Last haul for a while! Holiday buys

I like to think that I'm all shopped out for a while.... now that I have basically anything I've ever wanted to add to my collection there is no need to buy anything for a loong time. Everyone was right about shopping in the US, everything is so cheap! Except there's one little thing that is not mentioned to often and that is service tax, a % charged on top of your purchase, for those who didn't know. But in the end that doesn't really matter too much because everything is much cheaper than home & it's just like if the GST wasn't included in our products.

So anyway, in almost each place we visited I went to Sephora more than once. My Fiancee didn't mind once he found out they had free Wifi so that was good to keep him happy while I shopped, and in some places where wifi was harder to find, he actually asked if we could find Sephora which is something I never thought he would say! So we both won. I also enjoyed visiting MAC on a few different occasions and loved what most of the drugstores had to offer. So let's stop blabbing & get into it!

**Disclaimer: Sorry for the huge post with lots of photos. Everything bought was paid for with my own money & over a period of 5 weeks. I'd hate to come off bragging which I'm not because I'm just so happy with my new goodies!

 Palettes: Wet n Wild Going into the Wild, Too Faced Pretty Rebel, Smashbox Masterclass Palette #2. I was kinda hoping that Urban Decay would have released a new palette that caught my eye, unfortunately not but when I saw the Too Faced & Smashbox palette I knew I had to have both. The Smashbox one wasn't a hard decision as it was I think $59 when it's worth around $269. Perfect for traveling & in a makeup kit.

 

Single eyeshadows & bases: MAC Swissh, Aquadisiac, Steamy, Parafit Armor, All that Glitters, Nylon, Naked Lunch, Woodwinked, Embark. MUFE #92, Urban Decay Last Call, Revlon Diamond Lust in Plum Galaxy, Stila Smudgepot in Kitten, Maybelline Colour Tattoo's in Inked in Pink, Electric Blush, Barely Branded, Bad to the Bronze.

I didn't plan to buy that many single eyeshadows, but they slowly crept up on me, especially as most times I visited MAC I bought one or two haha. I'm soo glad I bought MUFE #92 which I didn't buy until last minute, and I decided to get more of the colour tattoo's instead of paintpots because they are very comparable.

 Eyeliner & mascara: Jordana Best lash extreme, Maybelline big eyes mascara, Maybelline Mega Plush Lash, Benefit They're real, L'oreal voluminous smoldering eyeliner, Forever 21 Love & Beauty Shadow Stick, Tarte Amazonian clay waterproof gel eyeliner & brush, Maybelline Colour Tattoo Pure pigment in Never Fade Jade (forgot to include it with others) Kat Von D Taboo liner set, Sephora Deco daze glitter eyeliner

Lip Products: MAC lip pencil's in Cherry & Lasting Sensation, Top row: MAC Angel, Snob, Impassioned, Ruby Woo, Maybelline Vivids Vivid Rose; Bottom row: Creme d' Nude, Please Me, Candy Yum Yum, Girl About Town, Maybelline Vivid Fuchsia Flash. MAC Snob lipglass, Nyx Butter gloss Peaches & Cream, Rimmel Show Off Lip Laquer in Apocalyptic, Nyx Glam Gloss Aqua Luxe in The Last Party, Buxom Full on lip polish in Katie, YSL Glossy lip stain #19, EOS Lip balms, Sugarfresh lipbalms. Also forgot to include the Too Faced la creme in Juicy Melons

Brushes: Sonia Kashuk brow brush, Real Techniques Stippling & Expert face brush, Lash & Brow comb, Eye Shader brush. MAC 168, 239, 217, 268, Eco Tools Bronzing brush

 Blush: Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 hr wear in Frisky, MAC Melba, MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Dainty, Stila Convertible colour in Petunia, Illamasqua Hussy, Benefit tints in Cha Cha, Sunbeam & Posie, NARS Torrid & Sex Appeal

Bronzer & Highlighters: Sonia Kashuk Undetectable in Rich Bronze, Benefit Hoola, Stila ALl over shimmer duo Kitten, The Balm Mary Lou-manizer, NARS The Multiple in Cocobana

 Foundations, concealer & powders: MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in light, Revlon Colorstay Whipped, L'oreal True Match, MAC Face & Body, YSl Touche Eclat, NARS Sheer Glow, L'oreal True Match powder, Benefit Erase Paste, Revlon Colorstay concealer, Benefit Fake Up, MAC Pro-longwear concealer, Clinique Airbursh concealer.
I think it's safe to say I wont be needing any more foundations or concealers in a long time! I thought I may as well stock up since a) most are not readily available & b) they are double the price.

