copper and beige : : a FOTD featuring essence, Illamasqua and YSL

I really wanted to crack out my essence pas des copper eye souffle (post here) and show you how it faired. I like wearing this by itself over MAC Painterly paint pot (review here) but I wanted something a little more striking today, so applied a little bit of my favourite bronze Illamasqua Bronx over the top.

I have been having so much trouble with my skin lately, it has gone from it's previous dry and dehydrated state to being oily and dehydrated, so I've been using my BareMinerals powder foundations a lot more recently.

I have no idea where my Model's Prefer Glitz and Glamour highlighter (review here) has gone, and so have turned to using this Revlon Colorstay Mineral Finishing Powder in Brighten as a highlight atop my cheekbones. I layer it on quite a bit as it's a much more natural finish than the Model's Prefer. I've actually fallen in love with another highlighter which I am reviewing soon, it's amaazing so keep your eyes peeled.

As you can see the look is still quite subtle as I was light handed with the eye makeup, but I like the way it looks and happily wore it to work. I generally wear bright makeup to work as they are quite encouraging, but this more typical work-appropriate look would be nice for the office, in my opinion.

Trialling this new Australis Lash Length Extension mascara and I must say, I'm loving it. Drugstore win, and it must also be mentioned that Australis is really picking up their game lately, I am very impressed. The Mirenesse Hydra Gel Eye Liner in Black Caviar is something I've been using for a while now, I will have to get around to reviewing it soon.

Since hitting pan on my staple blush NYX Peach, I've switched over to another blush as an 'everyday' blush choice. Benefit Hervana is a swirl of colours which leave a peachy pink tone to my cheeks, and I find it really wearable. I'm not as in love with it as I thought I'd be, but I do like it.

My lipstick love of late is YSL's Rouge Volupte in 1 Nude Beige. It's such a gorgeous nude that leans pink, and I've been wearing it to death lately. I have a review coming up of this one, too.

I wish the Rouge Volupte ends looked like the display models, it would be so much nicer!

A close up view of my bronze eye look.

The completed look! I love the way the YSL 1 Nude Beige perks up my face but is able to be paired with bright, dark or neutral eyes. I am loving delving into my collection and finding gems like the ones I've used in this FOTD.

What gems have you found lately?

Have you tried the YSL Rouge Volupte formula?

What do you think of my FOTD?

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.

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.

A Makeup Revolution!

As a liquid foundation lovin' gal, I was dubious when asked to head into Kit Cosmetics for a makeover with BareMinerals by Bare Escentuals. My skin is quite dehydrated and can suffer from the dreaded flakies, and I had always feared powder foundation with a passion. My friend Candice was the polar opposite, and once I led her over to the liquid-foundy-dark-side, I decided to be fair and try this mineral foundation out.

I mosied on down to the Kit counter in Myer Melbourne with my mother and neice in tow, and was greeted by the stunning Leah Capponi, who is the National Makeup Artist for Kit Cosmetics. My Mum promptly fell in love with her, and wouldn't stop commenting on how passionate and attractive Leah was. Leah also made my neice swoon by complimenting her freckles and baby blue eyes, which was really cute, but I put on my blogger hat and got down to learning about BareMinerals.

A makeup revolution? Intriguing! Leah shared the BareMinerals story with me from it's inception, and I was fascinated to learn that if you had to sleep in any makeup, this would be the safest option. As a lazy lady, I appreciate knowing that it I slip up my skin won't hate me as much as it otherwise would. I haven't slept in this (yet?) but it's nice to feel reassured anyway.

Leah went over the two options for the range, which was a matte foundation option or one that creates a more luminous canvas. I went for luminosity, of course, and before that was applied Leah applied the BareMinerals primer on me. I was colour matched to the lighest shade within the range ('Fairly Light') and she mentioned that my Mum would be matched to the darker shade within the light family, simply named 'Light'. As I sipped my Pelegrino, Leah buzzed around me, constantly dropping pearls of wisdom as she buffed me to perfection.

Whilst you have the option to purchase items from the BareMinerals line separately, they have created a starter pack which I think is great value and the easier option (IMO).

The pack contains two versions of a shade, for example my LIGHT kit contains a 'Fairly Light' as well as a 'Light' so it is perfect for those who swing between shades in summer and winter. A sample of the primer helps make sure your application at home goes smoothly (ha!), and a pot of concealer is supplied to let you cover up anything the foundation didn't manage to. I would say this is medium to full coverage foundation, at least it is on my face. The pot of 'Warmth' within the starter pack acts as a bronzer substitute. You use it in the same spots you would a bronzer, but it creates a much more natural and wearable healthy glow to your look (despite it looking scarily dark in pot, it isn't dark at all) A mineral veil adds some highlight and luminous to your face, and voila! You're lookin' good!

With the amazing Leah- stunning, right? And nice. And intelligent. The lady has it all!

Brushes and an instructional DVD are also supplied with the BareMinerals Get Started kit, which enforces the importance of the method with which you are to apply these products. Say it with me now:

SWIRL > TAP > BUFF

Shake a little bit of product into it's lid and swirl your brush all up in it. Tap the brush on the edge to get rid of any unneeded excess, and buff it into your face. When you think you're done buffing? Buff some more. The more you buff, the better it looks, in my experience. I tend to think of it as a free arm workout with my makeup ritual, but it does take a bit longer than my usual slapping on of liquid foundation, so I tend to use this on weekends or days off when I have time to play with makeup looks and take more time with ita all. This is what was in the pack that Kit Cosmetics and BareMinerals kindly gifted me after my makeunder(which was to celebrate the launch of BareMinerals within Kit stores)

The sexy box that it all comes in, information booklets, instructional DVD and 'Prime Time' primer sample.

A face brush, a smaller face brush and concealer brush. Two pots of SPF15 foundation, one pot of 'Warmth', one pot of 'Mineral Veil' and a pot of concealer. See what I meant about value? This is the perfect kit for someone just starting out in makeup as you can get a sheer coverage with it or build it right up, and you get all the tools you need to nail application. For $84.95, I think this would make a really nice Christmas gift, too. I've used these products on my face as well as on my best friend Candice's, and they're lovely. For someone who had a fear of powder, that says a lot.

The BareMinerals range of products is now available at Kit stores Australia wide, click here to find stores near you. The Get Started kit is valued at $144.95 and retails for $84.95

If you are interested in experiencing a 'makeunder' of your very own there are some available in the coming days- click here for more information and to book in with Kit.

( visited Kit Cosmetics as a guest of EGPR and would like to thank them for the invitation. The Starter Kit was provided as a gift but does not affect my opinion or review of the products within.)