Long Time No See

Hello, again! It sure has been a while, huh. Honestly, I haven't really bought many new beauty products lately as I'm trying really hard to work through the ridiculous amount I already have. But, I have a few ideas lined up, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about this blog! I feel very fortunate & thankful that people still occasionally read my posts so I'll try harder to keep posting regularly. Or, at least more than once in a blue moon!

Hope you have a pleasant day filled with warmth & inspiration!

NYX Haul

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but NYX is my absolute favourite cosmetics brand. So imagine how ecstatic I was when my parents sent me  all these amazing goodies from their trip overseas! I wish I could buy these in Australia, but the range at Target is quite limited and they rarely introduce any new products which is a shame.

What I will be reviewing today:

☆Honey Dew Me Up Primer

☆Six Liquid Suede Lipsticks

☆Plumping

☆Wonder Stick 

Before I start my reviews, just let it be known, that I love all of these products. I can't really remember disliking any NYX product so they're still amazing in my eyes. 

Honey Dew Me Up Skin Serum/Primer - $17

Look at that sparkle!

I remember seeing a photo of this primer on a Buzzfeed article ages ago and I was just hypnotised by the little gold flakes and just generally how cute this product is! It is a lot smaller than I thought it would be, but a little goes a long way with this product. It contains collagen which is good, provided there's some form of acid to help the skin absorb said collagen [Which it does. Hyaluronic acid is amazing!]. It has an unusual scent, not unpleasant, just unusual. Maybe a bit flowery? The applicator is like a little spade, which surprised me, but it does scoop out more than enough for one application. It is a little bit expensive but seeing as how it boasts collagen and gold flakes, it's a lot cheaper than some other alternatives out there. Overall, this primer/serum feels really lovely, it definitely felt like it left a protective layer on my face. 

Liquid Suede Lipsticks - $7 US

Love, love, LOVE! These are gorgeously matte and feel kind of velvety. The colour payoff is amazing and in the case of some of the deeper shades, tinting too! Seriously, these lipsticks do not budge. I would be interested in knowing what the difference is between the matte lipsticks and suede lipsticks though. Maybe these ones are just a tad bit less matte? They're definitely creamier. I definitely recommend wearing a lip primer underneath, especially if you wear one of the darker, more staining colours. I love the packaging too, purely because the tubes have this little black faux-gem on top which reminds me of those Lip Smackers that had the cute little shiny gems on top when I was a child. Overall, I love these and I think I'll try to track down Stone Fox & Vintage next.

Pump It Up Lip Plumper - Jessica - $5.50

Lip plumpers are so magical! I love them. No, they won't give a dramatic change, but they do help smooth out lines, giving the illusion of fuller lips. NYX plumpers apparently utilise something called Maxi Lip which is "a special peptide which is known to improve collagen synthesis, leading to fuller looking lips". Most plumpers tend to have some form of mint infusion which causes mild agitation to the outer membrane, hence, puffiness. So it's interesting to see NYX going with another approach. Unfortunately, when I used this, I didn't feel or notice much of a difference. But to be honest, I don't even care, this is even just a lovely gloss. Look at all that sparkly shimmer and such a perfect colour!

Wonder Stick - Light/Medium - $13

Now this is a perfect product. A contour stick is one item I desperately needed in my life! It's a great alternative to some of the more expensive cream contour kits which can cost upwards of $50 whereas this Wonder Stick costs around $13US. Amazing! It's easy to blend & the colours are great, a very useful contouring tool for beginners.


Overall: NYX is still no.1 in y heart and I feel ultra glamorous with all my beautiful new products 

Freeman Banana Oat Smoothing Mask - Or - Always Read the Labels!

So, here's a little review that will hopefully remind you that sometimes, it really is a good idea to do a test-path before trying a new product.  My Mum sent me a whole bunch of Freeman face masks from America and omg I was so excited to try the Banana-Oat Instant Smoothing Mask. Anything that will hopefully smell like banana is a win in my book [Like the Tony Moly Banana Hand Cream]. So today I decided I was due for another pampering session - I got my bath all set up, prepared my magazines, grabbed myself some chocolate, and then I applied this mask. That's about where my day turned awful.

If I had read the ingredients and the description, I probably would have noticed that it utilises acids to 'exfoliate' your skin. Before I put it on, I kind of just throught it would dry up and then turn into a sort of gommage peel. I didn't realise that it would essentially be a mini face-peel.

After five minutes of use, my skin started to feel really hot I rinsed it off immediately. I could not believe what I saw. Every bit of skin that the mask touched was bright red, I looked like I was sunburnt! I was burning up and I could feel my face puffing up too, it was absolutely awful. I had to put my face/neck under a cold shower, then I iced my face [Which you can see in the second photo. The one time I've been glad to have big hands!], and finally I slathered on a thick layer of Cetaphil. Nearly an hour later and my face finally started to calm down. This was around 11:30am today and it's currently 9pm and my face is still quite red and warm though. I was so worried that this would turn into a 'BunBun Makeup Tips' scenario. It did smell really good though, so that's something.

