Lip Lust!: Revlon Moon Drops Lipstick in Persian Melon
Thursday, 4 October 2012, Thursday, October 04, 2012 | 2 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

It is proper sweltering outside today! Don't know how I'm going to handle summer when I begin to melt at 31 degrees, goodness me. Onwards my beautiful sunshine babies, I have a fantastic product I am dying to tell you all about, never thought I would have any luck finding it over here but alas, discount beauty stalls strike again with great success. A Revlon classic, the Revlon Moon Drops Lipstick in (such a beautiful name;) Persian Melon.

Moon Drops is a cult classic at Revlon and when it was released it was a huge deal in the beauty industry. When it was released in the 60's it was marketed as the first "wet" lipstick, that moisturised and conditioned the lips unlike any other lip colour out there!

Ad from 1965 for Moon Drops Lipstick

Moon Drops is still as creamy and moisturising now as it was back in the day, keeping my lips smooth and soft, without worrying about my lips getting dry or flaky, plus the colour lasts for a long time too! I had Persian Melon on my lips for about two hours before it faded once I ate, very impressive for a cream lipstick that doesn't make claims about long wear. 


Excuse the slightly dodgy skin! I took all my makeup off before I went to work out and it was a waste putting it back on. Persian Melon is this super bright, neutral almost hot pink (the colour looks much more hot pink in person) that is unmistakably stand out as well as flattering. I love the name of the lipstick too! Persian Melon... it sounds so exotic and Middle Eastern! As I said before the colour is really long lasting and even as it fades it leaves a really beautiful pink tint on the lips, Moon Drops favours very bright bold hues, so if you like strong colours or especially orange lipsticks then Moon Drops is for you! The only qualm most people have with Moon Drops is the scent, I personally don't find it an offensive smell in any way, it's got that older women's lipstick smell a bit, but it's not overwhelming and doesn't stop me from loving it.

The iconic bright green bullet! At least it's easy to find in your makeup bag :)


I have never, ever seen the Moon Drops lipstick at Revlon counters or stands in any Australian store before, so imagine my surprise at seeing about 6 of them at a good old discount beauty stand. The specific name was "Discount Beauty Warehouse", it's not actually a warehouse. Basically it's one of those stands that carries discontinued items or shades, as well as the odd product from lesser known brands, as well as cheap versions of products that are readily available, they have them in most shopping centres over here but obviously this would vary from place to place. I believe these cost about $8 USD and generally a Revlon lipstick in Australia costs around $18 - $25 (ridiculous right?!), so to see these, as well as a fair few shades of the incredible Super Lustrous lipsticks for only $10 was a sure sight for sore eyes. I couldn't resist a bargain!

If you are not sensitive to smells in cosmetics, love bright opaque lipsticks and are a great beauty bargain hunter I can highly recommend the Revlon Moon Drops lipsticks, if you can't find them locally you could always grab one on eBay, best of luck girls! XO

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Jar Packing: Why Your Cosmetics Packaging Needs An Update
Monday, 16 July 2012, Monday, July 16, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

Skincare and cosmetic science has come such a long way, there are so many new innovations in all fields such as moisturisers, sunscreens, foundations and masks, state of the art formulas are being produced daily and to get the best for our skin these formulas need to be packaged correctly. In order for the ingredients to stay sanitary and to live up to their maximum potential they have to be packaged in a stable condition, and outdated jar packaging is not the way. 


One of the greatest and most powerful ingredients that is key in anti-aging is antioxidants. Antioxidants are an essential and vital part of taking the best possible care for your skin in order to protect against free-radical damage, sun exposure, pollution and cigarette smoke. All of these in combination affect your skins collagen levels and ability to heal and repair itself, as well as producing abnormal cells within your body. Antioxidants work with skin identical ingredients, cell communicating ingredients and skin repairing ingredients and no matter what age you are the more of these ingredients the better. 

Credit


The ingredients in the jar, no matter how state of the art they may be will break down in a jar due to lack of stability when they are exposed to light and oxygen. Some products will come with small spatulas to scoop out product, saving you the lack of hygiene from constantly dipping dirty fingers in and out, but this doesn't stop what you can't control; light or air. These ingredients are just as vulnerable to damage from pollution, sunlight, smoke and environmental attack as your own skin. Unfortunately the skincare and cosmetics industry continues to onslaught consumers with jar packaging despite it's faults, and this is because women love the appearance and the luxurious appeal of jar packaging. Think about it, a rich and glamourous lifestyle with a high class array of skincare products from Shiseido, Chanel and La Mer littered all over your vanity appeals to you doesn't it? Hence the skincare industry continues to utilise it, as a marketing strategy.

