Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas, I know I did! I got to have Christmas with both my family and my boyfriend's family which was lots of fun, plus I got absolutely spoiled rotten by my family and Santa.

Sorry for the lack of posts, I was working pretty much full time pre-Christmas and getting round to taking photos and swatches does take some time.

For now I'll leave you with a photo of all my Christmas presents which hints towards some exciting posts to come. As well as this, I also bought myself some presents in the Boxing Day Sales so expect a haul or two in the near future. 

Have the most brilliant end to 2013!!

xx

Palette Profile: Stila Portrait of a Perfect Eye Palette

Hello Lovelies,

For the 2013 Holiday Season, Stila have released their Artistry Collection, which includes a heap of different eye, cheek and lip palettes, or, for those more inclined to spend big bucks, an entire make up kit entitled the Artist's Signature Set which has a variety of products and brushes and costs $235 at Mecca Maxima here in Australia, but is valued at almost one thousand dollars.

For me, a student with limited disposable income, I opted for something a little exxy and purchased the Portrait of a Perfect eye palette, a slim compact palette which includes six fairly neutral shades, 2 matte and four shimmery shades. At $24  I consider it to be a pretty good deal, with each shade coming out at four dollars if you divide the palette up. 

The packaging is slim and compact, covered in the vintage Stila girl design, which I consider to be perhaps not the most classy or sleek design in the world, however it is passable. The case doesn't snap shut, but is rather a magnetic seal which makes me doubt how secure the palette would be in a purse or makeup bag when traveling, I think if I decide to take it anywhere I'll wrap a hair-tie around it for securities sake.

While I mightn't be the biggest fan of the packaging on the outside, I love the way the inside of this palette looks. The wood-look background with the quote on top is really sweet and I love the design of the paint brush next to the colours, it really compliments the idea of the "artistry" collection.

Direct Sunlight

The colours are: Parchment, Organza, Vintage, Linen, Antique and Rosewood. However, despite trawling various beauty blogs, I can't figure out whether those colours should read left to right or right to left, as the palette leaves it sort of ambiguous.

As for the formula of these shadows, I have to say, it's not my favourite. Don't get me wrong, the colours are beautiful, some of the prettiest I've seen, however the consistency is a little chalky and colour payoff on the lid isn't amazing. Despite this, I still love this palette, I'm being critical in analysis because I expect big things from brands that cost a little more than the drugstore, however in saying that, this palette was a bargain. 

Inside

What do you guys think of this palette, have you tried it? If not, I'd definitely go check it out and see what you think, the colours are gorgeous. I'm heading to the mall today, so I'm thinking I might pick up the blush palette from this collection! Let me know if you'd like to see a post on that. Sorry for my absence, I'm a Christmas Casual working at the mall, so life has gotten very hectic!

Talk soon

xx

Lord of Misrule

Hello Lovelies!

Sorry for my little absence, I was away for most of the week and it's taken me a few days to get back into the swing of things. This post will just be a small one but there's more to come in the following week I promise.

The day I got back from holidays I was pretty exhausted so I decided to relax in the bath and tried out the Lord of Misrule bath ballistic from Lush. Now this is a pretty giant bath bomb, and at $5.50 it's somewhat of a bargain compared to other Lush bath ballistics of the same size. This ballistic is part of the Christmas range, and is described "Featuring Fair Trade vanilla absolute, the world’s first Fair Trade absolute, mixed with spicy black pepper oil and soothing patchouli.  Allow this ballistic to slowly dissolve in your bath to reveal a wine coloured centre.  The crown shape around the ballistic is the party hat that the tradition of the Lord of Misrule inspired centuries ago. Popping candy represents the party atmosphere that he would have created during his rule over a period of festive merriment." 

I'm not so sure about the popping candy, as mine most definitely didn't have any popping candy whatsoever, however the wine-colour is absolutely spot on, this bath went from green to a rich deep burgundy colour. The smell was sweet, and I'm not sure if it was just the colour of the bath making my mind play tricks, but I could swear this bath smelled of raspberries and other deep red berries. This bath bomb created a few bubbles, but was not foamy, with more of a froth on top rather than bubbles.The scent stayed on your skin afterwards and my mum said it also spread throughout the house. This ballistic probably isn't fantastic for you if you find strong scents overwhelming or headachey, however I really liked it and found it a nice departure from the similar smells of other Lush products. I'd definitely recommend this ballistic, as the price is reasonable and it smells delightful.

