This is the foundation I was telling you all about last week ^_^ After trying it out at the Illamasqua counter launch I went back later in the week to call in an early Christmas present and pick it up XD
Brand: Illamasqua
Price: AU$55
Shade: RF115
Type: Rich Liquid
This foundation really impressed me, not only because it matches my skin like a treat but it also lasts really well through the day. I can put this on in the morning and come home with flawless skin so plus one for that! ^_^ It actually reminded me a lot of a slightly toned down version of the make up we used to use when I worked in theatre years ago.
Price-wise this is on the expensive side of things but if you have hard to match skin like me you would probably buy it anyway XDI had to shake it quite hard to mix it up when I first got it as it had separated slightly. You only need the tiniest bit to cover your whole face so I would estimate using it every day the bottle would probably last me about 6 months. It did take a little practice to get a completely smooth even finish but I think that was more to do with me learning/improving my technique when applying with a brush more than it being difficult to work with. Fingers or sponges don’t work so well but brush application is brilliant. I would definitely suggest applying a good moisturiser underneath as I found it a little drying without but other than that I had no problems at all. After applying it dries very smooth and with a sort of light almost powdery finish. It didn’t feel like I was wearing anything other than moisturiser.The coverage is very good, it covered my freckles with very little effort and I imagine if you wanted something with super coverage you could build on it a little more to achieve this.
Naked skin:
With nothing other than the foundation:
James’ camera actually had trouble focusing on my skin because it was so smooth XD That’s probably the best recommendation I can give hahaha!
VERDICT: Price is what you would expect from a department store brand, takes a little skill to use but the results are most definitely worth the effort. Really good range of colours especially for those of us who are quite pale. I will be repurchasing when mine finally runs out. DO WANT.
This is the first in a series of posts comparing and reviewing BB Creams… I’ve been using BB Cream for around a year now and it can be really hard to find brands suitable for caucasian skin tones so hopefully this will help when you guys are shopping for some! Do keep in mind when comparing that my skin is very pale naturally with cool pink undertones and freckles.
First on the the review pile is one that was sent to me by DBeautyShop.com:
Shipping from DBeauty Shop took around 10 days to Australia which is around average for international shipping. The service I received was very prompt and the website was nice and easy to use. The only thing is that you need to do a search for BB Cream to find it, there is no category listing.
Comes in a nice pretty pink box:
First thing I noticed was that the bottle is massive. It’s a pump action thing that spits out the exact amount your need each time. LOVE that. It’s functional and looks good on the counter so couldn’t possibly love the bottle any more. Price is about average for what we pay for BB Cream here in Aus. According to my overseas friends that’s a hell of a lot more than them XD
It’s quite a heavy cream, which offers good build-able coverage. It is fairly thick, almost like sunscreen which I suppose makes sense considering the SPF25 in it XD
The texture means that it can be difficult to get an even coverage. Fingers don’t cut it with this one, I got the best coverage using brushes but sponges worked alright too.
No make up:
Just the BB cream:
As you can see it does cover my freckles very well but it also has a darker tone than my skin so I look a little dull. I think it would work well on someone a little darker than me. The texture felt quite heavy to begin with but after it was completely dry I didn’t notice it anymore.
Lasted well throughout the day and the coverage was good by the end of the day. I would say this is more on the hardcore spectrum of BB Cream, if you were to layer foundation over this (or even just a thicker layer of BB) you should be able to cover pretty much anything you want. If you wanted one less step this is probably enough to replace foundation.
VERDICT: Quality is good, coverage can be very good if applied well. Bit orange for me but nice none the less. Super useful bottle, large amount of cream. Generally DO WANT but on someone else’s skin.
Until MBBE I was a Bobbi Brown virgin… is that embarrassing? According to my friends it is XD BB is a luxury brand here and it’s always been out of my price range so you can imagine how excited I was to have the opportunity to try the products out!
Celeste and I were invited to take a tour of the new Bobbi Brown counter opening in Myer and it was very eye opening!
