Holy Grail: Nail care products

I am an absolute nail polish junkie/hoarder/addict/lover - call me what you want. I know my weaknesses and I really can't help it! It's been a long process to find my basic loves for a remover, top coat and base coat.

The newest to this HG list is the Nails Inc Express Nail Polish Remover… think a miracle in a little tub, your best travelling friend, no-fuss off in less than 5 seconds nail polish remover. Bonus… it's acetone free and smells absolutely amazing also leaves your nail beds and cuticles nourished. Best £6.95 spent in the longest time. I get mine from look fantastic.

Now you can tell me how bad Seche Vite is for your health, but it is seriously the glossiest, fast-drying top coat out there. It is amazing. A lot of people complain about it becoming gloopey half way through the bottle, I didn't find this so. My tip: just tighten the top properly every time and you shouldn't have that problem. One bottle lasts me absolutely ages - even with my once or twice a week manicures and pedicures it has lasted 7 months. Amaaaaazzing!

OPI Nail Envy… this is still my first bottle from 8 months ago and I haven't even hit half way. I use it both on my toes and fingers have I have seen a complete improvement with the strength and health of my nails. I don't get discolouration as much as I used to. The story behind this product was that I began using it after I had a gel manicure done - which completely left my nails weak and thin. They would always break - which made me really sad. I do not recommend gel manicures for this reason, I rather have gel finishes from polishes I use myself or if I do go to a salon - Shellac manicures. All in all, this is my favourite base - it has done wonders to fix my nails.

Budget buy: Bourjois Happy Light foundation

I have always been apprehensive about drugstore base products, but this year has seen me venture into the world of budget buys like never before. I think it was because I had acne prone hypersensitive skin I could never trust cheaper alternatives and would always stick to my high end.. But for every day wear I have stuck to my Cover Outlast Stay Fabulous 3n1 foundation and now this Bourjois Happy Light foundation with 8h hydration.

This photo was the first time I ever tried this foundation. I had left my MUFE HD foundation at home by accident and I was getting ready for a wedding at a friend's place. After watching and reading several reviews on this foundation I already knew that I wanted to try it. It was the perfect opportunity, so I picked it up at Priceline for $29AUD that afternoon, I guessed my colour was 52 beige Clair, which turned out to be a complete perfect match. 

Pro's:

- Long lasting (although I do wear the illasmaqua hydrating primer underneath and set it with my Hourglass Ambient powders in Diffused Light and Dim Light)

- Hydrating (this foundation claims to be 8h hydration - I don't know about that but it is perfect for dry to normal or normal to combination skin and doesn't essentuate any dryness but gives the skin a nice glow and subtle luminousity 

- pretty affordable.. $29 is a hefty price tag for overseas readers but that is similar prices to Revlon and Loreal foundations in Australia. Compared to higher end foundations that are around $50-110AUD

- doesn't separate.. Not that I have oily skin at all - but this would be good for even my combination skin readers 

- light to medium coverage but can be built up to full coverage without looking cakey.. It looks absolutely beautiful built up 

Con's: 

I really don't have any complaints although I will say that the foundation colour range for Bourjois has always been limited and lean towards very yellow. So if you prefer pink undertones or for my darker skinned readers - I'm sorry you can't try this beautiful foundation. 

Overall, I adore this foundation in terms of colour for my skin, finish, buildability and the longevity. I highly recommend this for dry to normal or normal to combination skins with light to medium colouring. 

Budget buys: Beauty Haul

I know - I have a problem.

There's no denying that I love high end make up, although this year I have grown to appreciate and love budget buys - I think a lot of products in the drugstore are comparable to high end, and some categories I prefer to stick with more affordable products.

My top picks are the Bourjois Happy Light foundation (my shade is 52 Beige Clair) - which is a backup because I love it so much and is my top pick for a light but buildable summer foundation, and I'm excited to try the Bourjois Happy Light luminous primer from the same line and the Bourjois Healthy Balance powder in 53 beige Clair (which claims to be 10h mattifying and as Amelia Liana claims a dupe for her favourite Giorgio Armani Luminious silk powder). What an enabler! I definitely have a nail polish problem - I can't say any are my favourite picks.. I'm excited to have all colours on my nails. But I do love Essie's formula and longivity the most.

