Edgy Emerald FOTD x2// Bh Cosmetics Day & Night palette

Hey gals <3 br="">Both of these FOTD's are so old it is not funny! The first look is from back when I bought the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Edgy Emerald & I wanted to test it out, but I love the whole look together and still wanted to post these.

Look 1

Pretty much just wanted to show off my good hair day :P Didn't do anything to it!

I love wearing light greens with pink cheeks & lips so I kept the hues similar! I know yet again these are spring makeup looks.... that I had probably done last spring, way too long ago. Oh and while I'm lovin my hair in these pictures, yesterday I changed my hair, after having the same colour & style for soo long.

~Products~
Face: The foundation at the time was a whole lotta mixture so there's probably no point mentioning it, but for the rest I used a Dior Bronzer Sample, MAC Lightscapade, Nyx Stick Blush in Tulip, Jordana Blush in Coral Sandy Reef. This combination was quite random as I usually match both the cream & powder blushes to each other.
Eyes: Maybelline Color Tattoo in Edgy Emerald, Bh Cosmetics Day & Night palette [pictured, light aqua on lid, green in crease]. Tan colour to blend out crease. Maybelline Master Precise eyeliner

Lips: Revlon Balm Stain in Lovesick

Look 2
This was inspired by Shaaanxo on youtube from a GRWM (Get Ready With Me video) where she did the same colour placement. Excuse that the eyes are not symmetrical, especially with the eyeliner! If you ever feel afraid to rock bright eyeshadow, stick it to the lid or lower lashline only and use neutral colours everywhere else :) My under eye highlight looks way too bright, went a bit crazy with the lilac concealer! Oh and I am enjoying the light waterline with the darker lower lash line, kind of feels a bit more mod to me!

 ~Products~
Face: Same thing about the foundation, Nyx Cream Blush in Glow, Face of Australia blush in Outback Primrose (before I gave it away obviously lol), (same bronzer & highlighter as always)
Eyes: Day & Night palette; Reddish Brown [crease], Dark brown [lower lashline], Same light green as FOTD above [lid], Pixie Epoxy & then random ebay pigment over lid [pictured]. Nyx JEP in Milk [waterline], Maybelline Master Precise eyeliner + NP Set liquid eyeliner.
Lips: Nyx Lipstick in Narcissus, Nyx lipgloss in LaLa

I'm glad I can finally get this post out of my drafts haha, so good to clean that part up! And although once again this type of look is posted in the 'wrong' season, it's nice to be inspired by / inspire others! For those of you in the spring time, I definitely would recommend Edgy Emerald as a lid or lower lashline colour! As you can see I think different shades of pink compliment green nicely.

And I'm sorry for the messy/ jumbled pictures, Nowadays I am trying to keep them more consistent. :)

Thanks for looking xx

Way Overdue-- Empties, Products I'm Getting Rid Of.

Wow it has been forever since my last empties post especially as I am meant to be on "project empty" still.... but unlike some who have empties every month, it takes me forever to use up products, even if I try to use more than usual! Especially now that I have been using other newer products that have become my favourites, it has been harder to stick to it. But now I have saved up a collection that I probably could have done a few empties ago, anyway, I'll get this big lot out of the way and try to make it more regular. I will try to keep this as short & sweet as possible!

Empties

Mascara/ Eyeliner: Maybelline XXL Extensions, Covergirl Lash Blast Length, Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Curl, Essence I <3 Extreme Volume, Maybelline Master Precise eyeliner.

Most of these are all really old, and some I haven't used forever although they haven't even completely dried out, still! I just thought it was about time I got rid of them so I could use my newer ones. Ahh and when I finally opened my back up of the Master Precise eyeliner it felt so good to rediscover why I loved this eyeliner because the old one had almost dried up completely.

Eye Products

 Coastal Scents Gel Eyeliner in Gold & Plum: They have dried out and I can't be bothered trying to restore them as they were nothing special lol so I'm throwing them out. Might repurchase other colours one day.
Essence I <3 Stage eyeshadow base: Completely finished this, and would probably re-purchase but I have heard they are discontinuing it. I wont be able to get my hands on it before then! Never mind because I am using other primers that I like.

