April Favourites

Hey Guys

April was a fairly busy month for me but May is going to be even crazier with only 3 weeks left in my course and the beginning of my work experience at the end of the month. 

I stopped wearing makeup often as I was only going out once or twice a week, but I had a few firm favourites that I was relying on. 

Wotnot Facial Wipes for oily/sensitive skin*
I was sent these back when Wotnot first released their wipes for oily/sensitive skin and I must say that I have quite enjoyed them. I on the whole try not to use face wipes as I try to properly cleanse my skin but these are great for the times when you just really need to wipe off your makeup. These are very soft wipes that are quite large in size and I find do not make my face sting at all ($2 wipes I am looking at you). I really have enjoyed having these wipes in my stash and I would definitely consider picking up the full size packet when I run out. These retail for $7.99 AU for 25 wipes.

Revlon Colorstay Foundation for Combination/Oily Skin 
What more can I say about this foundation that hasn't already been said!? I went off this foundation for a while for my Estee Lauder Double Wear but have recently fallen back in love with Revlon. I cannot find another drugstore foundation that lasts all day and offers such high coverage. I am looking forward to Loreal's Infalliable Matte Foundation but sadly that is not available yet in Australia so this will have to make do for now. Currently I have the shade 220 Natural Beige but this may be slightly a bit too light and pink for my skin tone but considering it is almost Winter it should be fine for the next couple of months. This foundation retails for $34.95 AU but you can always find this on sale somewhere.

Nivea Lip Butter in Raspberry Rose

My lips have been ridiculously dry lately,winter is coming! I have made sure to have a lip balm close by and this month it was Nivea's Raspberry Rose which smells amazing! Quite an inexpensive lip balm and does a decent job moisutrising my lips. My only peeve is that it is a tub which can make it somewhat unhygienic and mainly just annoying that you end up with lip balm on your finger afterwards. This retails for $5.69 AU.

Sephora Eyeshadow in Be on the A-list #49

I got this eyeshadow in one of the Sephora kits I purchased back in January. I really love this eyeshadow as a lid colour and sometimes when I am super lazy as an all over sweep of colour. I am really addicted to bronze colours and this is pigmented and easy to blend. 

Face of Australia Blush in Terra

I picked up this blush during the Kmart clearance where it was only $4! I am so glad I did as I have found that this blush is perfect for a bit of colour and slight contour only lazy days. There is a slight amount of shimmer in this blush but it is not too noticeable when on your skin. It is a lovely pinky brown colour and looks great on my olive skin. This retails for $9.45 AU. 

Australis Blemish Buster Acne Fighting Primer

I have been using this primer in conjunction with my Rimmel Stay Matte Primer on days when my skin has been a bit out of control. I tend to use this mainly on the areas with spots as it is quite moisturising and I am always worried that if I used it on my whole face it would turn into an oily mess by mid-day. I find that this does not necessarily help my spots but it definitely does not break me out and I do not find that my spots are worse when I get home after having makeup on for the whole day. This retails for $16.95 AU. 

My month was mainly about makeup that was easy to use and less effort to put on. I do love makeup and I love wearing makeup but sometimes you just need to slap it on and get on with the day :P 

Love Liz xx

Priceline 40% off Cosmetics Haul

Hey Lovelies

It is a little late now but I wanted to share with you what I purchased from the recent Priceline 40% off cosmetics sale. 

I absolutely love when Priceline has their 50% off cosmetics sale. I pretty much keep a list of things that I want to try but am not willing to pay full price for so 40% off is a great time to pick up such things. I am trying to curb my spending currently so I feel like I was very restrained during this sale (the first one I went to I spent over $200, whoops haha).

I picked up two blushes in this sale even though I originally had told myself I would be purchasing no more blushes. My blushes no longer all fit in my blush compartment so my addiction is getting a little crazy. Unfortunately for me, the new Max Factor Creme Puff Blush had arrived in Priceline. I had really wanted Nude Mauve but of course that was completely sold out, so rather than purchase it later when it was no longer on sale I opted to pick up Lavish Maude. Lavish Maude is a lovely purple brown pink shade, crazy to describe but looks absolutely stunning in the pan. Despite the name these blushes are actually baked powder blushes and not a cream blush. They retail for $21.95AU but was on sale for $13.17AU. I also went past the Savvy display at Priceline and the blushes caught my eye. They were only $4.99AU regularly! I had to resist from picking them all up but I did grab one in the shade Nude. This was on sale for only $2.99AU. 

