November Favourites!

I'm so inconsistent with favourites posts, but now I'm on holiday I'm trying my best to be consistent with my posting. Read ahead to learn more about my favourites of late and I hope you enjoy the mini reviews!

1. Sukin Mist Toner: So so refreshing after the shower or on extra hot days. I've heard really great things about rosewater and I think this is what's making my skin glow lately.

2. Sukin Super Greens Facial Scrub: I love using this in the morning, it's very brightening and refreshing. One of my favourite Sukin products, and I'm running out so I definitely need to repurchase soon.

3. Etude House BB Cream: I've been getting back into liquid face products and this BB Cream has been very handy for days I don't have much time to get ready. I usually wear mineral makeup but sometimes when I'm in a rush I don't have time to buff and build. This is really easy to slap on and it dries to a powdery finish so I don't even need to set it. I want to write a review on this soon, so keep an eye out!

4. Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Liner: I picked this up fairly recently at the Priceline sale but I have to include this in here because I've been wearing winged liner every day since then because it's so easy with the liquid liner!!! I love the tip, it's just so easy and precise. This definitely lived up to the hype.

5. Maybelline Lash Sensational: I did a review on this, and I'm still loving it. I honestly think it gets better with age too. I pretty much carry this with me everywhere.

6. Nude by Nature Lipgloss: I love this lipgloss because it isn't sticky, it gives a lovely natural shine to the lips, it's very hydrating and softening and it's by one of my favourite makeup companies!

7. Nude by Nature Virgin Blush: I've been loving youthful and dewy makeup inspired by Korean idols, and I think this blush helps to complete the look. It's a loose powder which is a little messy, but I think it's worth it.

Klorane Dry Shampoo: A spur of the moment buy and holey moley dry shampoos are amazing?! Where have they been my whole life? I needed something to freshen up my hair before going out with some friends, and this stuff makes my hair smell and look fresh and clean and awesome. I have really long hair that can look a little flat once it gets greasy, so this is great for volume as well as oil control. I'm really tempted to get the Batiste one next but I know I should finish this first.

12 Present Ideas Under $50 - Beauty Edition

I think this is my first Christmas on this blog and I'd like to share my recommendations for this busy gift-giving season. I've decided to choose affordable products, mainly gift sets of my favourite things/from my favourite brands since all the money spent on gifts tend to add up.

Let's start with the some lippies. I think lip products are fantastic gifts because they're fun, colourful and tend to work for most people despite skin type etc.

This Chi Chi Lip Gloss Favourites set is awesome because it has a range of colours, and they're small and travel friendly. This set could even be broken up into smaller stocking stuffers, and retails for $17.

 

This set is the Brights Creamy Matte Liquid Lipstick Collection by Chi Chi, but you can also find the set in Nudes. Considering how popular liquid lipstick are nowadays, this lets people try different colours and formulas without breaking the bank. Plus the box is super cute which means less wrapping for the gift giver. 

Since we're on a roll with Chi Chi, I'd also like to recommend the Choose Chi Chi Face Extravaganza palette. It has some gorgeous eyeshadows, blushes, highlighters and bronzers and is a great kit for people starting with makeup or even people just looking to expand their collection. Chi Chi powder products have always been soft and good quality and this ginormous palette is currently on sale at Myer for $24.

And finally, to round off the lovely products of Chi Chi, here is a travel perfume set of a bunch of their perfumes. I own two of their scents myself, and absolutely love them. They don't smell cheap and childish despite their cute packaging and incredibly affordable price tag. This is also currently on sale for $20.

I recently picked up this Nude By Nature Bronzed Beauty Cheek kit at the Priceline sale, and I think it's absolutely gorgeous. I love NBN as a brand, as their products are good for the skin and look amazing. This kit is another great starter kit for someone who isn't really into makeup, since it comes with both a bronzer and a blush in one as well as brushes so they don't need to go out and buy their own. Currently retailing for $40 but NBN is stocked in plenty of places, and I'm sure you'll be able to find a sale sometime somewhere. 

Another great find at Priceline is the Katy Perry Parfums Collection featuring Killer Queen, Oh So Sheer, Spring Reign and Royal Revolution. Mini perfume collections make great gifts if you're not sure of their exact perfume favourites/tastes, or you're not sure what they already own. This retails for $39 which makes it fantastic value for 4 perfumes.

