US Makeup Haul

If you know anything about the price of makeup in Australia, you would know that is it an absolute rip-off and is something I've ranted about on numerous occasions on my blog. So it really should surprise you that I bought a good amount of makeup while I was there.

I had so much fun checking out all the drugstores and I also visited the e.l.f Studio on Broadway which was awesome. And of course my trip wouldn't have been complete without going to Sephora. I absolutely loved it. Only downside was my holiday was during the weeks leading up to Christmas so the stores were always packed and super crowded. Definitely didn't help that I tended to visit the busier stores i.e. Times Square and the one near Macy's on 34th. Anyway, who doesn't love a makeup haul, so here we go!

• Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 50+ for Face
• Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Shadow - Barely Branded
• NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder - Sunny
• YSL Rouge Pur Couture The Mats Lipstick - 202 Rose Crazy
• Essie Nail Polish - Fiji
• Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray
• L'Oreal Voluminous False Fiber Lashes (Waterproof)
• Make Up For Ever HD Primer
• Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Liner - Clear
• Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer - 7 Sand
• MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation - C4
• MAC Eyeshadow - All That Glitters
• L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara (Waterproof)
• MAC Sheertone Blush - Gingerly
• Inglot 20 pan palette (empty)
• Inglot Eyeshadows x 3 (most of the shadows I already owned)

• e.l.f Eyelid Primer
• e.l.f Studio Complexion Brush
• e.l.f Studio Powder Brush
• e.l.f Studio Small Stipple Brush
• e.l.f Studio Flawless Concealer Brush
• e.l.f Studio Concealer Brush
• e.l.f Studio Contour Brush
• e.l.f Studio Small Smudge Brush
• e.l.f Daily Brush Cleaner

Hope you enjoyed having a peak at my new stuff.  I will have reviews for some of these items up in the future.  I'm contemplating whether or not to post a haul for all the clothing/accessories I bought.  Anyway I'll see how I go.  Have a good weekend!

Review: Daiso Volume Mascara

Hey guys! Hope you're all enjoying your Thursday.

I'm finally getting around to doing a review on the Volume Mascara that I purchased from Daiso a while back. There was no specific brand on the packaging.

This mascara has a traditional brush which is slightly pinched in the middle which I like, but that's where the good points end.  Overall, this mascara gets a big thumbs down from me.   The formula is too wet and heavy and so makes my lashed wilt all the way back down as though I hadn't curled them.  That being said, this isn't a waterproof mascara.  I always use waterproof mascaras because it is difficult for my lashes to maintain a curl so I should have expected this result.  However I know that some Asian brand mascaras don't write 'waterproof' on the packaging when they actually are, so I was assuming this was the case here, but it unfortunately wasn't. 

It can clump your lashes together a bit.  I can't really comment on the staying power because the few times I put it on, I couldn't stand the drooping effect and immediately removed it.

Definitely wouldn't recommend this.

Recent Haul: Shoes and Daiso Makeup

I actually bought these things over a month ago, but didn't get around to taking photos and all that til now.

I bought 2 pairs of shoes from the Tony Bianco warehouse sale in Collingwood. 

To be honest, Tony Bianco heels have to be one of, if not the most uncomfortable and unflattering heels in my opinion. I think their shoes are more catered to those with skinner feet, I have very wide feet. Plus, I find the angle that they make your feet sit very steep and just awkward. That being said...I love these heels. I think the colour and design is SO pretty and they were marked down to $30! Yes, they are uncomfortable and yes, they are very unflattering on my feet but when you are in a warehouse surrounded by other women grabbing at shoes...it does things to you lol.

I haven't worn them out yet and I'm undecided about if I want to keep them or sell them.

I needed some new flats firstly because my current ones are on their final leg and I'll need some for work next year. The Tony Bianco flats I already have are really comfortable so I hope these are too. I thought the big buckles made them more dressy and hence suitable for work and play.

I bought a pair of Basque loafers from Myer while they were having their further 30% off sale prices sale.

I've never really been a fan of loafers. Most of the ones I've tried look odd on my feet and make my feet look even wider. But these come up a bit higher in the front so they are more flattering. They're not my usual style, I call them my grandma shoes lol. Thought I'd give them a go since they were marked down.

Finally I had an itch to try Daiso makeup. I picked up a mascara and some powder. I plan to review these products sometime soon.

Review: Bourjois Volume Glamour Max Mascara (Waterproof)

I included this mascara in a haul a while back and I finally got around to trying it. I have to say, I'm not a fan.

