May 31, 2014

Femme Boulevard: Graphic Makeup

For this month's Femme Boulevard post the girls decided on the theme of Graphic makeup. What does that even mean? A quick Google search returned lots and lots of pictures of girls with thickly drawn eyeliner, sometimes in very exaggerate ways. But I couldn't find any site to actually define what graphic makeup is. So I turned to the trusty old Dictionary which defined graphic as vivid, clearly outlined, drawn. Drawn you say huh?

So I decided to do a graphic lip look, something very drawn, heavily outlined - basically something I wouldn't be wearing out of the house! I took inspiration from pop art, and the result is this.

May 28, 2014

MAC Sculpting Powder from Maleficent Collection

Do you know how long it's been since I last bought a MAC item? Oh I'd say over a year, maybe more! There basically came a point where all the products I liked from the permanent line I already owned (oops... makeup junkie?) and none of the limited edition collections grabbed my interest. Until now.

I was doing some lunch time shopping on Monday, mainly looking for new winter shoes because I realised that I have no comfortable closed toe shoes that I can wear to work. Anyway, I was looking for shoes but I just so happened to pass by the MAC counter at Myer and thought I'd indulge in a bit of a swatch-love. And oh whaddya know? The Sculpting Powder from the Maleficent Collection just jumped out at me and said buy me, buy me. I resisted it, I walked to the shoe department, looked aimlessly at shoes that were either too high, too low, too nanna-like, too nightclub-y, then decided that at least the Sculpting Powder seemed suitable and before you know it I owned it.

May 26, 2014

3 hairstyles to help you get maximum wear time in between washes (SPONSORED)

The other day someone told me “you’ve got great hair, you’re always styling it differently each day”. To which of course I replied “thank you”, while inside I was all “ba ha ha, you clearly don’t know how unhealthy my hair is and the mission I’m on to get it healthy again". While I'm not a candidate for Australia's Most Beautiful Hair competition, I will be showing you how I achieve my looks step by step over the next few weeks, so keep an eye on my blog and Instagram (@lilitsblog).

Now as you might remember from THIS post, I used to wash my hair every single day, which had made my hair quite dry at the ends but oily at the roots. Over the last 3 months I’ve tried to reduce the amount of times I wash my hair, and now can go up to 3 days without shampoo/conditioner. Of course I’ve had to be creative, as by day 3 my hair starts to feel oily so I need to mask it in some way. This is especially important as having short hair I can’t just throw it up into an effortless bun and be done with. So this my dears is a rough guide to how I style my hair to get maximum wear time in between washes.

Day 1 – Straight
The first day that I wash my hair I generally wear it straight. Besides shampoo and conditioner I don’t apply any styling products otherwise it will weigh my hair down and get oily the next day. After blow drying it straight I use my straightener on the top layers to smooth it down, and I’m done. Oh wait, I forgot, I actually use a bit of hairspray on my fringe to get it to stay in place.
Key products: Schwarzkopf Essence Ultime Diamond Color Shampoo/Conditioner, Schwarzkopf Strong Styling Hairspray.


Day 2 – Wavy
On this day my hair still feels fresh but is starting to lose volume at the roots. Now is the perfect time to add some waves. I apply a body-boosting product at the roots for volume, then use a curling wand to add random waves to the top layers. I don’t curl the bottom layers otherwise it’ll get too bouffy. I finish it with a light spray of shine spray.
Key products: Schwarzkopf Rise & Shine body + gloss soufflé, Schwarzkopf Essence Ultime Diamond Color Shine Boost spray.


Day 3 – Messy updo
By day 3 my hair feels really oily and is starting to stick to my scalp. Time to bring the big guns out! I spray the roots with dry shampoo to soak up any excess oil, and add a styling powder to give it some lift and texture. Because my hair is too short to get a nice bun, I usually do a high ponytail then twist and pin the ends around the elastic to fake a thick bun. I then finish with some hairspray to keep it all in place.
Key products: Schwarzkopf Dry Shampoo, Schwarzkopf Instant Volume Powder, Schwarzkopf Strong Styling Hairspray.


