The Touch Up Kit

To start I'm going to give you guys a summary of what my skin is like. I have oily, acne prone skin with scarring around my cheek area and a VERY dark eye area, and although there are products I use and steps I take to make my makeup last as long as it possibly can and look as good as when I first applied it (more on that in an upcoming post), a touch up once throughout the day is a must for me.

So around 6-7 hours after first application I do get quite shiny, particularly through my T-zone and I've often gotten the "You're looking sweaty" comments from people whose skin is a lot better than mine and are not above judging (you know the ones). So I get my travel mirror out and I'll use blotting tissues to remove the layer of oil thats sitting on top of my makeup. This does sound a bit disgusting but trust me when I tell you it's well worth it and will stop any possible caking that can happen when you go in with your powder. They're fairly cheap and any will do the job, I'm currently using the Swisspers ones.
After that I'll take my Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Fair and swipe this under my eyes and around my nose and mouth which are typically where my makeup tends to disappear. I like this one because its great coverage, easy to apply on the go and easy to blend out with fingers.
To lock that all in and get rid of any shine that the blotting tissues didn't take care of I use the Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder in 52 Vanille, which is one of my favourite powders I have ever tried. It locks my makeup in place without making me look too flat and absolutely never cakes up. I apply this with a Real Techniques Retractable Kabuki Brush because again its easy to use on the go and comes with a lid to keep it clean.

Finally I tackle lips and if I'm not using lip balm I go for the NYX Butter Gloss in Vanilla Cream Pie, its a beautiful warm pink shade that is seriously creamy and makes your lips look nice and full. If I'm not feeling that one then I go for MAC Patisserie lipstick which is my favourite pinky nude in the world. 

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 ;)

MAC Palette Construction

If MAC is a brand that you have no interest in (are you sick?!) there's one thing they offer that has got to tickle your fancy, their Pro Palettes. 

They're just empty eyeshadow palettes that you can get in different sizes and you just pick shades you love that you can get in the refill pan or de-pot the ones you have and pop them in. They also do this with their blushes and it's such a cool idea because I find with most palettes I buy I tend to stick with some colours more than others. Problem averted.

I got the empty quad and to fill it 'Naked Lunch' and 'Sable'. They're really good everyday shades and go well together. However they're looking pretty lonely next to the empty spaces, and I've got my eye on a few (15, actually) shadows that I think will work well with the brown theme I've got going on. I can feel another trip to MAC in the near future.

I also bought a paint pot in 'Painterly' as a base, and a travel sized Fix+, which I have no idea how to use so if you have any idea please let me know.

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. 

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. 

The Newbies #1

My week consists of working and going to uni so the only thing I REALLY look forward to is my deliveries. Especially, if its new makeup that awaits me at my door. I don't know, its like a magical beauty guru who knows exactly what I like and want brought me my new toys, and I forget that I was the one that clicked confirm order over a week ago. 

Don't judge me, you do it too. 

Nars Radiant Creamy concealer in Light 2 Vanilla

Nars blush in Deep Throat (LOL)

Nars Bronzing powder in Laguna

Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow pencil in Bad Girl Bronze

Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara

My other products are my old faithfuls. I mixed the Verve shadow from my Naked2 palette with my bronze pencil and blended which created a nice neutral colour as they're both quite strong on their own. 

I only get my Nars products from Kiss and Makeup , if its something like foundation, I colour match in the stores here first. 

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!