The number one thing I judge mascaras on is its ability to hold a curl. This doesn't at all. My lashes wilt all the way down as soon as I put this stuff on. Another issue I have with this mascara is the brush is too darn huge. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a larger brush, but this one isn't just big, the shape of it makes it feel even bigger, since it doesn't really taper at the end. For comparison, the brush of the Bourjois mascara is larger than Maybelline Colossal. So I find it a bit hard to manouvre. The mascara also smudges on me. No more than most mascaras do on me, so that's fine.

Bourjois (Top); Maybelline (Bottom)

As for the look it gives. It does lengthen and volumise decently. But I really can't get past the crappy curl-holding power.

My first Bourjois mascara and probably my last.

May & June 2013 Beauty Haul

Good afternoon!

Just a short post today sharing a bunch of things I've bought over the last couple of months.


Nivea Pure & Natural Milk & Honey lip balm
A friend of mine who is a lipbalm fanatic recommended this to me as one of the best cheap lip balms she's tried.

Lush Mint Julips lip scrub
I seem to be developing a habit of buying lush products when I'm in a crappy mood lol. 

Daiso nail dotting tool

Aveeno Positively Radiant Intensive Night CreamYes, I know I'm on my 'Moisturiser Intervention' but the moisturiser I've been using for night time is almost finished, so I bought this to replace that.  Don't worry, I won't open it until I've finished the other one =P

Lancome Tonique Pure Focus toner
There was this random pop-up sale on Bridge Rd so I picked up this toner.

Moosehead Grubby Putty
I recently got a haircut and the hairdresser styled my hair all messy and I loved it.  But I didn't really want to buy the product he used on me since it was a pretty big tub and was fairly expensive, and knowing me, I won't be styling my hair everyday.  So I found this little tub and Priceline and thought I'd give it a try.

Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips - Ultra
I always have these on hand.  No miracle workers but i still like them. (Click here for review)

Bourjois Volume Glamour Max Waterproof mascara

MAC Rebel lipstick
I've been wanting this forever!  So I thought finishing exams was a good enough excuse to reward myself.

Quick update:
I've been a bit M.I.A. recently because I was busy with exams and I was just starting to enjoy my holidays when I was struck down with a cold.  Woohoo... So I'm writing this post from the couch under 100 layers of blankets lol.

Enjoy your week!  And if you're in Melbourne, rug up! brrrrrr.

Haul: Gmarket Korean Skincare

Recently I decided to give my skin a bit more attention. I had been using pretty much the same products for a while and not seeing many results. So it was time to change things up. I have never really gotten into Asian cosmetics or skincare. But my friend is an absolute Asian product junkie (yes, you know who you are lol). So she convinced me to give it a try, plus it was all pretty cheap.

Anyway, so we bought a bunch of stuff off Gmarket. It's a site that sells all kinds of Korean products including makeup, skincare, clothes, shoes, food, etc. From what I understand, Gmarket is a site that makes all different brands available to consumers in the one place. So when you order things from say Brand A and Brand B, those companies will ship your products to Gmarket, which will then put everything together in one box and ship it out to you.

I purchased 5 skincare items and threw in a couple of makeup items. I also received a few samples but forgot to take photos of those.

• Tony Moly Dear Me Balancing Lotion
• Tony Moly Dear Me Balancing Skin (toner)
• Tony Moly Floria Pore - Tightening Toner
• Tony Moly Floria Pore - Tightening Emulsion (moisturiser)
• It's Skin Power 10 Formula VB Effector (serum)
• Etude House Apricot Stick #3
• Etude House Wonder Volume Lashes

I've started using the two products from the Dear Me line, the It's Skin serum and the Etude House Apricot Stick. I'll do separate posts on what I think about the products further down the track.
Shipping time wasn't too bad. Don't quite remember how long it took, I think it was around 2-3 weeks. The packaging was definitely a bit excessive. The box it came in was massive, so was only like a third full (it was not fun carrying that on the bus, believe me lol). There were heaps of little boxes (from all different brands) inside and a ridiculous amount of bubble wrap lol. But at least that meant everything arrived safely.


Anyway I should stop procrastinating. This mid-semester break went by WAY too fast.

My Mecca Maxima Makeover!!

Hey guys!! This is going to be a MASSIVE post, so brace yourselves!

I had this AWESOME experience 2 weeks ago. Mecca Maxima in Melbourne Central is holding a series of free events on a number of dates where basically you can rock up and learn some tips and tricks and receive some free samples.