Now that I look at it, this mask most definitely was not one I should have used. And now, I can't tan like I planned to this weekend because I have to limit my sun exposure. It's the gift that keeps on giving! Hopefully the other Freeman masks I received won't be quite so horrifying. I mean, yes, my face is freakishly soft, but wow, I regret using this mask so much. More importantly, I regret not doing a test-patch or reading the instructions more thoroughly and maybe picking up on a few red flags! Hopefully I'll be ok tomorrow, I'll keep you updated.

Don't be like me, read everything and always do a test patch! I cannot stress this enough! Don't ignore the warnings like I inadvertently did.

So, I'm curious,what's your beauty product horror story? ☆

Hard Candy

Woo! So, the first package from my parents has arrived and it was filled with many goodies. Alaska really loves their wolves, I now have an abundance of wolf memorabilia! But now, onto the makeup!

To be honest, I've never heard of Hard Candy cosmetics before but I sure wish I had! I now have three glitter eyeshadows, a metallic eyeshadow, two glitters, and a lip plumping gloss. I'm so impressed, as you will gather from my reviews below.

Top to Bottom [Artificial vs Natural Light]: Eye-Lac, Smoking Gun, Sprinkles & Midnight Affair.

First up, the Eye Def Eyeshadows. I didn't expect to love these as much as I do. The colours are amazing and they really stay put which surprised me. Seriously, these are essentially a liquid-eyeliner-like eyeshadow. 

• Eye-Lac is a really lovely metallic eyeshadow and it's definitely my second favourite. I really enjoy wearing it under my eyes, it's really light so it's great for a day-look. 
• Next, Smoking Gun which is a really deep, smokey looking purple that is also part of their glitter range. In the photos above, it really looks like a deep brown but it's purple and I am obsessed with it! My favourite, hands down. 
• The pink Sprinkles glitter-shadow looks so amazing in-tube and I expected it to be my favourite but unfortunately, it stays on a little too well. I love the deep colour but when I went to take it off, there was an orange stain left over that required scrubbing. So, just be aware of that before putting it on your eyelids. Maybe if I had used a primer first it wouldn't have happened, I'll have to test that out. 
• Lastly, Midnight Affair. I'm not really one to wear blue eyeshadows but this is really pretty so I might use it as a sort of eyeliner-accent. 

Overally, I'm very impressed and glad that I've been introduced to this brand, based on these eyeshadows alone. You Americans are lucky! I wish I had acces to these in Australia, I could see them working in Target. 

Onto the Plumping Serum in Nude Beach. I love plumping lip products. Obviously it's not going to magically make you look like you've had lip fillers, but good ones do smooth out most lines you have on your lips. This is definitely a good plumper, it's very tingly and my lips look like I haven't skimped on the hydration his week. I really like this colour too, it's perfectly nude for me, perfect amount of shimmer to add to the plumping illusion. 

Here we have the Pure Glitter King Me set of 'Poppin Pigments' glitters which look amazing when in their little bottle-shakers. There are for your eyes I assume but they would be a bit hard to shake on without getting glitter flakes in your eyes I guess. I layered them both over a coat of my Urban Decay eyelid primer so that they would hopefully stay in one place. One glitter is a deep purple and the other is a more silvery, holographic style glitter. I thought the silver would be better but it really pales in comparison to the purple which is a lot more dense. The silver just seemed too sparse but maybe the shaker just wasn't doing it's job properly. I really like these either way, I'd probably just shake them onto my finger or a brush of course but yeah, they're nice.

Overall: Hard Candy has just sky-rocketed to my top ten favourite brands. They don't test on animals either! Plus, looking online, they're highly affordable and for such low prices, their formulas are amazing. The lip plumping gloss & Smoking Gun shadow and the standouts for me. Hopefully I can get my parents to grab a couple more items for me before they come back! I'm hooked. 

What's a brand or makeup product that's really surprised you [for good or bad]? ☆

Update

Hello! It's finally Spring, the weather is heating up, the sun shining. Right now, my parents are holidaying in Canada & America [So jealous, the nature is breathtaking] and thankfully, they've agreed to pick up some makeup items for me as belated Birthday presents!   I'm very lucky. So keep an eye out for my new posts in the coming weeks. Hopefully customs doesn't interfere with anything this time! 

Oh Deer Sugar Non-Edible Vegan Bakery

Hello lovelies! As you might remember, ages ago I reviewed some delicious Oh Deer Sugar bath bombs. Well, last night, they finally opened their own non-edible bakery! Looks like I have a new favourite bath/body store! It's located in Adelaide's Regent Arcade & is absolutely stocked full of amazing bath time creations. It was so good, that I went back this morning and picked up a couple of products that I missed out on last night.