If you're looking for something a little more luxurious with a brand name to it, but still want to stay within budget, this Benefit set is perfect. Featuring a range of Benefit favourites and all neatly tucked into an adorable box that again, makes wrapping super easy, this set helps to achieve that perfectly glowy and youthful look for the holiday season.

 

Another way to glow is with this Revlon Christmas Photoready Set. With some fantastic full sized products, this set is another great value kit, and is currently on sale at Myer for $40.

I am a huge fan of Natio and their products, and I love the look of this Sparkle Gift Set, $26 at David Jones.

When I first saw this theBalm palette I had a mini shock. This is kind of my dream palette, and I want to get my hands on this so bad. This will make a fantastic gift because it features theBalm's best hits and all their popular and most favourite products! It's a steal at $50 for so many different products!

And let's finish off with some nail stuff. I love OPI polishes but they're very pricey, so I think sets like these are fantastic value for yourself or as gifts. The Twinkle set in particular even includes rings to match!

I'll back back to regular reviews very soon, I hope everyone is having a fantastic day!

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Priceline 40% off Cosmetics Haul!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to quickly share the goodies I picked up at the Priceline sale :) I can't wait to try everything out and play around with it all.

I think I'm the most excited about this. I own the Virgin blush by Nude by Nature but it's loose and messy and I've been looking for a good mineral but pressed blush for a while, and this kit looks amazing. Plus it comes with a double ended brush!

I needed a new eyeliner since my Essence one has completely dried out and it was just a massive pain. The master precise has been raved about for ages and I really hope it lives up to its hype.

Completely didn't need this but I don't have a mauvey colour like this so I decided to pick it up anyway.I've tried it and this essence lipstick is so ridiculously creamy and I love the grey tones it has.

What'd you buy at the Priceline sale? Comment below!
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Priceline recommendations for tomorrow!

There's a 40% off makeup sale tomorrow and Thursday at Priceline, and just wanted to quickly pop in with my shopping list and recommendations :)

 

Touch In Sol Flawless Skin Top Coat - wishlist

$30 AUD after discount

 

Savvy by DB Mineral Pressed Powder - recommendation

$6 after discount

 

Models Prefer Contour Palette - wishlist

$6 after discount 

 

 Nude By Nature Liquid Mineral Concealer - wishlist

$12 after discount

 

Physicians Formula Mineral Glow Pearls Blush - recommendation

$13.2 after discount

 

Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Napa Vineyard - wishlist

$10.2 after discount

 

Nude By Nature Lipstick in Demure - recommendation

$10.8 after discount

What's on your shopping list? Feel free to add to mine ;)

I Heart Drugstore Makeup Tag!

I've been a little MIA lately, but the good news is I'm back with a little post on my favourite drugstore makeup.

On another note, I decided to swap some points on beautyheaven, so expect a post on my random box of goodies soon!

1. What is your favorite drugstore makeup brand?

This is a hard one, because I like a lot of brands... my favourite is probably Nude by Nature, although I'm not sure if it's considered 'drugstore', because it's not the most affordable brand, but it is stocked at Priceline. A more affordable brand that's surprisingly nice is Essence, but I do appreciate NBN's ingredients way more.

2. What are your favorite face, cheek and lip products? 

I've raved about the Nude by Nature Mineral Cover Powder Foundation and Natio 's Mineral Bronzer in Sunswept before, (click on the links to check those posts out), and my favourite lippie product right now is the Burts Bees Beeswax Lipbalm, which I'm also trying to 'pan'.

3. Least favorite product?
Beauty Essentials lipgloss - I got this in a bargain bin, and man is this stuff frosty! It makes my lips look practically white.

4. What is the best makeup bargain?

W7 Absolute Lashes - $5 AUD for a mascara that is crazy defining, separating, lengthening and curling.

5. What is your favorite underdog product? (Something you love that often gets overlooked?)

Natio Mineral Bronzer, it's massive, talc-free and a gorgeous bronzer. I also want to do a special shoutout to the Dusty Girls' Earth Cream, not available at as many places as typical 'drugstore brands' like Maybelline, but it's an amazing product for your skin and for coverage, and I'm actually seeing MooGoo/Dusty Girls pop up in more pharmacies now.

