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: Glam Day Look

I realised yesterday that I hadn't shared a FOTD since New Years Eve! Yesterday I enjoyed some shopping with a Bestie and took some snaps of my makeup which I plan to do more often. I wore a pretty versatile look that can really be worn for any occasion (except swimming).

1. Nars all day luminous weightless foundation in 'Mont Blanc'

2. Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara

3. Ysl Black Waterproof Eyeliner

4. Hoola Benefit Bronzer

5. Too Faced Love Flush Blush in 'Justify My Love'

6. Colourpop 'Smoke N Whistles' Highlight

7. Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Pomade in 'Taupe'

8. Colourpop Ultra Matte lipstick in 'Midi'

9. Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette 

I forgot to include my Nyx setting powder and favourite $1 liquid liner but I'm thinking I'll do a post featuring it soon as I can't go without it! Let me know your thoughts and your current holy grails as I want to purchase some new products. Hope you're having a lovely weekend!

Monique xx

FOTD: Sunset Eyes and Coral Lips

Its really beginning to feel like Christmas, It felt more real for me yesterday as I had an early christmas lunch with my partners family. Weirdly enough despite it being a family gathering I decided to try out some new colour combinations I wouldn't normally wear.

• Mixture of CoverGirl Outlast foundation and Rimmel Lasting Finish foundation
• Mac Pro Long Wear Concealer
• Australis Fresh and Flawless powder
• Benefit Hoola Bronzer
• Mac Soft and Gentle Highlighter
• Hard Candy blush in Skinny Dipping
• BareMinerals Marvellous Moxie gloss

• Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Fierce and Tangy all over the lid
• Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette in crease, outer V and brow bone
• Revlon single eyeshadow in Sunlit Sparkle as inner corner highlight
• MUA Glamour Nights Palette red shadow in crease
• Rimmel Wonderful Mascara
• Unbranded individual Lashes
• Elf black liquid liner
• Mac Brow pencil in Lingering
• Lash Control clear lash and brow gel

I really loved the way it turned out and think I think I'll be rocking this look a lot in the hotter months! Thanks for stopping by my blog and I hope you're enjoying the festive season!

Monique xx

FOTD: Dramatic Smokey Eye and Red Lip

Or should I say 'Face of the night'? I went and saw one of my favourite bands Hands Like Houses the other night (and might I add I caught a drumstick woohoo!) and this is the makeup I wore out. So If you want to find out how I achieved this look please read on!

The base products I used were identical to my go to clubbing look, what can I say, once you find something good you stick to it! Nars blush in Orgasm and the Benefit Hoola bronzer are a staple for me when going out as they photograph so well. I'm starting to get tired of my Mac Studio Fix and want to try something new, but I'm still in spending ban mode and want to finish it up before I purchase a new foundation. On my lips I used the Lime Crime lipstick in Glamour 101, a rich red which is exactly like the name - glamorous! 

Like usual my Naked palette was the star of my smokey eye look, although the matte white from my MUA palette seems to always make an appearance as its the perfect highlight colour. I forgot to include  in the photo my Maybelline master precise liner, which I used for the first time and was seriously impressed! A look isn't compete without brows in my opinion and I'm seriously in love with the Mac auto brow pencil in Lingering at the moment, I actually have 'Fling' the lighter shade available although I find that Lingering gives me a much more defined look without making my brows look too dark for my blonde hair.

I find the key to a good smokey eye is copious amounts of blending! Oh where would I be without my Sigma E40 Tapered blending brush I bought yonks back. Anyway, thats the lowdown of the makeup look! Thanks so much for reading and do let me know if your a fan or not of dramatic eyes and lips together!

Monique xx

Liebster Award Nomination

The lovely Fatima, author of Lipsticks & Coffee  nominated my blog for a Liebster Award, which I am so excited about, so thanks Fatima! Firstly, the rules;

The Liebster Award rules:

You must link back to the person who nominated you;

You must answer the 11 questions given to you by the nominee before you;
You must pick 11 nominees with under 200 (or 2000 if you want to go with that) followers to answer your questions;
You cannot nominate the person who nominated you;
You must let the people you nominate know they have been nominated

Fatimas questions were;

1. What beauty product have you repurchased the most?

Hmm, Maybe the Australis Fresh and Flawless pressed powder? I like to switch up products a lot and don't really buy something again once Ive finished it unless its like Jesus.

