February Collective Haul

Celebrating a ‘last hurrah’ of sorts, sharing some of the products I indulged in during February. March saw me begin my post graduate diploma at university, and subsequently the bulk of my spending money has been put to textbooks and a stack of new stationary to keep me on track.

Though I’ve heard negative reviews of Strawberrynet and their policies, the lure of finally getting my hands on a Jouer item was too tempting. A ‘saved search’ within my ebay account, it was Ingrid from Miss Glamorazzi that had me hooked on getting their powder blush in ‘Blossom’.  I have previously bought a YSL Crème de blush from SNet before and so when I saw #6 Rouge Passion was available, in the cart it went. The formula of theses is literally the best I’ve ever used. The CK shadow was a GWP and I chose a light neutral, as you can never have too many of those.

I am big fan of the Girlz Only dry shampoo which is available at Target for $2 per can, and when I spotted one for deep brown hair I knew that I needed to try it out. I am still using the original formula, but when I get around to trying this I will let you know how it goes. When Big W had their cosmetics sale, I popped a couple of the Maybelline City Rescue Total Clean Eye & Lip Makeup Removers to try out, and one to give to my bestie to try. Quite happy with how it is performing thus far!

There isn’t much better than receiving samples from high end beauty counters, so when my local YSL lady showed me the new Rouge Volupte Shine sample blister packs, I was over the moon. I have my eye on the shade Nude in Private but have held of purchasing until the weather cools down and I can bring out my lipsticks again. The beautiful Ulta3 set was a wonderful pharmacy find, and I’m excited to bust out the bright shades soon.

My love for Chanel Joues Contraste blushes seems to be growing, and I added the limited edition 76 Frivole to my collection at the beginning of February. A beautiful light apricot shade, this contrasts heavily with the bright Pink Explosion which was my first Chanel blush shade. I have only used this a handful of times, but am very glad to have it in my blush drawer.

Despite earlier mentioning holding off on lipstick purchases until the weather becomes bearable again, here I present my Maybelline Vivid collection (along with a cheeky Sportsgirl sale lipstick) I chose Neon Red, Vivid Mandarin and Hot Plum as they were shades I think I will get the most use from during the cold and grey winter months (which is when I like to wear bright lips most!)

Clockwise from bottom left: MAC Gentle, Chanel Frivole, YSL Rouge Passion, Jouer Blossom, MAC Poised

Just to further highlight my blush madness, I threw the new cheek shades of mine into a single shot, purely for swooning purposes. The bottom MAC shades were from this MAC haul, which I shared with you last week.

So there you have it, the stack of beauties I added to my cosmetic collection during February. Have you bought anything nice lately?

 

MAC Haul // Archie's Girls, Strength, Making Pretty and Apres Chic

Saving for a wedding and a house means that I have had to cut back on spending, and the area that has been affected the most has been my cosmetic cravings. I've still managed to grab some nice pieces lately though, through gifts cards and frugal spending in other areas of my life. Though not all are from MAC I've been shopping there quite a bit more than usual, so a designated MAC post seems necessary!

I knew I wanted to pick up a neutral blush from the MAC Strength collection, but hasn't decided which of the two choices to go for. When I failed to get any colour from my swatch of Taupe Shape, I tried on Poised and ended up buying that one. Though probably not a necessary purchase as I do have a few similar shades, I reasoned that I wear neutral blushes often and therefore justified it.

I assumed that MAC 3N lipstick from the stunningly beautiful Making Pretty collection would be sold out when I visited my local counter, so when I found out they had 3 left I made the impulse buy right then and there. A pretty and wearable shade in some pretty packaging, and the same amount as I would have spent on a high end lipstick anyway.

 

I was lucky enough to spend the morning with Desiree and Karyn last week, and a sneaky trip to MAC Pro on Chapel Street was squeezed in after brunch. Desiree seems to have this amazing enabling effect (ie everything she likes, I want) on both Karyn and I, so I walked away with the Gentle Mineralize blush and a travel sized Fix +. Very excited to try both of these out!

 

 

Having read the Archie & Friends comics growing up, I knew I needed to get my hands on a piece of the character themed makeup that MAC had released. Even though I was always a Betty fan, the Veronica blush in Prom Princess had my heart racing and I tried for over a week to get my hands on it to no avail. Finally tracked it down before lunch with some bloggers over the weekend, and I am now content to sit back and swoon over the beautiful bright shade.

(Prom Princess came out a bit more purple than true shade in this image)

 

 

The day before I managed to snaffle Prom Princess I was moping about it being sold out on the Doncaster counter, so Chris decided to cheer me up by getting me the Betty blush in Cream Soda and lipglass in Kiss & Don’t Tell. The boy definitely knows his way to my heart! Impressed by how much both of those products suit me, and I can’t wait to show you swatches soon.

I’d love to hear what shade you like most from my haul.
What do you think of my MAC's crazy collection turnaround?

Blush Love: NYX Peach

The first twelve months of this here blog saw me hesitate from reviewing my most loved products, for fear I would not do them justice. Over the new year, I realised that I am not perfect, nor do you expect me to be (I hope!) So expect to see some kick ass products rocking this page, starting now, with my most adored blush.

 NYX PEACH

This was definitely one of my top products for 2011, as I used it at least 5 days out of each week. Considering how affordable this blush is, I am amazed at how long it has lasted. Surely I am about to hit pan on this?! The suspense is killing me!

This is quite a heavy swatch, which seems appropriate as I often wore this blush heavily. It's very buildable, so is excellent if you like a sheer look or heavy cheeks like moi, and it lasts all day long on my cheeks. I've seen others talk of broken packaging as it is made of plastic, but so far I've been lucky despite this going everywhere with me. It's a matte peachy pink shade that would suit a wide range of skin tones, in my opinion. I've seen it look quite peachy on others, but it's pretty darn pink on me.

I adore this blush and will be repurchasing, but before I do I'm going to use up some of my other blushes. When Peach is around, they get no love :'(

What is your one true blush love?

Have you tried NYX Peach?

Details!

I purchased this from a store in Spencer St DFO (Melbourne) but it is also available at:

*Crush Cosmetics here for $11.15 AUD

*Cherry Culture here for $6 AUD (but is on sale right now for $4.50!)

*Groove stores, or eBay

This product was purchased by me and is not sponsored by NYX, all opinions are honest, this blush really does rock. x

 

Have you entered my Botani birthday giveaway? Leave a comment on this post then scoot over and enter!