Arbonne Blush - Berry

Along with lip products, blushes are my favourite makeup products to shop for and play around with. Who can resist the gorgeous pink, peachy and berry shades in powder or cream form? When I was sent this blush from Arbonne is Berry, I just about died. Can you see how stunning it is?

As is the case with my eyeshadow preferences, I am a bit pathetic when it comes to experimentation and creative makeup looks - neutrals all the way! If I am really honest with you, the prospect of wearing this blush terrified me! It's stunning, unlike anything I have ever seen before, but crazy. Crazy. 

This incredible mix of bold red with highly visible golden shimmer running through it is certainly unique. I am unfamiliar with higher end brands like Nars and Illamasqua, but it is something that I imagine they would have a dupe for. For someone like myself who has never tried anything like this, it was a lot of fun though somewhat frightening!

First of all, when applying this use the lightest hand you possibly can. Dab it on your brush, tap it off, blow off some more power and then brush it across the back of your hand a couple of times before you slap it onto your face. There is a fair chance that after all of that, it will still be too pigmented. Yes I like my blush to be fairly sheer in general, but when you are playing around with a bright red/gold blush, pigmentation is fairly important to keep under control.  

This blush has a gorgeous silky texture and applies easily to the skin. I expected it to be a little gritty with all the shimmer in it, but that was not a problem in the slightest. 

The lasting power of this blush is pretty impressive. I found that it was still visible (though just barely) by the end of a busy 10 hour day. For me personally, I really couldn't care less about my makeup after a crazy day so this works just fine for me. 

Like with the Arbonne eyeshadow in Smoke, the packaging is just perfect with its sturdy black case and clear plastic top. I love that the latch opens without having to dig your nails under the seal, thus chipping polish in the process. 

The Arbonne blushes come in 8 shades at a fairly hefty price of $40. They are free of parabens, phthalates, and talc with their key ingredients being polypeptides, cucumber extract, mallow extract and vitamins A, C and E. 

Though this blush is of the highest quality, I'm not sure I will get a whole load of wear out of it, simply because I am a bit pathetic and find the combination of the shocking (but gorgeous) red and golden glitter to be a little too much. For blush fanatics who want a unique addition to their collection, I expect this is the blush for you. 

I give this blush 7/10.

A light swatch...

MUA Intense Kisses High Intensity Gloss - Lips are sealed

MUA is a brand that I have never really explored due to the fact that it isn't highly accessible in Australia. I have read countless posts about their eyeshadow palettes and their lipsticks but not much about any of their other products. You can imagine how excited I was when I was given the opportunity to try out some of their lipglosses when I won Dawn's Giveaway from over at See it, Love it, Swatch it. 

My first impressions of the lipgloss were quite mixed. The packaging from the back looks quite classy, but then at the front appears to be a little cheap. I think if they removed the glittery sticker of the lips and changed the print to black it would look a lot nicer.

Still, the packaging is very effective and contains a doe foot applicator sponge, my favourite. I think it is so important for this product that it isn't a squeezy tube because this gloss is so thick and pigmented.

This gloss is literally like a liquid lipstick. I was so surprised when I went to apply it, because it is 100% opaque in one swipe and has the colour payoff like a really high quality lipstick. It feels like a gorgeous velvety gloss and is not in the slightest bit sticky or gritty. The texture is not too thin and not too thick, it's just perfect.

The only difficulty that arises with a product like this is that because it is still a gloss form, it is rather difficult to control any bleeding or colour slipping outside of the lipline. Usually this isn't too much of a problem with a semi-sheer gloss but when it is an opaque hot pink, it does look a little silly.

The shade 'Lips are sealed' is the most stunning berry pink kind of colour. When swatched it is a hot pink, rather bright kind of shade but once applied on my pigmented lips it appears to be significantly darker. In the tube you can see the slightest hint of tiny golden shimmer, but I am actually convinced that it has to be part of the packaging because it is not at all detectable on the lips.

When applied it is a glossy, satin type finish and then as time goes on and it wears off a little it leaves a beautiful stain. I felt as though my lips belonged on an advertisment with the rich colour and the incredible finish. The only complaint I could really come up with is that it made my teeth look a little yellow.

