A year in review: 2013 favourites

Wow what a year! Despite it's ups and downs 2013 has been really exciting - never in my life have I tried so many new things, ventured so far out of my comfort zone and in the process discovered some real passions of mine. One of them is makeup and beauty. In this post I'll countdown my top five makeup & skin care products (if I gave myself anymore this post would probably end up being essay length!) as well as my top five fashion loves of 2013. Enjoy and best wishes for the new year!

Makeup & Skincare:

1. Lancome Hypnose Mascara - I reached for this mascara probably 9 times out of 10 when doing my makeup this year. A hands down favourite, I love the formulation which is slightly wet and makes it really easy to apply and build up. What I love most is the brush which has nice soft fibres and nothing lengthens my lashes as well as this mascara.
2. Australis Go Long Long wear lipstick in 'Preppy' - I mostly purchased this lipstick because of the name but it has been my go to nude lipstick for most of the year. This lasts so long and is beautiful with a little bit of gloss on top. 
3. Young Blood Crushed Mineral Blush in 'Sherbet' - I've had this blush for longer than I can remember but it is just such a gorgeous pinky/coral colour I reach for this blush on an almost daily basis for a really nice flush to the cheeks. You can also build this up nicely for a more intense look if you were going out and it has just the right amount of sparkle.
4. The Body Shop Japanese Cherry Blossom Fragrance Mist - I got this as a gift from and I just love it so much, its a beautiful light, fresh scent and I've worn it almost every day since getting it.
5. Garnier Body Intensive 7 days Repairing lotion - I'm obsessed with moisturiser and would probably moisturise up to five times a day including face, body, hands etc. I just have to have smooth skin! This moisturiser is so light and absorbs super fast so its just perfect for me. Definitely a skincare favourite as I use it every day.

Fashion & Accessories

1. Handbag from Colette - This bag was with me through thick and thin this year. I literally used it everyday for uni, work, shopping and everything else in between. It was the perfect size, had sturdy straps and was able to handle the weight of my laptop, all my textbooks and everything else I shoved in there. I don't think I could have gone through my first year of uni without this bag ahh I have feelings for this bag I never thought I could have towards inanimate objects! 
2. Earrings from Lovisa - Its hard to choose a favourite because I went through a stage of buying something from Lovisa once a week. They have so many cute packs of little studs which are perfect for mixing up everyday when I go to uni. This is the first purchase I made from Lovisa when the store opened in the shopping centre where I work and I just love all these earring so much and have reached for them so much as well, there is a pair for pretty much every occasion and although some of my later purchases I really like as well I just think these were my staple for the year so I chose this set!
3. Lounge pants from Cotton On Body - I'm so obsessed with theses pants and they are so cheap I'm really surprised I don't have more pairs of these! Literally the most comfortable pants I have ever worn and they are so slimming and make my legs look so long and also they have so many cool colours and designs. 
4. Sandals from Saltwater - Since receiving these in the mail after ordering them off Modcloth I have barely taken them off! They are the cutest shoes ever and so comfy and I haven't got much more to say about them apart from if you need a pair of really comfy sandals for summer get your hands on these ones from Saltwater!
5. Dress from Dotti - one of my last purchases of the year before I began my spending ban, I bought this dress to wear for my birthday celebrations. I think this dress is everything I was looking for in a dress all year. I just love it so much and have received so many compliments while wearing it I had to include it in my favourites. When buying clothes I usually go for quantity not quality and stock up on certain trends just to mix it up at uni every day but this purchase so definitely a special one and such a beautiful dress so its in my favourites.

Happy New Year everyone! I wish you all the best for 2014 and look forward to your support in the new year.

<3 Cat 

Easy Makeup for School or Work

If you're anything like me you probably wake up about 10 minutes before you need to get out the door in the morning and/or generally struggle to fit in doing your makeup for the day as well as getting dressed, eating breakfast and making sure you haven't forgotten anything. That's why when I go to work I like to keep my makeup as simple as possible. My main rule is - never leave the house without filling in your eyebrows! However I always feel like a little bit of mascara goes a long way (waterproof if you're working long hours). In this look I've evened out my complexion using a primer, concealer
 over my blemishes and under my eyes and then finished off with some powder mineral foundation - this way I can get a little bit of coverage without messing around with liquid foundation when I don't have the time. Finally finish the look off with a little bit of nude lip loss or I usually just use a lip balm to keep my lips hydrated throughout the day!

Products used:

• Australis Primer
• Napoleon Perdis Concealer in Amber (discontinued)
• Maybelline Mineral Power Powder Foundation in Classic Ivory 
• Revlon Colour Stay Eyebrow liner in Blonde
• Maybelline Waterproof Mega Plush Mascara
• Napoleon Perdis Luminous Lip Veil in Sand

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Nailed It! Summer nail trends

Here are a few of my favourite summer nail trends:

Corals and Pastels

I can't get enough of corals - lipstick, blush and of course nail polish. 'Coral Crush' by Maybelline is my favourite (and super affordable). I also love 'Coral Me Beautifu'l by Essence, another great affordable option. On my wish list is Tart Deco by Essie and I can't believe I missed out on the 2 for $20 Essie sale on at Priceline because I was on my spending ban :(
Corals are fantastic to wear with bright summer colours - especially turquoise. As well as this - my absolute favourite shade on my nails this year has been 'Diva Violet' by Max Factor. Purple is my favourite colour and this is such a gorgeous pastel shade.