 Talk soon,

xx

November Favourites 2013

Hello Lovelies
November has been an incredibly long month for me and has spanned everything from my last HSC exam and finishing school to formal and life with endless free time. As this is my first favourites post, there will be both my favourites for this month specifically, but also a few things that I have been loving for a while now and I know I'll continue to love in the future. So, let's get down to business! (~to defeat the hun!~)

Beauty

For my birthday in September, my boyfriend bought me some Real Techniques Brushes; The Core Collection , The Starter Set, and the Blush Brush. I'd been wanting these brushes for ages, but they're so expensive here in Australia, so I believe he found them somewhere at a much more reasonable price online. I LOVE THESE BRUSHES! Before I started using these, I had a mix-matched set of poor quality brushes that had come in different sets and kits. Since I started using the Real Techniques brushes, applying make up is so much easier. There are some brushes that I don't use a whole heap, but my favourites are: the deluxe crease brush, which is amazing for applying and blending concealer and the buffing brush, which applies foundation like a dream.

Tin from a two dollar shop

Okay, so I'm not sure if I'm the only one, but I find it extremely hard to find a lip balm that I really like and can use on a daily basis. Granted, I am extremely picky, as I don't really like the feel of things on my lips, but you can trust be when I say that the Neutrogena Naturals Lip Balm is the best I've ever tried. It's extremely light on the lips, but also very smooth and has a peppermint flavour and scent. Even better is that it's not tested on animals, AND it has "no harsh chemical sulfates, parabens, petrochemicals, dyes, phthalates" so basically, it's the best lip balm ever. Definitely recommend.

Fashion

Like I said in my last post, I've been loving sandals lately, and these Lipstik Sandals are my absolute favourite, and have been for a while now. I know the Windsor Smith version of these shoes is popular, but I much prefer the look of the Lipstik ones. I purchased mine from Dotti for $50, and I can honestly say they are one of the most comfortable pair of shoes I own, they don't rub at all and you can walk around in them all day, and not have sore feet. Plus, if you're an absolute short-arse like me, they add some much needed height, without the sore feet that heels give.

Lillan Sandals - Blondie by Lipstik

 Speaking of my last post, I know I only just got these but I already know they're my favourite. These Chuck Taylor Converse All Stars are my babies, I love them so much. Like any pair of Converse, they take some breaking in, but are pretty comfortable otherwise. And for those of you, who sometimes find Converse to be a little flat, I've found the solution. Platforms are fab.

Food and Drink

So lately, Mexican food is my obsession, I literally can't get enough. My favourite place to eat aforementioned Mexican is Guzman Y Gomez. Find out if there is a store near you, because this is some seriously good Mexican. My boyfriend Matt's favourite thing to get is their Pork Chipotle Burrito, but for my vegetarian self, their Vego Burrito is amazing. I don't even know what makes it so good, but damn is it delicious. Their nachos are equally as amazing.

So while I suppose it doesn't technically count as a drink, one of my all-time favourites is my Smash Water Bottle. This baby holds 650 mLs and is so awesome. This sounds stupid, because drinking from a water bottle isn't hard, but like, this bottle makes it so easy and you get through the water pretty quickly, which is good for me because I should drink more water. Add on top the fact that it doesn't leak and it's nice and slim so it fits into bags easily, and you've basically got the perfect drink bottle.

Events

This month I had two really exciting events, the first one was going to see Beyonce! This lady is the queen of the world in my opinion, and she was nothing short of amazing. I might have been a little naughty, and gone to see her the night before my final exam, but seriously, Beyonce is an unmissable, once in a life time event and it was well worth it. Plus it meant that my biology exam was blessed with the backing track 'Love on Top'. Just look at her, she's so damn fierce and beautiful, just look at the woman!

 As I mentioned before, I finished school forever this month! That in itself is a favourite event, even though it's also really sad (it's a secret, but I actually loved school). But a super favourite event was my year 12 formal. It sounds super lame, but to be honest I've sort of dreamed about my formal since I was much younger, because really, it's one of the few times in your life you get to wear a floor-length gown and be a total diva. The formal was at this gorgeous venue, Curzon Hall, which was totally over the top, but in the best way possible. I'm not even kidding, the waiters put our napkins on our laps for us! Is that fancy or what? I have a post about my formal coming soon, with what I wore, as well as hair and make up and the like, but here's a little sneak peak.