Products I purchased:
Bourjois Happy Light Foundation - 52 Beige Clair
Bourjois Happy Light luminous primer
Bourjois healthy balance powder in 53 Beige Clair
Maybelline Fit Me concealer in Sand
Revlon Super Lustrous in Pink pop
Essie nail lacquers in Fiesta and Fiji
Rimmel London Salon Pro with/avec Lycra in Cocktail Passion
Australis Nail colour in K-pop
Bourjois Blush in Rose d'Or
Bourjois flower perfection translucent smoothing primer

Organic Raw Honey - the delicious skincare remedy

Despite being an incredibly delicious condiment - it has known for its medicinal and healing properties. Organic raw honey is one of the best, most affordable treatments you can implement into a skincare routine. Although it can be incredibly messy and sticky lathering your face with this liquid gold - the benefits are completely worth it!

So what are the benefits?

- Traditional used for medicinal purposes - helps heal burns, wounds and infections

- Extremely moisturising 

- It is suitable for all skin types, even very sensitive skin (so don't be afraid!)

- 100% natural - it is so important you only choose unrefined 100% organic raw honey to put on your skin 

- Anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent which disinfects and helps speed up the healing process of acne or other skin conditions such as eczema or extremely dry and broken skin

- Loaded with lots of antioxidants to restore damaged or wrinkled skin

- Draws out impurities in your skin and helps detoxify pores

- Cleans the skin and leaves your face feeling nice, supple and looking radiant

I highly recommend using organic raw honey as a treatment mask at least twice a week (more if you're really up to it) to improve your skin condition and just as a nice pick-me-up treatment.  It is incredibly affordable to use and completely natural - so why wouldn't you try it?!

The thing about Toners

Whether you care about your skin or not, the steps you're likely to do in your routine is cleanse and moisturise. But what about the in-between process? - Toning. A lot of people do forget this step - unless you're someone who religiously sticks to a 3 step skincare routine (Cleanse, tone and moisturise) then it definitely is a process that is overlooked. Sure it can add extra seconds or minutes onto your skin routine, which is just more work and time - which can be daunting for most as time is a luxury we just don't have. But taking the extra time could really benefit your skin especially if you have problematic, dull, and dehydrated skin. 

My skincare routine is definitely much more than the 3 step process - but toning has always been something extra and a little bit more ensuring that I've completely cleanse my face and then returning the hydration back into my skin - ensuring that the skin's pH levels are also returned to normal. 

So the basics of what toning actually is to me is 

1. Balancing the skin: No matter what type of cleanser you're using whether it be gel, oil, cream, milk or balm - going through this cleansing process (of how many times you actually do cleanse your skin - I recommend you always double cleanse at night) you are having to use water (unless you're using a water-base cleanser like Bioderma) to remove the cleanser as well as the makeup, dirt and grime that you've removed. The temperature of the water is specifically important in this case as it disrupts the pH balance of the skin which is why sometimes your skin can feel tight and dry post-cleanse. By using a toner after cleansing you are returning your skin to that normal pH balance and often you find after using a toner the feeling of tightness is gone. This is why it's so important to listen to your skin - that's what it wants.

The next two steps I've taken word completely from Caroline Hirons : You should also use one toner to take away and one to add on.

2. Exfoliating the skin: By taking away from the skin - yes we mean exfoliating - and no, we don't mean by using scrubs with beads and such the size of golf balls to do that. The best way to exfoliate without irritating and disrupting the surface of the skin is by using chemical/acid-based toners to remove dead skin cells and deeply cleanse your pores. Trick is to let the toner do the work - not your hands or overly abrasive scrubs. Key ingredients to find in products are glycolic acid, willow bark, tartaric acid, citric acid, lactic acid, glycerin and try to steer very clear of products with alcohol in them - as this can strip your skin and be very drying. 

3. Hydrating the skin: Depending on what time of toner or "lotion" you use - it can also be a base to deeply hydrate your skin (if you are someone who is dehydrated - you probably need to do this step). These toners often come in a mist form with rosewater, aloe vera, citrus (vitamin C), lavender (for brightening) etc.

