Purple is the new black….

First off, how hard is it to photograph the colour purple? Girls, please feel my pain. So it appears that purple, and it's many varying shades and tones, is my spring lip colour of choice. A little unorthodox but I'll roll with it. I counted up my purple lip product collection and I have an (unnecessarily large) grand total of 10. And this doesn't even include all of my lilac lipsticks, of which I only included one in this post as it's probably the most wearable. 

Left row, from bottom: 

Clinique Chubby Stick in Voluptuous Purple - a very sheer wash of purple that's perfect if the very thought of a purple gloss terrifies you. This one actually sticks around for quite a while too.

L'Oreal Caress 402 Milady - This is one of the most long lasting lip products I've ever used. Ever. Two layers of this stuck around for a full 10 hours, including a tasty roast dinner and upwards of 4 cups of tea. 

Sleek Eau La La liner in Raisin - This is quite a berry purple shade but goes well under some of the lighter shades for when I want to create an ombre lip. These liners are so long wearing and come in some great colours. 

Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipstick in Gangster Rap - Unfortunately you can only get this bad boy in Australia but it's such a vivid purple and, again, a good one for a long lasting lip.

Maybelline Colour Whisper in Oh La Lilac - such a wearable lilac shade, these remind me of the Revlon Lip Butters and are more of a tinted lip balm/lipstick hybrid. I've got quite the collection of these!

Maybelline Colour Sensational vivid in 906 Hot Plum - quite a standard purple shade, not the most long lasting but very easy to get hold of and a really great suit all shade.

Right row, from bottom:

Mac Up The Amp - please excuse the melted lipstick smeared all over the packaging! This is a very well loved lipstick and the perfect purple for pairing with a subtle smokey eye and big lashes for a night out.

17 Supreme Shine Lipstick in Pink Posey - another really wearable formula that edges towards the gloss/balm side of things.

Collection Little Mix lipstick in Perrie - my current favourite purple lipstick and the latest addition to my collection. I popped a picture of this up on my instagram and it got a lot of love. If you're feeling brave and want to try a purple lipstick, this one is super affordable so nothing lost if it's not for you!

Sportsgirl Violet Crumble - another Australia based lipstick, I've actually never worn this one but it's a very similar shade to the Maybelline Hot Plum!

Are there any other purple lipsticks I need to try??

What colour lips are you guys loving right now?

Loves

xxx

Top 13 of 2013...the makeup edition...

Top foundation has to be, without a doubt, Revlon Nearly Naked. Third bottle of this bad boy and the love affair is still continuing. 

The concealer that has kept creeping back into my life (well, makeup bag) in 2013 was the Body Shop Illuminating Touch in the shade 3. Great for achieving Kim K style cheekbones.

The only bronzer to grace my face was Benefit Hoola, which I'd probably award as my top product of all time award. Big news.

Favourite blushers go to Sleek in general but, not to be called a cheater, I'd pick Pixie Pink if I was going to single one out. 

Highlighter could only be The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer, used sparingly, for a beautiful daily glow.

For eyeshadow the only thing I regularly reach for, and my one 'take away with me everywhere' was my Urban Decay Naked Basics palette. For day looks, eye looks, and brows this was my saviour. 

I couldn't let eyeliner slip by without throwing a huge mention out to the Rimmel Scandaleyes pencils, especially in the taupe and nude shades, and my trusty Topshop liquid liner in black. 

Again, mascara is a two parter as big lashes were my favourite look of 2013. My stand out winners were Benefit They're Real and Makeup Forever Smokey Lash. 

For the nude/pink lipstick offerings I turned to the NYX matte lipsticks towards the later part of the year, but my favourite lip discovery of 2013 were hands down the Maybelline vivids, of which I own and love every single one. 

Lastly my Urban Decay de-slick setting spray has been a life saver on these hot Australian days.

Honorable mentions go to the Real Techniques brushes, Rimmel Apocolips (especially Big Bang), the Maybelline colour tattoos and the new Revlon lip glosses. Sorry, I cheated. 

What has everyone else loved in 2013??

Loves

xxx

Disappointing Products #1...

Quite a small selection of products for my first ever disappointing products post, but considering how much time I spend on YouTube, reading blogs etc I like to think I do my research before going out and spending any money on cosmetics these days. I'd rather be sure that I'm buying something worthwhile than just wasting money on crap.

I bought Maybelline The Falsies mascara because, I'll be honest, Tanya Burr loves it. That's usually a good enough reason for me to go out and buy something. The first thing that should have rang alarm bells for me was the wand; I usually like skinny plastic wands with spiky combs much like They're Real from Benefit. I didn't find this volumising at all, it gave nice definition to my eyes but I like really thick, exaggerated lashes and I don't think this delivered. 

The second disappointment was the Bliss Fabulips exfoliating lip scrub. Not living near a Lush, I was missing the benefits that their lip scrub has always offered me and felt the need to have one back in my life. I picked this up from the Feel Unique sale a few weeks ago and can honestly say, bring back my Lush scrub! It's a really oily, thin balm that sits on my lips and doesn't sink in, and the exfoliating particles are so sparse that I need to dig out loads each time I use this. 

