July 31, 2014

Hair update and FOTD

This is a bit of a long post, as I've been using some new hair products that I wanted to talk about, which then somehow turned into a FOTD post as I had my makeup freshly applied when I started taking hair photos, and voila, a long rambling hair and makeup post!

First things first, I'm still using coconut oil as a deep nourishing treatment on my hair about once a fortnight. Read all about it HERE. My hair is honestly in the best condition it's been in a while, and all thanks to this natural ingredient. Now to the rest of the hair stuff.

July 29, 2014

Kylie Jenner Lip Tutorial

Is it just me or has little Kylie Jenner all of a sudden grown up and become a makeup icon? She, or should I say her makeup artist, has been favouring a soft and subtle smokey eye but pairing it with super pouty matte lips. There's a bit of talk out there whether she has or hasn't had her lips done, but call me naive, I'd like to believe it's all done with makeup.

She tends to wear the type of colours that were popular back in the 90s -  matte browns, mauves and beiges. Very Beverly Hills 90210. I remember wearing such colours back when I was still in high school in the mid/late 90s (oops, showing my age?). And here I am 20 years later doing it again!
And here's how you too can achieve super pouty Kylie Jenner lips.

July 28, 2014

Maybelline Superstay Better Skin Foundation Review

I'm a huge lover of Maybelline base products - in fact my everyday foundation and powders are all Maybelline. I alternate between the Dream Matte Mouse and Dream Liquid Mousse depending on the coverage I'm after, and always set it with the 24hr Superstay Powder. These are all products I keep on repurchasing, so I hope Maybelline never discontinues them.

Well, I was in Priceline the other day as I wanted to check out the new Sally Hansen Gel polishes (OMG, side note, I got them - they're the best! Will have to review later). Ok, so I was at Priceline and noticed Maybelline had a new foundation range out - Oh hellooo! Normally I'd do a bit of googling before buying a new product, but after liking how it swatched on my hand I had to have it.

July 26, 2014

Femme Boulevard Vamping It Out

Welcome to another instalment of Femme Boulevard where me and the rest of the FB girls choose a makeup theme and all recreate a look using that theme. For this month it's all about Vampy makeup. And I will tell you straight up, it's not a look I'm comfortable with. Vamp makeup traditionally calls for dark lips, and well, I'm a fan of either brights or nudes. Plus I tend to smile in all my photos, hard to appear vampy with a great big smile on my face! Never mind, the whole point of FB is to get us out of our comfort zones and create something we wouldn't otherwise. So here's my Vampy look.

Normally when I'm doing a somewhat dark lip look I'd keep my eyes pretty neutral, but in this case I decided to make it dark as well - you know, vamp it out. As for the dark lipstick, I didn't own anything that was as dark as I wanted it so I lined my lips with black eyeliner first, then filled it in with a deep plum shade.

Products used

  • Maybelline 24hr Superstay Better Skin foundation in Sand - I only bought this a week ago and I LOVE it already. Will have to do a full review soon!
  • Maybelline 24hr Superstay Powder in Sand
  • MAC Sculpt Powder
  • TheBalm blush in Frat Boy
  • Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Gel in Dark Brown
  • Lorac Pro Palette - Garnet, Sable, Black
  • Bobbi Brown black shadow liner
  • Revlon Customeyes mascara in black
  • Rimmel Kate Moss matte lipstick in #107


Don't forget to check out the looks the other girls created.

Lily from Chloeash
Kate from Drivel about Frivol

July 24, 2014

Anastasia Beverly Hills Amrezy Palette - review and swatches

anastasia beverly hills amrezy palette review photos swatches

I may be a little bit obsessed with Instagram, my favourite pastime is to stalk the pages of some of the extremely talented makeup artists there. And one of my favourite such MUAs is @amrezy (Amra Olevic), who with a million followers is clearly a favourite of many others too! When I saw that she had teamed up with Anastasia Beverly Hills and created an eyeshadow palette, well, I had to have it.

July 23, 2014

Nivea Q10 Plus Anti-Wrinkle Day Cream review

I'm not big on skincare. I put all skincare items in the boring-but-essential basket. Kinda like my taxes. And insurance. I can't help it, I just can't seem to get excited over skincare and if you've read my blog for any length of time you'll know that when it comes to skin I like to keep it simple.

Nivea is something that I keep going back to over and over again because it's just one of those brands that's stood the test of time (I remember seeing those old blue tins of the stuff in my grandparents' house years and years ago).

