The final month of Autumn is over, now we enter true Winter (though you’d never be able to tell with the sheer amount of miserable cold wet weather we’ve been experiencing!). I guess some note worthy moments this month was of course, the release for Diablo 3. Which has been sucking away the little bit of blogging time I had, fortunately as a result I’ve dedicated my weekends solely to blogging. And some how it’s all managing to work itself out.

Weekly interstate travel is still a pain, especially the unreasonably early Monday mornings. But for the most part I’ve adjusted to it pretty well now. And having truly wonderful and supportive friends has really made all the difference for me. I am so lucky to have them be a part of my life <3

But enough mushy talk, let's get on to this month's empties, which is pretty depressing thanks to all my travel Makes it difficult to focus on finishing products when my travel set of skin care is different to my at home set.

• Olay Regenerist Anti-Aging Eye Roller * (A really nice to have step in my skin care routine, made application of my eye cream much easier but I didn’t otherwise noticed much change in the condition of my skin)
• Swisspers Cotton Pads
• Johnsons 3 in 1 Cleansing Wipes

Products marked with * were sent for consideration

Slightly late to the party, but I wanted to show with you the Swimming Pool palette from Dior’s Summer 2012 collection The collection consists of two eye shadow palettes, the first which I will review today (the second another day).

This palette consists of five pastel based colours, and this review is going to be pretty short because long story short, this palette is very disappointing. As you can probably tell from the swatches below, the pigmentation for this palette is pretty awful. The darkest blue probably swatched the best, but once on the lid it was just poor form. The colours are stunning in the pan and this palette is beautiful to look at, but if it doesn’t wear well, what’s the point?

So save yourself the money (if you haven’t already) and give it a miss.

Essie’s Poppy Razzi collection is not to be mistaken for Essie’s upcoming (or perhaps already out) Summer 2012 collection! This collection plays off the entire paparazzi concept, which its pretty obvious by the name and collection name. I found it strange that most of the polishes from this collection have semi-matte finishes, rather than being shiny as is the case with most polishes. I guess it’s a nice change for some, and besides most people use a shiny top coat anyways.

All swatches are 2 coats with no top coat so you can see its natural finish.

Action

A vibrant light orange neon with a semi matte finish. I found Zoya’s Arizona is very similar in terms of colour but with a naturally shiny finish.

Bazooka

This was a little hard to pin point, in some light it looks with a very orange watermelon shade, and in others it’s a tangerine shade. So take your guess. Either way I found Chanel’s Holiday is be rather similar.

Blanc

A snowy white polish, which like OPI’s Alpine Snow is the perfect tip for French manicures. I think everyone needs one in their collection.

Camera

A bright coral pink neon, very watermelon like shade with a semi-matte finish. ORLY’s Ore is a less pigmented version.

Light

An electric pink neon, very bright! Essie’s Tour de Finance is very similar, only with a very slight micro-shimmery finish.

Another chapter from the archives, likely the most requested chapter to bring into video format I absolutely love this design, and can take none of the credit for it. If you read the original chapter you’ll see it was taken from the cover girl of Shu Uemura’s Spring 2011 campaign. I think I probably spent a lot more time blending the first time I did this chapter, but you can see what a big difference blending can make. And not to mention, knowing which parts to blend and which not. It all comes down to practice practice practice!

Watching this video does make me want to wear more daring / colourful looks out Hope you enjoy the video!

For more information on how this look came to be, feel free to read the original chapter.

MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
MAC Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 Foundation – NC20
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – Light
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer – Beige
Bobbi Brown Sheer Finish Loose Powder – Pale Yellow
Canmake Highlighter – 01
Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder – Light
Urban Decay Primer Potion – Original
Shu Uemura Morphorium Blue Palette *
Coastal Scents 78 Eye Shadow & Blush Combo Palette
MAC Fluidline Non-Conformist
Clinique High Impact Mascara – Black *
MAC Lipstick – Angel
Christian Dior Gloss Levres – Smoothie Peche

Products marked * were provided for consideration

It’s not often I would re-purchase a foundation if I ran out, but I think Diorskin’s Forever Flawless Foundation would definitely be the exception to the rule.

Aside from the very slight sheen, this foundation hits all the goals. It doesn’t feel heavy, there are no obvious smells, it is medium to full coverage, it’s build-able and it blends brilliantly into the skin.

When I wear foundations outside of photo shoots, I only use it more as a spot treatment for around the nose and cheeks. Half a pump is more than enough, so I reckon a full pump would be perfect for the entire face.

The other plus is the longevity, it does surprisingly well for a full day, with only a bit of fading around the nose after the 6-7 hr mark. But a bit of powder fixes all of that.

The only complaint, which is likely the case for all liquid foundations I’ve tried is that without a powder it can leave you looking rather oily.

However that aside, I would definitely recommend this foundation for all skin types. I’m not sure what the Australian price is, but you can purchase this online for $47US.

I’ve really taken a liking to crème blushes lately, back when I was working in Melbourne I would wear my clear daily contacts 5-6 times a week. But now that I fly up to work, I prefer to wear glasses on my “flight” days, as I find the cabin air to be very drying, plus I get to nap without the consequence of sticky eyes I never wear any makeup face products when wearing my glasses, but sometimes I have those mornings (at 5am) when I need a little something to help me look less… dead lol.

