July 31, 2011

CLOSED: Giveaway - Flormar Teracotta blush and bronzer

Regular readers will remember how happy I was when I first discovered this brand called Flormar, which is still very new in Australia.

I'm always going on and on about this brand, especially the mineral blushes which are pretty good dupes for MAC MSFs but at a 1/3 of the price. Because there is only one store open here in Australia (which luckily is very close to where I work), I wanted to give my readers a chance to experience these blushes.

So I am giving away two Flormar Terracotta powders, blush in #45 (plummy pink with gold veins) and bronzer in #43. Both products have been purchased with my own cash, however I did receive a discount from them because of how much I've been rambling on about the brand (this discount was also offered to my readers)



Click HERE and HERE to see some of my previous Flormar posts.

Also if the winner is interested, I will include the following Model Co eyeshadow palette which I had received free with a magazine purchase. It's brand new and unused, I'm only giving it away as I have too many similar colours.


How to enter

The giveaway is open internationally and closes on Saturday 13th August 2011. If you are under 18 please get a parent or guardian's permission before entering as I will need your address to post this to. I will take all care to package this with bubble wrap, however please note that once I mail this out I will not be held accountable for anything that may happen en route.

Mandatory entry
  • You must be a public follower of my blog through Google Friend Connect (see widget in the right sidebar) and fill out the form below +1 entry

Extra entries
  • Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this page and my twitter handle @lilitsblog + 1 entry
  • Do a blogpost about this giveaway using any of the blush pics above + 1 entry
  • Put this giveaway on your blog's sidebar using any of the blush pics + 1 entry
  • Tell me how I can improve my blog, e.g. what would you like to see more of, less of, etc + 1 entry

If you do all options you have 5 entries into the draw. The winner will be drawn using random.org

Good luck everyone!





July 30, 2011

Secret blogging business

When I first started my blog almost 8 months ago not many people in my life knew about it. Besides my husband, I pretty much kept it a secret from everyone.
The aqua polish on the left is the best ever... a post on it will come in the near future.

Why? It was really because of a fear of being judged for my obsession with what some may call frivolous and material things. I didn't want people to know that I went to 3 different countries and 6 different cities to track down the Naked Palette!

Then slowly slowly I decided to tell a few people here and there. Some people thought it's the coolest thing ever and are regular readers of my blog (hi guys, you know who you are!) Some just didn't care...

Then it dawned on me... my IQ doesn't decrease with every new lipstick purchase... my wallet, yes, my IQ I'm pretty sure is still intact. Except maybe when I get obsessed about a particular product and that's all I can think of until finally get them... yes Tipsy & Dollface, I am talking about you! Or when I start talking in legal-ese trying to justify why I got a Lover, Illamasqua Lover that is. I'm happily married thank you very much!

The point I'm trying to make is, that while I kept thinking that I have to keep my blog a secret because I'll be judged, thought of as materialistic or not smart enough, that wasn't the case at all. People are either going to think it's fabulous (and you're fabulous!) or just not care and that's just fine!

There are still people in my life that don't know I have a blog, but that's because I haven't seen the need to tell them, rather than being afraid to tell them.


So for all you bloggers out there - who knows about your blog?

July 28, 2011

Nails by Flormar

You may remember my recent Flormar haul which included 3 new nailpolish purchases.

The lovely Vita from Making Up 4 My Age requested a swatch of Supermatte #111 (the dark brown one) first but over the course of last week I tried all 3 polishes, and here they are.

Colours are: Selection #10 (pale), Supershine #04 (Coral), Supermatte #111 (browny plum)


Selection #10
I really like the colour of this in the bottle, a lovely pale pinky peach, and to tell you the truth I was expecting a more cream finish. Instead it's frosted formula which is my least liked formulas for polishes. My nails aren't that smooth and buffed, so frosted polishes just look very streaky on my nails. In the picture below I'm wearing 3 coats of the polish and even though it looks quite opaque, you can see the streakiness on my ring finger.

Because I'm not a fan of the frost, I only left this on for one day before removing it so I can't comment on the lasting power, however even with the 3 coats this polish was dry within the hour which is great.


