April & May Empties

I don't know about you guys but I have had a crazy last few months, working two jobs, keeping a social life and being a cat mum doesn't give you much blogging time! Okay maybe the cat mum thing isn't a valid reason but I decided anyway to combine my April and May empties together. My beauty stash is bigger than ever mainly thanks to being lucky enough to attend the Brisbane Bloggers United Event a few weeks ago, and I'm determined to get some through of the older products Ive got stashed away so expect some beefed up empties posts coming! Here are the products I got through in April and May;

1. Natural Instinct Body Wash: As you can see this was a huge bottle of body wash to get through. I loved that it contained no nasties and had a refreshing, almost tea tree scent to it. It lathered nicely and it's also super affordable so I would definitely purchase again!

2. Nu- Pure Eye Patches: These eye masks were actually super fun and to my surprise worked really well! They were a couple of dollars from iherb and actually reduced the appearance of my under eye circles and made my skin super soft.

3. Clearasil Vitamins and Extracts Daily Wash: I'm not a huge fan of cream cleansers although this had a nice refreshing scent to it and did make my skin feel clean after using.

4. Clinique Even Better Eyes: This eye cream packaging had a metal dispenser making it feel cool when you apply the eye cream although after a second or two the cooling sensation goes away and really its just a regular eye cream, don't think its worth the price tag.

5. Herbal Essences Honey Im Strong Shampoo: A good inexpensive shampoo, didn't notice any difference in the strength of my hair but it was a good shampoo none the less.

6. Palmolive Active Nourishment Shampoo and Conditioner: I enjoyed the smell of this range but didn't use it long enough to get a decent review of it.

7. Mitchum Roll On: Only deodorant I will buy and re purchase.

8. Sex And The City Romantic Perfume: This was actually quite a nice sweet scent although the packaging is just so ugly that it hardly ever caught my eye so I decided to put it in the bathroom to use as a room spray instead.

8. Glam Eyes Jessica Lashes: I used up a two pack of these and they were tasteful dramatic lashes. I love super dramatic lashes so these ones were a nice alternative for quiet or daytime events.

9. Elf Liquid Liner: Another iherb purchase, considering the price this was quite a good liquid liner although after a couple of weeks use it started to go streaky and didn't apply nicely.

10. Elf Pressed Power: This was actually a really nice pressed powder for everyday, the only fault I could find was the flimsy packaging and I hit pan after about a weeks use. For $2 though I can't really complain!

11. Nyx HD Finishing Powder: I really liked this powder! It was translucent so was great whether I was fake tanned or not. It has the same effect as my Mac prep and prime powder- it smooths out the appearance of pores and sets really nicely.

12. Models Fat Lash Mascara: A very average mascara that I was glad to finally finish.

13. Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation: So many have raved about this foundation but I just couldn't seem to get it to work, let me know your thoughts if you have tried it!

Thats all my empties for April and May, let me know your thoughts if you have tried any of the products and thanks so much for stopping by!

Monique xx

FOTD: New Years Eve

Happy new years everybody! I had a great new years eve spent with my closest friends and had fun doing a glam makeup look for the occasion. Here are the products I used to achieve this blue smokey eye and nude lip;

• Benefit Porefessional primer
• Mac Skin Refined Zone
• Estee Lauder Double Wear in 2n1 Desert Beige
• Mac Prolong wear concealer in Nc15
• Nyx Studio finishing powder
• Lorac Behind the Scenes eye primer
• Lorac Pro 2 Palette
• Nyx Frosted Ocean shadow
• Nars Shadow duo in China Seas
• Estee Lauder Sumptuous Bold Volume mascara
• Illamasqua blush in Dulcet
• Mac Mineralised Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle
• Elf Studio Lip Liner in natural
• Mac lipstick in Myth
• Glam by Manicare Madonna lashes

I had a blonde moment and left my trusty favourite $1 liquid liner and Hoola bronzer out of the photo! But thats all the products I used to achieve this dramatic look for new years eve. I hope you are all enjoying the new year so far and thank you so much for stopping by my blog!