Entertainment/Random Favourites

So this month I've had a lot of free time on my hands, which means I've been finding lots of entertaining things to fill my days with. The first of these was an absolute bargain that I picked up at a local market, the first three seasons of 'Friends' for six dollars each, such a steal! Me and my boyfriend have just started watching the first season and oh lordy, it's so good. The slightly inappropriate humour, the 90s fashion and oh the hair! 

Just look at that hair, so fierce.

 
So, for my birthday my friends all pooled their money to buy me a 3DS XL, which yes, is a little nerdy, but there you go, I totally love it. Matt, my boyfriend bought me Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which I'm now borderline obsessed with, I play every day. I'd played previous Animal Crossing games on various Nintendo Consoles, but this one is probably my favourite, I just love dressing up my character and decorating my house, as well as all the awesome real-time seasonal events.

Look at my cute little house!

Next up has to be my new favourite magazine, Elle Australia. The Australian branch of this fashion magazine only just launched, we're up to issue three, and this is honestly one of the best magazines I've read. It strikes just the right balance between a trashy mag and a gorgeous glossy, being sophisticated without being intimidating and too high fashion. It's perfectly accessible. I'm going to ask Santa for a subscription to this one!

One of my ultimate favourites for a while has been the Good Job Brain podcast, a self-proclaimed "offbeat trivia podcast". It's so bloody good! Each week they have a sort of topic or theme, and the four hosts Karen, Colin, Dana and Chris do some research and create a really interesting podcast that includes fun facts, quizzes and a butt-load of laughs. Check it out, you won't regret it I promise! 

My final favourite is an app that I have been using pretty much every day since it launched and this app is the Covet Fashion app. It's basically a sort of fashion game, that features real clothing in a virtual store. Essentially there are challenges, such as the recent Black Friday Shopping or Thanksgiving Dinner, and you have to create an outfit that suits the occasion and other Covet users vote on your look, if your score is high enough you win exclusive (in game) fashion items. It's hard to explain, but if you're a fashion lover, get this app, it's completely free!

I hope you all had an absolutely awesome month, just like I did. I'm actually away on holidays at the moment, just a short trip with friends, but perhaps I'll post some photos of the trip once I get home. 

Talk soon

xx

November Haul

Hello lovelies,

This month seemed to be the month of shopping for me, having just finished 13 years of schooling, it seemed only right that I treat myself to some things. The following things have been collected over the whole month, from various different shopping trips and other fun adventures. 

Firstly at the very start of the month I went to Beyoncé's concert here in Sydney, and it was absolutely amazing, plus I picked up this cool shirt. Yes, it was more expensive than any t-shirt should ever be, but it's such a cool print and style, and I mean, it is Queen B, after all.

Beyonce Official Merchandise Shirt - $70

 As the weather has warmed up this month, my shoe obsession has extended to include sandals, and in particular, jellies. Do these scream childhood to anyone else? The glitter, that faint rubbery smell, it's so nostalgic. Anyway, I picked up these beauties from David Jones on sale.

Lipstik Jellies - Around $24

I also got a few makeup and beauty items, both as gifts and purchasing them myself.

Acai Berry Sheet Mask - $3  Nyx Blushes - Gifts  MAC Lipstick - $36

 The Acai Berry Sheet Mask is from The Face Shop, a Korean beauty store in the city and it says "A firming mask sheet containing acai berry extract to improve resilience and provide moisturised firmness to the skin." We shall see if it delivers on those claims. Below are the swatches for the other three products

MAC Retro Matte Lipstick in All Fired Up   Nyx Stick Blush in Tulip   Nyx Powder Blush in Pinched

On Monday I went into the city and headed back to the Lush Store to pick up a few more things, included some more Christmas items I was lusting after. Unfortunately, their stock of Christmas items was extremely depleted and there was a bunch of stuff that I wasn't able to pick up, however I did get the following things.