So these are my 3 hairstyles which help me get maximum wear time in between washes. Hopefully all this reduced washing and taking care of my hair will lead to me having beautiful hair! Have you got any no-fail hairstyles that you do on dirty day old hair?
Products used

Don’t let your beautiful hair go unnoticed! Join Schwarzkopf’s nationwide search for Australia’s Most Beautiful Hair for your chance to win a photo shoot with Tash Sefton and Elle Ferguson from They All Hate Us and $2000 spending money. Enter NOW at mostbeautifulhair.com.au



Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Schwarzkopf Australia via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Schwarzkopf Australia.



May 23, 2014

theBalm Instain Long Wearing Blush in Argyle - review & photos

After lipsticks blushes would have to be my favourite makeup item. I own way more than I'd ever need but I can never say no to them especially when they come in cute packaging like theBalm blushes do.

theBalm Instain Long-Wearing Staining Powder blush (phew, that's a mouthful!) comes in a cute cardboard flip top packaging with a handy mirror under the lid. I'm actually quite a fan of this type of packaging, as they are very light in weight if you like to carry your blush around with you for touch ups. Not that you'd need to touch up with this blush as it seriously is long lasting. Basically I apply it in the morning and by the time I get home from work my cheeks are still coloured. I can't vouch for how much longer it would last in the evening as by then I'm with my toddler son who loves giving sloppy kisses to his mama, while no doubt eating off my blush and makeup.

May 20, 2014

Operation Healthy Hair: Months 2 & 3 update plus FAQs

Since I didn't blog in April, I'm doing a combined update for months 2 & 3 on my journey to get my hair into healthy conditions again. You can read about the start HERE and month 1 update HERE. The main focus during Operation Healthy Hair is to use Coconut oil at least once a week to deeply condition it, and reduce the amount of times I wash my hair from every day to every few days.

The Coconut Oil I have been using religiously 1-2 times a week as a deep pre-wash treatment. It has made such a difference to my hair, I love it. My hair feels smoother and more moisturised. After I used up the L'Oreal Mythic Oil shampoo/conditioner I decided not to re-purchase it as it didn't do much for my hair. At the moment I'm using Pantene Beautiful Lengths Shampoo & Conditioner but also about to start trying a new range, which I'll tell you about later. And I'm managing to go 3 days between washes, which is incredible for me as I used to wash my hair every day.

I also got a trim again towards the end of April to further get rid of the dead ends. I'll probably get another trim in June then prolong the period between cuts to maybe once every 3 months as I'd like to grow my hair longer. And I've also decided to grow out my fringe, so I imagine I'll be going through a horrible growing out phase but oh well. Below are some photos right from the start to how my hair looks now and I'm sure you can tell there's a huge improvement.

May 18, 2014

Shanghai Suzy lipsticks in Miss Simone and Miss Melissa

I first heard about the Shanghai Suzy lipsticks from Sarah of More Than Adored who has quite a lot of lipsticks from their collection, if not the whole collection! They looked so fantastic, the colours were all so up my alley and the price? AUD $12.95 each which is ridiculously cheap by Australian standards. I always meant to get a few shades but I kept forgetting until I was sent a couple of PR samples for review. Thanks Star PR!

May 16, 2014

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade - You NEED This!!!

If you've been reading my blog for a while then you'll know I very rarely classify a product as a must-have. That's because when it comes to makeup I'm a firm believer that there are other alternatives out there, so nothing is a need-to-have, simply a want-to-have-right-now. Well, I'm about to tell you about this product which IS A MUST HAVE and you NEED it. Yes, that's right, if you're serious about eyebrows then you absolutely NEED the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade.

May 14, 2014

NOT jumping on the bandwagon - 5 cult beauty products that left me cold

As a beauty blogger and avid reader of anything to do with beauty, I'm always exposed to new products, and most of the imd I jump on whatever bandwagon is going around to try these products for myself. But there are a few things that I just can't seem to get into, no matter how much of a cult status it has in the beauty world. You might be different and absolutely LOVE they things that I don't, but here are 5 things that had the beauty blogger world in frenzy but just could get me to jump on their bandwagon. (Remember, these are purely my opinions and not a reflection on the products themselves or others who love them!)

1. BB Creams
I've tried my fair share of these but they've all left me cold.  What are they even? A moisturiser? Foundation? They're just too heavy to be a moisturiser and don't provide enough coverage to be a foundation except for the Jane Iredale one which which I liked as it had full coverage, but was lacking in longevity. On the whole BB creams just leave me cold, so pass.