So the day I went, they had the "Show Stoppers" event where you would get a mini session with a makeup artist who'd show you some tips and ideas when getting ready for a party. I thought I may as well just drop by after uni and see what I learn. A makeup artist named Amy took care of me, she was SO sweet, helpful and honest. Not only did she give me some tips but she gave me a full face makeover!! Everything from skincare to makeup. I was SO excited because I have never gotten my makeup professionally done and I was able to pick the brain of a really experienced makeup artist. She did a really god job with my makeup, the way she did things was different to how I usually do my makeup which was great as a learnt new ideas and some things that I thought I wouldn't be able to pull off actually worked and looked good.

I thought I'd share some photos of the makeover. Excuse the average hair and all that, I rocked up to Mecca after uni and it was a pretty warm day, so by the time I got home to take the photos, my face was getting oily and hair getting messy. I tried to capature the makeup as best I can in the photos, but it was a bit difficult. I will also go through all the products Amy used, how she used them and if I like them.





SKINCARE 

After removing my makeup, she gave me a skin peel using Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare - Alpha Beta Daily Skin Peel. I was really nervous because I had never gotten a skin peel before and frankly "skin peel" sounds scary lol. But I had nothing to worry about at all. There are 2 steps to this product. You wipe the first cotton pad, which is already soaked in a solution, all over your face. So this is basically the chemical exfoliator. Then you go in with the second step, do the same thing but this time the cotton pad is soaked in a neutralising solution which stops the first solution from working and lets your skin go back to normal. I LOVE THIS STUFF! It made my skin feel so soft and smooth and it looked so radiant. Flakeyness was removed and some pores were cleared. It is absolutely amazing. Makeup looked so much better on my skin after using this. However the product is rather pricey, $130 for 30 uses, which includes both steps. But I did manage to find it on Strawberrynet for about $77. I have never forked that much for skincare...but I may have to in the future because I can't stop thinking about this product lol.

Next Amy moisturised my skin using Murad - Skin Perfecting Lotion ($50). She told me it was a moisturiser but also had some treatment qualities. It would help balance out my skin since I have very oily skin and also improve the texture and general look of my skin. This lotion is actually quite thick which I was concerned about due to my oily skin. It feels a bit much when you first put it on, but if you let it settle a little, it feels light and really moisturising and my skin felt healthy. I ended up purchasing this (that is the most I have ever spent on skincare), I've been using it more as a night treatment as opposed to a daily moisturiser. Still love the light but super moisturising feeling. As for the treatment side, I haven't noticed any changes to my skin but I haven't been using it that long. So at this stage, I like the product but I'm not to sure that it's worth the $50. 

FACE

Amy decided that her aim was to focus on my skin and make it look amazing since it seemed to be my primary concern. So after prepping it with those awesome skin care products, she spent a lot of time working on face makeup. 

Primer : Smashbox - Photo Finish Foundation Primer Light
I already owned this product. Still love it, makes your skin looks smoother and keeps your foundation matte and fresh for longer. But she used much more product than what I would usually use. She stressed the importance of using enough since it's the barrier protecting your skin. 

Highlighter : Nars - Multiple - Luxor
She applied this on my cheek bones and up to my temples before applying foundation which I thought was interesting. I had heard of people doing this, but I always thought what's the point since your foundation is just going to cover it all up. To my surprise the glow came through, it was a nice and subtle inner glow. You can see it in the close-up picture.

Foundation : Nars - Sheer Glow Foundation - Punjab
I was definately apprehensive about her using this foundation. I knew that many people love this foundation. But if there is anything I avoid when buying liquid foundation is "glow." Glowy/dewy foundations just get oily too quickly on me. I was very impressed at the way the foundation could be built up. She showed me how it looked with s sheer application and then she built it up. The general appearance of the foundation was also very natural, it looked like real skin. Definitely purchasing this in the future. 

Concealer : Nars - Conealer - Ginger
A full coverage concealer in stick form. Not really much to say about it lol She used it just like any other concealer and I thought it did a good job covering these 2 HUMUNGOUS zits I had on my face. 

Setting Powder : I don't remember

Bronzer : Stila - Sun Shade SPF 15 - Shade 2
I don't use bronzer much. When I do, I've been using more cool/neutral toned bronzers for contouring and I don't usually use it for all over. This product is more bronzey...kinda more orangey toned...but NOT in a horrible fake way. It added a nice glowy and alive look. She dusted it all over my face. I think she may have added a bit too much for my liking. I will definitely look into getting a bronzer with more of this tone.
 
