Classic Combinations

I love dem classic combinations. Give me glam any day and I will gladly accept!

Every time I go out {which is not often, let's be even more real #pjs&disneymovies4lyf}, I tend to use the same combination because I know it works well! Is that sad.. that I don't really experiment when I go out?! I also have this weird thing where I honestly cannot match my lipstick to my eyeshadows,  I don't know if I'm the only one that struggles with this…?

But all I know is that I got this combination down to a T! I love my golds and browns. I love my peachy pinks. I love my orange reds lipsticks. Mix them together and BOOM. Winning combo. 

I have tried many gold eyeshadows and some are just too golden, ya know?! I feel like I should just glue two shiny gold coins onto my eyelids instead... But I finally found my favourite golden shade which is MAC's "Woodwinked". I don't know what it is but the shade doesn't look like too bright {or yellow}, it's a more of an everyday vintage glamour shade. I love the way it looks with the ByTerry Ombre Blackstar Eyeshadow crayon in "Bronzed moon" in the outer corner of the lid. The last time I talked about this, I was n00b101 and was like "I DON'T GET CRAYON SHADOWS?!". But let me tell you, I got this under control now. I absolutely love this eyeshadow crayon and I don't use it often because it is so expensive BUT I LOVE IT! 

Also paired with wings?! da best combo!

OUH girl, I mentioned in my September Favourites post that I have been loving TheBalm's Frat Boy Blush! This blush is amazing by the way, it is crazy pigmented and the colour is just so good! I LOVE this paired with my favourite night-out lipsticks {yes, lipstICKS, you heard me}. They are the NARS Matte Lip Crayon in "Red Square" and MAC's "Lady Danger", both of which are bright fiery orange reds which I can't get enough of! I find the NARS Crayon too drying for my liking so I put the MAC one of top so it packs an extra punch of colour and somehow it the dryness doesn't feel too bad. I'm gonna say that I literally have to prep my lips like 4 days in advance to wear matte lip products but it is SO WORTH IT! The combo together lasts a pretty long time, however, I haven't worn it longer than 5 hours but it would probably last longer than that!

All together, I think these products do a pretty good job at creating the vintage glamour look with a pop of colour! I have been loving this combination lately and I can't wait to get more use out of everything!

What is your fave combination?
xx

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Lush Space Girl Bath Bomb

I have had this bath bomb from Lush sitting in my cupboard for a while and I finally found the time to sit back and relax. Now that my exams are officially over for the year, I was like "you worked hard girl, #treatyoself". 

I decided on using the Lush Space Girl Bath Bomb because it smelt so good annnd because it looks like a little itty bitty glittery spaceship! Now I know that when I post about Lush that it is always a bath bomb, and that is because I don't take baths very often so when I do, it's like a field trip {so #treatyoself}. First things first {no iggy jokes here my friend}, the smell of Space Girl is incredible! I actually prefer this scent to all the other Lush products because it didn't give me a headache! I can't even begin to describe what this bath bomb smells like.. maybe a mix between a flower and a sweet berry? maybe.

When I plopped it in the bath I was a little mortified to be honest because my whole bath started turning red {dafig?} but then as it fizzed out after two minutes or so, a purple berry colour mixed in with the red and it had this real cool ombre effect in the water! The smell definitely lingers! I can still smell it on my skin and in my bathroom and I'm totally cool with it because it smells so good! I'm going to say that I felt like a slippery seal when I tried getting out of the bath HAHHAH, people have said that they haven't found their bath bomb very moisturising, but I did.

Overall, I enjoyed having a bath with the Lush Space Girl bath ballistic! I don't think I will repurchase because bath bombs are kind of a one time thing {if you want more uses + bubbles, invest in the bubble bars}.

What is your favourite product from Lush?
xx

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The Skincare Splurge

I don't think I've ever dedicated a whole post to skincare before because I have issues with my skin and just recently getting of roaccutane, I thought I would treat my year and a half journey with some luxe-o skincare to help treat the aftermath left behind. Now I'm making it sound worse than it really is, but I get disheartened about my skin and get frustrated with foundations not having enough coverage or not sitting on my dry skin. ALAS, I splurged on some skincare bits and bobs from Mecca Cosmetica and David Jones to get my skin back in check... hopefully! Instead of a normal haul telling you "how excited I am to try this", I thought it would be cool to give some first impressions/how it went down with my skin in a couple weeks!

