Monthly Favourites - October

Can you believe that it is the end of October, which means that it is now November, which means that it is nearly the end of the year. How did that happen?

This month I've tried out a couple of new products which has been exciting!

Face: We shall begin with a face product, which has without a doubt been the Garnier BB cream for oily skin. I've been a loyal user of the originall BB cream by Garnier however I was never 100% thrilled with it, finding that it left my skin feeling a little greasy. The oily skin version, however, is awesome.

Eyes: For eyes I have a product that I picked up for $6 when it was on sale, and it is the Max Factor Wild Shadow Pencil in Caramel Rage. I think this is the first Max Factor product I have ever tried, and my goodness I just love it! I love my lip crayons and now I've come to the conclusion that eye crayons are the best too! A review on this should be coming up soon.

Nails: I adore my red polishes, so for October I've used the Revlon Top speed polish in Fire over and over and over.

Lips: I've been having so much trouble with chapped lips lately, and the only product that has been able to fix it is the Blistex lip conditioner. I hate how this feels on my lips, I hate the smell, I hate the fact that it is in a pot, however this is like magic and solves every chapped lip problem I have ever had.

Other: Last but not least is my Real Techniques Stippling Brush. Since purchasing this I've used only cream blushes because this honestly makes everything look incredible. Could not recommend this enough!

So, there are my October favourites. I have been a little quiet on the blogging front and if I'm honest with you, it will probably remain like that for the whole of November too until I've finished my exams. What have you been using lately?

Monthly Favourites - June

When I compiled my favourites for this month I realised how girly they all looked, pink, pink and more pink! June has been an incredibly stressful month, finding out some bad news from doctors about my Mum's health (she has breast cancer and the treatment she has to have is pretty upsetting), experiencing 5 year 11 exams and preparing for a two week mission trip to Cambodia. Phew! I am glad this month is over.

Here are the products I have turned to.

Face: Since the arrival of my Real Techniques Stippling Brush, I have rediscovered my love for cream blushes as they are now so much easier to apply and work with, and I have remembered the incredible, natural, long lasting finish they give in comparison to powder blushes. I am in love again with my Australis creme blush in Dusky Rose, as indicated by the strange pattern that has been left in the blush as a result of the stippling brush!

Eyes: Though the Essence eyeshadow in Cappuccino Please is not at all what I would consider my favourite eyeshadow in my collection, many times this month I have picked it up for a highlight shade or all over the lid shade. I don't know why I have suddenly found it so appealing but I have certainly been enjoying using it!

Nails: As you may have noticed, I have gone crazy with FOA NOTDs lately, mainly due to my 75c haul (I promise I will shut up about it one day!). Last month featured Heart of Glass, and this month it is it's pastel cousin, I'll take you to the candy shop.

Lips: My most used lip product this month was the Australis Colour Inject lipstick in Boogie Woogie. I haven't yet written a review about it (it's coming!) but it's a lovely rosy pink shade, nothing crazy but nothing hopelessly boring either, just an everyday nice kind of pink - even nicer considering it was $5.

Other: Of course my last favourite for this month is the previously mentioned Real Techniques Stippling Brush. It's is amazing, it really is. I haven't tried using it for anything else but cream blushes but I adore this. Get it now!

Lastly, just a little side note - for those of you who signed up for B.liv samples when I posted this here, you should have received an email asking you to confirm it and then it will tell you when to expect your samples. I know that they were flooded with requests but you should have managed to get a set if you signed up within a couple of days of seeing that post.

That is all for my June favourites. I am incredibly excited because I am flying out tomorrow to Cambodia for 2 weeks (more about that tomorrow) but just to let you know I have scheduled posts and will alter the comment settings so that your comments post immediately. Try not to miss me while I'm gone! :)

Real Techniques Core Collection and Stippling Brush & my thoughts on iHerb

Everyone knows about Real Techniques brushes. I don't think I have ever seen one negative review about any of them. Naturally I had to get my hands on them, but I wasn't willing to pay full price for them in Priceline as they cost $67.98. So, I went to iHerb and picked up the same ones for $21.38 (there was a sale on the brushes at the time and I had a discount code too). Pretty good deal in my opinion.

I wasn't really sure what I wanted to get as there seemed to be so many to choose from, but in the end I decided to get the Core Collection set as it seemed like a versatile little set of brushes that could be used to create an entire face look. I also picked up the stippling brush because I was getting fed up with applying cream blushes with my fingers and thought it might be handy to try out a stippling brush.

I selected the cheapest postage, the Global Priority Mail by DHL for a flat rate of $4. The average delivery time was listed as 13 days but it took 15 to get to me. Though I did run out of patience towards the end there, I am really impressed that I was able to get postage so cheap without any difficulties with lost or damaged parcels.

When they first arrived they were even better than I had expected. I was impressed with their sturdy handles, soft bristles and densely packed hairs, however the stippling brush didn't seem to be too great as it seemed to contain very few bristles and I feared it would be too flimsy to be of any use. All the brushes were synthetic and were lighter in colour on the top.

