Antipodean Beauties - Lashes.

Hello lovelies,

The theme for this week's Antipodean Beauties challenge is Lashes. Now, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with false lashes, so I decided I had to use some for this theme, since it is a challenge after all! I love falsies because they look fantastic on, but they often take a while to apply on my large eyes (even makeup artists have trouble sometimes) and as I'm usually doing my makeup looks at night, I'm often too tired to fuss around with them!

 

I have quite a few pairs of different false lashes in my stash, among which are some gorgeous 'deer and butterfly' paper lashes I picked up a while ago (sadly, the place I bought them from has now gone defunct). I've been waiting for a chance to try them so I decided to use them for this look.

As you can see, paper lashes are really long, so I decided to split them up and use the butterflies on the lower lashline. If you ever use paper lashes, be really careful with them as they are quite fragile and can tear very easily. I found it helpful to gently detach them from the backing with a pair of tweezers.

Here's what I came up with!

Keep reading after the jump!

July and August 2013 Violet Box Review!

Hi lovelies,

I've been a very bad beauty blogger and not had time to review my July Violet Box (which was very kindly provided for review). I thought I had plenty of time in which to do it, until I got a surprise email late last week saying that an August box was on its way to me! It arrived yesterday, but I was off to the P!nk concert (she was totally amazing and I have the biggest girl crush on her now. by the way) and got home late, so I've decided to do a quick joint review of both boxes today!

First up, the July 2013 Violet Box...I received:

ModelCo SHINE Ultra Lip Gloss (full sized)

Aphelia Peony 9+5 Advanced Beautifying Eye Cream (deluxe sample)

Catalina Geo Long and Deep Mascara plus refill (full sized)

Adorn Cosmetics Eye Create Intensive Shadow Shade in Jasper and Matte Shadow in Quartz (deluxe sample)

St Tropez Bronzing Mousse (deluxe sample)

That's two full sized samples and four deluxe samples (including the two shadow samples). I like the lip gloss, I already own one so I'll be putting this aside to give away. I don't usually go for loose shadows but the Adorn samples look really pretty, I'll add the new mascara to my steadily growing stash to try and the eye cream looks pretty good - I've tried several Aphelia products before and they are interesting! The only sample I wouldn't use is the bronzing mousse but I know someone who would love it so I'll be sharing the love around! Overall, I think it was a good box and one that I was pretty satisfied with!

July 2013 Violet Box.

Keep reading after the jump!

Product Review: ORLY Beautiful Disaster and Sparkling Garbage | ORLY Mash Up Colour Collection.

Hello lovelies!

It's been a while since my last polish post, I have been a bit amiss! To make up for it, I have two beautiful new polishes to show you from the new Orly Mash Up Collection.

Beautiful Disaster (is anyone else singing a Kelly Clarkson song in their head now, or is that just me?) is described as a 'magenta chrome', this has a tendency to shift from a rich magenta to a royal purple, depending on the lighting, so I would have to say that the description is pretty apt. I have to confess to falling in love with it as soon as I saw it (I have a thing for purples), and having it on my nails only reaffirmed my love.

ORLY Beautiful Disaster in direct sunlight.

Keep reading after the jump!

Antipodean Beauties - Winter.

Hello lovelies,

Yay, it's the weekend! I've been a bit unwell this week, I may have picked up a virus of sorts as I'm feeling all kinds of achy! I don't have cold symptoms, I'm just in all kinds of pain. Having said that, I got home from work two nights ago, spent a few hours in bed resting, got up to shower before going to sleep, and suddenly felt the inspiration for a winter look for the Antipodean Beauties tag!

When I think of winter, I think of cold, crisp weather, associated with blues and whites, so here's what I came up with! It's a little bit more 'out there' than what I'd ordinarily wear out (mainly because of the white on the lower waterline) but it's easy enough to just substitute the stark white for a beige or gold pencil for a more wearable look.

Keep reading after the jump!

Kiss Me Deadly Swimwear and Lingerie Sale and GIVEAWAY!

Hi lovelies!

Just a quickie post today to share a bargain with you! UK Swimwear and Lingerie brand Kiss Me Deadly (isn't that a great name for a lingerie and swimwear store?) is launching their Australian website, and to celebrate, they're offering a fantastic sale (with free shipping, enter discount code MISSY), sale ends Wednesday, 29 August 2013.

The range is absolutely stunning, as you can see from the photos above (taken from their website - I quite like the sentiment in the second photo, don't you?), so I might be doing a bit of sneaky shopping myself, though I do find it a bit hard to buy lingerie without trying it on!

Check out the sale collection here, and if you do buy something, please pop back to let me know, I do love a good sticky beak!

Now, on to the part you've all been waiting for! Kiss Me Deadly have kindly given me a swimwear/lingerie set to giveaway on the blog (winner gets to select their prize)!