REN Evercalm Gentle Cleansing Gel

I used the normal cleansing gel {with the blue stripe} when I was on accutane so I knew that the gel designed for sensitive skin was going to go down well too. They actually changed the packaging slightly as last time the product looked like a sack of gel in the middle of the bottle but this time they included the thing that pushes the product up every time you pump it out {JA FEEL?}. I use this after I take my makeup off and it is supposed to leave my skin feeling "soothed from irritation and tightness". First impressions~ the smell is not my cup of tea but bearable. It is a gel consistency which doesn't irritate my skin and when I finish using it, my skin is definitely looking less red. So far so good!

REN Radiance Perfection Serum

Now this baby is the one I am most excited about. I have a dull and uneven skin tone with redness from scars and irritation, I am HOPING that this works with that. This product claims to make "skin look energised, radiant and even toned" while also claiming to "help reduce the appearance of sun damaged skin and hyper pigmentation". At first I was really scared to use this serum as I was worried that it would like burn my skin off or something but I assure you that it didn't! ;) The smell has like an orangey scent to it in my opinion. It squirts out of the pump like a mix between a serum and a moisturiser and I always use half a pump as for me, one whole pump is too much!! And it just applies so smoothly and evenly on the skin. After a week of using this product, I definitely noticed an improvement with the redness and overall tone of my skin. My mum even notices that my redness has gone down in the morning which is a total win in my opinion!

Origins Drink Up-Intensive Overnight Mask

I'm kind of cheating with this one because I got it before the other products to see if it would help moisturise my skin. I bought this because Lily Pebbles talked about it and how much she loves it and personally I am still on the fence about it. It smells amazing, like a sweet green tea or something - so I'll give it that, which it does linger so it may not be everyone's cup of tea. I feel like I can't use too much of this at one time because it gets all slimey just as you go to lie on your pillow. Sometimes I have to put my overnight cream on top which I don't know if that's what you are allowed to do but SCREW YOU SKINCARE PO PO!! I'm going to use it based on how it moisturises my skin.

Kate Somerville CytoCell Dark Circle Corrective Eye Cream

At first I thought it was lack of sleep that was making my circles bad but turns out good ol' genetics blessed me with some fine genes. I have dark eyelids too which makes putting on concealer and eyeshadows such a drag because the shades don't show their true colours! :( So I did my research and came across the Kate Somerville eye cream which seemed to work for a lot of people. This bottle was so expensive it made me tear up at the counter but if it does what it's supposed to then it'll be worth it. I would like to mention that it is spring right now where I live and allergies. I have not used this properly since I have got it as my eyes are always itchy and sore! Maybe it'll get shown on the blog in the future?? {don't quote me on that}.

Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask

I saw that a lot of people were blogging about this at one stage and Antipodes just seems like such a cool brand so naturally I wafted over to the shelves and picked it up. I haven't used it yet as I wanted to see how the other products play out on my skin first before I throw in some more new things however, this mask has generally had great reviews so I'm sure that it will work a treat mixed in with the other products that I purchased.


ANNNND that's it! If you kept reading this massive post and got to this point, I applaude you! I know I went cray but I rarely buy new skincare products and it was just time to treat myself! Have you got any skincare products that you have been loving at the mo? I would love to check some more things out! :D
xx

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Nails In No Time

I don't know about you but ain't nobody got time for slow drying nails!! I am always painting my nails but the real struggles come after… waiting for them to dry. I'm always fidgeting and I needed to find some things that would smudge proof my nails within minutes! Saying that, I believe I have found my power team of affordable products that do a speedy job with the whole mani banaza!

Maybelline Express Remover

When it's time to repaint the nails, I reach straight for this nail polish remover! It does a pretty quick job at removing old polish on your finger in one simple step! You just swirl your finger in the sponge and PRESTO! MAGIC! Your nails are free from old polish and is ready for the next mani! I have used it so much that now the sponge is staining my fingers so I have to repurchase again but other than that, I prefer this over cotton wool.

Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat
I'm not really fussy when it comes to base coats because I change my nail polish so often. I use this one because it just dries quicker than others that I have tried! I'm like less than half way through the bottle and it's getting difficult to reach all the product with the brush so I might have to repurchase it too! AND revlon always has sales on at Chemist Warehouse and Priceline, so you can pick it up for a steal if you're keen!

China Glaze Ridge Filler Base Coat
Even though this isn't a product that claims to dry fast, this baby does sure dry pretty quick {quicker than the Revlon one!}. I also love that it is a ridge filler base coat so it evens out your nails so the following polish looks pretty spiffy. I actually prefer this one over the Revlon one because it does dry faster and I have had it for a while and the formula hasn't protested about not being used.

