Behind the Blog - Her Beauty Days

At this point in time I will have just arrived in Cambodia and hopefully will have spent the day wandering around the temples of Angkor Wat! Luckily I prepared a Behind the Blog post for today a little bit in advance!

For today's Behind the Blog post is Melissa from Her Beauty Days. Melissa is a Sydney blogger who has just started her blog so make sure to make an extra special effort to check out her blog!

So far her blog consists of haul posts, reviews, beauty subscription box reviews and swatches.

I spoke to Melissa about her signature makeup look, if she could design a perfume and what makes her happy.

Why did you start blogging?
I’ve been admiring various blogs from afar for a short while before I finally caved in and started my own blog. Blogging is a means of communicating with others with similar interests and to share my “journey”, delving into the depths of the “beauty world”. I love sharing my opinions and experiences – in hope that they will be beneficial for others and be of assistance for girls with the similar “beauty profiles”. I’m still in the process of experimenting with different products – finding what works for me and what goes with what. It’s great to document these things down to share!
Blogging is fun and is also a great therapeutic leisure activity for me!

What is your signature makeup look?

Currently, I’m aiming towards a fresh and healthy look. I use BB creams instead of foundations; I’m working with fuller brows with flushed cheeks and reddish-pink lips.

I love experimenting with makeup looks so my signature makeup look can change from time to time!

Where is your favourite place in the world?
I haven’t travelled the world extensively to answer this. There are so many beautiful places in the world that can easily be my favourite! I love a lot of places – ranging from the busy streets filled with the hustle and bustle of everyday life to the secretive serene tropical paradise escapes!

If you had your own perfume, what would it be called?
“Happily Ever After”. I would love to be associated with a beautiful perfume that can empower women to be happy, sexy and have their own “happily ever after” ending. You can be whoever you want to be and just celebrate your individuality! A perfume that can do that will be so amazing!

Do you speak any other language? If you could, what language would you love to speak?
Vietnamese is my mother tongue.
I learnt German in one semester at University; although I love it, the grammar is much more complicated than English. I hope to speak German at a proficient level one day!

What are some things that never fail to make you happy?

Proud parents, family dinners, achieving what was expected to be unachievable and the company of family and friends. 

Thank you Melissa, and welcome to the blogging world! Please check Melissa's blog out here.

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

Beauty things I hate

Though my love for all beauty related things has grown significantly since falling in love with blogging, there are still those aspects of it all that I just can't seem to warm to, in fact there are somethings I just downright cannot stand. I thought I'd make a post about them because I have a feeling that some of you may relate.

1. Shaving my legs
I know, I know, there is nothing appealing about hairy legs, but I actually hate shaving my legs so much that I go to extreme lengths to wear long pants at every opportunity (TMI? Sorry). The time and effort it takes, only to find that I have accidentally shredded myself to bits and that I have some hideous rash because I pressed too hard, is just not at all worth it and despite my discomfort when sporting hairy legs, I will do it because it is worth it.

2. Brushing my hair
Brushing my hair sucks. I can't stand it. It's super long, therefore super knotty, therefore requires an unreasonable amount of time and effort to maintain. As much as I hate it, unlike my attitude towards shaving my legs, I do not neglect my hair and with great self discipline manage to brush it thoroughly every.single.day What an achievement! I will note, however, that there is no better feeling than someone else brushing your hair.

3. Blow-drying my hair
Another opportunity for you all to call me crazy for having such long hair, but I can't stand blow drying it. For those long haired ladies who are currently yelling "Oh my gosh yes, I can relate" at your computer screens, I am so glad you have an understanding of the sheer amount of time that it takes to get my locks dry, and I appreciate your empathy.

4. Putting on nail polish
Now I know I am just getting horribly lazy here, but painting my nails is another one of those things I just can't seem to find myself enjoying. I guess it is not so much the action of painting my nails but rather the waiting for them to dry, watching the painstakingly slow seconds of the clock tick by. Thank God for fast drying polishes like Essence Colour and Go and Rimmel 60 seconds.

