Product Review: Rimmel London | Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss.

Hi lovelies!

Boy, am I glad that Monday is over! It's probably the worst day in the week, there's nowhere to go but up from here on out!

I have some gorgeous new lipsticks from the new Rimmel London | Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss winter range to share with you today. According to the Rimmel London, these are enriched with ruby powder to provide intense, velvet colour that lasts all day.

Unlike the previous range of Kate Moss lipsticks, which were packaged in black cases, these ones are housed in slimline red tubes, with Kate's signature logo on the lids. I really like that the lids snap on with a definitive click, it prevents it from accidentally coming open in my handbag and smearing lipstick over everything!

Rimmel London | Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss.

There are six shades in the new winter collection and they are listed as #103, #106, #107, #111, #112 and #113.

Rimmel London | Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss.
L-R: #103, #106. #107, #111, #112 and #113.

For a matte lipstick, I find the texture of these to be quite creamy. These lipsticks are very lightweight on my lips, with a velvety feel to it. I also find them quite non-drying, I can wear the more pigmented shades for hours without experiencing fading, at least until I eat or drink, and my lips still feel quite comfortable at the end of the day. The lighter shades are a bit less pigmented, requiring a bit more touching up during the day.

These lipsticks do have a distinct floral scent, it's not quite to my personal tastes but the scent does fade quite quickly on application so it's something I'm happy to put up with for such gorgeous colour!

Rimmel London | Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss.
L-R: #103, #106. #107, #111, #112 & #113.

Let's take a look at some swatches, shall we?

#103 is what I call a dusky mauve, #106 is more of a hot pink and #107 is a deep berry. All three are very pigmented.

Rimmel London | Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss.
L-R: #103, #106 & #107.

Rimmel London | Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss.
L-R: #103, #106 & #107.

#111 is what I'd call a deep red, #112 is a warm chocolate shade and #113 is a nude beige. The first two shades are very pigmented, while the last is quite pale and essentially disappears on my skintone.

Rimmel London | Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss.
L-R: #111, #112 & #113.

Rimmel London | Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss.
L-R: #111, #112 & #113. 

As you can see from the swatches, the range includes both bold colours as well as more subtle shades. 

Rimmel London | Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss.
L-R: #103, #106. #107, #111, #112 & #113.

 

Rimmel London | Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick by Kate Moss.
L-R: #103, #106. #107, #111, #112 & #113.

The stand out shades that have fast become favourites of mine are #103, which is a great shade for a subtle wash of colour, and #106, which I fell in love with at first sight and find perfect for a statement lip. I'm also really liking #111 for the cold, winter months, and #112 for a bold red pout!

The Lasting Finish Matte Lipstick Winter range is available from all Rimmel London stockists (like Priceline, Big W and Target) and retails for $12.95. You can also shop the range online here.

Do any of these shades strike your fancy, lovelies?

Much love,
MM.
x

Note: These products were kindly provided for my consideration. This has not affected my opinion in any way. For more information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

April 2013 Lust Have It Review.

Hello lovelies,

I hope you're all well and have had a great Anzac Day. It's been a little overwhelming for me as I had a car accident last night, but fortunately no one was hurt. It was a bit stressful though and I nearly froze waiting on the road for 2 hours while things got sorted out! I won't go into too much detail but do send some positive vibes my way that things get sorted out smoothly with insurance tomorrow!

On to happier news, my April Lust Have It arrived yesterday, packaged in a pretty pale blue floral box. I was initially quite excited until I opened the box to be confronted with...a sandwich bag full of gauze!!! I was pretty confused, but more on that later.

Here's what I found inside:

Pink Tiger Duri Cosmetics nail tools - buffer (full sized) and lint-free gauze (!!!)

Gosh mono shadow #10 light brown (full sized)

Rachel K Mineral Colour Control CC Cream sachets - two of each in Original and Natural (samples)

Remedica Vanilla and Shea body butter (deluxe sample)

Awe Cosmeceuticals Amala Clearing serum (sample)

Goldwell Dualsenses Ultra Volume Conditioner (sample)

There were also some discount cards for purchasing Duri polishes and more Remedica products.

On to the photos:

April 2013 Lust Have It Box.

Click for more information on products/pricing.