2. Lip butters
The Revlon lip butters were on everyone's lemming list and spawned a whole generation of lip butters from other brands. I wanted them too... and I tried them, and yes, they left me cold. Gorgeous colours but they were just too sheer for me, and that buttery feeling? Nope, didn't like it. Felt too heavy and slipped all over the place. I've tried a few others in the "lip-butter" family and again not been converted. Pass.

3. Radiant finishing powders 
Yes, I am talking about those Hourglass ones. This will probably be controversial as soooo many people think these are a must have. I even went and spent s*tload of money and got one from Meccamaxima. And I admit, they do make my skin look flawless and lit from within. So what's the problem? The effect doesn't last! Unless I go around reapplying this powder all day long, that lit-from-within glow goes away after an hour.

4. Micellar waters
Here's another one that might be controversial as every MUA and beauty blogger I know raves about them. Yes, it's those cleansing waters that started with Bioderma and now every other brand is also releasing their own. Now these are something I have not tried, so I didn't really want to include in this list in case I end up trying it and convert. But right now I have no intention of trying them. As above, I just don't want to add yet another step to my skincare routine. Pass.

5. Cleansing brushes
You know the ones I'm talking about? Those little hand held electric contraptions that have a rotating brush on the end which you use to cleanse your skin. Every beauty blogger and their pet wanted one of those. Me? Nah, as someone who preaches simple skincare I couldn't think of anything worse to use to cleanse my face. Those brushes just look too harsh, and seriously who has the time to add yet another step to their skincare routine? Pass.

So my lovelies, what beauty product bandwagons have left you cold?

May 11, 2014

NARS Habanera Eyeshadow Duo - review & swatches

I had been lusting after the NARS eyeshdow duo in Habanera for a long long time, but they were never in stock whenever I checked my local Meccacosmetica. Plus, ummm, did you know the NARS e/s duos used to cost around $70AUD here? They've now been reduced to $55 but I still think that's a lot to pay for 2 eyeshadows. So how come I've got it now? Because I picked it up at Tine's blog sale for a fraction of the price! Yay.

Anyway, back to Habanera shall we?

What I've found with the NARS duos is they're a bit of a hit and miss. There's always one colour that's smooth and buttery, and another that's chalky and dry. (I've got Dogon and Rajasthan, both picked up at blog sales as well and both have one good and one bad shadow). That's definitely the case here too. The silvery green on the left is smoooootthhh. It's pigmented. It's everything you'd want from a high end eyeshadow. And the matte purplish plum? Meh. It's chalky. It's dry. But... don't write it off yet. Because it's a dark colour, the lack of pigmentation is actually not a bad thing because you're less likely to make mistakes with it as you'll be building up the colour gradually.

The colour combination of green and purple together is just beautiful and it's great to use for a smokey eye which is different from your usual greys and browns. My favourite way to wear it is wearing the purple in the crease and the green on the lid and bottom lash line, but I've also worn the purple all over the lid and crease with the green just in the inner corners for a highlight.


Overall I'm quite happy I got this, but it's not a must have for me. Especially not at the full price it sells for.

Have you got any NARS eyeshadows? What do you think of them?


May 09, 2014

Flash GIVEAWAY - Win a De Lorenzo Hair Care Pack

Hi all, with Mother's Day just around the corner I have a flash giveaway for you (or your mum, if you're feeling generous!).

I have 3 packs of De Lorenzo Instant Rejuven8 Mother's Day gift packs worth $49.95 each to giveaway. Each pack contains Instant Rejuven8 Shampoo (375ml), Conditioner (375ml) and Body Wash (200ml) in a clear zipped cosmetics bag. The packs have been provided by De Lorenzo.

HOW TO ENTER
All you have to do to enter is be a follower of Makeup and Macaroons through Bloglovin' OR Facebook OR Twitter OR Instagram and fill out the form below. You don't have to follow me on all 4 platforms, but you will get 1 entry for each follow.
  • This is open to entrants with Australian postal addresses only. 
  • The competition closes 11:59pm Sunday 12 May. 
  • The winner will be drawn at random using Rafflecopter. 
  • The prizes will be sent directly to the winners from DeLorenzo PR. 
  • There will be 3 winners who will get 1 pack each. 
  • Full T&C is in the form below.
  • The winners will be announced in the widget below after the competition closes, and will be emailed a notification. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

May 07, 2014

Klara Cosmetics Kiss Proof Lips in Watermelon Kiss

Just over a year ago I wrote a post about why I hardly wear bright lipsticks anymore. The reason of course being that my son, who was 7 months old at the time almost always smeared the lippy all over my face. You can even see him in action doing so HERE. If only I'd had the Klara Kiss Proof Lips* at the time, I wouldn't have had to worry about it!

