High-End Concealer Battle // Worth the Splurge?

Considering I'm a massive makeup collector/hoarder its unsurprising that my concealer collection has grown *slightly* out of control. However, I have been enjoying rotating these different concealers depending on what look I'm going for. I wanted to start by saying I enjoy using all of these, however, some stand out more than others. I've also included the shade I use for reference. I would describe my skin tone as fair, with neutral to warm undertones.

// Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer

Pros:

• Medium-full coverage
• Lightweight, thin formula
• Easy to blend
• Long-wearing
• Limited creasing under the eyes
• Sets to a matte, velvety finish, so you don't need to set with a power
• This concealer has the perfect sized applicator that dispenses just the right amount of product - magic!

Cons: 

• Can be a little more drying, particularly if you have drier skin.
• Will need to layer the product to get a fuller coverage.

My shade: Fair Neutral (Light Warm is similar but more yellow)

// Too Faced Born This Way Concealer

Probably my least favourite (sorry Too Faced!)

Pros:

• Light, thin formula
• Easy to blend
• Hydrating
• Great for a more natural look

Cons:

• Coverage is quite natural, so doesn't work very well on dark circles
• Formula is too thin and hydrating to cover blemishes
• The packaging can get quite messy with product spilling out the top
• Not very long-lasting and prone to creasing under the eyes

My shade: Very Fair - This shade is quite similar to my skin tone, so not great for highlighting. If you are fairer than me you might have trouble finding a shade.

// Tarte Shape Tape Concealer

Apparently one of these is sold every 26 seconds!

Pros:

• Very high coverage
• Thin formula that doesn't feel thick or cakey 
• Blends easily
• Limited creasing under the eyes
• Long-wearing 

Cons:

• Giant applicator can dispense way too much product! Not too much of an issue but make sure to scrape off any excess
• Only available in Australia from tarte.com so you will have to try and shade match yourself using swatches online.
• I found that this concealer doesn't layer well over other correctors/concealers, which you don't necessarily need because the coverage is so high!

My shade: Fair - The lightest shade out of all these concealers. Perfect for when I want a really highlighted look.

// YSL Touche Eclat

Pros:

• The formula is so light and thin its pretty much undetectable on the skin!
• Beautiful for highlighting and perfect for brightening under the eyes
• Blends easily
• Super versatile - can be used all over the face including to highlight under the brows and to define the lip line.

Cons:

• Not cruelty free
• Incredibly expensive! I spend a lot of money on makeup but the price of this makes me cringe a little.
• This is not really a concealer, the formula is targeted towards brightening so needs to be layered over something else as it won't actually cover anything on its own.

My shade: No.2 (I could definitely go a little lighter for a more highlighted look)

//Bobbi Brown Corrector

Not necessarily a concealer, but I thought I would include this because I find this to be the BEST option for dark circles.

Pros:

• Think colour theory - peach/orange shades are opposite blue/purple on the colour wheel - so it is amazing at counteracting darkness under the eyes.
• Easy to blend
• You only need a small amount of product 

Cons:

• Not cruelty free
• The formula is very thick and creamy so it's essential that you take your time to blend this in properly.

My shade: Light Peach. There are two different undertones - peach and bisque. Bisque is more pink toned perfect for neutral to cool skin and peach is more salmon toned and works better on olive and warm skin.

So who comes out on top?

My favourite is definitely the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer. However, if you're a full coverage fan, Tarte's Shape Tape has a similar thin, lightweight formula with that extra coverage! Also if you do suffer from blue or purple darkeness under the eyes, a corrector is the best way to go.

What's your correcting and concealing routine?

xx Cat

Battle of the Eyeshadow Primers

I feel as if my life has been a constant uphill battle against oily eyelids. Definitely a first world problem, but when you invest in a good quality eyeshadow palette and spend half an hour blending a smokey eye to perfection you don't want your eyeshadow to end up above your eyebrows by the end of the day (yes, it happened).

I've tried A LOT of the primers available on the market and have narrowed down the best three:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Too Faced Shadow Insurance
• Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

I'm putting these top three primers head to head, comparing the different qualities of each so you can choose the one to best suit you.

First up is the Urban Decay Primer Potion. A cult classic, the primer potion comes in four different formulas - Original, Anti Ageing, Sin (Champagne Shimmer) and Eden (Nude Matte). The original formula is a beige colour that blends out without leaving a tint over the eyelid. The formula is definitely the thickest of the three but there isn't any difficulty with blending it out. When applied on the eyelid you can immediately see the difference in the smoothness of the lid and also reduces any shine. So, does it actually help eyeshadow stay on your eyelid? YES! The UDPP does a really great job of keeping eyeshadow in place. I notice a huge difference in the wear time of my eyeshadows when I put the UDPP underneath as well as the vibrancy and opaqueness of my shadows. However, compared to the other two primers, I find the primer potion makes it significantly harder to blend shadows over the top. This isn't too much of an issue if you use a really soft, shimmery shadows but I do have trouble with my everyday matte shades. In terms of packaging, the primer potion comes in a squeezy tube. However, I have heard on the grapevine that the packaging is being changed so that instead of squeezing the product out there will be a doe foot applicator.
The Urban Decay Primer Potion is available at Mecca Maxima for $18 (6mL) or $30 (11mL).

