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

This is the second time I’ve attempted this look, the first time was whilst I was bored on holiday. We were staying in a cabin, I was sitting outside surrounded by the forest~ Here is a photo of the original look I had to do everything with my only eye shadow palette (not including the lipstick)

After filming that look I decided I could do a better job with some cream products at home, and created the look you see now

Nothing much to it, just a basic green look Minus the leaves and maybe change the green to browns and this would be an awesome night time look Hope you enjoy

MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
MAC Pro Longwear SPF 10 Foundation – NC20
MAC Studio Finish Concealer SPF 30+ – NC20
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – Light Medium
Rimmel Natural Bronzer – Sun Bronze
L’Oreal Blush True Match – Rose Nude / Nude Pink
Canmake Highlighter – 01
Coastal Scents – Brow Tones
MAC Eyeshadow – Bio Green
MAC Eyeshadow – Bright Sunshine
MAC Eyeshadow – Humid
e.l.f Eyelid Primer – Sheer
MAC Fluidline – Blacktrack
MAC Fluidline – Dipdown
Lancome Hypnose Mascara – Black *
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil – Lemon
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil – Rocky Mountain Green
Savvy by DB Luxury Liner – Shimmering Slate
DUO Eyelash Glue
Maybelline Define-a-Brow Gel – Clear
Face of Australia Lipliner Mechanical – Red *
NYX Lipstick – Snow White

Products marked with a * were sent for consideration

I grew up watching Disney, and loved all the Disney princesses~ My favourite is probably Belle from Beauty and the Beast, but for cosplay purposes I thought I suited Snow White much better If you would like to view the entire costume I made for my Snow White cosplay, please view the gallery here.

I absolutely loved cosplaying Snow White I’d love to do more princesses in the future, enjoy the tutorial

Bobbi Brown Brightening SPF 50/PA+++ UV Protective Face Base
Bourjois 10 Hour Sleep Effect Foundation – 71
MAC Studio Finish Concealer Palette – Light
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – Light
NARS Laguna Bronzer
Tarte Amazonian Clay Long-Wear Blush – Natural Beauty
NYX Mosaic Powder – Highlighter
Coastal Scents Brow Tones
e.l.f Eyelid Primer – Sheer
Maybelline Define-a-Brow Gel – Clear
Coastal Scents – 88 Warm Palette
Prestige Eyeliner – White
Lancome Hypnose Mascara – Black
DUO Eyelash Adhesive – Dark Tone
MAC Fluidline – Blacktrack
Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara – Black
Savvy by DB Lipliner – Poppy
Revlon Colorburst Lipstick – True Red

MAC 130
Sigma Angled Top Kabuki – F84
MAC 209
Sigma SS252
Sigma SS266
Lancome 17
Art brush
Revlon Lip Brush

A while ago I did a review of one of Coastal Scents‘ latest palettes called the Prism 88 Palette. Thought it was high time I reviewed their second latest palette entitled, Mirage .

Generally, I’m quite fond of this palette for more wearable to neutral eyes. It reminds me a little of the 88 Metal Mania released by Coastal Scents almost a year ago, only with more earth tones and a very good mixture of mattes, shimmer, velvet, satin and frost finishes. Very good Winter palette

An overall comment I have is that the velvet and satin finishes are amazing, their pigmentation is wonderful! The frosts were average and the mattes were generally disappointing, very hard to get any pigmentation at all. I experienced fall out for a number of the shadows, but nothing tapping the brush and avoid over whirling can’t fix

Unfortunately in the post one of the shadows were shattered Too bad too cause it was really a lovely shade! And if I had watched Klaire’s tutorial on pressing powders earlier, I’d have managed to save it too

You can check out the swatches I did of the entire palette below, starting from the upper left hand corner

Hope you enjoyed the swatches, like all Coastal Scents palettes, this is a real mixed bags in terms of quality shadows. But would be either great for a makeup artist’s kit, or travel.

