A new year and week's worth of shadow

Hello, it's 2016. What the heck. Since it's already the 20th of January, I'm not going to repeat the usual stuff you say in the new year because you've already read a billion of those posts.

I've been on holidays, road trippin' with my boyfriend for weeks. Yep, it was totally teenage movie-esque full of camping, ice-cream, beaches, starry nights and loud music. Damn, I was living the dream.

But now I'm back and starting to think about the year ahead. I'm going to get around to making some little goals - I hope to write a post about it once I've really gathered all the information in my own head! - and thinking about what is to come.

In the meantime, I thought I'd give you an interesting post (that, by the way, has taken me so long to make). It's 6 eyeshadow looks that I wore over a period of two or so weeks. Most of them involve some of my newer shadows by Sleek and Makeup Geek. Enjoy!


Date Night

My boyfriend and I went out dancing and I felt it was the perfect chance to get a little glam. I've always been hesitant around black and grey shadows but I think I managed to pull it off in a classy manner! I used my Makeup Geek Shadow in Corrupt as a base shadow, with Urban Decay's shadow Virgin on the inner corner and Half Baked in the centre of the lid. Both of the Urban Decay Shadows are from the NAKED palette. My mascara was the Rimmel Scandal Eyes.





Dessert bar with the girls

I have been loving exploring all the dessert bars around the place with my friends. I chose Inglot's shadow in 09. It's a stunning rose gold that changes from the rose to the gold in the light which you can see from the photos. I put a tiny bit of MAC's Cork in the crease, lined my eyes with the Maybelline Master Precise Liquid liner and put on some Rimmel Scandal Eyes Mascara.

Lazy day at home

Purple shadow was never something that interested me at all, however when I purchased the Makeup Geek Starter palette it came with some purple shades and I've since found them to be really flattering. I used the lilac matte shade Unexpected and then applied a tiny bit of the dark shimmery purple Drama Queen in the outer corner. Because I have Hazel/Green eyes, I think it complements them really well. The one thing I do have to be careful of is that it doesn't look like I have a black eye! I used Maybelline's Great Lash Lots of Lashes mascara.



Evening music gig

I decided once again to venture into the realm of black eyeshadows, using a matte black from the Makeup Geek palette called Corrupt. It is the only shade I used for this look. I simply lined my upper lashline with it and then blended it upwards, creating a very subtle smokey eye. I lined my upper lashline with a super thin line of Maybelline's Master Precise liquid liner, and smudged some of Rimmel's Exaggerate eye definer (in black) along my lower lashline.

Getting Creative

I picked up the Sleek i-Divine Palette in Storm and I couldn't resist getting a bit creative with some of the gorgeous shadows in there. The shades don't have names so I'll simply describe the colours I used. I used a golden olive shade all over the lid, with a dark forest green in the outer corner and champagne in the inner corner. I lined my upper lashline with the Face of Australia Kajal Eyeliner Stix in Horus. I put some of the golden olive on my lower lashline. I was surprised with how much I loved the green!

Christmas Party

In my opinion, a Christmas party calls for a cranberry coloured eye! I wanted to use my Sleek palette (again) which was perfect as it has a pink shade that I used all over my lids and a deep cranberry shade that I applied in the outer corners. I applied a tiny amount of shimmery white shadow in the inner corners. For mascara, I used Rimmel's Scandaleyes Rocking Curves mascara which has been my go-to for a while.

I don't wear red/cranberry shades often, but when I do I recall how much I love them!

MAC Eyeshadow Palate in Amber Times Nine AKA the biggest disappointment

This should have been the palate of all palates...My first ever MAC shadow, 9 in fact, all in beautiful shades I would get so much use out of and for a bargain (okay, heavy discount) of $65. Yet this palate has been such a huge disappointment. 

We'll start with the good things as this part will be short. As I mentioned, the shades, oh the shades. They are unbelievably beautiful and I knew as soon as I spotted this that I would get a whole heap of use out of them.

