Rimmel London Lasting Finish by Kate Moss: Review and Swatches

No. 32

No. 28

I recently bought both these shades at Priceline when all Rimmel London lip and nail products were 2 for 1.

They are quite similar in formulation to the NYX Creamy Round Lipsticks - while they glide on the lips easily, they tend to cling to dry patches and unless your lips are really nice and smooth they do tend to move around and clump easily. I found the shade 32 to be slightly easier to wear in terms of formulation as it was a little bit more opaque and creamy. To find inconsistencies within the same line really annoys me and doesn't exactly make me want to run out and get more colours.

I love the colours however, especially shade 32 which is a lovely peachy nude and I absolutely love it (and I want this exact colour in a matte formulation!).

They are relatively long-lasting but nothing incredibly impressive, which is also a little disappointing for a product that claims to be long-lasting.

The packaging is quite nice for an affordable drugstore lipstick - they retail for AUD$11.95 - I love the matte black and Kate's signature in red is a nice touch.

Overall these are fairly average lipsticks and they wouldn't be my first recommendation but I'm happy to have shade 32 because its absolutely gorgeous.

xx Catherine

Weekly Beauty Edit #3

Hello beautiful people! Unfortunately last week I didn't post my usual weekly beauty edit as I was sick and very uninspired in terms of beauty. I have organised to have regular posts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday as well as a Weekly Beauty Edit or other special post on a Sunday. This doesn't mean that I won't be posting on other days but you can be sure that new posts will be uploaded on those four days. Enjoy all my favourite beauty things from the last week and look out for my upcoming March Monthly Roundup!

1// Celebrity Makeup Tutorials
This BuzzFeed is the best makeup tutorial master list I have ever seen!  Featuring some of my favourite beauty Youtubers like Lisa Eldridge, Shannon Farrell, Tanya Burr and Pixiwoo this will give you so many makeup ideas to try.

2// Revlon Matte Lip Balms
One of the most anticipated new lip products has finally hit the Australian market. I recently picked up four shades at Priceline where they are currently 2 for 1! I definitely recommend them so get down to Priceline and try them for yourself. I have a full review and swatches coming up this week,

3// Benefit Brow Bar
Finally visited the Benefit Brow Bar again for my way overdue eyebrow wax. As always I had an absolutely amazing experience and although their services are quite expensive there is no one else I trust with my precious brows after being burnt numerous times.

4// Chatting with Chloe Morello
Probably the most exciting part of my week was getting to have a good chat with Australian Youtuber Chloe Morello at her recent YSL beauty workshop. While I didn't attend the actual event I was at Myer for the Autumn Racing Fashion Showcase but went past the YSL beauty stand before I left and Chloe was still there and chatting to people. I was so happy to get a chance to talk to her and tell her how much I love her videos and appreciate her efforts to make beauty inclusive for all. She was so sweet as usual and remembered me from when we met at the Benefit Lollitint event! We also chatted about the YSL Rogue Volupte lipstick I bought in No. 1 which she said was one of her favourites. Chloe is definitely such a role model for me and its so fantastic that she does events and gets out from behind the camera. Check out her Youtube channel here.

5// Maybelline Fit Me Concealer
I'm absolutely loving this concealer I picked up from the Priceline 40% sale. It is fantastic under the eyes to conceal dark circles as well as highlight without noticeable creasing. I've been wearing this on an everyday basis and is super creamy and easy to wear. Check out my guide to concealer here.

xx Catherine

What's on My Face?

Wearable Bright Lip Look

I'm really enjoying mixing it up a bit with my makeup for uni and this bright lip looks is one of my favourites. With flawless, glowing skin, natural blush, lots of lashes and groomed brows a bright lip is totally wearable for everyday. This is Maybelline's Colour Sensational Vivid Lipstick in Vibrant Mandarin and one of my absolute favourite lipsticks ever. The formula is beautiful, so moisturising and just glides on the lips - its also very long lasting. There are so many beautiful bright colours in the range and I definitely recommend you check them out.

Have a beautiful day !

xx Catherine

The usual 'bad day Priceline visit' - I really need to stop my terrible habit of emotional shopping! But I am very happy with all these new goodies and expect lots of reviews coming up!

15 Minute Makeup

It seems like time is always of the essence these days and to have an hour to sit down and do your makeup seems like an impossible luxury . However, looking great doesn't have to take a super long time. With the right tools and products you can be glammed up in the smallest amount of time. This is a look I wore for a night out with friends.

