Arbonne Blush in Berry, Creme Concealer in Medium, and Lipstick in Vintage Rose.

Hi lovelies,

Have you heard of Arbonne before? It's one of those brands which owes its success to direct sales, where the products are usually only available from consultants, with other examples being Avon, Mary Kay and the famous Tupperware.

I'd been peripherally aware of the brand for a while, and had an avid curiosity about the products, which is why I was quite excited when offered the chance to try a blush, concealer and lipstick. I received the blush in Berry, concealer in Medium and lipstick in Vintage Rose.

Arbonne blush in Berry, Creme Concealer in Medium and Lipstick in Vintage Rose.

I've been a bit blush-obsessed lately, so it was the first product I tried out. I loved the sturdy, push-button closure as it keeps the compact closed securely. The blush in Berry is a deep, almost russet shade, and the finely milled texture ensures it's a dream to blend. It's marvellously pigmented and gives beautiful colour to my cheeks. I like to just lightly touch the blush with the tip of my blush brush, and then buff it into my cheeks with circular motions. I think this shade is definitely best for medium to darker skin tones.

Keep reading after the jump!

Eye of Horus Goddess Pencils Review & Swatches (Entire Collection)!

Hi lovelies,

I have got a bit of a treat for you today, as I've got my hot little hands on the entire collection of Eye of Horus Goddess Pencils!

In case you aren't familiar with Eye of Horus (EOH), they are an Aussie brand (based in Melbourne, no less!) which have beautiful eye makeup based on ancient Egyptian formulas and ingredients, including Moringa Oil. I was fortunate enough to win some products from them a few months ago, and promptly fell in love with their Goddess pencils. Their smokey eye pencil (black) has actually become a Holy Grail product for me, which says a lot as I use black liner almost every single day and probably own about ten different ones.

There are nine pencils in the Goddess pencil collection, as follows:

Jewel Amethyst
Lazuli Blue
Bronze Amulet
Emerald Tabula
Serpentine Sultry
Teal Malachite
Charcoal Obsidian
Nubian Brown and,
Goddess Smokey

Here's the entire collection for your perusal, it's going to be a little photo-heavy as I got a little carried away with the camera!

From top to bottom: Eye of Horus Goddess Pencils in Jewel Amethyst, Lazuli Blue, Bronze Amulet, Emerald Tabula, Serpentine Sultry, Teal Malachite, Charcoal Obsidian, Nubian Brown and Goddess Smokey.

Keep reading after the jump!

Introducing Illamasqua Freak Eau de Parfum and Illamasqua Freak Scarab Extrait de Parfum.

Hi lovelies,

You all know how much I love fragrances, so let me introduce you to two favourites which are currently getting a lot of wear time for me, Freak Eau de Parfum and Freak Scarab Extrait de Parfum*, by Illamasqua.

I'm a big fan of Illamasqua makeup, and the perfumes were 'love at first sniff' for me!

Illamasqua Freak Eau de Parfum on the left and Illamasqua Freak Scarab Extrait de Parfum on the right.

Freak Eau de Parfum is the original scent from Illamasqua. It's quite intriguing, with a deep, musky flavour traditionally present in male fragrances. Here are the top, heart and base notes as specified by Illamasqua.

TOP NOTES

Black Davana, Opium Flower and Belladonna bewitch the senses into uncontrollable lust and passion.

HEART NOTES

Poison Hemlock, Datura and Queen of the Night blossom, caress and kiss.

BASE NOTES

Aromas of Frankincense, Oud and Myrrh, addictively mesmerises and captures the senses. 

Keep reading after the jump!

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho...It's Off On A Little Adventure, We Go!

Hi lovelies,

I'm interrupting regular beauty blogging to bring you a wee lifestyle post...don't fret, regular beauty blogging will resume after this!

2013 and 2014 (what we've gone through so far, anyway) have been rather interesting times for me, which has seen quite a few changes in my life of late. While these aren't necessarily bad, they are changes I hadn't quite foreseen, and in a way, I feel like everything that has happened thus far has brought me to the particular set of crossroads I find myself standing at currently.

I'm quite a responsible, sensible person, who usually practices the 'look before you leap' philosophy. Having said that, I think I'm at a particularly unique position in my life currently, which I don't foresee myself ever having again. As a result, I've decided to throw caution to the wind, somewhat, and to embark on a wee adventure by doing a bit of traveling!

I literally only booked flights last week, and flew back to Kuala Lumpur a few days ago (which is where I am as I write this), and I'll be flying to Europe in 2 days for 3 weeks. I had initially planned to leave today, but sadly, I've caught the flu (yes, again!), and so I've postponed my flight by 2 days to give myself time to recover. I'm really looking forward to kicking this flu and enjoying my little trip to Europe! I'll be staying in Switzerland for the most part, with a couple of days in Brussels. While I've been to Switzerland twice before, I love it and look forward to seeing more of it than I did the last couple of times. I haven't really planned my holiday much so we'll just have to see what happens - the joys of 'winging' it! After Europe, I fly back to KL for a week or two to defrost and spend time with loved ones, before making my way back home to Melbourne.

I'm really looking forward to spending some time in the chilly temperatures of Switzerland (3 degrees currently, thank you very much) and overindulging in cheese, handmade chocolate and wine. This will also be a great time to take a break from the daily grind, recharge my batteries and clear my head - essentially, get back in touch with the resolutions I spoke about in this post. I'll be taking a little break from beauty blogging but I have scheduled a few posts to go live in my absence, so do drop by from time to time to show me some love! If you follow me on Instagram, I will do my best to share travel photos along the way!

I'm not sure what internet access I'll have, so I might be a bit slow responding to comments/emails...please bear with me! 
 

(Holiday photo from 2012)

Have you ever embarked on a little adventure like this, lovelies? If so, I'd love to hear about it!

Much love,
MM.
x

GKMBJ One Minute Treatment Review.

Hi lovelies,

A few weeks ago, I was sent the GKMBJ One Minute Treatment from Buy Haircare Direct, a new Australian haircare site. I was quite interested in this product because I've tried GKMBJ shampoo and conditioner before and liked how it made my hair feel. Also, my flat has a limited hot water supply so I'm a big fan of masks that work quickly!

The GKMBJ One Minute Treatment Mask is a pale yellow cream packaged in a red squeeze tube. The treatment is said to contain essences from natural plants, hydrolyse proteins, amino acids and other nutritious products.

The packaging is pretty handy as you only need to twist off the cap to squeeze the cream out. Basically, you you comb the cream through wet hair after shampooing your hair, leave it for 1 minute and then rinse it off.

Overall, my hair did feel much softer after applying this, so I would say it did work. It's not a miracle product that's going to turn a haystack into silk, but it does make my hair feel less prone to tangling and a lot more manageable. I think this is a great option for those who are time-poor but still wish to pamper their hair.

This mask retails at $25.45 from Buy Haircare Direct and you get a bonus 50 ml of product with the 150 ml tube!

Have you tried GKMBJ products before, lovelies? Do you like quick-working treatments as much as I do?

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.