Toning is an essential step to keeping your skin clear, bright and fresh looking - if you find that your skin is either acne-prone, dull, dehydrated or overly oily - you probably need to add this step into your routine. So... Get on it and do it now.

Review: Dr. Jart Water Fuse BB Cream SPF 27 PA++

I've been wanting to review this for a while, but what really sparked it was reading Anna's (from Viviannadoesmakeup) post on this particular BB cream. I started to write a comment to this post and it was quite long and extensive so I thought it would be better to review it on my blog instead.

First and for most, I do really like this BB cream, it is definitely the best one I have tried so far, and I have gone through plenty of the Korean brand ones (Missha, Skin79, Etude House, HolikaHolika) but really never liked any from those brands. I'm not particular big on BB creams as I was before, some how I switched from really light foundations and BB creams to more full coverage foundations, now I'm starting to revert back to lighter and moisturising textures and this is something I definitely have been reaching for. 

The Dr. Jart Water Fuse BB Cream has a unique formula and in the way it is supposed to be applied and how is works. You really have to read the instructions on the back and apply it the way it was intended to really see the greatness of this product.

The instructions on the back follows: "Apply proper amount over entire face and gently pat to spread evenly."

The way you're supposed to apply it is by spreading it out all over your face and gently tap it into the skin, as you can see below the left side is a heavy swatch of the product, the middle swatch is the product being spread out and I've started to tap it into the skin. The tapping motion is important rather than smoothing it on or rubbing it into the skin as water particles start to form (hence the "water fuse" in the name). The water particles burst and help the product melt into the skin easily and really creates a wonderful light texture on the skin. The right side is the product blended into the skin (and you can't really detect it because it just doesn't look like any but a very dewy moisturiser that perfects the skin, which is why I always feel like I will have this product in my makeup collection)

*Swatches of the Dr. Jart Water Fuse BB Cream*
(Left: Heavy swatch; Middle: water particles forming from tapping the product into the skin; right: product blended in)

This product sits really nice on the skin, in fact I think it is comparable to the Laura Mercier Silk Creme foundation. I actually had days where I would compare a sample of the two products and they looked relatively similar, if anything the Dr. Jart BB Cream just made me look healthier and glowy. The are definitely similar in terms of colouring (Sand Beige is the match of this BB cream) and over all look of the product on the skin with the exception that the Dr. Jart BB Cream is dewier than the Silk Creme. It is quite good coverage but probably is only sheer to medium rather than the Silk Creme's buildable light to full coverage. I do really like the LM Silk Creme Foundation however the Sand Beige colour runs a little grey on my skin (which is the same for this BB cream) and tends to really flash back in photos. For that, I could never justify the price and purchase it. This however, was 75% off on Sasa.com when I purchased it... which is why I could justify buying it. An absolute steal. I can't remember the exact price but if you check the website then you get a fair idea how much it was, a pretty ridiculous price point in my opinion and I was extremely lucky that day. 

I enjoy using this BB cream really only when I'm in a rush to do my makeup in the mornings, if my skin is looking a little dull and if I'm on an errand day. It's a nice little gem to keep in my collection, but I don't reach for it very often (mainly due to the colouring as I am quite tanned from the Australian sun). Unfortunately there aren't many colour shades (especially that don't run grey) like other BB Creams, but if you're anywhere near an NC or NW25 (it wouldn't matter as the greyish tint would neutralise the colouring of your natural skin)/Chanel 30 Beige/MUFE #127/LM Silk Cream in Sand Beige then colouring would be ideal for you. 

The Review: Naked 2 by Urban Decay

I posted about this palette long before it came out about the release of it. And after owning it for about a year, I thought I would just update you on the product.

I absolutely love this palette! It was in my 2012 beauty favourites since it has been my go-to palette for any eye shadow look I had last year. I own all of the Naked series palettes and this is still my favourite. This palette is so diverse and I love the cool-toned neutrals and the mix of matte and shimmery eyeshadows. You really can create so many looks with this and the colours would suit any eye colour or skin complexion.

