Review: Australis Neon Crush Blush

Been keeping an eye out for the eon collection from Australis for the past few weeks and when I saw it this blush was the one that really stood out to me, especially when I swatched the shimmery  side on the in-store tester. The packaging is (obviously)  super bright and crazy looking, and it does stand out but it won't be everyones cup of tea.

One side is shimmer(left) and the other is matte (right) but they are largely a very similar color though the shimmer side is a little lighter and with a very slight peach tone to it, but as you can see in the swatch below they end up looking very similar.

It doesn't have any "scented" flavor and the smell is a bit powdery and reminds me of older cosmetic scents, and it's certainly not a plus. One of the reasons I love my Illamasqua blush is the slightly sweet rosy smell which makes me happy just to put it on, you don't get any of that here.

The shimmery peach side is the stand out color, the lasting power is average at around 4-6 hours a bit better for the matte side. It costs $12.95 and in the collections is also a bronzer,nail polishes, some lip crayons, and eyeshadow but the neon scared me of  bit as I already have too much stuff without adding something utterly unwearable to the collection though I'm sure their just tints not actually opaque colors of neon pinks and other colors. I think this is a nice blush if your looking to try out something with more peach tones but this is very much a youth oriented product and you can probably get something a bit more wearable and a little nicer quality no matter what your market.The collection is pretty but a little to loud for me. How about you?

Here are pics of the other stuff from the collection cutesy of the Australis homepage:

Top Six Winter Lipsticks

Now that Winter is beginning to wrap up (in Australia that is) i thought it was a good time to share with you some of my favorite lipsticks that i have been wearing a lot in these colder months, they are great Autumn and Winter shades though i must admit that personally I am drawn to these sorts of colors all year round.

The contenders are (from left to right) NYX Saturn, Revlon Liptember Berry, Australis Go Long Glam, Illamasqua Growl, Australis Color Inject in Foxtrot, and the Australis Color Inject in Boogie Woogie. As you can see the NYX Saturn has probably gotten the most use

all of them have nice packaging though my two favorites would have to be the Illamasqua (it's luxe) and the Color Injects; both of these feel a bit heavier so i feel like I'm getting my money's worth and i believe that they are the most attractive of the bunch.

NYX - SATURN

I've tried about three of the NYX round lipsticks and i have to say that Saturn has to rank in my favorite NYX lipsticks, but would also be in the top three favorite lipsticks of all time. It's a great shimmery golden berry color. It's clearly not a particularly dark shade but it gives a lot of dimension to the lips and is great in warmer weather too. Lasts a good 4 hours if i don't eat or drink.

9/10

REVLON - LIPTEMBER BERRY

I initially bought this in mid-August to support the cause, as such i haven't had it as long as the others and it hasn't seen as much use. Having said that i picked it up because the shimmer effect reminded me a lot of the same shimmer i can see Saturn although in this case it's a much deeper red/plum color. It's a little more dry then Saturn but because of that it has better staying power and with a little effort lasts up to 4 hours.

7/10

AUSTRALIS GO LONG - GLAM

I choose to pick up Glam after trying the Color Injects from Australis and being very pleased with the results, this color seemed to look great on every blog i saw and it called to me. It's a matte warm toned berry that is indeed quite long lasting, it is however quite dry on the lips so you will want to exfoliate before using this. That said it's not as bad as some matte lipsticks i have tried as it doesn't pull on your lips quite as much. Lasts around 6 hours but is a bit drying. I have also noticed that it can stain your lips sometimes.

7/10

ILLAMASQUA - GROWL

This one looks much scarier in the tube then on the lips, it's actually nowhere near as dark as it first appears to be, it is a bit dry being a matte shade but not as much as Glam. I find it's best to apply this one with a lip brush to get the best coverage otherwise it tends to stick to dry parts of your lips and not cover very evenly. Lasts a good 7+ hours.

9/10

AUSTRALIS COLOR INJECT - FOXTROT

It was a long time before i tried any lip shades from Australis but boy am i glad i did, they are incredibly smooth and nourishing and feel so amazing on the lips i feel like I'm using a lip butter not a lipstick, they have good staying power and don't stain at all. The only downside i can think of is the smell is a very old school lipstick scent which. Foxtrot is my absolute favorite color. It's similar to my all time (now discontinued) Lancome Color Fever in Rose Defile. It's a brown leaning mauve but it has pink undertones that your lips don't look dead or too dark for a normal day out. Love! It might not last as long as the matte colors but it looks more natural, I've has this last around 4-5 hours.

10/10

AUSTRALIS COLOR INJECT - BOOGIE WOOGIE

After my successful foray into the Color Inject line with Foxtrot i could hardly stop there and picked up Boogie Woogie as a more pink but still mauve tones lipstick to wear to work as if i had darker eyshadows on then Foxtrot tended to look much darker against my skin tone then usual. Boogie Woogie is just as amazing and has the same qualities as Foxtrot, but all in all i like the color of Foxtrot better. This however is a great pink and a good work color.

