Product Spotlight

Review: Maybelline Mineral Power Blushes

Those that know me know that I have an aversion to mineral products (unless they are MSF's) because they are generally all together WAY TOO SHINY. I never got on the Bare Minerals/Bare Essentials/ Bare whateverelse bandwagon (granted I've never actually given them a go).

So when I heard good things about these Mineral Blushes from Maybelline I was skeptical to say the least.

I tried three (the three available at my local chemist) Original Rose, Soft Mauve and Fresh Plum. Soft Mauve was kind of strange because it had no shimmer at all so I'm discounting that one.

The most beautiful one that I find myself reaching for most often is definitely Original Rose, its a beautiful baby pink with that tell tale mineral sheen. However the sheen is not overpowering enough to turn you into a disco face.

You only need a teeny tiny bit, preffrebly on a mini Kabuki brush and then buffed into the cheek as a little bit of these babies deffinitley goes a long way. Orignal Rose gives you a "natural" flush, and to me looks a lot like NARS Orgasm but only 234345 times cheaper! 

The bottom line?  

Product Rating: 4/5 (based on Original Rose, less for the other colours, but depends on your skintone)

Price Rating: 4/5

Packaging: 2/5

Would I buy again?: Yes! over and over and over. And I would buy it for my blush shy sister.

LUSH REVIEW

So I'm sure you have all noticed the ridiculous amount of blog posts and youtube videos about Lush. Well I decided it was time for me to put in my 2cents.

First let me tell you, I am not a bath girl, the thought of a bath repulses me. I am a get in the shower, clean yourself, get out kind of girl. Having said that I like to make the time that I am in the shower as enjoyable as possible.

SO Heres is a rundown of what I got plus BLESS THIS MESS! style a more indepth 1 love, 1 like and 1 hate.

Yummy Yummy Shower Gel - A thick shower gel that smells like strawberries, and is infact, made with strawberries.

Rockstar Soap - This stuff smells like creaming soda!

Porridge Soap - Smells like oatmeal and mollases (again this is what it's made of), BEWARE its more of an exfoliator, very abbrasive.

Honey I Washed the Kids Soap - Smells like honey (duh)

The Godmother Soap - Has tiny bits of glitter on it (which dont transfer to the skin) and smells like a grown up rockstar.

Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser - Supposed to be a kick back to medieval times cleansers

Emotibombs - You chuck these in the shower and the foam up releasing nice smells, cute, bit gimicky. Like a bath bomb for the shower.

Therapy Massage bar - Heat this up in your hands and it melts into oil, supposed to be good for stretch marks

Business time Massage bar - Named after the Fight of the Concords song (which is love BTW) smells like therapy but stronger and much more oily. Definitely better used on another.

Buffy Exfoliating Bar - A shea butter based exfoliating bar.

I Love:

The Godmother Soap- This smells so good and I actually love it more than I thought I would when I bought it. It doesn't lather much, which I don't mind, but you still feel clean, and the suds are a deep red.

I Like:

Therapy Massage Bar - This leaves your skin feeling super smooth and is great used just out of the shower or warmed between your hands to collect the oil and then used on someone else. Would be a love if the smell was a bit lighter. Im not into strong Herbal scents.

I HATE:

Buffy The Backside Slayer - I know this is supposed to be an exfoliating bar but this is painful! You're better off using sandpaper! Use this out of the shower and you will straight up rip your skin off, even in the shower it is a form of torture.

And one more hate because generally there products are good but these two shouldn't be purchased by anyone ever.

Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser - This is a basic, mild, semi exfoliating daily cleanser. I never would have bought it but I got a free sample. It smells awfull. It's so strong I could barely stand to put it on my skin because I thougth I was going to be sick. And it looks like vomit. Sorry Lush I wont be buying this, ever.

NARS EVENT WITH BRET BOREMAN

I recently attended a NARS even with international celebrity artist for NARS Bret Boreman. Bret was so lovely and kind and picked all my colours and they were applied by one of MECCA's senior artists who was also very lovely.

Let me tell you I did not make it easy! I had a really big night the night before so my skin was looking SHABBY to say the least. I was dehydrated and had big cirlces under my eyes, she prepped my skin by packing it full of moisture and then we discussed what colours to use. I told her what colours I already had from NARS (mostly neutrals) and she suggested we try something a bit different, Bret agreed and so he chose Jolie Poupee eyeshadow duo which is a brilliant lavender and deep purple duo.