Contents of the April 2013 LHI Box.
(complete with gauze front and centre) :P

Top: Pink Tiger buffer/gauze samples, Remedica
body butter, Awe clearing serum, Goldwell Conditioner.
Bottom: Gosh mono shadow in light brown and
Rachel K CC cream sachets.

Pink Tiger buffer/gauze samples & Remedica body butter.

L - R: Goldwell Conditioner. Awe clearing serum, Gosh mono shadow
in light brown and Rachel K CC cream sachets.

What did I think of this month's box? The gauze was a bit of a surprise, I felt like I was opening a first aid kit instead of a beauty box for a second! While I do think it's a slightly odd inclusion, I'm happy to give them a go and see if they really make a huge difference over my regular Swisspers cotton pads. I'm also happy to receive the buffer as they always come in handy (conincidentally, I just bought a new one from Priceline last week!), and the Awe serum will also be put to good use. I like the idea of the Rachel K CC creams but I do wish we'd received more than 2 small sachets, as they barely contain a couple of applications and sometimes you need more than a couple of tries before you can tell if a product will break you out.

The Remedica body butter smells amazing, so I'm looking forward to using it. I'm a big fan of scented products that add an indulgence to your routine. I actually have heaps of body lotions and butters building up but I'm resolving to be better about moisturising! I am also happy to have received the Goldwell conditioner as I like pampering my hair.

The biggest disappointment, to me, was the Gosh shadow. I love Gosh products and was really sad when the stockist I knew closed down, so I was really excited to see it in my LHI box. The disappointment, though, came from the choice of shade. While it's a pretty neutral that I can probably get good use out of, the makeup products in the last FIVE boxes I've received from LHI have all been pretty uninspiring in terms of colour choices. I understand it's 'luck of the draw' but what are the odds that all the makeup items in the last five boxes have been so uninspiring in terms of colour?! I wouldn't mind one or two, but five is pretty tough! I actually wrote customer service an email about it, so we will see what resolution we come to regarding the issue.

VERDICT? I liked this box, and would have been really excited about it had I received another shade in the Gosh shadow (it's really hard when you keep getting browns/red/neutrals while everyone else gets gorgeous purples, greens and pinks). I also think it was quite good value for money.

What did you think of this month's box? Were you happy with what you got? If you've reviewed it, leave me a link so I can come and check your box out!

Much love,
MM.
x

Edit: Lust Have It customer service sent me a replacement eyeshadow in a purple shade, which I received three weeks after this post was written.

Salon Melbourne 2013 Review.

Hello lovelies!

Last Sunday, I made a trip to Salon Melbourne, which some of you may remember me posting about last year (read about that by clicking here, here and here). In case you're wondering, Salon Melbourne is an industry-only event, focusing on hair, beauty and styling, but bloggers are fortunate enough to receive via a media pass. It was held over Saturday and Sunday last year, but on Sunday and Monday this year as the organisers felt it would allow more opportunity for the beauty industry to attend. It was pretty hard taking decent photos as it was so crowded!

This year, I made the trip with several blogger friends, and I think I got so caught up in the crowd, company and excitement, I actually forgot to take proper photos! 

As I did last year, I had to hit up the Zoya stand, which I did with Kerri, Sarah and Sue. It was pretty hard getting in as it was very crowded, but we certainly did our best picking up a few bargains!

Zoya stand at Salon Melbourne.

It was a great photo until the lady stuck her hand in there. :P

The lounge at Salon Melbourne.

We also saw a great demonstration by some hair experts while waiting for the Rae Morris demonstration.

I thought this hairstyle was amazing! The fringe was painted by the stylist!

More amazing hairstyles on display.

I manage to cram in a quick photo with Sue (bottom left), Jasmine (top left) and Sarah (top right) while we were waiting for Rae Morris to enter the centre stage. You can just make out Kerri standing behind us (in the pink skirt).

I've always been a fan of Rae Morris. In fact, my first makeup book was one of hers! It's amazing how tiny she is in person. It was really fascinating listening to her talk on makeup application.

