YSL Rose Bergamasque - #6 Rouge Pur Couture - swatches, photos, review

  

I have to give credit for my recent YSL obsession to Jessica, who never fails to entice me into a new purchase with each blog post and video. She mentioned this particular shade here and wore it here, and as usual I was unable to hold back from the purchase.

YSL Rouge Pur Couture in #6 Rose Bergamasque is a stunning glossy creamy nude with peachy pink tones that is perfect for me as an everyday lip colour.

Rose Bergamasque is number 6 in the Rouge Pur Couture range, which I find to have less slip than the Rouge Volupte counterparts. I find this easier to apply than my other YSL lipsticks, and it feels the most comfortable on the lips as well.

It is the little touches on YSL products that make their price tag justifiable for me. The YSL engraved onto the inside of the bullet is a luxurious touch, and the solid snap that the lid makes upon closure means I am not afraid of this being ruined in my handbag throughout the day.

Despite loving the formula of these Rouge Pur Couture's more than the other YSL formulations, I find the packaging of them the least appealing. While I still find them solid and beautiful, I adore the rounded style of the Rouge Volupte's much more, and it may sound petty but having to match up the YSL logo when replacing the cap drives me batty sometimes!

Swatch!

So much beauty, I really cannot stop swooning.

I thought I would show you a swatch of Rose Bergamasque next to my other favourite YSL lipstick, which is 01 Nude Beige from the Rouge Volupte line. You can see that the Rouge Volupte is creamier and less peachy than Rose Bergamasque, and I think that is what makes a touch harder to wear than the Rouge Pur Couture shade. For the record, I am a fair-bear and wear shade NC15 in MAC, 51 in Bourjois etc so keep that in mind when I mention how much this shade suits me. Having said that, I can see this working beautifully on darker skin tones as well!

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This picture makes Rose Bergamasque appear a tiny bit peachier than it looks in real life, but it is pretty accurate otherwise.

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I really like the way Rose Bergamasque feels and looks on me, and despite the higher price tag it is something I would repurchase. I love YSL as a brand and I find that the products are high quality (from the things I've tried) and worth the price tag.

YSL Rouge Pur Couture's retail for $50 AUD and are available from Myer, David Jones and anywhere else you find a YSL counter.

This product was purchased by me and I am in no way affiliated with the YSL brand, though I would love to be ;P

Brow Bargain!

I only began really paying attention to my eyebrows last year, and so was inexperienced in the art of filling them in and taking proper care of them. Since then I have tried brow pencils, brow powder sets and brown eyeshadows in an attempt to create a defined brow. I was unhappy with the colour choices around me, as the red-toned browns in brow palettes don't suit my colouring. Along came this brow bargain from BYS, and here I sit a happy blogger!

This product is marketed as a multi-use product for both brows and eyes, but at this point in time I've been using it soley for my brows. The packaging is similar to Nars packaging which is a tremendous plus for BYS, and it feels much sturdier than some other packaging from the brand (lipsticks, I am looking at you!) I can have this thick matte black stick rolling around in my bag all day without worrying about the casing cracking or coming loose.

The colour of this brown shade is a dark neutral brown, and the other colours available are blonde and black. This suits my colouring quite well, and despite recently dying my hair it still looks fine on me.

This is more like a slant tip crayon than a traditional pencil, and I find that this is what makes it easier to smudge once on the brow, which then creates a more natural look overall. I like to 'tap' the pencil onto my brows and smudge it in, before following up with some clear brow gel. I'm thinking about getting a tinted brow gel since my clear is about to run out- does anyone have any recommendations? What do you use on your brows?

I like that this has a slim edge and a thick one, it means that I can be precise when doing my brows in the morning or do a rush job and it will still turn out nicely. It doesn't need sharpening, you just twist it up as you go.

One swipe swatch.