Blush : Nars - Blush - Desire
I requested to use this blush since it's on my wishlist and I just wanted to confirm whether I wanted it or not lol. Still love it, still REALLY want it. She did a really light dusting to show me its versatility. She also pointed out that another makeup artist was wearing it, she had a totally different complexion to me and it looked totally different on her but still amazing. 

EYES

I was pretty happy with the eye makeup. Many makeup artists tend to struggle on Asian eyes or just make us look all kinds of weird lol. Amy did a great job. Unfortunately I had a hard time capturing it in the photos. 

Primer : Too Faced - Shadow Insurance
A classic product. I already owned this. Makes your shadow appear more vibrant and fresh for longer. Reduces creasing. 

Eyeshadows : 
Stila - Baked Eye Shadow Trio - Gold Glow
She used the gold from this trio on the inner half of the lid and the brown on the outter half. Very pigmented and metallicy.   
Nars - Eyeshadow - Fez 
A medium-deep shimmery brown shade with I think a red undertone. She used this to deepen up the outter corner a bit.
Nars - Soft Touch Shadow Pencil - Aigle Noir
This was applied along my bottom lashline and smudged out to look really smokey and sultry. This black pencil actually had some gold in it which was really pretty. When I normally apply eyeshadow under my eyes and smudge it out, I keep it very close to the lash line. I always thought that smudging it too far down would make me look tired. So it surprised me when it didn't lol. I thought it looked really sexy and sultry. Definitely going to experiment with this more myself.

Eyeliner : Bobbi Brown - Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner - Violet Ink
I loved this! I am pretty conventional when it comes to eyeliners, I pretty much only use black and brown. But this purple looked wow. I'm so annoyed the camera didn't pick it up. She used it along my upper lid and also on my bottom waterline. I used to like applying eyeliner to my waterline. But for some reason stopped. So I hadn't done that in a while. When she applied some of this to my waterline, it brought back memories lol. Again I was surprised that the purple looked SO good! and lining my waterline added drama n definition as well as adding to the sexy sultry eye look.

LIPS

Stila - Lip Glaze - Amaretto
I'm more of a lipstick girl than a gloss girl. And definitely more into pinks than nudes. Amy decided to go with a nude lip, just to do something that I normally wouldn't do. I actually really liked the look. The lip glaze was pretty pigmented, shimmer free which I like, pretty long lasting and super moisturising. I really liked the colour. It allowed my natural lip colour to peak through a bit which I thought was really nice.



I think that was everything lol. I was really happy with the look. The highlight product for me was the Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare - Alpha Beta Daily Skin Peel, love it, will have to save some money and build the confidence to spend that much money on a skin care product lol. I felt that Amy definitely achieved her goal of making my skin the stand out feature. My skin isn't the best in the world but she made it look and feel the best I've ever seen it. Hope you aren't too bored after reading that massive post.

L'Oreal Extra-Volume Collagene (Waterproof) Review

A quick announcement that at the moment Priceline has a buy-one-get-one-free sale on L'Oreal eye and lip products.

L'oreal mascaras are very expensive, as far as I know they are the most expensive mascaras in Priceline ranging between $25 and $30. This is the first L'Oreal mascara I have ever tried and unfortunately, overall I was not very impressed. There are some good points about it but the cons farrr overshadow the pros.


Pros:

• Thickens and volumises at the roots
• Very minimal smudging - I may even go as far as saying that it smudges the least out of the mascaras I own.
• Holds a curl

Cons:

• CLUMPS - I can not say enough about the clumping. By clumping, I mean lumps/clumps of mascara on your lashes. It acts like a mascara that you've owned for ages and has dried up in a strange way. The clumping is extremely bad, I wouldn't be able to imagine how bad it would be as the tube gets older. Your lashes don't look nice and smooth but lumpy, then that causes your lashes to stick together.
• Doesn't lengthen - This mascara has a very hard time coating the ends of your lashes. I'm not too sure why...I'm thinking it's the dry/clumpy formula. You can see this in the before and after pictures.
• The bristles on the brush are so messy and unevenly spread as you can see on the photo. I find this just makes application more difficult as you have to be more careful to avoid clumping your lashes together and mascara blobs lol.

I won't be repurchasing this mascara again. I hate wasting products...but I don't like working with this mascara...I feel the more I work with it the worse it looks. This may be heading for the rubbish bin...

