Essence Ticket to Paradise collection exclusive to Priceline

Hey guys,

I was wandering around Priceline in one of the shopping centres in the eastern suburbs when the new Ticket to Paradise collection by Essence caught my attention. The bright colours of summer pulled me into buying a few things. I had read a post by Sophie from BorntoBuy talk about this collection in one of her posts in November and fell in love with all the products. You can read her post here.

The collection consists of 

4 nail colours RRP $2.95 each

2 glossy lip pencils RRP $2.25 each

3 lip glosses RRP $3.50 each

1 shimmer powder RRP $5.35 each

3 cream eyeshadows RRP $4.95 each and

2 hair mascaras RRP $5.35 each

I could get hold of only a few of the products so I don't have the whole collection to show you.

I bought the shimmer powder in 01 Tropical Heat which is a bronze gold highlighter. It is a beautiful highlighter especially for the summer. I love Essence Highlighters overall so this is no exception too.

The two lip glosses I got are in 01 Sun said red which is a clear lip gloss with a teeny tiny hint of orange through it. On the lips it shows up clear. It smells exactly like the other Essence lip glosses, wish it was a little pigmented instead of completely clear. The other lip gloss I bought is in 03 Dive with me to the island which is a blue clear lip gloss with shimmer. This is a great lipgloss to top off a matte lipstick or to wear on its own because the shimmer looks beautiful and is not too overpowering.

The glossy lip pencils in 01 Sun said red and 02 My Treasure Island are basically lip crayons in a thin pencil form. They glide on smoothly and do stain the lips a little. Since these are not matte they do keep your lips feeling hydrated and you can wear these on their own or under lip glosses.

The cream eyeshadows in 01 Dive with me to the Island, 02 Deep Sea Baby and 03 Tropical Heat are gorgeous shimmery cream eyeshadows that look great on their own or use them as a base. They have a plush pillow like consistency and are super smooth. 

Over all I love the products of this collection. It is available at selected Priceline stores right now but by January most of the Pricelines in Australia will stock this trend edition. 

Have you seen this collection at your local Priceline yet???

La Roche-Posay Lipikar Baume AP

Hey guys,

Today I have a skin care product to share with you that I think is totally worth all the money. La Rochey- Posay is a french skin care brand that is available to us Australians at Priceline and Terry White Chemists. This particular product I recieved in a Lust have it! pack. 

My skin is really weird. I have an oily face and a dry body. My hands in particular get dry and patchy very fast. I have tried numerous hand creams till I found the lipikar baume- my holy grail. My problem area lies between all my fingers. It could be heriditary as my mom suffers from psoriasis. 

About Lipikar Baume AP : 

24 hour anti scratching efficiacy. Quick dress texture for fast absorption into the skin. Adapted for babies and children. Fragrance free, paraben free lipid replenishing care, specially formulated for very dry, irritated skin prone to itching.

Fortunately I don't suffer from itching, its only dry white patches for me. I have used a number of hand creams and lotions, even resorted to oils but nothing has helped calm my skin like the Lipikar. It is non greasy and fast absorbping into the skin. I usually use it morning and night after my face routine. Most hand creams effects wear off after you wash your hands but with this product I found that even if I wash my hands every hour it did not dry my skin up completely. I have been using it for about three weeks now and have noticed a difference in my skin. You only need a pea sized amount for both your hands and it hydrates the skin all day long. I have completely used up the sample and can't wait to buy the full size. Also since the ingredients are suitable for babies all you sensitive skin girls and boys can use it without any fear. 

The full size retails for $37.95 and you get 400 ml of product which will last you a long time. I plan to buy mine from Priceline but you can find it at Terry White Chemists too.  

If you suffer from dry patchy skin like I do then I totally recommend you to try this product out. It has honestly worked wonders for me and I highly recommend it. 

New Essence Lipsticks

Hey guys,

Essence has come out with a new range of lipsticks which are the Long Lasting lipsticks. They have 10 colours ranging from nudes to reds. I bought three of them to try out and I am definitely going back to buy more.

They retail for $4.10 in Priceline and Target and the colours available are

01) Coral Calling

02) All you need is red

03) Dare to wear

04) On the catwalk

05) Dare to be nude

06) Barely There

07) Natural Beauty

08) Colour Crush

09) Wear Berries

10) Cotton Candy

I bought Number 5, 7 and 9 and would go back to buy 8 and 10. The swatches are as follows

These lipsticks lasted me 4 hours without any food and drinks and faded after that. They are a creamy satin finish which moisturizes your lips and does not dry them out. I would not call them long lasting because they do wear off within 4 hours especially if you are eating or drinking but for the price reapplying them is not a big issue for me. They are quite sheer on the first application but you can build the colour up.