The silky smooth nature of this product and the incredibly pigmented colour makes for a very impressive product. Glosses are not at all my favourite kind of product but this is the exception. This lasts a reasonable amount of time, extended by the fact that it does stain the lips.

This does have a slight scent though it is neither pleasant nor unpleasant.


I don't know if you can get these in Australia but on their UK website they appear to be ridiculously cheap. I imagine it wouldn't be the case for Aussies, but you never know.

I love this gloss and would purchase another shade if I ever stumbled across them in Australia. I give this 9/10.

Behind the Blog - Behind the Frames

This week's Behind the Blog blogger is Sheri from Behind the Frames (yes, I may have accidentally ripped off her blog name for my blogging series!). I found Sheri on youtube and then discovered her blog, and what a good discovery it was! 

On Behind the Frames you can find reviews, giveaways, empties posts, monthly favourites, hauls and TAGs - basically the perfect mix of everything.

I asked her a couple of questions and she spoke about blogging, knitting and the USA. 

What is the significance of your blog name?

When most people look at me, they think that I’m a serious student and would never ever think that I’m interested (more like obsessed) with cosmetics and skincare. This also has to do with my image, as I wear glasses, so I decided to call my blog “Behind The Frames” because most people don’t know the other side of me!

Why do you enjoy blogging?

I aspire to become a journalist one day and blogging is a form of practice for me, to develop my writing skills and I also love expressing my ideas. I also love taking photos for my blog and the people I’ve met in the blogging community are just so lovely and supportive, making blogging an even more enjoyable experience for me.

Which type of makeup product do you tend to find yourself collecting the most?

Definitely lip products, especially lipsticks. There are just endless shades of pink and red and so many different colours that I feel like I just have to collect a rainbow of lip products!  But this leads to a problem of mine… which is that I end up buying a lip product which I already have a similar shade to!

Any special talents?

I love to knit! I started learning 2 years ago and I’ve knitted many scarves over the years, which I’ve gifted to my friends and relatives.  Sadly though, I haven’t learnt to knit anything else.

If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?

Definitely Korea or the USA. Why? To stock up on Asian cosmetics, buy out all the American drugstores and get some cute clothing items (for really affordable prices of course)!  

What is one beauty related thing you just cannot master?

Contouring. I cannot, for my life, use bronzer and achieve that lovely sculpted face with prominent cheekbones and a sun-kissed glow. I just end up looking unnatural and like I got tanned in the wrong places. I think the main issue is that I have too much fat on my cheeks which makes it an impossible task to bring out my “cheekbones” haha.

Thank you Sheri for being part of YouReview's 'Behind the blog' series!

If you would like to nominate a blogger to be featured, please don't hesitate to let me know by emailing me at candiceyoureview@yahoo.com.

Priceline, sales and grumpy people

Among the recent excitement of 40% off sales for two days at Priceline I have discovered that a) I tend to purchase things I don't need just because they are there, b) some Priceline shops don't stock all the brands and c) some people get really grumpy for no reason.

I ventured down to the most convenient Priceline today to pick up some Sinful colours nail polishes, FOA glitter polishes, a Rimmel eyeliner and a whole heap of Essence products, only to discover that that particular store didn't stock FOA or Essence. Really? Is this a joke? Anyhow, to double check that I wasn't blind I politely asked the sales lady if they stocked FOA, to which she responded, 'I thought that would be pretty obvious.' Well that was a bit uncalled for!

Anyhow, determined to make it to the 40% off sales I then dragged my father along to a second store only to find the exact same thing. Until today I wasn't even aware that some Pricelines didn't stock FOA or Essence! I went to the Rimmel stand to pick up the eyeliner I wanted and it was out of stock.

I figured it was pretty ridiculous to drag my Dad along to a third store when, after all, it is just makeup. I had hoped that perhaps I could order it off their website, but of course it has crashed and there is no chance of getting on to it.

 I am disappointed that I couldn't pick anything up with such incredible sales going on but there you have it. It has actually made me realise that I tend to buy things even when I don't really want them or need them just because they are on sale. Oh well, at least I got some driving practise even if it was a waste of time!

