Aztec brights OOTD....

Dress - Primark 

Boots - Dr Marten

Bag - Australian market

Watch - Jag at Myer (Australia)

Just a casual outfit for shopping in Brisbane a little while ago, beautiful weather but still needed some good shoes for pounding the pavements and dragging the boyfriend around all the makeup shops!

On a side note, I'm loving how my hair has got natural ombre from the sunshine! 

Loves

xxx

January favourites...

(insert generic 'I can't believe it's the end of January!' exclamation here)

So aside from the usual comments about how fast the years going already, I also wanted to say that this is the last favourites post coming to you from over in Aus! I'm writing this on the 1st of February which means this month I'll be heading back to the UK for the foreseeable future! So let's get cracking...

Kicking off with hair, my poor locks have been so de-hydrated that the only thing I've managed to get them to do is sit in a top-knot until next wash day. Roll on a mop chop. And for this I've been loving the Garnier Fructis Volume Flex and Hold hairspray to keep strays in place. 

Just one skincare product this month but it's completely revolutionised my skin care routine, and that's my much loved Rosehip Oil which you can read my review on here. 

My Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum has made it into yet another favourites post. I've been trying to use up almost empty products so I don't have to lug them home with me and it's made me fall back in love with this yet again. Follow that with my new Nars Creamy Concealer blended in with the Real Techniques contour brush and I have the perfect base. To add a bit of lift and glow to my skin I've been reaching for the NYX Illuminator for face and body which I reviewed here. 

It's been a month of no effort when it comes to makeup (it's too hot) so my lips have been fairly neutral...just a quick layer of my Nivea lip butter in vanilla and macadamia and I'm good to go. On the days where I need a splash of colour, I've picked up my Illamasqua Colouring Pencil in Indecent (review coming soon). 

Eyes have been kept simple too....a slick of the new Maybelline Hyper Glossy liquid liner, followed by lashings of Rimmel Lash Accelerator which I raved about in a post earlier in January. If I have needed some colour on the lids of I've felt like experimenting with some neutral tones for day-time smokey looks, I've gone straight to my Urban Decay Naked 3. Predictable, but for good reason!

What's everyone else been loving in the month of January?

Loves

xxx

Illamasqua Colouring Pencil in Indecent...

Gone are the days when all I (thought I) needed was a Barry M lipgloss and my lip wardrobe was sorted. Since blogging and getting to grips, and severely addicted, to lip products I tend to favour a more matte look especially when it comes to the bolds and the beautifuls. Bright pink is my favoured shade for summer so when browsing the beauty halls a while back I thought I'd dip my toe into the lip liner world. 

I'm loving lip liner worn all over the lips to create a neat, long lasting and vibrant look, which I sometimes layer up with a lipstick or, like above, wear alone. 

Illamasqua 'colouring pencil' in Indecent is a bright pink that is fairly creamy whilst still showcasing great lasting power. When it does fade (after one or two cosmo's) it fades evenly. And lets not jump past the name; a perfect name for a perfect daringly bright pink. I intentionally bought it to partner Mac's Candy Yum Yum but to be honest it's just as pretty on it's own.

Any other shades of Illamasqua colouring pencils I should try?

Loves

xxx 

Rosehip Oil...what's all the fuss about....?

Having ran out of my serum and face oil within the same week (why does this always happen) I was looking for a cheaper alternative that I could use as a substitute (I didn't see the point in buying a load of expensive skin care when I've only got a month left in Aus and will only have to pack it to come home!). I'd heard a lot about Rosehip Oil and all it's supposed benefits so picked this little bottle of joy up for $17 in the chemist to see what the fuss was all about. 

According to http://www.rosehipoil-benefits.com:  

"Specific benefits of rosehip oil include:

- great natural skin care moisturiser

- research has indicated that it may have benefits for reducing some scars

- aids in reducing redness associated with facial rosacea

- improves appearance of psoriasis scars

- many acne sufferers find that it can be improve the quality of their skin

- reduces the appearance of premature aging skin as it can reduce wrinkles, crow's feet and fine lines

- great treatment for dry skin

- good for your after sun skin care regime."

