NEON + neutral Makeup Look with Australis

note to self: hair oil exists for a reason, Ms Frizz!

 

Cheeks: Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed
Lips: Clinique Chubby Stick in Whole Lotta Honey + Barry M Toffee gloss

As promised, I put the Australis Neutrals & Neons palette to the test and created a wearable look to show you! The colours didn’t blend away (as some affordable brands tend to do!) and I found the shadows soft and easy to blend together for this look. I popped a bit of the acid green on the inner corners and used the first 3 neutral shadows to create an easy natural look with a twist. I used the Australis Curve Ink liner* to ground the look down (a great tip for those who are frightened of wearing brights!) and used lots of mascara as well, as I always do.

 

What shades from this palette would you like me to create a look with next?

Are you excited about affordable brands bringing out amazing palettes like this?

Which of the NEON shades are you most afraid of?

*Marked items were provided for consideration. The Clinique item was won on a social media competition. Honesty, always.

Moth Brown - MAC By Request // Swatches, Face of the Day

I have only been a beauty lover for a few short years, so when the MAC By Request idea was announced on Temptalia here, I had not owned or swatched any of the mentioned shades. I thought they were nice, but I was not taken with any shade in particular until Jessica from Getting Cheeky showcased the shade Moth Brown here.

Moth Brown is described on Temptalia as a purple tinted shimmery grey, and I would say so also, but note that it leans taupe and brown as well. It is much more purple than something like Satin Taupe, and I don't own anything else like it.

 

 

 

 

Moth Brown swatches smoothly and the pigment is easy to sheer out, but equally easy to build up for a darker, more dramatic look. Though it is a frost finish, I find it quite satin in finish.

 

 

 

I chose not to sheer Moth Brown out too much, and vamp it up with a deeper lip shade as well. I like the overall effect, and though Moth Brown can easily be an everyday taupe shade, I like that I can use it for a deeper night time sort of look also.

 

 

Face:

Face of Australia Face Base primer

Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus foundation*

Illamasqua blush in Hussy

 

Eyes:

MAC paint pot in Painterly

MAC Moth Brown eyeshadow

Laura Mercier Pale Pink eyeshadow to highlight

Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara in Black Shimmer

 

Lips:

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres in #4 Mauve Pigmente

 

Hair:

Toni & Guy Dry Shampoo for volume*

 

Moth Brown is limited edition and is $33 AUD here.

 

What are your thoughts on 'request' collections?

What discontinued products would you vote for?

What do you think of this shadow?

 

*I purchased this myself. Honesty, always.

Smog // An Urban Decay Face of the Day

It was when I saw this post from Lil Lady Life that I turned my attention to a shadow that had been sitting neglected in my Urban Decay Naked palette. I use the general palette quite often, have almost used up Virgin and wear Sin with Darkhorse far too frequently, but Smog lay unloved amongst the neutrals.

 Apart from the fact that my laugh are out of control in this picture (I must've been very cheerful that day!) I love the way Smog makes my eyes jump out without being glittery, though it is quite a metallic, shimmery look.

I swept Smog over the lid with a flat shader brush, and blended the edges with a clean fluffy brush. I ran some Smog along my lower lashline, which created a sort of foiled effect which I really like. I like to run Sin from the Naked palette along the inner third of my lower lashline and into my inner corner, the shade is perfect for brightening up a look without clashing with any of the colours used. I finished off with Virgin to highlight my browbone.

The mascara I used for this look is the Revlon Grow Luscious mascara in Black Shimmer. I'm not sure of my feelings for this mascara, even though I've been using it for a while now. I'm not sure where the 'shimmer' comes into it, I see no difference in colour between this and my regular black mascaras.

I've been wearing this look quite a bit this past month, and I think the obsession will continue right through October as it is a look that suits all seasons. Running some deep brown liner and adding a more volumising mascara would take this look into a nighttime look, so I'm looking forward to giving that a go as well.

 

Are you a fan of Smog?

What are your most used UD shades?

Clarins Enchanted Colour Quartet and Liner Palette // Swatches, Review, Photos

Clarins have taken inspiration from traditional Indian sari's for their new Enchanted collection, and seeing the eyeshadow palette design for the first time truly impressed me.

The outer casing has beautiful detail on it, matching the prints on the shadows themselves which I found to be a lovely touch.

One thing I don't covet is the inclusion of miniature brushes- many companies do this, and I know a lot of consumers would prefer a slimmer palette as they have brushes they prefer using in their collection already. Some may like to have these on hand though, it is just personal preference. The mirror is definitely a great inclusion,even if it is never used it is always handy to have an extra mirror around!

As you can see from my swatches the shadows are not incredibly vibrant, which I think lends to them being easy to work with and once they are on the eye, they are really nice and give enough colour. This palette is an example of something really beautiful, but also something you could get use from at work and on weekends- a win win purchase really!

The sheen of the golden shade from this palette is outstanding, I've been regularly wearing this on my inner lower lashline to add a bit of oomph to my looks, even when the look isn't created with other colours from this palette. Although the purple is sheer in swatches, it is so good for a lower lashline colour, ever since my Kit Cosmetics makeover I've been searching for this and now I'm content.

The shadows are quite shimmery and give a nice glow to the lids, though they are much sheerer than palettes I normally go for. I have a face of the day coming up tomorrow so do be sure to check that out. I haven't really delved into the deep chocolate liner in the palette yet, but that purple and gold have really taken a hiding over the past month!

 

The Clarins Enchanted palette retails for $55 AUD and is available from Myer, David Jones and Adore Beauty.

 

Do you find it hard to dip into beautiful palettes like this?

Have you tried Clarins makeup before?

 

 

*This product was provided for consideration for review. Honesty, always.

 

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.