There are so many amazing products with wonderful formulas that you really shouldn't waste your time or money on products in bad packaging, I cannot recommend any product packaged in a jar apart from gel eyeliners, creme eyeshadows or pigments, or lip balms.

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Covergirl & Max Factor: Why Europe and the USA aren't missing out.
Saturday, 7 July 2012, Saturday, July 07, 2012 | 4 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

There are a few major corporations that are the owners of all our favourite brands, so it's not just a coincedence when two different brands will release a similar concept of product at the same time and this is an evident case in Max Factor and Covergirl, who are both owned by pharmaceutical giant Procter and Gamble. Whilst I was in the UK I noticed an abundance of Max Factor at all of the major high street stores, but no Covergirl. Max Factor is only available to the USA online, I believe they used to have it a few years ago but it didn't sell well. Obviously it would feel like a loss to both parties to not be able to easily purchase both brands, but there's no real loss at all, let me give you an example!

Covergirl Smoky ShadowBlast & Max Factor Smoky Eye Effect Shadow


Covergirl Smoky ShadowBlast
Though a novel concept, Smoky ShadowBlast is far better in theory than practice, and are not only notorious for the stick ends breaking, but also for a formula with a weak colour payoff and pigmentation. All of the shades are very frosty and crease and fade far too quickly to be worth any amount of money.

Max Factor Smokey Eye Effect Shadow
I can't be exactly sure but I do believe these products have the same formula considering the reviews for Smokey Eye Effect Shadow aren't exactly glowing either, in fact they're the opposite. The colours again have little to no pigmentation when applied onto the eye, are extremely troublesome to blend, are patchy, frosty and leave an uneven film of colour that makes blending step 2 to step 1 a nightmare. Though the colours in Smokey Eye Effect Shadow are more sophisticated than the young audience that Covergirl targets, but the product is just as bad.

Covergirl Blast Flipstick & Max Factor Flipstick Colour Effect


Covergirl Blast Flipstick
Covergirl and Max Factor both chose to get creative with lip art this year by bringing out their flipstick concepts. Another winner, you essentially have three lip colours in one! One side of the flipstick is a creamy shade, the other side is a shimmer shade, and you mix the duos together to create a third shade, great innit? The Covergirl variant delivers long lasting pigmented colour that is vibrant and resists bleeding to a minimal amount. The only issue is the loose plastic lid that could come off in your makeup bag or purse, so shut it tight!

Max Factor Flipstick Colour Effect
Once again the same concept, and just as successful too! Flipstick Colour Effect is spoken of as being moisturising, easy to use, soft, blendable and highly pigmented, the same as their Covergirl counterpart. Though they have less shades (Max Factor have six whilst Covergirl boast 13) they once again have the more sophisticated combinations, but still allow for some fun and creative lip art!

So far these are the only two similarities I can find that are the exact same concept, but if there's any others you guys have picked up on comment below and tell me!

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New Makeup Tutorial! "Day Glow - A Summer Glow For Winter"
Wednesday, 4 July 2012, Wednesday, July 04, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

Hi munchkins! I just posted a new makeup tutorial (considering my last one was for valentine's day it's about time I did) and its all about giving a warm healthy complexion reminiscent of summer, for the colder months of winter. My skin has gotten so dry lately because of all the cold, so mattifying and oil-control is definitely not my goal right now, so a healthy dewy glow is what I'm looking to achieve.


Please let me know what you think, like, rate, subscribe, comment, anything you want! But do take a look, it means a lot to me :)

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M.A.C Extra Dimension Skinfinish
Tuesday, 19 June 2012, Tuesday, June 19, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

I've never really been a person to wear a facial highlight, as my skin has always been combination to oily (yes, people did used to call me "shiny face") I never wanted to add to the shine. But in the past few months I've actually been enjoying a bit of shine and accent to the high points of my face, and what  better way to add dimension than with the M.A.C Extra Dimension Skinfinish in the shade Superb.



M.A.C makes 3 different shades of Extra Dimension Skinfinish but I found superb to be the most wearable, a soft peachy to champagne nude. The other shades include Whisper of Gilt (the lightest gold colour that would only be workable on light to fair skin tones as it may come off chalky on darker tones) and Glorify (a beautiful dark copper/bronze that would only be workable for tan to darker skin tones)

(from left to right; Whisper of Gilt, Glorify, Superb) Credit

I haven't seen or heard of this product from M.A.C before, and the first time I spotted them was at the M.A.C counter at Harrods in Knightsbridge (fancy I know?!) and it took me around 10 minutes just to choose which shade I wanted, when you swatch them they're the most soft textured powders. They have a quite dry texture and they're also extremely long-lasting, and highly pigmented!


