Velvet on Velvet: New from Rimmel

Rimmel recently released a few new products just in time for autumn and are perfect for lovers of all things matte!

Firstly, a product that I've been waiting to get my hands on for a while - the Apocalips Lip Velvets. These are the matte version of the original Apocalips Lip Lacquers which I seriously love (yes, I have all the shades). The Lip Velvets come in 4 different shades - two deep shades, an orange and a pinky nude. I decided to try the shade 'Meteoric Matte' as it looked very similar to the Australis shade 'Doo-Bai' but I wanted to see if the offering from Rimmel would be more comfortable on the lips.

The Apocalips Velvets definitely have a matte finish, however, they feel very similar to the original Apocalips as in they don't set on the lips. Whilst this makes them really comfortable to wear they will transfer like crazy with any eating or drinking. Whilst the shade 'Meteoric Matte' is such a beautiful deep berry shade I found this such a pain to wear during the day as it smudged all over my face, wore off unevenly and the colour ran quite badly around my lips. A beautiful shade but definitely a high maintenance formula.

Along with the Apocalips Lip Velvets, Rimmel has released a range of Velvet Matte Nail Polish. I have always loved the Rimmel nail polishes and was definitely excited to try the matte formulation. I picked up the shade 'Midnight Kiss' which is a navy blue and I thought it would be a cool alternative to a black polish.

I was most impressed with the fact that this nail polish actually dries in seconds. To get the best result I find that using only one coat gives the most even finish as layering the polish can look a bit messy if you're not careful. I have tried matte polishes before that just look as if you've got 'pillow marks' but this is not the case with the Rimmel Velvet Matte polishes. The finish is definitely matte and I think velvet is also an accurate description. The only negative I found was that the polish chipped really easily. As someone who always takes the extra step of adding a top coat, obviously using a top coat over these polishes would ruin the matte effect and it definitely showed in the wear time.

Overall I'm kind of disappointed I got sucked into the hype of these products. Whilst I was impressed with both products in terms of their shades and velvet texture I found them a little inconvenient and fussy - ain't nobody got time for that!

Rimmel is available from Priceline, Target, Big W, Kmart and other Pharmacies. The nail polishes retail for $8.95 and the lip velvets for $15.95 - but always look for a sale!

Have you tried these new products from Rimmel?

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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New In: At the Drugstore

The hardest thing about not having a job at the moment is being tempted by all the new releases to hit Australian shores (first world problems I know, but seriously...hire me). There are heaps of exciting new products popping up at the drugstore so I've complied a list so you don't miss a thing.

Maybelline is definitely my favourite drugstore brand and they have so many new products hitting the shelves. Firstly for the eyes, a twist on everyone's favourite black liquid liner, the new Master Graphic Liquid Liner is for those who love a bold liner look. Maybelline also brought their Pumped Up! Colossal Mascara to the Australian market. Maybelline have an amazing range of mascaras so if you're looking for something new to try, I doubt you could go wrong with this one.

More Maybelline products that have finally reach Aussie shores are the Dream Wonder Foundation. I tried this in store and it is very similar to the L'Oreal Nude Magique foundation. However, I did notice that the Dream Wonder foundation have a larger selection of pale shades which is excellent news for #whitegirls like me. I was also excited to see the Face Studio Master Hi-Light and Face Studio Master Glaze products on shelves too!

Finally from Maybelline are their Colour Drama Lip Colour lip pencils, which look like a thick lip liner and remind me of the Bobbi Brown Art Sticks. They have a nice range of colours and this is definitely a product I'm interested to try as it's quite unique to the drugstore market.

Revlon have added to their Photo Ready range with three new products. Firstly is their Prime and Anti-Shine Balm which claims to even out the skin's texture and minimise pores. Another new addition is their Airbrush Effect Foundation and finally is the Insta-Fix Makeup which comes in a convenient stick form. This range seems to be aimed at providing a long-lasting flawless complexion. A few retailers have a 3 for 2 promotion on this range at the moment which would be great to take advantage of if you are interested in trying these products.

One of the most exciting new releases that I have been waiting for to hit Aussie stores is the L'Oreal Colour Riche Exclusive Nude collection. There are a range of nude nail polishes and matching lipsticks inspired by some of Hollywood's biggest stars. I've already got my hands on some of the lipstick shades and I absolutely love them! The formula is quite sheer, but very moisturising and comfortable on the lips. I definitely recommend wearing a lip liner underneath to get more depth of colour.

From Rimmel is a new mascara release and the first mascara to be created by Kate Moss! The Kate Idol Eyes Mascara has a thick, curved wand that claims to add heaps of volume. Kate's line of lipsticks and nail colours are some of Rimmel's best products so if you're a fan of Rimmel mascaras I would definitely check this one out!

Finally from the drugstore are some new releases from Sally Hansen, one of my favourite brands for all things nail care and pretty colours! Firstly are two new 18K Gold products for nail care - the 18K Gold Hardener and the 18K Gold Cuticle eraser. Both products look fantastic for a DIY mani at home and I will definitely be trying these out!