The packaging is lovely, and I actually quite like that they are smaller than the typical shadow size as I don't tend to use eyeshadows up terribly quickly. 

The price was an absolute bargain considering that single MAC shadows are $33 each. 9 MAC shadows for $65 seemed like the most perfect way to try out some highly raved about shadows that had been on my wishlist for a very long time.

And that's where all the positives finish.

This is undoubtedly one of the most poorly pigmented palates I have ever come across - I wouldn't pay $10 for it. There are three shades out of the entire palate that are visible on the eyelids; Georgia Peach, Cork and Aromatic. Notice that all of these are matte finishes.

The rest were hopeless. The lighter shades simply didn't show up on my skin tone, though I expect they might a little on darker skin. And then there were the glittery shades, poorly pigmented bases with chunks of glitter reminiscent of a child playing princess with those shoddy lip glosses marketed at 5 year olds. Honestly MAC, I know you must have good shadows because the whole world raves about them, so why did you muck this palate up?!

Furthermore, there were three shadows in particular that I was just bursting to try: Kitties (F), Creative Copper (L) and Don't Tell (L) which turned out to be the three worst shades. In fact, Don't Tell just makes me want to cry in despair for spending money on it. Sigh.

For the photos below, I swatched the shadow 2-3 times on my arm so as to make it as visible as possible.

There's really not much more to say about this palate except simply don't buy it. Perhaps and investment in two single shadows would have been wiser but at this point I've lost faith in MAC shadows. Please please please tell me if you have had any luck with this palate (or one of the other 9 shadow palates) because I really feel I must have received a dodgy one as so many people adore MAC shadows.

Monthly Favourites - February

 February is done and dusted! This month has been all about getting back into school (and remembering how exhausting it can be!) as well as my birthday month! This never happens but I actually feel as though this month has really dragged on, and I think that is because it's been hard to transition from the two month holiday block into year 12.

Lips: When I sat down to think about my favourite lip product for the month it was such a no-brainer. I've actually gone with a lip pairing which is my MAC lipstick in Creme Cup (a birthday present) and a Model Co lipstick in Strip Tease which I won in a giveaway and will be reviewing very soon. Creme cup is just heaven on Earth and topped with a gloss I just can't get enough of it.

Eyes: This was another completely obvious choice, and that is the Max Factor Mascara I also won in a giveaway. I've worn this every day for over a month now because I love the gorgeous length and volume it gives to my lashes. This is another product I will be reviewing soon because I just love it!

Face: I have had the most awful skin ever which I think is down to a huge stress and anxiety overload. Nevertheless, I've managed it pretty well with my trusty old Face of Australia stick concealer. It really is down to the smallest nub after about a year of use but it is just so easy and quick to slap on before school.

Nails: I honestly could not choose a nail product this month as they have been in shocking condition, peeling and splitting like nobody's business. I've kept them completely polish free and have been crossing my fingers that they will get better soon!

Other: To make up for my nails category I have included two random favourites, my first being the Our Eutopia Candle in Strawberry Champagne. This literally smells like a blend of strawberry and lemonade, the most amazing sparkly scent that fills my entire room even when the candle isn't burning. I am going to be searching high and low at Target to find another one of these!

My other random favourite is a Minkpink dress I grabbed at the Op-Shop for only $9. It is a little more expensive than what I normally would pay at the Op-shop however it is a good brand and fits magically, I think it is so flattering.

Resolution Review

It was a bit nerve wracking to look back on my resolutions this month as I was pretty sure I had wandered off the track a little bit!

I set a resolution to read more books this year, and although I've not read many books of my choosing, I've certainly read a look of textbooks and English texts. I think I am going to give myself a little bit of credit this time, because although it was compulsory to read 1984 by George Orwell and Perfume by Patrick Suskind for English, I absolutely loved them both!