As a Beauty Directory Expert Panellist (doesn't that make me sound, ummm... expert?) I was asked to trial the Nivea Q10 Plus Anti-Wrinkle Day Cream for 4 weeks and provide my views in a survey. You can read about the survey results, which also include answers from other BD Experts HERE. Why 4 weeks? Because Nivea is offering a money back guarantee if you try this product for 4 weeks and don't see improvements to your skin, valid between 20 July - 21 September 2014. 



July 21, 2014

Lipstick Tales: Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet liquid lipstick in Ole Flamingo

When I first came across the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet liquid lipsticks at Priceline a couple of weeks ago I had read absolutely nothing about them, so didn't know what to expect. Yes, I know they're all over the blogosphere but I haven't had a chance to do much blog reading lately, so I went in blind when purchasing it, and hoping for a fantastic product. I got the colour Ole Flamingo 05 because I never learn, and keep adding more and more bright shades to my collection.


July 19, 2014

Black shirt dress 3 ways

This post is sponsored by Millers

For a long time I had been looking for a button through black dress, a.k.a shirt dress, but everything I'd seen was either too long, too short, or too expensive. And do you know where I found it? Millers! Yes, as in that shop that you probably walk past but never go in because you think there's nothing age appropriate for you in there. Well guess what? There is! Such as this black shirt dress that I got, which was only $40 full price.

So why was I after a shirt dress so badly? Because it is absolutely versatile, you can dress it up, dress it down, and anything in between. In fact here are 3 simple ways you can wear a shirt dress.

Shirt dress styled 3 ways

1. CASUAL
Throw on a denim jacket, a brown plait belt and a slouchy bag and you're all set to hit the markets on a weekend.

2. WORK
A nice blazer and some peep toe shoes will make this dress quite corporate. Get the blazer in a bright shade and add a bright lippy to match to give it a funky edge.

3. DATE NIGHT
What's that? It's been ages since the husband and I have had a date night. That's what happens when you have a child I suppose. Need to organise a night out stat! And to dress up this dress I'd add some nice heels, maybe a statement necklace and do a smokey eye.

So next time you walk past Millers, make sure you pop in as you might just come across a hidden gem such as this jacket, these pants or this dress.


What do you think of this dress? Have you ever bought anything from Millers (or anywhere else not your usual spot)?


July 16, 2014

C-II Cosmetics - Budget Brand with MAC Names?


There's a discount cosmetics store near where I work, called Cosmo Cosmetics, that I like to pop into occasionally. Ok, a lot. I noticed over the last couple of months that they've started stocking a brand called C-II which was very reasonably priced, I'm talking around $6.00 for each item. But what caught my eye the most was the lipstick shade names.

Look at the names on the bottom of the lipsticks. Sound familiar?

July 14, 2014

SCOUT Cosmetics Mineral Fluid Foundation Review

I'll admit, I'm not a fan of mineral makeup. Or more specifically what I mean to say is I'm not a fan of powder mineral makeup. While I always end up with fantastic glowing skin whenever I use mineral powder foundations, it's just too much hassle for me. And messy. Basically too much faffing about for this busy mama.

So imagine my delight at receiving this mineral fluid foundation from Scout Cosmetics. Scout is a 100% Australian made brand that uses only certified organic ingredients. They also don't test on animals (because they love them!), and all products are vegan.

Back to this foundation shall we? It comes in a glass bottle with a pump dispenser. It's quite lightweight, and is true to its name, it's a fluid. I was expecting a thicker consistency but it's quite runny. I generally need 1 pump for each side of my face. On their website it says you can apply with foundation brush or sponge, but I just use my fingers as that's my preferred method. The coverage is light, but buildable to medium. It also feels lightweight on, i.e. doesn't feel like you're wearing a mask, so if you hate having that mask like feeling that some foundations can give you then check this one out.

I was sent the colour Camel which is the 2nd lightest shade, and leans yellow. I think the colour would be perfect for me in summer, but right now it's a tad too dark for me to wear comfortably, i.e. without noticeable tide marks down my neck. I'll probably just put this aside for the time being, and then pull it out again in summer when it's a better colour match as I quite like the glowy effect it leaves on my skin.

You can purchase the Scout Mineral Fluid Foundation for $59.95 from the Scout Cosmetics website.


Have you heard of this brand or try anything from them before?


*PR sample

July 12, 2014

Luca turns 2

My gorgeous little boy turned 2 years old today.  It's true what they say, time really does fly especially when you have a baby! I can remember it like it was still yesterday bringing him home from the hospital, all squishy and helpless. Now he's his own little person, independent and stubborn yet also so attached to me.