These were taken a little later in the day so they are a little bit darker then the lip swatches and you can't see the shimmer in Saturn or Liptember Berry, they do however give you a good idea of the consistency with Foxtrot and Boogie Woogie being particularly creamy and moisturizing.

Review: Australis Neutrals & Neons Eyeshadow & Liner Kit

Today i wanted to to talk about the Australis Neutrals & Neons Eyeshadow & Liner Kit which i purchased a few weeks ago and is one of the reasons for my rising interest in bright eyeshadow. I've only ever used Australis eyeshadows once before so i had no real expectation for how it would perform but was happily surprised.

Let me say to begin with that this isn't an amazing palette that everyone should have, it is however a great way to test the waters when it comes to bright eyeshadows and if your willing put in effort then colorful eyeliners too. The neutral shades are nice but nothing you couldn't find elsewhere.

The packaging is nice and easier to clean then the matte "Get The Look! Pretty Pastel 4-in-1 Kit" released at the same time and usually sitting right next to it on the shelf. It's black shiny plastic and is pretty sturdy. The mirror stands up at various angles and doesn't fall down so you could actually use it while traveling. 

It claims to be usable wet and dry, however when i tried this the eyeshadow became a bit clumpy and harder to work with so I've found a better way to use it is with a wet/cream primer (I used Illamasqua Hollow pigment and the NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk and both worked well) and just pat it on and then blend later doing some color touch ups at the end. Best to do the eyeshadow first too as there is quite a bit of fallout on the "neon" shades.

As you can see the third color basically disappears on my skin and the first isn't much better though it makes a nice transition or blending color. These are nice and pretty pigmented, there's alot of product and the colors make a pretty good neutral eye.

The pink is the most pigmented, then yellow and blue with the green being a bit iffy but can be built up. There are lovley bright matte eyeshadows; the pink has a little shimmer in pan that does not really translate to the eye. My biggest issue is that they are not neons.

These are neons.

WIN: Interesting color variation, shades are quite pigmented, cheap, good first step to brights.

LOOSE: Very powdery, not in any way an eyeliner kit, the brights are not neon as stated on the package.

REPURCHASE: Yes

AVAILABILITY: Priceline $9.95 

I used this palette to make this look with the addition of Essence's John Lemon for the yellow inner corner.

Travel Supplies

So i haven't really traveled much since getting into the whole makeup thing so i thought it might be fun to share the stuff that i decided to take along with me, what i thought counted as essentials for my time away.

So here is the list of what i packed:

Base

x MUA Matte Perfect Primer

x Korres Ginger & Vitamin Foundation

x Garnier Oil free BB cream

x Ben Nye Luxury Powder in Cameo

x Essence Breaking Dawn Shimmering Powder

Eyes

x Naked 2 Pallet (essential neutral eyeshadow for any occasion)
x Maybelline Eye Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze
x MAC Star Violet eyeshadow
x Models Perfef Eyebrow Pencil in medium
x Essence Long Lasting eye pencil in teal
x Essence Long Lasting eye pencil in brown
x Maybelline "The Falsies" waterproof mascara
x Napoleon Perdis mascara (don't which one because the name has faded away)
x Face of Australia black gel eyeliner

Lips
x Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stains in Honey and Crush
x Australis Long Lasting Lipstick in Foxtrot and Oogie Boogie
x Korres mango lip butter

Blush
x NARS Blush in Deep Throat
x Illamasqua blush in Rude

Brushes
x Real Techniques Duo Fiber Blending brush
x Real Techniques Blush Brush
x Real Techniques Buffing Brush
x Real Techniques Blending Brush
x Eco Tools eyeshadow brush
x Urban Decay double sided Naked 2 brush

Lush

x Godiva Shampoo Bar

x Fresh Farmacy cleansing bar

x Godmother soap

x Butterball bath bomb

Other

x Moo Goo Full Cream moisturizer

x Swisspers cleansing wipes

x Paw Paw ointment

x Antispeptic cream

x Bandaids

That seems like a huge list having typed it up but I'm pretty confident that everything there will be useful, if not I'll do an updated post with what was most useful and what wasn't useful at all. What beauty stuff do you pack when your going away?

My first FOTD! uh-oh

Hmm i kind of really didn't want to do this, all in all i don't like posting pictures of my face on here as much as i can help it. But i wanted to be a little braver and i was quite happy with how this look came out and I've been trying a few different things over the past few days so why not be a bit brave and share. 

My idea behind this looks was an autumn/winter but still natural kind of feel. 

Hmm not sure what my hair is do up there, weird sort of whirly thing.

