Travel Make-Up Bag

WHAT'S IN MY TRAVEL MOOK-UP BAG?

Well, I had like, half an hour to pack my make-up bag [to Melbourne for 4 days] and here were the products that I chose to bring with me. Good news is that I did not regret bringing any one of these products! Yay! Some, I did not even use.

My go-to make-up bag is this red bag by The Face Shop. A friend (?) from Singapore had sent me this last year, and it has been my bag since! It's very spacious and pretty, but I need a new one. Which bag do you use as your travel make-up bag?


❶ BASE

Skin has been real good to me, so I didn't bother with the primer and powder. As long as I have my Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation ($19.95), a long-lasting foundation with a natural, dewy finish and medium/full coverage. Easy to apply, so it's perfect for on-the-go's!

Brought this along, but never used it -- Face Of Australia Eye Lights Under Eye Concealer* ($12.95).


❷ BRUSHES

Four of these brushes are by Royal & Langnickel's Silk Green Line*. The Powder Brush was once, what it was supposed to be used for, a powder brush. However, it's now my bronzing brush. I seldom powder anymore, with my new foundation!

Then there's the blusher brush, that I use to apply blushers and highlighters.

The next two are for my browns! Small slanted brush for drawing in the tail of my brows and the squared tip brush to fill in the inside of the brows. Its width fits the size of my brows purrrfectly!

Traditional synthetic foundation brush by Nude By Nature*. Nothing special.


❸ PALETTES

Three palettes, or technically 2 palettes and 1 small shade for my brows. I've only brought the Le'lan Vital palette to use the dark brown for my brows.. Eehm. So bulky. I really need a new product for my brows!!

BYS Blusher Trio 'On The Bright Side' ($6.95) was the palette I selected to suit my pink lipsticks. Blushers and lip colours always need to match-up in my beauty world, so only brought along a set of pink blushers/lippies.

I really like the bronzer of Face Of Australia's Glamazon Leopardess Contour & Highlight Kit* ($9.95). It suits my skin much more than my previous favourite, Australis' Jumbo Mineral Bronzer. My FAVOURITE HIGHLIGHTER OF ALL TIME IS STILL The Balm's Mary-Lou Manizer, but I didn't want to risk breaking that again, so nah.


❹ EYES

My favourite felt-tip liner, Maybelline Master Precise Eyeliner ($13.95). Long lasting and easy to use, good stuff!

Another item I've brought, but never really used is Australis' Lash & Brow Extender ($10.95). Also needed a brown eyeliner for lazy-eyeliner days, so Savvy by DB's Brilliant Bronze ($7.95) was my pick!


❺ LIPS

No lip-glosses allowed, because I'm always lazy to touch-up. I actually brought 3 products along with me, but one died on the way home, so here are the two left.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Monte Carlo ($12.95), a long-lasting red that I could always depend on! Yes! Then there's Face Of Australia Lip Quench in Peaches & Cream* ($9.45). Many dislike the scent of this, but this is one of my favourite pink shades!


❻ MISC

Other small products and items:

Random eyelash curler, Face Of Australia Sharpener ($4.95), Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm* ($6.95), Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion (sample) and The Face Shop Power Perfection BB Cream (sample).


That's all! Even though I only spent half an hour to collect these, there were no times that I gasped, "ah I should've brought..." during the trip. These were perfect!

Rewind back, I wouldn't change a single thing!

OK. I lied. Maybe more lipsticks..

polls & surveys

Disclaimer: Products marked with (*) were provided for consideration only. 

Handbag Declutter: October 2014

WOO. Another handbag declutter post. Last post was posted a few months ago. I only remembered about these posts, because I realised my schoolbag was getting heavier and heavier! (｡•́︿•̀｡) 

Needed to be cleared!


1 & 2. INTER-COLOR Lip Liners
Yeah, I use lip liners on the go. These two were from Vietnam, but can be found on eBay for less than $1. Doesn't last that long, but works as a base or solo. Cute Pink is really perfect for Spring, Dark Pink is okay. I thought it was a berry-coloured, but nop!

