Singapore beauty haul 2015 part 1: The drugstore edition

If you follow me on Instagram you'd probably know that a Singapore beauty haul post was in the works - I'm sorry for keeping you waiting so long! I initially decided to split the haul into two posts starting with the drugstore items first, but to be honest I'm now strongly considering doing this in three posts because I did quite a bit of hauling from Korean green beauty brand Innisfree and I don't want to overwhelm anyone - including myself.  

Okay, so I'll start off small(ish) with the drugstore haul. For the sake of splitting the load I've also included one brand, Missha, that isn't strictly drugstore but I don't consider it a high end department store brand either so the drugstore category was the best fit.  Right, so without further ado I've sorted most of this post out by brand...

Catrice

Catrice is one drugstore brand I've been curious about for a few years now.  While Catrice's more youth-oriented "sister" brand Essence has been available in Australia for the last 5 years or so, we've yet to see the more sophisticated Catrice line widely available - if available at all -  down here.  For the most part I've been a fan of Essence as providing great quality at a very low price point so I jumped at the chance to grab some Catrice items when I spotted the stand at a Guardian drugstore.  My one regret is that I didn't buy any of their lipsticks.  Having done my research after returning I've read that Catrice Ultimate Colour Lipsticks are well pigmented and very long lasting compared to their Essence counterparts.

Being new to the brand I made some very safe and neutral choices. Starting from the top:

• Absolute Eye Colour Monos - I chose two matte shades to be worn either together or alone, going for taupe (350 Starlight Espresso), and beige (870 On The Taupe Of The Matt Everest).  Initial swatches on the back of the hand are promising as these don't feel as chalky as Essence mattes have been in my experience so I'm looking forward to wearing them.

• Illuminating Blush (010 I Am Nuts About You) - This line of blushes looked so pretty and I went for what might have seemed the most 'boring' choice but, fear not, this produces the most luminous peachy glow with just a little bit of sparkle - I'm swatching as I write and getting pretty excited about this blush!

• Defining Blush (020 Rose Royce) - I am now kicking myself just a little for not choosing at least one pink blush from this line because Rose Royce is effectively another peach, although this is a more subdued and natural matte version for everyday.

• Re-Touch Light-Reflecting Concealer (005 Light Nude) - I can't resist my highlighting pens! I'll throw this into my makeup bag as soon as I'm done with my current Maybelline highlighting concealer.

• Ultimate Nail Lacquer (66 Blue And A Half Men) - This polish caught my eye as it looks like the kind of blue that's popping up everywhere this season.

Silkygirl

I made one repurchase and a few extras from this brand:

• Moisture Rich Lipstick Lipstick (Limited Edition 01) - I rationally know I don't need another red lipstick but I was a little seduced by the shiny silver bullet and the lightweight and glossy lippy formula when I tried it in the store.

• Moisture Smooth Lipstick (06 Juicy Pink) - Juicy Pink is another lightweight, buildable lip colour in a warm, medium toned - you guessed it - pink.  Spring influenced my decision here! 

• Magic BB Powder Foundation (01 Ivory) - Of course I bought another pan of my favourite BB powder because this covers and mattifies like no other I've tried so far.  It's ready and waiting in the wings for summer.

Missha

I found a Missha store near my closest train station and there were some items 70% off so I indulged just a little buying these few items:

• Signature Glam Art Triple Lips SPF 10 (TVL01) - This liquid lip colour can apparently be layered and built up from a tint to a full glossy lipstick in three coats.  What can I say? I was intrigued and I'm wondering if it's going to be a Korean version of YSL's Glossy Stains. TVL01 is a very nondescript label for the vibrant raspberry pink you can see peeking through the side of the tube.

• The Style Lucid Nail Polish (VL01) - A violet-pink cream nail colour that will be gracing my fingers and toes as the weather warms up. Say no more.

A few Sasa picks

In times gone by I may not have shown such restraint in a Sasa store but I kept it very contained this time around.  Normally I'd buy loads of sheet masks etc but I'd already bought some from Innisfree so I just got a couple of colour cosmetics:

• Wet n Wild Coloricon Eye Shadow Palette (The Naked Truth) - Neutrals again! I remember overlooking this very palette in Hawaii last year so I snapped it up without hesitation this time. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with having 50 variations of beige and brown...