Next resolution was to drink more water, and I was doing well for the first half of the month but then totally and utterly messed it up! It is really hard to drink lots of water at school because I just cannot handle the idea of missing class to go to the toilet! I need to get better at this resolution!

Next was to continue blogging and here I am, typing away at this post! Success!

So there are my February favourites, quite a nice little collection of things if I do say so myself! I would love to know your topic product for the month just passed!

MAC lipstick in Creme Cup

Let me tell you a crazy story. There once was a little 14 year old girl who started what would eventually be the greatest accident in her life - a beauty blog. She blogged for years, loving every second of creating, publishing and interacting with other bloggers and was completely content reading and writing in her little corner of the internet. Then one day, for her birthday, she received a MAC lipstick in the mail from a beautiful fellow beauty blogger and almost lost the plot with happiness and gratitude for the overwhelming kindness she had been the recipient of. Also, how did that blogger know that it was Creme cup that she had drooled about her entire life?!

Yep, that little girl was me and I still can't believe that it happened. You may be thinking that I've made a bit of a big deal about this - I mean, it's a lipstick for goodness sake- but I am so grateful for every single person in the blogging world who has left a little message or read my posts and made my day just that little bit better (and seriously, for a kid whose sole income is the twenty bucks she receives at Christmas, a MAC lipstick is kind of a big deal).


This is it guys, the lipsticks above all lipsticks. I may be a little biased because its my first MAC lipstick and I've practically wanted one since I was born, but it has several factors that allow it to deserve that title. I knew there had to be a reason every girl worth her weight in eyeshadow shouted praises from the rooftops about MAC.

It's basically perfection. Creamy, vanilla scented, glossy lipstick perfection. As for the shade, don't even get me started on how beautiful it is (although sadly I will admit it won't suit everyone and once in a blue moon can be a little challenging to work with).

I've worn this non stop since receiving it and it is just the most beautiful all round nude. It's the ideal balance of pink and brown, a your lips but better shade if I ever saw one. It can be ever so slightly on the borderline too pale side, however this is only evident when I'm trying to (unsuccessfully) make a foundation that is a shade too dark for me work.

This looks absolutely gorgeous on the lips, glossy and creamy, although if you have excessively dry lips (which I personally do get from time to time) it can accentuate those flaky areas. This is easily solved by a quite application of a lip scrub and lip balm before use.

I've not yet decided what I think about the packaging. I think I love it because it is the iconic MAC lipstick packaging, although I can most definitely recognise the common item it is believed to resemble! Nevertheless, lady-product-lookalike or not, the gritty charcoal black and silver tube is flawless and you can just tell it's fabulous simply from looking at it!

This is not extraordinarily long wearing but satisfactory in my opinion. As it is a cremesheen finish it does wear off a little quicker than the other finishes MAC has to offer, but it doesn't bother me a great deal.

This incredible addition to my collection has provided fuel to a fire, I can already tell. I now have lists of MAC shades that I am determined to pick up, ranging from lipsticks, blushes and eyeshadows. Too bad my wallet has lost a bit of weight over the holidays and seems to have gone on strike!

I love this gorgeous lipstick and can't wait to pick up some more. Thank you, dear gift giver, and thank you to everyone who reads my little blog!

The Lipstick Tag

I was tagged by Amanda from Thai Tales and Basmah from Lacee & Lattes to do the highly popular (and super fun to read) Lipstick Tag. Being the avid lip product lover that I am, I personally can't think of a more suitable tag for me to do.

The Questions

1. How many lipsticks do you own?
I have 28 technical lipsticks (balms, stains, crayons, creams, glosses, and butters not included!) and 93 lip products. Oh God.


2. What was the first lipstick you owned?
I'm not 100% sure if my memory is correct, but I believe it is a Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipstick in Metallic Mauve, which I actually still own but would never wear in a million years. It is this awful, painfully frosty pink that I used to think was the bees knees. Back in the day I wrote a cringe worthy review on it...read it if you dare.