I turn to crème blushes, they can instantly give me this naturally flushed appearance that blends seamless into my skin.

Fables tip, I personally wouldn’t use crème blushes over a face of full powder or powder foundation. If I want to use this with foundation, I’d apply it first directly over my liquid or crème foundation, then apply translucent powder all over or my normal face powder over the rest of my skin. I dislike using crème blush over powder because it appears pretty streaky.

But let’s talk about Laura Mercier’s crème blush~ This almost burnt apricot shade has a lovely consistency, it has a nice pigmentation to it, but I wouldn’t throw it into the same ranks as say NARS’ Cream Blushes which are intensely pigmented. To me, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just means there is a little more room for making mistakes

The product blends beautifully, as I find to be the case with most cream blushes. I find it best to use my fingers rather than a brush to help further melt the product.

I think the only thing I felt was a bit disappointing about this product is that it’s called “Pink”, but clearly in the photos it appears a bit dark / orange on my skin tone. No idea if it’s just me, it’s a little less orange in person (seems to photograph darker), but it’s not as light pink as I was hoping for. Otherwise it’s a great brand, maybe the colour naming is a bit off.

I purchased this blush from KissandmakeupNY for $22US

A continuation on last week’s Zoya Summer 2012 collection post This week’s collection is called Surf, which unlike last week’s collection contains an array of shimmer polishes with absolutely no crèmes. Hope you enjoy the swatches As always, all swatches are two coats with no top coat.

Carly

A very rich, bold, red-toned dark purple with iridescent red and silver metallic shimmer and a dense foil finish. Similar shades I’ve found are OPI’s Louvre Me Louvre Me Not as a non-shimmer version and Zoya’s Valerie is a darker version.

Kimber

A rich, bright and saturated medium magenta pink with strong gold metallic shimmer and a foil-like finish. I found Zoya’s Kamilah to be similar, but have a more reddish tone to it.

Meg

A light yellow-toned mermaid green with heavy gold and silver metallic shimmer and a sparkling foil finish. Zoya’s Apple is a darker version and Color Club’s Magic Elf would be a less opaque version.

Myrta

A warm medium orange coral with red undertone, gold and silver metallic shimmer, and a foil-like finish. Zoya’s Lana is darker and contains smaller shimmers.

Rory

A medium mauve pink with lilac tones, gold and silver reflective metallic shimmer accents, and a foil-like finish. I found OPI’s A Rose at Dawn…. Broke by Noon is have a smoother more metallic finish, but doesn’t contain as much shimmer.

Zuza

A deep, saturated, oceanic turquoise with gold and silver metallic shimmer and a foil-like finish. An absolutely gorgeous shade, my favourite from this collection. I’ll be going on vacation soon, and I’m trying to figure out what polishes I should bring with me, I’m contemplating this one!

A little while ago I was contacted by a lovely girl from Lime Crime asking if I’d be interested in trying out some of their makeup products. I knew the answer had to be yes as I already owned some of their products for long ago! I originally thought that Lime Crime was strickly pigments and lipsticks, so I was completely shocked when my package arrived and discovered an eyeshadow palette! (my makeup weakness!)

The first thing you will notice in this palette is that most of the colours would not be considered very everyday wearable, though can be worked into a look with a bit of forward thinking. However colour selection aside, the quality of these shadows are pretty impressive! They are soft, pigmented and easy to blend. I’ve been on the hunt for a good black eyeshadow that actually swatches a true black, which this palette I’ve found does deliver on. Even better when using a wet brush!

With a primer I didn’t experience any creasing, I couldn’t say what they were like without a primer (I always use one), but the swatches below have been swatched on bare skin.

If I were to compare these to any other shadows I’ve tried, I’d be tempted to think Illamasqua, quality wise they are quite similar and I find that both brands also fall into that “alternative” realm. Great for Book of Fable chapters

You can purchase this palette for $34.99US from Lime Crime Makeup.

If you’re lazy like me, knowing how to spot clean your makeup brushes is pretty essential.

I know, I’ve read it all before, you’re suppose to spot clean your makeup brushes after every use, and deep clean them every week. Yeah, that’s like saying you should visit your dentist every 6 months and get your hair cut every 8 weeks. They aren’t rules I abide by personally. But when I do spot clean my brushes (once a week?), I do my best to get them as clean as possible.

Personally I prefer to use MAC Brush Cleanser because it’s readily available, not too expensive and easy to use (and once I get through 5 bottles, free lipstick!) I transfer the product into a mini spray bottle to make it easier to travel with and for ease of use. I used to pour the cleanser onto the paper towel in the past and realised I was flying through the cleanser within 2-3 months. Now that I use the spray bottle I get probably an extra 1-2 months out of it

The technique I use is by no means ground breaking, but maybe you will find it interesting to watch none of the less Hope you enjoy the video, and have a great weekend!

Let’s be honest, we all knew this might happen. With the release of Diablo 3 last night I pretty much managed to blow away my entire evening on it, and somehow I don’t see that changing very soon!

The next few days should prove interesting, trying to already find a difficult balance with work, blogging, YouTube and now D3

If you are playing too, let me know which character! I’m a Wizard