Here is what I was hoping to pick up in the sales today:

Face of Australia Gliteratti polish in Studio 54
Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeliner in Nude
Sinful Colours nail polish in Island Coral and Bare
Essence Stay all day 16 hour long lasting concealer
Essence Nail polish in assorted shades
Essence Nail Art Express Drops
Essence Blush Brush
Essence Eyeliner pen
Essence Eyeshadow brush
Essence French Manicure Whitener

When I think about it, all I desperately want is the FOA and Sinful colours polishes and the Essence Concealer and eyeliner pen. That cuts out 6 products that I would have bought unnecessarily, so I guess it is a good thing that I wasn't able to make it to the shops!

Did you manage to pick up anything exciting?

Priceline Sales - 23 & 24th April 2013

Just thought you all might like to know that tomorrow and on Wednesday all cosmetics in Priceline are 40% off! A pretty good deal in my opinion!

This sale is being carried out both online and in stores.

Let me know what you might splash out on tomorrow!

Revlon Colourstay Ultimate Suede lipstick - Cruise Collection, Finale and Muse

I was so lucky to win these three lipsticks from Revlon in a giveaway over on Yishan's blog Beauty Swatch.

I have to say, these weren't looking too promising after I read a number of negative blog reviews, but, being the lip product loving kind of person that I am I remained hopeful. Revlon have some awesome lip products so surely these must be the same.

I LOVE the three shades that I won (thank you for picking them out Yishan!), and I have fallen in love with Cruise Collection especially. It is the only orange/coral shade that I own in lipstick form (can you believe it?!) and I love it.

The first shade, Finale, is a gorgeous bright tomato red that I found so easy to wear. Red can be a bit scary, especially bright ones like this, but I didn't have too much trouble. The second shade is Cruise Collection, a gorgeous coral orange shade as mentioned. This is my favourite and I wear it all the time, quite surprising considering that I have always been a play-it-safe-with-pinks kind of girl. Last is Muse, a sightly blue toned hot pink! When built up it can be more of a darker raspberry pink.

The packaging of these lipsticks is fairly simple but effective. It's nothing luxurious but doesn't look cheap and tacky either. I like that the packaging changes according to the lipstick shade - this makes it really easy to identify the lipstick that I want when I rifle through my collection. The clear lid also means that if you are looking at the lipsticks from the top you can still see each of the colours.

These apply like a dream, with a velvety silky kind of feel. I like that they are slimmer than other lipsticks, which allows for more precise application without having to use a lipbrush. This is handy for the shade Finale which is important to apply well as it is a bright red. Initially they feel highly moisturising and 'juicy' but as they dry they change to be almost sticky. They lose their glossy finish and become a matte lipstick, then stain the lips though only very slightly. They are highly pigmented and provide an ample amount of colour in just one swipe. They can however be built up further if you wish. They have no taste or scent, neither pleasant nor unpleasant.

These wear off in the most unusual fashion. I found that all the product on my top lip would wear off completely yet on my bottom lip it would look exactly the same as when I first applied it. Then it would wear off in patches along my bottom lip. I've never had a lip product do this before so that is a bit strange. I did find it to be quite problematic as well, because no one wants to be walking around with only their bottom lip covered in lipstick and the top completely bare!

These lipsticks retail at $25.95, much more than I would ever really pay for a 'drugstore' lipstick. Though I love Revlon lip products (the Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic and Lip butter in Berry Smoothie are my go-to lip products), $26 is a bit much considering there are so many cheaper alternatives that are just as good. Having said that, I really do like these lipsticks a lot, and I am a bit of a cheapskate. If they didn't wear off so strangely perhaps I would dish out for them...perhaps.

I give these 7 out of 10.

L-R: Finale, Cruise Collection, Muse

Behind the Blog - More than Adored

This week is the second week of Behind the Blog  here on YouReview. Thank you for all your support, I appreciate it, and I am sure the featured bloggers do too. 

This week I asked Sarah from over at 'More than adored' a couple of questions about all kinds of things!

Her blog contains reviews, hauls, swatches, and  "Blogs I'm loving" posts, a selection of her blog favourites.  

Here is what she had to say about teaching, blogging and Creme Cup! 

