Illamasqua Climax Lipstick

I adore this lipstick, but it does get awkward when someone asks me what I'm wearing on my lips...

Illamasqua Climax is something that I didn't pick out myself, but was chosen by Oonagh at the Myer Bourke St counter in Melbourne quite a while ago when I had her do my makeup. I buy most of my Illamasqua from her and love stopping by for a chat, though I never walk away empty handed! She is one of the best makeup artists I have come across both in personality and in makeup application skills, and I highly recommend seeing her if you need help finding something amazing or learning a new technique. Oonagh rave aside, on to the lipstick!

The packaging of Illamasqua lipsticks are really classy, with squared off edges in a sleek black design. I did have a bit of a problem with this particular lipstick as the bullet broke off inside the tube, which resulted in scratches up the side of the lipstick itself. I can still use it, I just can't be too rough when I'm applying it.

You can see the damage to the edge in this shot, and also the super cool Illamasqua detailing on the top of the packaging. It feels luxurious in hand without being really heavy, so I think it's the best of both worlds.

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Climax is described by Illamasqua as a dusty rose pink with a matte finish, and I'd say that is right on the money. I'm often wary of matte formulations as my lips aren't always in perfect condition, but this sets onto the lips without looking dry and stays that way. I find the matte formulation suits the shade, and it adds longevity which is a massive matte bonus. It feels comfortable on as well, so you're safe there.

 I sometimes like to pop a bit of sheer gloss over the top of this, when Oonagh originally applied this on me she popped Illamasqua Sheer Gloss in Soul over the top, which is described by Illamasqua as a shimmering champagne nude shade. I absolutely adored the effect but didn't pick up Soul on the day, so I'm planning on wearing Climax with MAC's Tread Gently Tender Tone when it arrives in the mail. I think the dusty rose shade looks amazing with warm golden shimmers on top! 

I think that Climax really suits my pale skin tone, but I think that it would be amaaazing on a darker skin tone as well. It lasts much longer than a lot of my lipsticks (haven't actually timed it, sorry) and it sort of stains the lips and fades evenly so it's great for long days at work or university. I'm really happy with my first Illamasqua lipstick purchase, and I know I'll be back for more in the future.

Illamasqua Lipsticks retail for 15.50 pounds in the UK and approximately $42.00 AUD. Illamasqua counters are at limited Myer counters in Australia, and a visit to the counter is definitely worth the trek if you aren't too close to one. I recommend both the Chadstone counter (see JeNelle, she is amazing) and Oonagh at the Melbourne Bourke St location.

What are your favourite Illamasqua products?

Have you had a makeover with them before?

What do you think of Climax?

The Inglot Inventory: Peachy Keen

Forgive the cheeky university bathroom shots, it was the only opportunity I had to take pictures of this look after I forgot during the car ride in. I wear this dress quite often (see post here) and love drawing out the rich orange tones to use in my makeup.

 The BareMinerals concealer was used today, and you will notice on one of the blemishes on my forehead my skin looks darker, and frankly horrible. It's quite obviously not the concealer for me, but this is all a learning process :)

Face:

BareMinerals Foundation in Fairly Light*

BareMinerals Warmth (as bronzer)*

BareMinerals Concealer*

BareMinerals Mineral Veil*

NYX Peach blush

Face of Australia Powder in Outback Translucent*

Eyes:

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

Inglot Bright orange (from this palette)

Inglot AMC Shine 08 (champagne from this palette)

Mirenesse Tightliner in Black*

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes

BYS Brow Pencil in Brown*

Lips:

Revlon Super Lustrous Gloss in Coral Reef

I snapped these so quickly as people were coming in and out, and I didn't think about reapplying my Revlon Coral Reef so you might notice that it has rubbed off quite a bit in these pictures. It's much more vibrant before you stuff your face with a toasted cheese sandwich and flat white from your favourite cafe!

What is your favourite orange cosmetic products?

Have you tried Coral Reef? It is a stunner!

Products marked * were provided for consideration but this does not affect my thoughts of them nor my choice to use them in my looks.

Thailand Empties!

I thought I would share with you the products I finished up while overseas- I am most proud of the Clinique, I do hope it impresses you!

I forgot to include the Clinique product in the round up, sorry guys!

The wipes in the background are my HG wipes, and I used these to refresh my face after a swim and before bed if I was too lazy to wash my makeup/sunscreen off. The Lush bag held a Satsuma Santa bath ballistic that I had taken along with me. I haven't had much experience with Lush bath products, and though this was okay I don't think it is a must have from them. It's limited edition from their Christmas launches and turns the bath water bright red- a little frightening to be honest! But an overall nice citrusy smell.