To win, all you have to do is leave me a comment below, telling me how/where you would choose to wear your new lingerie/swimwear if you won, and why! You MUST be following me via GFC or Bloglovin', so please leave me your relevant details with your entry (I will have to disqualify your entry if you fail to leave me your follower details). The most creative answer, as selected by me and my team of experts (read, friends), WINS! This giveaway ends next Saturday, 31st August 2013, and is only open to Australians. The winner will have 24 hours to respond to my email, or I will have to select another winner.

Good luck, lovelies!

This giveaway is now CLOSED.

The winner is Sarah K, congratulations!

Much love,
MM.
x


Note: Kiss Me Deadly are kindly providing me with a swimsuit of my choice, as part of the collaboration with this generous giveaway. Kiss Me Deadly will be responsible for sending out the prize to the winner, once the winner has been drawn. For more information, please refer to my disclosure policy.

Product Review: Illamasqua Blusher Duos in Katie/Ambition & Beg/Bronzerella (with swatches).

Hello lovelies!

Happy Hump Day! How quickly time is passing, we will be in December before we know it!

I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately, so I'm going to have to skip this week's makeup tag at Aqeela's and bring you a review instead. I go through phases where I'm obsessed with certain types of beauty products (think lipsticks/eyeshadow palettes, etc) and for the past few months, I've been obsessed with blushers! Here are the two gorgeous blusher duos which kick-started my blusher obsession.

Called Katie & Ambition and Beg & Bronzerella, these blusher duos are part of the Illamasqua I'mPerfection campaign. I already brought you a review of some of the Speckle polishes from the same collection, so this post is terribly tardy!

The blushers are all matte formulas, a texture which I've truly fallen for lately as they are just so flattering on the skin. Being of a darker skintone, I have to be careful with shimmery blushers as they can make me look like I've got a sunburn (not quite the look I usually try for). Matte blushers are also fantastic if you have wrinkles, as they don't tend to fall into the wrinkles and highlight them. These blushers are extremely pigmented, but blend beautifully, and you can layer them for more impact or blend them out for a subtle wash of colour.

First up, we have Katie (candy pink) & Ambition (neutral - but I'd describe it as more of a dusky rose). Both are extremely versatile shades, I do believe Katie might be a bit too pale for darker skintones, but I like using it as an eyeshadow. Ambition is very flattering on my cheekbones, and is one of my favourite blusher shades. I do think Ambition would work well on most skintones.

Illamasqua Blusher Duo in Katie (top) & Ambition (bottom).

Read more (and admire the pretty pictures) after the jump!

August 2013 Lust Have It Review!

Hello lovelies,

It's that time of the month again, Lust Have It review time! I noticed a post on their wall saying that this month's box would be packaged in an assortment of colours from previous months, as Lust Have It were going to roll out a new packaging that was more environmentally friendly, and wanted to use up their remaining stock, so we'll have to say goodbye to these pretty paisley boxes. Can't wait to see what's next, we've had everything from white cardboard boxes, to coloured makeup bags, to these paisley magnetic boxes!

Here's what I received this month:

Revlon Photoready Skinlights Face Illuminator (full sized)

Revlon Nearly Naked Makeup (sachet)

KMS California Free Shape Shampoo (sachet)

KMS California Free Shape Hot Flex Spray (deluxe sample)

SinfulColours Nail Enamel (full sized)

Lush Moisturiser - Shangri La (deluxe sample)

La Roche Posay Lipikar Balm (deluxe sample)

Paula's Choice Resist Ultra Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum (deluxe sample)

There were also a couple of brochures and discount vouchers in there (which, to be honest, I usually don't pay much attention to, because I'm always in a hurry to tear into my box)!

Keep reading after the jump!

Antipodean Beauties - Glitter.

Hello lovelies,

Happy Sunday (Bah, Monday is a few short hours away)! I'm sharing my first post today for Antipodean Beauties! In case you aren't familiar with it, Antipodean Beauties was created by Omega from Fashion Adjacent, with the idea of bringing together all participating Australian and New Zealand bloggers in a weekly challenge. The theme changes every week so participants are free to join in whenever they can. I won't be giving up on Aqeela's weekly makeup challenge, I'll just participate in both when time (and energy) permits!

This week's theme is glitter, so here is what I came up with.

It was a bit challenging as I don't really have many glitter products (aside from nail polishes, but I wanted to come up with a makeup look to really challenge myself to step outside the box), but then I remembered an untouched 'lol' Starry Night eye palette I had in my makeup drawer. 'lol' stands for 'lots of love' and is a budget brand carried by Kmart.

Keep reading after the jump!

Product Review: Clinique Long Last Lipstick in Berry Intense & High Impact Lip Colour SPF15 in Coral Crush.

Hi lovelies!

Apologies for the lack of posts over the past few days, work has been really busy and I was also away over the weekend! I've been absolutely tuckered out!

L-R: Clinique Long Last Lipstick in Berry Intense & High Impact Lip Colour SPF15 in Coral Crush.

