Bronze Lust: The Body Shop Bronzing Powder
Thursday, 19 July 2012, Thursday, July 19, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

Don't you get so disappointed when one of your favourite products is discontinued? Unfortunately this is the case for me and The Body Shop Bronzing Powder. I have really been loving my bronzer lately, ironic considering it's a freezing cold winter! But I've been adoring having a healthy bronze glow lately and having a little bit of colour to my complexion. I do love my The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder but lately their original has been doing the trick for me!



I love the packaging for the Bronzing Powder compact, it's a beautiful reflecting gold that's light, sturdy and looks great in your handbag and as part of your collection, the only issue being the reflective surfaces picks up dirty fingerprints! I bought Shade 01 which is one of the matte shades and I believe the lighter shade (I'd assume considering its number 1), Shade 04 is for light to medium skin and has noticeable shimmer and Shade 03 is the primarily shimmery shade. Bronzing Powder has one of the smoothest most blendable textures of any bronzer I've tried and (a critical point in creating a convincing tan) applies evenly.



I believe that The Body Shop Bronzing Powder retailed for around $24.95, and I highly recommend the Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder for anyone who's still keen on their bronzers, which I definitely think you should try as I adore them both! Bronzing Powder has a cute little sun imprint built into the powder as well as a mirror in the compact; both nice touches and that bit more effort put into the product presentation. I apply my bronzing powder with a large powder brush to my forehead, temples, the sides of my cheeks and hollows, my jawline, down my neck and lightly on the bridge of my nose. I can also use it to contour as I find that Honey Bronze is too light to contour with, when I do I use my Coastal Scents Fan Brush. I love the pigmentation as well as the lasting power of Bronzing Powder, and if you are able to locate it before it's completely discontinued I say stock up!

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My Interpretation: Tanya Burr's Glamourous Kim Kardashian Tutorial
Sunday, 3 June 2012, Sunday, June 03, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

The Original Tutorial



(not edited, I like to shoot photos of myself on my camera's "food mode")
One of my favourite favourite favourite looks right now is this light golden smoked out Kim Kardashian inspired look, from pixi2woo or Tanya Burr, she's amazing! 
I used similar products to Tanya because she was using the Urban Decay Book of Shadows IV (which is currently on sale on the Urban Decay website for only $29 from the usual $64, absolute bargain!!!) but a lot of my facial makeup was different. I used:
Eyes:
Face:

  • M.A.C Pro Longwear Concealer in NW15
  • Make Up Forever HD Foundation in #120 Sand
  • The Body Shop All in One Face Base in #3
  • The Body Shop Bronzing Powder in #3 (I think, its the matte one!) as bronzer and contour
  • M.A.C Mineralize Blush in Dainty
  • M.A.C Extra Dimension Skinfinish (as a highlight) in Superb
Lips:
  • M.A.C Tendertone in Hot 'n' Saucy


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My Beauty Staples for Winter! Body Edition
Saturday, 2 June 2012, Saturday, June 02, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

It's finally winter! My favourite season :)
I love winter, its such a romantic season, I guess it's the cold and the cuddling up to people, and I love the clothing in winter, so much cuter than any other season!
Even though you're gonna be covered up in Winter that's not an excuse to let your body care routine go to waste, so far here's my staples during the colder months.

A Thick, Emollient Moisturiser.
- Nivea Rich Nourishing Body Moisturiser
Nivea Rich Nourishing Body Moisturiser contains almond oil to moisturise and is best suited to dry to very dry skin, mine isn't either but it's still fantastic! It keeps me moisturised for about 8-10 hours, the bottle says 24 but I'm not so sure about that, I actually use it all year round and in summer it gives great moisture and a beautiful shiny sheen to my legs. It's not too expensive at around $10 for the largest pump bottle, and it lasts you ages! I use it whenever I get out of a shower or bath, after hair removal, and on small dry patches on my face (such as the sides of my nose). It is extremely rich but dries quickly too, just remember to wash it off your hands after otherwise you have an oily residue!
- Vaseline Cocoa Butter Deep Conditioning Body Lotion

First of all, this makes me smell fantastic! Another recommended favourite of mine that's super cheap, effective, moisturising and smells great. It's not as intensive or effective as the Nivea Moisturiser but it does do well, I find it actually absorbs a little slower, but if your skin doesn't get extremely dry then I'd recommend this over Nivea. It contains both cocoa butter AND vitamin e (score!) and does the trick nicely, plus the bottle is huge and lasts for an eon!
Exfoliant/Body Polish
Sportsgirl Scrub Up Body Exfoliator in Vanilla

Again, this smells INCREDIBLE, it smells like pure sugar and vanilla and deliciousness all in one, you'd think it was a sugar scrub! I've almost finished my 2nd tub of this and it lasts you around 4 months, and for $10 I don't feel bad about buying it either. It's made of sea salt and macadamia nut oil, so it's moisturising and exfoliating at the same time, I use this whenever my skin's feeling dry and itchy, or before hair removal. I literally use it in every shower or bath I have and I haven't looked back since, just lovely!
If you're looking for a DIY hand scrub (while you're in the kitchen of course) after cleaning or if your hands are feeling dry or greasy, add two drops of dishwashing liquid and a teaspoon of raw sugar into your palms, rub together under warm water and you've got soft, clean hands. 
Hand Cream
The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector

Hemp Hand Protector is The Body Shop's #1 best selling and most popular product in the world, and I can see why! When I did work experience at The Body Shop it was during winter, and loads of customers came in asking about a hand cream that was hydrating, and locked in moisture. The inclusion of the hemp seed oil actually creates a moisture barrier on the hands (without oily residue) locking it in, wonderful! I also recommended this to women looking for a small gift for the man in their life, because it's hemp it doesn't have a feminine scent, or not particularly masculine, if a scent can be ambiguous that's what this is! Even the packaging is suitable for a man, The Body Shop sells other versions of this hand cream (such as the new Wild Rose variation) but Hemp is definitely the most effective and popular one. 

That's all so far for the body section, but other extras I recommend are feet treatments (not exactly a ped-egg, but a pumice stone and one of my recommended body moisturisers will do the trick!) and a sunscreen for your neck and décolletage area, that's all for now!

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M.A.C Mineralize Blush in Dainty
Friday, 1 June 2012, Friday, June 01, 2012 | 0 comments, Leave a comment? ^^,

Recently for my school's deb (which I will post some photos of my makeup from soon!) I got my makeup done at the M.A.C counter with my best friend. It was $95 (I know! But trust me it's worth it) but once you have your makeup done you can redeem it on any products you want :) One of the products the artist used on me was the M.A.C Mineralize Blush in Dainty, and I've been wearing it every single day since!

M.A.C describes Dainty as a "light yellow pink with gold pearl" which I'd say is fairly accurate, and it's quite similar to NARS Orgasm, but I can't decide if I like this more! Dainty set me back $43 out of my $95 (I know! $$$) but it is truly beautiful. It applies like a dream, and it's definitely flattering on my skin tone, probably because it's a yellow pink. Dainty, and all the other Mineralize blushes are very build able and layer well to create depth of colour. I like to use a large powder brush and almost bounce the blush off my cheeks, as it's quite pigmented and I'm going to school everyday I don't want to look TOO blushing.


(Above) Swatched (Below) Blended

I'm definitely pleased that I chose Dainty as one of my redeemed products, and I would recommend it, but there are plenty of baked blushes on the market in similar shades, The Body Shop does great ones called "Baked-to-Last", happy shopping!

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