 *Note: Sorry about my messed up palette, it shows how much love this palette actually gets!*

You get 12 highly pigmented eyeshadow shades that range from high shimmer formulas to more matte and subtle shimmers. The colours included in this palette are Foxy (Matte cream bisque), Half Baked (golden bronze with micro glitter), Bootycall (cream nude with iridescent glitter), Chopper (copper with silver micro glitter), Tease (Matte taupe), Snakebite (dark bronze), Suspect (pale golden beige), Pistol (light greyish brown with shimmer particles), Verve (oyster), YDK (cool bronze), Busted (dark brown) and Blackout (blackest black matte eyeshadow).

Here are some swatches of the shadows, they're in order of the palette from left to right. These swatches are without a primer. They are highly pigmented and the texture of each shadow is beautiful, some of the high shimmer shades do experience some fall out so using a primer or a cream eyeshadow as a base to hold the powder product is recommended.

(Foxy, Half baked, Booty call, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite and Suspect)

(Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve and YDK)

(Blackout and Busted)

I highly recommend this product to any one as you get 12 beautiful eyeshadows you can use all year round. The Naked 2 contains 12 x 1.3g of product, which for approximately $50 is an absolute steal. You can purchase Urban Decay products from Beauty Bay.

Confessions of a beauty hoarder: Essie essentials

I've been a fan of Essie nail polishes since they were first released and exclusively sold in Myer stores in Australia... Even though they retailed for $18.95 per bottle which contain 15ml of product, I still couldn't say no to buying a few. Since Myer is discontinuing their stock of Essie polishes I've been finding them in discount cosmetic stores. And at what price? $6 a polish! Winning!! They didn't have all of the shades (I don't think many colours were introduced in Australia, apart from the seasonal ones) but they had some of the more popular colours featured by my favourite bloggers and Youtubers.. I had to have them! (yes it was a compulsive want)

The colours featured are Sand Tropez (there was actually only three bottles left of this colour and I had to pick up all three... After all, Sand Tropez is one of my favourite nudes and is similar a current cult favourite Chanel's Frenzy. Sand Tropez came out in spring 2011 (I believe) and is a beautiful dove grey nude and is definitely one of my favourite colours to wear. It is a great all year round colour and applies beautifully opaque in one to two applications. The polish itself lasts 4-7 days without chipping which is the best I've seen so far from Essie. If you ever see this colour, I highly recommend you try it. I've purchased it for my best friend before and it is her absolute favourite above any other polish.

Another cult favourite for spring/summer has been Mint Candy Apple. It really is the most perfect mint coloured polish. It applies beautifully with one to two coats. Definitely a great mint colour for all skin complexions (you know how you can sometimes get off coloured mint polish that will only suit paler skin tones.. This is definitely not the case!) if I can ever pull myself away from wearing Sand Tropez I'll definitely be sporting this colour!

The other colours featured here I haven't tested yet but they are still cult favourites. Bikini so Teeny (a new cult favourite since Mint Candy Apple), French Affair (the most perfect vibrant baby pink), Miss Matched (a light nude.. Your nails but better shade) and To Buy Or Not To Buy, a light lilac with purple and blue iridescent shimmer in it... It is absolutely gorgeous in the bottle!

Have you tried any of these Essie polishes? What is your favourite polish from Essie?

Rimmel Lasting Finish Matte by Kate Moss Lipstick Review

I was so thrilled to get my hands on this lipstick. Living in Australia, we tend to get beauty releases months and months after they have come out in the UK and the US, which is completely frustrating when there's new products that I want to try and review as soon as it's launched. Thankfully we have some websites like feelunique.com that gives us access to all different types of makeup/skincare/haircare brands that aren't readily available to Australians and at the most amazing prices! 

Coming into pre-Autumn/fall season there are a lot of makeup brands still selling their holiday collections with bright and deep/darker reds which I know I will be sporting often. I absolutely love this shade, it is one of the more popular shades from the line, as I've heard all the UK beauty youtubers and gurus like Anna from Viviannadoesmakeup, who I adore! I absolutely need to try everything she raves on about!

