Dabbling in Essence

I've never really been drawn to Essence before (mainly because stores don't seem to look after the selection they have of Essence so testers are either stolen or it's just a hot mess) but more recently I've been looking out for products I'd like to try and going to multiple stores if testers are missing.

(Swatches Below)

For Christmas my sister bought me the Beauty Beats blush in Groupie at Heart. It was limited edition and no I don't like Justin Bieber but y'know, the blush is nice! What I will say about this blush is that it's terrifying to use. It's so pigmented I only have to slightly dab my brush into the pan, any more than that and I look like a clown. It's a really really pink colour as you can see from the Swatch I did but I think you could use this as an eye-shadow if you really wanted to. 

This blush has made me want to buy a few more Essence blushes, I'm just looking for more colours that I like. It's a really nice formula and I would recommend Essence blushes in general, since you can't buy this one any more. I believe that this blush costed $4.50 but I'm not certain because I didn't buy it for myself. 

A few days ago I purchased the Lipstick (Cotton Candy) and Lipliner (Cute Pink) just to kind of test the formulas of these products as well and I really like the colours although I will say they're both quite drying I think. Honestly I'm not irritated by lip products that kind of dry out the lips but I know a lot of people are. I really like the combination of these colours together. The lipliner kind of darkens the lipstick so it's not too bright and I love them worn together.

The downfall in Essence I feel like is that they have these really good lipliners but in very few colours. For $1.75 they're amazing quality and colour I just wish there was more to choose from! The lipstick costed around $4.50 I think which is an amazing price for lipstick as well. 

What Essence products have you tried and which ones would you recommend I try? 

MAC Studio Fix Fluid + Powder | Review

Last night I changed my blog from wordpress to blogger because I felt like this website gives me more options and it's easier in my opinion to connect to other blogs as most of them are on blogger! My bloglovin is still the same I just changed the url for it. I'm also still figuring out this whole picture editing thang. 

At the end of last year I decided I would try the MAC studio fix fluid and powder (fluid in NC15 and powder in CW20 I believe) because I had 20% off at Myer so I thought - why the hell not? I've been using the foundation and powder for about a month now I have to say I do love it. It stays on my face for the majority of the day (due to summer and sweatage most foundations don't last at all on my face - my old one used to be completely missing from my face after about 7 hours.) Although it's expensive I've found that I don't need to use a whole lot of the fluid to cover my face which is a bonus because that means it will last a little bit longer. I think this has got to be one of the best foundations I have used - and so it should be considering I paid $40 for each product, they're usually $49. 

I still have my Covergirl foundation to use if I'm just running down to the shop for an hour or two or if I want to play around with my make up and I still do love it and will always repurchase but... for staying power and colours available I think MAC wins but it should be better because of the price difference. 

How do you feel about high end products and have you tried any MAC products? 

Life Update

The entire of January has been a weird month. I haven't  used a lot of make up so I can't review a lot of my new stuff because with the heat it'll just melt right off my face. I've spent most of this month sleeping and freaking out about University but a few days ago I received my offer into my first-choice university and first choice course. Which is really exciting but also really terrifying. I'm kind of trying to relieve a lot of the anxiety by focussing on getting a laptop backpack and a new tote handbag to use for all of my stuff, it's really hard for me to shop for bags and a lot of the laptop backpacks are kinda ugly. I found a nice one from Harvey Norman I just have to actually find a Harvey Norman. So that has been my life update I guess, it's kinda boring but I really wanted to do a post because I haven't in a million years and I hate neglecting my blog! 

What have you been up to lately? 

 

Bourjois Color Boost Lip Crayon in Red Sunrise | Review

 (Sorry about my pretty crappy photos, I'm trying to set up a place in my room to take pictures so that I can use natural light and a nice background, although I have tinted windows so it's pretty hard. Darn Queensland!)
In the Priceline 40% off cosmetics sale I bought the Bourjois Color Boost Lip Crayon in Red Sunrise. I'd been wanting a red colour that isn't too "in your face" kinda red. So I thought this colour was really nice and glossy, I've also been a fan of the lip crayon things lately.
It's a very pigmented and glossy lip product, I admit, I'm not that into lipglosses because I have a lot of  hair so it tends to get tuck on my lips (kinda gross) but because it's summer I have my hair up most of the time so I don't have that problem. The staying power on this product isn't the greatest, the Covergirl Lip Crayon thing stays a bit longer than this. It claims to stay for 10 hours but I completely disagree with that, it stays for 1.5 hours - 2 hours if that. Although I do love the colour so much that I'm kind of willing to put up with constantly reapplying it.
I wouldn't repurchase this and I won't be buying any of the additional colours but I don't regret buying this. Bourjois is one of my favourite brands so even if they have a few misses in their line, their hits really make up for it.
What do you think of the Bourjois Colour Boost Lip Crayon?

The Photo Diaries #1: Christmas Week

What I got for Christmas & What I bought in the Boxing Day Sales!

