My eyebrow essentials

Eyebrows are one of the most important features on a face - I'm sure you've heard that a million times before. And it's true. They can really frame your features, make your face look slimmer or wider, younger or older, depending on the brow shape. When I was younger I used to pluck my brows till they were very skinny - it was not a good look. It made my round face look even rounder. So now I've embraced the thicker brow, and these are the tools that help me get them. PS: If you want to see how I fill in my brows, HERE is a tutorial I did a few months back.

Tweezers - I pluck and shape my own brows, so good tweezers are essential. I like ones with a slanted tip as I find they grip fine hairs better. This particular one tweezers I've had for around 5 years - there's no brand on it, but I bought them from Price Attack for around $20 and they still stock these.

Brow pencil - When it comes to eye brow pencils, my preference is for really dry formulas. Why? Because it's easier to draw a straight line with. Plus a creamier formula could run or ball up on your brows, and you don't really want that. My favourite is the Rimmel Eyebrow pencil (I use 004 black/brown) which I've been repurchasing for the past few years (Rimmel, you'd better not discontinue this!). The brush on the lid is also pretty useful!

Powder eyeshadow - If you've seen my brow tutorial then you know that I like to go over the pencil with some powder eyeshadow, it makes the brows look much softer and natural. I prefer a neutral brown colour a couple of shades lighter than my hair. This is Inglot matte eyeshadow in #363. There are specific brow powders available, but I've never seen the need for them as a powder eyeshadow will do as long as you find the right colour.

Small brush - I use a small lip brush (by Royal Langnickel) to fill in my brows with the powder eyeshadow, but some people might find a brow brush with a pointy tip easier to use. Personally I can't seem to work with the pointy brow brushes, hence I use this lip brush as the stiff bristles make it easy to pick up just the right amount of powder to fill in my brows.

Concealer (and concealer brush) - Concealer is important to clean up any mess after filling in the brows. I use this Lumi Magique by L'Oreal concealer as it comes with its own built in brush, so it makes cleaning up any mess easy and quick, but any concealer and concealer brush will do.

What are some of your eyebrow essentials?

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light - "must have" or a "nice to have"?

If you're a beauty lover like me, chances are you've heard a lot about the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders. These are finishing powders, meaning that you apply it to your face after you've finished all your other makeup and what it does is give you a luminous, soft glow. They are not as shimmery as highlighters, but not as flat as traditional powders. I'd seen them on many blogs before, but I didn't want to commit to buying one until I had a swatch. There are 6 colours to choose from, so I wanted to make sure I got the right one for me.

Well, last week I was at Westfield Parramatta during my lunch break when I happened to notice a new Meccamaxima store had opened there! So after a little 10 minute visit I left with one of these Hourglass powders. I initially had my eye on Radiant Light but after the MUA swatched that and Luminous Light on me we decided Luminous Light looked better.

Antipodean Beauties: Spring

Today's FOTD is part of the Antipodean Beauties challenge. The theme for this week is Spring, which is timely as Australia is right in the middle of spring now. (On a side note, I've been living in Australia for over 20 years but I still can't get used to the seasons which are opposite to the northern hemisphere, and don't even get me started on the fact that Christmas is in summer here! Summer!)

While I mainly wear neutral shades no matter the weather, there are some colours that I only wear in certain seasons. For example when it comes to spring I think of greens, pinks and lilacs. So I used all those shades in my makeup.

The best hand cream for the driest of hands

I have extremely dry hands and there's only one person to blame for it - me. From washing dishes with no gloves on, to playing in the sand with my son, to... ummm... changing my son's dirty nappies, my hands have seen it all. Or should that be, felt it all?

The only hand cream that I have found works to keep my dry hands hydrated is this one by Burts Bees.

2 budget products worth giving a try

Long time readers of my blog will know I'm no makeup snob. I use cosmetics from all different price points, and in fact some of my favourite products are from the lower end of the price bracket. (BYS blushes anyone?). But the brand Essence had never really captured me. Yes, I've bought nail polish from them before but when it came to make up I was a bit meh. I mean, the packaging makes it look like it's aimed at tweens... and I'm... well, I'm in my 30s, so surely there's nothing there for me? Well, how wrong I was! I was recently sent a little care package from Essence and these two products absolutely stood out for me.