In this image I've filled in one brow with the BYS brow pencil, and haven't touched the other. Can you tell which is which? ;P

This BYS brow bargain has become my go-to each morning, and I've left the rest of my brow products to the side and am using this exclusively. If this pencil wasn't sent to me, I doubt I would have picked it up as I would have never thought of finding a gem in a drugstore brand. I like being proven wrong with things like this :)

BYS has been surprising me quite a bit with their product quality, so I'd highly recommend you check them out next time you pass a BYS stand!

BYS is available in Kmart, discount stores and online at Fashion Addict and this Brow & Eye Pencil retails for a tiny $5.95 AUD.

This product was provided for consideration, which in no way affects my opinion on the product. Honesty, always.

Lime Thyme!

There is nothing better than hopping in a shower after a long, tedious day and being greeted by a bevy of bathtime beauties. The beautiful Australian bath and body care company 1 Skin Solution were kind enough to gift me some of their staple line, and this is the first product in the bunch to be reviewed. Introducing, the Lime Thyme Body Wash.

I generally use shower gels when in the shower, and so the idea that this is a body 'wash' didn't occur to me until I had tipped the bottle over onto my shower puff. A lot more than I intended gushed out, and I panicked thinking that I had used up the whole travel sized bottle! Fear not, I had overused it but I still had plenty left to go. The wide opening of the bottle is a factor in the overpouring issue, and is a negative aspect of this product in my opinion.

The bottle, I will admit, irks me. I love the dark design that contrasts with the pale wrap around labelling, but the lid isn't something I find appealing. The gold makes the product less luxe looking, and it is also hard to screw back on (especially with slippery hands in the shower) I would much prefer a light lid to match the wrap around or even plain black would be quite nice. A flip top would also be easier to use in the shower.

Luckily, the scent of this makes up for these drawbacks. The lime shower gels that I am used to remind me of lime ice lollies and lime soft drink, fizzing and tart with a lovely edge. This is a different sort of lime altogether, and the mix of thyme into it is such a luxurious touch. I have quite a few herb-based shower gels in rotation at the moment, and this is one of the stand outs for being mixed in with a fruit that it a love of mine. The scent is relaxing and seems luxurious, and while the lather isn't overly creamy, I feel cleansed after using this and find it an effective body wash.

Pros:

-Australian based company

-lovely, surprising scent

-no animal testing

-available in a travel set

Cons:

-lid of packaging isn't cute

-opening too wide, easy to waste

-higher price than other brands

The 1SkinSolution range can be found at their site here.

Lime Thyme Body Wash retails for $27.50 for 500ml and can be purchased here.

 They also have a great promotion on at the moment, if you purchase their 3 piece body pack, (which includes Lime Thyme!) you get a free vanilla lip balm and free shipping! Check it out here!

What are your thoughts on herb scents in body care?

Do you try to support local businesses as well?

*This product was provided for consideration, which does not change my opinion on the product. Honesty, always.

Illamasqua Stance

Illamasqua is one of my very favourite brands, and the launch of their new Human Fundamentalism collection for Spring/Summer 2012 saw me swooning once again. The collection contains some beautiful palettes, shadows and a very cool white liquid liner, but today I have one of the polishes to share with you.

Stance is a vibrant magenta which is quite neon, but can look more fuschia in some lights.

It says this is a high gloss finish, but I wouldn't agree as I think you need top coat for a good level of shine with this polish.

The other shade in the collection is a stunning bright jade colour Nomad, which you can see on Tine's post here. I saw this on her in person at an event and whoa nelly, it's amazing!

sunlight

sun, some shade

I found that the two coats I applied weren't as opaque as I would have liked and I could see my nail line through the colour, so I recommend applying 3 coats of this for good coverage.

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I really couldn't help myself and though I think that stand would be perfect paired with some nail art, I am not talented in that department so chose to pop a nail art sticker on my accent nail. This little bow from Pinkfin (here) is adorable and I love the crystal accent in the centre. Their nail sticker sheets are really affordable and easy to use for novices like myself.

