Illamasqua Cream Blush in Rude for Cheeks and Lips

Ever since I bought my very first Illamsqua cream blusher last week in the colour Rude, I've been obsessed with it. HERE is the original review. It's such a perfect corally/peachy shade which is good to wear not only on cheeks but also on lips for a hint of colour.

Here's a quick FOTD from the weekend where I'm wearing "Rude" both on my cheeks and lips.

Makeup breakdown
Foundation - MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation in NC25 and NW25 mixed (review coming soon!)
Powder - MAC MSFN in Medium
Contour - Benefit Hoola
Blush - Illamasqua Cream blush in Rude
Eyeshadows - Flormar Terracotta e/s in M102 on Lid, Too Faced Natural eye in Push Up (crease) and Silk Teddy (highlight)
Eyeliner - Jordana black eyeliner smudged on upper and lower lashline
Mascara - Maybelline Volume Express One by One in Blackest Black (review coming soon!)
Eyebrow Pencil - Rimmel brow pencil in black/brown
Lips - Illamasqua Cream blush in Rude

And here's what happens when you decide to take photos outside on a windy day! The weather doesn't co-operate!

I'm going back inside!

What products are you loving at the moment?

DIY bead necklace in 5 easy steps

One of my absolute favourite blogs is ...Love Maegan, especially her DIY features. I saw THIS post in which she created a bead and chiffon necklace and I just had to give it a try. This is how it turned out, and I must say I quite like it! And I was surprised at how easy and quick it was.

You'll need....

• Beads - I used some old bead necklace which I bought from Equip for around $3 on sale and never wore because it just didn't sit right. How many and what colour beads you use is up to you.
• Ribbon or sheer fabric cut into 4cm long strip about 1 meter long. I used a bias cut ribbon from the fabric shop, which was $0.60 a meter. The colour is up to you.
• Scissors
• Bead Pusher or a stick, basically something you can use to push the fabric through the tiny hole in the bead. I used a hair pin. 

How to....

Step 1: Lay down the beads in the style that you want (you may notice that in the end I used less beads than I originally lay down. That's because as I started putting them on the ribbon with with a knot in between, the necklace became too long so I ended up using less beads.
Step 2: Starting from the middle bead, use the pin (or bead pusher) to push the ribbon through the bead. This may cause the ribbon to fray at the edges, but that's fine! It gives it character.
Step 3: Make a knot at each side of the bead
Step 4: Repeat with the rest of the beads working from center out, and making a knot in between the beads.
Step 5: Done! Wear it, love it, marvel at how easy it was to create and make a mental list of other fabrics and beads that you'd like to use for the next DIY venture.

To wear it, just tie it in a bow behind your neck and voila!

Do you DIY???

There's nothing Rude about this cream blush from Illamasqua

I love the idea of cream blush, but in reality none seem to work for me. They've always either appeared patchy or ran down my face before I could step outside the door. One that I somewhat liked was Something Special from MAC (reviewed HERE), but the problem with this one is that it feels too heavy and sticky on my cheeks so I hardly wear it.

But never mind, like a true beauty junkie I had to give cream blushes one more go before I completely banned them from my make up case.

Egged on by some of my blogger friends on Twitter, I decided to buy Rude from Illamasqua, a beautiful warm coral shade. 

Illamasqua cream blush in Rude

Illamasqua is one of my favourites brands, if not THE MOST favourite makeup brand of all, so I don't know why I didn't buy it sooner!

Thoughts....

• the consistency is almost gel-like cream, very lightweight, doesn't feel heavy at all
• feels very light on the skin, and most importantly it's non-sticky
• lasts about 4-6 hours on my dry skin before fading away. Unlike other cream blushes I've tried, this doesn't go patchy as it fades, instead the colour just seems to lighten and then fade away to nothing. 
• gives a lovely natural sheen to the skin
• can be worn under or over powder. Normally with cream blushes you have to put this on over your foundation, as putting it over powdered skin will make it go patchy. However with this one I normally use it after I've powdered my face and had no problems blending.
• can be worn on the lips, but you'll need some balm on first as it can be drying.