3. What is your favourite lipstick brand?
When it comes to lipsticks I've not yet found my favourite brand, but for overall lip products Revlon absolutely smashes it out of the park.

4. What is your most worn lipstick?
To date, my most worn lipstick is actually probably the cheapest one I own, and that is an Essence lipstick in All About Cupcake. I find that this is the most incredibly perfect shade with a level of pigmentation that is just right. I love it so much and it is so darn cheap.

5. What is your favourite finish?
I love creamy lipsticks, the ones that you can tell are moisturising and comfortable to wear simply by looking at them!

6. What was the last lipstick you bought?
I myself didn't buy it, but the last lipstick I received was MAC's Creme Cup as a birthday gift from a beautiful blogger. It's my first ever MAC lipstick, one that I have practically wanted since I was born and her kindness literally blew me away. I feel like a real beauty blogger/lipstick fiend now that I own a MAC lipstick!

7. How many lip products do you currently have in your bag?
I included both my handbag and my school bag and here is what I found...

- Nivea Fruity Shine Lip Balm in Guava
- Maybelline Baby Lips in Anti Oxidant Berry
- Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendeazvous
- Essence lipstick in All About Cupcake
- Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla and Macadamia

No wonder I'm always losing lip products, I'm carrying so many around!

8. What is your favourite red lip colour?
My favourite Red lip colour is Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic, and my favourite red lipstick is the Revlon Colour Stay Ultimate Suede lipstick in Finale.

9. How do you store your lipsticks?
I store some of them in the acrylic lipstick holders that everyone seems to have, and the rest in buckets/mugs (in the same way that you would store makeup brushes).

10. Which lipsticks are you currently lusting after?
Which lipsticks aren't I currently lusting after?! I definitely have my eyes on more MAC lipsticks after having had my first taste of them. I couldn't narrow down the shades I have my eye on, so here they all are: Lovelorn, Crosswires, Coral Bliss, Please me, Watch me Simmer and Russian Red!

Thanks for tagging me ladies, I had a lovely time answering these questions. It's also inspired me to wear some of my less popular lip products too! I tag Sheri from Behind the Frames, Mishelle from Mishelle's Sleepy Time and Jasmine from Sweetaholic beauty.

My Summer Lipstick Wardrobe

Summer is finally here and that means bright and fun lipsticks! Because lip products are my favourite and I've acquired quite a collection, it was too much of a challenge to narrow it down to just a couple of lipsticks, so I ended up with a top 12 for summer!

1. Face of Australia Lip Quench Moisturising Lipstick in Lychee Crush
I swear basically every beauty blogger tried this lipstick out when it exploded into the beauty world at the beginning of this year. Though it's not flattering on everyone, if you can pull it off it does look gorgeous as a neutral lip.

2. Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Lolita
Everyone needs a tinted lipbalm for summer, and this one by Maybelline ticks every box. Apart from the fact that mine is all mangled because it went through the wash, it is moisturising, gives a beautiful tint and feels wonderful on the lips.

3. Essence Lipstick in All About Cupcake
This is my go to your-lips-but-better shade because it is just the most perfect everyday pink shade I've ever come across. It's moisturising, not too sheer and not too pigmented and costs barely anything. This is actually one of my favourite lipsticks of all time.

4. Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart
The Revlon lip butters need no introduction because almost everyone and their dog owns one. They're all round amazing, especially this gorgeous bright pink shade, Sweet Tart.

5. Rimmel London Kate Moss Spring Collection Lipstick in 16
I do love my pinks, and this warm toned soft pink suits just about everyone. It's everything you want a summery pink to be.

6. Revlon Colourstay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Cruise Collection
Everyone needs a coral/orange toned shade for summer and that's where this lippie comes in. It's not too frightening for someone who perhaps isn't used to the more orange kind of shades and is flattering for all skintones.

7. Essence Stay With Me Long lasting lipgloss in Candy Bar
This is a gorgeous shade, a mix between coral and red that works wonderfully. As the name suggests, it is a long lasting gloss that makes me think of juicy fruits and lounging around the pool.