The reason they're called Extra Dimension is because the wavy pattern is embedded into the powder, and it has ridges that rise and fall, therefore the next dimension! Rather than a flat powder. It also has M.A.C in a pattern in the top half of the powder, but it's rubbed off since I've been using it every day since I bought it! 


Superb is the shade that suits practically all skin tones, warm, cool, light and dark! It adds such a beautiful wet look sheen to the skin and I always apply it with an angled blush brush above my eye brows, my brow bone, on my cheekbone, down my nose and on my cupids bow. Superb also photographs beautifully on the skin, another bonus!

I believe that Extra Dimension Skinfinishes are around £25 or more, I honestly don't remember, but I do love and recommend it as a luxury highlighter!

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Shadow Lust: L'Oreal La Couleur Infallible Eyeshadow
, Tuesday, June 19, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

I'm back! Did you all miss me? :) I've been so busy and stressed lately I just haven't had the time for blogging, but every things calming down so now I can get back to you guys. What I've wanted to talk to you all about is the much blogged about L'Oreal La Couleur Infallible Eyeshadows in particular my favourite; Sahara Treasure.



I bought Sahara Treasure when I was in the UK (yes, I still have products from the UK to review) at Boots for £6.99, so much cheaper than it is in Australia! Plus I haven't seen Sahara Treasure in Australia before. Couleur Infallible (in irridescent finish) has the most velvety soft texture, almost like a cushion of eyeshadow (not like the dream bouncy blushes though, that's a totally different texture!). They're so opaque and I find for maximum pigmentation you should apply it with your fingers, rather than an eyeshadow brush, but if you use a brush it's far more build-able.


Sahara Treasure (must be based on the desert) has a beautiful metallic cool gold colour, I wouldn't say it was multiple colours but rather a solid metallic. It definitely reminds of what you would find in a treasure chest (the concept of course) and I've just been loving this lately. I love to layer it over M.A.C Paint Pot in Indianwood or on its own since it's definitely strong enough, with a dark or chestnut brown in the crease and under my lower lashline. I wouldn't even say that Couleur Infallible requires a primer, plus L'Oreal claims that they last for up to 24 hours. Although I'm not exactly game enough to test this considering you shouldn't wear makeup while you sleep!

How pretty is it? I'm in love!

L'Oreal Couleur Infallible eyeshadows retail for $14 and up at most L'Oreal stockists such as Priceline and other pharmacies.

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Beauty Lust: Pearl!
Wednesday, 13 June 2012, Wednesday, June 13, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

I don't always pay attention to the main trends in the beauty industry, I mean I know them, but I have my little favourites regardless of what's in season, and right now my favourite is Pearl products, especially nails and shadows!

Credit: From left to right: Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel in "Sheer Pearl", Essie "Kisses and Bises, O.P.I "I Juggle... Men", M.A.C "Frayed to Order" (my favourite!) and Chanel "Pearl Drop".

I love the look of nails like a mother of pearl, my favourite that I own has definitely been O.P.I "Otherwise Engaged"  and when I was cleaning out my nail polish collection yesterday I found this little nail polish from some random little brand called Blush Amour and the colour is number 21, it's a white pearl with slight pink shimmers, I have a photo on my instagram (@bigfatsquishycheeks)! I think that pearl nails are understated and simple, but so so so delicate and feminine! Plus it makes my nails look so shiny and healthy, and adds dimension.

I've also been really loving pearl eyeshadow, I love a strong metallic with smooth application and one sweep dimension and that's what a great pearl eyeshadow should be, that's my favourite part about a pearl is they're never one solid colour, there's always hints of pink and they're always shiny. A lot of brands sell eyeshadows or have at least one eyeshadow series that involves pearls, including:


Some of the best available pearl shades include:

M.A.C Woodwinked

M.A.C All That Glitters

NYX Loose Pearl Eyeshadow in Pearl

Maybelline Eye Studio Color Pearls Marbleized Eyeshadow in Sinful Sinnamon 

Maybelline also have a line of Pearl lipsticks in their Color Sensation Lipstick line, the (you guessed it!)  Color Sensational Pearl Lipsticks. I'm not quite ready yet for pearl lips, but I'm really enjoying eyes and nails so I'll let you all know soon!

