Monthly Favourites - November

It's December, which is ridiculous. I'm sure every man and his dog will express the speed with which this year has flown in their monthly favourites, so I'll spare you from hearing it again. November marked the last of my uni exams and the successful completion of my first year of university! To celebrate, this blog was resurrected from the dead and I'm slowly getting back into the swing of posting.

It was darn easy to pick monthly favourites for November because I haven't shared any favourites with you for months.

Eyes: Without a doubt, buying the Makeup Geek starter palate on a whim at 1am one night was easily one of my better decisions. It comes with 9 standard shades, almost all of which I feel are appropriate for a starter kit. I would have loved to see more browns instead of purples, however I have been getting use out of all of them. The pigmentation is amazing, palate set up (that allows you to remove the pans with ease) and the cost is pretty good. A clear winner.

Face: After all the raving about the Hourglass products, I really wasn't convinced. For a powder that cost so much and barely showed up, my student budget wasn't having it. Then Model's prefer came out with a dupe and I jumped on the bandwagon. I adore this powder, it is amazing and I have mine in the shade Photo Ready.

Lips: As I stated in my haul here, I didn't even know that this range of glosses existed until I purchased one. I cannot recommend the Rimmel Oh My Gloss range enough, despite only owning one shade (Glossaholic). It is perfect in every way.

Nails: I must admit, these polishes came as a little bit of a disappointment however I had to include them because they are the only polishes I've worn all month. It is the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polish in Get it Bright and the corresponding gel topcoat. I expected super good wear out of this and I found it to be relatively similar to all my other polishes. I'm going to keep persisting but it hasn't won me over yet...

Other: I have never been a fake tan person but the Australis Tinted Let's Go Steady Gradual Tan Body Moisturiser (what a mouthful!) is incredible. Incredible! I lather this on daily for about three days in a row and I have a natural but clearly enhanced glow to my skin. It smells fine, is so freaking easy and looks bloody amazing. I love this product.

Book: I've added in a new category because books are such a big part of my life. This month I read one of my favourite books of the year - Blood and Guts by Richard Hollingham. It is a brief, albeit absolutely fascinating, history of surgery and developments through areas like heart surgery, transplants, plastic surgery and the brain. It is gory, gruesome and overall absolutely mind blowing. This book made me so, so appreciative of the current medical practises, and in awe of the brilliant minds who came before us, discovering new ways to improve surgical techniques and the comfort of their patients. An incredible book for a science-lover.

Collective haul - Face of Australia, Essie, OPI and more

Over the last couple of month I've managed to acquire some wonderful stuff for some ridiculously good prices so I thought I'd share my bargains with you all...

Kmart has actually been my best friend in the beauty department lately. I purchased the Nivea Lip
Butter in Caramel Cream (and oh my gosh it smells divine!) for only two dollars. They're obviously no longer stocking Face of Australia which is a major disappointment however it did mean I was able to pick up three of their lipsticks, each for four dollars. I grabbed some seriously beautiful shades, my favourite being Forbidden Fruit and the other two including Power Surge and Pink Champagne.

When Priceline had their 40% off sale I actually didn't go too crazy but I did get two Australis products - an Australis concealer which I am so freaking disappointed with, and the brow tint which thankfully makes up for the crappy concealer. If any of you have actually tried the concealer let me know because it's probably one of the worst I've ever come across...

Essie has captured my heart with its amazing colour range and incredible formula so I was tempted with this beauty, Limo-scene. I adore the colour (which is why it made it into my March favourites) but sadly, as is often the case with white polishes, the formula isn't great.

Now that Priceline is stocking OPI polishes I've found myself souring the bins for good bargains. A lot of the shades they have a pretty unappealing but the shade Nomad's dream caught my eye. I don't usually go for the frosty kinds of polishes but this one is damn gorgeous. I also grabbed some hairspray, and the reason it is so exciting is because I've never owned hairspray in my whole life...I know right!

My favourite concealer is the Face of Australia stick concealer in natural so I had to repurchase it recently when I ran out, and while I was there I grabbed their illuminating stick in When in Rome which I highly recommend you look into because it's super pretty.

There is a Chemist's Warehouse near me and they always have really good deals, so I couldn't resist when I saw the highly raved about Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in my shade for only $9. I've been really impressed with it so far.

Of course, Priceline is always calling my name with good sales and in one of the million occasions that I set foot in the store, I managed to come out with a Models Prefer Lip Crayon in the shade Raspberry Ripple and an Essence lipstick in the shade Love Me. I'd never taken any notice of the Models Prefer lip crayons but for $2 it was a worthwhile purchase.

Last but not least is a totally unexpected purchase, a Sportsgirl lipstick. I have never ever owned any Sportsgirl makeup but have seen fairly positive reviews about their stuff. I was in Sportsgirl and I think something must have been mislabelled because I purchased their lipstick in the shade Doll Face for $0.98 and I really like the bold shade!

L-R: Raspberry Ripple, Forbidden Fruit, Power Surge, Pink Champagne, Doll Face, Love me

 So there you have it, my recent additions to my beauty stash. Let me know if there are any products in particular that you would like to see a review on. I've been really slack with my posting but I promise I'll try my best to write about anything you're particularly interested in!

