Empties #01

I finally have used up a few of my products so I can share with you a quick review of the empty products which are all makeup products bar one haircare.

Davroe Hair Wellness Moisture Senses Argan Oil

I received this 50ml bottle of Argan Oil in a Lust Have It! box a while back, and I have used this product up a long time ago. It actually started leaking when I received it in the box but never bothered to email the Lust Have It! team about it, so it continued to leak the rest of the time I had it. I liked this product, it smelt quite nice and was a little bit heavy on my hair but I felt like it was doing some good so I did not mind. Sadly my hair is beyond repair so this didn't fix my dead ends, but I am sure if you hair is not bleached to death then this will do your hair some good! 50ml is the full size and it retails on the Davroe website for $23.95 AU.

Tony Moly Cats Wink 3Go Mascara

I purchased this off eBay a really long time ago, I haven't actually used up this product but it needs to be thrown out before I get an icky eye infection. I actually really like this mascara, it was simple and plumped up my lashes making them both longer and thicker. It wasn't waterproof which is what I prefer, it lasted all day and did not clump. I think I purchased this for around $7 off eBay and I would definitely purchase this again for a cheap mascara, but I think there are better mascaras out their.

Maybelline New York Super Stay 24HR Concealer

I purchased this concealer a while ago in a 50% off Maybelline sale. I typically prefer cream concealer over liquid so I am not really sure why I picked this up. I purchased this in shade cream which was too dark to use under my eyes but was good on blemishes and discolourations. As far as liquid concealers go this is quite long lasting and pigmented, however I still prefer to use cream concealers. This retails for $14.95 AU.

Revlon Colorstay Combination/Oily Skin Foundation

This is probably my favourite low end foundation, I had tried not to repurchase it and see what else is out there but I could not resist repurchasing it. This old one is in shade 180 Sand Beige which is a winter shade for me but possibly still a bit light, so this time I purchased shade 220. The old version was great but did not come with a pump, they have since added a pump in which I couldn't be happier about. This retails for $34.95 AU and comes in a large range of shades and also a normal/dry skin formula.

Loreal Blush

I cant find this blush online as it is actually so old! I received this a few years ago as part of a Christmas gift and it was probably the first blush I ever had. It was in shade 114 Fresh Papaya which is a lovely coral shade with small shimmer particles. It also came with a brush that fits inside the compact and also contains a small mirror. I really wish they still had this blush (I also own another one in a more plum shade) as I think its a great blush and had a reasonable wear time.

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

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