 Setting Spray & Powder: MAC Fix +, Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray, MAC Prep & Prime, Benefit Porefessional + mini & That gal, Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer

 Nail Polishes: Julie Nail Colour Cabana Boy, Wet n Wild Fergie Tonight's Gonna Be A Good Night, Sally Hansen Instadry, Essie Pop Art Pink, Tart Deco, Bikini So Teeny, O.P.I Koala Beary. So I didn't go too crazy with nail polishes, as it was quite hard for me to decide on colours so it was a bit overwhelming. I do wish I bought a bit more O.P.I, I got this one as a backup because it's one of my faves!

 

 Perfume: Ni Amore XOXO, Brittney Spears Believe, Vera Wang Princess, Chloe.
I will be doing a more detailed post on my perfume collection which is now never going to run out haha as well as separate reviews on these ones.

Brush Cleaner- So I wish I had a look at the one from MAC but by the time I remembered I was after a brush cleaner it was a bit late but I found the Sephora brand brush cleaner & bought a few because they were quite small & cheap haha.

 So from the first time we visited Sephora I signed up for their club card... which was such a good idea because over 5 weeks I ended up earning over 600 points lol. I was also able to get a 'birthday gift' which was the Sugar fresh lip balms up with the other lip products, and at the end I used up most of the rest of my points with the MUFE sample pack. One happy customer =)

So umm I said there would be a lot & I think I delivered on that statement- and in case you're wondering I packed light but had to buy a smaller bag anyway, & kept all the powders in my carry on so I knew I would be handling them safe- especially as a (cheap & old thank god) blush broke in my beauty bag!!

Oh and to let you know, I think I stuck to my wishlist pretty well- considering that I didn't list everything I wanted, but I think I bought 7/10 items as I found some to be overwhelming or found other things instead. I also wish I went to Inglot!! But, no regrets! (I've also ordered a couple of limited edition palettes but that will be it!!

Finally- pat yourself on the back even if you scanned through everything I had written, & please let me know what you're most interested in hearing about first, but I will eventually get around to reviewing everything!

Take care loves
xx

Stila Counltess Colour Pigment & Turquoise Smudge Stick | Review & FOTD

The last couple of items I got in my Stila Festival of Colour haul are these two, the Countless Colour Pigment in Lyric & Smudge Stick in Turquoise. They are both limited edition along with the After Glow Lip Colours, and I couldn't resist any of them. Whether you're into understated colours, used as a pop along the lash line or go all out wearing anything you desire all over your eyelids, these two products would be suitable for everyone.

 Countless Colour Pigment in Lyric

This is a bright, summer loving colour pigment where you can either select the shades & apply them separately, mix two different colours for a custom colour, swirl a brush around the pan to create one shade or sweep the brush across the product for a multi-coloured blend.
I choose this one simply because I don't have too many other similar colours and to get me prepared for summer.

Pros
Can create different colour combos
Bright, shimmery colours
Also use as a blush

Cons (but easily fixable)
Sheer, wear off easily with no primer
Need shimmery base for best effect, a bit chalky with a matte white base.
Not recommended to apply wet to get more pigmentation (wouldn't want to risk it!)

Smudge Stick in Turquoise

Stila has also released a pretty turquoise shade into their existing smudge stick or liquid eyeliner lines. I went for the smudge stick so I could use it in my waterline too.

Pros
Very pigmented
Long wearing (not as much in waterline, but lasts a good couple of hours)
Glides on Smoothly
Creamy

Cons
Non retractable! I learned the hard way. (didn't waste too much product, though)
Hard to wind up, but that allows you to use only what you need.

 Swatches

 

 No base, hard to see in natural lighting but as I was writing this they wore off my arm so definitely use a primer!