3. Face Of Australia Glossy Lip Crayon in Pecan Pie*
This looks like an ugly brown, but it's a really good MLBB colour for one of those days where you just want to tone down from all the pinks and corals.

Pecan Pie, Fandango, Cute Pink, Dark Pink

4. Australis Colour Inject Lip Gloss in Fandango
I love this product! Somewhat sheer, but the formula is thin and close to non-sticky! This shade was not made with opacity though! Gives me nice, juicy-lookin' tinted red lips. Love!

5. Face Of Australia Lasting Looks Lipstick in Coral On*
I usually use this as a dab. Just a really lovely coral colour.

Coral On, Tangerine Queen

6. Face Of Australia Lip Paint in Tangerine Queen*
Posted about these in depth here. On days that I want glossy, orange lips (basically, the whole of last week), this is what I run to!

7. essence Lipstick in Colour Crush
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. I hate the formula of these, I don't know why it's in my bag. They remind me a lot of NYX Round Lipsticks -- pigmented and smooth, but not creamy and glides everywhere. I really need to get down to swatching these though. Urgh.

Colour Crush, Miss Behave

8. Models Prefer Infinite Colour Lipstick in Miss Behave
I don't know why no one has really looked into these. These are AMAZING. They last long (a tad drying after a few hours), pigmented, creamy and cheap. Why guys, why?!


And of course, the two lip balms -- Burt's Bees* and Blistex Lip Conditioner. Nothing too fancy, just some regular lip balms. One for the handbag, one for the schoolbag.

Have you tried any of these lipsticks?!

Ah, now that I've cleared em... My bags will be much lighter! Yay!
But that also means.. made room for the new clutter..


Disclaimer: Products marked with * were provided to me for review consideration only.

Face Of Australia Lip Paints Review & Face Swatches!

I don't think I've ever been so excited to trial lipglosses like this time, ever. Loved them in highschool, but that phase is long gone. Moved onto lipsticks and never really looked back.

There are some lip glosses that I do adore and pick up to use here and there though. Lately, I've been so into pouty lips that I've been reaching for lip glosses more often.

So these landed on my desk at the PERFECT timing!

Not many shades, only 6 shades, but wide range. Not too bad.

My first thoughts were that they may be mixable like the OCC Lip Tars, but once I saw this squeeze-tube packaging, I immediately knew that they are definitely not! Yeah, I did read that they were described as "lipstick/gloss hybrids", but I somehow imagined away anyways. Hahahaha.

The packaging, poses a lot of problems for the "lipstick/lipgloss hybrid formula". It's true that wearing these alone will give you a stained lips effect, but with some shades, it looks very messy!

The packaging of these are not made to define, which is actually very necessary when the product is pigmented (especially with the darker, and some brighter shades). With this packaging, it's hard to strive for clean edges. Hard to strive for a non-blotchy application.

It would be more ideal if these were packaged with doe-foot applicators. (๑´•д • `๑)

Nude Nymph, Tangerine Queen, Pretty In Pink

Poison Apple, Very Berry, Fired Up Fuchsia

Besides that, the formula, it's pretty nice. I can't say that it's exceptionally great, but it's pigmented, and glossy, as it's supposed to be. I really like how it feels on the lips. Not thick at all, not overly sticky and smells fruity. The only problem is its potential to bleed when worn alone (with the darker shades), AND, the glossiness only lasts for about an hour. After that, the pretty gloss is pretty much gone, though the tint of colour is definitely still visible.

WARNING: Photos ahead are makeup-less, with swelled up cheeks (had my wisdom teeth removed two days ago, okay?!)

Poison Apple
Casual red gloss that gives a pretty, rosy-stained look when worn alone though. Can be blotchy, but somehow forgivable. Much thanks to KPOP culture for the stained-red lips trend, that makes blotchy-red lips forgiveable.