Now onto the review... the lipstick comes in a cute red plastic packaging with Kate written on the lid. It is great, simple, similar to the Lasting Kiss lipsticks but in red (to help differentiate the two lines), good quality and doesn't seem like it will break easily. The lipstick formula is matte but isn't drying, it is a lot more moisturising than MAC lipsticks from the matte line and applies beautifully onto the lips without accentuating any dry patches or cracks on the lips. The colour is true to the actual lipstick, it lasts longer than 4-5 hours with eating and drinking, but normally you would reapply with any lipstick anyways. Wearing these bolder colours it is better if you wear a lipliner with them to hold the colour and perfect the lip lines. I can't say enough about this lipstick! I definitely want all the shades especially when I go to HK/if they come out in Australia by then. Feel Unique unfortunately were only carrying 3 shades. But it would be worth while to pick them up anyway if you can.

The Rimmel Lasting Finish Matte by Kate Moss lipsticks come in 5 different shades, 110 (a bright coral/pinky red), 107 (the shade featured), 101 (a mauve colour), 113 (a nude) and 111 have not been released in Australia yet, but I can tell they will be an absolute winner in terms of quality and price! The Lasting Kiss lipsticks from the regular line retail for $9.95 AU and I'm guessing that these will be at a similar price point.

Make Up Favourites of 2012

Better late then never.. I always like to say. I would have to say that these are the majority of my beauty favourites of 2012.. or really, my favourite discoveries of 2012 as 97% of these products I had tried and fell in with love last year. I have a lot of products, but these are my fail safe products that I know will deliver. I tend to always go back to no matter what season it is in the year.

I don't think I will do an extensive review on all of them, since this blog is new and I loved these products, I feel like that should all have a review of their own at some point, but I'll go through the main positives of each one and why I felt they were worthy to be a favourite last year. I'll write them out as you would apply your makeup everyday from bases to final products.

Starting off with the Laura Mercier Mineral foundation primer. I think this product is a little beauty and really saved my skin last year. If you didn't know, I have dry/sensitive and acne prone skin and I've struggled with my skin for the past few years (prior to that it was flawless and I didn't use anything --what a shame it can't be like that still!) But I was first introduced to this primer by a Laura Mercier counter lady, who at the time sold me on the LM Mineral Powder SPF 15 as well (which is a HG product of mine, but I haven't included in it here because I've run out of it and feel like I should do a HG post on it's own). Back to the primer -- it is full of minerals and other skincare benefits she told me and had said that LM actually uses the primer as a moisturiser to help calm breakouts and redness. It really does, and I absolutely love it as a moisturiser and primer. I've tried the Laura Mercier Foundation Primer and the Laura Mercier Radiance Primer and I still love this one way more than the other two.

The Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in Beige 30 is my favourite liquid foundation of the year. I know that there's been a lot of hype in the beauty blogging and Youtube world over this foundation, but I seriously love it and it does wonders for my skin. I usually apply this foundation with the Real Techniques buffing brush or with just my fingers, although it is a light to medium coverage foundation, it is quite buildable without looking cakey. It has sort of a velvet matte finish which makes it appropriate for all year round, as I don't have to set it with a powder in the winter months and it's light enough on my skin in the summer time to not melt off. One of my favourite things about this foundation is that after 5-10minutes it just looks absolutely amazing on my skin, and really doesn't look like I'm wearing any foundation - that my skin is just naturally radiant and flawless. Definitely one of the must have foundations to stay in my collection for all time.

My favourite concealer has to be hands down the Clinique Airbrush Highlighting Concealer pen in the shade 3. This shade is the only shade I believe is available in Hong Kong and in Asia in general, but seriously it really is the perfect colour for light to medium yellow/olive skin tones. It has the right combination of concealer and highlighter in the one product and really is inexpensve compared to the YSL Touche Eclat, By Terry Illuminating concealer pen or any other similar product on the market. I have yet to test out the ever so popular Maybelline dream lumi concealer, however the price of that product in Australia is similar to the Clinique one, and since I love this concealer so much, I am in no rush to switch products or brands. If it's good enough for Lisa Eldridge, it's definitely good enough for me.