5. Removing glitter nail polish
No explanation needed here - removing glitter nail polish is hell.

6. Moisturising my legs
Clearly I do not consider my legs to be of great importance, because yet again this is an area in which severe neglection occurs. Does it concern me enough to change my ways? No way on Earth.

7. Washing my brushes
I know for sure that many of you share my pain. Last time I checked it was months since my brushes were last washed...Gross? Totally, but secretly I love it.

8. Removing mascara
I am best friends with waterproof mascara, so it goes without saying that getting rid of it at the end of the day is like a nightmare. I am very susceptible to lash loss and racoon eyes and it's not pretty.

9. Filing my nails
It makes me sick thinking about it. Since I was tiny I could not handle having my nails filed, it makes me feel so uncomfortable and I get goosebumps and eugh. Does anyone know how I feel?

10. Face masks
It bothers me that face masks are so effective, because if they were useless I could allow myself to avoid them like the plague, but the fact that they do work means time after time I go back and use one, only to remember how much I hate them. It feels as though I've been baking out in the sun for a couple of years and my skin has gone all leathery and shrivelled. It's the most horrific feeling ever.

So there we have a somewhat long list of beauty things that I hate. It was oh-so enjoyable compiling this list and having a good old whinge, so feel free to do so yourself if you have the time - I would love to read yours!

Off to Cambodia I go!

As you may have read yesterday, today I am leaving to go to Cambodia for two weeks! In fact, by the time this posts I will already be on the plane!

In these two weeks I will have scheduled posts on a regular basis, and I will allow for comments to be posted as soon as you submit them so the only thing that will be abnormal is me not commenting back.

I will see you in two weeks time, with many stories to share I am sure!

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! :)

Behind the Blog - The Shopping Queen

If I have done my maths correctly, this is the 11th Behind the Blog post - that means I have featured 11 different bloggers as part of this series! How cool is that?

For number 11 I spoke a little to Jen from over at The Shopping Queen.  Jen is an Aussie blogger from Sydney whose posts consist of an array of exciting hauls, reviews, swaps and tags. I am so very jealous of some of the incredible products she has in her collection!

This week Jen spoke a little about why she is The Shopping Queen, doing makeup on the train and McDonald's!

What is the significance of your blog name?
I have a knack for finding things that are "sold out" and I'm quite persistent if I'm trying to hunt something down. For example, my boyfriend really wanted a pair of shoes that were only available in the US and they had sold out of his size on the official website so I hunted down all the resellers online (quite hard when you're not familiar with the authorised resellers in another country!) and found the very last pair available in his size :) He calls me 'the shopping queen' so that's where I got the inspiration for the name of my blog. If you read my blog, you'll see a trend of haul posts so I'm also a bit of a shopaholic.

What is your signature makeup look?

I'm quite low maintenance and I prefer the "no makeup, makeup look". I always do my makeup on the train on the way to work so I normally have concealer and mascara on and I'll always do my eyebrows as well.

If you were a makeup item what would you be?

A lipstick. I hoard lip products and I think that having a lipstick on can really change your look by a lot! People say that they can't live without mascara as it wakes up their eyes but I've found that I need some colour on my lips or I look tired. Mascara does nothing for me!

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

Bora Bora! It's my dream to go there and I would actually splurge and get a hut thingy at the Four Seasons so that I could jump into the water anytime that I wanted to. I'm normally not a fan of spending a lot of money on hotel rooms but Bora Bora is my dream destination. I'll definitely be going there for my honeymoon!

Do you speak any other language? If you could, what language would you love to speak?

I speak the Shanghai dialect called Shanghainese. Most people laugh when I say Shanghainese as it sounds made up but if you google it, you'll realise that it's an actual name for the Shanghai dialect. I wish I could speak French and it's always been a big regret of mine that I dropped it in high school.

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

McDonalds egg and cheese McMuffins. I'm addicted to McDonalds fries but I think that I would actually get sick of them if I had to eat them forever but I love McDonalds egg and cheese McMuffins and wish they were available all day long!

Thank you Jen!

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.

Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Bronzing Pearls

You know how sometimes you get overwhelmed with products and end up shoving something away only to discover it about a year later? Yep, that is what happened with the Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Bronzing Pearls I was given.