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Blush Lust: Collection Shimmer Shades Blushalicious Blusher
Tuesday, 12 June 2012, Tuesday, June 12, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

As I've said before when I was in UK I was looking for amazing products that were only available then and there, and unfortunately not in Australia. One of the best recommended products that I found on my trip was the Collection (2000) Shimmer Shades Blushalicious Blusher, and I am loving it!



Shimmer Shades is sold in two different compacts; the blush compact Blushalicious and the bronzer/contour compact Way to Go (personally I think Way to Glow would've been a more clever name but to each their own!). Shimmer Shades are (as you might've guessed) 4 different shimmery shades of blush, this includes a light baby pink, a deep pink, a warm mauve and a warm coral, which I accidentally scratched with my nail, hence the dent!

From left to right, top to bottom: Light Baby Pink, Deep Pink, Warm Mauve and Warm Coral

From left to right, Warm Coral, Warm Mauve, Deep Pink, Light Baby Pink

Shimmer Shades actually isn't extremely shimmery, and is perfectly suitable for daytime as well as nighttime. And I love that the shades are quite varying, so instead of actually having to buy a separate coral blush for summer or a mauve for winter; I have them both plus two gorgeous pinks in one palette, and it only cost me £4.19! All the colours are pigmented and blendable. They have a fairly buttery formula and they don't flake either. I'm yet to try all the colours at once blended with a brush, but that might suit nighttime instead as I can imagine looking a bit ghastly during the daytime! 

I only wish I bought Way to Go as well! As well as being able to buy it in Australia! A girl can dream. or order online of course. 

Shimmer Shades is highly recommended as a great drugstore blush palette, and is available at Boots, Superdrug and other UK locations.


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Review: Bourjois Paris Healthy Mix Concealer
, Tuesday, June 12, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

I've got a few little favourites for my complexion on a day when I look like I haven't slept in a week, and one of my new favourites is the Bourjois Paris Healthy Mix Concealer. Bourjois's Healthy Mix foundation is their best selling and most popular foundation, but while I was in UK I brought my favourite foundations, so I figured the concealer would be the next best thing! 




Healthy Mix Concealer is a radiance and anti-fatigue concealer, with a gel/lightweight cream texture that smoothly and easily blends into the skin. According to Bourjois it contains three "fruit therapy" ingredients, including:
These fruit extracts not only give Healthy Mix Concealer a stunning harmless scent, but make it a product absolutely boasting with antioxidants and plant emollients, great for people who love a natural type of product.

Healthy Mix Concealer is sold in 3 neutral/warm shades, the lightest; "51 éclat clair", "52 éclat medium" and "53 éclat foncé", mine is the medium shade as I felt the lightest would be too pale, and would make my blemishes stand out and draw light, therefore drawing attention, no thanks!


It's not as orange as my camera makes it look, I had trouble with lighting all day!

I adore my M.A.C Pro Longwear and Studio Finish concealers but lately my skin tone has been too warm to use either of my NW15 shades, so opting for a warmer shade I came back to Healthy Mix. It's a pleasure to blend with your fingers or a brush, it doesn't crease or slip into lines, it has a clean angled squeeze tube applicator (hooray for hygiene!) and it's great on dark circles as well as blemishes, and it's creamy enough to blend on dry skin.

Bourjois Paris Healthy Mix Concealer was about £7.49 while is was the UK at Boots, and is available in Australia and Europe at mild drugstore prices, I highly recommend it!

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Review: Marc Jacobs Daisy Solid Perfume Necklace
Saturday, 9 June 2012, Saturday, June 09, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

Upon my mum's request she asked me to write a review about her Marc Jacobs Daisy Solid Perfume Necklace, her favourite scent. I'd describe her style as a mixture of sporty with a bit of classic, she likes light florals, fresh fruity scents and crisp fragrances, such as Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, Estee Lauder Beautiful and Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely. She had the rollerball as a gift for mother's day but it's very fragile, and she threw it into her bag and the glass smashed, whoops! Least her handbag smells of daisies.


The Marc Jacobs Daisy Solid Perfume Necklace retails for roughly $30 (according to Polyvore) but you may have trouble finding it, I'd suggest ordering online or on ebay. Firstly a bit about the Daisy scent; the perfume's top notes include wild strawberry, violet leaves and ruby red grapefruit, heart notes of violet, jasmine and gardenia, and base notes of vanilla infusion, soft musk and white woods. Plus, how cute is the packaging?

