A Bitter Pop

My obsession with all things lemon and lime continues with this green eye look! I wanted something bright but after pairing MAC's Bitter with another bright here, I thought I would try it out with something a little bit different.

I concentrated Bitter on the innermost part of my eye, and took MAC's khaki shade called Mink & Sable to the outer V and blended them together. I really liked the pop of colour, and it wasn't as in your face as some of my other bright looks.

When I next attempt this look I am going to try to break up the two colours with a third in the center and taken higher above the lid, to stop it from being such a stark transition from bright to the khaki green shade. To see more of Mink & Sable, see my MAC shadow collection post here.

What do you think of this look?

What colour would you use between these two to break up the look?

Love Talk

I've been wearing green eyeshadows quite a bit lately, and Essence's Love Talk is one of my more recent aquisitions. I love the ultra metallic muted green shade, and think it would look wonderful smoked up. It reminds me of the Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in Epatant, but when I place them beside one another they are quite different.

I adore the designs of Essence products, as I've stated in many of my other brand raves I can't believe the little touches they include despite being at a low price point. This shadow is silky to the touch and quite easily blendable.

It comes in a clear plastic domed contained which doesn't sit too high (so will still fit in thin bags without taking up too much room) and has a sturdy and secure closure. I've thrown this about a ton and it's in great condition still, which is a testament to Essence's packaging as well as their product.

Metallic goodness in a single swatch.

Dopey half eye really shows off the colour, ha

Next time I wouldn't use this mascara, would have tamed my brows, and would choose a lighter colour to blend out Love Talk. But seriously, how pretty is it! This is just over MAC's Painterly paint pot and blended out with another colour- primarily it's just a sweep of Love Talk, though.

I've included a picture of Love Talk next to NYX Algae and MAC Mink&Sable to give a little bit of context.

Essence Mono Eyeshadows retails for a tiny $3.25AUD and are available Australia wide at Target stores. For more information, click here

What green shadow should I add to my collection next?
And what should I pair Love Talk with next time I wear it?

October Favourites!

I was a cheeky beauty blogger and skipped September, but to be honest most of these have been my favourite for a few months so let's merge the two!

I have been gearing up for the university holidays (two days to go!) and have been generally lazy with everyday looks, and spicing it up a little every now and again with a super bright eye or vampy lips. Here is what I used most in October:

Gorgeous Cosmetics Cheek Creme in Strawberries and Cream

This has flipped me right into 'cream-blush-lover' territory, it's a gorgeous colour that looks exactly as the name suggests in my opinion, and it lasts really well on my skin. I use my Royal and Langnickel stippling brush with this and find it works perfectly. This retails for $35AUD and I purchased it at IMATS for $15AUD.

MAC Mink & Sable eyeshadow

This little shadow is the love of my life-yup, a HG for sure. A wash of this over the eyes and my face looks 'done', and if I take it higher into the crease? Compliments galore, my tutor asked me if I was going out after class when I wore this, mascara and a baggy jumper. Miracle worker!

Gorgeous Cosmetics Lipstick in Sophia

This lipstick clings to dry patches on my lips a little bit, but with balm underneath it's fine, and it goes perfectly with my Essence glosses. It's a gorgeous peachy shade that retails for $35AUD, I purchased it from IMATS for $15AUD.

Ardell Clear Brow Gel

I've been putting more effort into my eyebrows since getting them tinted in Sydney by the beautiful Paddington Benefit gals. I fill in my brows with a mix of 'Naked' and  'Buck' from the Urban Decay Naked palette with a thin angle brush, then combing this thru to keep them looking good all day. The cheapest brow gel I've seen, I chose this after reading great reviews. It retails for around $7AUD from memory.

Korres Lip Butter in Jasmine

I have raved about this recently in this review, and love using this first thing in the morning, before bed, and all thru the day. Love!

Essence Stay With Me Lipglosses in

Me & My Icecream  &

I Like Cotton Candy

My favourite lipgloss formulation, these colours have been the ones I've used most this month, but pretty much all of the colours are on high rotation for me. I have a review and swatches of them coming up, they're so beautiful. They also feature in perfect pairing post. They retail for a teeny tiny $3.95AUD!