The lipsticks come in a sleek black tube with the letter "E" embossed in the lipstick. The middle of the tube has a band of the colour of the lipstick, so you can see what colour it is without opening the product.  They do have a funny scent, similar to the Rimmel Apocolips but not as strong. Once applied you can't smell it so thats a good thing for me because I hate that scent. 

Overall I love these lipsticks and would definitely recommend trying them out. Packaging and colour selection wise Essence has done a great job.

Have you tried these lipsticks out yet???

Sigma Creme de Couture Eyeshadow palette

Hey guys,

After a lot of research on the colours and looking at different swatches and eye looks I finally bought the Sigma Creme de Couture eyeshadow palette. It is a gorgeous palette filled with 16 matte fun eyeshadow colours. It is a little difficult to get an all matte eyeshadow palette of such good quality and bright colours so I had to grab this. I bought mine from Rouche Boutique for $38 and unfortunately the Sigma website is all sold out because this was limited edition. You might still be able to find some at smaller makeup websites like Rouche Boutique.

This eyeshadow palette is macaroon inspired do the colours have really fun names too. Below are the swatches without a primer.

I am amazed by the quality of these eyeshadows. They are creamy and super soft. Blending is very easy using these. I would definitely recommend a primer or a cream eyeshadow as a base to make them really pop. 

I recently put them to test without a primer and they lasted pretty well on my oily lids. With a primer I did the following look

I wouldn't wear this out in public but it was fun playing with the colours. I absolutely love this palette and would totally recommend it. If you want to use only one colour to make neutral eyes pop you can do that too. Matte shades are very versatile and that is why this palette is a must have for me.

Do you like playing with colour? Have you got any similar colourful palettes in your collection??

Priceline 40% off all Cosmetics Sale Haul

Hey guys, 

Priceline had a 40% off all cosmetics sale for two days, Tuesday and Wednesday. All makeup was 40% off and my local priceline was filled with girls swatching and testing and filling thier shopping baskets with products. Literally there was no place to move, it was jam packed. I bought only a few things as most of the things I wanted were sold out or out of stock. 

The first thing I bought was the Nude by Nature liquid mineral foundation in Medium. I have heard mixed reviews about this brand and wanted to try the products out as I have been loving thier mineral primer.

I also bought the new Covergirl Ink it pencil liner in Black ink. This stuff will last all day. The swatch I did on my hand wouldn't budge even with makeup remover. I guess oil cleansing will be the only way this will come off.

The next three products are from Models Prefer and I love this brand. These products are fairly new atleast thats what I think because I have not seen them before.

The first thing is the Infinite Colour Lipliner in forever pink. It is a gorgeous bright pink. Great to pair with Maybelline's Vivid Rose or Ysl Rouge Volupte in Rose Culte.

Next is this beautiful bright blue Infinite Colour Eye Pencil liner in Blue lagoon. Super creamy, more creamier than the Rimmel Scandaleyes and super pigmented. Both these liners have very good staying power. Just like the Ink it liners I cannot take them off with makeup remover.

The last thing I bought is The Models Prefer Infinite Colour lipstick in Indulge me. It is a long wearing matte lipstick. Wore it today lasted me a good 7 hours without fading. I did drink and eat within that time but the lipstick stayed put. It has a little sticky texture when on the lips but the application was smooth. I will have to use the lipstick a few more times to see if I actually like it but for now it stays in my work handbag.

Price List:

Nude by Nature Foundation RRP $39.95 after discount $23.97

Covergirl Ink it RRP $13.95 after discount $8.37

Models Prefer Eye Liner RRP $8.99 after discount $5.39

Models Prefer Lip liner RRP $7.99 after discount $4.80

Models Prefer Lipstick RRP $11.99 after discount $7.19

  Total $49.72   Savings $33.15

Overall I am very happy with my purchases and really excited as I can try more products without paying full price for it.  Now I am waiting for Priceline's skincare sale to stock up on some holy grails. 

Did you splurge on makeup in the Priceline Sale?? Also have you tried any of these products and what do you think of them?

Till next time,

❤

Too Faced Jingle All the Way Palette Swatches and Review

Hey guys,

I am so excited I got my hands on the New Limited Edition Too Faced Jingle All the Way palette which is out now at Kit Cosmetics for $38.95. I thought of doing a swatch and mini review on the palette while its still available.