Bronzer isn't really a product I tend to reach for regularly and I certainly feel more confident in applying blush and highlighter. I do however give it a shot every now and again and I think that when applied well it can look absolutely stunning and make the biggest difference!

This bronzer from Face of Australia comes in the form of 'bronzing pearls' certainly unlike the bronzers I am used to.

Formulated with natural minerals, bring a fresh glow of warmth to your skin with the Face of Australia Bronzing pearls. Oil free, fragrance free, talc free, no animal testing. 

For a start, I am not really a fan of the packaging. It is so very chunky and as always, the brush supplied is not particularly effective. I would much prefer a more compact product without the brush included (especially at a cheaper price, although this is hardly what I would call expensive).

The pearls themselves are incredibly sparkly. Very pretty looking things but they are as glittery and shimmery as they could possibly get, and to me that is quite a strange property for a bronzer. I really didn't know how to wear this because in my experience, matte bronzer is the way to go (especially for contouring) and even slightly shimmery bronzers can be applied tastefully but this was just so full on that I hadn't a clue where you would put it!

Despite this, I still attempted to use these as I would a normal bronzer, sweeping it gently across the places I felt could do with a bit of colour and brightening.

The results were okay, but I really felt a bit strange with the level of shimmer present. Everyone likes glowing skin but there is a fine line between glowing and garish and I think this product just crosses it. It was passable when the lighting I was in wasn't terribly bright but when it caught the sunlight I just looked stupid.

But I wasn't ready to give up yet. Surely I could use this product somehow. So I decided to use it as eyeshadow.

Everyone loves a shimmery brown/bronze eyeshadow shade! After having tried it as an eyeshadow I can safely say that is how I much prefer to use it and that though it may be a bit of a failure as a bronzer in my opinion, it kind of works as an eyeshadow.

There were two ways I discovered that this could be applied - with a brush as normal or directly rubbing the pearl onto the skin for a more intense shade. Both ways worked well however it was difficult to apply the shade neatly when holding the pearl and rubbing it on the skin (and it made a little bit of a mess too).

I found that on the eyes this wasn't too long lasting - certainly nothing like any of my other eyeshadows. My main problem, however, was that the glitter seemed to fall underneath the eyes (and there is nothing pretty about that!). I guess this is to be expected as this isn't designed to be an eyeshadow, but it's a little frustrating because it is just so useless as a bronzer.

All in all, this was a pretty disappointing product. I am especially saddened by it because I absolutely love Face of Australia as a brand and usually they can do no wrong! This costs $14.95.

Unfortunately I have to give this 3/10.

NOTD - FOA Glitterati Nail polish in Funky Town

This is the first NOTD in a long time that I have actually quite liked,
and it was the most unlikely polish for that to happen with!

I purchased the FOA Glitteratti polish in Funky town when I saw it for 75c, and I really didn't think I was going to like it. Surprisingly, when I decided to try it out for a potential NOTD, I found that I actually quite liked it - who would have thought?

When I went outside to photograph it my father saw it and described it as 'perhaps the most revolting shade of blue I have ever witnessed' to which I told him Dads don't know anything about nail polish. They just don't.

As for the polish quality, it took me three coats to reach the opacity you can see in the photos below. The glitters, though only small, do curl and are quite raised from the nail so I would recommend a top coat. Speaking of the glitter, Funky town consists of small hexagon rose gold pieces, little black ones and lots of tiny ocean blue ones. A strange assortment in my opinion, but it seems to work.

With some kind of miracle I actually like this polish, and I would be interested to know your thoughts too.

Beauty News - FOA lip crayons sold individually?

A long time ago Face of Australia released their limited edition lip crayons in a pack of three, featuring the shades Macaron, Sundae and Cupcake. I grabbed a pack and fell in love instantly and now ten months later they are still staples in my makeup collection, especially Cupcake which I wear almost daily.

Today I was browsing in Priceline and noticed that they are now selling them individually for about $4.95!

If you want my honest opinion, I think you should all run out and stock up right this very second!

