Real Techniques Stippling Brush Review

I have been a long time follower of the Pixiwoo girls and was excited to learn that Samantha Chapman was releasing her own brush line.
The other day I was browsing in Priceline and came across their collection. The brush that caught my eye was the stippling brush, ($19). I needed a new foundation brush and remember seeing the girls use this one in their videos and I thought how nice it made their foundation look.
This one is a meduim dual fibre stippling brush that promotes an air -brushed effect on the skin when using with liquid foundation, I find that it distributes my foundation really evenly and gives a good coverage, (no more streak lines yay).
 It is sleek and lightweight and has a flat bottom for self standing, (They actually don't stand that well though). I like that the handles are colour co-ordinated depending on what the brush is meant for. The stippling one is pink meaning its a finishing brush.
The bristles are handcut and are made out of cruelty free taklon bristles. The brush is very soft yet dense and guess what.. No hairs have fallen onto my face yet hehe!
The other bushes look ok, but none of the others sucked me in like this one.


What are your thoughts on these brushes?  :) Nicole

Revlon Photo Ready Compact Foundation

I picked this foundation up by mistake thinking it was a powder, (but later when trying it realised it was a compact foundation, that will teach me to speed shop hehe). It is quite a nice compact that is designed to provide "perfected, porless, skin in any light" The compact uses photochromatic pigments to bend, reflect,and diffuse light to promote full yet undetectable coverage. It has a soft powder finish, is oil free, fragrance free, and paraben free.- (Courtesy Beauty haven.com).
I picked this one up in the bargain bin at my local chemist for $15 reduced from $34.99!
It comes with it's own latex sponge that I wont bother to use unless it's an emergency as sponges leave streaks and don't blend properly.
It goes on very soft, feeling like velvety powder but with better coverage. It dries to a soft powdery finish but does take a while to set, so if you have oily skin you may not like this product as it moves around a bit.
It comes with a liquifying screen, oooohhhh..which is like a plastic mesh over the product which i tried to pull off st first thinking it was the protective screen, apparently it is there to liquify the product making it softer and easier to apply, (It's really just a gimmick).

I find this foundation provides me with good coverage, it is buildable, (oily skinned people should probably set this with powder),

Overall I wouldn't pay the RRP but I was happy to pay the $15. This compact will live in my handbag for touch ups throughout the day over my regular foundation.

***July Lust have it Review***

How fast is this year going? Over half way until Christmas again! (Not that I'm complaining I love Christmas time hehe).
So I received my July Lust have it box or bag on the mail yesterday and it always reminds me that the end of the month is near as I always get mine so late in the month which sux because I cant help myself but look at other blogs to see what they got in their bags so I'm not to surprised when I open mine lol.
This months bag was a cheerful bright orange. It felt nice and full which is a good sign.
I was quite happy with the contents I received in my bag, let me share them with you..

Baby Foot (full size rrp$ 29.95)- We actually stock this product at work so I have experienced it before. It is basically a foot exfoliation process that removes dead skin cells off the feet and leaves fresh new skin with no cracks. It takes a few days for the peeling process and it doesn't look pretty (looks like you have a foot disease lol best not to wear thongs out on the street). You have to wear the booties for two hours for the product to work which can be a bit hard for the time conscious. It has alot of acid ingredients in it such as lactic, malic, salicylic and glycolic which all help to rid dead skin cells. This is a good product and does work, my feet are pretty smooth at the moment so I will try and get Joel to use it on his rough feet :)

Matrix deep smoothing shampoo and conditioner (sample sizes) - I haven't tried Matrix products and my hair is very dry lately so I am keen to give this a go, full size products cost $29 each, they contain no parabens and claim to smooth unruly hair leaving it soft, shiny, and manageable. (We shall see :)

Miranesse Velvet lip Lift moisture shine (sample 1.5g)- This is a cute little lip gloss and a good sample size, it doesn't have a name so I don't know which colour I got..But it's like a pink with glitter bits in it. The consistency is sticky which I love as this means better staying power, it smells quite nice but does not plump the lips as it claims I don't think i would purchase the full size of this as it is really just another lipgloss (nothing special).