Supershine #04
Aah, this is a stunning colour that I do love. It's a beautiful bright coral with specks of gold in it... my camera wasn't able to capture the lovely gold flecks but trust me they're there! I got a great opaque coverage in 2 coats and this lasted me 3 days before I removed it to try the next colour.



Supermatte #111
When I bought this polish I didn't realise it was meant to be matte, but luckily for me this wasn't didn't have the supermatte look that I was dreading. It was more of a creamy look, with minimal shine. In the picture below I'm wearing a shiny top coat over it. The picture in the collage in the first pic is how it looks without the top coat. Only 2 coats are needed to get an opaque finish, but unfortunately after 2 days this chipped around the edges.


Overall I really like the creamy formulas, but not a fan of the frost one. These cost $5.99 each, which is very cheap by Australian makeup standards, and if I can brave the overwhelming choice of nailpolish colours again at Flormar, I will most likely get some more.

And don't forget, if you're in Sydney region I have a discount code that you can use to get 15% off Flormar until 31 July 2011. HERE is the post where I've got the code and details.

Have you tried Flormar polishes before? What do you think of these colours?

July 26, 2011

NARS Dogon eyeshadow - review, photos & swatches

Remember when I bought my Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes (reviewed HERE) I mentioned that there was one other item I purchased? Well my dears, it was Dogon eyeshadow by NARS.



NARS Dogon is a limited edition shade and I will be honest here... when it first arrived in the mail and I took it out, it looked nothing special. Just some beige/taupe and a chalky looking charcoal.


Then I swatched it... and magic happened.

NARS Dogon - the picture doesn't capture how beautiful the colours are. 
The beige/taupe turned into a metallic taupe with duochrome shimmer. It's very hard to photograph and capture the effect on film. The dark shade is still a fairly matte charcoal, but it pairs perfectly with the taupe. Blended together you get a steel grey shade with duochrome shimmer.

The two colours paired together are perfect for a dark smokey eye.



And you can also wear just the shimmery taupe on it's own for a neutral eye with a difference but I prefer it worn together with the dark colour in the outer V to give some definition. I also use the dark shade to line my eyes instead of using a liner.



This is my first eyeshadow from NARS, and the reason I didn't jump on the bandwagon earlier? Price! Readers from outside Australia might be shocked to hear how much this very same eyeshadow retails for here.... $72AUD (or $78US or 54 Euro or 48GBP) when in the US it's actually around $33, yes, less than half the price it sells for here at the shops.

I bought mine from a really reputable ebay seller called M-A-C Lover for $35 when I bought my Tarte blushes, so the combined postage was $6.99. As you can see even with the postage buying online for me was definitely cheaper than buying from the stores here.

Have you got any NARS eyeshadows? What do you think of the crazy inflated prices here in Australia?


July 24, 2011

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes - Tipsy & Dollface

For a long long time I had been lemming after the Tarte Amazonian Clay blushes, especially the colour Tipsy which is a warm coral shade. Whilst I'd seen many swatches of it online, the thing holding me back was that I thought it might be too similar to Illamasqua Lover. Luckily the lovely Ebru from Ebrushka's Makeup Bag did a comparison of both blushes on her blog and I was sold!

Then came the most problematic part! Tarte is not sold in Australia, and their website does not ship here either. I put out a distress call on Twitter and this time Priyanka from TwinxnTrax came to my rescue and pointed me in the direction of a genuine seller on ebay that sold them. I'd bought stuff from that particular ebay seller before, so I knew her products were authentic. (The seller is called m-a-c lover if interested, and they cost $25US + $6.99 postage)

L/R: Tipsy, Dollface

Anyway, long story short... I bought Tipsy and Dollface. It seemed pointless to put an online order for just one product. Oh and I bought one other thing from that seller as well, from a brand starting in N and ending in S but I will post about that later. It deserves a post all on its own!

Tipsy
This is just my kind of colour, coral but still with heavy pink undertones which makes it an ideal colour whether your skintone is warm or cool. Also because of the pink undertones, this colour looks perfect even in winter... you know how sometimes coral can just look unnatural in winter? Well this doesn't!