Why did you start blogging?
I was a member on the site Beauty Heaven prior to starting my blog and I was obsessed with checking the ‘Just Blogged’ forum topic. I’ve always enjoyed writing and I thought ‘I could do this.’ I started my blog a very long time ago however I only started blogging seriously at the end of last year and have never looked back.

Why do you enjoy blogging?
I’ve always had a love for writing all through school I loved English and even considered doing a journalism course. The make up and beauty side of things was a growing love that I ended up just wanting to share my opinion and I’ve never looked back. I love being able to share everything beauty, just to show people what I have and love. Also just the community is amazing, I love talking to the other bloggers.

What is one piece of advice you could give to a new blogger?
If you’re thinking about starting a blog don’t do it because you think you’ll get sent free stuff. It’s not like that. YOU have to spend a lot of money on products and YOU have to be the one to review those products. It doesn’t get handed to you. It’s hard work and A LOT of work. I for one didn’t realise how much work there is behind the scenes.
So do it because you love to write and you feel passionate about whatever it is you’re going to blog about. It’s worth all the hard work and money if you love what you’re doing.

What is your go-to/HG lip product?
Oooo this is a tough one! It’s a draw between Mac Rebel or Mac Crème Cup. I think Mac do great quality lipsticks and these two shades I really love and reach for a lot.

What is the worst makeup crime someone could commit?
Still wearing yesterday’s eyeliner. I’m sorry but it’s such a trashy look. I cannot stand seeing girls who have just applied more over yesterdays smudges under their eyes.

What is your dream career/job?
Right now I’m studying teaching and I really can’t wait to be qualified. Dream job is a health teacher at a high school but also still running my blog.

Thanks a bunch Sarah for being featured on this 'Behind the Blog' post!

If you don't already follow Sarah, please go have a look around her blog here, and follow her too!

If you would like to nominate a blogger to be featured, please don't hesitate to let me know by emailing me at candiceyoureview@yahoo.com.

Arbonne Eyeshadow - Smoke

Crazy story. I had been seeing posts everywhere about the brand Arbonne and how impressive it was. The products looked gorgeous and they sucked me in. The only problem was that I am saving up and resisting all cosmetic related temptation, in addition to the fact that purchasing things online scares me (I know, I must be one in a million).  

Next thing I know there is an email in my inbox from the lovely ladies from Arbonne and a package in my letterbox. I love it when things like that happen.

The Arbonne eyeshadow in smoke is a compact single shadow with a metallic sheen. It is packaged in a classy looking, sturdy little case that is nail polish safe (no chance of chipping your nail polish when attempting to open pesky latches). I love the design, the Arbonne logo and especially the latch. Perfect.

The shadow, though appears to be quite cool toned and grey, is a lovely wearable mid toned brown that has a gorgeous shimmery finish. It is highly pigmented and a light swatch (as photographed) gives off excellent colour payoff. I have no trouble at all applying it - unlike other eyeshadows I am able to apply it to the eye with the same pigmentation that I can achieve with a swatch, a highly impressive trait.

The texture is lovely and silky, not at all chalky or crumbly. When applying it I have minimal to no fallout which is excellent, considering it is quite a dark shadow and would be very noticeable if it did.

I rarely wear eyeshadow primer as I don't often have trouble with eyeshadows creasing, however it was essential that I did for this particular shadow. I used the tiniest little bit of Urban Decay's primer potion and managed to extend the lasting power (without any creasing) for the entire day. I hadn't expected primer to make such a significant difference but it really did. 

Having said that, at the very end of the day when I did go to take it all off, there was slight creasing though nothing that would concern me all that much.

The shade range consists of twenty different colours ranging from purples and blues to blacks and browns. All of them are single eyeshadows (no quads or palettes) and cost $26 (more expensive than shadows you can pick up at Priceline but the same price as MAC shadows). 

As for the other details you may be interested in:

"Arbonne’s Eye Shadows suit all skin types and are infused with anti-caking agents such as Zinc Stearate, which will ensure that the colour remains smooth and even. Each powder shadow is infused with Vitamins A, C and E as well as Polypeptides which help to maintain the skins moisture and support the skin’s natural structure."

Basically I am a huge fan and the cool toned addition to my ever growing collection of neutral eyeshadows has been a welcome change, one that I will continue to incorporate into my eye makeup. It is a beautiful shade, beautiful quality although not the most beautiful price. Still, $26 isn't 'oh my god' worthy, I am just a bit stingy!