• Gosh Cosmetics Natural Blush (43 Flower Power) - This is such a pretty peachy-pink blush that blends like silk.  I've heard great things about Gosh blushes so now I'll find out for myself if the hype is justified.

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Part 1 of my Singapore beauty haul for 2015 done and dusted - 

Let me know if you're interested in any in-depth reviews or swatches and I'll be happy to oblige!

Until next time...

Admiring: Chanel Jardin de Chanel Blush Camelia Rose

This is not going to be a review post! For once I'm allowing myself the luxury of just, you know, oohing and aahing over something for a little while.  Besides I think this blush is pretty well sold out everywhere by now...

I wasn't even seriously planning to buy Chanel's Jardin de Chanel Blush in Camelia Rose until I spotted it as I walked past the Chanel boutique on a random Sunday shopping trip.  Even then I still wasn't going to buy it until my husband said, "Just go into the shop". Oh no...you know where this is going... I went in, swatched it and it was so smooth under my fingertips. Then the SA asked would I like to try it on my cheeks? Of course the two shades melded together to create the perfect spring rose pink on my face and then she tells me this is the last one they have in stock.  Limited Edition...Last one in stock...Beautiful *sigh*...and gone forever if I don't swoop now!

So, here I am $95 poorer but happier...and isn't this damn thing just too pretty to use? I will use it eventually but I've taken a whole lot of pictures first...

Have you been in this situation? Did you buy or walk away?



Online shopping at Natural Supply Co

 

It's my first haul post of the year -  and it's all for the purposes of blogging research you know! Yes, seriously!

Okay, so being serious, one of the highlights of my blogging experience over the past year has been getting to know and review products from smaller, independent beauty brands I may not have otherwise come across. More recently that has extended to local online businesses in the beauty and lifestyle industry and this post is about my online shopping experiences (and picks) from the Natural Supply Co site.

Natural Supply Co is a Melbourne based company established late in 2014 by close friends (and genuinely lovely ladies from my dealings with them) Celeste and Catherine who wanted to make it easier for customers to find "...natural (yet delightful!) beauty, skincare and lifestyle products, along with meaningful information, in one place."  All of the brands available on the site focus on natural ingredients, are cruelty free and are environmentally friendly in their manufacturing and packaging.

 After only a few months the site's brand listing has grown to a total of 37 local and international brands (and counting it appears as it was 35 only a few weeks ago) including Badger, Bite Beauty, Grown Alchemist, O&M Original Mineral Haircare, and Shore Soap Co.

 

 I've actually shopped the site twice now, initially before Christmas and just a week ago so this is a combined haul post...

 

 

My online shopping experience:

I found the site easy to navigate either searching by brand (by clicking on brand logo's on the main brand page) or by product in the dropdown category listings.  Apart from looking at a few specific brands I had in mind I found it just as easy to scroll through product categories to explore the range.  I like how each brand has an introductory 'Who Why What' page so I could read all about them before I made brand selections and link back to the 'Shop' page. 

 

On both occasions the products were promptly dispatched within 24 hours and delivered within 48 hours.  As you can see above the packing is in keeping with the company's environmentally conscious philosophy, using unbleached paper rather than plastic or foam padding and everything is prettily hand wrapped and ready for gifting if I'd wanted to gift it to someone other than myself!

 

So here's what I chose.  It was a balanced mix of necessities and pretties I think...

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December's haul

 

Salus Eucalyptus & Rosemary Purifying Body Scrub - I always have a body scrub in the shower for regular exfoliation and I wanted to try this luxury home spa version.

 

 

 

Yard Skincare Balmoral Bliss Bloss - This crazy sounding product is one of an irresistible range of natural lip balm/gloss hybrids referred to as 'Bloss' and come in 7 shades.  Balmoral Bliss Bloss is a sheer candy pink, smells like chocolate mint and glides like butter on the lips - yum!

 

Bite Beauty Cashmere Lip Cream (Crianza) - Another matte liquid lipstick to add to my collection and another Bite Beauty product to try.  Crianza is a dark pink-red or red-pink depending on how you see it.