Some of the wonderful tips she shared included:

• Shimmer shadow can make your skin look old, so be sure to test it on the inside of your arm before applying it to your eyes.
• Avoid arching your brow too much when you wax it as it can really age you.
• To appear more tanned, apply bronzer to your hairline and blend, as it immediately darkens your complexion.
• If you are pale, use a pale rose blush before bronzer to avoid looking orange.
• How wide apart you pluck your brows in the middle (above the bridge of your nose) is how wide your nose will look in photos (eek, will have to take note of this)!
• The perfect nude shade for lips is a shade in between your natural lip colour and your skintone.
• Add a cream shadow in a shimmery nude to your Cupid's Bow to make lips appear more plump.

I really learnt a lot from listening to her and have been experimenting with some of her tips this week.

Rae demonstrating some eye makeup techniques.

The amazing Bioderma cleanser also made its first appearance at Salon Melbourne this year! This really is an amazing cleanser that you should try if you haven't already. There's a good reason it's in every makeup artist's kit!

Bioderma stall.

I was also thrilled to visit the Heart Beauty magazine booth, which I blogged about here. The launch edition is out, so be sure to pick up a copy! I loved mine.

There was also a very talented makeup artist doing some body painting on a very patient model. She reminded me a little of Mystique from the X-Men!

Body Painting.

We also came across some gorgeous hair and makeup on display.

There was also a great ORLY display, but I somehow managed to refrain from purchasing more polishes. Truth be told, I think it's only because the stands were mostly empty by the time I went back to get some polishes.

Joey Scandizzo, winner of the 2012 Hairdresser of the Year award (pictured in the blue pants below), was also holding a demonstration with his team. How amazing were some of the hair designs?

I was especially fascinated with this one which looked a bit like the model had balls of yarn in her updo.

I also met the lovely Dean Nixon from Master Makeup, but got so carried away chatting with him I completely forgot to get a photograph! He's lovely, he spent 2 years putting together his brush line and took feedback from his makeup artist friends into consideration before finalising the designs. They are some of the softest, plushest brushes you'll ever find, so do check his website out!

Jasmine and I managed to get a photo together at the end of the day.

And last but not least, I leave you with a photo of my restrained Salon Melbourne haul. I picked up 10 polishes from Zoya, and a detangler that looks a lot like the one I own from Michel Mercier. I'm planning a review post soon so stay tuned! I'd actually wanted to buy some Kryolan too, but sadly, they had run out of the very shades I'd desperately wanted (and wanted to charge me additional shipping even if I'd purchased on the day but had it shipped to me), so I decided it just wasn't worth the trouble. I think I'd definitely have bought more if it hadn't been so crowded, but had heaps of fun hanging with the other bloggers and looking at all the displays. I can safely say I'd love to go again next year if I can!

I hope you enjoyed that post, lovelies! Did you go to Salon Melbourne? If you did, leave me a comment so I can drop by and check out your post!

Much love,

MM.

x

Navy and Scarlet Dry Marbling Nail Art.

Hello lovelies,

Woohoo for the weekend! I'm celebrating by sharing some nail art that I did a couple of weeks ago (I did warn y'all that I'm a bit behind)!

I used a 'dry marbling' technique for this, if you like the effect, let me know in the comments and I'll do a tutorial for it!

I used Maybelline Color Show in Blue Freeze and Rimmel London Cranberry Zest, applied over basecoat and finished off with topcoat.

Navy and Scarlet Dry Marbling.

 

Navy and Scarlet Dry Marbling.

 

Navy and Scarlet Dry Marbling.

Navy and Scarlet Dry Marbling.

Navy and Scarlet Dry Marbling.

Hope you enjoyed that, lovelies! I quite liked it and it was really easy to do, I'm already planning my next colour combination!

Much love,
MM.
x

Product Review: L'Oreal Paris Shine Caresse Lip Colours.

Hello lovelies!

I've got a special post to share today and that's the gorgeous new L'Oreal Paris Shine Caresse Lip Colours! Now, not only is it a bit of a mouthful, but I've heard these called everything from stains to balms to glosses, so let's just call these glosses for the sake of this review! To add to the confusion, these glosses also appear to have different names/numbers in different countries!

I first came across them while I was recovering in Malaysia at the start of the year, they literally came out a day or two before I was due to fly back to Australia. I couldn't resist and picked up two shades, Bella (#604) and Princess (#801). My lovely friend Ling (from The Best Beauty Blog - check her out, she's awesome) was on holiday in Hong Kong and kindly offered to bring me back another shade, so I picked Milady (#603).