Avene Gentle eye make-up remover- (sample size) "Gel formulation for effective eye makeup removal, whilst leaving no residue, will not sting or irritate the eyes". So far i really like this product, it is gentle and quite soothing, but i still find it needs to be worked a bit more to remove heavy eye makeup. Don't think i would purchase the full size though as there are cheaper ones out there that do a better job ($22.95).

Avene Ystheal +cream anti ageing- This is a night moisturiser which helps prevent the first signs of photo ageing.(Exposure to uv radiation/sun exposure).
I like this, it's nice and thick and didn't seem to irritate my sensitive skin and my skin did feel hydrated after i put it on. Didn't notice fuller firmer skin :( but give it time hehe.
The only thing I'm not to sure about is the ingredients in this one, - it does contain parabens (which doesn't worry me that much), it has mineral oil which may not be good for those who suffer from oily/acne skin, hydrogenated castor oil- ( not great for broken or irritated skin).

So that's it, overall I am quite impressed and can't wait to get next months bag.
What did you get in your bag this month? Happy??

Nicole :)

Maybelline Eye Studio Colour Tattoo Review

I have been waiting so patiently for these babies to hit our Aussie shelves.
Little glass pots of creamy eye shadows that claim to last a whooping 24 hours with no creasing or fading. They are also likened to MAC paintpots. So I was flicking through a Chemist warehouse catalogue and saw that they were on special for $7(Normally $12)! So before you can say bargain I was at the Chemist picking some out!
Of course some of the colours had been sold out before my little mitts could get to them! But I managed to get 3 of them (out of 10 colours) which I am very happy with.
As for the staying power, I haven't worn them for 24 hours yet (and doubt I will), but once they are dry they don't budge. I had to scrub the swatches off my arm with a wet one and they still left colour residue! Gotta be happy with that for staying power :)

Bad to the Bronze- I love my natural colours and I can tell that this will turn into one of my go to shadows. It applies lovely nice and creamy and does last all day without the need to reapply. I use a concealer brush with synthetic bristles to apply this shadow. The colour is a bronze/gold/brown shimmery tone so would look great dressed up with some gold pigment placed on top and a bold black liner. I find that this one doesn't need a primer underneath, leaves a lovely looking shen all day on my lids (not an oily look) I really loooooove this!

Pomegranate Punk- Another beautiful colour. This one is like a red berry/Merlot purple kind of colour with a bit of golden shimmer. (This looks really great on blue eyes). It is very pigmented and creamy and again I use the concealer brush to apply. This one also applies well and not patchy looking, it blends easily until it dries and then it wont budge! you can build the colour up as much as you want. Im glad I got this one as it is a bit unusual and unlike any of my shadows.

Painted Purple- I picked this over the turquoise colour as I think I will wear this one more. It is a bright purple, I still really like this one but is my least favourite out of the three I purchased. I just find this one needs a bit more work to look good. It can look a bit patchy/streaky and needs a few coats for the colour to look really pigmented. This one does look great as a base to make other purple shadows pop so i think this is how I will use this one mostly.

I heard that in the UK the shadows have different names than us and USA? How strange..

This one is a comparison of my smashbox shadow, as you can see the products are of the same consistency and pigment, one is about $26 and the other only rrp $12, i know what ones i will be purchasing from now on :)

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Review

I have heard a ton of good reviews of this product line so I thought I would give it a go to see if it lives up to it's expectations.
I found this concealer in my local Chemist Warehouse, it was $15 (not on special booo!)
I do have quite blue circles around my eyes, not so much underneath but around my nose area and inner eyes.
I decided to try out the brightener which is nearly the same colour as the lightest shade but with a bit more pink/salmon undertone to it. (And no shimmer thank god :)
This concealer claims to treat under the eye area by diminishing the signs of puffiness and fatigue.
I like the packaging it's a wand with a little twist top to push the product out into a little sponge puff tip applicator which is surprisingly soft and doesn't pull or tug the delicate eye area.
The consistency is quite thin not creamy, it applies well and doesn't settle into fine lines.
I find the colour to be a bit to pink for my skin tone and looks a bit ashy when applied by itself over the blue circles.
When I applied my MAC concealer first and then  added this over the top it was much better and did make my eye area look brighter so I think I may go back and purchase the light concealer and see if that works better for me.
Overall I really enjoy this product and will continue to use it now that I have figured out how to make it work best for me.
Has any one tried this concealer yet?
Thoughts?