 Butterball Bath Ballistic - $5.50 - "Softening cocoa butter with a decadent vanilla scent"
Christmas Eve Bubble Bar - $6.50 - "Jasmine absolute, uplifting ylang ylang oil and softening Irish moss powder for a soothing bath"
Snowman Bath Ballistic- $6.50 - "A creamy vanilla-scented bath with cocoa butter to soften the skin"
Strawberry Feels Forever Massage Bar - $13.50 - "Our fruity Massage Bar is made with crushed strawberries and an extract of hibiscus flowers. It’s scented with the same delicious fruit-sundae-with-cream-on-top aroma as our Yummy Yummy Yummy shower cream wash. Celebrate the strawberry feels forever and have irresistibly fragrant skin"

In the city I also went to Topshop, and they had their Christmas socks out, as well as their regular socks. They had the three pairs of socks for $18 deal on, so I got two pairs, and my sister-in-law got a pair with cute Christmas penguins on them. These are the ones I got, I especially love the polar bears.

 

I also picked up the Bourjois Java Rice Powder while in the city, for $20 but I forgot to photograph it. I also bought this t-shirt which i absolutely adore, it's sheer, so you can wear whatever colour you want underneath it.

Flower T-shirt - Dotti - $19.95

  Finally, on Thursday I made a trip out to DFO and Ikea with my boyfriend and his family. At DFO I picked up these awesome platform Converse that I have been coveting for quite a while now.

Converse All Stars - $100

 It was the first time I'd been to Ikea and I was totally in awe, however I only picked up two things; these ultra cute tins, and this scrumptious dessert-scented candle. I'm dying to redecorate my room so that I can go back and buy everything!

Tripp Tins - $5.99  Tindra Candle - $2.49

So there is my haul! I know it was a pretty long post but I really enjoyed putting this one together. I hope you liked it! 

Talk soon,

xx

 

OOTN 23/11/13 - Night Out With Friends

Hello Lovelies!

Last night I went out to a couple of pubs and bars with my friends and I thought I'd take some photos of what I wore to show you all.

 Outfit details: Top - Thrifted; Jeans - Target; Boots - Target; Bag - Thrifted

 Necklaces: Long - City Beach (unsure of the brand); Short - Equip

Rings were all gifts, except for the midi-ring which is from Lovisa and came in a set. The bangle was also a gift.

Lip Colour is Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Darling.

Let me know if you'd like to see more posts like this!

xx

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains

Hello Lovelies,

I recently received a set of Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains as a late birthday present from one of my friends. Suffice to say, I was pretty happy about it, as these babies retail for about $17.95 here in Australia, far too expensive for my poor student self. Each stain is the standard size of 2.7 grams.

The set contained the five shades; Adore, Lovesick, Cherish,Rendezvous and Darling

 The first shade is Adore, a warm-toned, brown red, with shimmer. Because I'm a cool toned, pale-skinned person, I personally don't love this colour on myself. The glitter is not hugely noticeable either. 

Adore 055

 The next shade is Lovesick, and is the classic balm stain hot pink, very similar to that of the Maybelline Babylips Pink Glow in Pink Blast. I preferred this colour on my skin, however it too has the barely detectable shimmers

Lovesick 020

 Next is Cherish which I would consider to be a lighter version of the previous colour. This one is probably the most wearable for me, as it is subtle enough to wear day to day.

Cherish 015

Second to last is the orange shade, Rendezvous, one of the colours I was most excited to try, as I've yet to decide how I feel about orange lipsticks on myself. I'd say as far as oranges go, this one is fairly subtle, but in a good way, for those looking to make a foray into the world of orange lipstick.

Rendezvous 040

 Last but not least is Darling, a lilac-purple shade, which similar to the orange, is fairly tame, so would be good for a purple debut. This colour is very similar to cherish, but less warm.

Darling 010

Below is a swatch, apologies for the slightly out of whack colour order.

Adore, Lovesick, Darling, Cherish, Rendezvous

All of the balmstains have the same slightly minty smell and flavour, and are relatively moisturising, however, not nearly as moisturising as a regular balm and I found my lips dried out quite quickly while wearing them. Besides this though, the colour pay off is decent, and the application is far easier than any other pigmented lip colour. All in all I'd say the Balm Stains are a good product, however I don't think I'll be rushing out to buy more too soon, as I simply didn't love them enough to fork out $18, perhaps I'd have more luck with other colours.

Feedback and comments are always appreciated!

xx