My Christmas Gifts

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a great Christmas/holidays! Today I'm sharing all my beauty related Christmas presents. I am very lucky and grateful to have received all these gifts. Enjoy!

Becca Glow on the Go set - This set features a liquid (5g) and powder (2.4g) version of Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal. I have really been wanting to try this and it was a complete surprise to receive it so I am very happy!

LUSH Snow Fairy Shower Gel - This is one of my favourite ever scents, and Lush is one of my favourite brands, so it's definitely an appreciated gift!

LUSH Think Pink Bath Bomb - Lush bath bombs are another one of my favourite things, and this is one I haven't tried before, which smells sweet and amazing and looks so pretty with the flowers on top, and I can't wait to use it.

Mariah Carey's Lollipop Bling: Mine Again - I actually chose this out myself after smelling it, and had to get it - it smells of lollipops as the title suggests. If you haven't guessed yet, I really love sweet scents!

Mecca Cosmetica Artistry Nail Polish in Gold - despite my huge nail polish collection, I didn't own a single a single gold shade, so this was perfect! It's a really nice pale shade of gold which I really love.

Mac Matte Lipstick in Velvet Teddy - I only owned a couple of Mac lipsticks and I loved them, and this colour has been on my wish list for quit a while. It is a perfect darker nude shade and I have a feeling it is going to become one of my favourites!

Art & Makeup by Lan Nguyen-Grealis - This is an amazing book which shows how makeup is a form of art and how it can be used to create art, as well as looks inspired by artists and pieces of art. It includes tons of beautiful pictures as well as some tips, tutorials, and information and history. It is definitely a book worth getting.


I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and holiday. Let me know what you all got for Christmas, or if you got anything similar, and how you spent the holidays. Also tell me if you would like to see a review on any of the products.

-Ella

Tarte Rainforest After Dark Palette

Recently I recieved my first ever Tarte product, the Tarte Rainforest After Dark coloured eye & cheek palette, which includes 6 eyeshadows, a blush, bronzer, and highlighter. It is a really beautiful palette which is very usable and can create many different looks, and I have found myself reaching for it every day!

The palette comes in gorgeous packaging. The box is a purple gradient with a snake skin texture and a metallic gold snake. The packaging of the palette itself has the same gold snake with a purple gem on its head, and is on top of a wood patterned background (the palette is made of plastic).

It also comes with a page of two tutorials for different eye looks you can make with the palette.

In the palette, the two larger colours around the edge are the highlighter on the left and the bronzer on the right and the blush in the centre of the palette. The eyeshadows include both pink tones and warm browns & gold. It includes three matte and three shimmery shadows.

I found the blush to be much more of a peachy pink than it appears to be in the palette where it looks like much more of a muted pink. The highlighter is subtle but gives a really nice glow. I also found that using a brush picks up a lot more pigment than using your fingers.

I really love this palette, and I think it would be a perfect Christmas gift for a makeup lover as it is very versatile with a nice range of shades.

 Let me know if you would like to see more of this palette, such as a tutorial! I hope you enjoyed the post!

- Ella

Essence Lip Liners: Review & Swatches

I'm sure many of you have heard of Essence Cosmetics - if not, they are a brand which offers a range of very affordable products available on their website or in Target and Priceline, and tend to be very good quality for the low, low price! So today I am going to be reviewing their lipliners, which run for only $2 each!

These lipliners come in a really versatile range of colours, meaning everyone should be able to find at least one shade you like! They range from a nude & light pink, to red to deeper purples and browns. You can tell which one is my favourite - I use 'In The Nude' By itself or under my favourite nude lipstick, 'Pa-ree' Velourlips by Australis.

L-R Soft Berry, Satin Mauve, In The Nude, Wish Me A Rose, Femme Fatale

The Essence Lipliners claim to create a "super soft and precise application", which I think is pretty accurate.

The texture of the lipliners is very soft, smooth & creamy. I would say the one downfall of the lipliners is that they are a bit too soft and break quite easily. 

As for its last-ability, I found the red lipliner which I think is an older formula of the liners lasts very well on my lips whereas the newer liners do not last quite as long. However they last just as well as any other lip liner I have tried, and for the price I definitely do not mind.

