essence 50's girls reloaded // photos, swatches, FOTD

I'm never able to pass up on an essence collection, and when I stumbled upon the 50's Girls Reloaded collection in Priceline I couldn't resist picking up a few pieces.The liners were super cheap so even though I didn't need them I let them come along home with me. I chose the old gold shade Love Me Tender and the darkest blue I'm A Marine Girl. 02 I'm Sailing lipstick is a bright peachy shade (yet to try it out!) and the shadow duo stole my heart, I'm utterly in love.

03 Come on Board Captain contains a golden beige shade with a deep navy shade alongside it. Both colours are buttery and pigmented, comparable to my Inglot shadows. Considering that this duo was around the $6 mark, that is mighty impressive!

I created a nice work-appropriate look with the shadows and liners, normally I wear brighter makeup to work but slept in so this is what I came up with!

I've worn my Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy almost every day in July, and for this look I topped it with my essence gloss in the newly released (but permanent) shade Deep Rose. It tones down the mauve colour of Boy but doesn't overpower it either.

A very sheer wash of the beige essence shade with the navy shade in the crease, blended right out. The shadows are really soft and easy to blend, I've been wearing the taupe all over the lid quite a bit this month but this photo doesn't do the colour justice. My lashes are also quite lackluster in this look, the Maybelline Lash Stiletto Voluptuous mascara flakes on me like crazy and doesn't create a nice definition for my lashes either.

Products Used

Face of Australia Face Base primer

Bourjois Healthymix Serum foundation in 52

Face of Australia Loose Translucent Powder*

Nars Orgasm blush

MAC Painterly paint pot

essence Come on Board Captain shadow duo

Urban Decay Virgin shadow to highlight

essence I'm a Marine Girl liner on lashline

essence Love Me Tender liner on lower lashline

Maybelline Lash Stiletto Voluptuous mascara

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy

essence Stay with Me gloss in Deep Rose

essence can be purchased from Priceline and Target stores nationally.

Have you bought anything from the 50's Girls Reloaded collection?

How often do you use navy shades?

Shiro Cosmetics- Master Sword

This beauty blogging business has opened my eyes to the world of indie cosmetics. I am the kind of person to always buy from the local businesses, as my Dad always taught me to help out those who need a boost. Rather than always shelling out bucks to bigger businesses like Starbucks or MAC, I like to get my kick from small coffee shops on corner stores or online only cosmetic companies. Shiro Cosmetics is an easy company to give my money to!

This image courtesy of Shiro Cosmetics, was not taken by me

I bought a stack of samples from Shiro a while ago and never got around to showing you the haul. One of my favourite shades from the bunch was Master Sword, and I wore it a while ago and took some shots.

Master Sword is described by Shiro as a

'Super-glittery pale taupe - a blend of silver and gold, with bright silver sparks. Lip-safe!'

This is quite a cool-toned taupe, and I thought I would show you it in comparison to the more golden S.S. Anne which is my very favourite from Shiro (so far)

I just threw a wash of Master Sword over the lid and did a rushed mascara application. I recommend applying Shiro eye shadows over primers/bases as I feel they need something to grip to in order to last without creasing. This doesn't faze me at all as I use a base every day, it's my auto pilot mode. 

A shimmery, satin sort of finish for this shadow. I love shades that can be worn by themselves but still look really nice, and this really does. It looks even nicer in real life than in these images.

Master Sword adds a nice subtle light to the eye, and topped with mascara is easy as pie.

I really liked the sample shadows I purchased from Shiro, they are only $1.00 and full size retails for $5.00. I chose a whole stack of samples and my shipping only came to $1.75! You can buy Master Sword (from the Legends Collection) here, and see what else Shiro has to offer here.

Have you purchased from Shiro Cosmetics before?

What indie makeup companies do you recommend I try next?

Vampire's Love

The last monthly release from Essence saw them leap onto the vampire trend with vigour. I don't mind the odd True Blood episode or Twilight tune out, but I'm definitely not in the 'vampire obsessed' category. I still fell for this collection, however, and think the execution tread the line between vampy and cute perfectly.

The Vampire's Love line is limited edition, and contains a range of polishes, two lipstains, one blush gelee, shimmer powder, lash thickener, perfume and an eyeshadow palette. I was a good girl and only chose a few items.

Only 5 things, see how restrained I was! (I have since gone back to get more...) I am planning on doing in depth reviews on some of these, but thought I'd post my initial thoughts now so if you were interested you could pick the pieces, as they are limited edition and will be gone soon.

Six gorgeous shadows for $7.50 AUD? It was an easy decision, and I think the shade selection in 'Love at First Bite' leaves room for wearable daytime looks as well as smokier night ones. I'll be doing a look with this palette soon, and more swatches.

This 'Bloody Mary' blush gelee gives a red flush to cheeks, and is sort of like the jelly version of Benefit's Benetint, but much more affordable. I love that the packaging is clear, I think it looks really cool. From memory it was around the $3 mark.

 I assumed that the two lip stains in the Vampires Love range were going to have slant tip applicators as the tube is squeezy, but I was delighted to see a doe foot inside! Best of both worlds, I am a happy little vampire girl and love the 'True Love' shade that I chose. As you can see from the above image, it really does 'stain', that was my attempt at rubbing away the swatch with a wipe.

To really appreciate how amazing these polishes are, you need to see them in person. Photos will never do them justice, especially Gold Old Buffy, which is officially the prettiest polish I own. Captivating, can't stop staring at it and I'm not even a dark nail lover.

Overall I think I did well with this collection, I went back to buy the speckled grey/white polish as I couldn't stop thinking about it. I think they pulled this theme off really well, and I appreciate the range of vampy influence they drew from (Buffy, Sparkly aka Twilight, darkness motifs, myths like Bloody Mary)

I'm very happy with my choices, what do you think of them? Did you pick anything up from the Vampire's Love collection?