Physicians Formula, Happy Booster Blush

I was so happy (excuse the pun) to have stumbled across Physicians formula Happy Booster Blush at my local priceline the other day.
I have seen this product on You Tube a fair bit and thought it looked right up my alley! It cost about $20 (you can get them on Ebay for $12 but I wanted it now! lol)
The concept of this blush is that is a mood enchancer "infused with a happy boost blend of Euphoryl a natural plant extract which have been shown to mimic the effect of endorphins", well it certainly smells nice when you open it up, but nothing is going to change my mood when I am doing my makeup at 6.00am getting ready for work hehe nice try though!
I chose the colour Rose, and when blended with all the other colours it does leave a nice rosey hue on my cheeks. It is not heavily pigmented and is quite hard to swatch. The product sucked me in straight away with it's little multi coloured love hearts and metalic pink container, it aslo comes with a little brush that is stored underneath the product but the brush is scratchy and the hairs fall onto your face, (not a good look, stick to a normal blush brush). Overall it is a nice product that can be worn everyday. It's pigmentation is a bit blah, but the cuteness makes up for it and it has a faint violet scent which is quite nice.

colour swatch

I heart you :)

Comparison in size to Physicians formula mineral glow pearls, the booster blush is about 7grams of product

benefit and Smashbox, Creasless cream shadow review

Hi Everyone!

Lately I have purchased a few eye bases/cream shadows and wanted to share them with you.
I purchased the Smashbox 15 hour wear cream shadow in the colour Quartz which is a lovely golden/bronzey/taupe colour, this was brought from myer for $24.
The colour is really pretty and full of shimmer and it does stay on the eyes for a long time ( I haven't had my make-up on for 15 hours to see if it does stay on that long).
It doesn't crease which is great. Sometimes I will put this on as a shadow colour and sometimes i will put this on as a base and then put a lovely gold or bronze pigment over the top and it just amplifies the colour so much!
The only thing that I don't love about the product is that it seems to have fallout of glitter particles after a days wear. I don't know if this is because I rubbed my eyes or not though.. There were alot more colours to chose from, and overall I am happy with the product and would purchase again.

The second shadow cream I purchased on line, www.allcosmeticswholesale.com
 It's Benefits creasless cream shadow liner in "Sippin n Dippin", it's a beautiful orange creamy colour with no shimmer/glitter but has a nice sheen to it. I love the packaging like all Benefit products it's so damn cute! I can't bear to throw the packaging away yet hehe.
This shadow lasts a long time too and doesn't crease, i find it looks really pretty with an orange or gold colour over the top of it. It looks nice on it's own but is very subtle in colour. I picked this one up for $9 on special which I thought was a bargain!

What are your favourite cream eye shadow/bases? Has anyone tried out the Tattoo ones? I would like to give them a try next. :) Nicole

Seche Vite, Best top coat ever??

I know I'm a little late with this top coat trend, but I saw it cheap on Ebay the other day and thought I would see what the hype was all about.
"Seche Vite's patented formula penetrates through the nail lacquer to the base coat forming a single solid coating over the nail plate which is guaranteed not to yellow. It goes on immediately after the nail lacquer, no waiting. Apply thickly, get a nice bead on the end of the brush, then set softly down on the first nail painted."( http://www.crushcosmetics.com.au/nails/top-coats/seche-vite-dry-fast-top-coat)
I thought I would so a little experiment to see if Seche Vite really lived up to it's name. I applied two coats of a cheap $2 nail polish (NYC feather Boa) and then applied one coat of Seche Vite to my right hand only while the polish was semi wet. It didn't drag the nail polish like I thought it might which was a plus.
Below are the pics I took of this polish after being on for three days! I am really impressed as I normally take this polish off after 1 day as it chips so bad as my nails get quite a beating most days! ( I never use to wear any top coat though tsk tsk!)
The results speak for themselves!
I have heard of some negatives of this top coat though, 1. It thickens up to quickly in the bottle (It is quite a thick top coat to begin with),  2. I was a bit freaked about opening it when I got it as there was a massive warning label- "Contains ingredients that can harm or deform your unborn child" Geeezus! Lucky i am not preggers or I would not have used this. ( I am guessing the ingredient they are talking about is Toulene).
I think it is a good thing that they openly have a warning label on the box. One of my friends was using Revitanail nail strengthener when pregnant and only just noticed in tiny writing that it contains Formaldehyde which is just as bad as Toulene! 