I told myself I would purchase no new eye shadows unless they were cream eye shadows, I actually managed to stick with this rule. I picked up another new release from Max Factor which was their Excess Shimmer Eyeshadow. These looked absolutely stunning and seemed like a slightly creamier version of the color tattoos by Maybelline. Shade 20 Copper went straight into my basket. These retail for $19.95AU but was on sale for $11.97AU. 

Australis Fresh and Flawless Pressed Powder really does this even need to be mentioned? I absolutely love this powder and continue to pick up extras when they are on sale. I will always have a back up on hand. Read more about this powder here. This retails for $11.95AU and was on sale for $7.17AU. A new one from Australis however was their Blemish Buster Primer, I am always up for a new primer that will help to keep my skin clear and calm. This retails for $16.95AU but was on sale for $10.17AU.

Lastly I picked up two new brushes from Models Prefer as they were included in the sale and I have a thing going for makeup brushes at the moment, the more the merrier. I wanted a new base brush as my RT buffing brush has seen better days, so I picked up the BB Brush which retails for $22.99AU but was on sale for $13.79AU. Along with the foundation brush I wanted a larger concealer brush for under my eyes, so I felt the Airbrush Concealer Brush was a good choice. That brush retails for $12.99AU but was on sale for $7.80AU.

Did you pick up anything in the Priceline sale?

Love Liz xx

My Necessary Backups

Hey Lovelies

I was searching through my back up drawer and decided it was a good idea to do a post about the items that I currently never want to run out of. My forever repurchased but mainly these are not HG rather just the items I am seriously loving right now and isn't want to find myself without.

Australis Fresh & Flawless Pressed Powder

I have talked about this powder before in a blog post, it is ridiculously cheap especially when you can grab it on sale and it always gives a lovely finish to my foundation. It adds coverage but never looks too cakey, the colour, shade natural is quite a decent match as well. So far I have not found another powder that does the job as well and for such little price point so I will continue to repurchase this. This retails for $11.95 AU and can be found at places such as Priceline, Kmart, Target and Big W amongst others.

Rimmel London Stay Matte Primer

I love this primer as it helps to keep my skin less oily and also keep breakouts at bay. It is also inexpensive and can be found often on sale. This retails for $13.95 AU and can be found at Priceline, Kmart, Coles, Woolworths, Target and Big W amongst others.

Neutrogena Pore Refining Toner

I absolutely love this toner, it is relatively cheap and you get a massive 200ml! This has both sacilyic and gycolic acid which is great for my blemish prone skin. I find that this is a great every day toner for my skin but I do use something stronger once or twice a week. I probably would not recommend this for dry skin though, my skin is extremely oily so I don't have any issues with using this product daily. This retails for $14.99 AU and can be found at most chemists, Priceline, Target, Coles, Woolworths, Kmart and Big W amongst others.

Essence Longlasting Lipstick

I got a little worried a while back that Essence were discontinuing their lipstick in shade 06 Barely There! as I found it on sale. It is one lipstick that I can wear everyday as it is such a great neutral shade and I find it longlasting on my lips without over drying them. These retail for $4.70 AU and can be purchased from Priceline or Target.

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24HR Eyeshadow

Bad to the Bronze is probably my favourite eyeshadow shade ever. It looks fantastic layered or by itself as a wash of colour. I have used up half of the pot which is saying something as I own a heap of other products I could be using. It lasts all day and I always get compliments on the shade. These retail for $11.95 AU and can be purchased from most chemists, Priceline, Coles, Woolworths, Target, Kmart and Big W amongst others.

These are not necessarily my holy grail products as I don't really throw that title around but I do find myself needing to keep back ups of these products just in case! What are the items you always keep stocked up? 