L'Oreal were then kind enough to send me the shades I was missing from the Australian collection, which had eight shades in total (including Princess and Milady, but sadly, not Bella), so they sent me Lolita (#101), Romy (#102), Marilyn (#103), Juliet (#300), Eve (400) and Bonnie (#501), which brings me up to nine shades in total! If I haven't lost you yet, please read on for more details. :D

L'Oreal Paris Shine Caresse Lip Colours.
L-R: Lolita, Romy, Marilyn, Juliet, Eve, Bonnie, Milady, Princess &
Bella (unavailable in Australia).

First up, let's talk about the packaging. I love the sleek, silver packaging, although fingerprints show up all too easily, but that's a minor issue (unless you're trying to photograph these, in which case it's a fingerprint party!). I love the little window in the neck of the bottle that makes it easy to identify which shade you've picked up. I also like that the lids screw tightly into the neck, so there's no chance of it accidentally coming open in your handbag.

L'Oreal Paris Shine Caresse Lip Colours.
All 9 pretty ladies lined up in a row!

The applicator is quite unique, and caught my attention immediately! It comes with a little teardrop shaped sponge applicator, with a hollow in the centre, which is where the bulk of the gloss gathers. I really like it as it helps spread the colour evenly over my lips without streaking. It also fits very well around the contours of my mouth. These glosses have a faint, floral scent that I find quite pleasant, but this does fade away on application.

L'Oreal Paris Shine Caresse Lip Colours Applicator (Juliet).

The texture of the gloss is also very interesting. It's quite a thin, cool and watery consistency, so you almost feel like you're spreading water over your lips! This then dries a little on your lips but still retains its moist and glossy sheen. L'Oreal claim that these glosses ''combine the texture and shine of a gloss with the long wear of a stain''. Let's see if these live up to the promise, shall we?

I decided to swatch lightly first, so these are two light swipes of the wand over my arm.

L-R: Lolita, Romy, Marilyn & Juliet.

L-R: Eve, Bonnie, Milady, Princess & Bella.

As you can see from the photos above, the pigmentation varies a little, with the lighter shades (Lolita, Romy and Eve, for instance) looking more like a gloss while the darker shades (Juliet, Bonnie and Princess, for instance) appear more like liquid lipstick. 

I then swatched a bit more heavily, applying a couple more swipes of the wand to each swatch, to see how buildable the colour is from these glosses.

L-R: Lolita, Romy, Marilyn & Juliet.

L-R: Eve, Bonnie, Milady, Princess & Bella.
(no idea why they are in ascending order, I think I got tired) :P

The result? Very buildable! I love the colour intensity you get when you layer these heavily, it's something that us girls with naturally pigmented lips really welcome! It also makes the product more versatile, you can wear a thin layer to university/work for a more subtle look, and really build it up for a night out! These glosses also retain their glossy nature for hours after application, I was quite impressed!

I was a little unconvinced in the beginning, but after playing with these a bit and wearing them a few times, I got to really like them. My favourite way to wear the lighter shades are on top of a nude lip liner, or over another colour for added dimension! I have a soft spot for the deeper shades like Marilyn, Princess and Juliet, they are a very easy way to a statement lip!

I did note that some of the shades are very similar, Romy/Marilyn, for one, and Eve/Milady for another. It really is a shame that Bella isn't available here in Australia, as it's a really gorgeous colour.

L-R: Lolita, Romy, Marilyn, Juliet, Eve, Bonnie, Milady, Princess & Bella
 (heavily swatched).

Last but not least, I leave you with a photo of what my arm looked like post-swatching, even after scrubbing at it with makeup remover wipes...

L-R: Lolita, Romy, Marilyn, Juliet, Eve, Bonnie, Milady, Princess and
Bella

I think this proves that the Shine Caresse Lip Colours do leave a stain! It's more evident with the darker colours, but I find that it does wear away very evenly even with the lighter shades. They are also very comfortable to wear, I find that they get a little tacky after a few hours but that's nothing another coat won't fix, and best of all, they don't leave my lips feeling dry by the end of the day!

The L'Oreal Shine Caresse Lip Colours are available at RRP $23.95 from most L'Oreal stockists like Priceline, Myer, David Jones and selected pharmacies, but it's usually quite easy to find them on special (Priceline for instance, has them at 20% off at the time of writing). You can also purchase online by clicking here.