Dollface
This is a cool pale pink colour leaning towards mauve. This is definitely a winter blush in my opinion, as I can see it looking a bit too chalky if you have a tan. However considering it's now winter in Australia, I'll be using this one quite a lot. The dusty pink colour gives the cheeks a natural flush, like it's flushed from the cold and not from the pan.



Swatches

You can see how heavily pigmented these blushes are, so you need to use a very light hand when applying them.

Comparison
As I mentioned earlier, the only reason I didn't get Tipsy earlier is because I thought it might be too similar to Illamasqua Lover (reviewed originally HERE), but as you can see they are not even close.


Product - 9/10 
The quality is just amazing, and it contains no parabens, petroleum or mineral oils so it won't clog your pores. 

Pigmentation - 10/10 
It's extemely pigmented and a little goes a long way. 

Packaging - 8/10 
I love that the colour of the packaging corresponds to the colour inside, but the pan in both of the blushes is a bit loose and turns everytime I swirl my brush on it. And there is also a mirror under a lid, bonus!

Longevity - 10/10 
These blushes are meant to give you 12 hour wear, and I'd say it gives more than that. I put on my makeup at 7am and my cheeks are still blushed when I'm taking them off again around 10pm.


    These are matte blushes, so if you're after something that will give your face a glow, these aren't it. But if you want amazing colours that will last all day and give you a healthy look then these are just the products for you. 


    Have you tried Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes yet?

    July 23, 2011

    Bloggers event - SLA Makeup and Bastille Day celebrations

    Last week I along with a few other bloggers was invited by the lovely Nicole from SLA Cosmetics and Nicslife blog to their Makeup Studio at Sydney's Balmain to introduce us to SLA cosmetics and celebrate Bastille Day with afternoon tea and scones.

    I'd never heard of SLA before so I was excited to get to know this brand. SLA was created by makeup artist "Serge Louis Alvarez" in the early 1980s, and it's produced, manufactured and marketed from their head office in the south of France. SLA is a professional range of makeup sold in salons and pharmacies. For stockist details in Australia click HERE.

    There is a full range of products available, from foundations and powders, to eyeshadows, lipsticks, and nailpolishes. I wanted to buy EVERYTHING and take them home with me.

    The main purpose of our visit to the studios was to get introduced to their brand new range of Organic makeup which is ECOCERT certified by the French government. The whole collection has been formulated without parabens and where possible all active ingredients have been sourced from Fair Trade. 


    Above is just some of the range of the Organic makeup, which also included crushed pearl loose pigments which somehow I forgot to photograph! Duh. 


    Bloggers doing the photography thing at SLA Balmain


    Hannah, the lovely makeup artist at SLA,  gave Nicole a makeover using the SLA range. 
    Hannah giving Nicole a makeover

    I requested a purple smokey eye look (I'm going through a purple phase at the moment!), which Hannah and Nicole kindly agreed to. Quick tip from Hannah:

    "When applying your eyeshadows, the lighter the colour the bigger the brush." 


    The finished look - sparkly purple smokey eyes


    We were then sent home with goody bags containing a french manicure kit, a lipgloss from the new Organic range and false eyelashes. As for the gorgeous pink lipstick below? I couldn't help myself, I fell in love with the colour so I bought it right there and then!


    I will do a proper review of these products when I've had a chance to play with them.

    To read more about SLA click HERE, and to see Mez's blog post about this event click HERE.

    Have you heard of this brand before? Do you love discovering new brands?

    July 22, 2011

    This week's INs and OUTs, another beauty crush and BFF Link Love

    INs
    Dinner with mum. Skinny Cappuccinos. Too Faced Romantic Eye Palette. Tali doing a guest post on Blushingloves. Taupe nails (again). Planning an island holiday. Lipglosses. High heel boots. Tan handbags. Pink blushes. Reading trashy novels. Straight hair. Lush Lemony Flutter. High tea.


    OUTs
    Husband being away for work. Cold weather in Sydney. Favourite bloggers stopping blogging. Work. Naked Palette (too cold to think of golden shimmery shadows). Lipsticks. Black handbags. Next public holiday being in October. Peach blushes. People who vaguebook. Frizzy hair masquerading as curly hair. Rain.