Read on to see how I did this look 

50% off CoverGirl Cosmetics

If you're a fan of CoverGirl or have your eyes on a few of their products Woolworths has 50% off until next Tuesday 25th March.

I definitely want to pick up one of their mascaras and maybe some lip products. Any recommendations?

Hope you are all having a fabulous week !
xx Catherine

How to Hide It: Guide to Concealer

A few people have asked me lately for my recommendations on concealers so I thought I would put together all my knowledge about concealing and my favourite products into one post. What I have found is that its unlikely one concealer is going to fulfil all your needs - so I have broken down this guide into 3 different problem areas - Blemishes or pimples, under eye circles and redness/. For reference, I have an oily skin type - therefore I am susceptible to frequent breakouts and suffer from redness.

1// Blemishes

Unless you are very blessed with blemish free skin, you'll most likely want a concealer to cover breakouts or subsequent scarring. My main tips are:

• Use a concealer with a waxy or cream consistency - I often have trouble with liquid concealers 'sliding' off my blemishes. 
• Create a concealer 'sandwich' - start first by dabbing powder on your blemish, then concealer, then powder again. This really helps concealer to last all day. Make sure you are using very thin layers of product so that it doesn't become cakey.
• Choose a concealer colour that is as close as you can find to the colour of your foundation - to hide a blemish you'll want it to blend in.
• I like to use a small concealer brush and apply product by 'dabbing'
• If you are applying product on active acne - for example a pimple where the skin has broken - use a brush that you can wash straight away or a cotton bud. You really don't want bacteria from active acne staying on your brushes or even into your product that will just transfer onto your skin again.

Currently I am using Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer. This product is oil free and is two toned so I can perfectly match the colour to my different foundations. The recommended retail price is AUD$49.00 so fairly pricey, but it is a product that will last a long time.

My drugstore recommendations are: Bourjois Happy Light Concealer AUD$19.00 or Essence Match2Cover! Cream Concealer $4.25 - the only issue with these concealers is that they have very limited shades, this is particularly a problem for those with darker skin tones.

2// Under Eye Circles

As a uni student, I often hang around a lot of people who haven't had enough sleep and under eye circles are the biggest giveaway. Fortunately for me (and the fact I am such a grannie and go to bed super early) I rarely get discolouration under my eyes. However, I still like to use a concealer under my eyes to highlight.

• The main cause of under eye discolouration is a lack of moisture - fix the problem from the source by focusing your face moisturiser in the under eye area or even use an eye cream.
• Because of the dryness in the under eye area, thick, waxy concealers are going to be too heavy and crease like crazy. Use a liquid or moisturising cream concealer.
• Apply in an upside down triangle shape and blend
• Sometimes the best way to blend in the concealer underneath the eyes is just with your fingers - super easy! I also like to use a small domed brush like the Real Techniques duo-fibre eye brush.

My favourite high-end under eye concealer is Benefit Fakeup Concealer AUD$35.00 and for my drugstore pick I like Maybelline Fit Me Concealer AUD$14.95. I am currently using both these products and definitely recommend! Benefit's Fakeup is super interesting because the concealer is surrounded by a hydrating layer with Vitamin E and appleseed and is really moisturising and doesn't crease at all. For a drugstore product, Maybelline's Fit Me has a decent amount of shades, doesn't crease on my skin and is fantastic for lightening up the under eye area.

3// Redness 

Although I don't technically use concealer to hide the redness on my face, I do use specific foundations to conceal it. I found the best way to hide redness and discolouration is to build up the coverage of your foundations in the areas where you have issues with redness.

• Using a stippling or dabbing motion to build up coverage works best as it doesn't tend to create cakey-ness.
• Start in the middle of your face when applying foundation - this is usually where the skin is going to be most red, particularly around the nose and chin - then blend outwards. This makes sure that you have the coverage on the areas you need and you're not putting too much product where you don't need it - saves product and looks natural!

I have been loving the Clinique Redness Solutions foundation AUD$50.00 as it has excellent coverage and definitely colour corrects redness. However, as I mentioned in the tips above, using any foundation and simply by adding more coverage in the areas where there is redness will help conceal those problem areas.

Hope you found this post helpful and have a beautiful day :)

xx Catherine

Drugstore Haul// Priceline & Target

What's this?! A video?!

I'm very excited to share with you my first video post or beauty 'vlog' where I talk about all the items I recently hauled in the Priceline 40% off sale and more exciting stuff too.

Because this whole video making thing is new to me I lost the footage from the first part of my Target haul - I can't remember if it was because I ran out of memory or I deleted but here are the items I forgot to mention in the video.