The rest of my face we kept a nice dusty gold using Promiscuous l/s and Greek Holiday gloss on the lips as well as Luster on my cheeks.

Luster was already my HG NARS blush.

I was also really interested in trying their primer and foundation, they are both LUSH, the primer is just what I've been looking for, and the foundation is lightweight and a perfect match for my skintone (I got matched to the colour Santa Fe).

I left with the eyeshadow, lipgloss, lipstick, foundation, primer and a lipliner in Papua.

They even made me a little facechart and gave me a cute tester size Rose Birman lipgloss!

Hello Kitty Haulin'

My little sister and I went to the Hello Kitty Preview Party last night and had all kinds of fun!

Aside from the strange cordial and not being able to drink the free champagne cause I drove we had a really good time and were the models for the night.

Check out my latest youtube video for a look at our makeup looks and what we got!

Hello Kitty X MAC is available pretty much everywhere in the world and officially launches on March 16th!

NOTE: In australia collections with special packaging (aka Hello Kitty) cost more than regular collections. And only in Australia. I dont know why dont ask.

MAC LOVES YOU in AUSTRALIA TOO.

So for my fellow Australian MAC lovers that complain about our inflated costs and delays in releases, MAC finally comes to the rescue!

They have released Grand Duos (the mineralize blush duos) early on the Australian site!

Before the US even!

There $50 a pop and are available in shades to sort pretty much anyone. Not sure if there in stores yet but check em out online here!!

NARS Spring Collection

New Nars Makes my Heart Tingle

So this may be old news for some of you but this was only just released in Australia on Monday and I couldn't let it go unchecked.

I managed to pick up the stuff I wanted (well that I could afford) a little bit earlier and have been playing all week.

I picked up the two eyeshadow duo and the blush duo.

Egea as a Frosted Sage and a Smokey Lilac whilst Hula Hula contains a Strawberry with gold glitter particles and a Hazelnut with gold glitter particles.

the Hungry Heart Blush Duo is an iridescent gold ivory and pink sand with a golden sheen. 

The eyeshadow colours really complement each other and are great worn on their own or with other shadows, similarly the Blush duo can be worn alone for an instant highlight or layered over another blush to play down the colour or add some shimmer.

I was very impressed with how pigmented the products were for pastel colours. They had a smooth velvety texture and the shimmer is truly shimmery as opposed to chunks of glitter like some other NARS products.

This collection (aside from the brick red shadow and the metallic raspberry lipstick) are really a different kind of offering for NARS, the colours are more muted and subtle and definitely a welcome addition to the NARS family.

For a closer look please check out my latest youtube video right here!

Product Review

Laura Mercier Eye Bases

I received this for my birthday a couple of weeks ago in the shade "Wheat" hoping it would be the solution to my Urban Decay Primer Potion woes (these being that 1. It's not readily available in Australia and 2. The packaging SUCKS).

These have a more fluid consistency than UDPP and other eye primers I have used but dries to a silky matte finish that really takes colour well and makes blending a breeze! As these come in a range of shades they can be used as a base or alone for a nude eye or to neutralise any darkness or redness around the eye. They even have a light blue one that is supposed to be "brightening" but made me look more "Bride of Frankenstein" so definitely check it against your skin tone before you buy.

The packaging is a square lipgloss type container that is clear and comes with a doe foot applicator. You apply it my dabbing a small dot on your eyelid and blending with your finger or a brush. These are more expensive than other eye primers but the added extra of being able to wear them alone is a definite bonus.

However, where these bases fall down is really there longevity. I tested them on two separate days wearing UDPP on one side and the LM base on the other, the LM was easier to use and blend colour on however they started to crease after about five hours where the side with the UDPP wasn't showing any creasing at all. I was so disappointed as I had hoped the LM bases would be the answer to my eye base prayer, however I think these could work better on someone who has dry eyelids as it is quite moisturising and my eyelids can get quite oily.

Packaging 4.5/5

Value for Money 3/5

The Bottom Line: Try it out if you have dry eyelids and are looking for a nice base or if you have funky coloured eyelids and need something to neutralise it, but don't expect UDPP in a Laura Mercier container.