8. MAC Lipglass in Kumquat
I'm really not a fan of the formulation of this gloss, but who could walk past the tangerine goodness that this gloss has to offer. It's pigmented enough to be noticeable on the lips but still super wearable and flattering. Ahhh, if only you weren't so sticky!

9. Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic
This is my staple red lip product and I wear it about once a week (impressive considering I can't wear anything like this to school!). From the moment I purchased it I knew it would be a favourite of mine, and with a formula as magical as this, this is the summery red shade everyone needs something like in their collection!

10. BYS Lipstick in Coral Kiss
Although the packaging is perhaps the worst I have ever come across for a lipstick, when it comes down to it this isn't all that bad. Sure, the formula's not amazing and it's a little hit and miss, for the dirt cheap price I paid for it it's not all that surprising. Nevertheless, for a pinky orange shade this looks lovely and when you're wearing it you would never know it was so darn cheap.

11. Revlon Colourstay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Muse
This is a daring blue toned hot pink. I would normally associate this kind of shade with a more wintery type look, but let's be honest here, there really isn't a better time to pull this out than in the middle of summer!

12. Face of Australia Sheer Gloss Lip Crayon in Sundae
This was the first lip crayon I ever tried and I have been completely obsessed ever since. This is a neutral brown shade that is quite flattering and easy to work with. It's nothing special, which is exactly why it is so good.

Top: Shades 7-12
Bottom: Shades 1-6

As you can see, I'll be going crazy with these lipsticks these summer holidays! I would love to know what's in your summer lipstick wardrobe!

MAC lipglass - Kumquat

This is my first ever MAC product. Ever.

Call me crazy, but I've been drooling at my computer screen for so long now, devastated about the fact that I don't own a lipstick in Lovelorn or Creme Cup, or an eyeshadow in All that Glitters or Woodwinked or Naked Lunch. $36 dollars is just a painful amount to fork out for a lipstick when Essence has a gorgeous lipstick in All about Cupcake that I wear on a regular basis for $4. Still...

And then one day I found out that I had won Sophie's giveaway from Born to Buy and I just about had a heart attack when I realised that included in the prize was a product from MAC! Though my parents didn't appreciate how amazing this was, even they cracked a smile when they were blessed to witness my excitement regarding the news. MAC. I was going to own a product from MAC.

Just before we get into the review, I must say that I am not really a gloss person. I love my lipsticks and lip balms but glosses are just not something I wear on a regular basis, so I am kind of biased when I write the review in the sense that it takes a lot to impress me with a gloss!

The MAC lipglass in Kumquat is a gorgeous shimmery orange tangerine colour. In the tube it actually looks quite terrifying, and if it was an opaque lipstick I certainly wouldn't have the guts to wear it. However, as it is a lipgloss, when applied it is fairly sheer and instead of a full on orange look you get a gorgeous hint of orange with slight golden shimmer throughout. I like that this isn't too pigmented but it still has a decent amount of colour. I don't have any similar product like this in my collection so it has been fun playing around with a whole new lip shade. I like to combine it with other lipsticks to alter their colour, but even on its own I am able to pull this shade off.

I had difficulties with the ridiculously sticky nature of this gloss. It was so thick and tacky that even trying to open my mouth seemed a challenge as it stuck my lips together. When I applied only the tinest bit of it, it was a lot easier to manage, but of course the colour and shine was lost. My hair was in a ponytail yet I still found myself constantly pulling hair from my lips until my hair was just an awful orange gloopy mess. The only upside to this was that it meant that the gloss stayed on my lips for a very long time, but when it comes down to it I really just didn't get on with this aspect of the formula.

This gloss is super shiny, and though I'm not usually a fan of shimmer in this it is so subtle that I can deal with it. I really feel as though I've stepped out of some kind of advertisement when I wear this as my lips are stunningly glossy.