    Beauty crush
    Amanda Seyfried is someone I've had a beauty crush on for a while... another person I have no hope of looking like! Remember the last crush?

    Individual images from Google Images

    Amanda is an actress from Mamma Mia, Letters to Juliet and Big Love. Tell you the truth I don't think I've seen any of her movies... actually I lie, I've seen Letters to Juliet on the airplane some time ago. This reminds me, don't you love long flights sometimes, as you can catch up on any trashy movies on the in-flight entertainment that you secretly wanted to see but did not want to admit to. 

    Anyway... back to Amanda... regardless of her acting skills, I love her wide eyed look with her gorgeous green eyes, and to die for hair. If I was to be born again as a blonde non-Armenian, I'd like to look like her. Thank you. That is all. 


    And here is this week's BFF Link Love.
    • Tammerly from Pink Diva Beauty shares her top ten must-have foundations with you. Which have you tried?
    • Angie from An Obsession With the Fabulous can't stop raving about her ultimate lipsticks Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Colour.
    • Monique at Mon-Amie is so impressed with Limecrime lipstick and its long-wearing formula. After putting it to the test, Mon-Amie has one to giveaway.
    • (Here's my link!) If you're looking for a super bright pink blush to give you doll-like cheeks, NARS Desire may be it. Check out Lilit's review and swatches on Makeup and Macaroons.
    • Want to have gorgeous wavy curls this winter? Here's the chance to win the very much raved about Modiva Professional 25mm Curling Iron on Through Beauty Eyes.
    • Dr Naomi at Beauty is the Promise of Happiness explains how we can make our ears look younger!

    July 21, 2011

    Guest Post - how to do the purrfect cat eye

    I love a good cat eye look, so sleek, so dramatic... but I'm a bit hopeless with my eyeliner and can never achieve the perfect cat eye look. The gorgeous Maryam though, of Fix Your Face by Maryam Maquillage blog does the perfect cat eye every single time. Here are some of my favourite looks of hers, which I stole from her blog (with her permission of course!)


    Maryam was kind enough to agree to my request to do a How To post on achieving the purrfect cat eye (pun intended!). Over to you Maryam.
    --------------------

    Hello makeup-and-macarooners :)))

    My name is Maryam Maquillage and as a fellow beauty blogger I'm extremely excited to guest star on Makeup-and-Macaroons, one of my favorite beauty blogs in aaall the blogosphere!!! Collaborating with other bloggers is extremely important to our beauty / makeup  community since we're all very different and have individual talents. Today, I'm showing my version of the "Cat Eye" makeup and I hope you enjoy my little tips and tricks ;))

    Forget what you've heard about the Cat Eye, I'm here to set the record straight--Cat eyeliner flatters every single eye shape and is extremely wearable. This look is great for beginners and masters alike and can be as simple or as dramatic as your heart desires. It also happens to be my go-to makeup look for every day and is my favorite easy "glam-me-up". So, if you haven't already tried it, I will walk you through it and together we shall embrace the power of the meow!!! Without further adieu, I present to you the Cat-eye, purrfect for every day-school, work, play, whatever. Enjoy!!!

    bisous,

    Maryam Maquillage

    THE LOOK: To achieve the Cat eye is easiest with a gel or cream liner, though the look is often enhanced with eyeshadow. For the sake of simplicity, I'll focus just on the liner for today's post :)) The "Cat" qualities of this look have to do with the angle that the eyeliner wing extends outwards and the precision of the line. If you look at the eyes of the kitty in my pictures, his bottom "lashline" goes up at a 45 degree angle, so basically, in recreating this look, we're trying to "lift" the outer corners of our eyes up to 45 degrees. Sounds easy?? it is :))

    THE TOOLS: Black cream or gel liner and an angled liner brush. As always, I use my Clinique cream liner in True Black. It comes with a tiny brush, but I don't recommend using it for application... I use it for touchups only. For beginners, you might also need a gray or light brown pencil or shadow, just for guiding.
    Clinique Brush-On Cream Eye Liner .17 oz Boxed, True Black 02

