Wow, July is already over? We’re inching closer and closer to the end of the year! There are going to be some changes to the blog next month, just for one month! All shall be announced tomorrow But for today, let’s get on to the empties, and I’ve been through a lot this month!

Clinqiue Super Rescue Antioxidant Night Moisturiser
This is my 3rd tube of this now? I used to hate the smell for this, but have really gotten used to it~ I can’t say I notice huge changes in my skin, which is both good and not as good. I’m quite happy with my skin as it is and am just looking for product to maintain and maybe make it better? I love that it’s a tube!

Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream
This was okay, not the best out there, but Clinique keeps throwing these into their GWP and so I have another 2-3 to work my way through. It’s good enough for me to want to finish using it up, but not good enough for me to buy with my own money.

Palmer’s Daily Facial Lotion
You can read my review on this here~

Shiseido Pureness Foaming Cleanser
A huge favourite of mine, you can read my review on this here! Loves it, where’s my next bottle!?

Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner in Black
Grrr, I wanted to love this, but I found it wasn’t as pigmented as true liquid liners and it dried up way too fast for me You can read my review here.

Revlon CustomEyes Mascara
Meh, didn’t like this, gave so-so results and dried up too fast, pass! Read my review here.

Lancome Hypnose Drama
LOVE this, my favourite HG mascara, but oh so expensive I’ll be sure to pick many of these up next time I pass through duty free <3 :) Read my review here~

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while and still don’t know who Neil Creek is, then you obviously haven’t been reading Neil Creek is a good friend and very talented professional photographer. We’re both incredibly creative individuals and are constantly feed off each other’s creativity to come up with newer and better visions.

Neil is a visionary photographer and wanted to experiment with Black Light photography. The concept is still very new to me and I have a lot of learning to do! But together we came up with this look It’s a little edgier than my usual look, especially once I put my contacts in~ I had a ton of fun at the shoot and putting together my video

Make sure you check out Neil’s website for an array of incredible photos~ Be on the look out for many more collaborations between the two of us

Stargazer Neon Colour – Blue
Stargazer Neon Colour – Purple
Stargazer Neon Colour – Pink
Kryolan Aqaucolor UV

Pretty sure it comes as no surprise that the only time I ever buy magazines is if they are offering freebies I’m interested it It just feels like I’m getting value for money, true or not I’m happy to live in my little delusional world

This month I scored three magazines! Instyle comes with a Napoleon Whole Lotta Lash Mascara in Black, Cleo comes with Model Co trio eye shadows, you can pick from a variety of colours, Smokey Eye and Island Fever, I picked Bronzed Goddess because apparently I can never have enough neutral shades! And finally Madison comes with a brush set~ Not the greatest set out there, but a great addition to my makeup kit for others I’ll let you guys know how I go with these later on when I’ve had time to have a bit more of a play~

Still nothing compares to Vogue’s freebies from a couple months back, where two makeup bags were on offer! I’ve already taken them on two trips with me and plan on using them for my next trip overseas

Pros:

• Incredibly cute design
• Average pigmentation
• Contrasting / Complimentary shades
• Applies smoothly with a pearl finish

Cons:

• Easy to shatter

Price: $50AU / $23US

Rating:

Where: David Jones, Myer and MAC.

Last week I reviewed Giggly, from MAC’s Quite Cute collection Now it’s time to take a look as Miss Behave.

I found the texture to be very similar to Giggly, soft and luxe with average pigmentation. But I found this worked better for me as a subtle highlighter than actual blush. I often used this on my high points AFTER applying my normal blush. I’m not sure if this would work as a blush for people with very light skin tones, maybe? You can judge by the swatches

Pros:

• High quality shadows
• Very pigmented, smooth and buttery
• Comes with a mirror

Cons:

• Can produce fall out if not careful

Price: $72AU / $33US

Rating:

Where: Mecca Cosmetica and Kiss and Makeup.

Earlier this month I blogged about NARS’ Duo Eye Shadow in Hula Hula, and today I’m bringing you Bysance. Quality wise, I found the two to be pretty much the same. Buttery, smooth, pigmented and generally a solid high quality powder.

As you can see, the colours are very strong, but the finishes are not the same between the two. There is a medium purple matte shade that does need a bit more piling on to achieve a decent pigmentation, and then we have the satin like gold shade, which no surprise is my favourite of the two. The gold shade is just amazing, slightly better quality than the purple (easier application), but the finish is just stunning~ It is amazing on the lid

All in all, not a very every day wearable duo and so may be something you consider over looking given the price. But if you love these particular shades, then give it a go

Another OPI collection inspired by yet another movie, bit of a tread for OPI have you noticed? Not that I particularly mind, the formula for these were very consistent, pigmented and easy to use. I managed to get away with using only 2 coats which was awesome! As usual, no top coat was used.

Mermaid’s Tears

A muted green, seemed to be inspired by some of the greenery you may find underwater. It’s a lovely shade, and surprisingly I wasn’t able to find an exact dupe for this.

Planks A Lot

A vibrant purple, probably one of the more saturated colours from this collection, very similar to OPI’s A Grape Fit!

Skull & Glossbones

A muted gray, surprisingly I also couldn’t find a dupe for this despite this not being the most unique shade I’ve seen before.