• Maybelline Colour Show Nail polish in Twilight Rays and Blue Freeze - these were 2 for 1 at Target!
• NP Set Crease Blender Brush - was $15 down to $10.50

Have a beautiful day and let me know if you enjoyed my video :)
xx Catherine

Weekly Beauty Edit #2

1// Priceline 40% off sale

Let's be honest, Priceline's famous 40% off sale is a very exciting even and I am still very excited about it. Came back tomorrow to see my haul (in a video!).

2// MAC Lorde Collaboration

When I first heard this news I was very very excited. The first time I heard 'Royals' I bought Lorde's entire first EP and I've been obsessed ever since. She is so quirky and fantastic and I love her makeup looks in her music videos and on the red carpet - dark lips and smokey eyes. I will definitely be picking up something from this collection when it's released.
Read all about it here.

3// Bold cheeks

I have recently been loving toning down with my eye looks but going a bit bolder on the cheeks. Benefit's Hoola Bronzer is now an everyday staple for me and it gives me to most beautiful, natural glow. While I've been building up the colour on my cheeks a bit more, I still like to keep with natural colours - pinks and reds look really nice on my pale skin tones. This week I've been loving Tarte Amazonian 12 hour blush in Natural Beauty and NYX Powder Blush in Peach.

4// Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

I received this in the David Jones Beauty sample bag and WOW as soon as I finish this sample I will definitely be purchasing the full size. Its a gel like texture, similar to the Australis primer, but thicker and much more effective. It makes my skin smooth for easy foundation application and makes a significant difference in the wear time of my makeup - exactly what a primer needs to do. After using it for a few weeks - I would definitely recommend.

5// Voluminous hair!

My hair is very underwhelming - its super fine and dead straight which is mostly a blessing because I don't need to do much to it but also its just very boring and hard to style, mostly it just looks flat. However I have recently been using some products from Aveda; the Pure Abundance Volumizing Shampoo as well as the Volumizing Tonic. The shampoo smells delicious and even just using it with my normal conditioner I have noticed a huge difference in my hair after it dries. As I do have layers, rather than them sitting flat it adds a little extra bounce to my hair. I'm also absolutely in love with the volumizing tonic! Spraying it in my hair when its wet gives amazing volume to my hair as well as really nice waves that last all day.

Have an amazing week :)
xx Catherine

Review: Girlz Only Dry Shampoo

After running out of my Batiste dry shampoo I started looking for a cheaper alternative. Although I loved the product, something was holding me back from repurchasing straight away. So when I found the Girlz Only dry shampoo in Target for only $2 each I picked up a couple to try. Let me first start off by saying there is a HUGE variety in this range, which is excellent for the price - you can find everything from dry shampoo for brunettes, volumizing and even dry conditioner. I picked up one of the original formula and one extra volume.

When first trying the original formula I was fairly disappointed. After spraying I didn't find much product came out and it definitely wasn't as intense as the Batiste. Not only that but the smell was fairly unpleasant and after brushing it out I found it hadn't made any difference to the oiliness of my hair.

However, the XXL Volume-Plus provides much better results! The smell is also more pleasant and has that extra intensity in terms of reducing oiliness in my hair. I also love how it does give noticeable extra volume to my hair which is so important for me because I have such fine, flat hair. Not as good at 'cleaning' the hair as the Batiste I found, but a great product for everyday styling.

Overall for the $2 price tag, I was pretty impressed. Although I wouldn't repurchase the original formula, I absolutely fell in love with the XXL Volume-Plus and will stock up on a few of those!

xx Cat ^.^

Sleek iDivine Sunset Palette: Swatches + Demo

This is an absolutely gorgeous palette and I was so impressed with the quality of the all the colours, particularly because they were all shimmers or metallic shades. I also think the inclusion of the matte black shade is a fantastic addition to the palette and I used it to line my top lashes and well as the outer corner of my bottom lashes as an alternative to a liner pencil and to smoke out the look. Although when I first opened this palette the brightness of the colours made me wonder how and if I would ever use this palette but I was able to create a really wearable look that I would definitely recreate for a night out. The fact that the shadows were so easy to use and blend together I know I'll definitely be pulling out this palette a lot. I'm particularly obsessed with the rose, bronze and pink shades in the second photo of swatches.

Expand to see how I did the rest of my look!

Mid-Week Update

Don't forget today is the last day of the Priceline 40% off sale and while most of the stores are a mess you can still shop online until midnight to get the discount. I will definitely have a haul coming up soon!

Also I have recently been receiving emails from Myer One which is Myer's loyalty programs with beauty newsletters called Beauty Talks. The newsletter features the latest in beauty trends as well as the current deals on beauty.