Tangerine Queen
This was surprisingly pretty. The packaging makes it look very intense, but it's such a pretty orange colour on the lips! Although it's quite bright, it's one of the easier-to-apply shades. Not as blotchy, this one.

Very Berry
OK. THIS SHADE. VERY DARK, VERY PIGMENTED, BUT VERY BLOTCHY! Definitely need to take some time to apply this if you're gonna be sporting this alone.

Fired Up Fuchsia
Initially, I thought this was a MLBB colour. It's clearly not. Very punchy shade, but not as hard to apply as other shades.

Nude Nymph
The easiest shade to apply and wear alone out of the whole collection. This shade was surprisingly pigmented! It could pass as a nude lip when worn alone (and my lips are naturally quite pigmented)!

(I look like a zombie here, hahaha)

Pretty In Pink
Light and cool-toned. Very unusual shade for me. However, although it's a lighter shade, still quite pigmented when worn alone.

I LOST THE PRODUCT FOR THIS....... (✖╭╮✖) Yeah, I really have no idea where it is. Lucky I took a snap of it when I was wearing it to Uni to trial. Here it is:

Ah. I'm so bummed. I hate having inconsistent photos!

That's all for the six shades! Urgh, I'm so sorry about the last photo! Rar rar rar rar rar.


Overall, I don't think they live up to the "full, opaque coverage" claim. However, they're not bad products. The packaging is bad though. And with some of the darker shades, you may not like how blotchy they'll look as they wear off. Reason why I'd prefer to wear these over a lippy.

My top pick... Tangerine Queen, only because I don't have any oranges in my collection that's flattering like so! Nude Nymph is impressive too, but I'm not a fan of nudes..

Which of these shades are your favourite picks?!

Will you be looking into these?

Face Of Australia Lip Paints, $6.95 , 15mL, available at FOA stockists.


Disclaimer: Products featured in this post were provided for review consideration only. 

Big W Haul: 15 products for $11.85!

**THIS SALE IS STILL ON UNTIL 5 NOV 2014** 

HEY.

Your bargain queen is striking back today with a wonderful haul post. Short, sweet and stingy haul post!

The moment Amy from Bottled Beauty spilled about the to-be-on-sale deals at Big W, I knew exactly what I wanted to get. Yeap.

Every single time FOA does $4 off, my automatic go-to's are their Make-Up Remover Wipes and nail polishes. Drops down to 50c-$1 per packet of wipes and less than $2 for their nail lacquers. Unfortunately, there were none left at the Big W that I visited... urgh.

I was SO surprised to see lacquers or their nail collection dropping down to 75c though! FOA has always sent me their nail lacquers, but I cleared the shelf anyways. These 5 will go to my friend in Singapore (who's a nail fanatic) and the other 4 will go to my Uni friends since we're having our final exam next week and I won't see them until next year! Aaaaaaaaaaa.

Sharpeners -- My one broke, and these dropped down to... 75c? Or 95c. I forgot, but so cheap! I picked up 3 which should last my sister and I for a while!

Maybelline was also having $4 OFF, and I think most people miss this... but their Express Make-Up Remover.... originally retails for $4.95... So.... away I hauled, the 3 remaining bottles for less than $1!

The girl who worked at Big W didn't even realise that these products dropped down to be so cheap! Hahahaha.

Works for me though.

If you're gonna hit up these sales, I highly recommend:

• FOA Lip Liners (~$2)
• FOA Nail Polishes (~$2)
• FOA Lip Paints, review here > (~$3)
• FOA Sharpeners (~$1)
• FOA Wipes (~$1)
• FOA Liquid Eyeliner, review here > (~$6)
• Maybelline Express Make-Up Removers (~$1)
• Maybelline Nail Polishes (~$2)
• Australis Wipes (~$2)

Let me know, let me know!