Bloom & Boost Balm in Mango Tango*

I didn't like these at first, but have come to depend on them when my lips are a little thirsty. They don't have as much hydration as my Korres lip butter, for eg, but are much better than the majority of balms in my collection. The scent is slight, but nice.

Royal & Langnickel Stippling Brush

My very first stippling brush, I feel a fool for not having one for so long. I use this for cream blush application and find it nice and soft, and deposits a buildable amount of product. Can't remember the exact price of this as I bought it with a bunch of other brushes at the IMATS stall.

Travalo Perfume Atomiser

I work with a group of girls who carry multiple 100ml bottles of perfume along to work with them. While they smell amazing all the time, the extra weight in their bags is ludicrous! This is my intelligent alternative.This little baby is one of the best things I've ever purchased, you fill it up with any fragrance you like and throw it in your bag. At the moment mine is filled with Tresor in Love because Chris cracked it over the fact that I hardly wear it (he bought it for me a few Christmas' ago!)

YSL Cream de Blush in Powdery Rose

A beautiful gift from Chris that I lusted after for the longest time after seeing Pink Sith review her pot here, it sat unloved for quite a while because it was quite full on when applied with fingers. With the purchase of the aforementioned stippling blush, love and obsession was reignited! Amazing colour, amazing formula, wish I had've reviewed this while they were still available but I think I still will anyway. Sorry guys!

I think this month shows a stellar line up of products I really adore, and that fact makes up for the skipping of September;)

Are any of these products your favourites, too?

Have any of them caught your eye?

A Green Look for Depression Awareness

As many of you might know, October has been flooded with pink looks and products to support Breast Cancer Research (My pink post is on the way!) Some may not know that October also is also Depression Awareness Month! An amazing group of bloggers have created green themed looks to tie in with the green ribbon, and I decided to show my support and hop on board. My talents are nothing compared to theirs but I'm happy with how my eye makeup turned out.

The weather in Melbourne is ridiculous, yesterday I was in a summer dress and today I am layered up with a scarf on! So please excuse the low lighting, I took the best pictures I could while in the car on the way to uni (was a passenger, don't worry!) The eyes took about 5 minutes and the rest of my 'getting ready' (clothes,face and didn't do my hair) took about 2 flat. Which, I suppose, is why after my coffee at uni I realised my singlet under my cardi was on back to front! Here is a closer look of the eyes:

PRODUCTS!

*Bourjois HealthyMix Foundation in #52

which I applied with my Rae Morris Radiance brush^

*NYX Peach blush

*Models Prefer Glitz & Glamour Highlighter (review here)

*Nothing on the lips but I later put on Smashbox Overexposed gloss^ (review soon)

EYES!

*MAC Painterly paint pot

*Face of Australia Mini Mousse in Magic Mist (swatched here)

*NYX Algae applied all over the lid

*Shiro Farore's Wind over the top of the whole lid, on top of Algae

*MAC Mink & Sable in crease and blended right into other shades

*Urban Decay Virgin as highlight, from Naked Palette

*B by Bloom collection mascara^ (new, review soon)

*

I love the contrast between the grass green of the other shades and the khaki of Mink & Sable- it's fast becoming my all-time favourite shade and I've worn it almost every day this month. I like NYX Algae a lot more once I put the Shiro pigment on top, it's a little too stark by itself on my pale face. I have been using NYX Peach a heap lately, pretty much this whole year it's been my go to and I love the way it goes with green eyes looks perfectly. I'm not sure if it's the amount of steps my eye look contained which made this look crease a little during the day, I have a feeling it's the Shiro pigments but aren't certain just yet. Will let you know if this is the case!

Here are the links to the looks which inspired my look, please refrain from comparing their made skillz to my lack of!

My favourite lady Jerry Dazzlepants!

Wendy!
Kathy!
Helen!
Priscilla!
Robyn!

If you are feeling down and need some help, or know someone who you think may be struggling with life at the moment, let them know you care and direct them to beyond blue, an amazing Australian organisation that supports depression, anxiety and related issues. No-one has to suffer alone, and the more we talk about these issues the less stigma there will be in the world.

All items followed by a '^' were provided for consideration for review, which does not affect my opinion of the product.