• Until Sunday save 10% on beauty products online when you use the code BEAUTYW14 at the checkout.

Also there are gift with purchase deals for Napoleon Perdis and Elizabeth Arden

• When you spend $79 at Napoleon Perdis you receive a 7 piece gift set valued at $230 - this gift set looks beautiful!
• When you spend $70 at Elizabeth Arden you receive a 9 piece gift set including skincare and beauty products valued at $219.
• Both offers are available until the end of the month.

Since I buy a lot of my makeup from Myer as well as get my brows done at Benefit all the time, the Myer One program is a fantastic way to earn points and get vouchers when you reach a certain amount of points. I also can use this card when I fill up at some petrol stations so I earn points pretty fast! Definitely a must have if you shop a lot of  high-end beauty or just at Myer in general :)

I also wanted to share with you my mani - I was just going to do a simple, pinky nude but lets be real I can never resist a bit of glitter! The pink shade I used underneath is OPI colour that I don't know the name of and the gorgeous rose gold glitter on top is 'Haley Good Lookin'' by Nicole by OPI the Modern Family Collection.

                         

Happy shopping!

xx Catherine

Review: Maybelline Volum' Express Falsies Mascara

My previous experiences with Maybelline mascaras have been less than impressive, however, The Falsies mascara gets so much hype in the blogging community I was interested to give this one a go. I was very impressed with this mascara, especially for the price. I really like how you can layer this mascara without it going clumpy to create a dramatic effect. As well as this, the curved wand is fantastic for reaching those outer lashes which I absolutely love. The light, dry formula means its perfect to keep your lashes curled all day.

Here you can see the definition this mascara gives with only one coat, compared to no mascara. My natural lashes are really underwhelming - they are straight and very short. This mascara worked well to add heaps of length, separate the lashes as well as curl them without using an eyelash curler.

Although this is not my favourite mascara of all time and it definitely doesn't create a 'false lash effect' as the name suggests, it is definitely a fantastic everyday mascara if you prefer dramatic lashes.

xx Cat ^.^

Priceline 40% off ALL Cosmetics

If you have an ever expanding wish list of beauty items the next two days are the best time to stock up and grab some new products to add to your collection. I don't know about you but I absolutely live for these 40% off sales and I am super excited!

Weekly Beauty Edit

I've put together five beauty and fashion favourites from the week so you can get your quick fix before the working week begins again!

1// Benefit Lollitint

I purchases this at the pre-launch and was so excited to use it as it is an absolutely gorgeous colour. So with high hopes painted it on my cheeks and well...there's nothing to really describe what I had done to my face - my cheeks were so purple I thought I may have started turning into a blueberry, Willy Wonka style. Luckily I read a couple of reviews and watched a few tutorials (as you should when you spend $55 for a product) and found that you could create a really natural, flushed look with this stain by first painting the product on a stippling brush and then dabbing it onto your cheeks. TA DA! It worked and I was so happy because it created a look which was everything I had hoped for in the product. As a stain it really lasts all day, so I wore it everyday to uni this week.

2// Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

I've really enjoyed using the Real Techniques Brushes but the Expert Face Brush has impressed me the most so far. I have used it with both my Kate Somerville CC Cream which is a very moisturising product as well as my MAC Matchmaster Foundation which is thicker and creates a very matte look. The brush worked so well with both these different products, blending them into the skin seamlessly and I was able to cover my entire face quickly.

3// Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss 

This lipgloss claims to be ultra shiny, moisturising and non-sticky. It meets all these claims and for less than $3 exceeds all my expectations. So far I've picked up the shades Bright Side of Life - a beautiful coral with gold glitter and True Love - a berry shade with silver glitter. The glitter isn't chunky or gritty at all and these have amazing pigmentation. Although they don't have the staying power of the NYX Butter glosses I am so impressed with these especially for the price. If you don't have these, you need them!

4// Denim Jacket

I've done a bit of shopping lately picking up fashion staples going into autumn and winter. I got this Lee Cooper denim jacket from Big W for only $35 and I am in love with it! Its such good quality, especially for the price, feels comfortable on the skin, fits well and is nice and sturdy. I practically haven't taken it off this week wearing it with black skirts or colourful dresses and boots and I think these looks will be my staples throughout the colder months.