As I have quite dry lips, I first used a lip scrub then a lip balm on my lips which helps the application of the lip liner (and hence the slightly glossy finish).

#05 Soft Berry - A slightly brown dark purple

#06 Satin Mauve - a slightly dark purple mauve

#11 In The Nude - a brown toned pink nude

#12 Wish Me A Rose - a light pink shade

#10 Femme Fatale - a bright classic red

I hope you all enjoyed this post! Have you tried Essence? Let me know in the comments!

- Ella

Mango, Banana & Passionfruit Smoothie

Today I have a different post - a smoothie recipe! I love to cook and love food, so I thought I would share a part of that.
I love making this smoothie in the summer, but also just for a quick & healthy breakfast or snack.

Ingredients:
1 tblspn passionfruit pulp
1 cup frozen mango
1/2 - 1 banana
1/2 cup yoghurt (I use vanilla)
1 cup+ milk

All you do is put the ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth! You can add more milk or yoghurt if you want it thicker or thinner (you may need more milk if you want a bigger smoothie).

You can of course add any additional ingredients - sometimes I add some frozen berries into the mix. But you can take away ingredients, use fresh fruits, do whatever you like with it - I find this is a great base for creating any smoothie!

Let me know if you try out this recipe!

- Ella

Priceline Haul

As I'm sure many of you know, this Wednesday and Thursday was the 40% off sale in Priceline for all cosmetics. I took the opportunity to pick up some products I've been wanting to try.

Mini Velourlips

   

The Australis Mini Velourlips set in Reds & Darks is a cute set of 5 travel sized Velourlips. It includes a classic red, two dark berry shades, a deep purple and a black. I really wanted to try some of the deeper shades so this was a great way to try them out! I did a review of Velourlips here.

Australis Metallix

   

I also picked up another Australis product, the Metallix eyeshadow in Plum Diddy, a deep plum-brown. Since I loved my one in Guns and Rose Petals, I decided to pick up another one. This one isn't as intense, but is very creamy and still a gorgeous shade. I also did a review on my Australis review post.

Covergirl 3 in 1 Foundation

   

I wanted to try out a fuller coverage foundation so I picked up the Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation in Natural Beige. This foundation claims to be long wearing, blendable and provide heavy coverage, and includes SPF 20, and after hearing so many great reviews on it I thought it would be the perfect time to try it out.

Models Prefer Contour Stick

   

The next thing I picked up was the Models Prefer Cream Contour Stick. I don't own any cream contouring products so I picked this one up to try. It is a bit warmer than I was expecting but hopefully it will still work well!

Maybelline Brow Satin

   

The Maybelline Brow Satin in Dark Brown is an interesting new product which seems really good for when you're in a rush doing your makeup and want to quickly fill in your eyebrows. On one side is an automatic brow pencil, and on the other side is a kind of sponge applicator which dispenses powder. I am really excited to use this!

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lip Liner

   

The last thing I bought was the Rimmel Moisture Renew Lip Liner, which is basically a universal/transparent lip liner, meaning you can wear it under literally any colour lipstick and it will keep it in place & prevent bleeding/feathering. I think this is a really good investment as it can be the only lip liner you really need! 

What did you all pick up from the sale? Did you manage to get everything you wanted? Did you splurge on things you didn't need? Let me know!

- Ella

Australis Review: Velourlips, Metallix, F&F & more

Australis is a pretty new brand to me, but recently I have purchased quite a few of their products, and I have to say I am really liking the brand so far. So I decided to share with you all the products I own and how I like them - including the Velourlips, Metallix eyeshadow, Fresh & Flawless powder and the Go Camo concealer. 

Velourlips

I currently own four of the Velourlips Matte Lip creams - Pa-ree, Hon-o-loo-loo, Mi-am-ee, and Doo-bai.

L-R Doo-bai, Mi-am-ee, Hon-o-loo-loo, Pa-ree

These lip creams go on quite nicely and are very pigmented on the lips. They dry quite quickly but not too quickly to work with. They feel quite dry, but I haven't had a problem with them, even on my dry lips. 