Face Products

Face of Australia Face Base Primer: As you can see I cut it open to get every last drop haha. I really need to repurchase as I have used this for ages and <3 it but using another primer at the moment. Really good as a hydrating base. I think they have changed the packaging to something purple now!
Models Prefer Anti Aging Undereye Concealer: In the end I used this as a concealer for blemishes. Not light reflecting at all so I thought it was better for this purpose. Would not repurchase simply as there are better under eye concealers out there. I did like it elsewhere but, and kinda wish I didn't run out so fast :S
Australis Fresh & Flawless Fdtn: Bought years ago, used as a mixer with other foundations. Wouldn't repurchase.
Avon True Luminous Oil Control Makeup Base: I swear this bottle was never ending lol but completely used it up, mixed in foundation, had a nice pinky glow. When I originally bought it I thought it was a primer which it definitely is not. Quite nice but probably wouldn't repurchase to try other ones.
Revlon Photoready Fdtn: I did like this foundation but since discovering Rimmel Wake Me Up I wouldn't buy it again.
Models Prefer Illuminizer: Much the same as the Avon one but a cream not a liquid. No repurchase.
Studio Direct Concealer: (light) Bought randomly on eBay, shade too light so I used it under foundation before discovering it as an under eye concealer. Might buy again one day but trying out other concealers for now.
Physicians Formula Mineral Glow Pearls in Beige Pearl: Hit pan majorly as you can see, but couldn't be bothered finishing it completely to start using my Bourjois bronzer. Be aware this isn't exactly a bronzer as it is very light & glowy, but nice on the cheeks. I used it under Nars Laguna. Probably wont repurchase.

Face/Body Products

Skinstut Cream Cleanser: Swapped between this and my DMK Milky Cleanser which both have the same idea. It was good but not outstanding, & if I needed to I would repurchase.
 Lux Exfoliating Body Wash in Pomegranate & Palm: Love everything about this, I like the idea of an exfoliating body wash as it isn't too harsh to use everyday. The smell is amazing. I finally bought this again after a break.
St Ives Apricot Scrub in Invigorating: Would never use this on my face like I used to (way too harsh) but good for deeper exfoliation. Might re-buy but want to try others.
Cotton Body Wash: Used after finishing the Lux one, got in a set so I used it to get rid of it.
Wella Bio Touch Colour Protection Intensive Mask: Hard to tell if it really worked due to different factors, but was still nice. Wont buy again so I can try other colour saver masks.
Fiji Hydrating Body Lotion: Will keep bottle to reuse for traveling, got it as a gift & mixed it with other moisturizers.
Vintage Collection Rose Luxury Hand & Nail Cream: Another gift, perfect size for the handbag. Came in a set so I have a few other similar ones to use next.
Lush Lip Scrub in Bubblegum: Although not finished, chucking out as it is well and truly past expiration and has gone too hard to dig out... even though I found it go hard after the first couple of uses. Probably buy again but in another flavour. But I could just as easily make my own scrub lol.

I have also used up & replaced my Shampoo/ Conditioner & moisturizer/ mist many times since my last empties post....  hello obviously since that was in September haha.

Products I'm Getting Rid Of
I was going through makeup that I never wear, and that I had similar colours to already and preferred them over these... and I came up with a whole bag-full that I gave away to my brothers girlfriend (She wears only a little bit of makeup, maybe I should have told her to choose what she wanted, she was joking that I was giving her a makeup intervention :P)

 Face- Garnier Roll on, Nyx Taupe blush, Clinique Fresh Bloom in Peony sample, BYS Natural Shimmer brush, BYS Shimmer Pearls, Sportsgirl Lets Get Cheeky blushes, Face of Australia blusher in Outback Primrose, Dior Terra Bella bronzer sample, Australis blush in Rosy Cheeks.
There are a few products here from project empty, some that I haven't used in forever like Taupe blush (other alternatives, I can always buy again later down the track) & also some that didn't work for me... the garnier roll on is a good product, I just wanted something lighter for under the eyes.