 

January's haul

 

O&M Maintain the Mane Mini Set - My hairdresser uses O&M products on my tresses so I bought this travel-size pack ready for my next trip coming up in a few months.  I like being prepared ahead of time obviously!



 

 

Love Soap Organic Lavender and Meadowfoam Hand Wash - I bought this child-friendly moisturising hand wash for my own sensitive hands and got it straight into action in my bathroom to wash my hands without stripping them of moisture. 

 

 

 

Bite Beauty Whipped Cherry Fruit Scrub -  Confession:  this will be the first time I've tried a lip scrub!

 

 

 

Kester Black Nail Polish (Sky) and O&M/Kester Black Limited Edition Nail Polish (Conquer Blonde) - This will be my first time trying these 5-Free Australian made (Melbourne made actually, so very local!) nail polishes.

 

 

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 I'm slowly working my way through these products so let me know what you'd like to see reviewed first!

 

Australian readers:  If you want to check out Natural Supply Co for yourself shop the site here.

 



 

Hawaii Beauty Buys: The Luxury Edit

 

I've been very sporadic in my posting lately (if you follow on Twitter then you might know there have been some family health dramas taking up my time and energy) so this is another better late than never post from me.  I'm finally in the mood to get back on with the lighter, more fun side of my life and what better way for a beauty blogger to get happy than photographing lots of new makeup courtesy of a big overseas makeup haul!

I think I left the best of the vacation shopping posts until this last instalment - the best value for money perhaps? I don't know about that because I wasn't comparing the $$ but I do know I had a lot of fun buying all of these products which for the most part are not yet readily available in Australia - until Sephora opens it's doors in Sydney next month anyway! I actually did most of my beauty shopping in Sephora - Yeah baby!!! -  so let's start there! Now why on earth am I channelling Austin Powers?!?...

Sephora

• Urban Decay Naked2 Basics - I know the original Urban Decay Naked Basics palette was a bit of a love it or leave it item depending on how colour obsessed you are (I guess?), but being a bit of a neutral girl in my everyday life, I was in the love it category.  The cooler toned option of 2 was on my radar from the moment it was released so I bought this as a 'must have' item for my little UD collection. 
• Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion - I've used up a couple of sample sized tubes and found it did the job well enough so I basically threw this into my basket!

 

 

• NARS Audacious Lipstick (Grace) - Just look at that black minimalist packaging and of  course the now almost mandatory embossed bullet. After seeing all the buzz on Instagram a NARS Audacious lipstick was also on my wishlist to try because I'm all about high pigment lipstick.  I confess I don't own a NARS blush but now I do own a NARS lipstick! I chose Grace as it's a bright pink coral and very promising as a perfect shade for summer statement lips.

 

• Bite Beauty Luminous Crème Lipstick Duos (Vivid Violet/Palomino & Neutral Lychee/Musk) -  I've been a fan of the moisturising Luminous Lip Crème formula since buying my first (and only until now) Bite Beauty lipstick last year and these lip duos are a cutely portable, more affordable way of trying other shades from the range. I love how Sephora have all those irresistible little items lined up along the way to the counter for the last minute impulse buys - It's the beauty equivalent of the candy stand at the supermarket checkout!

 

 

• Give Me More Lip - Sephora Favorites - Oh my, I walked around and around this one because the idea of getting 17 new lip products in one hit felt pretty extravagant after all my discipline earlier this year.  Ah well, it's 17 sample sizes and a heap of them are products I'd not tried before but seen raves about (Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear lipstick, Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick are just two worth mentioning) so why not?  It's becoming pretty clear my beauty obsession is leaning a LOT more heavily towards lip colours these days, hmm?

 

• Stila Pretty Pick-Me-Ups lip & cheek set - Another on the way to the counter grab!  This little set contains two mini versions of popular Stila products that I didn't have:  the much obsessed about Peony Convertible Color Dual Lip & Cheek Cream and Guava Lip Glaze.  It's taken me a long time to 'get' cream cheek products but now that I do I'm in love with the healthy, youthful glow they give to my middle aged old cheeks and I can't get enough of them!