L-R: Raspberry Ripple, Forbidden Fruit, Power Surge, Pink Champagne, Doll Face, Love me

Model's Prefer Sweet Shadows Eyeshadow Tin

I have honestly had the greatest luck in the world in the past two months, winning three giveaways! One of them was Amanda's from Thai Tales  where I won the Model's Prefer Sweet Shadows Eyeshadow Tin. I was ridiculously excited about winning this because just look at those gorgeous eyeshadow shades and the incredible packaging they come in! 

As far as I am aware, the Model's Prefer tins are a direct imitation of some eyeshadow tins from Too Faced. I personally love that I can have the opportunity to play around with a more affordable alternative, however I'm not sure Too Faced would be all that thrilled!

When it first arrived and I opened the package up, I literally had to pry it from my mother's hands as she declared that it was "the most beautiful makeup packaging in the entire world." I am inclined to agree with her, because I can't think of anything more adorable than the little tin. I think it is most appealing to younger girls, and I think for someone starting out with makeup this would be a perfect (and cute) array of beginner's shadows. 

I immediately spotted the shades that I new would be my favourites and crossed my fingers that those were the ones that were pigmented. I had read some reviews and was aware that it was a little hit and miss with these shadows, with some being incredibly pigmented and others completely sheer. 

The shades included are as follows: 

Top Row

Innocent: Grey toned lilac shade. Pigmentation: Poor

Lovely: Deep toned true purple. Pigmentation: Good

Sweetened: Mid toned brown with cooler undertones and silver shimmer. Pigmentation: Fair

Graceful: Very, very dark brown (almost black) with a matte finish. Pigmentation: Good

Middle Row

Kisses: Shimmery, champagne white with slight pink undertones. Pigmentation: Excellent (it is SO buttery!)

Cute: Rosy brown/pink shade. Pigmentation: Excellent

Sugared: Light baby pink. Pigmentation: Excellent

Luscious: Warm medium brown. Pigmentation: Excellent

Bottom Row

Adorable: Light brown/grey shade. Pigmentation: Terrible

Angelic: Pure shimmery white. Pigmentation: Excellent

Precious: Coppery orange gold. Pigmentation: Excellent

Enchanting: Matte black. Pigmentation: Fair (very chalky)

As you can see, there was quite a variety of quality between each of the shades. Adorable was completely hopeless and that swatch (which you can barely see) was three built up attempts! Other shades, like Precious and Kisses were incredibly buttery and pigmented. Luckily for me, my most favourite shades were the best pigmentation!

I created an eyeshadow look using five of the shadows and was absolutely thrilled with the outcome.

1. 'Kisses' was applied over the entire lid.
2. 'Precious' was applied over the centre third of the eyelid.
3. 'Luscious' was used in the outer corner and crease
4. 'Angelic' was applied as an inner corner highlight
5. 'Lovely' was used as a lower lashline eyeliner for a hint of colour

I think the blend of white, gold and purple looks stunning and shows just how pigmented those particular shades are!

I do notice fallout with some of the shades, particularly the darker shadows, which is easily removed by brushing it away.

Not only were eyeshadows included in the tin, but an eye primer and clear brow gel too. I have had very little experience with eye primers (by that I mean no experience) and therefore don't feel as though I can make any real judgement about it. I found it to be a strange texture, quite tacky at first but then rather velvety once it had settled. It evened out the skin tone but I'm not sure I would bother using it regularly.

I feel indifferent about the brow gel - I will get use out of it but I wouldn't buy it on its own. It works but it is nothing terribly special.

All up, I am so pleased with this palette and can see myself experimenting a lot with it in the future. I've decided that Precious is just the most beautiful shade ever and I think that will be the one I hit pan on first!

I give this 6 out of 10 (because even though there are some shades I love, others are hopeless and you have no guarantee of the quality!)

EOTD - Olive Garden

 So I've been given the opportunity to play with a ridiculously fancy camera for this upcoming holidays, and it is incredible. My camera, whilst it's pretty good for how much it cost, absolutely sucks when it comes to taking nice swatches and pictures of eyeshadow. Now that I've got a couple of months with this incredible camera I am going to make the most of it and do some eyeshadow tutorials, starting with a super simple look!

Because I have hazel eyes, I like to compliment them with olive green shadow however it can be a bit frightening to have green shadow all over the lid so I only use a tiny bit to really bring out my eyes. Combined with the shimmery brown shades and champagne in the inner corner, I think this is a beautiful flattering look that would suit just about anyone!




































Step 1: Use a shimmery mid toned brown cream eyeshadow as a base
Step 2: Intensify the crease with a darker matte brown shade. Lighten the inner corner with a shimmery champagne shade.
Step 3: Use a liquid liner to create a thin line on the upper lashes. Create a slight wing on the outer corner of the eye.
Step 4: Smudge an olive green shade into the lower lash line extending from the very inner corner of the eye to the outer corner, joining with the liquid liner.
Step 5: Line the waterline with a black pencil liner and apply one or two coats of mascara


What I used:

- Essence Eye Souffle in Pas Des Copper
- Essence Quattro Eyeshadow in To Die For
- Bloom Collecta Colour Eyeshadow Duo in Waikiki
- Face of Australia Liquid Liner in Black
- Maybelline One By One Mascara in Black Brown
- Models Prefer Pencil Liner in Black

It is a bit scary to post eyeshadow tutorials because I'm just a kid who has no idea what they're doing, but I think it looks pretty and isn't too over the top and could be worn by anyone!

I hope you liked this EOTD - if you did please let me know because I'll come up with some more creative ones too!