What's everyone else's disappointing products at the moment?

Loves

xxx

Careless Whispers...

New product excitement alert! As much as I love the look of a mat, bright lip, I always find myself reaching for something with more moisture on a day to day basis (enter products like the Revlon Lip Butters and the new Chubby Stick dupes from Bourjois). So when I spotted that my local discount pharmacy here in Australia had the 'new' Maybelline Colour Whispers in, there was no way I was passing up giving them a go and seeing if they matched up to my beloved Lip Butters. 

Pro - the colour range is nice
Con - the colour range is NO WHERE near as good as the lip butters or the similar L'Oreal offering 

Pro - really comfortable to wear on the lips, the  colour stays long after the feeling of a heavy lip product disappears
Con - although the colour wears well, the glossiness doesn't stick around for as long as some of it's competitors

Pro - great packaging, a slimmed down version of the Maybelline colour sensational lipsticks. Don't stain my lips, don't transfer onto my teeth, and feel moisturising on the lips for a substantial amount of time
Con - unlike similar products on the market, the colour is sheer without being build-able; I couldn't seem to deepend the colour with more applications however I only have one colour so can't speak for the entire range. 

I picked up the shade Oh La Lilac, a cute pinky lilac colour that complements fair skin and looks great with a subtle smokey eye. 

Anyone else given these a go and loved them?

Loves

xxx

Top five black eye pencils...

One of my go-to looks is a black eyeliner in the waterline, and my collection is now never ending. 

Top to bottom:

Rimmel Scandel Eyes waterproof kohl liner 001 black: lasts quite well, waterproof to the fact that it takes a fair amount of makeup remover to budge it.

Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl super noir: quite a wet consistency but is quite hard to keep in one place and tends to spread around my face a bit too easily.

Maybelline Master Drama kohl liner ultra black: probably the blackest of the lot, again smudges when you don't want it too but worth it for the ultra blackness of it.

Mac eye kohl in smoulder: One of my all time, most repeat purchased of the lot I think this is my fifth one of these. The driest and most easy to control of the bunch, smudges easily but stays put when you're ready for it to.

Avon SuperShock gel eyeliner in black: wow wow wow my newest purchase and by far the thickest, blackest and most waterproof of the lot. But immediately if you don't already own this!

What are your favourite eyeliners at the moment?

Loves

xxx

P.S. I'm off again! I'm leaving lovely sunny england (yes, it's actually sunny right now!) and heading back to Australia for another year (ish) but this time my laptop and all my blogging stuff is coming with me so (hopefully, depending on internet connection) I'll be regularly keeping in touch this year! Lots of love!

xxx

Top five current lipsticks....

Here's my current top five, most worn and most loved lipsticks from over the past few weeks...

Left to right:

Maybelline colour sensational vivids in 910 Shocking Coral: More of a pink than a coral but lasts all day and is lovely and moisturising.

Revlon lip butter in 080 Strawberry Shortcake: moisturising, pink, glossy, easy to wear. What's not to be in love with??

Topshop Whimsical: a gorgeous peachy colour that, although slightly drying on the lips sometimes, has been matching by winged eyeliner look perfectly with a slick of gloss over the top. 

Maybelline colour sensational in 135 Make Me Pink: a bit of a lilac pink shade, this has been my favourite colour teamed with a brown smokey eye.

Maybelline colour sensational in 109 Rosy Dream: makes up the dream team with a dark smokey eye!

Clearly seem to be loving Maybelline lipsticks recently!

What lipsticks are everyone else loving right now?

Loves

xxx

Most reached for items #1....

John Freda Frizz Ease leave in conditioner to treat my hair after long days in the sun and sea....

Palmers Cocoa Butter SPF 15 because the sun has finally shown it's face again and I'm enjoying making the most of it (safely)...

Nivea lip butter in Caramel Cream has such a rich formula and keeps my lips moisturized all day...

I love...strawberries & milkshake hand cream helps keep my hands and cuticles soft before during and after working hard on the farm...

Cover Girl clump crusher mascara deserves all the hype it gets, it separates and lengthens and holds curl all day....

Maybelline colour sensational in pink pop is my go-to bright lipstick when all I want is minimal makeup on hot days. It has a gorgeous creamy finish and wears really well while I'm sweating it out in the Australian sunshine...

Organix macadamia oil is an extra little treat for my hair and helps keep frizz at bay when things start to get humid, plus really affordable...

L'Oreal Nude Magique BB Cream is a holy grail face product for me, light enough to wear on hot days, with great coverage and matches to my skin tone perfectly...

What are your most reached for items?

Loves

xxx

February beauty favourites....

 

Maybelline Colour Sensational lipstick in 900 Pink Pop: Glossy, pink, long lasting. Enough said.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation: I've been working some crazy hours recently and needed some sort of skin pick me up. This foundation is a miracle worker, it has those light reflecting pigments (note: NOT glitter) that give your face a radiant glow that lasts all day. I like to think this is a dupe for Nars Sheer Glow that my poor budget won't stretch to!