Illamasqua nail varnishes retail for:

$34.00 AUD/$14.00 USD/13.50 GBP

Have you picked up anything from the Human Fundamentalism collection?

Do you prefer the look of Nomad or Stance?

If I had to choose I think I would go with Nomad as I would get more wear out of it, but I adore the idea of wearing this hot magenta shades on my toes come summertime!

*This polish was provided for consideration, but the Pinkfin sticker was purchased personally. Honesty, always.

Beach House

Some old favourites, some new products from my collection and a free morning at the beach house.

Chopped the poor fiance out of this one, cheeky!

Flamingo was one of the lipsticks I purchased from the Iris Apfel for MAC collection, and a few of you mentioned that you wanted to see more of it so here you go! My original post with swatches is here.

The pas des copper eye souffle from essence (haul here) is something I've been using under my neutral eye looks quite a bit, and I think it's going to look great underneath the new Illamasqua neutral palette as well. (Click here for a FOTD with the eye souffle paired with Bronx from Illamasqua.) This time around I used the eye souffle by itself with a lick of mascara, liquid liner and a shimmery shadow for a highlight, because I couldn't be bothered doing anything complicated while we were away.

Benefit Hervana was the only blush I took away with me, and I was hoping it would become my new NYX Peach, aka staple in my collection. I like it, but I'm not sure whether or not I love it on my face yet. It sure is pretty though! The Garnier concealer is actually Chris', and he stole it back not long after I took these photos. His skincare products are really appealing to me lately, they're just so quick and easy to use!

pas des copper is really pretty, I think it's a great product for a subtle eye look as well as the full on bronze smokey eyes I like to do. Nice and versatile, and worth grabbing if you can find one in store.

Do you wear makeup when you spend lazy weekends away?

Do you play around with crazy looks, or go bare faced

*All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me, except for the Face of Australia liquid liner. Honesty, always.

Hauling!

I have slowed down my shopping recently in preparation for our engagement party and saving money in general, but thought I'd show you a few of the things I've treated myself to lately.

I had been meaning to pick up the Dior Amber Diamond highlighter, and when I heard that it had been discontinued I knew the time had come. I picked it up on Strawberrynet for around $46 as they had a 10% makeup promotion at the time. I've used it quite a bit since and have a proper review of it in the pipeline, but for now I will say that it is worth hunting for!

A while ago Priceline had a promotion on for Maybelline products in which you could buy any 3 face products for $30 AUD. I needed to pick up my beloved Dream Matte Powder, and threw in a 24hr Stay concealer as I didn't have a concealer in my collection. I also chose the Dream Liquid Mousse foundation as I had seen Lilit mention that it was her HG foundation here and thought it sounded nice. I'm quite happy with all of these so far!

After work the other night I popped into Kmart for a wander, and came out with some Rimmel goodies in hand. The Punchy Taupe shadow was something I thought would be a good addition to my collection, and I couldn't go past the bright blue shade in Celestial Sapphire either. I didn't own a white eyeliner so was pleased to grab this Pure White one, and the Stormy Grey shade just for something different.

I am a sucker for a good blog sale, and managed to snaffle a few MAC pieces from Jen's blog sale here. I had been looking at the Russian Red lipstick, lipglass and limited edition nail colour which is coming out with the MAC Fashion Sets collection, and lo and behold up popped the lipglass, cheap as chips! Still want to get my hands on the lipstick, though. I thought the Nylon pan would be good for adding to my MAC collection (see my MAC palette here) and I have been wanting a bright yellow shadow, and Chrome Yellow certainly fits the bill!

Ah, YSL, my weakness. This Rouge Pur Couture in Rose Bergamasque has already crept its way into my favourite lipstick list, and I have Jessica to thank for spurring on the purchase! It's a stunning, wearable shade that I have been using quite a bit lately, and I have a whole post on this little beauty coming up real soon.

