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?

Empties: November 2013

End of November, almost Christmas time :) Even better yesterday was the PS4 Australian release so that's going on. Let's jump into it then shall we?

Maybelline Dream Pure BB for Oily Skin
reviewed here
+++ repurchase: no
One of the better BB cream's I have tried, if not for the fact that it didn't turn my skin super oily after a few hours it would be a winner. I might try the regular version and see if that has a similar effect on me.

Ponds Flawless White BB+
reviewed here
+++++ repurchase: yes
My favorite and most easily available bb cream, has the slightly ashy coloration of the original bb creams, lasts ages and fades naturally. A favorite

Burjois Flower Perfection Primer
+++ repurchase: no
This was my first ever primer, and the product that really introduced me to the concept. It's small size is actually why it took me so long to finish, i didn't want to go buy another one for the price so I really made it last. Over the past few months I finally used this up which did not take long as other primers have made their way into my life and I'm okay letting this go.  Heavy flower scent, thick texture, probably better for more mature skin.

Essence Marble Mania Mascara
++ repurchase: no
This was from the Marble Mania trend edition about a year back (yeah yeah 3 months mascara blah blah) and i picked it up to check out how the marbled effect would work, it's supposed to be a black mascara with silver shimmer. I saw no silver shimmer, it's dried up and gross now so bin it goes.

Maybelline Illegal Length Fiber Extensions Mascara
++ repurchase: no
I picked this up when it was first introduced as i was intrigued by the concept but it didn't really do it for me, the brush i really don't like as it's impossible to get lower lashes. It smudged when first applied and then i had a terrible time getting it off in the evening. No thanks.

Softlips spf 20 Raspberry Lip Balm
++++ repurchase: maybe
Got this one during a stress day at school last year and used it a lot when i was out and about, it smelled like raspberry and had a pleasant cooling sensation. This always felt like a bit of a treat to use. If i see it again i will pick it up but I also have a lot of lip balms so I'm in no rush.

Nice'n ease Color Condition Gloss
++++ repurchase: yes
I wish they would sell these separates and not just as part of the coloring kit, this was a really nice conditioner and I usually hate the included ones as they feel quite cheap. The Nice'n Easy coloring kits are by far my favorite too, the best part is that after the first shower the color doesn't leak all over your shower.


Swisspers Cotton Wipes
+++++ repurchase: yes
A staple. No more need be said.

Rexona Delicious Long Lasting Protection Deodorant
+++ repurchase : no
It's an alright deodorant that smells nice, but it seems to run out quite fast.

Review Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush

I've had this in my stash fir a little while now, I got a hold of it a few months ago but haven't used it much. It is however a unique and interesting product to look at and try and i admit i like having it. Sadly these aren't available in Australia and so far as I know they won't be either so if your itching for one you will have to look online. The shade I have is 50 Plum Wine, as far as i can see it's the darkest shade available.

The bouncy blushes are very soft and sort of puffy, the're a bit like a memory foam pillow - you press it in and it (mosty) bounces right back. Use a light hand though or it will smush more then it bounces. It' supposed to be a powder-gel formula and it delivers quite a sheer wash of color when used. It smells a little....heavy but not unpleasant. Be sure to wipe this onto the cheeks and do not scoop the product out, that's not really going to work.

I'm not a huge fan of the packaging but it doesn't make a huge different, it's a fun product to play with but the staying power isn't really there, around 4 hours at most but it's reasonable as a base since it's such a light wash of color. 

Have you tried a bouncy blush? Would you?

Review Revlon Whimsical

A polish many of you have no doubt seen many times, but this is the first time I have gotten to wear it since my terrible nailpocalypse which took place over the past few months. So feeling a bit braver i decided i could wait no longer to wear this beauty. So if nail polish isn't your thing or you've been living on the moon this polish "Whimsical" is a dupe of Deborah Lippmann's Glitter in the Air. It was for a long while unavailable here while it's companion polishes "Popular", "Scandalous", "Radiant"  and "Stunning" were easily found leading many to think that for whatever reason this one would not be making it';s way to our shores. Luckily this is not the case as it appeared maybe two - three months ago at basically every Revlon stand, happily so.

It's a very sheer blue base with a hint of green and sparse pink and blue hexagonal and round glitters. In the pictures here I'm wearing it over two coats of China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint which is very close if a little more green. This is one that really need a solid base coat underneath as it's so very sheer that it would take about 4-5 layers to get it to show up solid (trust me i tried). The glitter spreads evenly and doesn't clump but does have a bit of a tendency to bubble a bit so use thin layers. Wonderful for layering and a beautiful and delicate polish.

Have you tried it?

Priceline 40% Haul

The last 2 days Priceline has been having a 40% off all cosmetics sale at which I couldn't quite help picking up a few things I've been wanting for a little while now but have thus far resisted. Well so much for that. Here are the products I piked up:

Physician's Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls (Translucent Pearls)

This a highlighter type powder, it looks quite frosty. As you can see the product looks super cute and ever since these were released I've always had an eye for this and the Happy Blusher but could never quite bring myself to pay the money for them.

Physician's Formula  Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Pearls (Natural)

Another super cute product, I've heard a lot of love and praise for these "happy" blushes but since I had my 2 NARS and 2 Illamasqua blushes i didn't feel right spending the money on a drugstore blush when i could get another one of those for an extra $15.

Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation (081 Fair Ivory)

I would have picked this up much earlier if I had not been detracted my the NYX Stay Matte but Not Flat liquid foundation which turned out to be a bit disappointing but I've managed to make it work a little better. The texture on this is amazing and it literally just disappears on my skin and looks like skin! I'm so happy to have this now and plan to use it everyday.

Revlon Nearly Naked Mineral Powder Foundation (010 Fair)

I've been interested in trying a powder foundation for a little while and this one seemed like a nice one to try, what with the SPF 15. I usually only use powders which are translucent as setting powders. i'm interested in seeing if this will work for me.

Essence Studio Nails Ultra Strong Nail Hardener 

I would have picked this up regardless of sale, lately I haven't been able to wear much in the way of nail polish because after several months extended every day wear my nails were completely wrecked; peeling, breaking, cracking. It was nasty, these last two - three months or so I haven't worn anything but my nail polish collection has been calling my name and I can't hold out much longer but I also don't want my nails to go through the same terror. So hopefully this will do the job.

So how did you guys go with the 40% off sale?