So many pretties and shiny things to eat up my bank account!
They had framed photos of her first notebook where she swatched the lipsticks that lead Bobbi to start her very first collection…
I was very pleased to see lots and lots of their skin care line. I’ve been using the eye cream recently and I really like it!
Holiday palettes=very pretty!
Our lovely hostess Alexis who was absolutely packed full of great information about the products, the brand and also Bobbi herself. It was very interesting to learn about the philosophy and woman behind the brand. It’s all about natural beauty and while that may not be my personal style I have total respect for women that can pull it off!
We were lucky enough to receive awesome gift bags too which I was super excited about!
Now what everyone’s waiting for… palette review!
Bobbi’s Holiday Glamour Set
This set is basically an all in one travel kit. It comes in a seriously cute little zip up bag which is really good quality. I know that the bag will still be with me even after the make up is used up so very happy with that. If you can find one in store, touch the insides because it feels awesomely silky 😀
On the left side it’s filled with 3 brushes (blush, lip and shadow) and a mascara. The mascara is quite lovely, the formula is nice and smooth and it’s dark. It doesn’t give an insane amount of volume or length so I think it would be best used when adding false lashes or going for a pretty natural look. Unfortunately it brought up one of my allergies so no natural look for me >_<
The brushes were really lovely, nice and very soft. Sturdy and no bristle loss at all while I used them.
The palette has 4 shadows, 2 lip glosses, 2 lip colour and 1 blush.
Names of the colours:
The eye colours are definitely for a more natural look than I’m used but the shimmery one on the top right really gives them a boost.
The quality of the shadows were really nice, which is really what you would expect considering the set costs AU$240. I think the shades really don’t suit my skin which is unfortunate 🙁
The colours were very long wearing and lasted from morning until night with no touch ups.
I enjoyed the lip colours a lot, especially “pink bouquet” and “ruby”. They both went on like a dream 😀
VERDICT: Lovely bag, lovely brushes, while the colours of the palette didn’t suit me I think on the right skin tones they would be quite lovely too. The price is the big falling point for me as I would personally never be able to afford $240 on a Christmas gift, it’s not far off being a week’s rent! That said, you are really paying for quality and there is a huge amount in the pack when you think about the value of the brushes, bag and mascara too…. so if I had the kind of budget that would allow it, I probably would splurge on this if the colours suited me.
Day to Night Cool Eye Palette
According to the marketing material, this one is aimed at “the busiest woman on your list”… that sure sounds like me!!
This palette was much more my colours than the previous one, pinks sparkly greys and white. Looks really nice on and the brush was lovely. The one thing that I noticed with most of the shadows that I’ve played with from BB was that they are very light and fluffy. You don’t have to dig to get colour at all which is awesome but you do tend to end up with a bit of a mess at the end XD
VERDICT: Really loved this one. Priced at AU$99, again it’s most definitely a luxury brand but should someone slip this into my Christmas stocking this year I certainly wouldn’t complain ahahaha!
Bobbi’s Beauty Rules
This palette is an accompaniment for the book of the same name. The book is aimed at teenagers using make up for the first time and basically about finding yourself and your style.
The shape and construction of the palette is very clever, it opens like a book, has a magnent closure and an eyeliner which slots into the spine. That said it doesn’t come with a brush or an applicator which I think is an oversight as most teenagers just starting out with make up probably wouldn’t have their own or maybe wouldn’t have the skills to apply with fingers etc.
The lip colours at the top are all very squishy glosses which are quite pretty colours even if they don’t suit me personally. I really liked the blushes and the formula was very easy to use, very difficult to use too much so probably good for teens too XD
Again the shadows were very nice and fluffy. I *loved* the light purple here too, very shimmery and pretty.
VERDICT: At AU$115 I would have needed to save a a long time when I was a kid to afford one of these (I only earned $40 per week at my job during highschool) but I imagine if you had really awesome parents this would have made a good starter kit as a birthday or Christmas present!