 

• Sephora Outrageous Prisma Chrome mono eye shadow pots - I found these two shades (Outrageous Metallic Grey and Outrageous Metallic Lilac) in the discount bin for $5 each and, being typically indecisive, bought them both! Since getting back from my trip I've read raves about these wet/dry metallic eye shadows so can't understand why they've been discontinued unless it's only these shades? 

 

And the samples...

After all that shopping I qualified for Sephora Beauty Insider signup so I received my free samples, mini Bare Minerals 5 in 1 cream eye shadow as a points perk and MUFE birthday gift on the spot. Not having regular access to Sephora made this a bit of a big deal for me so it makes me excited for when Sephora expands in Australia and...finally comes to Melbourne.  Hurry up, will you?

 

Neiman Marcus

 

 

I really should say this was the "Tom Ford beauty counter at Neiman Marcus" because that's what I zeroed in on and where I had an impromptu makeover while the SA wooed me with the above products - and the rest, hah! If there was one additional thing I should have bought at the time but didn't was the TF Eye Primer Duo. We decided to go for a hike up to Diamond Head Lookout later in the afternoon and while the rest of my face melted off in the sweaty heat my eye shadow was FLAWLESS! If only I'd had time to get back to that counter.  You know how it is, wise after the fact *sigh*.

So I ended adding these products to my Tom 'freaking' Ford collection:

• Tom Ford Lip Color (31 Twist of Fate) - This coral lipstick is from TF's Fall 2014 collection and given that we don't get many of the LE releases in Australia I didn't hesitate after trying it on at the counter. It's more subtle than TF's True Coral and looks equally put together yet in a low-key way.
• Tom Ford Ultra Shine Lip Gloss (07 Peach Absolut) - The SA used this as a complimentary topper for the lippy and...I don't have any TF glosses in my collection...and this looked perfect...so...yes.
• Tom Ford Concealing Pen (02 Light Medium) - Being the concealer addict I am I was all up for trying this newish release and it was on my luxe beauty wishlist so I can now check that one off! 

 

Macy's

Yes I found this at Macy's! The Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette has been around for some time and I'm a latecomer to exploring the brand per se so...I had that first sniff of the cocoa powder shadows, had a little swatch - these are velvety as opposed to buttery and well pigmented - and was convinced I had to buy me a palette!

After my first use I'm already impressed because the shades build and blend well, and with all of those complimentary colours I was able to create my own look very easily without too much deliberation.  There are three eye makeup looks included in the Chocolate Bar pamphlet but just looking at the palette I can see a multitude of looks in the making.  Lots of playing to be done with the Chocolate Bar and I can understand the raves it gets.

Well that's enough shopping for now perhaps?

If you'd like any more detailed reviews or swatches please let me know in the comments!



Hawaii Beauty Buys: The Drugstore Edit

All of my Australian readers will know that drugstore shopping is disproportionately expensive down here (which was one of the reasons I was on a drugstore ban during my beauty diet, knowing that I would be going to the US this year). Okay...so fast forward to Hawaii, USA where everything suddenly becomes so much more affordable! My Hawaii trip wasn't quite the laidback beach bum experience I was expecting - it was more of a whirlwind trying to squeeze in all the sightseeing as my husband shared some memories of his past trips - so all of my drugstore beauty shopping was crammed into a single trip to Walgreens and a couple of visits to the corner ABC store.  Now, the corner ABC store is a literal concept as ABC stores seem to be on every corner, sometimes even on opposite corners in Waikiki but I digress.  I'm here to talk about the makeup!

Onto the Walgreens expedition first - I filled my basket with items from Wet n Wild, L'Oreal, Covergirl and NYX, plus some Halloween candies for a grand total of 55 USD!  Aussie girls will know that's a pretty good deal...

 

 

Wet n Wild

• Wet n Wild Color Icon Eye Shadow Trio (Silent Treatment) - I have a much loved little collection of these trios and I've long been after Silent Treatment.  Wonderful Larie shipped one out to me last year but the taupe eyelid shade sadly crumbled during the long trip from Seattle so I grabbed another as soon as I saw it! You can the see the super soft taupe has started to crumble again so I will have to baby this little palette. 
• Wet n Wild Color Icon Eye Shadow Palette (Floral Values) - I seen mixed reviews on these newish quint palettes but at $3.99 (a quint for $3.99?!) I was prepared to take the risk because I love the spring appropriate shades.