I actually really want the Seche Vite V polish which you can cure under a UV light over normal nail polish with natural nails and it acts like a gel sealant. ( I have Glaze n Go but that can't be used over normal nail polish as it cracks).

The cheap polish (Great colour though)

After 3 days, pretty good i think

After three days. Skanky nails eew!

Have you tried this? What do you think??

Have a nice weekend, Nicole :)

My current Hair care products for my new red hair

I have recently changed my hair colour from very blond to a darker red shade. I have been blond my whole life and one day I just got over it and wanted to try something different, so I went a red colour and I really love it.
I had to change all of my hair care products as they wouldn't cater to my new colour. One thing that I have discovered is that red hair fades soooo quickly! I can literally see the colour getting stripped out when I straighten it!
So I have had to make some changes..
 I used to wash my hair every day as I found that it looked/felt oily otherwise whereas I have cut my hair washing down to every second day now to preserve the colour. I have found that since dyeing my hair it feels allot dryer so I put treatments in it every few days on the ends and I also use a colour care shampoo and conditioner now.
Below are some pics of my hair products and my new colour, (It was a lot darker but it has been about three weeks now so has faded to a lighter red).

 This is the shampoo and conditioner set that I chose, it's by Juuce and is available at most hair salons. They smell good, lather nicely, i just don't like that the shampoo is clear in colour, it looks like a cheap product (That's just me being fussy)..
The package also came with Juuce shock treatment. (Below), this is a very nice treatment very thick and creamy and my hair feels really soft after I use it, (use about twice a week).
I also brought the Sunsilk advanced Reconstruction program hair spa mask from Woollies, ($13), this is just like a very thick conditioner. It's ok but i don't feel it does much for my hair and wouldn't repurchase this one.

 Hot Spell by Pure (available at most salons $23) I use this before i blow dry or straighten my hair and it's basically just a heat/thermal protectant. I love the smell of this it's very sweet like a lolly. It has a bit of a hold to it as well if used in wet hair but goes once hair is dry.

Rusk Coral Therapy Marine Nutrient shine spray. 
Being darker I find that my hair looks more shinier and healthy then being blond. I just spritz  a tiny bit on once my hair is up for that added bit of shine factor without looking greasy. ( I had this when I had blond hair but didn't use it as it made my hair look way to oily)
I found this on Ebay, it smells divine!

I also brought a natural look hair food expand volumising treatment at my local salon supplier shop.(Below) $12. This is a horrible product that makes my hair so knotty, i think i will just stick to teasing it with a comb and a bit of hair spray if i want more volume.

My new colour close up

Also got some layers for volume

 Do you find that when you change your hair colour your hair products/routine changes??
Happy Friday people!!!

Nicole :)

Napolean Perdis red lips and MAC olive eyes look

I brought my first red lipstick a while ago, it was the Napolean Perdis Set lipstick called "Madrid". (Purchased at local Big W store).
I love this blue shade red, it makes my teeth look so white lol.
I didn't think I could pull red lips off but i think it depends on the type of undertones in the red that makes or breaks a good colour.
This lippie is super pigmented, when I first applied it I found that it was all over my teeth in a matter of minutes (Lucky i didn't go out in that time hehe). I have since found that if I apply a lip liner first and then blot after I have applied the lipstick, it stays in place and lasts longer.
I used MAC sumptous Olive on my eyes along with MAC soot in the crease and just a matte white in the inner corners of my eyes, I then tighlined the top of my eyes with a matte black eyeshadow. The hilight on my brow bone is Smashbox Champagne, (my favourite highlighter ever).
Here are the results, I still haven't worn the lippie out yet, I need to work up the courage ;)

