First Impressions: Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

Having oily eyelids is pretty much a curse, you spend a ridiculous amount of time blending out and applying beautiful eyeshadows, to go look in the mirror an hour or two later and find that your gorgeous creation is now a hot creased mess. Let me tell you, I've tried multiple paint pots, colour tattoos, mineral eye primers and even the raved about Urban Decay primer potion multiple times and yet nothing will give me the confidence to go out for a full day without worrying about my eyeshadow creasing. So after reading many claims that the Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base was a god send for oily lids, I had to pick it up. I've tested it out and today I'm going to let you know my first impressions of the product, and does it live up to the hype!

Well, you don't need me to tell you that the packaging of the product is simply stunning, I purchased it for $34 from Mecca, and was surprised at how big the tube was, which is great because at $34 a pop I don't want to be repurchasing this eye primer frequently (unless it makes my eyeshadow look like real diamonds or something crazily awesome). The applicator is a simple doe foot and the consistency is just like any other liquid primer, this one is white/clear and dries on contact- it won't change any eyeshadow that you put on top of it. 

I created a simple neutral look for the first time testing out this primer - something similar to what I would wear on a working day. Before applying the shadows I focused the primer on my lid and crease, which is usually where the eyeshadow looks super gross at the end of the day. The day was quite humid and you guys know that shopping is a form of exercise right... So basically this eyeshadow was under extreme conditions, I kept it on for a good 12 hours before inspecting my eyeshadow again later that night;

I was so impressed with the outcome 12 hours later! As you can see there is slight creasing near the inner corner of my eye. Using other primers, my whole lid area would be creased and separated after 2-3 hours of wear. My liner still looked practically new and the matte crease colour still looked great too. I'm not going to claim that this primer is bullet proof- but I'm definitely impressed at its ability to keep my eyeshadows in place, especially after such a long day.

I feel now that I can use this primer and go much longer without having to worry about touching up my eyeshadow, and actually use eyeshadow in general on a woking day- before I didn't even bother as I knew it would look terrible after a few hours! My first impression of this product is great, and I look forward to testing it out more, I'm sure it will definitely be making more star appearances on the blog.

Let me know what you think of the outcome and if you have any holy grail eye primers that you think I should test out! Thanks so much for reading,

Monique xx

Mo's Lowdown: Rimmel Wonder'full Mascara

If there was one makeup item I could take with me on a desert island it would be mascara. I kind of look like an alien without it, so naturally I got excited when I tried out the new Wonder'full mascara by Rimmel. Firstly, I'm a sucker for anything glittery or shiny, or basically anything thats hard to get a photo of without being able to see my refection in it. And the Wonder'full mascara packaging ticks the shiny and hard to photograph category, so I was in love at first sight!

If you're unlike me and packaging isn't enough to spark your interest, the Wonder'full mascara has a custom built wand that it slightly bendy, which is great for wiggling in between your lashes. I found that the wand was a great size, not too big that it would poke out your eye but big enough so that it doesn't take an hour to coat your lashes. The formula itself is also great, its build-able without going clumpy, so you can achieve your desired look. Oh, and did I mention argan oil!? Yep, this mascara formula contains argan oil, which hopefully means that my lashes will be nourished and grow longer throughout the use of it (can I get a hell yeah!)

Above you can see my alien eyes before and after with two coats of the Wonder'full mascara applied. Despite having two coats on my lashes this particular formula is super light weight, and my lashes still feel soft to touch. I found that after wearing this on long days out I had no smudging at all on my eyes, even with my oily eyelids. Despite being long-wearing this mascara is also super easy to remove, I find I don't even need to use a makeup wipe before cleansing, it just comes off in the shower!

I definitely recommend checking out this product if you're looking to try out a new mascara, I honestly have nothing negative to say about it. It retails at $17.95 but is currently on promotion at Priceline for $13.95 PLUS you get a Rimmel gift with purchase when you spend $20. Happy Shopping!