2. Whats your favourite perfume at the moment?

Definitley Katy Perry's Killer Queen, a Christmas present from my Boyfriend which I have been wearing constantly

3. Favourite quote?

Not a quote person at all, there is many song lyrics I like however

4. Which fashion trend do you absolutely loathe?
Shorts that reveal your bum cheek! Yuck

5. what made you happy this week
Well celebrating two years with my partner on Monday was pretty happy!

6. What post on your blog has had the most visits?
My current makeup collection

7. Whats your goals before the end of this year?

To get a job I love would be fantastic


8. What makeup item can you leave the house without

I can leave the house without any makeup on, although mascara makes a big difference


9. Whats your favourite junk food to eat?

Probably KFC


10. Current foundation you're using?

For events/nights out Im using Mac studio fix fluid and for everyday Ive been using Revlon Colour-stay


11. Are you an extrovert or introvert

Definitely a extrovert



My Nominees:

My friend Monique from MakeupWithMonnii
Anybody who wants to be nominated!


My Questions:

1. Dream holiday destination?
2. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
3. Go -to nail polish colour?
4. Who's your celebrity crush?
5. Any tattoos/piercings?
6. Whats your holy grail makeup item?
7. Cats or dogs?
8. What will be your next beauty purchase?
9. Do you have a horrible hair cut experience?
10. What makeup item do you have the most of?
11. Your guilty pleasure?


Thanks again Fatima for the nomination!

Monique xx

Come Play With Me: How Low Can You Go?

This gorgeous gal recently asked me to come up with a new theme for the Come Play With Me Series and after some thought I decided on the theme 'How low can you go!' And no, I don't want you all to go do the limbo or some squats, but see how many makeup products you can use to create your ideal look! For me on a day to day basis I use anywhere between 10-20 products (who keeps count lol) so being able to create a look I'm happy with, using 5 products was huge for me! The products I used were;

1. Revlon Age defying concealer for Base, Concealer and Eye primer

2. Hard Candy lip liner for Blush and Lip colour

3. Hoola Bronzer for Bronzer, Eyeshadow, Eyebrows

4. Revlon eyeshadow for Eyeshadow, Highlighter

5. Benefit Mascara for Mascara, Eyeliner (yep! haha)

So what do you think! I personally would totally wear this out, but sadly having combination skin would mean my face would practically slide off in a few hours time as I didn't use a powder to set my makeup. Using the benefit mascara as a liner was also easier than I thought it would be, I just dipped a liner brush into excess product on the wand to apply it. I can imagine it being a pain in the butt to wash off later though!

All I can notice is my slightly orange brows… haha. The whole process seemed to take longer than applying my makeup normally, so I really doubt I'll be switching to this routine anytime soon. So my challenge now to you, is too see how low can you go! Please give it a shot and if you do, leave your post linked below! 

Monique xx

My Go- To Clubbing Look

I rarely go Clubbing these days but when I do I of course want to try and look my best, and hey getting ready before hand is half the fun anyway Right? Heres my go- to look!

I always start off my base with a primer- the last thing I want is my makeup sliding off after 30 minutes of entreating the club. The Elf mineral infused primer works great as a base and is super affordable. When going out I aways opt for full coverage, so the Mac Studio Finish foundation in NC15 is my pick, followed by the pro-longwear concealer to prevent creasing and dark circles under my eyes. The Australis Fresh and flawless is my favourite setting powder so I'll follow by buffing that into my skin to set all my liquids into place and give me the matte finish that I love. In my opinion, nothing is more flattering then using a good matte bronzer to sculpt out the face and Hoola by Benefit is the perfect shade, a must have in my routine. Ill use it to contour the hollows of my cheeks followed by some slight contouring of my nose. I will then add colour to my cheeks using Nars Orgasm Blush and top it all off with a beautiful highlight using Mac's mineralise skin finish in Soft and Gentle.