L'Oreal

 

• L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow (Eternal Sunshine) - These babies sell at around $19.95 each in Australia so at 8.49 USD this was a bargain.  I could have chosen more than the golden Eternal Sunshine but had a feeling of déjà vu about some of the shades - the names were different but they looked like what I have at home so I resisted.
• L'Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Waterproof Mascara (Black) - I bought this because waterproof mascara I'd packed had dried out during the trip.  I love the soft, flexy brush but the mascara formula hasn't completely wowed me.  It's a reliable waterproof formula but I'm not getting those feathery doll-like lashes I thought I would!

 

Covergirl

I spotted some interesting nail polish shades in the Covergirl display that I haven't seen in Australia so I chose from left to right:  Salt Water Taffy, Seared Bronze, and Inferno. 

 

NYX

 

• NYX Mosaic Powder Blush (Rosey) - I love my Plummy Mosaic Powder Blush a lot so I decided on warm pink toned Rosey for a spring/summer version.
• NYX Matte Lipstick (Shocking Pink) - It's so hard to choose lipstick when there aren't any testers so I chose just one of these lipsticks to try because I've heard great things about them.  At 5.99USD compared to 12.99AUD I sort of wish I'd bought more shades.  Since researching the shades and swatches on Pinterest I wish I'd added Indie Flick (orange-red) to my basket too.

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Onto the ABC store...

 

As I said ABC stores are everywhere - and they sell pretty much everything too from food and drinks, clothes, souvenirs and of course cosmetics including the local nail polish brand Island Girl.

Island Girl

• Island Girl Nail Color - I was so disciplined around nail polish this trip!  I kept my selections down to just two shades:  Island Paradise (mid tone neon purple) and Mahalo Color (neon pink).   
• Island Girl Scented Cuticle Oil Mini Pack - The teeny bottles filled with natural dried flowers were too cute to pass up!

 

I have one last instalment to go and then I'm done.  Be warned I did get a little carried away in Sephora...

 

 



Japan Trip Beauty Buys: The Drugstore Edit

Finally I'm putting up a vacation shopping post and, *deep breath*, I must admit I'm having a mid-life makeup crisis of sorts because I keep watching makeup decluttering videos on YouTube and then this sort of thing happens... 

 

Coming out of the restrictions of my self-imposed beauty diet I started off slowly... then REALLY got going as you'll see - to tell you the truth I shocked myself! As a result I've decided to do four instalments otherwise this would be a ridiculously long, overwhelming post so here's the first instalment devoted entirely to Japanese drugstore shopping...

 

KATE (Kanebo)

 

KATE (marketed as urban, sharp and cool on their website) had been recommended for their eye products so that was my initial focus. All those shimmery beauties made it impossible for this little magpie to decide on just one palette so I chose two, plus a few other things - over the course of a few shopping sessions just so you know that it wasn't one ginormous binge! Just a few teensy little ones, eh?

 

Onto the specifics:

• KATE Rouge HG Lipstick (PK-21 & RD-15) - These are like sleeker packaged Revlon lip butters with a medium to high shine, decent pigmentation and that buttery feel on the lips.
• KATE Volume Gel Mascara (BK-1) - I couldn't find Kiss Me mascara which was recommended by an Instagram follower so I thought I'd try this volumising mascara instead. 
• KATE Brown Shade Eyes quad (BR-3 Sepia) - These quads were newly released and are a range of - why of course - brown shade quads in various finishes such as pearl, matte and sepia.  I've already worn this and the rose gold shades are flattering for everyday wear with just enough shimmer to add dimension to the lids.
• KATE Goldish Eyes quad (PU-1) - Shimmery purple and gold for layering over the other neutral shades? Yes, I'm looking forward to playing with this!

