long lasting shadow of tried in cream form. It comes on very opaque and I just use my fingers to apply it and it dries within about a minute. I had it on from 7 in the morning till around 11 in the evening and it still looked the same as when I put it on. YAY.

I got the shade 'Bad to the Bronze', it kind of looks smoked out when you apply it alone and that appeals to my laziness when I have an early start. 

Mood: impressed 

Sugar Crush

I don't know about you guys, but when it comes to body care products, smell is everything. These were the first two things I bought from Soap & Glory and my decision was finalised based on their hunger inducing scent. 

The Sugar Crush Body Scrub has in it smashed brown sugar, sweet lime, almond oil and macadamia grains and the texture is really thick and grainy which I like in body scrubs. You can really feel it exfoliating your skin and after it washes off I promise you feel smoother than a baby's butt.

Same thing goes with the Sugar Crush Body Buttercream. Also with a VERY yummy lime scent and so moisturising and not sticky at all. I don't know about other users but if I use it in the morning I sorta get the urge to lick myself throughout the day. A little creepy? Maybe, but this is seriously good shit.

Bourjois 'Rose Cupcake'

Bourjois is soon becoming a favourite drug store brand of mine. Their 1 Seconde Nail Polsih comes in a cute little variety of colours and the brush is quite thick, so you get most of the nail in one careful sweep. 

I got the shade 'Rose Cupcake', it's much brighter on than it looks in the bottle, and they go on ridiculously smooth. 

They're on sale at Priceline at the moment for $9 and I'm not sure how long that lasts for so don't be crazy and get one.

The Review #1

Since I've started wearing makeup the only brushes I've ever used were either Sigma or MAC. I bought the Sigma 'Make me Crazy' set first, and then I bought the F80 kabuki brush for my foundation, a highlighting brush and blush brush to complete my set. I also have a a few eyeshadow brushes from MAC which were a little treat to myself. 

I've seen the Real Techniques brushes for a while but never thought to pick them up or try them because I was content with my own little set and also because they are ridiculously overpriced in Australia.

I got two to start with, the powder brush and the blush brush. I have to say I'm so impressed with the quality of these brushes they are seriously giving my Sigma faithfuls a run for their money. They are so soft and each brush is synthetic and washes so well (my Sigma brushes take so long to dry). 

I've found a site called iHerb.com which has all the individual brushes and sets for the American price and they only charge $8 shipping to Australia (bargain). They're so cheap and amazing. I have 100% been converted.

The Makeup #1

Who else gets excited when you find makeup that you've forgotten about? 

Uh, everyone!

This MAC eyeshadow in 'Banshee' was limited edition (found on eBay) and is a dirty pink/brown shade. It is a lustre finish so that means lots of shimmer. 
I packed that all over my lids and blended with my beloved 'Teddy' eyeliner on the top lash line and outer corners of my bottom water line. 

Next I applied a lot of Mega Plush mascara and to finish the look, I applied Nars satin lip pencil in 'Rikugien' which is one of the easiest shades to wear and enhances your natural lip colour. 

Bourjois Lip Crayons

I've never bought anything from Bourjois before or had any interest in it but the cuteness of these lipsticks drew me in and I had to try them. 

I love a good crayon-like lip product because they're easy to apply and you can just chuck them in your bag and touch up on the go. These Color Boost Lip Crayons are so smooth, feel amazing on the lips and have a really nice glossy finish. They come in four shades, Peach on the Beach, Orange Punch, Fuchsia Libre and Red Sunrise (which was sold out so I'll have to go searching for it), and are SPF 15. The colour pay off on these are way too impressive especially for a crayon, and last for ages.

Fuchsia Libre is definitely my favourite and I think they'll be really good in summer when your'e taking your makeup from a day to night look.

Bioderma + Hydraluron

Most of the time I'm a little late to jump on the bandwagon with skin products. My skins very temperamental. I had bad acne throughout high school and now it's quite oily and I have a bit of scarring (like the acne wasn't bad enough right?!). Before I use something that's getting heaps of praise I do my research, check the ingredients and of course check that it's been beauty blogger approved.

Almost everyone in the beauty world has a bottle of Bioderma Crealine H20 Solution in their makeup kits. I was using makeup wipes to remove my makeup at night and I was always left with panda eyes in the morning. Bioderma gets rid of every trace of stubborn mascara which I LOVE and all the makeup on your face. I just dampen a cotton wool pad with it a wipe all over my face before cleansing.
Hopefully I'll be able to find a bigger bottle of the stuff.

The Hydraluron from Indeed Labs is the best skincare product I've ever used, hands down, ever! It's a serum which maximises your skins ability to retain moisture. It does EXACTLY what it says on the bottle and it works instantly. I've only been using this for the past four days and I'm hooked! My makeup lasts so much longer throughout the day and I hardly get shiny in my t-zone like I did before. 
Everyone of every age should be using this product. Everyday, until you die. 

Essie Chinchilly

During the week I head to Priceline  to look for new products to feature on my blog. It's conveniently close to where I work which I'm starting to realise is a bit dangerous for me. 

The other day as I was searching through the aisles on my beauty mission, I almost peed my pants with excitement when I noticed a stand full of brand new Essie nail polishes. 

Finally! After I calmed myself down I was looking through and they ALL looked cute but I opted for 'Chinchilly'. It's sort of like a deep grey/mauve/purpley colour thats looks a bit different in certain lights. It's very sophisticated and a nice change from my usual pink-red-black rotation. 

They're not available to buy online yet so if you've got some spare time, I'd recommend going into a store and having a look.