6. A drugstore product that is overpriced?
I think the whole Nude by Nature range is a little overpriced, but I guess that's what you have to do for quality ingredients.

7. Show your best drugstore dupe(s)!!
I don't own the They're Real mascara by Benefit, but apparently Absolute Lashes is a dupe for it. I also love the Nude by Nature blush in Virgin and I think it's in the same colour family, and probably gives your cheeks a similar effect.

8. Drugstore product that isn't worth the hype?
Revlon Colorstay... I know this is a cult favourite but I don't actually think the coverage is that fantastic after you buff it out properly. Especially because I had scarring and pigmentation, I found I had to really layer up the product, and this stuff is thick and I don't like the heavy feeling of makeup. Not the mention this stuff stains all your sponges and brushes, and is equally hard to get off your skin and out of your pores.

Have you done this tag? Link it below so I can check it out :)

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Skincare and Makeup Haul!

So I was bad. There were plenty of sales in the last two weeks and I bought a bunch of stuff. Let's start off with Sukin.

Sykin Purifying Facial Masque, Sukin Micellar Cleansing Water, Sukin Antioxidant Eye Serum

Priceline had a 3-for-2 on all Sukin products, so I decided to finally bite the bullet and try some products out, as well grab some skincare items I wanted for my routine. I've been really into my masks lately, so I decided to try the purifying mask.

Because my skin has been rather dry and tired, I also picked up the eye serum, and the third product was the micellar water because I wanted see how well it'd took off makeup. I haven't tried the latter yet, because I still have open makeup wipes on the go, but I am looking forward to doing a review on the eye serum and the face mask.

Continuing on with skincare; Priceline also had a 40% off skincare sale a couple days ago, and I popped in to grab a couple things. I needed a toner, so I picked up the Thursday Plantation toner, and it smells like lemonade!

I also got the Natio Ageless Rosehip oil. I've tried Trilogy's rosehip oil before, but to be honest the dropper packging is a pain, especially if you forget to close it back up like I used to do. To avoid making the same mistake, I looked for an oil with a pump dispenser, and luckily Natio had one. I haven't opened it yet, but I plan to crack it open before bed once my pimples clear up.

I also got an Otaku face mask at an Asian store in the city. I really like this brand, if you ever come across it try the light blue and yellow packaged sheet masks you should give them a go. (Also the little cartoons are adorable!)

Now onto some randoms and makeup:

Nude by Nature Mineral Cover in Medium, Rimmel Wake Me Up Conealer, Burts Bees Honey Lip Balm, Rimmel Exaggerate Eyeliner in Rich Brown

Target had a great sale on cosmetics, with 30% off Rimmel and 25% off Target (as well as other great deals that I didn't take advantage of) so I decided to pick up a full size of the NBN Mineral Cover in the right shade. I also wanted to try a liquid concealer, as I haven't had much luck with stick ones, so I decided to get the Rimmel Wake Me Up as I've heard some great stuff about it. I'm hoping to do a first impressions post on it soon!

I did a purge of my makeup a few months ago and got rid of all my pencil liners because I could never be bothered sharpening them, so I finally got a retractable one. It's so quick and easy to apply, faster than liquid liner or pressing black eyeshadow into my lashline, and the formula is pretty good too, and lasted me all of yesterday. I'm excited to work more with it, and see if it really is waterproof.

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed the haul, and keep an eye out for some upcoming posts with these products!

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Makeup Wishlist

Today's blog post is just a fun one, a makeup wishlist that I might return to after I finish my Project Pan! To be honest I don't need any of these, but I would love to try them nonetheless. Let's just started!

Nude by Nature Mineral Cover RRP $39.95 AUD - I have a sample of this in Medium but I really want to get the full size!

theBalm Eyeshadow Palette in Meet Matt(e) Nude RRP $42
I've been keeping an eye on theBalm for ages because they have lovely talc-free and paraben-free products that seem right up my alley, and this palette is so gorgeous but overpriced in Australia. I might save up on this but I have enough eyeshadows to keep me going for a while. This is definitely a 'don't need' and splurge item.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipsticks in Fire and Ice and Teak Rose RRP $21.95
Am I the only one who finds Revlon luxurious? It's definitely one of the more expensive lines in Priceline or the 'drugstore' here in Australia. Unless I find these on sale, I probably won't be able to pick them up because twenty dollars for a lipstick is just stupid. But they're ridiculously gorgeous shades, and Fire and Ice reminds me of a certain books series...