The palette comes with 11 eyeshadows, 1 blush and 1 bronzer and is in the shape of an Iphone5. It comes with a case which you can use for your phone or just leave it on the palette. 

The variety of the shadows is pretty impressive. There are a few nuetrals and some pops of colour too. Two basic matte shades are included to make a textured eye look. All shades are very pigmented and super soft. Some dark shades do have some fall out but I don't have a problem with that. 

The blush and bronzer are satin finishes with a subtle sheen. Again very pigmented colours.

Below are the swatches of the first 9 shimmery/satin eyeshadows and then the 2 mattes and blush and bronzer below that.

I just did this quick eye look to show the colour payoff on the lids. I did not use any base for this look not even a primer. 

Colour 1- inner lid

Colour 2- middle lid

Colour 3- outer corner lid

Colour 4- crease

Colour 5- brow bone 

Lined upper and lower lash line with colour 3.

Please don't mind my eyebrows I am growing them to change the shape and thus they look weird.

Overall Verdict:

I love the idea of a mini travel friendly palette with wearable colours.

It is a little overpriced $38.95 but in Australia what makeup item is not overpriced.

The Iphone case is not very high quality but it looks pretty cool.

There is only one colour available in Kit as far as I know. I have seen a pink chevron print case on the sephora website, but not sure if we will be getting that in Australia.

It does not come with a mirror so that might be a disadvantage to many.

Eyeshadows are buttery and smooth with amazing colour payoff.

Eyeshadows lasted 6 hours with a primer.

Blush and Bronzer lasted 7 hours on my oily skin.

I have been loving this palette a lot and Too Faced is slowly becoming a favourite brand of mine. This is a cute palette to gift to a friend or to yourself this Christmas. ;) 

PS: Chichi has a similar palette out at Target for $14.95 which includes two Iphone cases, one for Iphone 4 and one for Iphone 5. Check that out on my Instagram pictures if your interested. But I love this palette and would highly recommend atleast checking it out in store.

You can buy it online here.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!! 

❤

Dior Lipsticks in JOY and MINUIT from the Golden Winter Collection

Hey guys,

Recently my husband and I were roaming around Myer and I was checking out the stuff at Dior when my eyes fell on the new Winter collection by Dior. They had a beautiful range of lipsticks, nail polishes, eyeshadow palettes, highlighters, lip glosses and blushes.

 I was in awe with the whole collection. My husband was really nice to me that day and said I could pick up one thing. I really couldn't decide and told him to buy me two instead. So I ended up buying two of the lipsticks. If I save some money I may go back to buy the nail polishes. The bottles look so cute. 

You can read about the collection on Temptalia's post here.

The collection is out at all Myer stores but not yet at David Jones. The lipsticks cost $50 each. I did try the eyeshadow too but had an allergic reaction to it. It could be the glitter because the MUA did use the glittery shade from the Golden Flower palette on me but I am not sure. I have never used Dior eyeshadows before so it could be that I am allergic to a particular ingredient they use.

https://plus.google.com/+Dior/posts

The lipsticks I bought were 046 Minuit which is a gorgeous dark magenta pink with shimmer particles and 043 Joy which is a muted mauve nude pink.

Both the colours look gorgeous on any skin tone. They glide on so easily and have a good staying power too. I applied the colour Joy in store before buying and it lasted me pretty much 6 hours though food and a drink. The sheen did wear off a little bit but the colour was still there. 

Even though they are long wearing they do not feel drying. Also they did not dry my lips out afterwards too. The packaging of the lipstick is gorgeous but I could not include a pic as it was reflecting the background. Thus I have included the pic below from Dior's Google+ page.

https://plus.google.com/+Dior/posts

I completely love the feel of these lipsticks on my lips and they are great wearable shades for the upcoming holiday season.

Have you checked out Dior's winter collection yet and is there any product you have your eyes on???

Couleur Caramel Eyeshadows Review

Hey guys,

About two months ago, I was introduced to this brand Couleur Caramel through Twitter which is a certified organic Makeup Brand. They have a beauty ambassadors program through which we can get 50% off all items for one year. To know more about this program you can visit their face book page here. 

The Couleur Caramel range consists of eyeshadows, cream eyeshadows, eye liners, pencils,lipsticks,blushes, concealers, foundations and much more. 

I wanted to try things one by one so the first products I bought were two eyeshadows. The two colors I bought were Pearly Plum Brown eyeshadow 111044 and Vintage Beige Matt eyeshadow 111117.

All Matte eyeshadows contain 3.3% active plant based ingredients which include organic grape seed oil, organic shea butter, organic sunflower seed oil, karanja seed oil, red tea extract etc. Pearly shadows contain 7.7% active plant based ingredients. 