New On Shelf: Australis, Face Of Australia, Models Prefer, Ulta3, Ardell

Hay yo! Another month, another post!

My pocket has been sooooo emptied from my dental fees and Christmas presents for the past weeks, that it's not funny. Urgh. I won't be joining you in this month's "I'd really like to see...", because just the slight thought of it.. is not good.

OK. I FORGOT. JUST AFTER 10 SECONDS OF WRITING THAT PARAGRAPH, I remembered I had won a $100 Priceline Gift Card from Every Little Polish (thanks Rose!) and also got my hands on Rimmel's latest lip range.

Actually no, those need to be saved for purchasing my mother's favourite Biore cleansers.. Forgot. (҂⌣̀_⌣́)

Face Of Australia Eye Lights Under Eye Concealer ($12.95/2 shades)
I've mentioned this twice, still trying to trial it for an in-depth review. FOA says, the click-pen highlighter "provides coverage for dark circles, uneven skin tone and fine lines. Also reflects light for a dewy and fresh look". 

Face Of Australia Lumi-tint ($12.95/4 shades)
YAY??? Something [extremely] different! Like tinted-highlighting sticks that can be used as a cream blush, highlighter, and the "darker shades can also be used for subtle contouring". Made to suit all skin tones, and sensitive skin types!

Ardell Lashes

Both items ($9.99) are of the same range, offering a slightly flared look. Permanently curled, weightless and waterproof. Suitable for those with "small, large, round, almond-shaped or deep-set eyes". 

We also have 3 additions (or launches) to the Natural Half Lash range, which is suitable for all eye shapes. Mainly enhances density along the outer edge of the lashline.

• Lash Accents 301 Black ($9.99)
• Lash Accents 318 Black ($9.99)
• Lash Accents 305 Black ($9.99)

Ulta3

I'm not sure when these products were launched, but.. Umm!!! I'll go through them quickly anyways, since most were made for the upcoming Christmas season.

Perfect Balance Foundation ($9.95/5 shades)

A lightweight, oil-free foundation that offers a glowing complexion and smooth finish. One layer for a sheer tint and build-up for a fuller coverage. 

Perfect Balance Primer ($8.95)

Creates a smooth base for foundation, and helps to ensure make-up stays put throughout the day! Also contains argan oil to hydrate the skin.

I've mentioned their Advent Calendar ($24.00) in my last #NOS post, but they also have other Christmas packs...

• Candy Cane ($12.95) contains some limited edition and some popular Ulta3 shades.
• Lip & Nail Pack ($4.00/6 sets) contains a nail polish and their Moisturising Lipstick.
• Colour Me Pretty Lipstick Crayon Pack ($12.00), a Christmas pack containing 3 lip shades.

Nails, Nails, Nails! ($10/7-pack or $20/15-pack), a twist on Santa's Ho-ho-ho! The gift pack contains a range of nail colours to suit every festive function. Pastel, fluros, glittery, shimmery -- all in here!

Watercolour Nail Art ($10/set of four or $2/ea) -- special effect colour tints that add a wash of transparent colour to the nails. To be applied as a tinted top coat over a white base polish. Would LOVE to see how this works...

Next brand!

Australis Bronzeyed Girl Eyeshadow Palette ($9.95)

Models Prefer Soft Touch Mineral Powder ($16.99/3 shades)
I've seen some beauties on Facebook raving about these, a cheap and efficient [baked] highlighting powder, although it's marked as a "finishing powder". Wot?

I really wanted these during the 40% Priceline sale! Raaar. Instant regret for not picking up one.


That's all! 

online survey

I don't know about you, but I'd love my hands on those MP Soft Touch Powders, FOA Lumi-tints and SEE how those Ulta3 Watercolour lacquers look on the nails!

Let me know if there are other products I've missed out on!

Saturday's Swatches: Face Of Australia Limited Edition Lip Paints

OK. Not Saturday anymore, but I took one whole evening photographing this, and one whole night editing. The swatches just couldn't wait to get out thurrr.