Red Cherry Lashes Haul

I know my last few posts have been very picture heavy...but here's another one lol.

Lately my best friend and I have been going to a fair few events and special occasions, and of course they go hand in hand with false lashes lol. So we ordered a bunch of Red Cherry lashes off Ebay. This was my first time trying this brand and I'm pretty impressed with the quality and the cheap price.

I ordered 5 pairs: #1, #82, #107, #118 and #510. Some of them were a bit of a miss for me but I'll go through in detail below.



#82
I was annoyed when I received these as you can see from first picture, my pair were faulty as a few of the lashes had been cut short, but luckily it's not very noticeable on. Anyway, I really like this pair. They are very fluttery and full. They are an even length the whole way across, just slightly shorter in the inner corner. They add great volume and length. But they can make your eye look a little heavy due to the evenness of the lashes the whole way across so be wary if you have smaller eyes.



#1
This pair is probably my favourite of the 5, a little ahead of the #82. It's a little more natural looking than the #82 since it's more sparse at the ends as opposed to being full from root to tip. These add plenty of volume since they're really full at the roots, and also make your eyes look more open as the longer/spikey lashes draw a line outwards.

* * *

Let me just preface the next 3 pairs with I'm not a huge fan of them because they are farrr too long for me. I do really like them in terms of their cut and shape. They all look very similar, kind of like super long versions of the #82. I probably won't wear any of them unless I trim them down.



#510
These are the shortest out of #510, #107 and #118. These might work for me...but that would be the absolute maximum length I would go. These would work better if you have larger eyes/longer lashes.



#107
These are a bit longer than the #510.



#118
These are the longest pair I bought. They really are crazy long. I would not be able to pull these off, they would be too disproportionate with my face lol. You can see just how long they are compared to #82 and #82 have very decent length. Note the #118 curls up a lot more too so they are even longer than what they appear in the photo below.

So a bit of a mixed bag, but that's what comes with ordering online. My best friend and I ordered 10 pairs between us and it came to about $2.60 a pair (including shipping), which is fantastic. If you wanted to buy a pair of similar quality here in stores, you would be looking at spending $10-15. I highly recommend #1 and #82.

Hope you're all having a great day.

Inglot Freedom System Eyeshadows - Review & Swatches - the beginning of a new love...

First of all...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Hope you all had fun welcoming in the new year and good luck for 2011.

Anyway, in some of my older blog posts, I mentioned my Inglot eyeshadow palettes but I haven't had the time to take photos and review them. Argh...I am so behind in blog posts (and yes I know I've said that a million times lol).

So this is the first Inglot Freedom System palette I purchased.


With the eyeshadow palettes, you can purchase 2,3,4,5,6,8 and 10 colour palettes. The eyeshadows also come in circular pans which are a bit cheaper because they have less volume. The palettes aren't traditional flip-top palette's. Instead the lid is magnetised and is completely removed when you open it and can be stuck onto the bottom.

Inglot shadows don't have names, instead they go by numbers. The shades in my palette are:

30

A shimmery cream colour. Great highlight shade.

402

Metallic taupey colour. Very similar to NYX Iced Mocha, but this one is a tinge more purple.

360

Matte medium brown.

378

Matte very dark brown.
In stores they purely refer to the shade numbers, but on the bottoms of the pans, along with the number, there are also words reflecting the finish of the shadow which I have added on the photos above.




I am head-over-heels in love with Inglot shadows. These are so pigmented and ridiculously blendable. 30 isn't as pigmented in my opinion compared to the others but it is still a great highlight. My favourites are the 2 matte browns. They are silky smooth and just amazing. These still crease on me, but not as quickly as other shadows, but I have very very oily lids.

I only have 1 MAC eyeshadow, Twinks (I have a review on it), so I don't know how accurate my comparison of the two brands is, but at the moment I think Inglot shadows beat MAC shadows any day lol. These rectangular pan shadows are 2.7g compared to MAC's which are 1.5g. Plus Inglot products are far cheaper than MAC. The Inglot palette I got cost me $40AUD (that includes the palette itself and the shadows). Their individual eyeshadow I believe cost about $24AUD (I find these individual eyeshadows inferior to the freedom system ones). Individual MAC shadows here costs $32AUD.

So if you can get yourself to an Inglot store, pick up a Freedom System palette of eyeshadows! You will not regret it! Since this one, I've bought a 5-colour palette and I've received a 6-colour palette as part of a Christmas present. LOVE LOVE LOVE!