Have you picked up any of these products recently? What's your favourite new release?

xx Catherine

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New In: Nail Polish

This summer I have been absolutely loving playing with nail polish, switching up colours every two or three days! So lately whenever I pop into Priceline I can't help but pick up some new shades. Here are the latest additions to my collection:

Firstly, I picked up two shades from the new Essence Beach Cruisers trend edition. I always love the Essence limited edition collections and both 02 Girls Just Wanna Have Sun! and 03 Keep Calm and Go to the Beach! are absolutely perfect for summer. They also have a pretty gold shimmer throughout the which is something unique to my collection.

I've been meaning to try more polishes from Essie and when I received a $5 off coupon I jumped at the chance and picked up Spaghetti Strap. It is such a gorgeous pastel pink and perfect for everyday or as a base for glitter top coats.

My next pick is a gorgeous shade, but a bit of a disappointment. I bought Up the Ante from the Revlon Colourstay Gel Envy range after seeing Estée from Essie Button wearing it in a few of her videos. I hope hoping this shade would be a little more unique than others in my collection but unfortunately it is almost exactly the same as Essence 'Break Through'. However, after initially hating the Revlon Gel polishes I've found by applying thin coats and at least two layers of the top coat the finish is so glossy and really does last ages on the nails!

Finally, all the shades in the Maybelline Super Stay 7 Day Gel Nail collection are really unique and I can't believe I've been able to show some restraint and only pick up one! I bought Forever Green which i have been loving throughout summer on the toes.

What's your favourite nail polish colour for summer?

xx Catherine

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Benefit They're Real! Push Up Liner - Worth the Hype?

There was a lot of hype surrounding Benefit's latest release and newest addition to the They're Real! range and I just couldn't help myself so I picked up the Push Up Liner.

Its a little bit fancy and pretty innovative but a new application method means that there is going to be some getting used to. I don't believe this product makes applying eyeliner any easier than felt tip liners and I've never tried to apply gel liner with a brush before so I can't comment on how it compares to that. However, I previously had no interest in using a gel liner and this product did make me want to try to use a gel formulation.

The formula itself is quite dry. It balls up, flakes off, clumps my eyelashes together and creates a bit of a mess. Unless the tip is completely clear and you twist up *just* enough product it can be difficult to create a smooth line. I think the biggest issue I have with this product is that it does create a bit of mess trying to wipe the excess product on your hand or tissue. It's difficult and fiddly but when you get it right...it all comes together.

Even the first time using this product, the final look has been pretty impressive if I say so myself. This liner is super black, matte and looks so bold on the eyes. It is really great for creating bold looks, and much faster too than using a felt tip liquid liner. I love doing big flicks or wings with this liner because it is much quicker and easier than using my Maybelline Master precise. However, doing really thin lines, close to the lashes was a bit more difficult.

Whilst the product is marketed to get in really close to the lash line, I had quite a bit of trouble doing so. When I did get in close to the lash line, the product clumped my lashes together which became an issue later and started smudging under my eyes.

Overall do I think it's worth the hype? Yes. It is innovative and definitely a game changer in terms of gel eyeliner. The packaging is cute and the price point reasonable. There are a lot of issues with using this product but as I have mentioned, I think a new type of application is bound to need some time getting used to. The final looks you can create with this product is well worth the effort in my opinion, especially if you are already comfortable with applying eyeliner and love bold looks. However, I don't think this is the first eyeliner you should buy as I think it's a bit tricky for makeup beginners.

I was also lucky enough to be the week 2 winner of Benefit's They're Real! Liner competition on instagram. Here is my Push Up liner look.

I was so excited to win and here are all the goodies I received in my prize pack! So excited to have the whole They're Real! family as well as the Porefessional products.

In other Benefit news, a few weeks ago, Benefit at Myer Sydney City held a meet up for a few Australian Beauty Youtubers. Of course I went along and had a chat to all the lovely girls. Benefit always throw a good party!

All photos from the event courtesy of Benefit Australia and can be found on their facebook page.

Have you picked up the Benefit They're Real! Push Up Liner yet? What are your thoughts?

xx Catherine

Winter Beauty Edit: New Winter Releases

I absolutely love the limited edition collections that are released from both Essence and Face of Australia and was super excited to see the winter releases were absolutely perfect for the season!

Top photos sourced from: triedandtestedblog.wordpress.com, bottom photo sourced from: faceofaustralia.com.au

From the Essence Dark Romance collection I picked up the cream highlighter as well as a velvet mousse blush in True Romance which looks really interesting - I haven't got anything in my collection like it! Whilst all the nail polishes looked absolutely amazing I knew that I wanted to pick up some of the Dark Side Nail polish collection from Face of Australia so I restrained myself! Essence also released their 'Be Loud' collection which will be stocked at Target since Dark Romance is at Priceline. I've been stalking all the Targets in a 15 km radius but haven't been able to find it yet. I will let you know when I see it in store.