Luma by Jess Hart Powder Blush in Dusty Rose RRP $24.95
Another talc-free product I'm dying to add to my collection, but I know deep down my current loose blush will get neglected if I buy a pressed one (they're easier to use and less messy). So I'm going to hold onto the urge to splurge on this one for now, and maybe when Priceline comes out with a 40% off makeup around November I would have used enough of my Nude by Nature blush to warrant a new blush purchase.

What's on your makeup wishlist? Leave me a comment below :)

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My Nude By Nature Stash + Reviews

Not pictured (because I'm an idiot and forgot) is the NBN mineral veil pressed powder.

 I'm a huge mineral makeup fanatic and one of my favourite brands is Nude by Nature. It's an Australian mineral makeup brand that's mid-range in terms of price, but fairly pricey compared to other brands in Priceline. I've collected a small number of the products and am keen to try more, but I don't really have anything I need, and considering the price, I can't really go try everything in the range (unfortunately).

Nevertheless, the range is diverse for a mineral range, and has everything from lipsticks to eyeliners to foundations (liquid, pressed powder and loose powder). Their ingredients lists are always amazing and for that I am happy to own every NBN piece I do.

For swatches scroll to the end ;)

NBN's Virgin Blush is the only mineral blusher I own, and I use this almost everyday.

To be honest it's messy, and because it's in a loose powder form I find it really difficult to control but it's a gorgeous colour - a shimmery peach but buildable to an almost rosey pink. It also makes my whole face glow, and you need the smallest amount so I think it's great value for money.

I just wish the packaging had the wind top like the full sized mineral foundations so I can travel with this and control how much comes out because this is a bit of a monster. Because it's so pigmented, if I get too much on my brush I need to blot it off on my wrist or a tissue first, otherwise I look like a clown.

I think it's a shade that is universally flattering and suits a range of skin tones. It's bright and dark enough to show up on darker skin tones and can be used sheer enough for paler skin tones too.

Pros: Beautiful colour, versatile for all skin tones, pigmented, lasts all day, good value for money
Cons: Can't travel with it, packaging could be better, application can be messy, difficult to control pigmentation

I own two of the Natural Mineral Covers, a full size in Light and a sample size in Medium. The Light is way way too light for me, and I honestly don't know what was going through my head when I was buying it. I think I picked it because it was the most yellow toned, but honestly it is just too pale and I look like I'm sick when I have it on.

The Medium sample is new to my stash, but I'm so glad I spotted it with a starter kit in Target for $10. I think I'm really able to love this powder foundation now that I have the right shade (although this still leans more neutral in comparison to my light olive/yellow skin tone), it's such a flattering and natural foundation. I like to use a buffing brush to really work this into my skin. I would call it a medium coverage, and buildable if you have patience and a good brush, but I'm not sure if I can achieve full coverage with this. But it's so invisible on the skin, and it makes my skin so so soft. It is a little less forgiving over breakouts and dry patches, but not many foundations are flattering either anyway.

The colour selection is definitely an issue. I wish they catered for different tones (neutral, cool, warm). The packaging is perfect in the full size, and not so great in the sample. I think I might give away the Light powder and repurchase the Medium when I run out of the sample.

Pros: Nice packaging if you can get your hands on the full size, huge jar of product, invisible on the skin, great ingredients for your skin
Cons: Colour range a little off, quite expensive ($40 AUD), quite messy to apply, high zinc oxide content so may not be good for flash photography

Now onto the brushes: NBN brushes are softest I've ever got my hands on. The one on the left came with a kit, and it's a massively and gorgeously soft kabuki. It is dense enough to buff mineral powder onto the face for a medium coverage, and soft enough to properly work the powder into the skin. I know they have brush sets and I think they're definitely worth looking into as they're very high quality for their price. The one on the right is their mineral face brush, but as you can probably tell the handle fell off during washing. But the bristles have not shed and I still use it for blush and bronzing.

From L to R: Natural Mineral Cover in Light, Natural Mineral Cover in Medium, Virgin Blush.

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