    THE STEPS: Because my lids are super oily, I use a dab of Primer Potion even for an eyeliner application. I put two dots--one on the outer corner and another on the middle of my top lash line and spread it across and under the eye with my finger. If your lids are normal to dry, you can go ahead and skip this preliminary step.
    1. With your gray or light brown pencil or shadow, draw a light thin line from the middle of your bottom lash line to the outer corner and extending the line at the same angle. If your bottom lash line does not naturally curve up, this is where you will have to fake the angle :)
    2. Take some black liner onto your brush (not too much--this look is buildable) and trace or "sharpen" just the outer wing you drew with the pencil. Keep the line fine, and stop about 3-8 mm from the outer corner. My outer wing is usually about 5 mm, but yours can be longer if your eyes are bigger.
    3. Take some more color on your brush and draw a very thin line from the center of your top lash line to the start of your outer wing. If you're using a fine brush, you can just dab the color into your lashes. 
    4. The line has to be thinnest in the center of your eye (at the start of the eyeliner) and gradually get thicker towards the wing. If you're not comfortable drawing it freehand, take an index card (or an envelope--put those bills to good use!!) and place it slightly above your lash line, connecting the center to the edge of the outer wing. Fill it in and you're done!!!

    Add some mascara to your top lashes :))

    Rim the bottom waterline with a nude or beige pencil

    Take a cotton swap and clean the line if you have to

    Before coffee...



    And you're done!



    Thank you Maryam for your wonderful step by step instructions! I hope everyone found the instructions helpful, I know I did! And if you haven't yet checked out Maryam's blog, what are you waiting for?


    Have you mastered the cat eye?

    July 20, 2011

    CLOSED: Apothica Giftcard Giveaway!

    It's giveaway time again, this time sponsored by Apothica. Apothica is a fantastic website where you can feed your makeup addiction... and... wait for it... they deliver to Australia! I know this is a huge deal for us Australian makeup lovers so if you haven't heard of this site before, make sure you check it out.

    They have all kinds of brands there, including Too Faced, Chanel, and Stila. Stila Make Up have some of the best eyeshadows and cheek products I have come across, with beautiful pigmentation and a glowy finish. I have a $25 voucher that you can win to spend at the site. What can $25 get you from there? Here are some examples.



    How to win a $25 Apothica gift voucher

    You must be a public follower of my blog via Google Friend Connect.


    There are 3 possible ways to enter but you only need to do one. For bonus entries you can do more. 

    Option 1: Facebook
    1.     Visit Apothica.com
    2.     Write on Apothica’s Facebook wall about what you think of Apothica (+1 entry)
    Bonus: Opt in to Apothica’s Newsletter (+1 entry)

    Option 2: Twitter
    1.     Visit Apothica.com
    2.     Tweet about @Apothica on your own Twitter Account (+1 entry)
    Bonus: Retweet Apothica’s tweet about this giveaway (+3 entries)

    Option 3: Blog
    1.     Visit Apothica.com
    2.     Write something on your blog about what you think of Apothica (+1 entry)
    Bonus: Write about the brand I highlighted and link it to Apothica (+1entry)


    Simply leave a comment below letting me know which option(s) you have completed in your comment. If you've tweeted, leave me your twitter handle. If you've commented on Apothica's Facebook wall, please leave your Facebook username. For blog posts, don't forget to include a link. Make sure to include your name and your e-mail address.

    The giveaway is open internationally and closes 11:59pm Sydney time on Saturday 6th August 2011
    The winner will be picked randomly using random.org
    If you are under 18 please get a parent or guardian's permission before entering

    ----------------

    Apothica will contact the winner to verify the information is correct.
    After verification, Apothica will email the winner a code for the gift card to be used at SkinCareRx.com, Apothica.com, and SkinBotanica.com
    The contest is open internationally but Apothica does not ship to all countries. Cost of shipping for each country that Apothica ships to will be determined at checkout.
    Please make sure to add SkincareRx to your address book in your email to avoid emails going to junk/spam folder. 

    Good luck everyone!

    Disclaimer: This is a sponsored giveaway. I do not get paid to host this giveaway .
              