FOTD

 Face | Rimmel Wake Me Up + Stay Matte
MAC CCB in Pearl + Lightscapade
Bourjois Delice de Soleil, Nude by nature eye definer
Stila Countless Colour Pigment in Lyric as a blush
Eyes | MAC Painterly Paintpot, Nyx E/S base in White
Urban Decay Naked [crease]
Inglot 393 Pearl [Highlight]
Stila CCP shades used separately, from orange to hot pink [Lid]
Stila Smudge stick in Turquoise [Lower Lash/ Waterline]
Maybelline Master Precise (ignore how horrible my eyeliner is here!)
Maybelline The Falsies
Lips | MAC Myth, Max Factor Smart Lip gloss

With the Countless Colour Pigments there is a range of colour choices for everyone, whether you prefer earthy tones or neutrals to different arrays of purples or blues & greens,
On Beauty Bay you can choose from 5 different colours but I think there may be a few other ones elsewhere,& are $22.
There are the usual smudge sticks for $20.40 but don't forget that Turquoise is limited edition if you'd like to get your hands on it!

Thanks for looking! What do you think of these products? How would you wear the Countless colour pigment?
xx

All products paid for by myself, N/A with any brands mentioned

Youtube Inspiration #3: Shaaanxo

So by now it's probably no secret that I love Shaaanxo from Youtube. I love her style and wish I could keep my makeup looking so polished from day to day. What I've done here is not a recreation but actually an inspiration, using similar products from brands she likes & colours she would use.

Please ignore my bad hair day, I ended up just sticking it up in a bun for the day. I wish I could get right into the recreation by doing my hair or dressing a similar way, but it's all mostly just what I've done in the morning to get ready for work, so I never have time.

The lip colour here is more accurate compared to the pictures with flash, which make it look almost more lilac-y

 Face | Rimmel Wake Me Up, Rimmel Stay Matte powder, Nude By Nature Eye Definer {Contour} Nars Laguna Bronzer (a fave of hers), The Balm Cabana Boy
Eyes  | MAC Paintpot in Bare Study, Stila Kitten Eyeshadow {Lid}, MAC Satin Taupe {crease, lower lash line}, Naked 2: Tease {Blend out Satin Taupe slightly}, Blackout {Outer V, slightly}, Foxy + Bootycall {mixed together, highlight}. NP Set black liquid eyeliner, Nyx Wonder pencil, Bourjois Volume Fast & Perfect mascara.

Lips   | Wet n Wild Mega Last Lipstick in Dollhouse Pink {meant to be a dupe for St Germain which is another fave of hers}

This is obviously not the look I was going for, but she wears many makeup looks very well!

I think most beauty-obsessed girls would know about Shaaanxo! What do you think of her makeup style? Although I like how mine turned out, I think that no matter how differently I try to do my eyeshadow, it always looks the same! Because my crease isn't as defined like hers what I do will  look different than how it would on her.

Check out her channel here .

xx

Stila After Glow Lip Colours | Review & Swatches

This post is as I promised in my Stila Haul Post  I wanted to do the review before I go away especially as they are limited edition & I have no idea how long they will be around for!

The Stila After Glow Lip Colours are not really lipsticks, not really lip stains but like a jumbo lip pencil with a balmy, lipstick-type texture. Something that makes them different to other lip products are that they glow in UV light, which is what suckered me into them in the first place. Although I don't go clubbing as often as I used to, this would make for a nice surprise once the UV lights go on!

I was going to have to wait to take a pic under black light but then I remembered that I had a UV light that was in an "invisible pen set" many years ago so I could test it out sooner rather than later.

 Packaging: Black chubby stick-like wind-able pencils, with writing on tube corresponding to the colour of the lipstick that also glows.
Texture: They apply smoothly like a lip pencil & are very moisturizing. On application they start off sheer so you could leave it like that or you can build up the colour for a brighter look.
Colours: Electric Pink is basically that, a bright barbie pink & Festive Fuchsia is a gorgeous fuchsia (surprisingly). The other colours available are Party Pink, Rave Red, Tangerine Dream & Vivid Violet (check out Pang's blog to see her swatch of VV)
Longevity: Without eating I've found it to last around 4 hours but as it fades it leaves a stain behind. When eating & drinking it comes off almost straight away, but if you're careful & you use a straw it should be ok.