That's it though, the scent? Packaging; you cannot, and I repeat cannot smell the fragrance, take a good long sniff and all you'll get is metal, and a tiny hint of Daisy. It's such a shame considering it's such a sweet concept, even if you rub your finger all over the perfume you can't smell a thing, you may get the tiniest speck of fragrance, but not enough considering the standards Marc Jacobs sets as a company. Unfortunately completely unimpressive, definitely pass on this one and the other Marc Jacobs Daisy solid perfume items. Considering the formula would be the same for all solid products. I'd recommend a rollerball, or that you decant some of your original fragrance into those travel perfume bottles, I can't recall the name but they're great!

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Review: Collection Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara
, Saturday, June 09, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

Tsk tsk, not happy Collection!  (formerly known as Collection 2000, it's still a habit for me to write that instead). Before I went to the UK I made a point to look on the Boots website constantly for products I could explore that weren't available here, I still feel like I haven't tried even half of them. But one of the brands I'd heard about was Collection, I looked up on blogs about their best recommended products (some I do really like) and one of the ones that came up was the Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara (sounds appealing, right?)


(You can tell I like to take the photos at the last minute, in my bed before I start typing my article!)

I always am searching for the biggest best false lash effect mascara possible, right now I think I've found it, but definitely not in this product. 


First of all the wand is absolutely MASSIVE, it's longer than the length of my eye, and I've got big eyes! clearly this could be an issue considering you could get mascara on the edges of your eyes which is just a bother more than anything, and makes it messy. Secondly I found the formula very thin, for such a big brush you'd assume you'd have loads of product on your lashes straight up, but alas! I was wrong. According to Collection Big Fake False Lash Effect has "a unique 3D lash boosting tube technology that wraps around each lash for a 'lash extension' effect", I've never really used any tubing mascaras before so this would be my first, not a positive experience. Big Fake False Lash Effect didn't enhance the volume or thickness of my lashes, it basically went over the length I already have (since my lashes are very full and long, I won a portion of the genetic eyelash lottery) without giving me a real superstar look. I was more puzzled than anything considering such a large wand, and it applies such little product, disappointing for me! 

Collection Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara retails for Boots and other UK outlets at £4.99, but I don't recommend it. 

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Perfume Lust: Miss Dior Eau Fraiche & Diesel Loverdose
Friday, 1 June 2012, Friday, June 01, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,


I finally ran out of my all time favourite perfume Flowerbomb by Viktor and Rolf (which lasted me two years!) and my Viva La Juicy by Juicy Couture is about halfway through, so my next two choices are between Miss Dior Eau Fraiche or Diesel's Loverdose, I need you guys to help me choose! 
First I'll talk about the kinds of fragrances I like, I love love love sweet scents, so sweet its on the verge of sickly, cotton candy, vanilla, honey, but I also love spicy, oriental, fruity and tropical scents, such as ones with cinnamon, pineapple, red plum and freesia. I always get compliments on my fragrances, I think that being told you smell nice is one of the best compliments you can get!

I first spotted Loverdose in print ads, on tv and then I was in Myer and gave the tester a try and WOW. It's definitely MY kind of fragrance! The top notes are mandarin orange and star anise, the middle notes are jasmine, gardenia and liquorice (typically puts me off!) and the base notes are amber, vanilla (yay!) and other woodsy notes. The bottle is an angled heart that is cut like a diamond, with deep purple glass. The 50ml bottle RPP's for around $80. 


The next fragrance I'm trying to choose from is Miss Dior Eau Fraiche (Other fragrances in the line are the Miss Dior Cherie perfumes) was created as a tribute in 2012 to the original 1947 Miss Dior perfume. Dior describes it as elegant, feminine, sensual and bold, the top notes include sparkling citrus, green galbanum and bergamot, the middle notes are jasmine and gardenia, and Miss Dior houses patchouli as its base note. I first tested Miss Dior Eau Fraiche when I went to Paris on my holiday, at La Galleries LaFayette (how fancy!), and then again on a trip at Harrods, if you give a few pence or a pound or two you're free to use any of the available fragrances in the bathrooms, I may have sprayed it on myself about 4 times.. maybe!

(above) A picture of Miss Dior Eau Fraiche I took at Galleries LaFayette :)
Miss Dior Eau Fraiche in the 50ml variety retails for around $70

If anyone has tested either of these perfumes, knows anything about them, or wants to help me make a choice please do! Before my next perfume runs out! :)

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