L-R: Gorgeous facemasks/melts/slices, the bakery counter & a photo of me purchasing my goodies [Credit to ODS Facebook]

The bakery itself is really cute, you go around with a tray and just load it with whatever takes your fancy. Plus, with some of the products, you can choose to add micro glitter or bubble 'topping' for a tiny extra cost. At the moment, the bakery does look a little plain with it's bare walls but I assume they'll add some form of mural later on. Besides, who's focusing on the walls when there's adorable face masks and bath bombs everywhere! 

What I purchased [I'll update as I try them]:

• (Oh) Exfoliator - Strawberry & Coconut body scrub aka a tub of pure heaven. Seriously, I have never found such a delicious-smelling scrub. I just want to eat it!
• (Oh) Mosturiser - Vanilla & Coconut body scrub. Both scrubs actually left my skin feeling so amazingly soft
• (Oh) Confetti Fawn Soap - This soap is super cute and actually smells like fruit tingles. Very good lather. 
• (Oh) Lamington Bath Soak - Oh Deer Sugar really has a knack for scenting their products. This doesn't really smell like lamingtons to me, more vanilla-like but still, I was captivated enough to buy some so they're really onto something!
• Lamington Bath Melt - Another lamington product, this time a melt. Cannot wait to try it! I've bought Lush bath melts before but they're tiny and the price is around the same, so I am more than happy to try this considerably-bigger melt. I did notice one thing though. I bought two of these but one didn't have glitter throughout, so just be sure to inspect closely if that's something that's a concern for you. 
• Bubble Gum Bar Cactus - This really does smell like bubble gum, I can't wait to try it.
• (Oh) Carnival Candy Apple Bubble Bar - Wow wow wow! This smells really apple-y.
• (Oh) Carnival Banana Split Bubble Bar - I love that these bubble bars are multi-use. Just dip it in, and place somewhere dry to use again another day.
• Vanilla & Caramel Bath Bomb - This bath bomb smells like a delicious buttery-pastry mixed with sweet caramel. Unfortunately, it didn't make the trip home in one piece and the bubble-icing fell off and it all crumbled a bit. Be careful with your purchases people! I probably bumped it on something in the car. 
• Cherry & Rose Cupcake Bath Bomb - I'm gifting this to my sister, it's so cute, I thought she'd love it. 
• Cucumber & Coconut Cupcake Bathbomb - Normally I hate the smell of cucumber but this bathbomb was too nice looking to leave behind. 
• Blueberry Cheesecake Bathbomb - I've bought this bomb before and it just feels so moisturising, plus is smells really nice & turns the water a lovely colour. Definitely one of my favourite bath bombs!
• Strawberry Shortcake Bathbomb - I hope this one is just as amazing as the blueberry cheesecake! 
• Candy Pyramid Bathbomb - This sort of smells like fruit tingles mixed with roses, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to use it. Might give this one to my sister too. 

So yeah, I might have gone a bit crazy in there, but it was so worth it! I kinda wish some of these products were real food, I might have to get baking & use these cupcake bathbombs as inspiration! My bath shelf is overflowing with cute bathbombs and it all just smells so amazing. If you're ever in Rundle Mall, be sure to stop by in Regent Arcade. Plus, check out some of the other stores in there too, especially Have You Met Charlie and Boo & Who because they have some amazing jewellery, candles, gift ideas etc. 

Oh Deer Sugar also has an online store but I don't think think international shipping will be back until next week due to their store opening. 

Mini Mecca Haul

Mecca Cosmetica sure knows how to satisfy my international-makeup needs! Here are just a couple of products I purchased through them recently. 

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Eyeliner - Intense Black - $29

This is one cult-favourite that I have been dying to try and wow, it did not disappoint. Liquid eyeliner is my absolute makeup staple. I can't go anywhere without my cats eyes look & have been wearing it every day for about six years now, so I know my stuff. This eyeliner, I'm ashamed that I only just bought it! It's so long lasting, it's actually a bit difficult to remove every last trace at the end of the day. I love it's precise tip, it's like drawing on my eyeliner with an expensive felt-tip pen. I'm converted, never buying another brand of eyeliner again.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion - Original 6ml - $18

I have heard about this primer so many times but I've only just realised that yes, I too need a nice eyeshadow primer. It's another sort of cult favourite I think? It goes on smoothly, but I do feel as though if I use just the slightest bit too much, then it goes absolutely everywhere. I do really like it though, my eyeshadow definitely does pop more when I wear it. 

Too Face Melted Lipstick - Chihuahua - $28

Help. I am obsessed! I love this lipstick so much, you don't even understand. Chihuahua is this perfect, brown-rosy-pink and personally, it's just right for my skin tone. It's not hugely long-wearing depending on how much you drink/eat throughout the day, but when it's on, it's amazing. Great finish too, a slightly matte finish. 

Swatches in artificial light

If you live in Australia, these prices are essentially the same as if you were to buy them in America, given the currently low exchange rate. Mecca has stores all around Australia, plus an online store, and I always have good experiences with purchasing from them, especially in store.