But seriously, these are incredible and I am so proud of Face of Australia for making such a brilliant decision! I am not sure how long they will be doing this offer (I have a feeling they had extra stock they needed to get rid of) but according to their facebook page they are "available individually and are only $4.95 until the end of June." Does that mean at the end of June the price will change or they won't be selling them anymore? I don't know, but whatever the case, you must get your hands on these!

B.liv by Cellnique Shrink and Tighten Large Pore Reducing Serum

I am a little bit (okay, a lot) late with this review but better late than never! To be honest if I didn't get around to posting this review you wouldn't really be missing out on much!

I have been using this Shrink and Tighten pore serum consistently for weeks in the hope that the large pores on my forehead, chin and cheeks would be made smaller.

This serum, like all the B.liv by Cellnique skincare products, has awesome packaging, unlike the typical skincare 'look' that many products have. I like that the products are colour coded according to their function, with the products that target blackheads orange and the pore shrinking range housed in purple. This comes with a pump that pumps out way too much product (I use about 1/8 of a pump!) but it's not too much of a problem

The serum is completely clear and the perfect consistency to rub right into the skin. It soaks in immediately and feels really lovely and silky. It doesn't alter the way that the skin looks (no shine or gloss is left from the product) and I noticed no excess oil production or anything of the likes throughout the remainder of the day. If anything, this product made my skin more matte and seemed to almost control oil!

So at first glance and after regular use, this product seems to be pretty darn good. Well, it is, except when it comes to results. After having used it for about 6 weeks now, I have noticed absolutely no change in the size of my pores whatsoever, but I continue to apply it because I like the way it makes my skin feel, all soft and silky! I do feel as though my skin looks healthier and more 'youthful' (not that such is a problem considering I am not yet even in my twenties!) but as for pores...it's pretty useless.

Still, I will admit, my pores are hardly enormous. I have the occasional giant one here and there as a result of particularly horrific persistent, immovable blemishes in the past but the majority of my pores are pretty small. Perhaps this is why I didn't notice great changes, at least not like I did with the Off with those heads blackhead gel.

For $49, this is not at all cheap and if I had paid for this I would not be impressed. Sure, it looks and feels nice on the skin but it's an expensive way to do so.

Unfortunately I have to give this 4/10, and continue raving about the Blackhead gel which worked miracles - literally!

My 'after' picture, identical to the way my skin looked before

Have you tried this and did it work for you?

Behind the Blog - Talisbury

Thank goodness it is Friday! As always, it is time for a Behind the Blog post and this week I spoke to Rebecca from Talisbury. Rebecca's blog is one that I haven't been following for too long, however long enough to appreciate how awesome it is!

Apart from having the coolest picture ever (look at that picture of her!) Rebecca's blog consists of fashion, food and of course lots of beauty based posts, all with impeccable photography. 

This week Rebecca spoke a little about her blog name (which, by the way, I was very curious about!) and author John Green. 

What is the significance of your blog name?

‘Talis’ comes from the word talisman which is a charm that brings good luck and protects from evil and harm, which is a nice thought. And ‘bury’ is like Burberry, but I didn’t like Talisberry, so I named it Talisbury instead!  

Who do you think always gets it right when it comes to beauty? 

Lauren Conrad, is it normal for a human being to be that perfect?!

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

I still consider myself a new blogger, so I guess my advice wouldn’t be of great value, but it would be ‘Embrace the difference.’ Don’t post things and products just because other bloggers feature it. The great thing about there being a lot bloggers out there is that it’s diverse and different. I quickly get bored of blogs that simply take common phrases that have been said a million times before by products that have been reviewed a million times before.  

Which store do you spend the most time in?

I don’t really shop physically all too much, I do my shopping online. But my favourite store is Asos!

Do you have any nerdy characteristics?

Not at all, I wish I did though. I wish I could get nerdy about something! I tried to force myself to get into computers at one stage, but that was a complete fail as I have the attention span of a.. well, I don’t have one at all, really.

What are your favourite books and movies?

Anything written by John Green is my ultimate favourite, but I have many favourites, reading is one of my things to do. I don’t have favourite movies, but anything funny gets a thumbs up from me!

Thank you so much Rebecca! If you don't follow her blog please do, just click here!

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