Too Faced Love Flush 16-Hour Blush In LOVE HANGOVER Review

Picking out a blush from the Love Flush range was the hardest thing I've had to do, I honestly stood at the counter for over 20 minutes trying to make my mind up. Thanks to my daughter, we picked out the perfect one "LOVE HANGOVER".

Too Faced released 6 shades in the LOVE FLUSH range. These blushes come in cute packaging, each is in a heart shaped compact with a full size mirror, the blushes have a cute bunny imprint but sadly that disappears after a few uses.










Love Hangover is described as a warm pink, the finish is satin and has a glow-y/luminous finish when applied to the apples of your cheeks.

It did last upto 8 hours on me, and I'm sure it might have gone a bit longer if I didn't have to take my makeup off.

Retails for AUD$38 at Mecca Maxima.

MAC Creme Cup review & swatch

Finally caved in and bought MAC Creme Cup, this shade has been raved about all over in the world of all things beauty.

I've been longing to try this lipstick out for so long but wasn't sure if it would suit, as this has a bluish undertone which tends to make me look washed out. To be honest I was pleasantly surprised, it looks fabulous.

Creme Cup is a soft pink lipstick in cremesheen finish, so it is moisturising on the lips, has a beautiful gloss like sheen but needs to be retouched after every 2-3 hours. Even though it's moisturising you need to exfoliate your lips as it can settle into the fine lines and accentuate any patches of dryness. It is a very subtle lipstick that is build able. This is the perfect pinky nude that can be worn anytime of the day.


I think this is going to be my new everyday favourite.

Retails for AUD$36.

Urban Decay Revolution High-Color Lipgloss - APOCALYPSE Review & Swatch

This is my first purchase from Urban Decay, and boy oh boy are they expensive here in Australia. But with that said, this product is beautiful, the pigmentation for a lipgloss is fab.




























This lipgloss is a beautiful dark plum/burgundy shade, highly pigmented, non sticky. It glides on beautifully,  applies evenly and has a beautiful shine. For a lipgloss the staying power was pretty good, it did last for 3-4 hours on me. But as any lipgloss will do, it fades once you eat or drink but surprisingly leaves a bit of a stain on the lips. I look forward to adding a few more shades to my collection.

It costs AUD$33.

NYX Powder Blush - TERRA COTTA - Review and Swatch

This past weekend I went into Target to have a look at their summer range and my feet just automatically moved towards the NYX counter (this happens almost every time). I've been looking for this particular blush for the longest time ever and was always sold out, but this time luck was on my side and I found the last blush in TERRA COTTA.

NYX describes their blushes as sheer silky colour that glides on easily blends beautifully and creates a natural glow. 

Oh My Gosh, the moment I swatched it I was in love. This is the perfect summer blush. It's a copper shade with a hint of peach and heaps of golden shimmer. The shimmer is very fine and gives you that beautiful glow. With this blush you don't need to use a separate highlighter. The pigmentation is fantastic, just one swipe and you're good to go. Not to hard to blend and lasts for upto 4hrs though I wish it did longer.

What I love most is that it makes the apples of my cheeks pop, doubles up as a fab eyeshadow that brings out the brown in my eyes.

Retails for $9.95AUD at Target.

Hourglass - The Indestructible Matte Liquid Lipstick review

This was an impulse purchase for me, I had walked into Mecca Maxima looking for skincare products and while at the checkout counter my eyes fell on this lipstick. It was the colour that drew me in and the size if i'm being honest ;).

I picked up the mini lipstick in the shade Icon, this is such a pretty blue based red that makes your teeth look whiter, such a classic colour that it reminded me of Marilyn Monroe, so obviously I couldn't walk past it. Being a matte lipstick you know that you've got to exfoliate and moisturise your lips in advance or else it looks flaky. It dries super quick.

It is opaque and did last on me for upto 4hrs, though the only negative is that it moved once I ate but nothing that a little touch-up can't fix.