Amber Diamond, Dream Liquid Mousse Foundation, 24 Hour Stay Concealer, Rose Bergamasque, Chrome Yellow, Nylon, Russian Red, Pure White, Stormy Grey, Celestial Sapphire, Punchy Taupe.

What do you think of my haul?

What was your last beauty purchase?

Loving Right Now

These are the things that are making me smile in the morning!

Face of Australia Loose Powder in Outback Translucent*

This is the everlasting finishing powder, I can't see myself using this up for years to come. Not sure what is so 'outback' about this translucent powder, perhaps FOA decided they needed to 'up the Aussie' with their products and flung the name in there. It's finely milled and never cakey, and the only thing I don't love about it is that it isn't great to travel with or have on you, but I am thinking of buying the pressed version to have in my handbag. Love that it is only $11.95 AUD and easy as pie to use.

Covergirl blush in True Plum

This was sent to me in a beauty swap with the beautiful Sun-Dried Lacquer (post here) and having never tried a Covergirl blush before, I was intrigued. I am infatuated with this shade, it is fool proof and has replaced NYX Peach for the top spot in my collection. It has the same cinnamon-esque scent that my other Covergirl powder products have, but isn't as strong. I love this shade, it is a beautiful pink with plum undertones that suits my pale skin tone, but also suits my Mum and sister who have darker and slightly olive-toned skin.

Thierry Mugler Angel EDT*
This fragrance sample is one of the most treasured scents in my collection (post here). I can't drag my nose away from my wrist when I wear it, and would best describe it as a warm and cozy fragrance with a very fiesty edge to it! It holds notes of patchouli, pink pepper, cedar, bergamot and red berries...but all I can smell is amazingness. I will be buying a big bottle of this when the sample runs out, no doubt about it.


 I'd love to see what products you are loving right now, and that are making you smile?

*These products were provided for consideration, but this had no effect on my love for them. Honesty, always.

Lancome Vernis In Love - Corail in Love

The new Lancome Rouge in Love line was launched recently, and I went along to learn more about the line, whose covergirl is the always gorgeous Emma Watson. I had not realised that the Rouge in Love lipstick line was complimented by complimentary nail shades, some matching lipsticks perfectly! The Vernis in Love line is full of beautiful shades, and I was kindly given the shade Corail in Love (105M) to show you today.

The bottle is slim and tapered, and contains 6ml of laquer. I like the simplistic design that adorns much of the Lancome range, I think it is understated and pretty. The ladies at the event mentioned that Lancome are making moves to gain the interest of a younger international market, and I think launching fresh shades like this with the backing of Emma Watson is a great step by the company.

A stunning muted coral, this applied with ease even for a clumsy nail painter like myself. The brush is nice and widens out well, meaning less strokes are needed for full nail coverage.

Nothing trumps Paris, for skincare and cosmetics. Swoon-worthy!

In full sunlight, was such a lovely day and the fast application meant I didn't miss the sunshine for photo opportunities!

Corail in Love resting on my future father-in-laws beloved carpet of lawn!

Do you wear coral shades on your nails much? I find that it is the colour I love best for my nails, as I tend to wear warm colours that compliment it quite often. This muted shade is much more wearable than my bright shades, and would be a great base for some beautiful white nail art as well.

I am consistently guilty of being 'matchy-matchy' with my makeup, clothing and nail choices. I'm happy to see that the trend is leaning that way, first with this Lancome In Love line and with brands such as MAC also. I love the coral lip shade from this Lancome collection, and think that I will have to purchase it as it is a perfect match with this gorgeous nail shade.

Have you seen the new Lancome Rouge in Love or Vernis in Love line at your local Lancome counter? I'd love to hear what you think of the shade ranges.

For more information on Lancome Australia you can check out their Facebook page here, I will be sharing one of the Rouge in Love lipsticks shortly so stay tuned for that post as well.

Thanks so much for reading, I would love to hear your thoughts on this post in the comments below!

This item was provided as a gift at the launch of this range, which in no way affects my opinion of the product or brand. Honesty, always.