I've been using this particular rosehip oil, available here, for almost a month now (as has my boyfriend...) and would say in terms of wrinkles and fine lines I haven't seen too much of a difference but then I'm blessed with fairly un-lined skin. I've got some pigmentation around my eyes which I have seen a huge difference in after only the first use or two. It hasn't done much for my scarring on my chin from old blemishes but I'm happy to give it a few more weeks trial and report back on that one!

My boyfriend started using it hoping it would take his redness down (he has slight facial rosacea) and said "after using it every night I wake up seeing a difference in my face the next morning. It doesn't irritate my skin like most products do; I'll keep using this as long as you buy it"! Rave reviews there then.

So, in all, a great natural substitute to a facial oil/moisturiser that has lots of skin benefits depending on what you want fixing! This will forever be a part of my skin care routine. Also, for you fellow oily skin girls out there, don't worry about putting oils onto your skin...it needs oils in order to repair itself! Just apply it at night time so it has time to sink into your skin. Dryer skin girls can get away with a thin layer in the morning before makeup to hydrate skin for the entire day.

Has anyone else tried Rosehip oil? Noticed any other benefits?

Loves

xxx

Jam. For your lips....

Cute packaging? Check!

Smells like candy floss? Check!

A bargain? Check!

Gives lips a sheer pink tint while keeping them moisturise? Check!

What's not to love about these cute Lip Jams from Sportsgirl? I picked one up for under $5 last week and have since been back for a different shade (a peachy orange). They're a bit heavy for the handbag as the jar is made of glass, but it's perfect to pop on the lips in a morning when I feel like lipstick would be overdoing it!

Has anyone else smelt how amazing these are?

Loves

xxx

NYX takes on Illuminators....

My last makeup purchases in Australia (I promise) was, quite predictably, from the NYX stand in my local Target. I've heard on the grape vine that you can buy NYX in some Next stores in the UK but as I'm unsure how true this is I'm taking no chances and stocking up while I can! I've only really got into highlighter and illuminators in the past 6 months but now even my usual oily skin is loving it!

Usually one for powder highlighters I picked the Born To Glow Illuminator (mine is shade 01 Sunbeam) up a bit unsure what to expect. It's very glittery so calls for a matte face to begin with, and I would recommend to keep this one purely on the tops of the cheek bones to avoid the dreaded disco-ball face. It blends to a beautiful pink sheen on the cheeks which is my preferred illuminator/cheek colour so I love pairing this with Sleek Pixie Pink type shades. I would say this is a soft highlight that doesn't really build to well but for something sheeny and pretty on the cheek bones this one is your winner.

I picked the powder Illuminator for Face and Body up in the shade Narcissistic after seeing a few reviews floating around on the blogs, and immediately fell for it. It's a powder, which I prefer, despite it being a peachy golden colour which is a bit of an unusual pick in my collection. It can be applied lightly all over the high points of the face and on the body (as the name suggests) with a duo fibre brush   or built up for a more obvious, stronger highlight for the evening. It has some glitters in this but most of them seem to disappear when blended. 

Personally I think I'll be getting more use out of the powder illuminator but I think, for dryer skin, the liquid illuminator is still absolutely beautiful. All in all...NYX can do highlighters!

Has anyone else tried these? 

Loves

xxx

What's on my lips #3....

Not always one for gloss, I've been dipping my toes into the glossy waters recently, and have come out loving the latest offering from Revlon. In particular, this shade Pink Pop.

The pigmentation for a gloss is great, it's fairly un-sticky but just sticky enough to give it some great staying power. It lasted a couple of hours on my lips; even longer over a lipstick. I've since bought a nude shade which looks gorgeous ver pinky-nude glosses for night time paired with a smokey eye!

Anyone else love these glosses? Any more shade recommendations?

Loves

xxx