February Favourites

Hey Guys

I am so sorry I have been a bit absent from my blog. This post is about 3 weeks late but I figured I should post it regardless! My life has been taken over with tests and assignments and it has just been a little crazy. Which is why I want to try and dedicate some time to my blog so that I can have my own little escape from reality! 

February went by so quickly, I started College and it just flew by, I can't believe I am practically half way through my course, which means all of the assessments are about to become a lot more difficult and more frequently due :( 

Makeup wise I have only been wearing makeup once or twice a week when I go to work or catch up with friends. I have my firm favourites however which I stuck to during February. 

Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Gel Shadow

Bad to the Bronze is my go to eyeshadow if I need something that will last all day and is super easy to do, one swipe over the lids and blended and my eyes look fantastic! Highly recommend these color tattoo's if you are looking for something easy that looks great. These retail for $11.95AU.

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder

Sadly this cant be bought instore in Australia, I purchased mine off ASOS where it retails for around $15.50 AU but can often be found on sale. I really love this bronzing powder, it is a great colour that warms up my skin and if I am feeling lazy I will use it for a little bit of contour as well. This smells like cocoa as well which I think is great, you can't tell once it is on your skin though, just in the pan.

Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer

I have three of these lip lacquers but I think that my favourite shade would be celestial which is a lovely deep but soft pink shade. The new matte versions are now out but honestly I think that they would not work for me, my lips are super dry and I can even find these drying on my lips sometimes. This formula lasts a long time on my lips, a bit shorter with eating and drinking but better than most other formulas I own. These retail for $15.95 AU. 

Essence Eyebrow Designer Pencil

I think this is honestly my favourite brow product. I have the shade 02 Brown which is slightly dark and red for me but because I dye my hair it works. My left brow has quite a few patches of hair missing and this just helps fill in those gaps. This retails for $3.05 AU and is an absolute steal if you can find a shade match.

Models Prefer Soft Touch Mineral Powder

I am so sorry if I have gone on and on about this product but I absolutely adore it. I have been using this practically every time I wear makeup to set and finish my makeup but I have barely made a dent in this. I own two shades, soft focus and photo ready. Soft focus is not listed on the website and is a similar colour to photo ready but not exactly the same. I prefer soft focus as I find it gives a glow to my makeup like I have been airbrushed. I definitely recommend picking this up, it retails for $16.99 AU but will be on sale in next weeks Priceline 40% off cosmetics sale. Run don't walk. 

This was everything I really loved in February. Sorry it was so late! I will try to be better with my March Favourites :)

Love Liz xx

Review: Bourjois Paris Delice de Soleil Bronzing Powder

Hey Lovelies

I bought this bronzing powder ages ago during a sale at Priceline (I think it was one of their 40% off cosmetics sales, I tend to go a bit crazy and buy ALOT of things during those sales) but have not really used it much so I am trying to make a more conscious effort to use it so that I could review it for you guys! I originally had wanted the Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder which I could not find anywhere in Australia so I picked the Delice de Soleil  instead. 

The packaging of this bronzer is super cute! The lid flips sideways to reveal the powder and a cute little brush which feels a bit prickly but is very convenient if you need a brush asap and have nothing else on hand. There is also a mirror on the reverse side which I originally thought of as very inconvenient as I assumed you had to flip the product upside down to use it, but Bourjois have thought of everything as the mirror flips so that it covers the product and you can turn it around, *ta-da* you now have a functioning mirror. 

I was originally hoping that I could use this as a contour product as well but it just is not the right colour on my skin to use it as that, also the glitter/shimmer makes it a bit impracticable as a contour. I picked this up in the formula for fair/medium skins as I rarely ever get that tanned and I already have some way too dark bronzers. This bronzing powder does have some rather obvious shimmer/glitter in it, I don't personally mind that but you should be aware of that before you pick this up if you are hoping for a non glitter bronzer. It does smell amazing though, with added cocoa bean and orange blossom extract.

I really like this bronzer to warm up the perimeters of my face, it is light enough that it still looks natural but gives that sun kissed look. Too much can look a bit on the orange side though so I find it works best with a fluffy brush and light touch. This retails for $30.00 AU at Priceline but is currently on sale for $21.00 AU.

Have you tried this bronzer or the other bronzer by Bourjois?

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

Weekly Loves #06

This week has not been very good so I am happy to put it behind me and look forward to the week coming up, it will be full of moving and homework and catching up with the people I love. Now to the products I have loved this past week.

Seacret Body Lotion

I received this body lotion a while back in a Lust Have It! beauty box, I can't find the exact product on their website as mine is probably a bit old but I only just opened this to put on my bedside table. I have had really dry skin on my hands and arms lately so I have been making sure to apply this every night and it seems to be doing some good for my skin. 