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

After trying all the drugstore quick dry top coats, this one is the most impressive! Once you apply it, it evens out the shotty painting skills and provides such a glossy finish! Every time I use it, I always get asked where I get my nails done! The time it takes to dry is a little longer than expected {Can be smudged if not careful} but paired with the Essence Nail Art Express dry drops on top, it cuts that time in half and makes it smudge-proof! HOWEVER, imma be real. I am like halfway through the bottle and it's all thick and gross making it nearly impossible to get an even coat but it is so cheap {on sale} that I don't mind repurchasing.

Essense Nail Art Express Dry Drops

The main magic behind it all is the Essense Nail Art Express Dry Drops. Dang I cannot explain how great this product is! I bought it a while back and because I didn't know how to use it.. honestly, it was neglected. I recently decided to give it another go and I'm so glad I did because it rapidly increased the drying time between the last coloured coat and the final coat! AND it's so inexpensive too! 

These are my fave products for painting my nails in no time! Do you have a secret magical product that works to speed up the drying time? I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW!
xx

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September Favourites 2014

OMGMGMG! I'm sorry for not blogging as usual for the past month or so, I've just been so busy with uni assignments and procrastination that the blog was unloved for a couple weeks. It has always been on my mind to get a new post up but it was all too much with uni so I unwillingly took a break.

BUT I'M BACK *CONFETTI AND PARTY POPPERS* and I'm ready to pump out some more posts because now I actually have time to get everything sorted! What better way to start than a good ol'  monthly favourites post! To be honest, I didn't even have the $$$$ or the time to do some damage at the shops so I've retreated to the stash where all the gems really lie.

 

Maybelline Color Elixer in "Blush Essence"
It wasn't until the middle of the month when I decided to whip this baby out for a spin and let me tell you, I actually really like it. This shade in particular is kinda rosey and just goes with everything {eyez wize}. I have learned to love the formula {it was a process but we got there} and I really do enjoy them, so much that I bought a couple more in different shades! They aren't sticky like I thought they would be, the colour payoff is crazy good for a gloss hybrid thing that it claims to be and it's just so easy to apply!

Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner
I had this sitting in my draw and just decided to use it recently because I didn't want it to go to waste. It's a toner spray that you can use any time of the day but I tend to use it more at night, after I have a shower just before I put my moisturiser on. I have problems with redness caused by irritation and ever since I have started to use this spray, I have noticed my skin looks so much calmer in the morning which is a major plus for me when I go to put my makeup on and not have to use like 1 million concealers to get an even base {conceal, don't feel}. I haven't dabbled too much into the Sukin range, but I might look into their stuff if it's going to really help my skin.

The Balm Frat Boy Blush
Okay, so maybe I did do a little spending this month.. I picked up the Frat Boy Blush from TheBalm which is a peachy pink shade that just looks so good on. The first time I wore it paired with the NARS Matte Lip Crayon in "Red Square" which is a fiery red orange and it just complemented each other SO WELL!! {especially paired with a wing, ouuiiii}. The pigmentation of this blush is insane too so if you have this, use a light hand! AND THE PACKAGING IS JUST SO DARN CUTE! What's really not to love?! Going into spring, I definitely think this blush will be a solid staple in the everyday makeup routine!

Sigma E25 Blending Brush
ohmy, this eyeshadow brush has been a staple in my collection since I bought it at the beginning of the year! The shape of it makes it so easy to apply and blend shadows on the outer corner and the crease without looking so out of place. I believe this brush is a dupe for the MAC 217 brush which is like 10x more expensive than the sigma one which does exactly the same thing. If there is one thing you want in your makeup life, it's to always have blended shadows.

Butter London "Come to Bed Red"
September was a serious red-nail-polish-month for me! I actually think I had red nails ALLLL month which is so unusual because I have such nail polish commitment issues and I swap the shades like every two days. I think it's because I had no time to do anything but assignments so I touched my nails up with the shade from Butter London. I just LOVEEE the formula, it's so mess free and just applies so nicely! It's pretty opaque too but as I like to make my polishes last a little longer, I just applied more coats! The shade is just a beautiful true cherry red which just looks so lovely on.

A bit of a rambly favourites this month I guess, I JUST MISSED TALKING ABOUT MAKEUP AND STUFF!! I have been writing up some posts that are sitting in my drafts so hopefully you won't have to wait this long for another post again!
xx

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