If you are interested in the Arbonne shadows (or any of their products for that matter) you can either check out their facebook page or go on to their website where you can also purchase their products.

I give this 8/10. 

Have you tried any Arbonne products?

Urban Decay Ink for Eyes Cream Eyeliner - Demolition

Being young with no steady income (birthday money doesn't count, right?!) means that you learn to either save up for big purchases, or stick to drugstore/cheaper makeup that you can pick up with quite good mark downs when on sale. Though this does satisfy my appetite for makeup, being a beauty blogger means that I am well aware of all the gorgeous higher end products, and eventually you start to want products from the more glamorous brands like NARS, MAC, Benefit etc. One of those brands was Urban Decay and I was so lucky to get to try something out when Jen from The Shopping Queen held a giveaway and I won it!

I wasn't really all that sure of what I was getting...I knew it was an eyeliner from Urban Decay but I hadn't actually heard of the Ink for eyes eyeliner. You can imagine what I thought when it arrived - it is just so beautiful.

The packaging is incredible, both the box and the actual product. You can see that the box is a rich purple with vibrant blue and green metallic on the peacock. It's a work of art in itself. On the eyeliner it is a black outline on the silver plastic, and though it isn't perhaps as eye catching, I think it is still incredible.

The shape of the product itself is highly unusual, but amazing! Usually gel eyeliners are in circular little tubs, however this is in an elongated rectangle type shape with the top flipping up on a hinge to reveal the product, a double sided brush and a mirror. It's perfect. The only complaint I could make about this is that the shape of the mirror (being long and skinny) is a little bit useless for anything other than eyeliner.

I LOVE the brush, though the only eyeliner brush I had prior to this one was the brush supplied with the Maybelline gel liner (which I really liked too). It is so thin and angled and allows for the easiest application. I like my liner to be thin and subtle most of the time, and due to the precision that can be achieved using the Urban Decay brush it suits me well. The sponge on the other end, used for smudging, is not something that I really use though I imagine others would find it incredibly useful.

The eyeliner itself is in the shade Demolition, a dark brown without any shimmer or glitter. I find that it is quite creamy and therefor easy to apply but does not smudge or transfer throughout the day. It is very pigmented though it can be difficult to achieve the opacity you might expect when you are applying it to the lashline on the super thin brush. It lasts all day on my eyes with ease.

I have been using this non stop and it seems as though I have only made the tiniest dent in the product. I get the impression that this will last for a very long time.

For my first taste of Urban Decay, I am really impressed. I couldn't find this on their website so I have no idea how much it costs, but I imagine for Australians it wouldn't be cheap. I think the Maybelline gel liner (which I also have in brown) is pretty much the same, but the Urban Decay packaging trumps every other product I have ever seen.

I give this product 9 out of 10.

Behind the Blog - Sailor Klerr

To kick off YouReview's first ever, 'Behind the blog' series is Claire, an Australian blogger from over at Sailor Klerr. 

Claire's blog is a mixture of reviews, swatches, product comparisons, tags and lifestyle based posts. 

I asked Claire a number of questions and here is what she had to say about blogging, all things nautical and microbiology.

Why did you start blogging?

I was really interested in the blogging community, and wanted to join in! At first I wasn't really sure what direction I wanted to go in, as you can tell from my posts at the very start of my blog. I gave up for a while and then started reading and watching a lot of beauty bloggers and vloggers. I started to get into makeup and thought it would be really fun to start my own blog.

What is the significance of your blog name?

Klerr is a nickname a friend gave me a while ago, and I love all things nautical (except, ironically, actually being on a ship at sea) so adding Sailor seemed to fit.

What is your dream career/job?

I don't really have just one dream job. There are so many jobs that I'd love to do, including being a customs officer, a microbiologist and an epidimiologist. I do know I want to work in science though, and I've spent 3 years at uni working towards that.

What is one piece of advice you could give to a new blogger?

Don't be afraid! You need to be blogging for yourself, not anyone else. If you worry about who's going to read it, or follower numbers, you're going to have a bad time! Enjoy it, and write about whatever feels right for you.

Which type of makeup product do you tend to find yourself collecting the most?