Love Liz xx

Priceline Haul - 40% off Cosmetics

Hey Guys

In case you didn't know already, Priceline is having its massive 40% off cosmetics sale today and tomorrow so the 18th and 19th November. I wanted to get this post up super quick in case you were considering grabbing a few things so you can just have a peak at what I grabbed. I tried to be very restrained as I am trying not to buy too much before my holiday, it is so hard though. The amount of sales on today along is ridiculous! I only purchased the items this morning so this will just be a quick post.

Excuse the quality, I was so excited to do a post about it!

Models Prefer Pump Bottle

I had seen this pump bottle on Instagram and was thought it would be the perfect thing for my toner as I tend to pour out too much at once. This is just a simple push pump top which should limit spillage and all those kinds of things. This retails for $5.99AU and was not included in the sale.

Models Prefer Soft Touch Mineral Powder

This powder looked like a possible dupe for the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders which retail for $59AU, I was unwilling to part with my money for those but these powders retail for $16.99AU each but were on sale for $10.19AU. I could not decide between the two so I picked up both Luminous Glow and Soft Focus (luminous glow is not listed on the website however!). 

Models Prefer Soft Touch Mineral Blush

As per usual I had to pick up yet another blush, these looked really cute but I was surprised at how small they are. I grabbed Autumn Calling, all of the shades looked gorgeous however. This retails for $12.99AU but was on sale for $7.79AU. 

Models Prefer Essential Brow Kit

I wanted to try a brow powder and wax rather than my typical pencil. I chose the kit in shade medium to dark and inside the compact it contains a wax, powder, brush and mini tweezers! This retails for $12.99AU but was on sale for $7.79AU. 

Australis Matte Up Foundation 

I wanted to try another cream to powder foundation as it has been a while since I have owned one. I picked up this one by Australis in the shade Nude. This retails for $14.95AU but was on sale for $8.97AU.

Australis Matte Out Mattifying Face Base

 The store I went to was out of stock of my typical Rimmel Stay Matte Primer and so I picked this primer up on a whim. It retails for $13.95AU but was on sale for $8.37AU.

Essence Lipliner

I figured now would be a good time to purchase a backup of the lipliner I have been wearing ever other day. I grabbed the shade 06 Satin Mauve which goes perfectly with their Longlasting Lipstick in shade 06 Barely There! This retails for $2AU (anyone else notice the price increase on essence products?) and was down to $1.20AU. 

Rimmel Wonder'Full Mascara

Another backup as I have been absolutely loving this mascara. This is the only mascara I have been wearing since I purchased it! It retails for $17.95AU but was on sale for $10.77AU.

OPI Top Coat

I was not aware that Priceline sold OPI products but it must have been fate as my original top coat from OPI has gone a bit gluggy so could not have been better timing! This retails for $10AU but was on sale for $6AU.

Loreal Infalliable 24H Stay Fresh Foundation

Lets just say it, I get sucked in by social media reviews and particularly those on foundation. I could not resist picking this up after reading some very positive reviews on it! I picked up the shade 140 Golden Beige which I am hopeful will be a decent match. This retails for $31.95AU but was on sale for $19.17.

My little terror had to investigate everything ;)

Did you pick up anything in this sale? If you had your eye on something then now is definitely the time to grab it!


Love Liz xx

Review: Australis Fresh & Flawless Pressed Powder

Hey Guys

I am a bit behind the times, I only just got my hands on the Australis Fresh & Flawless Pressed Powder. I know I know, I am very behind on the times with this but I try to use up all the other powders I own before I allowed myself to purchase this. I am so happy that I finally own this and a little bit disappointed I didnt try it out earlier! This powder is fantastic! 

I picked up shade Natural which seems like a decent match for my winter pale skin. This powder goes on flawlessly, extremely smooth on my skin and just glides over. It is absolutely amazing. Typically powder can make my skin feel quite cakey or dry but not this powder. My skin looks amazing when I use this powder. I still have to touch up every so often (depending on the primer and foundation) but I definitely think that this helps rather than hinders. The website also claims that this powder helps to treat existing breakouts and stop further breakouts. I have not really noticed whether this is accurate at all but it is a nice addition to the powder. I definitely have not experienced any breakouts as a result of using this powder. 

