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. 

Top 5 Summer Nail Polishes

When Summer rolls around, I can't wait to get some bright colours on my nails. I think they make your hands look really feminine and pretty and when it comes to polish, drugstore brands are the way to go. Most high end polishes are not worth the hype and end up chipping after about three hours, while you come to the realisation you've just spent half your weekly food budget on a dud.

The Salon Pro line from Rimmel is a serious winner. They have so many different shades to choose from but the most summery in my opinion and my go to is their polish in Hip Hop, which is a very bright orangey red.The formula is extremely opaque and they have a handy rounded brush which makes it so easy to cover your entire nail in one swipe. 

For something with a little bit more punch I like the Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy in Full House, a very bright sky blue, which leaves your nails super shiny (without a topcoat), and lasts ages.

Purple nails will always have a special place in my heart, and I find myself wearing some variation of purple for most of the year. Essie is one of my favourite nail brands, and this one in Play Date is seriously dreamy. Its a beautiful bright lilac thats not too pastel or neon, and probably my fave of the bunch.

Now the Maybelline SuperStay 7 Day Gel Nail polishes I think I have in every shade. They are so good! For a polish thats more on the cheaper side of things, you'd expect it to be mediocre at best, right? Wrong! The colour above is called Rose Poudre, it has that mauve-y pinky brown thing down pat and makes your hands look very royal family-esque.

Lastly, I've thrown in an amazing travel friendly nail option and this is the L'oreal Infallible Gel Nail Polish in Fuchsia For Life, it's again bright and a really opaque formula. The top coat and the individual colour separate from the middle making it perfect for the girl who is always late (me).

Beach party nails- sorted.

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. 

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 

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. 

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