Nail polish! I have so many already but I still find it hard to put down a colour if I find a nice one in the shops. My collection would be completely ridiculous now if it wasn't for the fact I need to save money for traveling. I really enjoy doing nail art though, so my collection is justifiable and used.

What is your go-to/HG lip product?

I have so many lip products I love, but my MAC lipsticks, particularly Angel, would probably be my most used and loved.

Thank you so much Claire for being part of the 'Behind the Blog' series. Please check Claire's blog out at http://sailor-klerr.blogspot.com.au/.

If you would like to nominate a blogger to be featured, please don't hesitate to let me know by emailing me at candiceyoureview@yahoo.com.

New Series - Behind the Blog

I love a good blogging series from time to time. When my 'What do you think?' Wednesdays series came to an end, I began thinking up another series that I could run on YouReview.

After much thought I realised that I wanted to give other bloggers a chance to get their name out there and showcase their blog. After all, one of the greatest things about blogging is getting to interact with other bloggers.

Every fortnight there will be a 'Behind the blog' post and a blogger and their blog will be featured.

The first ever 'Behind the blog' post will be posted tomorrow, so stay tuned!

If you want to nominate a blogger whose posts you love to read, please email me at 'candiceyoureview@yahoo.com.'

Beauty Advice for your 16 year old self

I started this blog back when I was 14 years old,  and to be honest I had no idea what I was doing whatsoever. I was hardly even into beauty, but I desperately wanted to start a blog and had an ever growing collection of about five lipbalms (strange how I though that was a lot back then and now it doesn't even rate on my radar in terms of my makeup collection!) and figured a lip balm review wouldn't be too hard to write.

Well, I was pretty appalling if I'm honest with you but I feel that I have grown a lot since then, certainly expanding my knowledge of makeup and beauty. Anyhow, back to the story! - as I do have a beauty blog, I notice other people's makeup more than anything else, and I think it is safe to say that many teens are prone to making horrible makeup mistakes.

If you could pass on some wisdom, what would you say? I myself am very conscious of my makeup and how I appear to the outside world...I cater my makeup for the occasion, that is for sure!

Were you victim to an awful makeup 'look' when you were 16? What should I stop myself from before it is too late! For those of you who are my age, what do you ensure that you never mess up when it comes to makeup?!

I would love to hear any horror stories you have to share!

NOTD - Revlon Nail Enamel in Graceful

I received this as a freebie, part of a Priceline beauty bag that I picked up when attending this awesome event.

This is the first Revlon nail product that I have ever tried and I am really impressed. Though it isn't a shade that I would usually go for, I actually found that I quite liked it and grew to appreciate it more and more as I wore it over time.

This certainly wasn't the case for everyone, and I did get many comments regarding the 'disgusting/ugly/weird coloured polish' on my nails, but I think it is acceptable and I shall continue to wear it.

I achieved what you can see in the photos using only one coat - very impressive! It also dries really quickly which is ideal for impatient people like myself who usually end up ruining their nails because they get so bored and use their hands before the polish is dry.

I don't think I would buy Revlon polishes because they are so much more expensive than brands like Ulta3 which I feel are equally effective. 

Mini Lancome Juicy Tubes

The word lipgloss has always, always, always meant 'Lancome Juicy tubes' to me, basically since I was born. I don't know why that is, especially because I never owned one - perhaps the first lipgloss I ever heard about or came across was a Juicy Tube - but even now, since my knowledge of lipgloss has expanded, that is still what the word lipgloss means to me.

You can imagine then, how excited I was to receive these three mini Lancome Juicy Tubes as part of Dawn's giveaway prize from 'See it, love it, swatch it.' Unfortunately they don't appear to have names, so I shall describe them to you. I did look the shades up on the website and guessed what they might be so please correct me if I am wrong.

1- Bright red with golden red shimmer dispersed throughout (Couldn't find a match but it looks most like Bolole)
2 - Pale pink with golden/slightly orange toned shimmer throughout, pearly finish (I think it is Dreamsicle)
3 - Bright medium pink with silver/blue toned shimmer throughout (I think it is Miracle)

First up is the packaging. To be honest, considering that Lancome is supposed to be a pretty respectable kind of brand, the packaging isn't all that impressive. It's nice and all but hardly anything to rave about. As is the case with every lipgloss, I struggle to get along with this squeezy tube type packaging, much preferring a doe foot applicator, but that's just personal preference.

