Pros:

• Strong staying power
• Even coverage
• Easy application
• Portable

Cons:

• Can be drying when worn alone
• Available only online

Price: $35AU

Where: MAC website

This is the first product from the Art Supplies line that I picked up, I’m not huge on wearing lipsticks or lip gloss on my day to day life for a number of reasons. One, I like to snack a lot during the day (and not on my makeup products eww). Two, Melbourne can be very windy and my hair is constantly sticking to my lip gloss. So lip stains would be a great alternative for me

When you open the lid on this product, it literally looks like a marker (doesn’t smell like one though, has the traditional vanilla MAC scent). The applicator is a bit rough so don’t press too hard. You probably won’t need to anyways because the product transfers very easily.

I would recommend using some sort of lip balm afterwards (don’t worry, this stain has incredible staying power!) because using the lip stain on its own can leave your lips feeling very dry.

If you want to remove this product you will need moisturiser or a makeup remover, wiping it with a tissue won’t do much good! (which is a bonus if you’re like me and can’t stop constantly snacking throughout the day)

Last weekend I finally got my hands on MAC’s Vanilla Pigment. I think every beauty b/vlogger I follow can’t praise this particular pigment enough so I knew I had to have it. Unfortunately, pigment packaging has changed, and I’m not too keen.

I kinda liked the fatter tubs, just because they fit perfectly in my pigment storage containers and I found them easier to use and take product out with minimal wastage. But the main thing that bugs me is the lack of screw top now, the new pigment lids kinda “click” into place. Where as the old ones had to be screwed in, which I found much more secure.

Formula is exactly the same, as is the price ($39AU). The SA told me that amount is almost the same, but the websites say the old pigments held 0.26oz as opposed to the new ones that only hold 0.15 oz so not sure what he was going on about :/ I will say the new pigments are much lighter, less product and lighter packaging.

Ultimately according to the SA the main reason for the change was because it got too expensive to manufacture the old packaging. It always comes down to the bottom line. So if you can still grab the old ones, do it!

The long weekend is over, back to work tomorrow (yay…)

It’s been a good weekend though, I spent the entire time cleaning out my bedroom and study / computer room, the two rooms I spend about 80% of my time in when at home I feel like my life to some degree has been organised! Especially now all my shoe boxes that were slowly taking over the study finally have a closet to sit in.

My bedroom is still a WIP, but getting rid of my old desk, and installing two new chest of drawers gives me a ton of new storage space, whilst opening up the entire room! I think the lighting in there will be perfect, lots and lots of white walls for light to bounce off (I will post before and after photos once I’ve finished!)

Hope you guys had a good long weekend (if you’re an Aussie!) I am going to try my hardest NOT to disappear off the face of the earth this week, but I am receiving my StarCraft 2 beta key this Wednesday so… we can only wait and see what happens >_>

This week’s Lookbook entry is heavily inspired by MAC’s Too Fabulous line that recently came out (yet I used nothing from that line for this look)

I’m really in love with this look, or maybe it’s the lighting that I’m kiiinda getting better at (going to have to change the bulbs to white ones, WIP!). I’m really not that tanned in real life, but I sure look like it here! I used a ton of blush for this look which made me realise I still have a lot to learn about contouring. Plus, I think some non-lined false lashes would have been great!

But as always, had a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy!

Products I used:
Face
MAC Minerializing Satinfinish SPF 15 Foundation NC20
MAC Select Sheer/Loose NC20

Cheeks
NARS Blush Orgasm
NYX Blush Natural
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Soft and Gentle

Eyes and Lips (used the matte palette for my lips)
Coastal Scents 88 Shimmer Palette
Coastal Scents 88 Matte Palette
Lancome Hypnose in Black
Dior Brow Gel Clear

Lips
Lucas Pawpaw Ointment

I dunno why, really cameras and me shouldn’t be left alone. I get all diva and make stupid faces :/

Pros:

• Leaves skin feeling soft
• No noticeable scent
• Quick absorption
• Affordable
• Non-greasy

Cons:

• Requires semi-constant re-application

Price: Varies depending on where you buy it from, but a mini 35ml is about $3AU, where as a 200ml can be around $5AU.

Where: Visit any major supermarkets (e.g. Safeway, Coles etc), convenient stores (e.g. 7/11) or any Priceline.

This is my go-to moisturiser for mild cases of dry skin, I mainly use it to temporarily relief patches of eczema when my medicated bottle isn’t around. And personally it helps me deal with the itchiness too!

What I love is how fast this moisturiser absorbs into the skin, leaving it feeling soft and not at all greasy. Plus, it doesn’t have a strong scent, two things I love about moisturisers. I always prefer skin care products without any scent so when I do decide to wear a particular perfumes, I don’t have a zillion different smells mixing together.

However, what really made this moisturiser a life saver was earlier this year when I went over to Beijing, China and was exposed to -15 degree weather. Having lived in Australia all my life, I’ve never experienced temperatures that cold before, so for the first time ever my hands actually started to become flakey and dry. I figured since I had a mini bottle with me, I may as well give it a shot, worked like a charm! Obviously with regular application (few times a day?), my hands remained nice, smooth and soft throughout my stay in China.

I don’t know how this cream works for people with extremely dry skin, all I know is my partner has terribly dry hands (to the point where they crack and bleed) and the only thing that works for him is Garnier’s Hand Cocoon… I really should get him to try out Vaseline instead, given the lower price point it could save him some money

Makeup is an art form. And all art forms tell a story, same with my digital art work, every piece I create has a message, a story, a meaning. The only difference between digital art and makeup is the medium.

I thought it would be fun to create a Lookbook, similar to my digital art portfolio, just a collection of different makeup looks, either taken / inspired from the media or created on my own. I want to challenge myself and try and create a new look once a week.