Products used:

MooGoo Full Cream Moisturizer (base)

Korres Ginger & Vitamins Foundation (LF1) spf 10

Korres Concealer (WRC3)

Korres Eyeshadow (White 02) as a brow highlighter

Face of Australia budge proof gel liner in brown

Essence - All about Matt compact setting powder 

Essence brow kit (dark brown shade) to fill in my brows

Urban Decay - Naked 2 eyeshadow (Snakebite) (YDK)

Illamasqua Cream Blush (Rude)

Australis Lipstick (Foxtrot)

hmm i just realized i forgot to use mascara....my bad

Anyhow i think it turned out well, next time i will probably spend a little more time on my brows and blend the eyeshadow more on the right (stage right) eye. In that respect taking these photos is actually quite useful in that i see things i didn;t notice or didn;t pay attention to on my face/mirror. Live and Learn.

Review: Rimmel & Australis Lipsticks

As i have mentioned i have been taking some efforts to delve into some makeup and hair care that is outside my comfort zone, for lipstick that means darker or brighter colors and for hair care that means more then just shampoo and conditioner. These 3 lipsticks represent my first foray into different types of lip colors. Firstly i'm sorry that the dark purple one is all smushed up, it was like that when i picked it up and i didn't have the heart/energy/time to go back and complain. But seriously who does this?

As you can see i picked up one lipstick from Australis Color Inject line (Foxtrot) and two from Rimmel's Kate line; shade 20 (the one that was on all the advertising) and  and shade 04 both of which are seriously out my and probably most peoples comfort zones. But hell, you only live one. (probably)

See; all the advertising

Foxtrot

I fell in love with this lipstick when i first put it on my lips, i bought it despite the in store hand swatch looking dark and scary, and yeah it is kind of dark but it's good sort of dark. It doesn't actually seem as dark in these photos is in person but it falls somewhere between mauve and plum. Plus, and the reason i love this lipstick so hard is how soft and yet amazingly long lasting it is!? I've not really encountered that before, it's usually either moisturizing and disappears if you look at it wrong or terribly drying but won't come of for love or money. My total favorite of the three, i will seriously be going back for more of these, i have my eye on the shade "Can Can" , i even love how hefty the packaging feels, much more comfortably weighty compared to many lipsticks i own.

20

Shade 20 is um...wow. It's like the Pout Paste from Australia i reviewed recently but it stays around for quite a while. The color pay off is really something and it does stay for quite a while, especially if you use a lip brush ti apply it because if you use the lipstick itself it does have a tendency to "pull" on your lips and feels a bit dry especially compared to Foxtrot. A very fun color and i enjoy wearing it for something different or when i can't be bothered with more eye makeup then say...mascara.

04

Uh wow, can you say Gothic or what. It's a fantastic deep purple that on my lips seems to look more plum/burgundy. Not an everyday color for sure, but it makes a lovely stain and seriously a fun shade for parties or Halloween looks.  Another shade that really needs a lip brush to look halfway decent as it tends to bleed and blur around the lip line. Nowhere near as drying as shade 20 and easier to put on but it does move around a little more.

I'm happy with all three but Australis Color Injects will be the ones go back to, i enjoy the formula too much to let it pass by and although the color pay off on the Rimmels is quite amazing i'm not sure it's for everyone.

Review Australis Pout Paste

I'm a little late with this review, in fact the photos have been sitting on my hard drive before i moved but since i recently fell hard into love with the Australis Color Inject lipsticks i thought my first lip product from Australis deserved a little attention since it's really what made me confident enough to try other lip stuff from the brand. I am of course talking about the Australis Pout Paste Intense Lip Colours, and boy are they ever.

Believe it or not this color is the easiest to wear and the most...well not subtle but wearable i guess, the other two colors are a deep berry with slight purple tones and a bright bright my face is on fire red, so really the pink was the only...safe option? I don't know, who cares, look at the color payoff?! By the way it's actually called "Pash me Pink". Which is a bit silly but not in any way off putting. I still remember sending my boyfriend into Mecca to buy me "Orgasm". Good Times.

Even though it looks like it would be a tube application, not a huge fan, as you can see it actually comes with a soft and angled doe foot applicator making actually putting this thick yet glossy stuff much easier then it might otherwise be. The formula is super soft and ultra glossy, a little bit on the thick side but as i mentioned the applicator does a decent job of spreading that stuff around. The image below shows how nicely it spreads, no bold patches or bleeding.

I really like wearing this, it's crazy bright but a good kind of bright and really goes along way to brighten up the cold winter days. It leaves a slight stain which i enjoy and usually just use as a reminder to reapply some but being a gloss do not expect it to last through your dinner or drinks. You will however leave behind a Hollywood quality lip stain on your glass. I'm a fan, and i don't usually go in for gloss, but the color pay off sells it for me, and i hope they bring out some more colors.

Have you tried these?