I use my Artiste by Manicare angled blush brush ($14.95 from Priceline and Myer) to apply this cream. I use the flat top bit, and use a patting motion rather than swiping like I would a powder blush.

Artiste by Manicare angled blush brush - $14.95aud

Because of the fact it's not very long lasting, I would not wear this at work because I need something that will last me a full work day.  However this is perfect for weekends when I have more time to freshen up.

Here's what it looks like on my face, with and without flash.

No flash

With flash

Will I purchase again? Absolutely!

Do you like using cream blushes?

How I store my lipsticks on the cheap

I'm sure you've figured by now that I have a lot of lipsticks. I used to store them in a makeup case and then in the mornings rummage through the case trying to find the colour I was after. It was definitely not effective! And because in the mornings I'm generally rushed for time I'd resort to wearing whatever was already in my handbag as I couldn't be bothered searching anymore.

Then I found this handy little storage solution from Bunnings of all places! It cost around $8 I think ( I don't remember, the husband paid for it as he was paying for his power tools, and paint, and garden equipment and whatever man-things it is he buys from Bunnings).

I store my lipsticks upside down so that at a glance I can see the colour I'm looking for.

It has 6 compartments, I store my lippies in 4 of the compartments and glosses in the other two. I've also got them somewhat colour coded so it makes it even easier to find what I'm looking for.

How do you store your lipsticks?

Belly update - 16weeks

Well I am now 16 weeks pregnant and here's my first bump pic to show how I'm progressing so far.

• Most people still can't tell I'm pregnant, they probably just think I've had a big feed! In fact it hasn't really hit home for me yet either. Maybe when I feel the baby move (soon I hope!) I'll believe it.
• I've had a couple of scans already and all is fine thank god. My next scan is in 3 weeks time and we'll be able to find out the sex of the baby. Yeay.
• Nausea and queasiness have almost gone, though I am still feeling more tired than usual.
• I've put on a total of 4 kilos so far since the beginning of the pregnancy, and apart from the odd baked ricotta cheesecake I eat fairly healthy.

• My hair and skin are slowly returning to normal. They had gone very very dry initially, but now both are getting better. 
• A lot of people have commented on my "pregnancy glow" but I seriously think that glow is thanks to clever highlighters like Dior Amber Diamond.

• I went through my wardrobe recently and packed away all the clothes that I knew I couldn't get into soon enough, like pencil skirts, skinny jeans, etc. 
• Luckily I have a lot of wrap dresses in stretchy fabrics that I can get away with wearing for a while yet. I don't want to start buying maternity clothes yet as those things are expensive!
• Oh yeah, I did buy this maternity dress off eBay for $40, but it hasn't arrived yet. It's a wrap dress and I think I'll be able to wear it again even after the baby's born. If it ends up being too big I'll just belt it or something.

Sorry about the blurry quality of the pic, I took it off ebay

Well that's all I have to update for now. If any mums or almost-mums out there have any pregnancy beauty and fashion tips to share, please do!

Soft Purple Eyeshadow for Day and Night

From time to time I like to use colour on my eyes. I'm not one of those fabulous beauty gurus who can blend a multitude of coloured eyeshadows and come up with an amazing look. I generally stick to a wash of colour on my lids with a slightly darker hue on the outer V to give some shape.

Here's an example.

Products used
Lid & lower lashline: MAC Parfait Amour
Outer V: Inglot #40
Blending colour: Inglot #493
Highlight: Inglot #29
Eyeliner: Jordana Color Extend waterproof liner in Black
Mascara: Maybelline The Falsies in Black

I wore this eye look yesterday to work, and in the evening I just darkened it a bit to go out to dinner with the husband.