I must have short term memory, because I always want to shoot up in the Dandenong, and constantly look forward to it…. until I get there and FIND A LEECH ON MY LEG!

I really need to schedule all my “forest” related projects to Spring and Summer, because not only was I attacked by bugs, I was absolutely freezing! Serves me right to be prancing around the forest in sleeveless clothes during winter. (Though now I’m thinking of a shoot I’d like to try during winter on the beach….wow, I must really hate myself)

That aside, I’m really glad I managed to get this video done. I think I created the makeup more to suit the theme, rather than building a theme around the makeup, which is what I usually do. I’ve always wanted to do a simple “Rambo” inspired sort of look, short of rubbing dirt on to my face I think I managed pretty well lol!

Favourite aspect was just filming the intro and outro for this tutorial, so be sure to check those out

Bobbi Brown Brightening SPF 50 / PA+++ UV Protective Face Base
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation – 4
MAC Studio Finish Concealer Palette – Light
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – Light Medium
Rimmel Natural Bronzer – 022 Sun Bronze
Coastal Scents 78 Eye Shadow & Blush Combo Palette
NYX Mosaic Powder – Highlighter
e.l.f Eyelid Primer – Sheer
Revlon Custom Eyes Mascara – Blackest Black
Coastal Scents Brow Tones
Savvy by DB Lipliner – Poppy
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil – Cherry
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil – Milk
Prestige Eyeliner – White
Revlon Colorburst Lipstick – True Red
Savvy by DB Luxury Liner – Shimmering Slate

MAC 130
Sigma Angled Top Kabuki – F84
MAC 209
Sigma SS252
Sigma SS266
Lancome 17
Revlon Lip Brush

Time for a little colour after the last couple of colour-less chapters! This is my second attempt at a disco look, after my first less than successful attempt! I wanted to do a bit of a twist, and decided to extend the design into my hair, which would have looked a ton better if my hair colour was lighter!

Apologises with some of the cutting of the video, a couple of very minor steps were cut out for the sake of trying to keep the video to 5 minutes.

Hope you enjoy, and as always if you have any questions or future requests, feel free to let me know~

MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
Make Up For Ever High Definition Foundation – 117
MAC Studio Finish Concealer SPF 30+ – NC20
NARS Laguna Bronzer
NARS Powder Blush – Orgasm
Canmake Highlighter – 01
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil – Electric Blue
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil – Hot Pink
Eyeko Duo Colour Pencil For Eyes – Electric Purple
Coastal Scents 88 Ultra Shimmer Eye Shadow Palette
NYX Glitter Cream Pallet – Ocean Breeze
NYX Glitterati Cream Pallet – Glitterama
NYX Glitter Mania – Purple
Milani Crystal Eyez – Beautifully Brillant
MAC Fluidline – Blacktrack
L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara – Black
DUO Eyelash Adhesive
Bebe Lip Pencil – Naturel
MAC Lipstick – Angel
Chanel Levres Scintillantes Glossimer – 96

MAC 130
Sigma Angled Top Kabuki – F84
Sigma Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki – F80
Sigma SS168
e.l.f Contour Brush
MAC 209
Sigma SS252
Sigma SS266
Lancome Lip Brush
Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

There have been days in my life when you truly do feel alone. It can be for any number of reasons, but like most people, I’ve experienced loss in my life, and it has made me question my own mortality (it was actually one of the driving factors towards starting this blog) and it makes you realise what is truly important at the end of the day.

Videos have become a way to really express the types of emotions I go through, and this video is reflective of those tougher times.