Wearing Essence foundation and mascara in this pic

Essence All About Matt oil free Makeup
Absolutely love love love this. It's matte, but not flat. It gives me flawless skin, looks smooth and shine free. And above all, natural. It also comes in a handy tube dispenser which is not only hygenic, but also lightweight so if you want to take it travelling this won't weigh up your bag. And get this, it's $5.95! I spend more than that on coffee each day! The only thing wrong with it? It only comes in 3 shades. So if you're one of the lucky few that can find their colour match then give this a try!

Essence LASH mania reloaded mascara
I actually did try an Essence mascara a while back and didn't like it (the brush was ridiculously too big), but this one is just perfect! It comes with one of those flex-brushes, it's the perfect size to give your lashes a good grip and coat them top to bottom. It gives beautiful volume and separation, and best of all doesn't make my lashes crunchy. Oh, and it's only $4.95.

Both products available from November 2013 from Target and Priceline stores and online HERE.

Have you tried anything from Essence cosmetics?

*PR Samples

Lorac Pro Palette - worth the hype?

This is not a long review post. No, this is simply a post to answer the question on a lot of beauty lovers' lips:

Is the Lorac Pro Palette worth the hype?

Absolutely! It is simply the best neutral eyeshadow palette out there currently. And I'm saying this as the owner of the UD Naked and Naked 2 palettes. The colours are wearable, incredibly pigmented, and the mix of shimmer and matte shades is spot on. So if you've been umm-ing and aahh-ing about whether to get this palette or not, I say yes, it's worth it!

PS: If you want to see some swatches you can see them here, here and here.
PPS: I bought mine from this ebay seller, 100% authentic.

Do you have the Lorac Palette? What do you think of it?

Change the colour of your shoes on the cheap with some leather dye

A few weeks ago I saw a pair of shoes that I really liked. It was a pair of wedges with a peep-toe, closed back, and a deep burgundy red. I really wanted to get it, and did I mention it was on sale? Unfortunately they didn't have my size, typical! Then I remembered I had very similar pair of wedges at home, but in grey. So what's a girl to do? Dye it the colour that she wants! I used Waproo leather dye in Cherry Red which I bought from a shoe repair store for less than $10 and I love how it turned out.

Dying your shoes is very, very easy! If you'd like to do it yourself, all you need is:

• Leather dye - sold at most good shoe repair stores for approx $10
• Leather stripper (optional) - sold at most good repair stores for approx $10
• Rags, cotton wool, cotton buds, etc - to clean up any mess
• Masking tape (optional) - to mask the parts of the shoe that you do not want to dye. 

Armenia lipstick haul

A while back I wrote about a lipstick that I got last time I was in Armenia, it cost me approx $2 and I couldn't find a replacement anywhere. This time when we went back to Armenia I went on the hunt for it of course! While I didn't find the exact same shade, I did haul quite a few other lippies in similar colours at bargain prices. Here's what I got.

Travel diary: the South of France

You know how I mentioned that Paris was not a kid friendly place? Well, in contrast, the South of France is where parents in the know go to enjoy the sun, the sea and the children's playgrounds. After Paris we took a train down to Nice where we stayed for 10 days. This was the second time we were in Nice and while I loved it the first time, I really really LOVED it this time. It's probably the only place in the world that we would consider relocating to. The people are lovely, the climate is gorgeous, and there's just a general nice vibe about the place. Now if only the husband and I can come up with a way of making a living there, we'd relocate for sure!

On Promenade De Anglaise

Hotel Mediterranean - I love the art deco architecture

The old port

My little boy Luca getting his feet wet in the Mediterranean

Out for an early morning stroll around the old port, it was pretty hot already!

In Nice we stayed in an apartment in Place Rosetti in the old town, our window overlooking the gorgeous piazza. Every morning we just went down to Cafe Antonia's downstairs for a croissant and coffee breakfast, then off exploring the city.