What do you think of the look?I think a nice fluttery set of falsies would complete it :) Nicole



ps, That patch of hair has been annoying me ever since i edited this pic, it looks like a bald spot lol

Madrid Lipstick (pic off website)

June Lust Have It Box :)

I was quite pleased with this months Lust have it box (or bag). Last month I was dissapointed with my bag, it had some biore products for oily skin which was no use to me, a shattered make up store purple eye shadow which probably would have been lovely if it wasn't all through the bag! (The box was a much better idea as the products were packed with more care and padding). And I got a sample of perfume that smelled like an old lady's garden! Lol this month was much better. There are some pictures below of what was in the bag, I only just got it today so I haven't tried any of it out. I am quite excited to try the 24k gold face and eye masque by lonvitalite, looks like it has some good ingredients in it! I also received a Bloom Glitter liquid eyeliner in silver which I swatched on my hand and seems very nice. There were 2 perfume samples in the bag, one was the new Roberto Cavalli sample which I already own and the other was Marc Jacobs new Daisy scent. I have decided to collect little perfume samples and when I travel I can take them along with me instead of full size bottles that can smash easily!
The last thing I recieved was a Batiste dry shampoo in the flavour Blush.
I will do proper reviews on most of these products as I try them out..
It seems one month I get a great box, and the next month I get a crappy box, Hmmm, I guess I will stick with them for a few more months and see how it goes. My next subscription service would be from Bella Box as they always seem to have high end products in their boxes.

 So were you guys happy with your box/bag this month?  :) Nicole

Peninsula Hot Springs Melbourne

While I was at Melbourne, I was taken to a place called the Peninsula Hot Springs. Seeings how cold Melbourne was the last thing I felt like doing was stripping into my togs and going for a swim...
When I first stepped into the reception area there was a lovely calming atmosphere with relaxing music, you could hire a nice fluffy white bath robe and slippers to walk around in. We were then shown to the change area where I did strip down to my togs and walked outside to.... To pure heaven!

The springs

There were beautiful natural hot springs everywhere, people were just chilling out having a quite chat amongst themselves while soaking up the health benefits of the natural springs.
Before you step into the springs, there is a little stream that you walk through and it's covered in different size rocks, it' s called the reflexology stream, the rocks massage different points of your feet, it felt divine.



The first spring I went in was body temperature, I felt like I could fall asleep in the warm water as it instantly soothed my soul and warmed my cold body.There was a little cave that you could swim into and relax.  After that one we walked up the pebble path to a hotter bath, this one was about the temperature you would have in your normal bath, nice and hot.
As you keep walking along the path the springs get hotter, there was one that was about 45 degrees, I could only soak my feet in that one it was to hot lol. There was a beautiful view from the top spring, it overlooks green country farms with free roaming  dairy cows, and in the distance you can see the majestic blue of the ocean, such a gorgeous contrast!
There is also a beauty/spa room where you can hire your own private spring and you get to fill it with aromatherapy oils, and then after you have soaked in it they massage you in the room that is full of the hot spring natural steam!
This was my kind of place, great for the mind body and soul and i would happily live there hehe!

Some Health benefits of the Springs from the website -
The water is classified as a "Sodium Chloride Bicarbonate Spring" (Na-C1.HCO3). According to the Japanese Health Authority, the therapeutic benefits of bathing in this type of thermal mineral spring are said to include the alleviation of neuralgia, bruising, breaks, articular rheumatism, stiffness of the shoulders, skin diseases, recovery from fatigue, infertility and muscular complaints.
 

My favourite spring

Turkish Steam room











 Here is the website link if anyone is interested, i think it was about $25 for as long as you like. http://www.peninsulahotsprings.com/en_US/bookings.html



Has any of my fellow Aussie followers every been here? And did you love it as much as me??