Essence Blushes and Highlighters Collection

Hey guys,

This is part two of my Essence collection post and in this post I will b sharing with you all of my Essence blushes and highlighters. I absolutely adore some of these blushes and highlighters. 

Most of them are from their trend editions so they would be limited edition, but Essence comes out with trend editions almost every two months so you would definitely find something similar sooner or later.

(L-R) Circus Highlighter powder in It's Magic(L.E), Silky Touch blush in Secret It-Girl, Silky Touch Blush in Babydoll, Beauty Beats Blush in Groupie at heart(L.E), Twilight blush in Renesmee Red (L.E), Me and my Icecream Cream blush in Ice Bomb(L.E), Silky Touch blush in Life's a cherry, Twilight shimmer powder in Bella's Secret(L.E), Ticket to Paradise Shimmer Powder in Tropical Heat(L.E), Beauty Beats Shimmer powder in Swaaaag(L.E).
(L.E= Limited Edition)

(L-R) Bella's Secret, Tropical Heat, It's Magic, Swaaaag.

(L-R) Bella's Secret, Tropical Heat, It's Magic, Swaaaag.

I absolutely adore Essence shimmer powders. They all look similar but are quiet different on application. Bella's Secret is a champagne gold with very fine shimmer, Tropical Heat has more bronze tones to it. 

It's magic, is a pure yellow gold shimmer and Swaaaag is a frosted silver white with a tiny tinge of pink. 

Out of all of these four Bella's Secret had the least noticeable shimmer particles, next was Its magic. Both Tropical Heat and Swaaaag have noticeable shimmer particles and can look very chunky if not blended properly.

If your lucky you can still be able to find Swaaaag and Tropical Heat in some Priceline stores as they are from very recent Trend Editions.

(L-R) Renesmee Red, Life's a Cherry, Babydoll, Groupie at heart, Secret it-girl, Ice Bomb

Essence blushes are very hit and miss. Some I absolutely love, some not so much but they are not bad either.

 First off we have Renesmee Red which is a warm red with orange undertones and matte, to be used with a very light hand this gives a beautiful natural flush of rosy cheeks. Next is Life's a cherry, this is beautiful poppy pink with a satin finish, this blush is from the regular line so you can find it at all Pricelines and Targets. 

Babydoll is a cool toned baby pink with a satin finish again from the regular line. Groupie at heart is a vibrant watermelon pink with a matte finish.

Secret It-girl is a light peach with golden shimmer, the shimmer is not very chunky so it won't make you look like a disco ball. The last of the lot is the cream blush in Ice bomb. This was a part of the Me and my icecream collection that came out a few months ago. It is a smooth pinky coral with a satin finish.

Out of all the blushes I prefer the Renesmee red, Life's a cherry, Groupie at heart for my skin tone. The others are a little too light and I have to build up the colours to create the intensity. In saying that I do still like all of them.

(L-R) Renesmee Red, Life's a Cherry, Babydoll, Groupie at heart, Secret it-girl, Ice Bomb

Essence Cosmetics can be found at all Pricelines and Targets in Australia.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading about my Essence cheek collection. If you have tried any of these products before then let me know what you think of them in the comments below.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush In Mood Exposure

Hey guys,

I am so excited to share with you my recent purchase, The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure.

What Hourglass says about the Ambient Lighting Blushes:

This groundbreaking hybrid combines the customized lighting effects of Ambient Lighting Powder with a spectrum of breathtakingly modern hues. The result is a natural radiant finish with seamless, soft-focus buildable colour.

Unlike traditional blush, which tends to be flat, Ambient Lighting blush uses Photo luminescent Technology to exhibit depth and dimension.

The airy, light weight powders contain optically transparent particles that amplify the colours to a multi dimensional level- effectively reinventing the way you blush.

The handmade powders are formulated using an advanced miscelare technique- which means 'to mix' in Italian- creating the perfect balance of pigment and powder, and no two look alike.

Mood exposure is a soft plum fused with Mood light to brighten the complexion.

What I think of Mood Exposure:

I absolutely love the colour. When I saw the blushes at Mecca and swatched them, all the others felt very dupable colour wise and I was left with Radiant Magenta and Mood Exposure. I have a lot of pinks and corals in my blush collection so Mood Exposure was a definite pick. It is a beautiful plum rose shade that looks absolutely gorgeous when applied on the cheeks. It has a slight sheen to it but no glitter or shimmer. 

It appears light on the swatch but when applied to the cheek it blends in with your skin and provides a very natural flush of colour. I adore this blush mainly because of the colour. The packaging is a gorgeous gold case with a good size mirror. With these blushes you need to be very careful as they break very easily. The texture is soft and finely milled. These blushes are also fragrance, paraben, talc and gluten free.

These blushes are now available at Mecca Cosmetica and Mecca Maxima for $50 each. 

The picture below shows all the different blushes swatches from Temptalia.

http://www.temptalia.com/round-hourglass-ambient-lighting-blush-thoughts-comparisons

Have you picked up any of the Ambient Lighting blushes yet? If yes, which shade?