The point of my Lookbook though is to be artistic, so don’t be surprised that the majority of my looks probably won’t be wearable for day to day life (but hey if you are keen, go you!)

I’m still unsure whether I should translate these looks into video tutorials, I think for now I’ll stick to taking photos and see how I go! Okay, so on with my first Lookbook entry

Called “Lancome Rose”, as it was heavily inspired by one of Lancome’s latest marketing campaigns (yet I didn’t use a single Lancome product lol). I wanted to shoot for something simple with a slight edge.

Products I used:

Face
MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation NC15
MAC Iridescent Loose Silver Dusk

Cheeks
NARS Blush Orgasm
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Soft and Gentle

Eyes and Lips (I used eyeshadow on my lips)
Coastal Scents 88 Shimmer Palette
Coastal Scents 88 Matte Palette
Diorshow Blackout
MAC Fluidline Black
Dior Brow Gel Clear

Lips
Dior Gloss Kiss Mango Sorbet
Lucas Papaw Ointment

I’m still struggling to find good lighting for my photos :/ I hate that so much of the detial and colour gets lost So what is subtle in real life is invisible on photos, but what looks like drag queen makeup in real life looks fine on photos!

If you have any tips please let me know! By the time I come home from work, it’s already night and dark, so I have to rely on artificial lighting

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions, not sure if people are interested in a step by step description.

One thing I noticed upon arriving back in Australia, my dark circles are almost gone. And to be honest, I noticed them slowly disappearing during my holiday in Japan. At first I thought maybe it’s the fact that I am on holidays and am mentally feeling at ease… maybe? But one big thing that did change for me was the amount of sleep I was getting.

The thing about travelling to places without internet (especially when you’re an addict), is there isn’t much to do when you don’t have it. So I ended up getting close to 10 hours sleep almost every night for 2 weeks.

Over time it not only made a huge difference to both my energy levels and state of mind, but it’s actually showing on my skin too… Score!

However, the toughest challenge will be getting enough sleep now that I’m home with all my distractions. So far I’ve figured the best way is to set an alarm for say 10:30pm, when the alarm goes off, it doesn’t matter what I’m doing (in the middle of a video or email), whatever it is, it gets put on hold and off to bed I go! So far amazingly, when I wake up I don’t feel the need to snooze, I feel awake (or as awake as I can feel knowing I have to drag myself to work) and I feel ready for the day!

So, get rid of those eye creams or miracle masks! Seems drinking plenty of water and getting enough sleep is truly the key to great skin And it’s a heck of a lot cheaper too!

A month or so ago my friend Sefie asked me whether I would be interested in getting a facial done with her, having never had a professional one before (I’m such a DIY kinda girl) I jumped at the chance, until I realised I had a wedding the very next day, not just any wedding, I was the Maid of Honour at this particular wedding, which meant photos galore.

I decided to change my facial into a Deluxe Manicure with Paraffin wax at Ella Bache. It was around the same price and length of time, seemed like a great idea. Right? Wrong!

In all honesty, it was a waste of my $80AU. I could have done almost the entire thing on my own and have my nails coming out looking even more professional. Really should have listened to Sefie, she warned me.

The lady used a metal cuticle remover (is that what they are called?) to push up my cuticles, ouch! I had to tell her a couple of times she was a bit rough on me Not to mention at the end of the session, I could see little cuts near the beds of my nails and a lot of skin peeling off :/ Gross.

And oh my gosh, the pain of the nail polish remover, she used them on my nails after moisturising them, and thanks to her rough method of cuticle removal, I could feel the acidity of the remover sting my cuts. Very unpleasant >_<

Secondly, the polish job was awful, I think this is the sort of job I used to do on my self when I was a teenager still figuring my way around makeup, and even then. The polish was all bubbly and bumpy, hopefully you can see them in the photos (I wish I had a macro lens for moments like these).

And even after 5 hrs the polish was not dry. I was still able to dent the polish without using much force. Which is crazy given, when I do my nails, they are almost completely dry after about 15-20mins max?

Put it this way, I couldn’t stand having such second rate polish on my hands that at 10:30pm that night I removed the manicure, reshaped my nails and gave myself a fresh coat of polish (base, 2 coats of colour and top coat), and was in bed by 11pm. Woke up the next morning without a single scratch on my polish.

I have no idea why I had such a bad experience, bad beautian? Bad products? Bad luck? But you can bet I’m never paying $80AU for a manicure ever again, certainly not when I am 110% happy with the ones I give myself

Home from Japan, so happy to be with my friends and family, but I do miss Japan It is a wonderful country (I am going to miss the customer service and fashion the most!)

I spent a shameful amount on both clothes and makeup, I couldn’t help myself given the prices and the fact that finally most of the clothes actually fit me! So happy

Anyways, just letting you guys know I’m back and will hopefully be able to post a bit more regularly~!

I actually wanted to type this up as an email for my dear Sefie, but then I figured others may find it useful too, so why not make a small blog post out of it?

Buying department store makeup in Japan, if the price is better here (this varies a lot from product to product so be sure to check before coming over) and you want it, get it here! First, the customer service here is second to none. I’ve been in Japan for about a week now, people always think I’m a local (till I open my mouth, then I’m a total tourist, so I see both sides) and I haven’t come across any bad customer service at all. Amazing!

Secondly, if you want to try products on, they are only too happy to give you their full attention. I’ve noticed a few times at the Aussie counters, the SA just want to grab my money and shove me out the door, sometimes even doing incorrect colour checks as well :/

Lastly, samples! Every brand I’ve bought from will give you mini cute versions of other products that work great as travel versions. I’ve never received any samples from the Aussie counters, except for Kiehls.

All in all, shopping in Japan for makeup is totally worth it