Monique xx

August Empties

August has been a pretty crazy month for me, I worked at the 2014 Ekka for the RNA and then simultaneously after months of applying for jobs was offered a position in after school care. So after the Ekka was over I started my new job, but then found out that the RNA also hired me so I have been working two jobs. After/before school care during the week and then catering shifts on the weekend- let just say going from jobless to instantly two jobs has been pretty full on! So I may have not been able to blog much lately although I still managed to get through a good chunk of products in the month of August!

1. Sex In The City body lotion; This came with a perfume set I received as a gift a few years back. It was so old that It didn't even smell perfumed, and the consistency was quite runny. It did moisturise nicely but I definitely wouldn't repurchase and was glad to use it up finally.

2. Simple Kind to Skin wipes; I have used up a few packets of these now and they don't disappoint. They remove makeup well and don't irritate my skin.

3. Crystal roll on deodorant; I purchase most of my natural products including coconut oil and detox tea from Iherb.com, and on one online shopping trip I decided on pick up an aluminium free deodorant. This deodorant was only good to me in the cooler months, I didn't bother using it in summer as It would only last an hour or two. This deodorant prevents odour but allows your skin to sweat, so if you don't like the feeling of damp underarms this definitely isn't for you! But it is great if you want to avoid some nasty chemicals that have been linked to breast cancer. If you have any natural deodorant recommendations please let me know in the comments below!

4/5. Epochas Firming serum and cream; When I initially received these two products I was super excited at the thought of being able to hopefully reduce some inches on my thighs. The kit came with a measuring tape to keep track throughout the process. I measured the thickest part of my thigh on day one and again once I had used up the products. And yep you guessed it- no difference! These products are pricey, the packaging was horrible (the serum leaked and pump didn't work) and I didn't see a difference so In my opinion I wouldn't buy them.

6. Ulta3 Nail Colour in Twinkle Toes; This glitter polish dried out and and went goopy, I have another polish that is pretty much identical so it was time for this one to go.

7. Nutrideep Multiplier; This was included in the hair dye I used last month although I only used it up recently. I wouldn't call it a conditioner, but rather a non-permanent dye I guess? It freshened up my hair in-between dying and made it super shiny, I really enjoyed it!

8. Ever Blonde shampoo sample; If you have been reading my empties posts then you would have seen a couple of these, I finally finished the last one this month. A great purple shampoo that I would definitely repurchase If I ever get through all the shampoos I currently have.

9. Rimmel Match Perfection foundation; I really enjoyed using this foundation, I mixed it with my darker Revlon colour stay to make the perfect shade for my skin. I will definitely repurchase as I think its a great every day foundation, even for my combo skin!

10. Reese's Lip balm; My best friend brought this back from America last year, I love Reece's chocolate so I was super excited to use it. It didn't really smell like peanut butter but it was still super yum to use. It's always such a good feeling to finish up a lip balm!!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and reading about my empties. Has August flown by for you too? I can't believe its nearly September already!

Monique xx

Come Play With Me: Winter Into Spring

When I think of spring beautiful flowers are the first thing to come to mind, bright and all different colours. So when the lovely Kats from Kat's Colourings decided on the new theme 'Winter Into Spring' for The Come Play With Me series, I was slightly stumped, but eventually decided to pay tribute to one of my favourite bright colours, orange!

Orange lipstick is one of my absolute favourite colours to wear, so I decided on showing two from my collection that are extremely comparable in terms of looks, although complete opposites when it comes to price. The Colour by TBN moisturising lipstick in the shade 'Kiss and Makeup' is a beauty I stumbled upon last year. At first glance I thought they were the Revlon Lip Butters, although after closer inspection they were nothing like the lip butters in terms of consistency, but instead very moisturising, opaque lipsticks. At $2.50 each from most chemists, I have since picked up another, they are so cheap and so good it's hard not to purchase them all! I have seriously fallen in love with these lipsticks and its pretty crazy that I find them extremely comparable to my Nars Satin Lip Pencil.

