Review: Maybelline the Rocket

Hello, I  wasn't planning another Mascara review so soon but the day after i put up the Covergirl Flame Out Mascara my mum came home from a trip to Thailand and Singapore and gifted me this one, the Maybelline "the Rocket" Volum (? what's with the weird spelling?) mascara. This is another one that I've hear about quite a bit from UK and US beauty blogs but it's yet to hit our shores. However it was favorably compared to both Flame Out and The Falsies mascaras. Unlike the Covergirl mascara this one is supposed to add volume rather then length.

The packaging is very similar to The Falsies but just blue rather then purple, and peaked at the top to I guess resemble a rocket shape. The brush is like a wider version of the L'Oreal Telescopic, same small "spikes" but a rather large base. Personally I find that it does indeed add volume but it's also quite thick and therefore difficult to remove at night, it tends to clump a bit in corners or among the lashes, almost as if it was a bit sticky. The other issue is that the fatness of the brush base makes it difficult to reach the very base of your lashes, however despite those (numerous) issues the formula does in fact add a lot of blackness and volume and I would personaly probably use it with a different mascara wand or put the formula on a eyelash brush/Brow brush and use that to comb through the lashes without the clumping issue. However that's a lot of work and there are better mascaras out there.

Review: Satsuma Perfume from Body Shop

The Satsuma range at the Body Shop can be an elusive beast, but it made it's appearance this year on Boxing day much to my good mood as it's a wonderful scent for starting the new year with; it's a fresh fruity smell that's just bursting with citrus overtones. The strongest scent is Tangerine but it's so much more then that, it's such a rich scent that seems almost alive - like it might burst out of the bottle. 

This is the first time I've seen it as a perfume but there is a whole range of products; shower gel, soap, body butter, body polish, and body lotion. It's a gorgeous scent and is perfect for this time of year, though I do which it would stay around a bit longer. I usually get maybe 3-4 hours out of it.

Review: Physician's Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls

During Priceline's 40% off sale at the end of last year I picked up a few products including this Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls in Translucent Pearl from Physician's Formula.  I always eye off the PF stand whenever I head in there but it's always just too expensive for regular purchasing on any kind of regular basis. I picked up Translucent but also available are Beige Pearl, Bronze Pearl  and Light Bronze Pearl. The second two being bronzer not highlighters. Also available is Rose Pearl and  Neutral Pearl which are blushes. Though not all seem to be easily available in Australia.

It's a highlighter pressed in a very pretty pearl/bump pattern, and there's even a cute little fake pearl on the plastic cover of the container. The pearl "sheen" comes off after the first few uses and your left with a shimmery pale pink and white shimmery powder.

It has a container in the bottom that includes a flat half circle brush and mirror which frankly I never use, it gives quite good "shimmer" pay off and it probably the nicest highlighter I've worked with, though I'm still not convinces about the usefulness of such a product. Still it makes a nice makeup look that little bit more polishes but I don't see a use of it for any kind of everyday look.

Review: Covergirl Flame Out Mascara

To welcome in the new year (Happy New Year btw) here is my first purchase of the year, and one I was quite excited to see as I first saw this product on Youtube about 6 or 7 months ago when it was getting quite a bit of Hype in the US. It also has the honor of being the first mascara review on this blog (I tend to have long lashes anyway so I don't know how useful it is for me to demonstrate them, hence their lack of presence).

It's a mascara designed to give a bold and voluminous look, it has an hourglass shaped brush which can be a bit unwieldy but with a bit of practice is actually quite dexterous as you can just use the first "bulb" to do your lower lashes if that's your thing. However getting your conner lashes can prove a little problematic. I find it quite good at separating my lashes and holds a strong curl.

Here's a before and after shot; as you can see it doesn't add any length but it has volume and separation in spades. I would probably rather this as my third favorite mascara which I have tried after L'Oreal 'Telescopic', and Maybelline 'The Falsies'.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone, hope you are all having a great time staying safe and comfy with your family and friends. I'm having a lovely Christmas taking care of my neighbors kitten (above) and he is proving quite the handful and not letting me onto the computer much.

See you all in the New Year :)

Review: MAC Wedge Eyeshadow

Keeping up with the luxury feel for Christmas season i thought I would show of another MAC product, this one has been a fan favorite for a long time and it's numerous appearances are what convinced me to get it. Wedge is a matte warm brown slightly taupe eyeshadow, it's quite pale and a little hard so it takes a bit of effort to get onto your brush.  It is however great as a crease color or as a transition shade. It's a staple in many collections.

I do like the color but the texture was a little disappointing; it seemed quite hard and difficult to get any pigment off without scratching the surface just a touch, not sure if I just got a bad batch or something because I've seen stellar reviews of this and I'm just a little sad that mine didn't live up to them.

Have you had a similar experience with a product that has great reviews but just doesn't click for you?

Review: MAC Rubenesque

Welcome to December, since it's the month of festivities I thought I would start with something gold and a little bit luxe. This was a product I came across quite early with Elle & Blair's Youtube videos, though I've moved on to other Youtube guru's since then. The MAC paint pots are perhaps the original predecessor to many peoples (mine included) much loved Maybelline Color Tattoos. The paint pots are cream eyeshadow which come in 5g containers, since they are cream products it's very important to make sure they don't dry out and keep the lid screwed on tight.

Rubenesque is maybe the most beautiful color I have ever seen in any product ever, it's a golden peach with pink undertones, the peach tones in this make it so beautiful and ethereal. I want a powder eyeshadow in this color, and a blush...and a lipstick and just everything really. It's shimmery, not glittery, almost frosty, and super smooth. Despite this amazing peach color it's still very neutral and wearable for everyday wear.

This paint pot is much thinner then the eye tats, the closes I have in texture is the Bearly Branded, it's almost gel like rather then cream. It's somewhat build able in consistency, if you load it up to much though it starts to wipe away the color so it's better to let it dry down for a few seconds. I would think this might looked better on darker skin then mine as it get's a little lost on me when applied thinly, but it makes a perfect base, is very waterproof and easily warms up any powder eyeshadow and can be used for some great effects.

This was a birthday present, as ordinarily i wouldn't even consider buying any MAC products here in Australia, but sometimes you just have to treat yourself. I love this little pot and use it at least once a week, also it doesn't seem to dry out as much as i thought it would. 4 months since purchase, it's just as sft as the day i bought it. Have you tried the pain pots?