Favourite setting powder has been the Rimmel Stay Matte powder, which is an amazing inexpensive product that really does keep your base makeup mattified all day long. I think I really only started to appreciate this product in the summer time. In Australia, Summer is extremely hot, dry and sweaty and the weather makes makeup melt downs quite unavoidable. But to counter that, I've really been enjoying  using this product. It also is the only pressed powder that I own at the moment and is much more convenient to travel with rather than a gigantic loose powder product.

My favourite bronzing product has been the infamous NYC Bronzer in Sunny, every Youtuber and beauty blogger (in particularly in the States) has used/spoken about this product within the last 5 years at least. It is probably the cheapest well-pigmented, finely milled matte bronzers on the market, which of course I had to find on eBay, as no where in Australia actually sells NYC makeup. This bronzer is great for light-medium skin tones, pale skins may find it a little too orange and it may not turn up on darker skintones. Great for contouring as it doesn't have any shimmer in it or as an all over bronzing colour to give the face some extra warmth and a sun kissed look.

Although I didn't include a blush in the photo, I actually had many favourites this year such as ELF blush in Pink Passion, Laura Mercier Second Skin blush in Fresh Ginger and NARS Orgasm blush.

Favourite eyebrow product was the Kate eyebrow powder in Medium/Dark. This is a Japanese drugstore product that is available on Sasa.com or Bonjour.hk, you can probably find it from other websites that sell Asian beauty products, but I had purchased mine from a Sasa store in Hong Kong. It really is fuss free, the product last for ages, even though I have used it everyday, all year long. I will definitely be picking up a backup when I go to HK again in a month's time as I really feel lost when I don't have this product with me, especially if I've left it at a friend's/my sister's house.

My favourite eye base product/cream eyeshadow has been MAC's paint pot in Bare Study. I just love this product. 2012 was the year of shimmery eyeshadows for me, and honestly, I've only really started appreciating matte shadows this month. This product is great as it is shimmery, a neutral nude colour that is great for using underneath eyeshadows or just on it's own as a wash of colour for a simple everyday eye look (which is what I mostly use it for), applied with loads and loads of mascara. It is beautiful!

My favourite eyeshadows, like so many other beauty lovers have got to be the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette. I love the first palette, but the cooler colour tones of this palette really suit my skin colouring. You can really do hundreds of different looks with this palette and it is convenient to have and great to travel with just one palette filled with 12 neutral to smokey colours, rather than carrying loads of individual shadows. They are highly pigmented and the texture of the shadows is one of the biggest pros of this palette.

My favourite eyeliner - for liquid it has to be the Creer Beaute La Rose de Versailles in Black. Extremely pigmented, the nicest and easiest brush tip to work with, does not smudge or budge all day long and removes easily without staining my eyelid. Seriously the best liquid liner I have ever used, it  makes the Lancome Art Liner, the Loreal Liquid eyeliner in Carbon Black the Dollywink liquid liner all look bad. I've tried so many different eyeliners from high end department store brands to Western drugstore brands and other Japanese brands, really nothing compares to and is as easy to use as this eyeliner. It is simply the best.

My favourite pencil eyeliner is only something I've been using since late November/early December when it was released in Australia and that is the Rimmel Scandal Eyes eyeliner in Nude. I've always wanted a nude eyeliner, but there hasn't been any drugstore brand/not many high end brands that have them at all if readily available in Australian stores. I'm a massive fan of all the colours in general, and I really do think they are better than the Make Up Forever Aqua Liners. This product is great for using on the waterline, to help open up the eye and make it appear bigger and brighter, it is definitely a must for me everyday.

Favourite mascara -- I didn't have any Mascara that I absolutely loved this year, but if I had to pick on it would have to be the Creer Beaute La Rose de Versailles in Black. I thought, if I loved the eyeliner so much then surely the mascara would be great too. And of course it is a good mascara. The lasting powder is amazing again. Doesn't budge or smudge at any time during the day (even in the hot, humid climate of the Australian Summer) and it removes like a dream. You literally have to just rub your eyelashes gently under water and it balls up and takes off the mascara. It is genius! It obviously removes easily with oil/water cleansers as well, but I do love the fact you don't have to gorge your eyes out to take it off at the end of the day. Like most new Japanese mascaras, it has fibres in it to add extra volume and length.