I really like the packaging of this gloss, especially that it has a doe foot applicator as opposed to a squeezy tube (I really, really don't like them!). The simplicity of it makes it look classy and put together, and I like that it is fairly small at only 4.8g as it is easy to slip into your makeup bag.

Here in Australia these cost a crazy $35, a price that I personally would not pay for a lipgloss no matter how incredible it is.

When it comes down to it, this product really hasn't blown my mind as I had hoped. In fact, the only reason I would wear this is for the gorgeous colour because the formula is pretty poor in comparison to my all time favourite Savvy gloss, or even the Essence stay with me or Australis glosses. This is quite disappointing considering it is my first ever MAC product, but even though I don't LOVE this it still holds a special spot in my collection and I will continue using this and won't be getting rid of it any time soon.

 I give this 6 out of 10.

Monthly Favourites - February

So I didn't have much luck with posting in February. I started back at school and from day one it was full on with tests and assignments pummeling me from all directions. It was actually quite frustrating having so little time to write posts, because I was playing with all my incredible giveaway winnings and I really wanted to share that with you all. Hopefully March is the month of more posts!

I didn't wear a heap of makeup this month but there were certainly clear favourites!

For eyes this month was undoubtedly my Inglot palette (a birthday present to myself!). I did a review on this so if you wish to read about it you can find it here, but basically I was able to choose the shades that suited me most, and that is what I did. The pigmentation, lasting power, formula and all that jazz is just perfect, as well as the gorgeous packaging. Love it!

In the lips category I wore a MAC lipglass in Kumquat most often, not because I loved the shade all that much (which I do) but because it is my first ever taste of MAC and so of course I was going to go a little crazy and make the most of it! I am yet to post a review but there will be one!

For the face, I used the Nude Soft Focus illuminator most often, and found it to give the most natural looking, gorgeous glow. A little less glittery than my FOA one and a little more peachy than my gorgeous Essence powder highlighter, it is the perfect in-between when my other two just don't seem to be right for the job. Once again this is a product I am yet to do a review on, but when I do it will certainly be a positive one.

Next up was the nails category, and as I didn't wear any nail polish once this month (crazy, right?!) I decided to make it a fragrance category as I turned to my mini Be Delicious perfume from DKNY that I received for Christmas. It is the most beautiful fruity scent.

Last is the other category and it must go to a bracelet I was given for my birthday.

So there is another month gone by! I will try really hard to build up a bit of a collection of posts so that when I get really busy my posting remains somewhat regular!

MAC in Target?!

You may have heard a whisper or two about this exciting news, but if you haven't, Target is going to stock MAC products!

According to their online catalogue, select stores are going to be selling a small range of MAC products at lower prices, including lipsticks, eyeshadows and blushes.

I don't know about you but this isn't something I really imagined would ever happen, but I sure am excited about it! I actually don't own any MAC products but that hasn't stopped me from drooling over them and making endless lists of all the beautiful products that I will buy 'one day!'

The prices listed in the catalogue are as follows:
Studio fix powder plus foundation - $29
Blush Powder - $24
Lipglass - $21
Eye Kohl Pencil - $19
Lipstick - $21
Eyeshadow - $19

Now I am a bargain lover and can't stand the thought of paying more than I have to, but I am pretty sure that these prices are ridiculously cheap in comparison to what these products usually retail for. According to Target the foundation is supposed to sell for $49, the lipstick $36 and the eyeshadows $19. What a bargain!

This may be the excuse I have been waiting for the purchase my first MAC product! The only thing that I do think might happen is that they only stock the unloved, unpopular shades. Hopefully this is not the case!

For those of you who own a MAC product or two, do you have any suggestions? I'm most interested in the lipsticks, then the eyeshadows then the blushes and I would love to hear your shade suggestions. For lipsticks I'm thinking Creme Cup or Lovelorn and for the eyeshadow Woodwinked or Naked lunch.  As for the blushes....I have no idea!