5// Oscars 2014

As the awards season comes to an end I was super excited to watch the red carpet of the Oscars. Although in my opinion there weren't any incredible fashion moments, a few of my favourite looks were, of course Lupita Nyong'o looking as stunning as ever, Angelina Jolie with an beautiful beauty look and finally Cate Blanchett who I am absolutely obsessed with - she is the epitome of class.
The popular beauty looks on the red carpet definitely reveal some of the hottest trends going in the spring/summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Peachy nude, matte lips and classic black liquid liner were very popular and lucky the weather in Australia is still warm enough for peach lips!

Hopefully the Weekly Beauty Edit will be a regular post every Sunday so please let me know if you liked this post. I've also added a Google Friend Connect button to my side bar so you can follow me on Google + if you don't have a Bloglovin' account.

See you soon,
xx Cat ^.^

Lips by NYX

NYX Round Lipsticks
Swatches

Narcissus

Rose

The Verdict

I'm not super impressed by these lipsticks and after reading a lot of hype surrounding them am a bit disappointed. Although the colours are gorgeous and pigmented I really don't think I will be getting a lot of use out of them. First of all I didn't expect them to have such a frosty finish which I am not fussed about at all. They do claim to be moisturising which is true, but the moisture sits on top of the lips making them quite uncomfortable to wear and I was always worried about the product going gloopy and patchy.

Where to buy?

I bought mine from cherryculture.com and definitely recommend this site when bulk buying NYX products. They retail for USD$4.00 but always seem to be on sale and I picked them up for $2.80 - Definitely a great deal. The swatches they have on the website are definitely NOT true to colour so do a bit more research if you're after a specific colour or like me just YOLO it and choose a few random ones.

You can also buy NYX from Target in Australia and they retail for $8.95 - still relatively cheap for a lipstick in Australia. A good option if you want to swatch colours.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream

Swatches

Tokyo

Istanbul

The Verdict

Again, another product that claims to be moisturising but really the moisture sits on top of the lips, making them fairly unpleasant to wear. The colours are BEAUTIFUL though and I love the semi-matte finish they have. I bought these thinking they would be similar to the Australis Velourlips but these are completely different. I like to wear these when I just need an easy lip colour for popping out of the house to go to the shops or lunch with a friend. Not overly long lasting but because they are so easy to applied with the doe foot applicator a good one to take on the go. I like wearing Tokyo with the Peaches and Cream Butter gloss!

Where to buy?

• AUD$12.95 from Target and crushcosmetics.com.au 
• USD$6.00 from cherryculture.com

NYX Butter Gloss

Swatches

Peaches and Cream 

Crème Brulee

The Verdict

Probably one of my favourite lip products of all time. Incredibly buttery and absolutely feels like it melts onto the lips. They are the most pigmented, long lasting and glossy lip glosses I have ever worn. I prefer to wear these just on their own but will also add a nice gloss and extra colour to a matte lipstick. This is a product that absolutely deserves the hype.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I ONLY HAVE 2 I NEED ALL THE COLOURS!!

Where to buy?

• AUD$10.95 from crushcosmetics.com.au
• AUD$9.95 from Target
• USD$5.00 from cherryculture.com

NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss

Swatches

131 Gold Pink

The Verdict

A nice gloss that is very pigmented just like the butter glosses, it also has really tiny gold glitter in it, that isn't chunky or particularly gritty while wearing so it's definitely my go to gloss if I'm feeling in the glitter mood. It has an angled doe foot applicator that makes application super easy. The only thing I don't like is the smell, which is exactly like those red Starburst lollies no one likes.

Again, I prefer to wear this alone because the pigmentation is so great it gives a nice, natural, glossy finish.

Where to buy?

• AUD$11.95 from Target
• AUD$9.95 from crushcosmetics.com.au
• USD$5.50 from cherryculture.com.au

xx Cat ^.^

Tarte Cosmetics/Sephora Mini Haul

 

 

When I hear someone is travelling to the US or anywhere with a Sephora I get VERY excited. I immediately thought of all the makeup I could buy! However, I thought to be considerate of the person kind enough to shop for me and also keeping in mind my budget, I chose a few special things that I've been lusting over from Tarte because there is literally no way to get their products in Australia unless you use a shipping service. Taking a few recommendations from one of my absolute favourite Youtubers Essie Button I picked up the;

• Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Natural Beauty
• Amazonian Clay Airbrush Foundation in Fair-Light Neutral
• Airbrush Finish Bamboo Foundation Brush

I just wanted to share with you these beautiful products before I try them out and do full reviews - but really I just couldn't contain my excitement!
Thanks to Maddy's mum for picking up these products for me at Sephora and of course Maddy for helping organise everything <3

Hope you enjoyed this special haul as much as I did !
xx Cat  ^.^