Electric Pink, Festive Fuchsia

Electric Pink Lip Swatch & Comparison

Electric Pink in normal light, with UV light.

I've found a couple of similar looks in my collection to see how the colours would compare, However the formulas are completely different, the Stila Lip Colour is hydrating & glossy where the other two are matte & drying.

Stila Electric Fuchsia, MAC Candy Yum Yum, Sleek Amped

Festive Fuchsia Lip Swatch & Comparison

Festive Fuchsia natural light, under UV light

Stila Festive Fuchsia, Revlon Fuchsia, Sleek Pinkini

The Revlon & Stila texture & colours are very similar, Pinkini is too much of a hot pink but I didn't think they would be an exact match anyway.

Overall I'm really loving the feel of the Stila After Glow Lip Colours, I think it's ingenious that they glow under UV Light (obviously all over, unlike mine where I only had a tiny light) which goes with the Festival theme, and I can't wait to wear them out to a club, but I love that they are so wearable for daytime, too.

These are limited edition so if you were wanting to get your hands on them you can buy in store or online from Sephora (only has 4 shades but includes these two), online from Beauty Bay where the prices range around $18 or directly from Stila. At time of writing Beauty Bay has the most colours available.

Would you ever try out the UV aspect of these lip colours or prefer to wear them normally?
xx

No affiliates, everything bought with my own money & this is not a sponsored review.

Stila Festival Of Colour | Haul

So I stated in my July wishlist that I had cut down on my spending, and I think I've been pretty good with it! It feels like forever since I've bought any new products, but when I heard about the Stila Festival Of Colour collection, I knew I had to get in fast.

The main reason I wanted to buy from this collection were the Stila After Glow Lip Colours. I was going to wait until my holiday until I found out that they were limited edition. It was something I didn't want to miss out on, even if they were still available I mightn't be able to get the colours I wanted, so of course when Beauty Bay had them in stock I placed an order. Unfortunately a few other LE items caught my eye too!

Countless Colour Pigments in Lyric, Smudgestick in Turquoise, After Glow Lip Colours in Electric Pink & Festive Fuchsia

 So the main reason why I wanted the After Glow Lip colours so badly are because they glow in UV light which I can picture would be a shock to see someone with glowing lips in a nightclub (I've had that happen with my neon nail polishes before haha.) They also make great day colours so they look great on their so if clubbing is not your scene you may still be interesting in these. Keep an eye out for a review!
I was also preparing myself for summer by getting the smudge stick in Turquoise which is a LE colour
& a Countless Colour Pigment in Lyric which Dawn pointed it out as a blush which I didn't think about, but it makes for a lovely eyeshadow that you can use the colours separately or mix together.

A few quick swatches, sorry about the different lighting but I will have separate posts with proper swatches.

 Shipping with Beauty Bay is free, but if you spend an extra $2.20 you get a sample & your package is meant to leave the warehouse faster. It still took 3 weeks to arrive, but I got some pretty decent samples!

 

I've never tried the Urban Decay Primer Potion, only Too Faced Shadow Insurance, so I was thrilled to have a sample size! I also got a Sebastian Colour Ignite shampoo sample which is perfect because I've been using one of their conditioners & colour protection shampoos are the type that I use, so it ended up being perfect for me.

What products from Stila do you like? Do you think you will pick up any of these products?

Check out these products & more from Beauty Bay

xx

Everything paid with my own money, this is not a sponsored post & no affiliation to any brands mentioned

Rebel With A Cause

 I hope everybody had a lovely ANZACS day yesterday, well to those who celebrated. It has started to feel like summer again, which I will appreciate before winter comes! Ugh some "bad" news, I have started to develop a sty underneath my eye, I'm going to avoid makeup in that area but hope it goes away soon!

So I've had MAC's Rebel for a while now and I've used it a couple of times but nothing that I've really felt the urge to post. It's also a colour I've found hard to use, thanks for accidental over lip lining. I've found one way that I really like to wear it, as a stain, and I would really like to start wearing it more frequently in the cooler months.