Vaseline cocoa butter: I bought this for a bargain of $5 and it's lasting me ages. Smells like a mix between chocolate and vanilla, makes my skin really soft and makes me want to eat my own arm.

Lee Stafford argon oil shampoo and conditioner: Lee Stafford will forever be one of my favourite hair care brands. This doesn't smell quite as good as his flat iron protect mist (come on girls you know exactly what I'm talking about) but it's made my poor dry ends start to feel a bit healthier. Although to be honest I think the only thing that can fix them would be a hair cut. 

Maybelline Baby Lips: This one has barely no colour, smells like berries (if a little bit artificial) but literally made them as soft as a baby. Only down side, I'm going through it at a scary sort of speed. 

L'Oreal High Intensity Pigments colour truth cream eyeliner in black: One of the longest eyeliner names in history, and one of the longest lasting eyeliners I've ever used. This stays on all day, is the blackest black eyeliner I've ever used and is in such a big pot it could well last me forever and ever. LOVE this and is probably my favouritest favorite of the month. 

Nivea Daily Essentials Rich Regenerating Night Cream: I went on a bit of a drugstore skin care binge recently and, if I'm totally honest, this was the only thing that was anywhere near worth me picking up. It lives up to it's name being a rich cream, sinks into the skin without feeling oily or greasy, and makes my skin feel amazing when I wake up. And who doesn't love super soft skin??

Loves

xxx

Hello...haven't seen you in a while....

Yes that's right you're not seeing things....I am in fact, BACK! Kind of. Right lets start from the beginning - 

About 9 months ago I moved to Australia for a year on my working holiday visa for a fresh start, to travel, work, fall in love....whatever came my way. As it happens I got lucky and managed the hat trick, and I now live in a small place on the East Coast of Australia in Queensland, called Rainbow Beach. Google it, it's heaven. Here's a clue, I wake up to views like this EVERY DAY

OK so on to the good stuff. I'm (hopefully) going to upload once a week if I can, I don't want to be too adventurous and claim a 7 times a week upload rate, the internet connection here isn't great and I'm basically just to busy, but it is going to be nice slowly getting back into it....

Thought I'd kick off with a quick 'today I did this' sort of post:

Today I wore: 

 Dress: Cotton On

Bracelets: collected from various locations up and down the East Coast of Australia

Necklace: gift from the boyfriend for Christmas

Wombat: Gary (more on him another time)

Lipstick: Maybelline 900 Pink Pop

Today I ate: 

 

Grilled chicken burger on Turkish bread with chips and aoili

Today I drank:

 

Rekorderlig cider - I've kind of given up drinking so this was a special treat

Today I was with:

 

My gorgeous Australian boyfriend <3

So, fingers crossed, I'll be coming at you again in the not too distant future, hoping to do a bit of a UK/Australian drugstore comparison!

Loves (from down under)

xxx

 

Top five eyeliners...

Next instalment in my top five series is eyeliners! I'm not a huge eyeliner hoarder, I tend to have a few and just stick to the ones I like. 

l-r Barry M Wink eyeliner felt tip, GOSH Carbon Black liquid eyeliner pen, Mac Kohl pencil in Smoulder, Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl, Maybelline gel eyeliner pot 

Barry M Wink eyeliner felt tip: This is actually on it's last legs, but it's a REALLY thick felt pen that is so easy for beginners wanting to create a winged liner look. It dries up quite quickly and the nib on mine has gone a bit strange so it doesn't have a long shelf life, but it's really black and SO easy to use. The staying power isn't the best, but for around £5 I wouldn't complain.

GOSH Carbon Black liquid eyeliner pen: This is SO black, stays put until you get some sort of heavy duty makeup remover near it, and is quite easy to use. The nib is fine so you can create all sorts of looks really easily, the only draw back with this is it's quite watery so you really need to wipe the nib before you get going.

Mac Kohl: This used to be the love of my life. I've had about five of these, and whilst it is amazing, it's no longer my favourite kohl eyeliner. It's quite black, fairly long lasting, and you can sharpen it to quite a nice point if you wanted to use it on the lash line. It is great for smudging, however it sometimes smudges beyond all control when you get a bit warm....not ideal for sweaty night clubs or hot atmospheres. 

Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl: This is, in the place of Mac, the new love of my life. I've done a full review on it here if you want to take a closer look. It lasts ALL DAY, no lie. I use it on the water line, it doesn't smudge or slip, it's a really intense black, and it comes with a sharpener in the lid!! The only draw back is it's quite a soft, gel consistency so impossible to sharpen to a point, not ideal if you want to use it on the lash line. For £5, all I have to say on this is GO BUY IT :)

Maybelline gel eyeliner: I use the sigma eyeliner brush with this, brilliant for the waterline and on the lash line, and creates a gorgeous winged liner if you have a steady hand. Again, seriously long lasting, really black, easy to use with a bit of practice and lasts ages! This is always on offer in Boots or Superdrug so really worth a go!

What other eyeliners does everyone else love?

Loves

xxx