 

Eyes: BYS eyeshadow palette in Black Steel, No name e/s duo, Ulta 3 e/s quad in purr like a kitten, Kate Reflect mirror eyes, BYS baked e/s, Bourjois Smoky eyes Rose Vintage, Face of Australia matte e/s primer, Mary-kate & Ashley all over shimmer in honey, BYS shimmer powder in Pink rose, Beauties Factory e/s in 453,  NYX e/s in nude, T'estimo e/s, 2 no name e/s, fake MAC e/s, NYX ultra pearl mania in Ocean Blue Pearl, Face of Australia e/s Jasper, Fake MAC mineralize e/s.
 Again I already had heaps of similar colours to these... or just forgot about them. Some I had bought and only used a handful of times.

Avon Glimmersticks e/l in Starry Night, Nude by Nature black e/l, Avon Super Shock liquid e/s, BYS liquid Silver Glitter e/l.

Lips: Mirenesse l/g, David Jones l/s in Sunburst, Covergirl l/s in Kiss, random lg, L'oreal Color Riche in electric fuchsia, Nyx l/s spellbound, L'oreal  Studio secrets in coral, Elizabeth Arden in Pink Punch,

Brushes: Essence of Beauty contour & highlight, Manicare Foundation, Manicare double ended, Model's prefer blending.

Nails: Orly in Sheer Peche, Essence in Cest La Vie, Rokk96 (price attack) in Toasted Almond.

Hallelujah, I'm happy I finally got this done, it's surely been a long time coming! And I promise I will post more regular, smaller empties. 

Have you ever gone through your stash and gotten rid of products (Read: given away. I couldn't bare to throw all of this out) you haven't used in a while or didn't like? It's very liberating, haha! I have certainly already filled the gaps that these left behind, however :P
xx

Cherry Culture, Sleek & i Kate House // Hauls & Swatches // Milani, La Splash, E.L.F & More

In a way you could kind of say these were my hauls for the month of March, although some were ordered in Feb & I am waiting on a couple more. As you may remember I have ordered from Cherry Culture a couple of times before but this was the first for ordering through the actual Sleek website and also from iKatehouse.com which is a recently discovered website.

 Cherry Culture
So from the lovely CC.... although I have ordered from them fairly recently, there were a few more items I wanted to try out, and a few more colours I wanted to get of products I already owned.

Milani Baked Blushes

Milani Baked Blushes in Coralina & Dolce Pink

 I already have a couple of these in Fantasico Mauve & Luminoso  & love them so I thought that I may as well buy two more, as they were going for $6.99.... (original price $7.99, only saving a dollar lol) I knew I wanted Dolce Pink because of Coco's swatch & I have heard Coralina was nice, and although the "swatch" of it on the website looked nice, it looks prettier IRL & way more corally.

Top to bottom: Dolce Pink, Coralina.

 As mentioned Coralina is a warm, coral tone with a satin finish but Dolce Pink is a cooler pink with a satin/ shimmer finish which can also look a bit frosty. I will post about these properly among my other Milani Baked Blushes.

La Splash Glitter Splash

Purple Passion & Pineapple Coral

I have done a review on these glitters recently here so my opinion hasn't changed, but as these were also marked down from $5.99 to $4.49 I thought I would buy a couple more from different colour families. I have updated that post with these swatches so please click on the link above to view them if you wish.

 La Splash Diamond Dust Shimmer

 Yet another sale item for $7.50 down from $8.99, I haven't tried the Diamond Dust Shimmers  before but they looked gorgeous. Although it looks like glitter in the jar they are certainly more like pigments, but the shimmer is lost quite easily. To prevent that, after patting it on with a brush I dab a bit of Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy and go back in with the colour to bring the shimmer back.

Snowflake is a weirdly pretty colour because it looks completely white in the jar but once I took the plastic off the sifter it came through with a purple reflect. The swatches are done with no base.

La Splash Metallic Cream Shadow

 Something I have been wanting for a while was a gold base for gold eyeshadows, so I thought I would give this a go for $6.50. It is not very pigmented so I do wish I just bought the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bold Gold instead. I haven't used it as a base yet so I don't know about creasing so we shall see.