Really the only thing that I can complain about is the bulkiness of the packaging. It is housed in quite a large black plastic container, with the powder in the top section and underneath is a mirror and compartment with a sponge. Ultimately I could do without the clear packaging on top and have the mirror there and no room for a sponge as I prefer to use a brush, even for touchups. But hey the powder is so fantastic that this is a non issue!

This powder retails for a measly $11.40 AU but I purchased mine for $4 off on sale at Kmart. I would highly recommend purchasing this powder and will be buying back ups for myself!

Love Liz xx

September Monthly Favourites

A little late but better than nothing hey? September was an awesome month for me, it started with a whole heap of assignments due at once and then ended with a birthday long weekend which included best friend sleepovers, my favourite food, tequila and of course, the Royal Show! I also have been loving a lot of new things this month, many of which have yet to be featured on the blog. On to the favourites for September..

• 

Neutrogena Pore Refining Toner

I picked up this toner after realizing that I had not been using enough acids in my skincare routine (thank you Mrs Hirons), I was occasionally using Clarins Gentle Exfoliating Toner and the Alpha H Liquid Gold but on a weekly basis rather than a daily basis. I picked up this massive 200ml toner from Priceline on sale for around $12 (however it retails for $14.99), it contains salicylic and gylcolic acid and has been doing wonders for my skin. If you have oily and blemish prone skin I do recommend that you check this toner out, it is quite strong however!

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

I received this in the massive skincare goody bag from Priceline earlier in the year. This smells aboslutely amazing and has been doing a great job of fixing up my cuticles and my poor dry cracked nails. It probably isnt the most nourishing cream on the market but it does the job for my hands and I think that this 17g tub will last me a very long time. It retails for $14.99 at Priceline.

Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm

This 15g lip balm is seriously luxurious. It costs $19.99 (I purchased it for $12 while there was a skincare sale on) and comes contained in a frosted glass tub. It is quite a thick texture but I have been using this every night and it has been doing a fantastic job of keeping my lips lovely and not gross and dry and cracked. It also has a really nice subtle scent that I cannot put my finger on, citrus maybe?

Revlon Highlight Palette

I picked up the Revlon Highlight Palette in shade Peach Glow during the Priceline 50% off Revlon sale. I absolutely love this highlighter as it works as a highlighter, blush and bronzer all in one. The shades can be used separately or mixed, I prefer to mix personally. This item has graced my cheeks a lot this past month and probably will for the next few months! My friend picked me up the Rose Glow palette so I have that to look forward to as well.

Australis Fresh & Flawless Pressed Powder

This powder is absolutely amazing. I have used it every time I have worn makeup since I purchased it, it retails for a very low $11.40 but I purchased it whilst it was $4 off at Kmart. I think I will be repurchasing this over and over again, I very much understand the hype surrounding this product. It adds coverage while not being cakey and helps to control shine throughout the day.

Essence Longlasting Lipstick & Lipliner

Ah the Kylie Jenner lip look. If you haven't been obsessed with this lip look then you probably haven't been on Instagram, it is everywhere at the moment. I have been obsessing and have purchased a fair few products that are deemed as dupes of the Mac products used by Miss Jenner. The Essence Longlasting Lipstick in shade 06 Barely There! and the Essence Lipliner in 06 Sative Mauve are, in my opinion, a great dupe. They do last a long time on my lips and don't dry them out or accentuate any cracks, they are very flattering and I have been wearing this combo non stop which is amazing for someone who rarely wears anything more than lipbalm. The lipstick retails for $4.10 and the lipliner for $1.80 so they are definitely worth checking out.


What were your favourite things in September?

Love Liz xx

Review: Australis Make-Up Finishing Spritz

Hey Lovelies

I purchased this make-up finishing spritz by Australis a while back but only just started using it. Before this I was just spraying thermal water on my face to demattify (is that a word?) my makeup and make it last that little bit longer.  The main ingredient in this is water, it just has a few added benefits to it.

Ultimately I think this is pretty much the same as my thermal water so I probably won't be repurchasing this. The spray of this goes on quite heavy, not as light as my aerosol spray cans. This retails for $14.95 AU for 150ml however 300ml of thermal water retails for around $24 AU. This spray by Australis does contain Rose Water and Aloe Vera which smells really nice if you enjoy rose scents.