 

Visée (Kosé)

 

Visée was another recommendation from a Japanese IG follower as a great drugstore brand to check out:

• Visée Lip & Cheek Cream (OR-3 & PK-2) - These were released only a month before I visited Japan so they were another new find to get a little excited about! I'm now well and truly into cream cheek products so honestly I had a difficult time paring my selection down to these two bright spring-appropriate choices.  They're brighter than what I'd normally choose but I think I was under the influence of all the pretty rouged cheeks I was surrounded by in Japan - Japanese girls know how to rock blush in the prettiest way! I had blush envy over there - SERIOUSLY.
• Visée Creamy Lipstick (RD 400) - Another lipstick that slips on like butter.  Since I've returned I've read some reviews saying these are actually drying on the lips but I haven't had that problem.  I found mine super creamy, very pigmented and long lasting on the lips.  The initial creamy sheen does eventually dry down to a semi-matte look but it didn't dry out my lips at all.

 

Coffret D'Or (Kanebo)

 

 

 I found these Coffret D'Or products in a mega drugstore beneath my hotel in Osaka and I'm hopeless at resisting ultra-girly packaging and cute floral blush designs! I can't say much more about the brand as their website is only in Japanese:

• Coffret D'Or Smile Up Cheeks Cheek and Face Color (01) - I haven't tried this yet but the beautiful rose embossed palette (which comes with its own little brush) is a combined blush/highlighter with a pearly sheen so it will be for those days I want just a little glow without obviously wearing blush.  Let's be honest - I bought this just because it's pretty!
• Coffret D'Or Fall 2014 Makeup Collection (EX-4) - I was going to buy the Smile Up Cheeks blush only, when I spotted some boxed Coffret D'Or sets at the cash register (oh the temptation when I'm on holiday in another country!!!) for a reasonable price that I can't remember now but anyway... The boxed set comprised an eye shadow quad (Smile Eyes 06 Grey Brown) which I've unfortunately gouged a chunk out of while prising it open, another blush (Color Blush - RS), and a sheer gloss (Liquid Rouge EX-100).    

 

Canmake

 

I've tried Canmake products before so I didn't go overboard this time: 

• Canmake Glow Fleur Cheeks (02) -  Canmake sell such pretty blushes! This might just be a knock-off of Anna Sui, but what the heck, I bought this pretty peachy pink to add to what is now a considerably large blush collection.
• Canmake Colorful nails (10) - This is the only drugstore nail polish I bought in Japan.

 

Maquillage (Shiseido)

 

Shiseido's diffusion line Maquillage is one I've known about for a long time:

• Maquillage Concealer Liquid (Natural) - There's no particular story about this concealer pen.  I actually had to buy it because the concealer I'd packed for my vacation ran out! I've been using it daily to brighten my under eye circles and it does the job without any creasing so I'll definitely use this one up!
•  Maquillage Essence Glamorous Rouge Neo (RD 342) - I've seen a bit of buzz around regarding these lip products so I bought one to try for myself.  RD 342 is not red - actually it's very difficult to find bright lip products in Japan - but more of an everyday peach/nude.

 

Other bits and pieces...

 

And now the random one-off buys:

• Majolica Majorca Majolook quad (BR799) - These get rave reviews so I've been very restrained just buying one but I opted for the quad I'd get the most use out of. After reading the reviews I really need to get playing with this one!
• Chu Lip balm - I bought this because it's cute; it reminds me of EOS balms; and it has Tokyo in the name! Enough said.
• Za Perfect Concealer (02) - This is actually a repurchase because this concealer covers like nothing else I've tried.  A little goes a very, very long way... 

 

For me Japan drugstore shopping was probably the most exciting of all the beauty shopping I did overseas because there are so many brands I don't see at home or I don't know much about! Also I love how it seems almost every high end Japanese cosmetics brand has a drugstore diffusion brand - if only more high end cosmetic houses would sit up and take notice that you don't need to hide your drugstore connections...

If you're interested in any individual reviews or swatches on any of these products please let me know.

 

 



Beauty wishlist shopping and first impressions

I haven't done a beauty shopping post in aaaaages! AAAAAGES!!!
 