Day look

Face:
Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse foundation in Nude
MAC MSFN Powder in Medium
Benefit Hoola to contour
Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Tipsy

Lips:
Gorgeous Cosmetics lipliner in Entourage
MAC Lipstick in Hue
NYX lipgloss in Orange Soda

Eyes:
As above


Night look
The only changes I did are add black eyeliner to my waterline and extend the wing, plus change my lipstick. I didn't even brush my hair, coz I'm lazy like that. If I can get away without having to brush my hair then I'll do it! Oh and I also changed my accessories.

Face:
As above, but I did freshen up my blush (Tipsy)

Eyes:
As above but with black eyeliner in the inner rims and used to extend the wing

Lips: 
Gorgeous Cosmetics lipliner in Entourage
MAC Lipstick in Shy Girl

So, do you like wearing purple eyeshadow?

I may or I may not be stuck in a hairstyle rut!

This is me circa 1982. 

This is me in 2012. The fringe is parted to the other side, I've clearly discovered GHD so the cowlicks are under control, but the bob haircut is the same!

Time for a change? THIS is the hairdo I want!

Image source

It will take a bit of work, and I don't know if I'll ever get there, but I'll keep this photo for inspiration for every time the urge to get my hair bobbed again takes over.

Hands up who else is stuck in a hairstyle rut?

Image source

Another Essie mani - Tart Deco

As you know, being preggers I'm all about making sure that my nail polish is free from toluene, formaldehyde, camphor and DBP. In fact I did a recent clear out of my nail polish collection and threw away everything that was deemed unsafe. Which of course meant it's time to stock up on some new nail polishes that are free from the 4 nasties!

Essie is one of those safe brands so when I saw Myer had a 30% off sale on all Essie products I picked up Mint Candy Apple and this one, Tart Deco.

This is such a perfect summer colour. It goes on creamy and opaque in 2 coats, although I prefer to apply 3 coats as for some reason the nails on my ring fingers always end up streaky. Weird.

Wearing 3 coats of Essie Tart Deco, outdoors, no flash

I usually top with China Glaze No Chip Top Coat (another one free from nasty chemicals) I get almost a week's wear out of my nail polishes, and this is no exception.

Indoors, with flash

I have a lot of jewellery that goes well with this nail polish, (I'm a coral junkie, what can I say), and I love how it goes so well with my Colette Accessories ring.

Do you have this nail polish? What are you rocking on your nails today?

Who has influenced your look?

Not many of us are born knowing exactly what our style will be, chances are that our looks has evolved over a number of years and decades based on trends as well as what we see on TV, Movies, Magazines, and of course now Blogs!

In terms of my makeup looks, I generally either do dark eyes/nude lips or winged neutral eyes/bright lips. Here are some celebrities that have inspired my look.


For dark eyes / nude lips I love Penelope Cruz, Jennifer Lopez, Eva Mendes, Beyonce, Megan Fox, Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Price and Angelina Jolie. 

For bold lip looks these babes got it covered! Natalie Portman, Rihanna, Jessica Alba, Eva Mendes (I like her with bright and nude lips), Kourtney Kardashian, Amanda Seyfried, Rose Byrne and Katy Perry.

As for hair, my favourite style is loose waves and if there's one celebrity that influences that look for me it has to be Marion Cotilland. Her hair looks fab whether long, short or mid length... aahh, serious hair crush here.

Who influences your look?

Winners of my Giveaways

I received an overwhelming response to my recent giveaways. I've finally managed to finish counting and validating all the entries and I'm pleased to announce the following winners!

Congratulations ladies, I've emailed you both and you have 3 days to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

I wish there could be more winners, but there are only 2 prizes. Keep an eye out though, as there's bound to be another giveaway happening here at some point. 

The $100 FOTD challenge

I decided to set myself a challenge, to see whether I can do a full face of make up using products that add up to less than $100.

Those living in the US might think $100 is quite a lot, but when you bear in mind that makeup in Australia is ridiculously expensive, (e.g. we're paying around $40 for a Revlon foundation or $20 for a CG mascara!) then $100 is not a lot to play with.