              

    July 18, 2011

    Moroccan Oil - is it no longer cool?

    Lately I've been noticing a trend - let's call it Moroccan Oil bashing.

    Long time readers of my blog will know how much I love my Moroccan Oil, but it seems like lately every time I mention how much I love this oil to anyone all I hear is how it's full of silicones and bad for the hair, it dries it out, masks any damage, etc. etc. basically think back to Pantene bashing, but replace Pantene with Moroccan Oil.


    The thing is, I have been using Moroccan Oil since my husband bought it for me in January for my birthday and my hair is in the best condition it's been in ages.

    So I decided to do a little bit of research at my favourite website, The Beauty Brains to find out whether the silicones contained in Moroccan Oil are bad or good for hair. For those of you that aren't familiar with The Beauty Brains, it's written by a group of cosmetic scientists who use their insider knowledge to bust any beauty myths that we mere mortals might have. 

    The common reasons I get told why Moroccan Oil is bad
    (Anything written in italics below is from The Beauty Brains.)

    • It will dry out hair because it will stop moisture from getting in: This can happen, but it can also lock moisture IN. That’s a good thing because you want to lock in hair’s natural moisture but you also want hair to have some resistance against humidity which is one of the major causes of frizz. So, the “myth” you asked about is true, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing!
    • It will coat the hair in silicone which can’t be washed out: Under most circumstances silicones will wash out of your hair without much problem. But if you’ve applied multiple products containing high levels of water insoluble silicones, your might have to lather, rinse, repeat before you get it all out. In most cases, the protection you get from using silicones out-weighs the damaging effects of washing them out.
    • It will make it difficult to use styling products or hair dye over it because of the silicone coatingI dye my hair at home once a month (I use L'Oreal Preference Darkest Brown for those playing at home) and I've never had problems with the dye not taking. Besides hairspray to tame my fringe, I don't really use many other styling products and again I haven't had any problems with the hairspray not working because of the Moroccan Oil coating.
    • It will mask any hair damage: Ummm… I would have thought that’s the whole point of it? What’s wrong with masking the damage? Personally I actually like that. I know that my hair is damaged from heat styling, but my other alternative besides masking the damage is to cut it all off... and really, lets be honest here, I'm not about to do that.
    • It’s not pure Argan oil: Moroccan Oil doesn’t claim to be pure Argan oil, but it contains Argan oil. I’ve bought 100% pure Argan oil and never used it in my hair because it’s too thick and heavy, and has an awful smell that lingers in my hair.
    Anyway, here's the list of ingredients in Moroccan Oil, and the first 3 are actually silicones.



    This is what The Beauty Brains website says about these silicones.

    The properties vary depending on which particular silicone is in the formula. Some silicones do leave a heavy coating on the hair that can be hard to wash off. Others are very water soluble and don’t buildup at all. Dimethicone, for example, is the heaviest of all silicones used for hair care. It provides the most smoothing effect but it is also the hardest to wash out. Cyclomethicone on the other hand, gives great slippery feeling while you’re rinsing your hair but it quickly evaporates leaving nothing behind.

    Cyclopentasiloxane (CPS) (&) Dimethicone- The basis for hair serums. Conditioning without build up.
    Cyclomethicone (&) PEG/PPG-20/15 Dimethicone- For formulating water-in-oil emulsions, particularly water-in-silicone emulsions. Excellent aesthetics.


    The Bottom Line
    As I mentioned, I’ve never had any problems using this oil for the past 6 months. The bottle that I got in January is still 3/4 full because you only need to use a tiny bit. The picture below is of what the bottle looks like after 6 months of use... perhaps because of the small amount that I use it I've never experienced problems with it before. And HERE is the original post where I first got my Moroccan Oil.


    So in conclusion, yes Moroccan Oil does contain silicones, but as the Beauty Brains says “If you use a silicone containing product and you like the way it makes your hair look and feel, DONT WORRY ABOUT IT! Don’t feel guilty because some people tell you that it’s bad for your hair”. 


    Have you used Moroccan Oil? What have been your experiences with it?


    Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with this brand or with any of its resellers. My research was from The Beauty Brains website, most specifically from the following links. 



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