Firstly the packaging is super cute, it comes in a slim cardboard pack with a see thru window where you can see the colour of the eyeshadow. You can leave them in this packaging or you can pop them out and place them in a Z palette or something. You get 2.5 gms of product for $24.45 which is way cheaper than a MAC eyeshadow where you get 1.5gms of product for $33. Plus you are using an organic product. 

The pigmentation of both the eyeshadows are amazing. You can use them lightly for a wash of colour or pack it on for an intense look. The pearly plum brown shade is a cool toned shimmery taupe colour and the vintage beige matt shade is a light beige great for blending. 

I had put both these colors to test with and without eyeshadow primer. On my oily lids only a few eyeshadows last even with a primer so I was very pleased to see the results. Without primer both eyeshadows lasted 4.5 hours without creasing. With primer, the pearly eyeshadow lasted 7 hours and he matte eyeshadow lasted almost 8 hours which was remarkable. I did use them all over the eyelid and tested them over a few days just to be sure.

Overall I am highly impressed with the quality of the products and the fact that they are not damaging to your skin makes me want even more. I can't wait to try out some lippies and face products from them too.

Have you heard of Couleur Caramel brand before?? What do you think of their products?

Halloween Swap With Tried and Tested

Hey guys,

A while ago Jasmine from Sweetaholic Beauty organized a swap where bloggers who were interested had to express their interest and she then paired everyone up. We were allowed to choose if we wanted to swap with a person from the same country or another country. I chose to swap with someone in Australia as this is my first swap. I was paired with the blogger Tried and Tested who is from Sydney.

We then gave each other a list of our current products, likes dislikes, allergies, colours etc. Based on the answers provided and tweeting each other back and forth we started shopping for each other. 

About two weeks ago we sent out our packages to each other. I was really surprised to receive this huge box filled with some awesome goodies. You can see what I sent her here.

Everything was bubble wrapped and packaged neatly so that nothing broke. Look how cutely she has packed everything. I totally forgot and did not include any item remotely Halloweenish. 

The first thing I could see is this huge pumpkin filled with candies. She also sent me the cosmic ghost drop candies. I don't eat candies but my husband loves them!!!

These skittles candles she sent me smell divine. I love raspberries so the blue one sits in my room. I have placed the orange in the lounge. Love the smell!!

I had given her a wish list and these two items topped the list. The Chi Chi Rich Gems palette and Chi Chi creamy matte liquid lipstick in Wild Child. Love them both! Can't wait to try some looks with the palette.

I did tell her I love wearing false lashes so she sent me these two. I have tried the Ardell lashes but I have never tried lashes from Red Cherry so these will be fun to try out.

These were random products so I put them in a pic together. I got a Rosewater infused handcream, Yu-Be lip balm, Napoleon Perdis loose dust eyeshadow duo, Sally Hansen nail buffer and a POP Beauty loose eyeshadow. I have never tried any of these products so it will be interesting to see how they go.

Next up she sent me lip liners from Rimmel, Essence and Innoxa. The Essence lip liners I use already and love them so these will be a back up but I have never tried these Rimmel lip liners and Innoxa lip liner.

Eyeshadows Galore!! L'oreal quad, Bloom Duos, Australis quad and a Maybelline cream eyeshadow trio. I did tell her I love experimenting with colour so she sent me different varieties.

 The lipsticks I received were Natio Flutter- I already own this, got it in a Priceline beauty bag. Rimmel Drop of Sherry- Beautiful rose, Rimmel 19- One of my everyday lipsticks so great to have a backup of that and the last one is Rimmel Heather Shimmer- Lovely everyday colour.

You can never have too many baby lips!!! :) :) also I have never tried this L'oreal blush, so again it will be interesting to see how that works for me.

I would have to be blind to never notice these pencils from Essence. I thought they were limited edition or something when I received them but no, they are permanent. I have used the Essence Kajal liners before but not these long lasting pencils. I swatched them and they are super creamy. Not sure how they last because I still need to put them to test. 

I am most excited to use these eyeshadows from Medusa's Makeup. It came with a primer too!! Super glittery *Excitement!!!!*

I honestly love everything she sent me and I can't wait to use everything. I did do some swatching but haven't been able to use everything properly. I really wanted to thank Jasmine for taking the initiative and doing all the hard work to make this halloween swap a success. Without her I would not have met this lovely blogger under the name Tried and Tested. 

Have you tried any of the products mentioned above? What do you think of them?? Let me know in the comments below.