 Nyx Eyebrow Cake Powder

I haven't used an eyebrow kit for a little while since running out of my E.L.F eyebrow kit & using eyeshadows from the Sleek Storm palette, and I bought this in the colour Dark Brown/ Brown. I wont go into much detail as I will probably do a review on it soon, but when I first used it I wasn't too impressed, but now I know how to use it properly so I'm liking it more.

Sleek Haul
For the first time I ordered off the Sleek website.  It took just over 2 weeks to get here from the UK which is pretty good for being on the other side of the world.

The pout paints are $6.49 each, and I definitely want to get more! I will do a review/swatches in a separate post.
Pout Paints from Left to Right- Cloud 9, Peek-a-bloo, Pinkini, Peachy Keen.

Ink Pot in Dominatrix

 I've been needing a new gel eyeliner for ages and so far I am happy with this one. The brush as always is pretty pointless. I will post a review once I've used this a bit more.

Sleek Eye Dusts

L-R Vintage, Jet Set.

These pigments are very chunky, which means you cannot escape fall out unless you are holding a tissue underneath your eye. Both beautiful colours & highly pigmented, non the less.

Swatched over NYX White Base

L-R, Sleek Jet Set, Sugarpill Darling.

You can see how much more finely milled Darling is, so while the eye dusts are cheaper at $3.99 compared to $12 I think I'd prefer to spend a little bit more. Unless you want all the colours, then $4 is reasonable enough to get them all!

Ikatehouse.com
This website sells products like E.L.F, La Girl, La Colours, a huge arrangement of eyelashes & much more at a very affordable rate. I heard about this site mainly for the E.L.F products but they don't have much of a range of their studio products.

 Random assortment of eyelashes, LA Girl blush, E.L.F Studio Cream Eyeshadow, E.L.F Shimmering Facial Whip

I envy by Kiss in Juicy Volume 03, Carie Eyelashes (no name), Almine Professional eyelashes 4150

I haven't heard about any of these brands before, so I chose them purely on looks. I love the fullness and the flared look of I Envy by Kiss, the Carie eyelashes reminded me of Ardell Whispies & Red Cherry #43, and as you can see I've used the Almine ones which are extremely natural and add extra thickness without too much length.

LA Girl Illuminating Blush

L-R Nectar, Just Pinched

I found it very hard to find swatches online of these 2 colours, I am not overly impressed with either and I have found that I already have similar colours (another post!) but for the price of $2.99 there's no loss, I will probably just give them away. I wouldn't exactly call them illuminating either, as they are both matte.

L-R: E.L.Cream e/s in dawn, Shimmering Facial Whip in Golden Peach & Pink Lemonade

Dawn is a gorgeous taupe colour... it works perfectly with Urban Decay's Sidecar. The formula feels more like a mousse than a cream. I've heard a bit about the E.L.F Shimmering Facial Whips, although I wasn't expecting Golden Peach to be so bronze. I think it is too much with my skin tone as a highlight unless I was to tan a lot & Pink Lemonade is just a really pretty light pink, both would look nice on the apples of the cheeks.

L-R, Dawn, Bronze, Pink Lemonade

Blended out

 That concludes my latest drugstore hauls over the month of March! I wish I could post these hauls pretty much on arrival but I have so many other posts in line that these usually get pushed to later, so when I do post them please note I have probably been using the products for a couple of weeks!
I also have a couple of other smaller hauls which I will be posting soon.

Have you ordered from any of these websites before?

Thanks for reading! I tried to keep it a bit more compact than originally planned with more pictures & swatches but it got too much so I thought I would save them for separate posts. So I hope this isn't too long already!
xx

E.L.F Lip Primer & Plumper// Review & Roadtest

There are many different beauty products out on nowadays that are made for marketing reasons as they are gimmicky, for trends such as mood activated nail polishes & lipsticks or to help makeup application easier like roller foundations & one-sweep eyeshadows. Not sure where I am going with that as this is not exactly a gimmick, The E.L.F Lip Primer & Plumper serves as a purpose to help prolong the wear of your lipstick & to make your lips look fuller, although there are other things out there & techniques that you could easily use instead. I purchased this simply because I was curious as to whether it would help my lipsticks last longer or not, and how effective the lip plumper is.