So far of all of the Bobbi Brown products my favorites are still the gel eyeliner and eye cream but I’m going to save those reviews for another day! Overall I’m very pleased with quality of products and while I can’t afford them personally I would have no hesitation on recommending them to someone with a higher budget ^_^
This afternoon I’m going to get the 10 Step make up consultation so I’ll let you all know how it goes!
Running this blog has given me the opportunity to meet some really fantastic people from all over the world, one of them that I’ve been chatting with over the last couple of months is Miss Lumpy who runs Her Lumpiness. I’ve watched her blog grow to be one of my favorites over the last year and saw her launch her store Amaranth Opulent recently. I was so excited for her and couldn’t wait to get my hands on some of her pieces. When she offered to send me a couple of custom pieces to review I was over the moon 😀
Amaranth Opulent makes Lolita/Mori (though really they could be used with almost any style) eco friendly jewelery, most of which features beautiful wild flowers in hand cast resin.
Welcome to Amaranth Opulent, a line of eco-friendly, one-of-a-kind jewelry designed for the lolita or mori-girl in all of us. Named after the Grecian flower of immortality and mixing hand-picked, hand-pressed local wildflowers with findings bought from small businesses that reflect a vintage, old-world style, Amaranth Opulent is devoted to creating a mix of the natural and the luxurious.
All organic materials are hand-picked from local plants in a sustainable manner, meaning the entire plant is not harvested and therefore can continue to be an important part of its local ecosystem. All jewelry findings are purchased from other Etsy sellers or local stores because it is important to us that we support other small businesses. By purchasing from us, you are helping us continue to help other entrepreneurs and artists. Thank you!This is what arrived in my letterbox the other day:
Shipping:From the US it took about a week for it to reach Australia which is about average for an airmail parcel here. I was surprised it was so fast actually because our postal system is in a bit of a shambles at the moment because so many people are ordering from overseas while our dollar is strong >_<Anyway everything was very well wrapped in a little box with padding and a little paper bag to keep the other piece separate. Also included was a business card and 3 little candies which I just love! I’m all about the details so things like this make my very happy:
Another detail which I loved was the fact that she even used adorable packing tape on the envelope!
Inside everything, these were the pieces that she custom made for me:
Firstly a little hand bag chain. This is a very delicate looking flower on a thin chain with pearls and a little key. I especially like the key because it reminds me of one I had for a jewelery box when I was a child. The pearls match the flower perfectly and the whole thing just looks lovely.
The fastenings seem fairly sturdy to me and the pearls aren’t too heavy so I think it could easily be attached to a cell phone without weighing it down. When I get my new phone I think that’s going to be the first thing on it ^_^
My favorite part is that inside the resin is set with glitter so it really sparkles in the sun 😀
The second piece I received was a brooch with a violet set in it. Super extra points for custom making a violet for me!!
The base of this one is a deep copperish colour which is balanced by cream pearls, white backing and the glitter in the resin. Again it’s all very light which I think makes it more versatile as I’ve already worn it as a brooch, on a necklace and even in my hair without it weighing down anything or being annoying.
The only real thing I could say if I was being picky is that the flower isn’t perfectly centered but that’s just the perfectionist part of my brain talking XD Handmade jewelery in my experience always comes with little fun quirks like this and it certainly doesn’t detract from the item as a whole!
The back of the brooch is fastened with a pin which has been glued into place. So far it’s been very sturdy so no complaints there.
Communication on Amaranth Opulent’s part was great too, she’s always very quick to respond to my emails and really knowledgeable on the eco aspects of the products too.
Price-wise I think they are a bit of a steal. The items in the store range from about US$10-21 and considering that everything is eco-friendly, extremely pretty and well made those kinds of prices are a bargain. Compared to prices of similar things in local stores here everything is at least $10 cheaper on average and especially with the strong Aus $ at the moment it’s perfect timing hahaha!