The apartment building we stayed at

The view from our room

Nice is in a great location in Provence with a good public transport system. Buses to go anywhere in town, or into neighbouring towns cost 1.50 Euro. Trains to nearby towns were around 4 Euro. Bargain! We took buses out to towns including Monte Carlo and Villefrance Sur Mer for day tips. We also took a train to Antibes, though we didn't get to spend much time there as Luca was in a cranky mood (teething issues). Here are some pics from those towns.

Antibes! Only a 20 minute train ride from Nice

Street in the old town of Antibes 

Old town of Antibes

Monte Carlo casino

Doing the touristy thing, posing in front of a cruise ship in Monaco

The picture perfect bay of Villefrance Sur Mer 

The Rothschild Villa in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat

The beautifully manicured gardens of Villa Rothschild

As I mentioned before, I love Nice and I'm looking forward to our next visit there, hopefully in the not too distant future!

Have you been to Nice or to the South of France?

Travel injuries OR how to fix a broken blush

I took one of my favourite blushes, Tarte amazonian clay blush in Dollface, away with me on holidays and in the process I managed to break it. I can't even blame the baggage handlers for the breakage as I'm pretty sure this wasn't in my checked luggage. It was in my handbag, so I can only blame myself for throwing my handbag around without a care for its contents. Anyway, it's broken. So now I'm fixing it.

Here is a quick picture tutorial on how to fix a broken blush (or eyeshadow, or powder) with alcohol.

Travel diary: Paris

I found Paris very challenging this time around. It was our second time there. The first time was 3 years ago where the husband and I got to explore the beautiful city at a leisurely pace. This time around we had our 1 year old boy with us. Paris is a city for lovers, it is not a city for families. Especially families that have a stroller/buggy with them. There are far too many stairs, far too few lifts or escalators or ramps to make going around town an easy experience. As for baby nappy change facilities? Ummm... I didn't come across any. Plus Luca was still adjusting to the time difference, and he was teething (he ended up cutting 4 teeth while we were away), so the week we spent in Paris was quite difficult. But it was Paris after all, so I loved it none the less.

Here are some photos from our stay there.

"Oh mummy, you're so funny!" 

"No, of course I'm not Instagramming!" 

Trying to get a photo taken with Luca 

Have you been to Paris?

Femme Boulevard - French Chic

Hi ladies, it's Femme Boulevard time again. This time the theme we chose is French Chic (yes, my recent travels may have had something to do with the theme).

When I think of French Chic style, I think of simple yet elegant makeup - winged liner, red lips, and of course a striped top. When I was doing the makeup for this look we were still travelling so I had limited products available with me, but this is what I managed to come up with. 

France beauty haul

I mentioned in my last post that holidaying with a toddler is quite challenging. That also includes shopping with a toddler, especially clothes shopping where I need to try things on. While I could happily browse the shops for hours, Luca gets bored very quickly and starts squirming in his stroller wanting to be picked up. So while in France I tended to concentrate my shopping on beauty products only as I can do that relatively quickly, even whilst holding a wriggly 15 month old in my arms.

Here are the things I bought in France.

I'm back...

Bonjour my lovelies, as the title of the post says, I'm back! After spending almost six weeks in Europe we are now back in Australia, back to normal life. We spent 3 weeks in France and another 3 weeks in Armenia. During that time I managed to ...ummm... haul a lot of make up, but I'll do a separate post on that later! Maybe two posts.

This was our first major trip away with our little boy, who is now almost 15 months old. I won't lie, travelling with a toddler is incredibly challenging, but also rewarding as we got to experience our favourite places again through his wonderous eyes... although truth be told he didn't care much for anything besides fountains. Yep, my little man is fountain-obsessed.

Just a small sample of pics of Luca checking out the fountains of Europe!

Regular posting on this blog will commence shortly, including posts of my travels and some of my beauty hauls/bargains. I just need to get over my jet lag and get our little man into some sort of a routine again as right now he's still functioning like he's on Dubai time! Thanks for sticking around during the last few weeks of sporadic posting! Talk soon xo