Sparkles!

The holiday season is upon us! With Christmas just past and New Years only a few days away - this means lots of parties and therefore lots of opportunities to wear glitter nails - although I'm so obsessed with sparkles I love to wear them on a daily basis either as a statement nail or over a bold colour.
I found the Modern Family collection by Nicole by OPI and fell in love with this glitter polish inspired by the character Haley on Modern Family one of my favourite shows! This is such a fantastic collection and I can't wait to get my hands on more. For more affordable options - these polishes from Colour by TBN and Ulta3 are both available from discount pharmacies or drugstores for less than $3!

My next post will be an easy work or school makeup look so stay tuned!

^.^ Cat

Pink for the Faint Hearted

I always envy girls who have the confidence to pull off bright pink lips and lust over gorgeous pink shades of lipsticks, blushes and eye shadows whilst thinking that I just couldn’t pull it off! With my hazel, greeny eyes I’d always stuck more with purple shades but with as we start to get into summer I decided to be bolder in my makeup choices. I’m definitely not one to ever have worn bright pink (or even pink at all!), especially since I’m super pale. However,  was inspired by the beautiful shade 'Peaches and Cream" of the NYX butter glosses and wanted to create a pink look that put me out of my comfort zone. I think this would be perfect for a daytime summer party, or if you are going out at night, instead of contouring your eyes with browns, at a bit of sparkle with silver or smoke it out with some grey or black shadow.

For the Face:

I used Clinique 'Redness Solutions' foundation in 01 Calming Alabaster - applied with a paddle foundation brush this gives AMAZING coverage, especially if you have trouble with redness like I do, particularly around the cheeks and chin. However, I prefer a matte look and the Redness Solutions makeup is more to the satin/dewy finish which just doesn't work with my oily skin. I always apply a power whether its a translucent finishing powder, or for a little extra coverage Australis' 'Fresh & Flawless' pressed powder in Natural. For blush I used the shade on the far left in my NYX 'Butt Naked' palette which is a beautiful peachy/pink with little gold specks, similar to NARS 'Orgasm' blush. I also used the bronzer on the far left and the more golden highlighter on the far right (all shades in palette pictured below.)

For the Eyes:

For a pop of pink colour of the eyes I used a shade from my Australis Paparazzi Perfect Eyeshadow in 'Frock n Roll' but to really make the colour stand out I recommend using an eyeshadow base in a white or beige colour. I used the NYX jumbo eye pencil in 'Milk'. 

I am absolutely OBSESSED with my eyelashes here - I have never made them look so long and full! I used Lancome's Hypnose mascara first to create length and then from the same range the Hypnose Drama to add volume. The shapes of the brushes in the Hypnose range are all very interesting and different and along with a fantastic formula are great for creating different looks.

For the Lips:

This is a very NYX inspired look from all the new products I have tried recently! Firstly I used the shade 'Tokyo' of their soft matte lip creams which is a beautiful, bright light pink and then to add a glossy texture and even more bright pink the butter gloss in 'Peaches and Cream'. I am absolutely obsessed with the beautiful colour, pigmentation and glossy texture of the butter glosses and can't wait to get my hands on some more. Very excited I can now just pop down to my local Target and pick some up!

Finished Look:

Hope you enjoyed this look!
Cat ^.^

Summer Beauty Essentials

Summer is here! I love everything about summer; the warm weather, beach holidays, uni break, my birthday and Christmas! Summer is also a fantastic time to revamp your beauty routine and try bright, fun colours. My favourite trends for summer are bright lips and corals. I also really love light coverage and dewy finishes for foundation, as there is nothing better than frolicking around in the sun with beautiful glowing skin. What I also love to create a beautiful dewy, glowy look is cream blushes which add a little extra glow to the cheeks and help make your powder blush go that little bit further to give you that sun kissed glow.

Of course, if you’re pale like me, and also live in Australia where the sun is unrelenting, the most important thing for summer is to be using high protection sunscreen – definitely with SPF 30+ or higher.

My every day summer essentials are:

Face:

•   Bourjois Bronzing Primer
•   Kate Somerville IllumiKate CC cream in no.1 ‘Fair’ à this product is SPF 50+ !!
•   Stila Convertible Color dual lip and cheek cream in ‘Lillium’

Lips:

• Rimmel London Apocalips Lip Lacquer in no.501 ‘Stellar’ à Fantastic for a night out
• Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in ‘Vibrant Mandarin’ à A beautiful bright coral which is right on trend for summer
• NYX Butter Glosses à My favourite right now is ‘Peaches and Cream’ but the entire range is so beautiful in terms of colours and now NYX is available in Target!

Bright Nails:

• Maybelline Color Show Nail Lacquer in no.190 ‘ Coral Crush’

Keep checking for updates, as the next few posts will have some of my summer inspired looks!

Cat ^.^