The Dove deodorant made me feel comfortable, even in the Thai heat, but I reapplied after each swim so didn't get a clear indication of its strength and wear time. It was nice but not sure if it was outstanding, I may repurchase in the future but I have deodorants I prefer so we'll see. The Aveeno body wash was a sample I wanted to use up, don't like unscented bath products so won't repurchase.

The Clinique Deep Comfort body lotion is the empty I am most proud of! It came from a GWP that Clinique ran a while ago, and the reason I am proud is because I am not one to use up whole lotions, even sample sized ones! I chop and change frequently and to be honest I don't moisturise enough, so to see this go was a win for me! It was full when we arrived in Thailand, and empty after a week and a half. Let me tell you, my skin was baby soft! The scent of this is strange but I like it, so I may repurchase after I finish the zillion lotions in my collection.

Do you use up many products while on holiday?

Have you used up many lotions in your day?

What are your HG body lotions?

The Hunger Games: A Katniss Everdeen Look

The Hunger Games film came out in Australia last Thursday, and I was excited to see how the adaption would turn out! I have read the first two books so far and am holding out on the 3rd 'til uni holidays, but watching the movie has made me want to dive into it right now!
Chris and I went to a restaurant before the movie on Friday night, and I was inspired by The Hunger Games protagonist Katniss Everdeen when I was doing my makeup.

Katniss is quite a natural beauty in both the book and the film, and so I decided to create a healthy flushed look (from running around the forest!) with bright eyes to open my face up. A natural lip look was necessary as Katniss doesn't seem the type to wear makeup anyway, and wears simple balm for most of the film.

Face:

Bourjois Healthymix 52

YSL Creme de Blush in 02

Bourjois Chocolate Bronzing Powder

Benefits Watts Up! highlighter*

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Cream

Eyes:

MAC Painterly Paint Pot

Urban Decay Sin (Naked Palette)

Urban Decay Virgin (Naked Palette)

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara

Ardell Clear Brow Gel

Lips:

1skinsolution Vanilla lip balm

Clinique Chubby Stick in Whole Lotta Honey

Katniss rocks quite a few brighter looks in the film when her stylist Cinna takes control over her look, and I can't wait to try some of them out! Cinna's gold liner is also gorgeous, and I will definitely be using him as inspiration in a look soon!

I decided to use my YSL Creme de Blush as I think it gives a great natural finish compared to powder blushes, and it lasts really well which is also part of the reason why it is one of my favourite products. I have an in-depth post coming up on these blushes, they are incredible.

I wore my khaki cargo pants and a long sleeved black top with chunky boots to see the film, I felt a bit funny semi-dressing up but it sure got me into The Hunger Games mood! I also wore my hair to the side with a plait to really channel Katniss' look, and I decided I really like my hair this way.

And now, I leave you with my 'I can't wait to see The Hunger Games movie' face.
 You're welcome!

This look has coincided with a challenge from Sara-May at Makeup Utopia as part of their regular challenges. This round has challenged us (here) to create a look inspired by The Hunger Games- I urge you all to have a look at some of the inspiration there and give it a go yourself! I had this post ready before the challenge but am glad to be finally involved in a challenge- I may give another look a go in the coming week!

Have you read The Hunger Games series, or seen the film?

What do you think of the look?

Are you Team Peeta, or Team Gale?

Do you think the film adaption did the novel justice?

Items marked * were provided for consideration.

Haul ft. MAC, Inglot, Daiso and Blog Sales

Have done some cheeky hauling with my birthday cash (yep, still going strong!) these past two weeks and thought I would show you the loot!

The blush and highlight duo in the top left hand corner was $2.80 from Daiso but is actually for my best friend Candice, as she was looking into trying out orange cheek shades (hurray!) The blotting papers were a good find as my skin has changed from dry to oily lately so I've gone into damage control mode.

Inglot have discontinued their round shadow pans and palettes and they are currently selling them for 50 % off! I have two Inglot stores nearby and since the above purchase I have bought two more bunches, so get in quick if you want a good choice of colour. I chose these 3 colours as they were the best the store had to offer- a golden olive, beautiful purple shade and deep blue. I will be doing a big post with all of my new colours very soon.

A visit to MAC was inevitable, as I had a $20 Myer voucher to burn and my eye on these two beauties. Viva Glam Nicki is the new Viva Glam shade, and all proceeds from this go towards the MAC Aids Fund so it's a win-win purchase. Such a stunning bright yellow-based pink shade! I have dedicated a whole post to this so keep your eyes peeled.