These Lip Paints by FOA are new, and yes, they are also limited edition!

At first glance, it reminds me of OCC Lip Tars (lol, everything reminds me of OCC Lip Tars), but they're not like that at all. This is a range of lipstick/gloss hybrid -- stays like a lippy and glossy like a lip gloss.

Unless I'm filming a video for my YouTube, or going to uni, then I'd prefer to stay away from glosses. Mainly because I eat a lot. I'd probably pick one of the two occasions to trial these, but so far, I haven't tried em yet!

Short swatch post is no harm for now, right? (*^▽^*)

Nude Nymph, Tangerine Queen, Pretty In Pink

Poison Apple, Very Berry, Fired Up Fuchsia

They look great on the arms, but we'll see how the thick consistency and glossiness look on the lips soon!

customer surveys

Let me know which are your favourite picks in the comments!


Disclaimer: Products mentioned in this post were provided for review consideration only. 

Drugstore Cosmetics Launches for Australia -- September 2014

YO.

Every single time I blog in class, I get into such an egg-citing persona. Not sure why, just happens.
I'm swamped with assessments for now, so if there are any new products that I've not mentioned, I will give you a cookie if you could let us know in the comment box.

---------

Bourjois Lip Liner Contour Edition ($16)

Not sure how many shades they've released in this range, but these lip liners are described to "provide shape and definition to the lips". Glides easily. Precise application. Conditions the lips. 

Bourjois Rouge Edition 12 Heures ($19)
NEW lipstick collection (?) Long lasting lipstick, provides 12 hours of wear without re-touching. Semi-matte. Creamy texture. Non-drying.






Face Of Australia Eye Lights Under Concealer ($12.95/2 shades)
Yay for Face Of Australia!! Newly released under-eye concealer. Provides coverage for dark circles, uneven skin tone and fine lines. According to its description, it contains skin conditioning agents to nourish the skin. Highly pigmented, that leaves the skin appearing dewy and fresh. Features a pen applicator and brush tip, in case you're wondering.

Face Of Australia Lip Paint ($6.95/3 shades)
OK. The first thing that comes to my mind as I saw this.... "OH MY GOD! OCC LIP TAR DUPES?!" -- Don't lie. That was your first thoughts too, right?
Well, apparently not.. The description says it's a lip gloss. Intense colour, with a high shine effect. Ehhh.






Katy Perry Banging Beauty Lashes by Eylure ($14.99)
Medium length-ed lashes, for curl and volume. Totes Katy Perry lookin' to me!

Australis Velourlips Matte Creams ($9.95)
Saw this on Australis' official Instagram. NEW shade additions! Woohoo. Below are swatches, by GoorooBeauty.

Credits to gooroobeauty's Instagram >

Ooooooh! I'm so excited! I've still yet to try of these. I REALLY need to go through my lipstick collection, until I purchase more... though that's just... impossible.



Max Factor Skin Luminzer Foundation ($33.95/6 shades)
Looks similar, huh? Reminds me a lot of the one that was created by both Olay and Covergirl. Offers lightweight coverage though, which is outcast of MF's foundation range...

Rimmel London Colour Rush Jumbo Lip Balms ($12.99/4-5 shades)
Not officially released at Priceline and those other stores, I'm assuming. However, I've spotted this in My Chemist's latest catalogue (pretty much a Melbourne-based version of Chemist Warehouse)! Yes, more jumbo pencils. No info, but I'm assuming that they'll be available at Chemist Warehouse soon (I've noticed that these chemist-stores usually almost identical catalogues).

That's all for this month! Some products were released last month, so don't mind me for including them into this month's post!

I'm off to do my assessments, here's the fun monthly poll for you to fill out...

web survey

Thanks for being patient with me. I've had some posts drafted, but I've yet to find any time to photograph the products!!

Hopefully I'll get around to that soon!

再见！

(Goodbye in Chinese)