What's In My Makeup Bag? Shop My Stash Edition

Earlier this year I went through my entire makeup collection so I could organise everything and remind myself that I really don't need another foundation or mascara or lipstick...
Not only was I able to organise everything and make things more accessible I came across some long lost favourites that were hidden at the back of the draw and forgotten to new releases. I pulled out a few things and popped them in my everyday makeup bag so I could get some more use out of them and in some cases, try to finish them up!

The best rediscovery for me was definitely the Maybelline Mineral Power Powder Foundation and the Finishing Veil from the same range - you've probably seen these products pop up in a few of my FOTD posts recently. I forgot how much I loved to wear mineral foundation as it leaves such a flawless, velvety finish and it is a much welcomed addition to my everyday routine. It's also since been re-introduced to the Australian market after being discontinued - woo!

I also rediscovered the Kate Sommerville CC Cream which should never have been neglected considering how much I paid for it! This CC cream gives what I like to call "instagram face" i.e. it looks like your face has been smoothed and filtered in real life and I have been using this when I want a bit more of a glowy look. This used to be stocked at Mecca but it is unfortunately no longer on their website.

A few other complexion bits I pulled out and put in my makeup bag were the Benefit Erase Paste concealer and Maybelline's Fit Me Concealer. I love Fit Me and had just been trying out another concealer which is why it got a bit neglected. I am glad I pulled it out because it just last so well whether I'm using it under my eyes or over spots. The shade I have of Erase Paste is a little too dark for me but I have figured out I can use it to correct darkness under my eyes if I use another concealer on top. A bit of extra effort but I'd like to use this up so it doesn't go to waste.

I am pretty good at getting use out of all my blushes but my Youngblood Crushed Mineral Blush in Sherbet has been neglected for a while. This is probably the oldest makeup item in my collection and there's only a little bit left so I'll try and finish it up. It is a gorgeous pinky coral shade with a beautiful fine gold shimmer. Whilst it's a pretty blush my preferences are now a little less subtle and more....clown like.

Finally are a few eye bits which easily get neglected because again my mascara and eyeliner collections are a little out of hand. For mascara I decided to get some use out of Maybelline The Falsies Big Eyes which has the little wand for the lower lashes. The Falsies formula is my favourite from Maybelline but I do prefer the original brush better. For liner I picked an old Elizabeth Arden Eye Pencil in 03 Bronze which is nearly finished and for some reason I have 5 bronze eye liners that look exactly the same.

I've also switched up my everyday brow products to get some use out of some old favourites. Pulling out my Essence Eyebrow Designer in Blonde I remembered how frickin' amazing this product is for its $3 price tag. I am also endeavouring to finish up an old Manicare Clear Eyebrow Gel. This stuff is seriously crunchy but does the job so I won't waste it (I am desperately missing my Gimme Brow!!).

Hopefully this posts inspires you to go through your collection and pull out some old favourites!

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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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

Brow Envy: Perfect Brows in 3 Easy Steps

The trend for brows this A/W season is to elongate brows rather than making them too defined. If your brows are naturally arched draw attention to that and add a highlight on the brow bone. Getting perfect, on-trend brows is super easy and you'll be creating brow-envy with these three easy steps.

1// Benefit Brow Bar

My visits to the Benefit Brow Bar in Myer Sydney City are always so fantastic that its the only place I will go to get my monthly brow wax and the occasional brow tint. Although I really like my natural brow shape and it suits my face well I definitely find it necessary to have them waxed to keep them looking neat. I've also started getting my brows tinted which is a great way to add a warmth of colour into my brows where I've found products that have warm tones tend to look orange/red and definitely does not suit me. I've gone on about it many times but the staff at Benefit are beyond wonderful and I will be going there always!

2// Essence Eyebrow Designer Pencil

The best brow pencil I've ever tried and for $2.50 a must have! The pencil isn't too creamy so you can create really natural looking brows and because it is quite waxy, will hold all those stray hairs in place. I use the shade 01 Blonde which is the only lighter shade I've found that doesn't look red! Such a fantastic product and a must-have in my everyday routine.

3// Benefit Gimme Brow Tinted Brow Gel

Benefit do brows well and the Gimme Brow tinted brow gel is, in my opinion, the most revolutionary brow product on the market. It is the easiest way to keep your brows neat and tidy on an everyday basis. The fact that the gel is not only tinted but has fibres so its a great way to fill in sparse areas on your brows. The little brush which is used to brush the product through your brows resembles something of a tiny mascara wand and is perfect for creating a really natural brow look.

Cara Delevingne brow queen

xx Catherine

$20 Makeup Challenge

I have been planning this post for a while and am so excited to finally share it with you! The $20 Makeup challenge is pretty self explanatory - create an entire face of makeup with products that cost less than $20 combined. It is definitely harder than it seems, especially in Australia where its difficult to find a drugstore foundation for $20 or less. However, there are quite a few affordable options available in Australian stores and I have chosen products from four different brands to showcase them. I've got little reviews for all the product as well!

Weekly Beauty Edit #4

1// Sephora Comes To Australia!

Probably the most exciting news of the week, and if you've been living under a rock, makeup giant store Sephora is set to open a store in Sydney in 2015. This is very exciting for all beauty lovers and will hopefully allow Australians to access some cosmetics and skincare brands that are hard to get in Australian stores. The big question will be of course the mark up on prices and how much extra will Australians have to pay? This is also particularly interesting news following the news early in the year that Sephora opened its shipping option to the UK and although there seemed to a shipping option to Australia, it was a mistake. In any sense, the fact that Sephora could open a physical store in Australia by next year is very very exciting!

2// NYX Stand Opens in Target Rhodes

While NYX has been stocked in Target stores since last year, a stand has finally popped up in my most frequented Target shop - a moment I've been waiting for since the first release! The Rhodes store is one of the smaller Target stores so hopefully this means NYX stands will be rolling out to all stores. If you missed my post earlier this week, NYX is currently 3 for 2.

3// Essence Eyebrow Designer

I picked this up for an upcoming post and it's one of the best eyebrow pencil I've ever used. It is quite a firm, waxy pencil and not very creamy but I find that creamy eyebrow pencils are very difficult to work with to create a natural looking brow. I got the shade Blonde and is only $2.50 available from Priceline and Target - definitely to best value beauty item I have picked up in a while, I much prefer it over my Revlon eyebrow pencil which was ten times the price.

4// Lips Lips Lips

I have gone a little bit crazy this week on buying new lip products - the official count is 10...oops! All from the drugstore I'm excited to try some Ulta3 products as well as the new Essence lip glosses and a Sportsgirl lipstick.

5// Chi Chi Glamorous Colour Kit Nudes

Another absolute BARGAIN I recently picked up. This entire gift set comes with 2 Chi Chi eyeshadow palettes - including the Nudes palette which I've been dying to try - as well as a bronzer, blush and 2 lip glosses. It was on clearance for $15 and with another 25% off it came to $11. This is amazing value as the palettes alone are $22 RRP.

Catch up if you missed any of my posts this week:

• FOA Screen Siren Nail Polish Review
• Drugstore v High End
• Style Stories - an inside to my style

I hope you have a lovely week and don't forget to check for new posts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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!

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

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 ^.^

FOTD: Tanya Burr Inspired Look

I was inspired by this tutorial uploaded by UK MUA Tanya Burr on her Youtube channel. I think this is a perfect eye look for everyday and you could definitely mix up the lip colour with whatever you feel like that day!

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