Moving onto eyes, the Naked palette is a dear friend of mine and my typical look for a night out is a smokey crease with light lids. To achieve this I start off with the Maybelline colour tattoo in Too Cool all over the lid and then work the darkest colours from the palette into my crease and lower lash line. It wouldn't be me without having a thick winged liner so of course I use my Rimmel Exaggerate waterproof liner followed by the fabulous They're Real mascara by Benefit for bold lashes. And how could I forget the brows! The Mac brow pencil in Lingering is a wonderful product and doesn't look to dark for my blonde hair - love it!

And lastly, the finishing touches. Obviously I curled my lashes before applying my mascara, Ill then always apply false lashes to get the thick dramatic look I love. Before applying my Mac lipstick in Rebel, I'll give them a good scrub using the Lush Bubblegum lip scrub (yum!). And to set all my makeup in place I'll give my face a good spritz of the Mac Fix- Plus Spray, and voila! Ready to party.

Heres some photos out and about rocking this look! If only getting a decent clubbing photo was as easy right? If you have any going out rituals or products you recommend for clubbing please do share! 

Monique xx

FOTD: Featuring the Givenchy Les Mini Prismes Travel Set

Friday afternoon I woke up feeling terribly sick and just wanted to spend all day in bed, but I motived myself to do something productive and got ready to hand out some resumes around locally. Knowing I may be speaking with potential employers, I tried to make myself half decent and tried out my new Givenchy Les Mini Prismes Travel set.

The Givenchy set is made up of a beautiful eyeshadow quad (which I forgot to photograph - doh!) a face powder and blush, which I all used on my face. These products are beautiful and I love the way they look on my skin, If you would like a full review on this set please let me know In the comments below!

I used Revlon Colour stay as my base, an oldie but a goodie. Defined my eyebrows with my favourite elf eyebrow kit in ash, and completed my eye look with a small cat eye using the rimmel waterproof liquid eyeliner and Catalinageo mascara. To pull it all together I used my Face of australia mineral eject lipstick in 'First kiss', the perfect my lips but better lipstick that moisturises and keeps the lips looking good in the cooler weather. 

And here was the finished look, super natural and ready for the job hunt. Not as perfected as I usually like but hey you can only do so much when your nose is constantly running and sleep is the only thing on your mind. Anyway, if you have any favourite products you like to use when your not feeling well please do share! 

Monique xx

EOTD: Purple Smokey Eye

Last night was my partner's sisters (geez can I just say sister in law already) Tafe charity event, and I decided to step away from my signature red lipstick and simplistic eyes and go for a little more colour. Wearing a dark purple top, this is the look I went with!

I used the Maybelline colour tattoo in 'Too Cool' to make the colours more vibrant, and the stars of the show were the bright and dark purple in my MUA 'Glamour Nights' palette.

I quite like how it turned out and I think ill be doing colour on the eyes more often! But I don't think I can abandon my red lipstick for long, we go way back. Anyway please Let me know your thoughts! :)

Monique xx

3D Makeup Printers

Yep you read that right! You may have previously heard of 3D printers, and now thanks to Harvard student Grace Choi, a makeup printer is the latest one to hit the market. At $300 each, the home 3D printer is said to print out any makeup item your heart desires, including eyeshadows, blush, creams and liners all at the click of a button. Grace implies throughout the video that the formulas of each category of product (lipstick, blush etc) are the same, and all you do is select any colour from different pictures/photos of makeup you like to print the product. 

At first I started to think that there will be no need to ever hit up the shops again, but after watching the video I began to doubt the system and how well it will satisfy consumers- how will the formulas of each product suit every skin type? Does the the printer make shimmery or matte shadows? Does it cost more for the pans/bottles/lipstick tubes? Don't get me wrong I think its amazing technology, but at the steep price I wonder how well it would succeed when I know I for one Im a sucker for brand names and quality over having every single colour of product.

You can watch the video and read the full article here, and let me know your thoughts!

Monique xx