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. 

#strictlydrugstore

Hey Everyone! 
I know its a bit late in the month and I do apologise, sometimes life gets in the way of the awesome plans you make at the start of the year. This month I'm featuring only products that are from the drugstore and affordable using the hashtag #strictlydrugstore. So everyday, until the end of January there will be a post everyday at 9am, on everything from makeup, skincare and haircare. 

The first post will be up later today, in the mean time please comment and tell me what your holy grail products are from the drugstore, Im always open to enabling!

A Rimmel Affair

Rimmel have been a stand out drug store brand for me over the past six months. I tried some of their products years ago and they never wowed me, and ever since then I had no interest in trying anything from the brand.

The first thing I picked up was the Match Perfection foundation, after seeing it in a lot of Tanya Burr's videos. It feels really lightweight on the skin while still giving a decent amount of coverage and blends very easily. The shade range is quite large compared to other drug store foundations. I have the shade 100 Ivory which is perfect for me and for girls with oily skin this dries semi-matte and will last all day. Ive been enjoying this so much I think it has become my favourite drug store foundation ever!

The Wake Me Up concealer also became another favourite. I love this for under eye circles especially on mornings when you can tell Ive spent too long in front of the computer the previous night. I blend this in with fingers and it never creases or looks cakey on me.

I hit pan pretty quickly on the Stay Matte powder in Transparent. I use this with a big powder brush, swoosh it around in the pan and then I stipple it on my face to set everything. Again, never looks powdery and has gone on the 'Must Always Repurchase' list. 

Finally, the Scandaleyes kohl liners have been a standout to use. They're probably the smoothest pencil liners I have ever tried, they never tug on your eyes or look too heavy. I love using the nude colour in my waterline because it doesn't budge and makes me look more awake. 

I'm looking to try more from Rimmel but every time I go I can never decide. Let me know what you guys have tried and what other products you recommend. 

New to the Handbag

Hand cream is one of those few products that when I put them in my bag or on my bedside table, I forget to use them. However, this offering from Grown ensures I will never do such things again.

This is such a beautiful hand cream to use. it smells ahh-mazing and sinks in to the skin fairly quickly so you avoid problems such as your iPhone slipping out of your hands post application. I've also used it on other areas of dry skin and grazes and it smoothed those out instantly, I love a good multi purpose cream and this ticks all the boxes.

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.

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?