As mentioned before, each of these glosses are jam packed with glitter - I'm talking to a crazy extent. For someone who isn't all that keen on the idea of blue glitter coated lips, this doesn't work all that well with me. I've tried to talk myself into loving the disco-ball feel of these glosses, but it's just not happening. Maybe if I was 5 years old I might be a little less apprehensive. Might.

So that little (uh, quite large actually) hurdle was a challenge to get over, but once having moved past that I got to the formula. Oh dear. I'm sorry Lancome Juicy Tubes, I really wanted to like you I really really did, but you didn't make it easy for me. Why must you be so sticky, thick and glitter filled?

Though they look so pigmented and different from one another in the tube, on the lips you can barely even tell the difference, they just all look exactly the same.

I hate to say it but I have to give these 3 out of 10.

What a shame. But you know what? I am still so glad that I own these iconic tubes of blue based glitter because if I didn't, I wouldn't be a real beauty blogger!

Honestly, I am glad I was so lucky to win these because now I know what Juicy tubes are actually like, and despite not getting on all that well with them, they still represent the word 'lipgloss' in my mind and I sure as hell won't be getting rid of them any time soon.

Have you tried any Lancome Juicy Tubes and did you have better luck?

Fundraising - Do you have any words of wisdom to donate?

Fundraising. The word strikes fear into my heart. Not because I'm a horrible person who cannot part with their cash, not at all. In fact, I donate money to charity and spend a heck of a lot of time volunteering and organising money making events within my school community. The reason the word fundraising causes me distress is when I'm the one running around asking for money. It is so hard.

Back in January, I believe, I spoke a little about the fact that I was excited about going on a school mission trip in July this year. As part of the deal we are expected to do a whole bunch of fundraising which has been fine and we have been doing very well. Until now.

We are holding a silent auction at a popular gathering our school holds annually. That's where it becomes tricky. I find it SO difficult to ask for money/donations and now I have to go around to all the local businesses and ask them to donate their good for the auction. I'm finding it impossibly difficult.

So, what is the purpose of this post? Well, I was wondering if any of you lovely ladies had done anything like this before and if you have any tips or advice you could give.

Is it worth me sending emails out to bigger companies or should I stick to little, local businesses? Are there any businesses renowned for making small donations or is it like drawing blood from a stone? Should I look for gift vouchers, food, services or any particular types of donations? What usually sells well at a silent auction?

Any advice would be of so much use because, as you can see, I have no idea what I am doing and to be honest the whole thing scares me to death!

Monthly Favourites - March

Believe it or not, it's time for another Monthly Favourites post!

This month it was ridiculously easy to pick which products needed to go in this post. I didn't have to spend more than a second considering any of these products.

Lips: For March my most used lip product has definitely been the Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie. I purchased this in the middle of March and have been wearing this every single day since. It is the most gorgeous Berry shade that isn't too dark or scary. The only problem I have with this is the crazy price in comparison to America, but I picked it up as part of a deal so it wasn't so bad.

Eyes: I was lucky enough to win an Urban Decay Ink for Eyes Eyeliner from Jen over at The Shopping Queen in the shade Demolition. Though I typically don't wear all that much eyeliner, I have worn this nearly every day because of the gorgeous formula and the incredible brush that is included. SO impressed.

Nails: I wrote a review on the Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream that, again, I was lucky enough to win in a giveaway from Dawn over at See it, Love it, Swatch it. This is so effective at keeping my nails and cuticles moisturised and in good condition after being treated so very poorly!


Face: For face products, the only product that I have been using consistently on a regular basis is a new moisturiser of mine - the Simple Hydrating Moisturiser. It is light weight but gets the job done and is also free of all the nasty things that you wouldn't want to be part of your skincare. I'm very pleased with this new change to my skin care routine.

Other: Last but not least is the 'other' category. I chose to feature this pair of shoes because they are literally all that I wear these days! As they are simple black flats they go with everything and even better is that I can pick them up from Rubi shoes between $5-$10. Excellent!