Yes, the Klara Kiss Proof Lips are not only kiss proof, budge proof, but also toddler proof! These claim to last 24hrs and while I haven't actually tried to wear them for a whole 24hrs (I did eventually have to go to sleep, ya know?) I can tell you that this lasted on my lips the whole day until I was ready to take it off. 

The colour I have is called Watermelon Kiss and it's a super bright red with pinkish undertones. A bit like MAC Impassioned, but brighter. You apply it like a gloss, and within a minute it dries to a completely matte velvet like finish similar to Lime Crime Velveteens and Australis Velourlips. It is quite drying on the lips, so make sure you prep them first with a light coating of lip balm.


A word of warning. It takes a lot of effort to wipe off. In fact don't even try to wipe it off with just a tissue, it won't come off. I had to use an oily eye makeup remover to get it to budge. Tissue soaked in olive oil also worked a treat for when I couldn't find the eye makeup remover. 
Photo collage from my Instagram (@lilitsblog)

Klara Cosmetics is an Australian company, and you can buy their full makeup range from their website HERE. The Kiss Proof Lips are $29.00 AUD. 

What do you think of this lip product? Do you like those velvet finish stains or do you prefer creamier finishes?


PS: I'm linking up with the 30+ Style & Beauty Link Up Party hosted by Rachel from Redcliffe Style, so please check out her link for more posts from fabulous 30+ women. 

*Press sample

May 05, 2014

My 15 most used single pan eyeshadows - MAC, Inglot and MakeupGeek

As much as I'm a fan of eyeshadow palettes, there's just something satisfying about building your own palette with single pan eyeshadows. Majority of my singles are by MAC or Inglot, with a few randoms thrown in. I have quite a lot of single pans but these are my 15 most used colours. And surprise, surprise, they're neutrals! Some might think this is a boring palette, but you know what, when it comes to my everyday makeup I'm pretty boring when doing my eyes (lips, now that's another story). The palette that houses them is the medium sized Z Palette which I picked up from the Makeupgeek store.



May 04, 2014

Why hello there, nice to see you again too!



Hi everyone, I'm back from my month long bloggie break! Thank you all for sticking around, for your lovely words and emails. And hello to all my new readers, welcome!

I took some time off because it was getting too difficult to juggle it all for a while, so I thought time away from the blog would do me good. So did it? You betcha!

Nothing has changed in my situation - I'm still working 4 days a week, my toddler son still demands 150% of my attention, and I'm still trying to juggle being a working mama with running a blog on the side. But this time away gave me the break I needed and made me realise I still want to keep on blogging, even if it means that I can't give it all the attention that I want. After all this is a hobby blog, this isn't how I make a living so if I don't post for a few days it's ok.

You might remember that I did a quick reader survey to see what type of posts you'd like to see here on Makeup and Macaroons.  Thank you so much for your responses. I had to close the survey early as after 100 responses Survey Monkey wouldn't let me see the results unless I paid for a premium membership. And I didn't want you to go to the trouble of doing the survey when I couldn't see your responses. But a hundred responses still gives me a statistically valid sample (yes, I can be a numbers nerd sometimes) so if you're a bit of a survey junkie like me you probably want to see the results. Here they are!




As you can see from the above graphs the top 3 topics you want to see here on Makeup and Macaroons are
1. Product reviews
2. FOTDs - Makeup Looks
3. Tutorials

And you know what, that's what I'll be focusing on as well with a sprinkling of the other topics thrown in so it doesn't get too boring around here.

I also asked for some verbal feedback to see if you had any suggestions for improving my blog, but apart from getting some really lovely comments about my blog's focus on real and affordable beauty (thank you!), there weren't any other improvement suggestions. It's not too late though, if something is bugging you about my blog just drop me a line at lilitsblog@gmail.com. I promise I won't get upset... but be kind!

Oh and you might also notice things look a bit different here in the blog real estate. It's a bit of a work in progress, but I'm just trying to de-clutter things and make my blog easier to navigate. Again, improvement suggestions are most welcome.

So thanks again for all your feedback and support all these years, and I'll start proper posting from tomorrow!


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