Stained

~Products
Face: Rimmel Wake Me Up & Bourjois Healthy Mix
Nars Laguna Bronzer, MAC CCB Pearl MAC Lightscapade
Milani Baked Blush in Dolce Pink
Eyes: MAC Painterly
All eyeshadow by Inglot unless otherwise noted:
P 420- Lid
UD Buck- Crease
DS 460-Outer V
P 439 - Lower Lash Line
BYS Cream Eyeliner
Lips: MAC Rebel

 I really like Rebel as a stain and I think it makes it look like a complete different product. It is also way more low maintenance and I don't have to worry about getting it on my teeth/ face haha.

Heavier

~Products
Face: The same foundation/ contour & highlight combo as above
MAC Blush in Her Blooming Cheek
Eyes: MAC Painterly
All shadows by Stila in the light: Kitten- lid
Bliss- Crease
Sandstone-Outer V
Maybelline Master Precise Eyeliner
Lips:  MAC Rebel

I think I do need to outline just outside my lips as they make them look too small in proportion to my face... but it is so easy to over do it! As you can see in the example below.
Also I really like this blush/ lip combo for something more dramatic... I think they are both in the same colour family so they compliment each other without being OTT. Also, I think it sort of matches my hair!

To line or not to line?

Face: Same bronzer & highlighter as before, blush is Bourjois blush pot in #16 (I think, I can't quite remember! Ahh)
Eyes: MAC Painterly paint pot
Mary Kate & Ashley xall over shimmer in honey-light sandy colour, first inner of lid
Inglot 460 D.S- rest of lid
" "      465 D.S- Dark Brown, outer half of lid & crease
Bourjois Eyeliner
Lips: Nyx Lip Liner in Bloom, Guess the lip colour :P -
 Ignore the bad lip-lining! Now my lips look waay too big & fake, dontcha think? I need to find the fine line between too little & too much!

Do you have this colour? How would you wear it?
xx

In The Light & Morange // FOTD // Double Post

Orange lips with light neutral eyes was a favourite look of mine a few weeks ago, sometimes I would even incorporate blue eyeliner into the look as well. I haven't been using my Stila In The Light palette too much lately but at this time I was getting good use out of it.

Look 1

~Products
Face: Bourjois Healthy Mix & Rimmel Wake Me Up Fdtn, Model's Prefer Illuminator, NARS Laguna, MAC Lightscapade, Nyx Stick Blush in Orchid, Bourjois Blush #16.
Eyes: MAC Painterly Paintpot, Stila In The Light: Champagne [Lid], Bliss [Blending], Sandstone [Outer V, Lower Lash Line]. Maybelline Master Precise Eyeliner, Maybelline One By One mascara + Max Factor False Lash Effect.
Lips: Bourjois Levres Lip Liner #11, BYS Neon Orange eyeliner [Used as lip liner, cannot remember name!], MAC Morange Lipstick.

Look 2
I muted the orange lip down by mixing 2 lipsticks together & made the cheeks a little bit bolder, and added a pop of blue into the inner waterline. I've also done a very similar recent look with the Urban Decay Naked 1 Palette. For this look I used pretty much the same shades as in the first look but they looked really intensified here.

~Products
Face: Same foundation/ bronzer/ highlighter mix as above. Jordana blush in Redwood.
Eyes: MAC Painterly Paintpot. Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cottage Cheese. Stila In the Light: Champagne [lid], Kitten [inner corner over top of Champagne], Bliss [blending], Sandstone [crease] Gilded Gold [lower lashline]. Make Up Store eyeliner pencil in Crazy Lazy [Bright blue, waterline & inner lashline. Maybelline Master Precise. Unsure of mascara combo.
Lips: MAC Morange mixed with Maybelline Coral Crush

Here is my very similar eyelook using Urban Decay Naked 1: Half Baked, Darkhorse, Buck, Smog, Virgin. On the lower lashline I used Sugarpill's pigment in Darling. Both extremely similar but slightly different makeup looks.

As per usual thank you for looking, what are your favourite eye and lip combo's at the moment, or your favourite makeup palette?
xx