Do you use a makeup spray? 

Love Liz xx

Weekly Loves #07

Uni has been crazy lately with constant assignments and many meetings, never been to Uni so many times in a week the whole time I have been at Uni. It is good though, I feel like I am learning a tonne of things and it is preparing me for the real world!

Apart from Uni I mainly just spent time at home or work, making sure my house is clean is an effort now. Oh I forgot to tell you guys, I got a kitten! I plan on doing an introduction post on her soon, I just need to get some good photos of her, the only good ones I can get so far are of her sleeping! She had her first vaccination this week and whilst she was terrified and crying in the car she was very nice with the vet, I am a proud mummy.

On to what I have been loving this week..

Mario Badescu Special Cucumber Lotion

I purchased this ages ago on BeautyBay when I had finished up my old toner, and had heard some good things about the brand Mario Badescu for blemish prone skin. I picked up the Special Cucumber Lotion as it claims to:

Fights against oily build-up and bacteria that can cause acne. Cucumber extract provides a refreshing, pore tightening and antiseptic deep cleansing. 

I have been enjoying using this lately, I forgot about it for a while and chose another toner I had but I recently got back into using this.I find that this is good with my skin, it is hard to tell if it helps at all but it does make my face feel a bit cleaner and doesn't dry or irritate my skin at all. I will probably look for an exfoliating toner next time however.

This retails for $24 AU for 236ml on BeautyBay, this lasts for ages and is usually on special but I think it is worth the price.

Dermalogica Total Eye Care with Spf 15

I only have a small 4ml sample of this product from Dermalogica, but I have really been enjoying using this. I have not been sleeping regular hours which is wrecking havoc on my already there under eye bags, but this little eye cream has come to the rescue! I usually use this at night as it brings down the puffiness but it can be used during the day (hence the spf 15) and aims to conceal your under eye area.

I probably wouldn't purchase the full size as Dermalogica is a little out of my price range at the moment, but I have definitely been loving using this sample up.

Lanolips Lemonaid Lip Aid with Lemon Oil

I have brought this up time and time again but I am not sorry as I am absolutely loving this lip treatment. My lips are so horrible and dry all the time and this has been smoothing my cracked lips and keeping them moisturised for longer than any other lip treatment I own. Another benefit of this (not that it needed another) is the amazing lemony smell, which is a little bit artificial but in a good way.

 This retails for $15.99 AU but is currently on sale for 20% off at Priceline.

Australis Go Camo Full On Coverage Concealer

This is a really high coverage concealer which is exactly what I have been needing this week. I find that this oxidises a little on my skin and can be a little orange, but I usually put this on under my foundation to prevent that from happening. I have shade dark which is quite dark on my skin, I meant to pick up medium but it was in the wrong spot on the shelf (why did I not check!).

This retails for $11.95 AU but usually can be found on special in a 20% off or 15% off sale.

Although I haven't officially introduced her, I couldn't resist adding her into what I have been loving this week. 

What have you guys been loving this week?

Love Liz xx

Priceline Haul

So yesterday I visited Priceline to purchase some items during their infamous 40% off cosmetics sale which ran on Tuesday and Wednesday. I can never resist a sale and cosmetics is one of my (huge) weaknesses. I wanted to buy almost everything but I was restrained by my friend, I however managed to make her buy a lot of things (sorry!). I ended up with 8 items from 4 different brands. I will only quickly go over what I purchased as I plan on reviewing the items again once I have had time to test them out!

Revlon

Revlon Colorstay Combination/Oily Skin Foundation

This is probably my third or possibly fourth bottle of this stuff, I have tried other foundations but I always come back to this. It is high coverage and will last forever on my oily skin, the only issue I ever had was the smell (still not fixed but can't complain too much) and the fact it didn't have a pump. We'll guess what it finally has a pump! It has had a pump for a while now actually, but because I always purchased online I was always sent the old version, it was well worth the extra few dollars to purchase the one with the pump however! This retails for $34.95 AU but the sale price was $ 20.97 AU.