Now the question remains: exactly how many of these will I accumulate before the years end?

Dr Bronner's Magic Soap

Every week or so I like to give my brushes a really deep clean. Up until last week I was using just a normal facial cleanser when I took them to the bathroom sink spa. 

It did an okay job but I wasn't really 100% happy with it so after hearing about the Dr Bronner's Magic Soap I decided to try it. There are a few different ones, I picked up 'baby mild'.

What I do is wet my hand with warm water, put a small 5 cent piece amount in my palm, and swish my brush in it until all the makeup is gone. Then I rinse my brush under the tap with the handle facing down. This is really important because if your brush faces upward it allows the water to go inside, and will cause the hairs to loosen and shed. I always squeeze the excess water out, and lay them flat over a bench to dry overnight. I also reshape them while they're damp. 

The magic soap makes brush cleaning so easy, and is also good for people who have allergies or sensitive skin (and of course babies) as it's unscented and organic.

August Favourites

Here are the products that I have been using religiously this month.

Firstly, the Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow foundation by Benefit. This is so easy to blend and can definitely be built up to get the coverage you want and never sticks to my dry patches, WIN. 

The Mega Plush Volume Express Mascara from Maybelline. I LOVE Maybelline mascaras so much, I always recommend them over any high end mascara. I love this one in particular because there is less wax in the formula and it has quite a large brush, it works so well in giving me long thick lashes without having them stick together. The Shu Uemura curler is the best I've used. With curlers its always good to splurge, cheaper ones don't really do the trick.

From Nars I've been using three products almost everyday since I got them. Blush in 'Deep Throat', bronzer in 'Laguna' and the Radiant Creamy Concealer. Every time I use the blush and bronzer together they give me such a subtle, fresh look that's every day appropriate, and the concealer just brightens up my i-had-four-hours-sleep circles under my eyes and lasts ages.

MAC's fluidline in 'Blacktrack', I've had this for a while but when I first got it I was applying it with a small angled brush because I heard it was easier to achieve a winged liner. It was a bit awkward to use so I put it aside, then this month I tried it with a pointed liner brush and it worked SO much better. I'm not so scared of gel liners anymore. 

Finally, Chanel's lip colour in 'Rendez-Vous', so smooth and a great peachy-pinky-coral shade for summer. Even though it's not technically summer in Sydney. 

Hope you guys enjoyed my August favourites x

MAC Haul

As I've been reading more and more beauty blogs these last few weeks, my list of MAC products grows rapidly.

I ordered some things from the online store in a moment of weakness and the rest I went and picked up a day later because patience is not a quality I possess.

My online order included the 'Teddy' eye khol pencil, which is a beautiful bronze shade, a pencil sharpener (to go with my pencil, duh), lipstick in 'Lustering' and my favourite by far the Illustrated by Rebecca Moses face kit in brown.

If you're a MAC lover like myself and you live in Aus you of course know that all their products cost double than what they do overseas. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw this palette, which contains a blush (Melba), four eyeshadows (Orb, All That Glitters, Smoked Sepia, Showstopper), two lipsticks (Ravishing, Myth) and a double sided brush. If i were to buy all these products separately it would have left my poor uni arse living on 2 minute noodles and crackers for a week, so this was a pretty BIG bargain. Highly recommended.

The other products I got in store were the 'Mythology' eyeshadow, blush in 'Blushbaby' and the '217' brush which I haven't tried yet but I'm sure it will be AHMAZING.

My list is still longer than the river Nile I can assure you. 

Product Exile

I'm always keen to try new primers or any product that claims it will make my makeup last for long periods of time. So you can imagine my excitement when I had discovered that Benefit had come out with their new Stay Flawless 15- hour Primer. I'm HUGE fan of Benefit cosmetics, their cute packaging sucks me in more times than I'd care to admit, and I'm an avid user of the Porefessional as you could have guessed. 

So, long story short I have exiled this product straight out of my beauty bag for several reasons:

1. It's glue-stick application form makes it harder to get product in the smaller bits of your face like under eyes and around nose etc.

2. Once I put it on my skin it felt extremely tacky which I did not like

3. I like to tap my foundation on with a brush then blend outwards, this primer was so sticky that I couldn't blend much at all and left my whole face very blotchy

And lastly after much struggle, I realised there was nothing I could do to save my makeup and had to take it all off and start again. 

I've read a lot of reviews on this before and after I tried it and the general consensus is that its working for every other woman out there, so why not me?!

What do you think of Stay Flawless?

July Favourites

Recently I've been inspired by beauty blogs such as What I Heart Today, Essie Button, Makeup by Camila and Lisa Eldridge Makeup. I find myself spending hours on each one, watching tutorials and adding to my forever growing, gonna-send-me-broke list of cosmetics that I want to try. 

Because I LOVEEEEEEE makeup so much I thought I'd share with you guys a few products (it was really hard to pick a few) which I'm in love with this month.

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Fluid Foundation: I wear foundation every single day and it was really important I found one that's very matte once it goes on, smooth, and is long lasting throughout the day. 

Sigma F80 Flat top Kabuki: The holy grail of foundation brushes, allows you to apply your makeup within seconds and blends fantastically.

YSL Touche Eclat Concealer Pen: A must. So lightweight and great to keep in your bag for touch ups.

Nars blush in Orgasm: Very subtle and gives you a really pretty glow. Definitely would recommend to everyone.

Nars Translucent Crystal Light Reflecting Loose Powder: A great matte finish to your makeup and leaves your skin feeling very silky and smooth.

M.A.C Lipstick in Please Me: Goes with everything!