I’ve already added one of the dual pearl brooches and another bag charm to my Christmas list XD
VERDICT: Eco friendly, good quality, good price, beautiful designs, couldn’t really ask for more! 😀 DO WANT
This lip/cheek tint was in the MBBE gift bags (I’m sure you’re all tired of hearing that by now!)
I really love lip tints, I think they’re the key to having really pretty colour without having to re-apply all the time 😀 This one by Ere Perez is made from Beetroot which I suppose makes sense considering how red my mouth ends up looking after eating anything with beetroot XD
It comes in a handy little roll on container and it is quite an orangey red shade. You can apparently use it either on lips or cheeks though I don’t know if I would suggest this colour of cheeks considering how bright it is.
Here you can see the bottle, an area I’ve just rolled it on and the area above that where I’ve rubbed it into the skin. It kind of looks like a mosquito bite XD
On the website it costs $29.95. I do think it would be more of an investment if you liked the colour because this bottle would last for aaaages even if you used it everyday. To get a lot of colour you really don’t need a lot of the product. I found the smell to be a little odd and it tasted the way it smelled which was icky.
Like most tints I’ve use it was a little drying on the lips so I prefer to use in combination with a gloss or a lip balm under.
One gigantic plus is that the website actually lists *all* of the ingredients so those with allergies or sensitive skin can make sure the products are ok to use.
Here’s the bare lip comparison:
Something about this colour just didn’t speak to me, in person it’s got much more of an orangy tint to is. I like the idea of it but it just didn’t look that great on so maybe I would have liked it more in general with a different shade.
VERDICT: Bright colour which works well for layering, all natural, a little high on the price side. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT.
Ok so I went a bit overboard with the title XD To be fair it was pretty exciting! Mecca Maxima (which is kind of like Australia’s answer to Sephora) opened a store in Melbourne Central a couple of weeks ago and the whole beauty scene here has been buzzing about it!
So of course Celeste (go check out her new beauty blogbtw) and I had to go have a look see 😀
We weren’t disappointed! The store is nice and large compared to other stores in Aus and everything was set out really well.
I could probably spend a good couple of hours looking around XD
I love that they have testing stations everywhere and actually encourage you to play with things 😀
Of course being a nail polish junkie this totally helped my opinion of the place:
One thing that I absolutely fell in love with at the store was the staff! Celeste and I both had our hair and make up done there and it was a really lovely experience 😀 My major gripe with a lot of cosmetics companies is that because the sales staff are paid on commission there can be a lot of pushing product, I think good product should be able to talk for itself and I don’t like being badgered if I’m not interested. The staff at Mecca were FANTASTIC, they were very friendly, super knowledgeable, gave fantastic service and not even a little bit pushy. I really enjoyed chatting to them and while I didn’t buy anything that day it’s that the kind of service that makes me a loyal customer who will go out of my way to shop there.
My feelings were completely justified when we happened to pop back in today and they all remembered us! Customer service WIN 😀
Having my hair done:
Post getting my hair straightened, it looks so looooong 😀
Celeste had her hair curled:
We bumped into the lovely Jess from Miss J Shopaholicand chatted to a lovely girl that she had met on the way over and much giggling was had.
After our hair and make up was done!
I told the lovely make up artist to go nuts and surprise me with a cute look, she got it 100% spot on with a pretty pinky/purple shadow. It’s not a shade I had considered much before because I’m so pale but I loved the outcome!
After I was given a sheet detailing all the products that were used with an example face so I could recreate it at home. She very cleverly added sticky tape so it didn’t rub off all over my handbag.
All in all I would very much recommend checking Mecca Maxima out if you’re in Melbourne and you are a make up lover! I will be going back as soon as my budget allows!
Illustrator. Strong tea, knitting, watercolours, and making a video game called Moonlight in Garland. Living with her adorable husband Jimmy, fluffy puppy Miss Lottie and Bergamot Bunny in Melbourne, Australia.
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