Marc Jacobs Daisy Perfume

I mentioned this perfume in my blog post here, so I am not going to reiterate myself talking about it. But I do really love the smell of this perfume and sometimes putting it on will just instantly lighten my mood. This retails for $99.99 AU at Priceline but you can usually grab it on special, it is currently on sale for $65.00 AU at Priceline!

Bourjois Paris Healthy Mix Foundation

I have talked about this on my blog before, and I am not the biggest fan of this foundation as it does not provide as much coverage as I need, but for the past couple weeks this has been the only foundation I have been using. This has a lot lighter texture than my much loved double wear however as the weather has been quite warm lately I have been reaching for this to ensure my face can actually breathe. I have shade 54 Beige, which is a fairly decent match for my summer tan shade so I can continue to use this until the weather starts to get a bit cooler and my tan fades. This retails for $32.00 AU but I would probably wait to purchase this when it is on sale, you can usually grab the foundation for $24 AU or at least 20% off RRP. 

Maybelline New York Color Tattoo 24HR Eyeshadow

I have been feeling pretty lazy with my makeup lately and this is the only eyeshadow I have been putting on, in shade 25 Bad to the Bronze. This makes my eye makeup look like I have made an effort when all I have done is slap on a little of this (well not quite slap, you get the idea though). This retails for $11.95 AU but you can usually get it when there is a sale on Maybelline products. 

What have you been loving this week?

Love Liz xx

Current Foundations

Hello Everyone

I have been placed on a spending ban, I say placed as I wanted to take a break from spending, but my friend is keeping me in check and making sure that I stick to it (Thankyou!!). I have decided to shop my stash for a while and only buy new things once I have finished something similar that I already own. This however is leaving me a little bit lacking in blog posts as hauls are my favourite. So I decided I should write about things I have had for quite a while and just have never featured in my blog.

Today I wanted to talk to you about the three foundations that I have been using lately. I have mentioned two of them previously, so I will not repeat myself and just update you as to how I feel about those now during summer time. 

This is the scar on my hand that I will use to swatch for comparison

Revlon Colorstay Makeup for Combination/Oily Skin

This is probably my third or possibly fourth bottle of Revlon Colorstay for combination/oily skin and I have finished the bottle completely! This is possibly a holy grail product for me and I am surprised that I have yet to repurchase this as I like to always have one in my stash for times like this when I have run out. I think I have not repurchased this as the current bottle I have is in shade 180 Sand Beige which is currently too light for me at winter, I remember having a darker shade last summer but it did not match me very well so I was dissatisfied with it. 

I love this foundation, I have oily/blemish prone skin and this provides long wearing full coverage. I do still need to set my foundation with powder and use some later on in the day, but this stays on my face and does not slide off which I have found with many other foundations. When I purchased this it had no pump so it could be quite wasteful to use when you have a full bottle, but they now are sold with a pump so yay for that! I will probably be repurchasing this after I finish the next foundation I will mention. 

I tend to buy this online as it retails for $34.95 AU for 30ml in store, I typically can find it for around $18-20 AU from US sellers on eBay as Revlon retails for a much lower price point in the US than here in Australia. 

Pros:
- Full coverage
- Long lasting
- Cheap when purchasing it off eBay

Cons:
- Has a strong smell to it
- Expensive to purchase in store

Swatch of Revlon Colorstay Makeup

Bourjois Paris Healthy Mix Foundation

I mentioned this in my previous post here, but now I have actually had time to test this. I purchased this in shade 54 Beige as the lighter beige shade 53 was sold out. This does match my current tanned skincare provided that I make sure I blend it down my neck, nothing worse than two different skin tones from your face to your neck. I tried to find this on the Bourjois Paris website however it is not featured there anymore, only the healthy mix serum is there. I purchased the healthy mix foundation over the healthy mix foundation serum as I had read that the healthy mix foundation provided more coverage than the serum version. This is still lighter coverage than my Revlon foundation, but I have found that if I wait a few minutes I can layer up this foundation where I want it.

I think the main thing I love about this foundation is that it comes with a pump, so I never have to worry about wasted product so I believe that I will get more use out of this product. It also is much nicer smell than my usual foundations, a bit like fruit I believe but the smell does not linger on my face nor did it cause any sensitivity. It does last quite a while on my skin with powder, not the 16 hours it claims but more like 6-8 depending on what I am doing and how hot the weather is. I think I will need to use this a few more times as to whether I would repurchase this over my Revlon Colorstay. So far I have to stay that Colorstay is higher up on the list. The healthy mix foundation does retail for cheaper at $32 AU for 30ml, I purchased it for $24 on sale however. 

Pros:
- Smells nice
- Coverage can be built up
- Comes with a pump
- Often on sale

Cons:
- Not quite the right shade for me
- Not as long lasting as it claims

Swatch of Bourjois Paris Healthy Mix Foundation

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place Makeup

I have done a review of this product here, and I am still very much in love with this foundation. I do not use it as an everyday makeup but more for special occasions. I must say that it is not great for events in which photos will be taken as it does cast a white look on your face in flash photography thanks to the spf 10 that is included in this foundation. It has a high price point at $50 AU for 30ml but I think that it is highly worth it, a little goes a long way.