As you may know for all of us who celebrate, Christmas was during this past week and I've had a lot of fun. I'm going to show you what I got for Christmas (not being braggy but I do love these posts, it's really fun seeing what other people got!) and also what I bought in the Boxing Day sales, although it's more the "after Christmas for a whole week sales" these days. 

 

I got a coffee machine because I drink a lot of coffee and spending $30-$50 a fortnight on coffee is a bit ridiculous so Mumma got me this one! It tastes pretty good and she also got me a mug which is the cutest thing ever. The present I was the most surprised about was when my sister handed me a present so I started opening it and I saw the word *BENEFIT* and I kind of shouted "what the hell?" and very quickly opened the rest and saw she got me the feelin' dandy lip and cheek kit thing. I honestly didn't think she would get me anything like this and I was so happy and grateful, I love Benefit so getting to test out highbeam, benetint, dandelion blush and lipgloss made me so happy. She also got me the Essence Beauty Beats Blush (yes, the Justin BIeber one) which is really pigmented, a bit too pigmented but if I'm careful with it I really like it! She also got me a box of roses (which I kind of ignored for a while because it was in the package with the Feelin' Dandy box.) My other sister got me a mirror for my room so that I can do my make up in there so that I don't have to brave the hot bathroom, it's really good and I like the way it looks in my room. The last thing I received was the Real Techniques Eye Set thing, which I was surprised about too! I haven't used them yet because it's been a bit hot for make up but they feel really nice. We also get the Cadbury stocking thing every year, which is nice but they changed a lot of the chocolates this year so it wasn't as nice! (I'm not a fan of the creations line and it has that in it.)  My Grandparents gave me $50 for Christmas as well so I could use it on Boxing Day. 

(The mug I got for my coffee.)

I went out on Boxing Day just to our local shops and there was actually hardly anybody there! I was really surprised. I didn't take a picture of what I bought but I bought the L'Oreal Youth Code Eye Cream and the Simple Age Resisting Day Cream which also has SPF in it which I'm happy about. I was going to go to the city on Boxing Day but when Priceline were having their 40% Cosmetics sale, I almost had a panic attack being so close and crowded to all those people. I left the store shaking so I thought I might as well just leave it and go to the local one and skip Myer & Target for a few days. 

Today I went into the city because I needed to go to Mecca Maxima, Myer, Target and Priceline and it was a pretty good day, there wasn't too many people there so I could look around without feeling like I'm in anybodies way. 

I went into Priceline looking for the TRESemme Keratin Smooth Shampoo and Conditioner (they were both sold out at my local Priceline!) and there was only one of each left so I was really happy that I got there when I did! I tried my sisters bottle of these and they make my hair less frizzy and are great, so I had to get them for myself. I also bought the Biore Blemish Clearing Scrub and also the Ice Cleanser. All skincare is 40% off for the past few days so I bought these because I was running out of my normal face scrub and wanted to try something different. 

I made one more purchase today. It was a big one. Especially in Australia, it was a BIG one. 

I got the MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation and Powder. The lady who worked there was so nice and helped me with my colour and explained everything in detail which I really enjoyed. I had 20% off pretty much anything at Myer so I used it on this MAC purchase and I'm really glad I did. I got both of them for $80 which is pretty good because I don't remember the last time MAC has ever had a sale by themselves without the Myer Christmas Voucher. 

All-in-all, I spent a bit of money but I feel like I saved a lot of money by getting everything with a percentage off. I really enjoyed Christmas this year and being able to browse the shops without any anxiety, although there was a bit of sweat because it has been hot. 

If you've made your own post about what you got for Christmas or what you've been getting in the sales recently, link them below or just tell me in a comment! 

I hope you've all had a wonderful holiday season! 

Paw Paw Lip Balm Review | December 11th

My mum bought me this lip balm a week or two ago because the weather was acting crazy and it was quite cold at nights last week so my lips were confused and chapped. It's not cold any more. The cold has gone. Forever. (Until probably March or April.) I had to get a new one because my Nivea one ran away. I don't know where it went. 

First thing about this lip balm I fell in love with was the smell. It smells so delicious. There are these lollies by Starburst and it smells like those but a little more natural than that. I guess it smells like paw paw but I don't really associate with paw paw that much. Or ever. Aside from the smell this did wonders for my lips. They were smooth within a day of first using it. It's also really good because it's a natural balm, which is usually better for you, or so I've heard. Another thing I think would look really nice is if you applied a matte lipstick onto your lips and then put this over the top I think it'd look really nice because it has a "hint of gloss." Your lips would also appreciate the layer of moisture. 

Overall this lip balm is great. I wish they had a body wash with this scent as well because oh my, I would die for it. Sometimes I sit here and sniff it. I probably sound like a complete whack job right now but it smells great. Also it's an Australian company so, feeding the economy of the country that I recently became a citizen of is probably a plus. 

What lip balms have you recently tried and fell in love with?