So using only products that I already had in my stash, here is the look that I came up with.

Please note I haven't included the cost of my moisturiser (I use MooGoo cream which is less than $20) in this lot as that's not a makeup item. And I don't normally use primers anyway, so I haven't used one here either.

Foundation: Rimmel Match Perfect foundation in Ivory- $18.95 (from Big W)
Powder: L'Oreal True Match in W3 $21.95 (from Big W)
Blush - L.A. Colours Mineral Blush in Just Peachy - $4.95 (from Cosmo Cosmetics)
Eyes - Wet n Wild Silent Treatment Palette - $9.95 (from Crush Cosmetics)
Eyeliner - Jordana Color Extend in Black - $6.95 (from Cosmo Cosmetics)
Mascara - Covergirl Lash Blast - $17.95 (from Priceline)
Eyebrow Pencil - Rimmel $8.50 (from Priceline)
Lipstick - BYS Beautifully Bare - $3.95 (from Gloss)
Total - $93.15

I was able to meet the challenge and have some spare cash for a coffee... and a muffin! I could of course use even cheaper cosmetics, i.e. FOA and Australis do much cheaper products than the ones I used, but since I was only using products I already had I didn't want to go out and buy cheaper makeup. That would defeat the purpose of the challenge!

So, can you do a full face of makeup in under a $100? I'd love it if you would do this challenge too, and feel free to post the link in the comments.

Maybelline Color Sensational Shine Lip Colors

I've got some absolutely stunning lip colours to show you today from Maybelline and I have a feeling these are the budget alternatives to certain high end / high price sheer but glossy lipsticks... *cough* Chanel Rouge Coco Shines *cough*

Late last year I was sent a lovely surprise pack from Maybelline for Christmas, which included all of the colours in this collection, and of course I couldn't not show them on the blog.

There are 10 colours in the Maybelline Color Sensational The Shine Lip Color range which are all swatched below.

L/R: Rosy Dream, Beige Rose, Iced Tea, Juicy Pink, Juicy Bubblegum

Rosy Dream - very pale blue based pink for a hint of shimmer
Beige Rose - sheer pinked beige
Iced Tea - a frostier version of Beige Rose
Juicy Pink - frosty light raspberry pink
Juicy Bubblegum - creamy blue based pink (my favourite... in case you can't guess!)

L/R - Mango Diamonds, Cherry Candy, Sugar Plum, Mauve Diamonds, Luminous Cocoa

Mango Diamonds - sheer creamy coral
Cherry Candy - sheer cherry red
Sugar Plum - slightly frosted light plummy colour
Mauve Diamonds - frosted blue toned mauve
Luminous Cocoa - frosted bronze colour

Overall thoughts

• They glide on very smoothly and feel silky and moisturising on the lips. 
• They have a barely noticeable fruity smell, although according to Maybelline they are honey infused. I can't really smell the honey, more a fresh berry like smell. 
• Not heavily pigmented, so they're great if you want to experiment with bolder brighter shades but want to start slowly. 
• Because they are sheer and lightweight they last on the lips about 2 - 3 hours if you don't eat or drink but will disappear at the first bite of your breakfast bagel (ok, maybe I'm talking about me here, I'm clearly going through a bagel phase).

As I mentioned earlier, these are the purse friendly alternatives to the likes of Chanel Rouge Coco Shines and Dior Addict High Shine lip colours. I never jumped on the Rouge Coco Shine bandwagon because no matter how I tried I could not justify the exorbitant price tag however a cheaper alternative is always welcome!
Available - January 2012  for $16.95 aud each wherever Maybelline is sold

What do you think of sheer lipsticks? Love them or leave them?

Disclaimer: Sent by Maybelline as per my Disclosure Policy. I was not paid nor was I obligated to post about these, but these are fab so I had to share them on the blog!