The other MAC choice was from the new bunch of Sheen Supreme lipsticks, and Asian Flower was a no-brainer for me. A purpled pink shade, I am head over heels in love and again, a full post is on its way! I tried to buy Tread Gently tendertone from the Shop MAC Cook MAC collection but it was sold out. Ordered it from ebay, cannot wait to get my little hands on it!

I clicked onto Caitlin from Swatch Storm's blog sale here and chose a few shadows I wanted. Caitlin was lovely enough to throw in some sachet samples for me, and a MAC eye pencil!

MAC Plumage was the reason for purchasing anything from the blog sale, as I really liked the look of the colour and am currently building up my MAC eyeshadow collection as they are one of my favourite brands for eyeshadows.

Fyrinnae Orca is a damn stunner. Good impulse buy right there!

Fyrinnae Princess of Darkness, again such a gorgeous shadow. I do think that Fyrinnae and I are going to become firm friends in the near future...

A lovely Evil Shades loose shadow in Acolyte that Caitlin threw in for me.

Caitlin was so generous with the extras she popped in with my order, this Ivy MAC pencil is more than half gone but still has a heap of use left, and I am glad to be able to try it out! I have an upcoming makeup look that I think this would work perfectly with.

What have you hauled lately?

What MAC shadows do you suggest I add to my palettes?

The Inglot Inventory: a champagne and purple FOTD

Earlier in the week I posted here about my efforts to utilise a set group of products from my collection in order to use some up or just get creative with them. Part of that bunch were my beloved Inglot palettes, which I crack out often but not often enough. Here is one of the looks I came up with using them! I will call this series The Inglot Inventory, I do hope you enjoy them!

Face:

-BareMinerals Mineral foundation in Fairly Light*

-BareMinerals Warmth powder (bronzer substitute)*

-BareMinerals Mineral Veil (light reflecting powder)*

-Face of Australia loose powder in Outback Translucent*

-NYX Peach blush

Eyes:

MAC Painterly paint pot

Inglot AMC Shine 08 (post here)

Inglot purple shade, unknown number (post here)

Mirenesse Tightliner in Black*

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes

Urban Decay Virgin

BYS Brow Pencil in Brown*

Ardell Clear Brow Gel

Lips:

Sportsgirl Liquid Lip Colour in Wow!

The look was quite subtle with only a few pops of purple, but I was really happy with the look as I thought the champagne and purple shade went really well together.

A blurry one taken in the car but I think it shows the purple off well.

Purple shadow was from this palette...

And this is AMC Shine 08, oh how I wish Inglot would name their shadows properly!

What sorts of looks have you been wearing lately?

What shadows from Inglot do you think I should buy next?

*Products marked were provided for consideration.

Ballerina Backstage by essence

This months essence collection focuses on a ballet vibe, with cute shade names and pops of pale pink colour. I picked up a few key items including the 3 lipglosses and the bronze eye souffle, but somehow managed to miss the gorgeous cheek souffle that is also on offer. Fear not, I managed to nab it once I realised my mistake, and will pop it on the blog soon.

The essence eye souffle in pas des copper is a stunner, no doubt about it. I didn't have high hopes and to be honest bought this for the hell of it, but once I swatched it my expectations grew.

The jar feels nice and sturdy, and I love the font they've chosen to adore the lids of this collection.

A golden shimmery deep brown shade that is far too pretty.

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Cute shade names!

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Wear Your Litle Tutu is a pale pink that makes my lips look icy. It has silver shimmer running throughout, and is pretty sticky on but less so than a MAC Dazzleglass.

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On Your Gracile Tiptoe is the coral orange offering from the Ballerina Backstage collection, and also contains shimmer and is quite a sticky formulation.

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Do A Floating Pirouette is such a pretty purple toned raspberry shade, and is of the same formulation as the other glosses.

I adore the little touches that essence has put into this collection, the lace detail and shoe images on the tubing is a really sweet idea. I personally don't mind having sticky glosses in my collection (I adore Dazzleglasses, though Chris doesn't) so I quite like these. The icy effect of Wear Your Little Tutu is something that surprised me but I am happy to have this in my collection, but I think the real must have from the collection is the pas des copper eye souffle, just an amazing texture and wearable shade.

The prices in this collection sit around the $3-6AUD mark, and are available in Australia from Target stores.

Have you picked up anything from this collection?

What do you think of Essence?