Haul posts are few and far between for me this year because of my beauty diet (my "2 makeup items out for every new item in" thing) and while this looks like one big haul it's all of my collective shopping efforts over the last few months.  These are items I've been selectively shopping for from my beauty wishlist as rewards for sticking to my beauty diet - PLUS two birthday gifts thrown in.  My sneaky husband checked out my wishlist didn't he!

 

So this is quick run through of the wishlist items I ticked off my list and some first impressions.  Me being me, I've organised products by category.  Lordy, I do like to sort things...

Face

I bought these two Hourglass items on separate shopping expeditions:

 Veil Mineral Primer had been on my wishlist from the beginning and I actually ended up buying this out of genuine need (I know, that sounds ridiculous doesn't it for a beauty blogger/hoarder!) because I didn't - did NOT - have a backup primer in my collection.  So yes, I've been straight into this bottle from the moment I bought it and so far it's not too bad.  I'm finding this performs differently under different bases and, sure it reduces redness, provides a smooth base for makeup so there's no dry patches and holds everything there for the day, but I don't find it consistently controls shine the way I expected it to.  It's a good but not HG primer so I can see myself researching the subject of primers again once I finish the bottle.  Don't get me wrong here - I really do like it, I just don't hands down loooove it the way I'd expected to. I don't know, maybe my expectations are too high because of the price ($79AUD) or because I'm still a primer newbie.  I'll let you know if I change my mind about this of course!

My Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure is my most recent buy and a recent addition to my wishlist too.  I'd fallen in love with these at first sight on social media, then heard they were overhyped, then decided I did want a glowy blush after all so onto the wishlist they went! I was always thinking I was going to go for one of the brighter shades like Radiant Magenta but swatching instore and my autumn/winter state of mind convinced me that Mood Exposure may not look inviting in the pan...

 

...but it's really something else on the skin.  This apparently brown swirl translates to a very natural looking glowing autumn plum on the skin and perfect for the colder months.  The warmth of this shade works with my yellow undertones and doesn't make me look bruised as cooler plum shades can. 

 

 Eyes

My husband surprised me with the tube of Chanel Le Volume De Chanel mascara as one of my birthday gifts!  I was intrigued by the hype around this mascara - I normally avoid spending $$$ on mascara because of the shelf-life - but after using this a few times I do get what the fuss is about.  I love the soft, rubbery brush, the creamy formula, the instant volume and the softness of my lashes. 

I developed an obsession with cobalt eyeliner a few months ago and after a bit of research and some swatching Lancôme Artliner 24H in the vibrant shade Sapphire went straight to the top of my wishlist.  The colour is a true vibrant cobalt blue to satiate my obsession and it glides on with the precision felt tip and the waterproof formula stays on ALL DAY through all activities.  There are so many other gorgeous and unusual shades in this line that I wouldn't mind buying at some stage - if I can convince myself that I am proficient at using liquid eyeliner.  I'm not bad but I still can't excel at the winged flick! Hmmph.

Lips 

 

These two lip colours look like they were always meant to be together.  It's just one of those wonderful coincidences:

Tom Ford Lip Color in Pink Dusk was another birthday present from my thoughtful man.  I'm a little surprised by how nude this is and not pink at all in my book but I do like how it looks on me as it doesn't wash me out like some beige nudes can.  It's that wonderful TF creamy lipstick formula that I love so much too so of course I'm happy with that! I can never have too many of these lipsticks. Really.

I was originally after one of Ellis Faas' Hot Lips wands but treated myself to Glazed Lips (L308) instead because of the flattering nude sheen.  I've worn this a few times now (yes over TF Pink Dusk too) and while I obviously like the colour and shine I don't know that I necessarily love the twist up mechanism and the brush tip dispenser - I still end up twisting just that little bit too much so it ends up flooding the brush and making for a potential mess.  I need to play a bit more with this product I think.


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So that's everything I've shopped for since April! My latest temptation is Guerlain's Terracotta Sun Celebration Bronzing Powder and Blush 30th Anniversary Edition if I can empty two more makeup items in time.  I may have even missed this already!

If you want to see a detailed review and swatches of any of the items featured here please let me know in the comments.  I've avoided it here because it would have ended up a very longwinded post.  This was supposed to be a quick run through but you know how it happens...