Sparrow Me the Drama

A medium pink shade, one of my favourites from the collection. I think Planks A Lot, Mermaid’s Tears and Sparrow Me the Drama are perfect together~

Steady as She Rose

A soft pink with a touch of gray, it is like a muted dusty light pink shade.

Stranger Tides

A light moss green shade, really reminds me of some of Essie’s latest shades during the winter / fall months.

Pros:

• Pigmented colours
• Applies very pigmented with a wet brush
• Generally smooth formula

Cons:

• Palette becomes messy easily
• Fragile
• Powder tends to flake

Price: $4US

Rating:

Where: Cherry Culture

Introducing another baked eye shadow palette I don’t know why I love baked eye shadows, I don’t find them to be as usable as the standard eye shadows (can’t press your brush completely flat on them), but… they are so pretty!

I reviewed the Equinox palette about a month ago, and I have to admit that the quality is pretty much the same, the pigmentation is good, but not as good when swatched wet. The swatches below are dry because I personally don’t like having to apply my makeup wet.

The major difference is the colour, as you can see this has a ton of blues and would help make a really great smoky blue eye, though there is quite a bit of shimmer so something to be aware of. A cute affordable palette, but like the Equinox isn’t something I’d necessarily say as a kit essential, more like a nice to have!

I remember watching Sophie Ellis Bexter perform Murder on the Dance Floor on TV as a teenager and I was completely in awe of not only how amazing her voice was, but how pretty she was! I loved the chicness of her look and makeup, and over 10 years later here we are~ I tried to replicate the look to a degree, I even cut my hair to get the straight pony tail lol. All I did was try and replicate her makeup, I’m well aware I’ll never match up to the beauty that is Ms Bexter <3

MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Visage Base
Bourjois 10 Hour Sleep Effect – 71
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer – Beige
NARS Bronzer – Laguna
Canmake Cream Cheek – 02
Canmake Highlighter – 01
e.l.f Eyelid Primer – Sheer
Savvy by DB Luxury Liner – Shimmering Slate
Coastal Scents Brow Tones
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil – Rocky Mountain Green
Coastal Scents 88 Mirage Palette
Coastal Scents Glitter Powder – Emerald Green
Maybelline Define-a-Brow – Clear
Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliner – Black *
DUO Eyelash Glue
Too Faced Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue
Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara – Blackest Black
MAC Lip Pencil – Cherry
MAC Lip Glass – Clear
MAC Lipstick – Russian Red

Products marked with a * were sent for consideration

Pros:

• Contains SPF
• Moistursing for combination to dry skin
• Leaves skin feeling hydrated
• Subtle scent
• Can be applied as a makeup base

Cons:

• Formula can be thick for people with oily skin

Price: $12.99AU 100ml

Rating:

Where: Supermarkets, Pharmacies and Priceline.

I think I managed to score a mini version of this moisturiser during a swap with the MBBE girls and was excited to give it a shot. To me, Palmer’s is a known brand for pregnant ladies or anyone wanting to find either a good lip balm or find a good cream to help eliminate / prevent stretch marks.

My skin is terribly problematic at times, it’s true combination, it’s both oily, normal and dry! (yay for me ). I found the moisturiser to be on the thickbu side, but despite that texture, it didn’t leave my oily areas feeling any oilier, at the same time it didn’t completely hydrate my dry patches. It did help, but it wasn’t an “all day / 10 hrs” sort of thing.

Immediately after applying my skin does feel like it has “something” on it, but after a few minutes the formula absorbs into the skin and I’m left with nice soft hydrated skin that takes to makeup well. It does at least keep my dry patches moisturised for a good few hours (I do have special medicated cream for my dry skin!) I think if you find the formula too thick, applying it right after your toner will help a lot!

Over all, it a great basic moisturiser, the additional sun protection is a much needed bonus. My tube was 15ml and lasted me 3 weeks using it every single morning straight, so 100ml will last a good few months depending on how much you use. Definitely recommend this moisturiser to people looking for something during the day who has dry to normal / combination cream

Pros:

• Hygienic packaging
• Little goes a long way
• Can be used alone
• Leaves skin feeling moisturised
• Smooths skin over time

Cons:

• Strong smell
• No major changes to skin

Price: $105AU 30ml / $150AU 50ml

Rating:

Where: Estee Lauder, Myer and David Jones

To me, serums have never been an essential part of my skin care routine, but I continue to use them hoping that their continued use will prove beneficial.

This particular serum is one of Estée Lauder’s most popular products, so I was super excited when I discovered that Estée lauder had provided it for the MBBE girls to use, hence it was in my goody bag

I’ve been using this for several months now, and am about 50% of the way through this bottle, I was given the 50ml bottle and so far I plan to finish it up So good enough to finish~

Generally speaking, this is a lovely product. I use it after toner and before moisturiser at night, and have noticed some slight improvements in my skin. For example, foundations appear to apply smoother, but the difference is ever so slight as I’m fortunate enough to have relatively good skin.

I have no idea if this would be far more beneficial for someone with more problematic skin, but I can vouch that it at least hasn’t caused mine any harm. All in all, it’s an expensive, luxurious product and if you can spare the cash, give it a go~ I find when in a rush, this works great as a light moisturiser that I can substitute my traditional moisturiser with and I feel more relaxed after using it