The next primer I found really effective was the Too Faced Shadow Insurance. This was the first primer I ever tried that really impressed me by extending the wear of my eyeshadow, after a good eight hours my smokey eye hadn't melted and faded at all. Compared to the UDPP, the formula is thinner but still leaves the same smooth finish over the eyelid. Again, I did experience a bit of difficulty blending stiffer, matte shadows over the top but not to the extent of the UDPP. One of the biggest issues I did have with the Too Faced Shadow Insurance was that sometimes it would get dry and flakey, particularly if you used too much product and it settled in the crease. What I found was definitely 'less is more' - controlling the amount of product you use can definitely help with the primer becoming flakey but it is a bit hit and miss. However, the Too Faced Shadow Insurance is the best out of the 3 primers in making bright eyeshadow shades really pop! Even if you're using shades like purples or reds, you need this primer in your life!
Similar to the Urban Decay Primer Potion, Shadow Insurance comes in a plastic squeezy tube. The Too Faced Shadow Insurance is available at Mecca Maxima or Kit Cosmetics for $26 (11g).

The final primer in the line up is the Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. The offering from Nars is quite different from the other two primers in terms of formula. It is much thinner in texture and makes my lids feel super smooth, leaving a really silky finish. As well as this, the packaging of the Nars primer is similar to that of a lipgloss, with a doe foot applicator - of course in the classic rubberised Nars packaging. Whilst I had trouble with blending eyeshadows over the other primers, I found that the Nars primer makes blending easier! However, the issue I had with the Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base was that it didn't extend the wear of my eyeshadows as long as the other two primers. It definitely makes a difference compared to wearing no primer with powder shadows but the Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base does not stand up against cream shadows in my experience.
The Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base is available at Mecca Cosmetica and Mecca Maxima for $36 (8g), definitely the most expensive of the three.

Overall, all three primers are fantastic and if you continually have issues with oily eyelids I would skip the cheaper options and try one of these. What's your favourite eyeshadow primer?

xx Cat

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Keeping Up With The Beauty Bloggers: Beauty News March 2015

March is a pretty exciting month if, like me, you are a beauty addict. New releases means more makeup and more makeup means more shopping - YAY! Hopefully I can remember to do one of these monthly/bi-monthly to keep you all up to date.

There's no doubt that Anastasia Beverly Hills has made huge waves in the beauty community. As a brand they have been releasing high quality and on trend products in the last year or so that you should definitely know about. You can now purchase ABH at Sephora in Sydney and their ever so coveted Contour Palettes have just landed in store! I'm sure a lot of Aussie beauty lovers are ecstatic to be able to get their hands on this palette without having to order online. Sephora aren't super open about when new releases will be in store so I recommend following their instagram @sephoraaus.

Everyone knows the most exciting launch in March is Urban Decay coming exclusively to Mecca Maxima! Mark your calendars - March 27th is the day. Mecca Maxima will be stocking the FULL range of Urban Decay products and you can also purchase online.

• FYI the Naked Palettes will be $78

Mecca Maxima are also expanding with a few new stores opening. There will be a pop-up Maxima store in the QVB in Sydney opening late March and a brand new store opening at Liverpool Westfield. I remember this time last year there were only two Maxima stores - one in Parramatta and another in Warringah. Now I'm sure most people in Sydney will have a Mecca Cosmetica or Maxima store less that 10km from their houses. #worlddomination

Image: mecca.com.au

Carisa Janes, the CEO and founder of Hourglass Cosmetics was in Australia recently and a few beauty bloggers shared with us an exciting new release! Two new bronzers will join the 'Ambient Lighting' range in June - again available at Mecca Maxima and Cosmetica. Now you can powder your whole face in light filtering goodness!!

• As a side note I've been super lucky to try heaps of the Hourglass line recently and let me tell you that if you haven't heard much about their products I highly recommend heading into Mecca and exploring their collection. Especially the complexion products... Veil Mineral Primer is life. 

Unfortunately, I have to end on a bit of a sour note but I think it's something that needs to be discussed. I wanted to announce that I will no longer be supporting Lime Crime as a brand. I have two of their lipsticks (both bought from Australian retailers) and will continue to use them but I'm kind of bummed I bought them in the first place. For those who don't know, Lime Crime's brand history is a little shady. I knew all of this before I purchased and it did discourage me for a long time, but to their credit, Lime Crime do stock a decent quality product for the price - nothing too dodgy there. However, In the last month or so a huge scandal including credit card fraud, security breaches, huge beauty gurus publicly denouncing the brand and heartbreaking stories have really made the brand unappealing, to put it nicely. I won't blab on about the whole story because there are so many posts already - so I'll link some really informative resources down below. Basically as a consumer, I have decided not to support a business that acts in a negative and harmful way to their customers.

• search #boycottlimecrime on Instagram
• Reddit Thread
• Boycott Lime Crime rant by Kitsch Snitch
• Oh Dear, Doe Deere! Tumblr page - including company history timeline

That wraps up March Beauty News! Let me know what you think in the comments below :)

xx Catherine

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