I will be repurchasing the full size lipstick.

The mini retails for AUD$14 (2 shades available), the regular size (9 shades available) retails for AUD$40 both available at Mecca Maxima.

MAC's Retro Matte Lipstick - RUNWAY HIT Review & Swatches

MAC describes "Runway Hit" lipstick as "light nude matte", it's a light-medium coral shade with a tiny hint of pink, such a beautiful shade that will suit most skin tones.

This lipstick is from the Retro Matte range, so you know it's going to be very unforgiving on dry lips. It's not quite opaque as the other lipsticks from the retro matte range and unfortunately doesn't apply evenly across the lips and accentuates every fine line.

I was so in love with the colour from the moment I swatched it at the MAC counter that I had to buy it. After trying it a few times I can say I am honestly disappointed in this lipstick but love the colour too much to return it so I'm going to try and figure out a way to make it work.

It lasted on me for 2-3 hours, as it faded it began to look patchy.

It retails for $36AUD, and would I repurchase it? probably not!

MAC Velvet Teddy review and swatch

My obsession with MAC lipsticks continue and  i'm going to talk about my most recent purchase Velvet Teddy.

This one is a cult favourite and I had to find out for myself what the hype was all about, so of course I jumped on the bandwagon. This is one of the shades that girls all around the world are going gaga for thanks to Kylie Jenner.

MAC Velvet Teddy is described as a "deep tone beige" though it looks quite brown in the bullet. It is a matte formula so i expected it to be very drying on my lips but to my surprise it was pretty creamy and stayed put for over 6 hours (that could also be due to the fact that I moisturised my lips well before applying)































Before I went ahead and bought this lipstick I trolled through social media, and looking through pictures I noticed that it looked very different on different people and came to the realisation that the more pigmented the lips were the browner it looked, mine aren't as pigmented so it applies as a pinky beige.

It's such a beautiful nude lipstick that can be worn with a bold or neutral eye look, I love pairing it with my favourite MAC blush Melba.

This is by far one of my favourite nudes and I am glad I bought it as I see myself reaching for it almost everyday.

MAC Lipsticks retail for $36AUD.

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

I know I'm a little late to jump on the bandwagon, but better late than never right?

This mascara has seriously given life to my eyelashes, they've never looked better.



Let's talk about the wand, OMG!! It literally breathes life into the eyelashes. The hourglass shape helps spread the product evenly on to each individual lash, making them look lengthened and defined. The formula takes a bit of getting used to, it tends to clump if used with a heavy hand, i've found that giving your eyelashes a good wiggle outwards works like magic! The product takes a bit of time to set but when it does, it won't budge. Even though it's a waterproof mascara I have found it easy to remove at the end of the day.








This retails for $29AUD.

"Pumpkin Soup" - The best winter warmer

My favourite winter warmer is pumpkin soup, it's easy to make and all ingredients are readily available at the local supermarket.

Things you'll need:

1 Butternut Pumpkin, chopped
1 Large Brown Onion, sliced
2-3 Bay Leaves
1/4 Tspn Nutmeg
2L Chicken Stock

Preparation:

Cook pumpkin in stock with spices until soft. Strain the pumpkin but make sure to save the stock (remove the bay leaves). Puree the pumpkin and onion, then sieve to make sure it's fine. Add Bechamel sauce and some stock until required consistency is reached.

Garnish with Crouton, a dollop of sour cream and chives.



For Bechamel Sauce:

60g Butter, chopped
1/3 cup Plain Flour
41/2 cups Milk
75g Parmesan Cheese, finely grated
1/4 Tspn Salt
Pinch of Nutmeg

Preparation:

Melt butter in saucepan over medium high until foaming, add flour. Cook, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes or until bubbling. Remove from heat, slowly add milk whisking constantly until the mixture is smooth. Return to heat and continue to stir with a wooden spoon for around 11-13 minutes or until the mixture comes to a boil. You know it's done when the mixture coats the back of the spoon. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan, salt and nutmeg.