Primer
The primer in this is opaque in the colour 'natural' with a concealer stick-like formula that helps to create a blank canvas, although it can mix with the lipstick colour to change it.
It has a very distinctive smell & when I first opened it, it reminded me of being on the farm & of sheep, which I thought would be lanolin in the product which it strangely doesn't have. So I warn you, it is an extremely strong smell but goes away with lipstick application.
Personally I think regular concealer does the same job, or you could even use your eye primer such as MAC Painterly or Essence's I <3 Stage eye primer which both blanket out imperfections on the eyes so it would help even out the lips.

Plumper
I think I prefer plumping lip glosses as opposed to a stick like this, as you can use a lip brush to apply it from the wand without worrying about tarnishing the product & transferring the lip colour back into it. With a stick formula you can't exactly apply with a brush to get the same result. So when you do apply straight from the stick, your lip colour gets all over the tip which you have to wipe after each use, wasting further product & just being annoying. The glossy look also helps in making the lip look plumper.
As opposed to the primer, the plumper is clear & smells strongly of cinnamon which only clasts for a little bit. You also feel a slight sting like with any plumper, which is just it doing it's job, but I find it only feels strong within a few seconds of applying,

How to Use
I didn't get any after pictures, this was mainly to see how the product looked when first applied & to show the different steps.

 Step 1; apply primer over the lips. Lip balm applied & blotted before anything probably would have been a good idea, you can see how dry it makes my lips. Also you don't want too much otherwise it will mix into the lip colour & dull it down.

 Step 2; work it into the lines of the lips using your fingers for even coverage. Make sure to smooth it into the corners of your mouth to avoid that white line, like what I had here.

 Step 3; Apply your lipstick colour as you normally would. You can use lip liner over the top of the primer if you'd prefer. I used a fairly moisturizing lipstick so that replaces what the primer took away.

 Step 4; Apply plumper over the top if you wish. I just applied it to the middle. It's hard to tell if it's made a difference, but the lip colour looks slightly lighter. Could also be lighting issues.

Ingot Lipstick in 253

Roadtest 1

I tested this with Revlon's Colorburst lipstick in Fuchsia, which is one of the least wearing (is that how you put it? haha) lipstick that I own. This is how long it would last normally, so the primer didn't add much to the longevity of the lip colour, and I didn't have anything to eat during this time so I'd expect a colour to last a lot longer than this. I almost always never have any lipstick on after a good meal! And you may note my lips are chapped before, but as the lipstick has worn off they look 100x worse. Eek!

Revlon Colorburst lipstick in Fuchsia

Roadtest Test 2
Firstly please ignore the blatant over-lip lining. This was to see how well my lipstick help up after eating.

 This was taken after a very light meal... one piece of toast to be exact, so I was making sure I was eating carefully. You can see a slight wear right between the upper & bottom lip which is always going to happen. I also had a drink & had no lipstick transfer to the glass. (That's a pretty big deal!)

And after a heavier lunch, as you can see it did not last well!! This was about 4 hours after the original photo so you can see in the top picture how it looked right before eating & then afterwards. So gross!

Kate by Rimmel in 09

Roadtest 3- The Plumper
I am so sorry the before is out of focus, I hope it doesn't affect the look of the outcome.

I actually think that I can see the tiniest bit of plumping, but not enough to make it noticeable. I suppose on somebody with thinner lips you may be able to see more of a result. It mainly adds a bit of gloss, which you can apply regular gloss to the center to get the same results.
As I wasn't wearing any lipstick I wasn't worried about the stick so I could press it firmly, and once again I felt the light stinging sensation for a few minutes but it wasn't uncomfortable for long.

Final Verdict- I think the E.L.F Lip primer & plumper definitely is not a necessity in your collection & it can be substituted for applying concealer first to blank out the lips, and a different plumping gloss on top. I do however like the idea of it in a 2-in-1 product that can be used on the go.
Of course, I don't think anything you do for your lipstick will protect it from wearing off during eating & drinking, but this should help most lipsticks last a good 4-5 hours or more during the day if you make sure not to touch them.

If you still want to try this, I bought mine from Beauty Joint for $3.99, & check out more reviews here.

Thanks for reading! Have you tried this product or thought about purchasing, and has it helped you or do you agree on the points I stated?
xx