Top: TBN  Bottom: Nars

I own the shade 'Timanfaya' in the Nars satin lip pencil and it's another one of my favourites. As you can see in the comparison photo, the colour pay off and vibrancy from the two lip products is almost identical. If anything the TBN lipstick is slightly creamier and less 'in your face'. When wearing this shade out I'll often apply the Nars pencil at home, and then use the TBN lipstick for touchups out and about in case I damage or lose the pencil. Lets be honest having to replace a $2.50 lipstick rather than a $34 one is a lot less heart breaking! Although If you do decide to splurge, the Nars lip pencil is definitely worth it and is available here.

Why stop at orange lips when I can have orange nails too! These four are the oranges I have in my collection, I went for a more toned down orange today and chose the shade 'Barbados' by Rokk 96. It's a lovely burnt orange shade that applies opaque after one coat, sadly my nail painting skills weren't up to scratch today so you'll just have to ignore my horrific efforts!

And to finish off my orange tribute I decided to add an orange flush to my cheeks. My pick is the Fox in a Box blush by Hard Candy in the shade 'Skinny Dipping', a very suitable name considering the spring theme!

These blushes are gorgeous and I wish they were more accessible in Australia! I purchased mine from Allcosmeticswholesale.com and I haven't looked back since. The two shades can be used separately or together, I personally like a combination of the two. It gives my cheeks a perfect soft orange glow that complements orange lips so well without over doing it. 

Despite it still being winter, orange is a colour I'll rock all throughout the year! If you haven't already definitely check out Kat's, Indie's and Hailey's stunning takes on the theme. Thanks so much for reading and let me know if you have any orange beauty favourites!

Monique xx

Current Hair Care Products

Apologies for seeming to have fallen of the face of the earth the past week. I have been working for the Brisbane Ekka and have been flat out catering functions and selling enough dagwood dogs to feed another country. I'll definitely be making a post sharing my experience at the Ekka but for the mean time I thought I would share what current hair care products I'm using, before I have to leave for work again!

I'm pretty boring when It comes to shampoo and conditioner, for the last 6 months or longer I have been using the Tresemme Colour Thrive blonde shampoo and Moisture Rich conditioner. The 900ml bottles last me for ever especially considering I usually only wash my hair every three days, and I feel that the two really help keep my damaged bleached hair at bay. Although, as my hair pretty much soaks up as much moisture as It can get, I like to spray the Silk Oil of Morocco leave-in conditioning spray into my damp hair after washing. I think the morrocon oil helps the condition of my hair, but overall I just like the smell of the product and the wavy curls it creates. And of course Coconut Oil is amongst the products I use, I like to do a deep treatment at least once every two weeks, so I'll put this coconut oil  by Cococare In my hair for about an hour, once rinsed out I feel like I could be in a shampoo advertisement, it makes your hair so soft and I truly believe there isn't a better product for your hair!

As I bleach my hair myself, I use purple products to avoid any nasty brassy colours. I particularly like the Schwarzkopf Extra Care Blonde toner, It's easy just to chuck in my hair for a few minutes before conditioning and It definitely helps eliminate any brassiness. Just for extra measure I like to mix a pea size amount of the Paint box purple haze fudge into my conditioner, this is left over from dying my hair bright purple all over when I was younger, so I like to use it up by creating a purple conditioner with the Tresseme moisture rich. I have to be careful when mixing the two as if I'm not thorough I'll have splotches of purple In my hair! Heat styling doesn't happen often as my hair is quite dry, but when I do heat style I always use a heat protectant, the one I'm currently using is the Tresseme spray, It has the best application nozzle for applying all over your hair! And last but not least is Bastiste dry shampoo, It saves me in-between washing if my hair doesn't look as fresh as Id like it to be,  I love the smell too, I will forever repurchase!

Well that is all the hair care products I'm currently using, I like to switch it up by using a hair care sample in-between products, but other than that I'm pretty boring! Thanks for reading and hopefully I'll find the time to be posting regularly again soon!