Monique xx

FOTD: Bold Lashes And Soft Lips

I really enjoyed my makeup last night for a 21st so I thought I would share as the photo lighting was just too good not too. I decided on lashes so big I could almost fly away and soft pink lips, here are the products I used to achieve this look;

• Benefit Porefessional
• Mac Skin Refined Zone
• Mac Studio Fix Foundation
• Mac Prolong wear Concealer
• Elf Under eye Setting Powder
• Nutrimetics Satin Finish Powder
• Benefit Hoola Bronzer
• Nars Blush in Orgasm
• Becca Skin Perfecter in Moonstone
• Hard Candy Lip Liner (which I took out with me and lost)
• YSL Rouge Volupte Perle 108

• Nars Eyeshadow Primer
• Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Too Cool
• Lorac Pro Palettes
• Urban Decay Black Liner
• Favourite $1 Liquid Eyeliner
• Benefit They're Real Mascara
• Anastasia Brow Pomade
• Australis Clear Brow Gel
• Glam By Manicare Madonna Lashes

As crazy as the lashes are I actually became obsessed with them and I plan on grabbing a few more packets! I hope you're having a nice day, thanks so much for stopping by.

Monique xx

First Impression: ELF Flawless Finish Foundation

If you love a good bargain like me then you have to try out the ELF Flawless Finish Foundation. I have been testing it out over the last week and I am seriously Impressed, especially when considering the price which is a whole $3!

The foundation came packaged in a plastic box and when I first opened I was super surprised at how great the packaging of the bottle was. The foundation comes housed in a sturdy glass bottle that definitely doesn't feel cheap, I was extra ecstatic to see that It had a pump! So far so good. I applied two pumps to my clean face using a stippling brush. I found it quite easy to blend, and there were no weird patches or streaks on my skin. ELF states that you 'apply on face area to even out skin tone for a beauty semi-matte finish that lasts all day' and I would have to agree with that, the liquid set nicely on my skin and it didn't slide around when I touched my face.

The foundation was a light to medium coverage on my skin and I definitely agree that it helped even out my skin tone and made my blemishes less noticeable. I was happy with the effect after one layer and knew that the real test would be how long the foundation held up on my combination/oily skin. I always use powder to set my makeup and I found that the foundation lasted through a normal day without breaking up or turning more oily than usual on my skin. Unfortunately the colour range is quite limited with to my knowledge there only being 6 shades. Usually I'm the lightest foundation shade in any range and the lightest shade available was 'Porcelain' which definitely isn't very light for us pale folk. Thankfully I have been using the Bondi Sands gradual tanner (review here) on and off, so 'Porcelain' turned out to be a pretty dead on match. If you can make a colour in the range work for you then this foundation is a definite steal!

Pros

• Inexpensive ($3 from Iherb.com)
• Has a pump
• Great formula
• SPF 15

Cons

• Limited Shade range
• Only 23g of product (compared to a standard 30g foundation)

Overall I am pretty impressed by the ELF Flawless Finish Foundation and I'm glad I decided to give it a go as I have really been enjoying using it for everyday. It's just so affordable so I know I'll definitely be repurchasing it when I run out! Elf continue to impresses me with their products so if you have any recommendations from the brand please let me know as I'd love to try it!

Monique xx

Elf Cosmetics Haul

I recently made an order on Iherb using my referral points, meaning I only paid $4.50 postage for all these products (woohoo!). Since Iherb has recently got a huge selection of elf products in I decided I wanted to try some more out. Their eyebrow kit in Ash also happens to be a holy grail product of mine so I guess I set high expectations. Despite using my referral points, everything pictured is priced under $3, so these definitely won't break the bank!

I wanted to get some more brushes so I chose the Elf mineral powder brush, contour brush and complexion brush. My first impression is that these are amazing quality for $3 each! They feel super soft and well made, I guess only time will tell whether they are good or not though. I also bought the lip liner and blending brush duo in 'Natural' a deep nude colour. Another product I was impressed with at first - theres a lip brush attached to end that is so soft and I can't imagine it will blend but it will apply lipsticks beautifully.

With the eyebrow kit being one of my favourite products I decided to try out another brow product from Elf, the Eyeshadow lifter and filler. This is another duo ended product with the brow colour on one end and a light highlight colour on the other. I actually tried this out today and I found the pencil to be far too soft to apply straight from the tube, so I ended up using a brush to prevent looking like I rubbed chunky dirt through my brows. The highlight end was also a bit of a disappointment as it was darker than my natural skin tone despite it being the shade 'Ivory',  so there was definitely no highlight effect.

And lastly I got two face products, the Elf high definition under eye setting powder and clarifying pressed powder. I am excited to use these products as I have heard really great reviews about both! The clarifying powder was only $2 and contains salicylic acid which is interesting, hopefully it performs well, I'll definitely be tossing out the little powder puff that comes with it though. I also really don't understand the point of the little brush included with the under eye powder- thats not even big enough to set a Bratz doll's under eye area.

Anyway thats everything I picked out, If you have any favourites from Elf or want a more in depth review on a product mentioned please let me know!

Monique xx