My favourite lip products that I've used in 2012, have been the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains, I love a fuss free long-lasting lip product especially during work. I don't really want to think about if my lip product is still there or is it slipping and sliding around. It is nice to have a product that stains your lips even after drinking and eating the colour is still very pigmented on my lips.  The two colours I have featured here are 050 Precious and 025 Sweetheart. They're absolutely gorgeous!
My other lipstick favourite has been the YSL Volupte lipsticks. They are incredibly creamy and highly pigmented. The packaging is very luxe and gorgeous. The colour I have featured here is no. 1 but really all the colours are stunning.

My favourite tools for applying makeup have definitely been the Real Technique brushes especially the buffing and the contour brushes. These are amazing value for money, wash well, apply makeup so flawlessly and effortlessly.. I cannot rave about them enough. So I will spare you from that for now. The buffing brush is great for foundation (liquid and mineral) and the contour brush I use for everything (bronzer/blush/highlighting). I definitely would love to have multiples and some of the other brushes that aren't yet available in Australia.

Well I think that's a wrap with my Make Up favourites of 2012. This is an extremely long post and if you've read it all, Congratulations and Thank you!


Have you tried any of these products?
What were your 2012 make up favourites?

New Year's haul #1

It's 2013 and I definitely have been busy shopping! Not that I don't always shop, it's a constant problem. I'm sure every beauty and fashion fanatic feels the same. I must confess.... I've cheated. I actually purchased the Laura Mercier radiance primer and Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Ivory Beige at the end of December and have been testing them since. I promise to have reviews on all products when I feel like I have used it for a sufficient amount of time. The Balm's Mary-Lou Manizer I received last week and really only purchased the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo and the Maybelline The Falsies today! Boy was I super thrilled to find the infamous Effaclar Duo today!!! I'm excited to start testing both products.. again I will review them after a point in time. I had hoped that my Naked Basics palette would have arrived this week (after ordering it from Beauty Bay the other week) but it hasn't.. So I guess that's another post for another day.

All products that been recommended to me at some point, whether it was just from a beauty guru, a fellow beauty blogger or friends who are makeup artists. This year, I've been trying to narrow down my purchases to only the best of the best. Still it is a matter of trial and error, but that just gives me another excuse to buy more products! (must make it a new years resolution to start using up products for "products I used up/empties" posts... yes that does sound good!)

That's all for today! Thanks for reading.

What products have you purchased in 2013 so far?

Have you or do you want to try any of these products? 

Comment below! :)

Food for skin

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and is definitely my favourite! I think about breakfast more than any other meal, because I always think starting my day off positively will bring good energy to get me through the rest of the day.

This is my current favourite post-workout breakfast. Plain non-fat Chobani yoghurt, bananas, kiwi fruit, blueberries, chia seeds, a bit of granola and raw organic honey.

Natural/Greek yoghurt is full of potassium, calcium, protein and vitamin B, including B-12.  All essential for aiding a healthy digestive system. A cleaner body leads to clearer skin!

Kiwi Fruit can aid you to younger, smoother and softer skin. It has the most vitamin C out of any other fruits which helps repair and firm skin, vitamin E for anti-aging benefits and decrease fine lines and wrinkles, and lycopene to help fight free radicals.

Blueberries are a super fruit rich in fibre, again great for your digestive system! Vitamin A which is great for anti-aging and fighting acne (as the skin renewal anti-aging products 'retinol/retin-A' are vitamin A based products. Vitamin C again to help repair skin and aid in the circulatory health by increasing the strength of blood vessels beneath the skin. They are also one of the best sources of antioxidants.

Chia seeds are one of the top super foods which not only is packed full of antioxidants for anti-aging benefits, but has a wide range of other benefits for the body as well. I definitely include having this sprinkled on top of any food I have during the day! It's a great addition and just adds texture to the the yoghurt.

Raw organic honey... I think I will have an individual post about this ingredient.. it really does wonders for the body and especially the skin!

I haven't blogged in so long, although I had been wanting to... I think I will try to post everyday. I went through 2012, trying and testing so many different products. I have a lot to review and share! I can't wait to get started!!