The Dark Side collection from Face of Australia is inspired by all our favourite villains from movies and TV which I think is a fantastic idea! All the shades are on the darker side including burgundy, purples as well as some jewel tones and glitter top coats. I picked up 'Wicked Witch of the West' as well as 'Magneto' and will probably go back to get 'Maleficent'. I was really impressed with the formula of the Screen Siren collection so not only is this collection really exciting but wear really well on the nails too. Face of Australia is currently 25% off at Priceline until the 16 July so get in quick to pick up these polishes for less than $4 (i.e. buy them all !).

Apart from these exciting limited edition collections, in the last week or so the Maybelline stand at my local Priceline has had a significant upgrade and there are so many new releases to the Australian market. The product that I picked up as soon as I saw the display in store was the Big Eyes Mascara which came with a bonus Big Eyes Liner. Both products are dual ended so even within one product you are getting a variety of uses.

The mascara in particular is great because one end includes a lower lash brush making it really easy to get those smaller lashes. This is ALWAYS an issue for me and I usually skip this step because I end up with mascara smudged all over my face! I've found the smaller brush to be really effective and I have definitely found it easier to coat my bottom lashes with this product. As part of The Falsies mascara range, I'm fairly sure the formula is the same as other Falsies mascaras which I really like - the brush for the top lashes does take a bit of getting used to but it is great in creating a wide-eyed doll like lash look.

The liner is also pretty good, but to be honest, I wouldn't have picked it up if it didn't come as a bonus with the mascara. I love wearing a cream coloured liner in the water line to brighten my eyes but was hesitant about how stark the white would look. I was pleasantly surprised at how effective this pencil was at brightening the eyes and giving me that 'wide-eyed' look without looking too unnatural. Although the staying power is so-so and not the creamiest pencil I've used.

Finally, if you're a Maybelline fan there are so many other new releases to check out! The Colour Tattoo pigments have hit our shores as well as new look eyeshadow quads, a heap of face products and a really interesting eyebrow mascara. Let me know if you've tried any of these new releases!

Images sourced from: priceline.com.au

I hope you enjoyed this post and have been inspired to check out some of the very exciting new winter releases. Tomorrow is the last day of my winter beauty edit so don't forget to come back to check it out!

xx Catherine

New Releases: Essence

Essence has released a few new products into their permanent line. Essence is definitely one of my favourite affordable brands and here are a few of their new releases that I have picked up!

XXXL Longlasting Lipgloss in 'Baby Doll's Favourite'
RRP $4.10

• This lipgloss is so gorgeous! As you know I love the XXXL Shine glosses from Essence and the Longlasting version is just as impressive. they shade is a gorgeous pinky nude with a subtle shimmer that makes you're lips look so plump! This lipgloss reminds me a lot of the NYX butter glosses - it is long-lasting, non-sticky, super pigmented and really comfortable to wear on the lips.

XXXL Longlasting Lipgloss Matte Effect in 'Velvet Rose'
RRP $4.10

• Unfortunately the matte formulation of the longlasting lip glosses is very disappointing. With the matte lip trend huge this year, I was excited to see an affordable option from Essence. What is confusing is that they decided to release them as a gloss, when clearly a gloss isn't matte. While the shade is a beautiful soft nude it is so uncomfortable to wear on the lips I don't think I will ever reach for this. It applies patchy and the product collects at the outside of the lips which is definitely not a good look. Whilst the product does give a more matte finish is doesn't seem to dry down and you are left with a weird coat of moisture sitting on top of your lips. Definitely a miss.

All About Nude Eyeshadow Palette 
RRP $6.45

• Again, Essence has hopped on the trend bandwagon and released a nude eyeshadow palette which has been absolutely huge this year. I was excited for this one because the shades were a really interesting twist on the classic nudes. The inclusion of a really beautiful purple/taupe shade and metallic gold in particular caught my attention. I used the purple shade in a smokey eye I did recently and I absolutely loved it! The pigmentation is impressive, they are soft, easy to apply and blend out and with a primer underneath (I use the elf eyelid primer) they have excellent staying power. If your makeup collection is already overflowing with nude palettes I wouldn't say it is a must have, but still an incredible product from Essence, particularly considering the price.

Blush Up! Powder Blush in 'Heat Wave' 
RRP $6.45

• This is the one product which I initially had no intention of buying because whilst the colours are stunning I just couldn't see myself wearing something so bright on my cheeks! However, I couldn't resist the ombre effect and was interesting to see how pigmented the product was and how the colours would look applied when swirled together. On the cheeks this blush leaves a really beautiful flush of coral that that be built up to a more intense colour.

Overall I have always been impressed with the majority of products available from Essence and these new releases are no exception. The affordability of all products available from this brand means that it is a great way to try new colours or products.
Essence is available at Priceline and Target.

xx Catherine