I've got a new post to share today, however, on two gorgeous lipsticks from Clinique. One is the Long Last Lipstick in Berry Intense (more shades here) and the other is the High Impact Lip Colour with SPF15 in Coral Crush (more shades here).

Read more after the jump!

And the Roaccutane journey begins.

Hello lovelies,

As you may have gathered from the post title, I started on a course of Roaccutane about a month ago. Part of this is to treat my adult acne, while the rest of it is to help my skin in an overall manner.

I've always been hesitant to take hormonal pills as my menstrual cycle is very regular and I'd hate to mess that up, but I've always had acne on my back, and I do get the odd hormonal breakouts around that 'time of the month', which can honestly be very annoying (and painful) to deal with. I've always taken great care of my skin but nothing seems to have worked particularly well in eradicating the acne. Breakouts can be a hard thing to manage/prevent, as it can be caused by genetics, hormones, weather, a reaction to products, diet, stress...the list is endless, and frankly, very exhausting.

Read more after the jump!

Product Review: Bomb Cosmetics Cranberry & Lime Shower Scrub, Chocolate Orange Tin Candle and Giveaway!

Hello lovelies,

Now, I'm not someone who readily gives in to peer pressure (quite the opposite, actually, I like to be contrary whenever I can), but I have to admit I succumbed in a major way a few weeks ago! It all began when I was browsing on one of my favourite beauty websites, Beautyheaven, a few weeks ago and came across a rather rapturous thread dealing with Bomb Cosmetics, a relatively new, British-made, luxury bath and beauty brand. There was also a really great special on offer, where any purchase over $50 got free shipping and a free box with six of their famous bath bombs/creamers. The enthusiasm on that thread really got to me, and next thing I knew, I was browsing on the Get Drenched website (the Australian stockists of Bomb Cosmetics).

I was overjoyed when I came across a list of shower-friendly products, as well as an extensive list of candles, and it wasn't long before I found myself clicking on the 'add to cart', and consequently, 'check out' buttons! Checking out was a simple and straightforward process; I simply used Paypal and two days later, a gorgeous and securely packed box arrived on my desk at work! It was with great excitement that I unwrapped it to find the following items, together with a little handwritten card from Paul, thanking me for my order.

Keep reading after the jump!

Eles Winter Look 2013 - A Touch of Blush makeup look and swatches.

Hello lovelies,

One more day to the weekend, woohoo! I had to skip this week's makeup tag as it's just been a bit crazy around here, but don't be too sad; I have another makeup look to share, the Eles Winter 2013 Look!

Called 'A Touch of Blush', I was thrilled when I was offered the opportunity to recreate the look. We all know how much I love a makeup challenge, and it's especially exciting as I'd never tried products from Eles before! The look is supposed to be about contoured and understated eyes, teamed with a radiant blush of lips and cheeks.

I was sent most of the items in the Eles Winter 2013 collection to help create the look, namely; the Mineral Eyeshadow in Sand, Powderliner Pencil in Tornado, Liquid Lustre Gloss in Tempest, Mineral Blush in Coral Sun, Brow Sculpt in Brunette and Lush Mascara in Black.

Eles Winter 2013 Collection.

Keep reading after the jump!

Jeans for Genes Day - 2nd August 2013.

Hello lovelies!

I just wanted to share a quick post on Jeans for Genes Day, which is tomorrow! It's actually the 20th anniversary this year, which makes it a landmark event.

How CUTE is this bub?
(Taken from the Jeans for Genes website)

If you aren't aware of what Jeans for Genes Day is about, it's a national day where people wear their jeans to raise much-needed funds for research into birth defects, and diseases such as cancer, epilepsy, and a range of genetic disorders. All money raised goes towards the Children's Medical Research Institute (CMRI) to help discover treatments and cures.

Some additional info:

• 1 in 20 kids is born in Australia with a genetic disease or birth defect.
• $2 will buy enough crucial enzymes to test the blood of one patient for aggressive types of cancers.
• $5 buys a plastic '96-in-one' test tube to screen 96 potential epilepsy drugs at once.
• $10 gives scientists 200 mini test tubes to help discover genes that cause blindness in children. CMRI scientists have already discovered 12 genes.
• $1000 helps CMRI scientist test a new drug to treat cancer, epilepsy, or other neurological conditions.

I'll be participating by wearing my jeans tomorrow (a great idea to do it on a Friday when most workplaces accept a casual dress code) and making a small donation to the website. No donation is too small, as the image below shows, and all donations above $2 are tax-deductible, so have a think about donating to a good cause!

Click to enlarge.
(Taken from the Jeans for Genes website)

Look out for a photo of me wearing my jeans tomorrow on Instagram! If you'd like to participate, don't forget to use the Twitter/Instagram handle @JeansforGenesAU and hashtag #jeansforgenesau. You can also check out their Facebook page and website for more details.

Will you be donning your jeans tomorrow, lovelies?

Much love,

MM.

x