What do you think, lovelies, do you like the sound of these? Which shades do you love the most?

Much love,
MM
x


Note: Bella, Princess and Milady were paid for by me, while the remaining six glosses were kindly provided for my consideration. This has not affected my opinion in any way. For more information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Product Review: Redken Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine Intense.

Hello lovelies!

How have you all been? I can't believe the weekend is already over, I had quite a lovely time yesterday with a bit of shopping and watching The Host (it's one of my favourite books and I'm so pleased to report that the movie did not disappoint) and today I spent the day at Salon Melbourne with a few other beauty bloggers. Some of you may recall that I went last year also (you can read about it here, here and here), but I was remarkably restrained this year so there wasn't be as many posts reviewing it. :P 

Stay tuned!

On to the topic of this post...I was kindly sent this lovely new Redken hair oil last month, and was quite keen to try it as I do love pampering my hair (read more on that here). I gave this a really good trial and here are my thoughts on this product.

First of all, the Redken Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine Intense (phew, what a mouthful, let's call it this oil from now on to make things a bit easier) is part of the new Diamond Oil range from Redken. It was officially meant to be released next month, in May, but Redken confirmed on Facebook that it's already available from Australian salons. I was fortunate enough to receive a deluxe sample of the new shampoo, conditioner and mask from the range in my Her Fashion Box (reviewed here) so I've been able to try this out both alone and in conjunction with the shampoo/conditioner and mask from the range.

Redken Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine Intense.

If you're anything like me, you're wondering how it differs from the other Redken ranges (just quietly, I'm obsessed with Redken All Soft).

According to the Redken website: "Diamond Oil utilizes an exclusive formula of silicone free oils, including camelina oil, coriander oil, apricot oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil and others, to strengthen from inside out. It's also supposed to deliver unprecendented strength and shine (which is where the diamond bit comes in, I presume)."

Redken Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine Intense Ingredients.

Firstly, let's talk about packaging. It's packaged in a fancy, faceted black bottle to mirror the surface of a cut diamond, and it's got a fair bit of weight to it. I like how luxe the bottle feels but I am also a wee bit nervous of dropping it and having it shatter across the floor.

Redken Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine Intense.

What I quite liked about the design is that it comes with a push top dropper (for precise application - there's no fear you'll accidentally tip too much out), as you can see from the photo below. While great in theory, mine unfortunately stopped working after 3 uses, so I'm now back to having to unscrew the top and tip some oil out into the palm of my hand.

Redken Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine Intense.

The dropper in the cap of the bottle.

Dropper in the cap of the bottle.

The oil is a pale golden colour, and is lightly scented. I'm actually hard pressed to pinpoint exactly what it smells like but I would describe it as a warm and pleasant scent, which is not at all overpowering.

I like to use it by applying a few drops to damp, towel dried hair, drying off with a blow dryer, and then finishing with a couple more drops to calm frizz and flyaways. You can also use it as a treatment by applying a liberal amount (leaving it on overnight), before washing it out the next day, and also by mixing it with your regular hair mask.

Needless to say, this isn't going to turn a haystack into soft, flaxen silk, but it does do a fantastic job at smoothing out kinks and keeping hair feeling silky until you wash it out. It might work just a smidge better when used in conjunction with the shampoo, conditioner and mask in the range, but it also performs just as well on its own. I can't really judge if repeated use of the other products in the range might result in stronger, more shiny hair, as I only got a few uses out of the deluxe shampoo and conditioner samples I received. I'd also like to point out that this oil can weigh hair down a little if too much is applied; it's actually formulated for coarse hair (which fits the description of mine perfectly), but it does come in a lighter version to suit more hair types (click here to check it out).

Overall, this oil really does live up to the promise, I find that my hair is a lot softer and easier to manage with regular use of this, and it really does keep frizz at bay until you wash it out. It also lends a little bit of shine to my hair, but nothing that's too obvious to the naked eye.

I'm not 100% sure what the regular retail price of this product is, but I believe it is approximately $49.95. Redken Australia are currently offering a competition where you could stand to win one of 100 Diamond Oil packs, so hop to it by clicking here.

What do you think of this product, lovelies? Does it catch your fancy?

Much love,
MM.
x


Note: This product was kindly provided for my consideration. This has not affected my opinion in any way. For more information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.