Revlon Parfumerie Scented Nail Polish

I have been dying to purchase one of these scented nail polishes by Revlon for a long time and I decided that at 40% off it was the best price I was going to get for a while! I was planning on getting a nice dark winter shade, perhaps a royal blue or brown. But I could not find one that I particularly liked and the other shades were similar to ones I already own (damn having such a large nail polish collection) so I chose shade 040 Wintermint which is a lovely aqua blue that has gold flecks and blue glitter particles running through it. I have not smelled it yet as my nose is completely blocked so it'd a bit pointless, but regardless I am happy to own this shade which is unlike anything else I own. This retails for $15.95 AU but was on sale for $9.57 AU.

Maybelline New York

Maybelline Lasting Drama By Eyestudio Gel Eyeliner

I have not used a gel eyeliner in a really really long time and I decided that my pencil eyeliner just was not cutting it lately, so I quickly threw this in my basket without having seen any reviews or really giving it a second thought. I purchased this in the shade 950 Blackest Black and it comes with a brush and a pot of gel eyeliner. This retails for $16.95 AU but was on sale for $10.17 AU.

Maybelline Express Remover

I have been dying to get one of these pot nail polish removers ever since I had seen a Bourjois one featured on a lot of UK blogs. Surely enough they trickled into Australia and I now finally own one! This is a pot that contains sponges soaked in nail polish remover and the idea is that you twist your finger in the sponge and it removes your nail polish. I am sometimes a little slack and can take a while to remove chipped nail polish but I am hoping with this little addition it will make it a lot easier. This retails for $9.95 AU but I picked it up for the sale price of $5.97 AU.

Australis

Australis Make-Up Finishing Spritz

I have wanted to try an 'official' make up setting spray for a while to compare it to using thermal water in an aerosol can, which is what I currently use. I haven't read any reviews on this product but it contains Aloe Vera and Rose Water which sounds like nice added ingredients. I will see how this goes and keep you updated. This retails for $14.95 AU but was on sale for $8.97 AU for 150ml.

Bourjois Paris

Bourjois Happy Light Ultra-Covering Concealer

I have read reviews on this concealer and it seems like the perfect cream concealer for myself, I also swatched this in store and was quite happy with it. It does only come in two shades and I purchased it in shade 23 Beige. I mainly need this to help my under eye area but it can also be used on blemishes so it is considered multi purpose. I will test this out and do a full review soon. This retails for $19 AU but I purchased it at the sale price of $11.40 AU. 

Bourjois Delice de Soleil Bronzing Powder

This is probably the one product that I feel guilty about purchasing, I think it took me a good half hour to decide whether I should or shouldn't purchase this. Obviously I did decide to purchase this, I had been looking at purchasing a new bronzer for a while. I originally wanted the Body Shop Honey Bronzer but it retails for $28 AU and I have yet to find it on sale. I compromised and picked up this bronzer, in my eyes Bourjois can do no wrong, I have not yet found a product by them that I haven't loved. I have read lovely reviews on this bronzer so I know I wont be disappointed. I purchased this in shade 12 for fair/medium skin, although I typically consider my skin tone as olive/tan I have a darker Australis bronzer which looks way too dark on my skin so I decided to play it safe and get the lighter shade. This retails for $30 AU but the sale price was only $18 AU. 

Nude By Nature

Nude By Nature Natural Mineral Cover

This is just a back up product for my makeup stash. I have been using Nude by Nature for a couple years now and have fallen in love with it. My favourite product would be their finishing veil (but I have a huge amount left in my current one) but I also use their natural mineral cover daily, I have this in shade Light/Medium as I found the medium one left my skin looking orange. I usually dust this over my liquid foundation to provide that little bit of extra coverage. This retails for $39.95 AU for 15g which does last a very long time, I paid only $23.97 AU for this. 

I also saved money by using my voucher that I recently received from Priceline, I had managed to spend over $500 last quarter (eep) and so I received a lovely voucher for $21.08, even the checkout person was impressed (I blame the skincare and cosmetic 40% off sale having occurred in the previous quarter) so I know that I have been fairly naughty with my spending lately. I will be going on another spending ban and so I will be reviewing products I haven't featured on here before and continue doing posts such as weekly loves and the minis, if you have any ideas for posts let me know! 

Love Liz xx