Monique xx

EOTD: Smokey Blues

I wasn't sure about uploading this one as I totally failed at getting any decent photos of my eye makeup, as the sun went down faster than I expected. Regardless of the bad photography I thought I would share anyway as after all what have I got to lose!

I seem to be embracing colourful eyes a lot lately! I wore a dark blue dress out for dinner last night and really wanted to use one of my favourite eyeshadows, 'Frosted Ocean' by NYX. Ignore my shocking nails, but Frosted Ocean is a beautiful shade from Nyx that I wish I could wear more often. It's an insanely pigmented rich blue, packed with light blue glitters. 

Firstly I put the Maybelline colour tattoo in Too Cool on the lid as a base so that the colours really popped, followed by the blue shade from the Nars China Seas eyeshadow duo on the inner corner of my eye. For the star of the show, I packed Frosted Ocean heavily all over the lid, getting blue fallout all over my face was inevitable considering the glitter in this shadow, but in my opinion it's worth it for the colour pay off. I blended everything out and focused on the outer corner with the Bloom single eyeshadow in Ash, which is exactly like the name - a grey ashy colour. And when you think there couldn't be anymore blue, I added the Nars long wear liner in Gratis onto my water line. Ofcourse the look was finished with a thick winged eyeliner as always, mascara and some half lashes.

I loved wearing this blue eyeshadow combo and the whole night I continued to sing 'Im blue ba da di da da die'. Thanks for stopping by my blog and bearing through the bad photography, be sure to let me know if you're a fan of blue eyeshadows!

Monique xx

July Empties

Time for another instalment of looking at my rubbish, I don't know about you guys but I enjoy reading others empties posts so hopefully a few people enjoy reading mine! I'm excited to have got through some makeup items this month, so without further rambling lets get onto my empties.

1. NatureStyle Permanent Hair Colourant 101 Light Dawn Blonde; I had really bad regrowth created from the previous box dye I used in my June empties so when I received this dye from BeautyHeaven to trial I had high hopes. Thankfully it fixed my gross hair and I love that it contains less nasty chemicals. I would definitely use it again!

2. Pure Ever Blonde Shampoo; Another one that I had used last month, I managed to get through another two sachets this month and I think I still have one left. Quite a nice shampoo that smells amazingly like musk, whenever I use it I'm in heaven.

3. Fallen Gel Perfume; It was kind of strange using a gel perfume but I used up the sample regardless. At first it smelt kind of herbal but once settled into the skin it was a unique floral smell. I probably wouldn't purchase the full size.

4. Neways Clear Science Balancing Cleanser; I just used this cleanser for the sake of using it up. I didn't see any difference in my skin although it was good for removing my makeup- especially mascara. I like that it contained salicylic acid, but like I said I didn't see any difference in my skin so I wouldn't re-purchase. 

5. Revlon Colour Stay Foundation; As you can see by the condition of the bottle I tried to get every last ounce out of this foundation out. I quite liked it although I just have so many foundations to use up I won't be purchasing it again for a while.

6. Avon Night Magic Deodorant; Nothing spectacular about this deodorant, it was alright for cooler days but I think it would struggle in the hotter weather. It was slightly scented which was nice as I absolutely love the Night Magic perfume by Avon.

7. Neutrogena Deep Clean Scrub; A nice scrub thats smells fresh and isn't too harsh on my skin. Not much to say other than that!

8. Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eyeliner in Waterproof; This was my go-to liquid liner for quite some time. It lasts all day and is really good quality for the price. I have since been loving the Maybelline Master Precise Liquid liner as its of the same quality although the tip is more flexible and perfect for creating wings, whereas the Rimmel liner applicator is quite stiff. 

9. Vaseline Aloe Fresh Moisturiser; I really liked this moisturiser, it absorbed into the skin super fast and I particularly liked that it had spf15 in it. Once again I have way too many moisturisers to use up before I'll even considering re-purchasing. 

Thanks for reading about my empties! How many products were you able to get through this month?

Monique xx