I didn't really take much notice of their intended purposes, rather allocating them according to my needs and what I wanted to get out of each of the brushes.

Buffing Brush - 9/10
"Ideal for full coverage application of powder and mineral foundation"
I use this to apply any liquid bases that have a medium to high coverage. I find that this method, in comparison to using my fingers, uses up considerably more product but the finish is absolutely flawless and almost leaves my skin looking airbrushed. Funnily enough, I don't love this look for everyday as it can be a little too fake, but when I'm having a particularly bad skin day or I am going somewhere special I use this brush.

Detailer Brush - 2/10
"Precision cut to effortlessly concealer problem areas; or use with lipstick for long-lasting shape and definition"
I'm not into this brush. It just seems like a bit of a waste of space to me as it is almost too tiny to do anything with. I do use a brush for concealer but it is a lot bigger and flatter than this one and to be honest seems to work a lot better too. Until I find a use for this it is just going to sit around collecting dust.

Pointed Foundation Brush - 3/10
"Use with liquid foundation to build custom coverage"
I feel like the only blogger to have ever criticised the Real Techniques brushes, but the shape and design of what is supposed to be a foundation brush is just ridiculous. It is way, way too small to be used for foundation (it would take years to apply a full face of it with this tool!) and it is too pointed for my liking. I was considering using it for concealer under my eyes but the bristles are so scratchy that it just didn't work out. Not impressed with this one...

Contour Brush - 9/10
"Delicately applies highlighter to contour or create sheer, soft-focus finish"
I use this to apply both bronzer and highlighter, though it is best suited to highlighter as it is quite small and compact. I love this rounded little brush - it is dense, soft and a perfect shape to fit in the hollows of your cheeks or on the tops of your cheekbones. It's wonderful! The only improvement I could make is the slightest bit bigger.

Stippling Brush - 9/10
"Is the trade secret for creating airbrushed, high definition results with all types of makeup"
I haven't used this brush for anything other than cream blush yet, but I LOVE it. Though my initial concerns of it not being dense enough and too flimsy are true to an extent, it works magically to disperse the colour evenly across my cheeks giving me the most natural, even looking flush of colour. All my forgotten cream blushes have been rediscovered!

I am so pleased that I picked these brushes up. I haven't had them for long and therefore can make no judgement on their lasting power, whether they shed or how they respond to being washed but they are such good quality (except for the pointed foundation brush!). Even though two out of five I was not happy with, the three that I do love I love so much and it was absolutely worth every cent!

If you were like me and are not too keen on the prices for these brushes, jump on to iHerb and pick up a couple because they are so worth it. You can use the discount code JTJ998 for up to $10 off too!

Do you own any Real Techniques brushes? Do you have any other ways I could use them?

Collective Haul - Real Techniques, Australis, Rimmel London, Mirenesse and more

Over the past month or so I have been purchasing little bits and pieces here and there, mainly due to the amazing sales that have been going on lately! Some of these products have been on my wish list for a long time, others I randomly picked up when I saw crazy discounts on them!

Real Techniques Core Collection and Stippling Brush

I think every beauty blogger would either own or have at least heard of the Real Techniques brushes. When they first came into Priceline I was so close to purchasing them except they were so expensive. After hearing so much about iHerb, I went ahead and purchased some when they were 20% off. I was also able to get another $5 off from a discount code, so all the brushes came to a total of $21! 

I will do a review on both the brushes and my experience with iHerb, but if you are interested in purchasing something off of their website you can use the code JTJ998 to get between $5 to $10 off your first purchase (according to how much you spend). 

Australis Lipstick in Boogie Woogie

This is the first Australis lipstick I have ever tried and so far I really like it. I wanted to purchase the shade Honkey Tonk when Kmart was having a sale where the Australis lipsticks were $5 each but could only find Boogie Woogie.

Face of Australia Nail Polishes x6

Another purchase on behalf of Kmart, these polishes were all 75c so it would have been crazy of me to resist!

Essence Stay All Day Long Lasting Eyeshadows

I have actually had these for quite a while now and I wrote a review on them here. Basically, I am not impressed but luckily I bought these half price so it wasn't as bad.

Rimmel London Wake me up Foundation

So many people rave about this and Chemist Warehouse had 50% off all Maybelline, Revlon and Rimmel London products so I just went for it. I think I have a shade slightly too dark for me which is a real pain but I will manage.

Mirenesse Touch on Concealer

I was lucky enough to be given this concealer from a friend. It is very pink toned and therefore I use is as more of a colour corrector under my eyes - it seems to work remarkably well. It is quite the wrong shade for me though, so once using it as a corrector I apply a bit of foundation or skin toned concealer to make it look less crazy!

On a completely unrelated note, I can't stand the weather at the moment. Winter is the most awful season! I am also having trouble getting half decent light for taking photographs, so apologies if all my photos seem all dark and gloomy!

What have you picked up lately in the awesome sales? Do you have any of these products?