Clockwise from top left; Pa-ree, Hon-o-loo-loo, Mi-am-i, Doo-bai

As for them lasting, they stay very well without eating or drinking and usually will still stay on the lips if you're not eating oily foods etc. I also found that blotting my lips after applying them helped them stay on even longer.

Rating: 4/5

 Metallix Eyeshadow

This eyeshadow is hands down amazing. I got the one in the shade 'Guns and Rose Petals', which is a kind of pink/silver colour. 

The eyeshadow is quite creamy, but looks like a foiled eyeshadow when used. It is very pigmented but ideally should be applied with your finger rather than a brush to get the most out of the product.

Rating: 4.5/5

Go Camo Concealer

The Go Camo concealer claims to be a 'full on coverage concealer'. The formula is quite thick and does have quite heavy coverage. I have heard that for people with dry skin it can pick up dry patches, but on my oily skin it works quite well.

 I got the shade 'Medium', the middle shade of 3 shades. For a medium shade I found it to be very light, but it works for me. I would say the biggest downfall of tis product would be the lack of a range of shades.

Rating: 3.5/5

Fresh & Flawless Powder

I bought two shades - Light Beige and Deep Natural - for when I am tanned vs naturally pale. The powder is quite a thick, pigmented powder when used heavily but can be lightened in both weight and pigment depending on its usage.

L-R Light Beige, Deep Natural

Light Beige is the lightest shade in the range. It appears very yellow toned, but I found it did not show up as yellow when used lightly & blended out. Deep Natural is a darker, more warm toned shade but is quite light when blended.

The compact can be flipped open to reveal a mirror and sponge, which makes it handy to take with you. 

Rating: 4/5

Overall I am really liking Australis, and defintely think I will be purchasing more from them in the future, especially the Velourlips and Metallix eyeshadows. I hope this was helpful! Let me know how you like Australis.

- Ella

Ariana Grande Focus Makeup Tutorial

Hi everyone, today I am sharing with you a makeup tutorial for Ariana Grande's new music video, Focus. I love her makeup in the video, so I tried it out, including the two lip colours!

What you will need:

• primer, foundation, concealer, powder
• cool toned contour powder & lighter matte highlight
• eyebrow pomade or pencil
• eyeshadow primer
• matte light pink eyeshadow & shimmery light pink eyeshadow
• blue eyeliner
• navy blue eyeshadow or blue & black eyeshadow
• mascara, false eyelashes (optional)
• light pink lipliner or lipstick & gloss
• deep berry lipliner & lighter pink lipliner or lipstick

Base

1. First I started with my base: primer, foundation, concealer and powder to recreate her flawless matte base.

2. In the video she looks like she has a soft contour, so I used a cool toned powder to create a softly blended contour under my cheek bones, and a lighter powder to slightly highlight areas of my face.

Eyebrows

Ariana's eyebrows are quite straight and blunt, so I outlined my eyebrows in a straighter fashion, making sure not to overdraw them, then filled them in.

Eyes

In the video, she has two slightly different eye looks, but for this tutorial I am going to recreate this one.

1. After priming my eyelids, first I used a matte pink in my crease.

2. Next I used a shimmery pink shadow on my lid.

3. For the liner, I used a dark blue to create a wing - it doesn't have to be perfect, & you can use a q-tip to neaten it & slightly smudge it out. 

4. Next I used an angled brush with a mix of blue & black eyeshadow to create the deep blue smudged wing

5. On her lower lash line, Ariana has a nude colour. First I used a nude eyeliner to line just under my lower lashes. 

6. Next I used a similar shade of eyeshadow to set the liner.

7. I then curled my lashes and added mascara. 

8. Finally I added some lashes which I felt closest matched Ariana's in the video - natural but slightly flared out at the outer lashes.

~

Lips

In the video Ariana has two lip colours - a glossy pink lip and a lined berry lip.

1. For the first lip colour I used a light pink lip liner to fill in my lips. Then I used a light pink gloss over the top.

2. For the lined lips, I started by filling my lips with a light pink/berry shade. Then I carefully lined the outside of my lips with a darker berry liner, following the shape of my lips. The line is quite thick which makes it easier to perfect.

~

And that's it! Let me know if you liked this tutorial and if you would like to see more like these. Also feel free to make any suggestions!

- Ella