Pros:
- Full coverage
- Lasts all day
- Oil free, fragrance free and non-acenegenic
- Small pea size amount will blend and cover your entire face
- Beautiful packaging

Cons:
- Does have a strong medicinal smell
- No pump
- Expensive

Swatch of Estee Lauder Stay-In-Place Makeup 

I originally used my Real Techniques buffing brush from the core collection to apply my foundation but I recently purchased the expert face brush from their range and I have to admit I have been loving it just that bit more than the buffing brush! 

What is your favourite foundation?

Love Liz xx

It has been too long! Another Makeup Haul

Hey everyone

I know it has been so long! I am sorry, but I just got a new computer so that should make things easier.
I was planning on using my camera to take the pictures, but of course I have misplaced it somewhere, so I will have to make do with my phone, sorry in advance for the quality!

So I celebrated my 21st birthday last month, and I wanted to look spectacular so I bought a whole bunch of new makeup and skincare that I want to discuss. This post will be focusing on some of the makeup that I have purchased, I will also be doing a few more for the rest of my makeup and skincare soon.

So in this post I will be discussing my new foundations, concealer and highlighter!

L-R Estée Lauder Doublewear; Bourjois Healthy Mix; Maybelline Super Stay Concealer; Revlon Skinlights

So to start with is something that I am absolutely loving:Estée Lauder Double Wear Makeup in shade 2N1 Desert Beige.


I bought this before my birthday at the Myer in Perth CBD. Back story, I have terrible skin so the idea of being makeup less inside a massive department store is almost torture to me. However, the Estée Lauder booth had their lovely beautician in and she was so sympathetic and quickly took off my makeup and swatched me to my closest colour (and it is very close!) and then even continued to finish off the entire look, adding blush and everything else. I had already gone in knowing that I would purchase this, I knew how much it cost ($50AUD for 30ml) and I had read so many positive reviews about this foundation, mainly I just went in to find my correct colour otherwise I would of purchased it online.

On to my actual review of this foundation. Its fantastic for what I wanted. I want a medium coverage foundation that can be built up on bad skin days, this does exactly that. I was also amazed at how little product I actually need to cover my face, its about half the amount I usually use when applying my regular foundation. I use my real techniques buffing brush to blend this in seamlessly, and it does a great job in a small amount of time and with little effort. It lasts a very long time, with little to no smudging, however it does last longer when applied after primer and set with a powder, I do this anyway so this is not a big thing for me. It is definitely not a 'light' feeling foundation, it can feel a little heavy but does end up looking caked on. I can oversee this however given the amazing amount of coverage it gives. It is oil free, fragrance free and non-acenegenic (I had to google this but it just means that it does not cause breakouts, which it hasn't for me!).I believe I will definitely be repurchasing this when I eventually run out (it could be a while though haha).

Swatch of Double wear (it does not look so mismatched on my face I swear)

Next up is Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in shade 54 Beige

Living in Australia we are usually a little behind in the beauty department. I am behind in the trend by saying that I have only just gotten around to purchasing this, I was over my usual everyday foundation (Revlon Colorstay in the combination/oily skin formula) and Priceline had a sale for $24AUD RRP being $32. Again, I have read many great reviews of this foundation, but I am yet to actually try it myself (I want to wait for my Revlon foundation to run out). This shade may be a little dark for me, but they were out of the 53 Light Beige colour, and I am hoping to be a little bit more coloured this summer (the safe way in lots of SPF of course) so I am hoping that it will be more accurate for the upcoming months.

Swatch of Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

Maybelline Super Stay 24 HR Concealer in shade 20 Cream

I bought this when Priceline had a 50% off Maybelline sale a while back (I think I paid approximately $7-8), they had run out of the shade that I would of preferred, but I bought this shade thinking it would be great as an undereye concealer for brightening up my eye area. Typically it does do a good job, it creases after a few hours without powder to set it. It also does not do a lot for me on days where I have not had enough sleep or am feeling rather stressed out, so instead I use it over some cream concealer from a cheap palette I bought a while back. I probably would search for something with a higher coverage next time though.

Swatch of Maybelline Super Stay 24HR Concealer

Revlon Photoready Skinlights in 100 Bare Light

I received this full sized product in a beauty box which was a lovely surprise! I probably would not have purchased this myself as I do think its quiet expensive for a highlighter, it retails for $29.95AUD. I still have not fully figured out how to incorporate this in my routine, I have tried using it as a highlighter on top of my foundation, but perhaps I am not using enough as it does not seem noticeable. I haven't used this in a while but I might try mixing a bit in with my foundation to create a subtle glow everywhere. It does look lovely when swatched though so I hope that I can figure out how to best wear this!

Swatch of Revlon Skinlights

Love Liz xx