I hope you enjoy it as much as i do.. Happy Eating!!

getting ready for spring

You know it's time to put away those heavy woollen cardigans when the weather begins to look a little brighter, and all you see is greenery around but finding new spring outfit ideas can be a bit of a task as the weather is still cool.

This is when we usually suffer from "dresser's block" (like writer's block).

It all comes down to creativity when picking out outfits from your closet. All you have to do is think a little out of the box, your wardrobe will probably already have those perfect items that won't break the bank, so looking spectacular this season should be a cake walk.

A simple white t-shirt, jeans and jacket (be it linen or leather), throw on a scarf to add that subtle pop of colour, and not forgetting a pair of flats or heels (day or night). Most importantly accessorise with a nice handbag and sunglasses.

                       

TOO FACED SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE BAR PALETTE REVIEW

This palette is exactly what you'd expect from Too Faced, beautiful warm tones and highly pigmented. There are 16 eyeshadows, the packaging is similar to the original Chocolate Bar Palette, magnetic closure and is slightly thinner. This palette consists of 8 shimmering shades, 7 matte shades and 1 iridescent shade.

The matte shades are buttery soft and apply evenly. The glitter in the shimmer shades are finely milled and apply quite similar to the matte ones. The iridescent one looks beautiful when applied as an overcoat.

The shades are listed below with swatches.

L-R Licorice, Coconut Creme, Nougat, Truffled, Hot Fudge

L-R Cocoa Chili, Pink Sugar, Puddin', Blueberry Swirl, Peanut Butter, Frosting

L-R Rum Raisin, Mousse, Caramel, Bon Bon, Butter Pecan

It retails for $65 and is available at Mecca Maxima.

Getting your toddler to adjust to the new born

I remember watching my friend's toddler struggle with adjusting to the new baby, and that was the moment I decided to try things differently if and when I did have kids of my own.

And then d-day arrived, I was pregnant with my second child. The first person we spoke to was our 3 year old daughter, and she looked at us weird like "what are you on about?".

I knew I had just a bit under 9 months to get her used to the idea of loving someone smaller than herself and sharing her mum and dad. I started involving her in all my doctor appointments and ultra sounds (the look of amazement on her face said I was doing it right).

Talking to her about the baby was really important and making sure she knew that she was still my little girl. Gradually her excitement grew as did my belly, she loved placing her hands and feeling the baby kick. When family or friends would come over, she'd be all excited to let them know all about the baby. Somehow I felt reassured that things were going well with our little girl.

Finally it was time to introduce her to her baby brother, she had the biggest smile on her face and asked if she could take him out to play.

Since then they have been the best of friends, and of course like all siblings do, they fight like cat and dog.

So all I would say to parents is don't be afraid to involve your toddler, they are very smart little beings. Your new born doesn't actually need you for the first few months other than to be fed, burped and changed, so use this time to get closer to your toddler and show him/her that things haven't changed. Give him/her those special cuddles more often. All they need is that little reassurance that you're still there for them.

My favourite Nudes

I love a good nude lipstick, why you ask? Because it's just like your lips but better and makes them look fuller! It is always flattering and appropriate for any occasion. I think it's the equivalent to the LBD.

But finding the perfect shade that suits your skin tone is tricky, either it's too pale or sheer or matte or the smell puts you off.

I've put together 5 nude lipsticks and swatches from drug store and high end brands below:

1

2

3

4

5

1. Too Faced Melted Chihuahua    2. MAC Modesty   3. Maybelline Color Drama Velvet Lip Pencil 630 Nude Perfection   4. MAC High Tea   5. Revlon 035 Blush                    

L-R MAC High Tea, Revlon Blush, MAC Modesty, Maybelline Nude Perfection, Melted Chihuahua

XOXO
Corinne