I found a very similar look online, so I take no credit behind the creativity. It’s been a concept I’ve wanted to try for ages, the initial plan was to simply powder over / airbrush actual lace on my face, but I wanted it to be a bigger challenge. I wanted to push my skills, whilst not perfect I think I was able to convey the message relatively well

I hope you enjoy the look and video as much as I did making it

MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation – NC15
MAC Studio Finish Concealer Palette – Light
Face of Australia Loose Powder – Outback Translucent *
L’Oreal Blush – Rose Nude
NARS Laguna Bronzer
NYX Mosaic Powder – Highlighter
e.l.f Eyelid Primer – Sheer
Coastal Scents 78 Eye Shadow & Blush Combo Palette
Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner Pen – Black
Face of Australia – Liquid Eyeliner Black *
MAC Fluidline – Blacktrack
Lancome Hypnose Drama Noirs Perles Mascara – Black *
Coastal Scents Brow Tones
Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara – Black
Maybelline Define-A-Brow Gel – Clear
Integrate Eyeliner – Black
Savvy by DB Luxury Liner – Shimmering Slate
Savvy by DB Lipliner – Cosmos
NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil – Narcisse

_{Product marked with * were sent for consideration}

MAC 130
Sigma Angled Top Kabuki – F84
e.l.f Contour Brush
MAC 209
Sigma SS252
Sigma SS266
Lancome 17
Lancome Lip Brush
Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

I’d have to say Coastal Scents produces some of my favourite budget friendly palettes, even though I’m fully aware companies like BH Cosmetics (which I also love and need to review), Crush Cosmetics and a ton you will find on eBay all use the same wholesaler as Coastal Scents (hence why you can find so many palettes that look like this), I still love Coastal Scents just because it was the first one I got introduced to and still seems to have the largest variety

If the blog wasn’t obvious enough, I’m a bit of a collector (dude I collect useless achievement points on World of Warcraft, it’s my thing, let it go!) and so when I heard Coastal Scents was coming out with some new 88 palettes I snapped them up! I already owned all the previous versions so buying this was a bit of a no-brainer.

Introducing the Prism palette, which contains 88 shades of mostly matte, with a few shimmer shades thrown in for good measure. Out of all the 88 palettes available, I’d be inclined to recommend this one to makeup beginners because it has such a wide range of shades. True whites all the way to true blacks, with a mixture of shimmer and matte. It’s a solid beginner kit.

I used a gold shade in the inner corner of my eyes, a dark purple over the lid and the black as liner.

The shadow quality is pretty much comparable to all the other palettes, it’s not terrible, but it’s not absolutely amazing either. You’ll get a decent amount of pigmentation for daily wear and most looks, but if you’re like me and are crazy about getting intense, eye blinding shades then you’ll either need to prime your lids with your desired cream eye shadow and dust over this shadow to “alter” the colour, or head down the pigment road.

I swatched every single colour just for you guys~~ Hope you find it useful and also hope that you see what I mean by “decent” pigmentation.

This palette goes for $19.95US from the Coastal Scents website, which sounds like a great bargain! But, for you Aussies, beware the insane shipping costs that Coastal Scents deals out. Admittedly they do really go all out to ensure the palettes arrive nicely packaged, but it’s still not 100% fool proof (one of the colours was completely smashed for the next palette I’m reviewing).

Looks don’t always have to be serious, this time I wanted to shoot for something quirky and fun! I actually didn’t design this look, I found it completely by accident on the internet, so I don’t claim credit for the design! The honour goes to some other talented individual

I’ve made a slight change to this chapter, at the request of my readers I’ve decided include a section on what tools I used to create my looks, aka brushes. Not sure if you will find it useful, let me know if you do / don’t~

I also suspect my videos will continue to experience some level of tweaking until I’ve settled into a style that suits me completely (and then I’ll probably change my mind anyways). I see my videos as organic, they will continue to evolve with me as my own abilities do, I took a lot of the feedback into consideration and will over time try and address each one where I see fit For starters I’ve added the product name in the video each time they appear (so long as it is the first time). Hopefully you will find that more handy

And I will try my best to translate the tutorials into video from now on, but please understand that making videos (especially the way I do them, excessive cutting, voice over, music etc) takes much longer than just shooting some photos so if I miss a week here or there, go easy on me Enjoy!

MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation – NC15
Amazing Cosmetics Concealer – Fair
Revlon PhotoReady Translucent Finisher – 001
MAC Full Coverage Foundation – White
e.l.f High Definition Powder
Face of Australia Pressed Powder – Bronze *
NARS Blush Powder – Orgasm
Canmake Highlighter – 01
Coastal Scents Brow Tones
e.l.f Eyelid Primer
MAC Fluidline – Blacktrack
Savvy by DB Luxury Liner – Shimmering Slate
Revlon Colorburst Lipstick – True Red
Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliner – Black *
Maybelline Pulse Perfection – Blackest Black
Prestige Eyeliner – White
Maybelline Define a Brow Gel – Clear
DUO Lash Glue
False Lashes
MAC Lip Pencil – Cherry

_{Product marked with * were sent for consideration}

MAC 130
Sigma Kabuki Brush
MAC 109
Sigma SS168
Sigma SS194
Sigma SS209
MAC 209
Sigma SS252
Sigma E25
e.l.f Contour Brush
Lancome 17
Lancome Lip Brush
Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

Last weekend I was invited to attend Circa Nocturna, Melbourne’s Alternative Fashion Parade. This particular look is to me, more about the hair than the makeup.

Cause I’m hardcore like a fox cosplayer, I decided to cut parts of my hair to get this look. I have to create the fringe and longer side strands to achieve that “rocker” feel to my hair. The makeup is pretty basic, a standard pink / purple look (that would have photographed a lot better in my home studio!).

Special thanks to Surfaced Music for taking these photos for me~

MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation – 4
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer – Beige
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – Light
NARS Powder Blush – Orgasm
NYX Mosaic Powder – Highlighter
NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
Prestige Eyeliner – White
Estee Lauder Eye Shadow Powder – Pink Flash
MAC Eye Shadow – Vibrant Grape
MAC Eye Shadow – Parfait Amour
MAC Eye Shadow – Hepcat
MAC Fluidline – Blacktrack
Coastal Scents – Brow Tones
Maybelline Falsies Volume Express – Very Black
Maybelline Brow Styling Gel – Clear
DUO Lash Glue – Dark Tone
False Lashes
Lancome Color Fever Lipstick – 312

Face
Nothing new here, primer, foundation, concealer then powder. Apply pink blush to the apples of your cheeks and then a matte highlighter to all your high points.

Eyes
After primer, use a white eye liner pencil and apply to the inner corner of your eyes and brow bone. Blend with your finger. Then on top of that, apply a shimmery white powder to intensify the effect. Bring the shadow to under your lower lash line.

Then apply a medium purple shadow all over the lid and blend into the crease. Then take a darker purple to the outer corner of your eyes and blend. Apply just a tiny bit of the dark purple to the outer 1/3 of your lower lash line. Take a shimmery pink shadow and apply to the inner 2/3 of your eye lid and lightly apply just above your crease.

Apply your gel cream liner and make a thicker line than you normally would whilst winging it out at the same time.

Curl your lashes and apply two coats of mascara. Apply your false lashes.

Take a brow eye brow powder and fill in your brows, then set with a clear brow gel.

Lips
Lightly apply a fuchsia pink lip stick.

Hair
Pretty simple! Separate the majority of your hair from your fringe, and pull out a few strands for the side of your head. Tie your hair up in a ponytail. If you have short hair, you can flip your ponytail up and start pinning strands of it to the top of your head. Spray with hair spray to get the strands to stand up more and flick out.

But if you have longer hair like me, what I did was still flip my ponytail up, but created a small loop at the base of my ponytail, then tied it down with another hair tie. Next I took a few strands of hair and then pinned it over the loop to disguise it. This (hopefully) gives the illusion that I had shorter than what I really did