He's saying a lot more words now, and definitely understanding a whole lot more. Although his default answer to every question at the moment is No. Some things he says that I absolutely adore are:

Batatus (ba-ta-tooss) = octopus
Ice keem = ice cream
Chokleet = chocolate
Nookaaah = Luca
Oh no, bacon = oh no, broken (as in, "oh no, the toy is bacon")
Dysor (dye-sore) = dinosaur
Noghurt = yoghurt
Nucky = yucky
Oh-steeess? = what's this?
Why you? = where are you? As in "mama, why you?"

July 09, 2014

Lipstick Tales: Rimmel Kate lipstick in #14

I love lipstick, you love lipstick, and you told me so when I did my post a while back on 7 Days of Lipstick. So here's to a new series called Lipstick Tales where I'll feature a lippy I'm loving. Or even not loving, but think is worth talking about. Without further ado, here's something that's been on my lips a lot lately.

It is of course the Rimmel Kate lasting finish lipstick in #14. It's by all means not a new release, has been around for quite a while and I'm sure I even wrote about it a while back. But this was one of those hidden gems I had neglected for a while and only re-discovered it lately when I decided my usual bright shades just look a bit garish in the cold Sydney weather.

July 07, 2014

More MakeupGeek Eyeshadows

I couldn't help it, after falling in love with the 9 Makeup Geek eyeshadows I already own I went back and bought 5 more. The ones I had were all matte, and I really wanted to try some shimmery ones too. I'm glad I did, as these are seriously great quality shadows for such a bargain price.

They're US $5.99 from the Makeup Geek store which has international shipping. I paid just under $40 for all 5 including postage, which I think is a great deal. A single MAC eyeshadow costs the same as 5 of those.
swatches of makeup geek eyeshadows shimma shimma cosmopolitan prom night moon dust sensuous


I ended up getting:
- Shimma Shimma (shimmery cream highlighter)
- Cosmopolitan (burnt orange shimmer)
- Sensuous (smokey plum)
- Prom Night (purplish taupe)
- Moondust (greyish taupe)
swatches of makeup geek eyeshadows shimma shimma cosmopolitan prom night moon dust sensuous

The colours I chose aren't exactly unique (I probably have a billion dupes just for Prom Night and Moondust) but I picked them for their quality. Every single one is highly pigmented, long lasting and has no fall out.

I can't wait to use them. In the meantime if you want to see swatches of my matte Makeup Geek eyeshadows click HERE or to see some previous eye looks I'd done with them click HERE.

Have you tried Makeup Geek eyeshadows yet? What do you think of these? 


July 05, 2014

Femme Boulevard Goes on a Vacation

For this month the girls of Femme Boulevard decided on Vacation being the theme for our makeup look. We could do any type of vacation look, summer, winter, spring but I decided to do summer. Why? It's winter here in Australia, all the more reason for me to dream of warmer weather. Plus we've just booked a trip to the beautiful tropical island of Vanuatu in a couple of months time so I'm already in holiday mood. Oh and this post is actually meant to be the June FB, but we're a week late due to life getting in the way.

The look I'm showing today is more the type of look I'd go for if I was going out to a nice lunch date while away on a summer holiday. Because my usual daytime face while on vacation is this.

Yep, sunnies, hat, minimal makeup.

Vacation makeup for me is always about glowing skin, bronzed cheeks, golds and browns on eyes and orange or coral on the lips. When doing my eyes I do a fairly smudged liner look as a precise line just looks out of place on holiday don't you think? When I did this look I had a cold so I don't think I did the look justice,  I think I look tired and definitely like I should be in bed and not playing with makeup! But never mind, you get the gist!

Here's the list of products used:
  • MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation in NC25 - I've almost ran out of this, might repurchase. 
  • Maybelline 24 HR Superstay powder in Sand. 
  • NARS Orgasm Blush and Laguna Bronzer combo - perfect colours for summer. 
  • Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow in Dark Brown
  • Beauty Cottage Gorgeous Eyeshadow Palette - reviewed HERE.
  • Revlon Custom Eyes mascara in Black
  • The Make Up Store soft shadow liner in Kohl
  • Dose of Colors Lipstick in Play Date - reviewed HERE




Don't forget to check out what the other ladies of Femme Boulevard came up with for their vacation look.

Click HERE for Lily's look from Chloeash
Click HERE for Teri's look from Bellachique

July 01, 2014

Acing the Base - my current favourite products for a flawless face

Sometimes we focus so much on colour cosmetics that we forget about the base. Base face products that is. I think getting your base right is very important, because even the most beautiful eye or lip makeup will not stand out against a backdrop of mismatched, patchy or just plain horrible foundation.

Each person I'm sure has their own favourite products to achieve a flawless base, and here are my go to products for creating a flawless complexion and the order in which I use them.

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