❤❤❤

Pepta-Bright by Indeed Labs Review

Hey Guys,

Today's post is a review of Pepta-Bright by Indeed labs. I bought this from Priceline about 5 weeks ago and have been using it ever since. Read on to know whether it does what it claims to do and is it worth it?

What the company says about this product:

Dullness and dark spots can significantly age the look of skin. pepta-bright is a lightweight yet moisture rich cream that helps reduce the appearance of dark spots and areas while promoting overall skin radiance, leaving a more even toned, luminous complexion. pepta-bright is free of hydroquinone, kojic acid, mercury and parabens.

Active Ingredients:

Chromabright

Is a new active for safe skin brightening. 

It induces a significant lightening effect on the skin, 

at the same time that fights against photoaging.

O.D.A White

A skin brightening ingredient with a new mechanism of action 

inhibiting the entire metabolic pathway of melanin synthesis 

from the nucleus of the melanocyte.

BENEFITS

Even skin tone

Reduce and lighten hyper-pigmentation

Prevent, treat and diminish dark spots

Restore luminosity and radiance to the skin

Prevent the formation of future dark spots and fight against photo-aging

Stimulate cell turnover

Maintain skin's hydration

My thoughts:

I have been using this product for over 4 weeks now. With skin care products I feel I have to use them for more than 3-4 weeks to actually notice a difference in my skin. Pepta bright is a cream serum that I use day and night after cleansing and applying Hydraluron. This product has been a staple because it has actually done what it claims to do. I will say I have noticed a brighter looking complexion after using this product for so long. It has evened out my skin tone a fair bit and also my skin feels more radiant.

My acne scars have not disappeared but they do appear a lot lighter than they used to. My only complain would be the smell. I don't like it but because it does what it claims I can live with the smell. I only have a couple of more uses left out of this serum after which I will definitely be repurchasing it. I bought mine from Priceline for $34.99 . You can also buy it from MyChemist, Chemist Warehouse and BigW. I think it is totally worth the cost because it has actually worked for me. Very few skin care products woo me and Pepta-Bright has made its mark in my skincare regime.

Have you tried Pepta-Bright before? Did it work for you??

Valentines Day Inspired Manicure and Hair: Collab with Sweetaholic Beauty

Hey guys,

This is a bit of an unusual post for me but nonetheless fun to do. I got together with Jasmine from Sweetaholic Beauty and we decided to do something for Valentines day. We came up with doing something that is out of the box for us. Jasmine has done the outfit and makeup and she looks super cute, just like a barbie doll. You can read her post here. In my post today I am going to share with you my Valentines day Manicure and the hairstyle I personally think is really cute for this special day. Without further adieu lets get into it.

For my manicure I wasn't sure how it would turn out on my really short brittle nails so I thought of using a nail wheel instead. That way at least there was more room to work for me. I must admit that I am a little allergic to Acetone and thus stay away from nail polishes, also I am not allowed to wear it to work. Anyways this was the perfect opportunity for me to get creative with nail art. Hopefully you guys like it.

The nail polishes I used were 

Savvy by DB Pink Champagne 

Satin (No shade name)

BYS Bubblegum

BYS White Quake

Essence Nude Glam in Strawberry Icecream

Essence Rich and Pretty

Essence gel look top coat

I used Strawberry Icecream as the basecoat on my first three nails. The Satin nail polish on the fourth and tried mixing the Satin with the white to create a cracked effect on the fifth nail but that failed.

For the hearts and dots I used a Bobby Pin. Yes! a bobby pin is all the tools you will need.

To create the heart on the first nail I dotted the heart out with the bobby pin using the dark pink nail polish. Then I just filled it in with the same nail polish. 

For the second nail I just added three coats of Pink Champagne to give that gorgeous glitter effect.

For my third nail I drew the hearts using the same bobby pink and a silver nail polish.

I just felt like leaving one nail bare but wanted it to be a different colour, so my fourth nail is painted using the Satin nail polish.

For the fifth nail I wanted to do this cracked texture but it failed and so to cover it up I used my dotting tool (bobby pin) and drew some dots.

I would have taken the colour off from the last nail and started all over again but I was getting really sick because of the nail polish remover and I didn't have the energy to sneeze again. [very sorry if it looks all blotchy :-(  ]

I think if I could wear nail polish, I would definitely pull this off for Valentines day.

For the Hair style I am really into the Fish Tail Waterfall braid right now and I think it is super cute and girly. It is also not that hard to do. I think I am definitely going to do this hair do for my Valentines day dinner. 

http://annanimmity.com/wear-it-on-your-head-wednesday-7-2/

What do you guys think if the Manicure and Hair do? Too girly or Sweet and fun??

Let me know in the comments below.

❤

Sephora Haul ft. Hourglass, Lorac, Tarte and Too Faced

Hey guys,

Nalini from The made up maiden had ordered a few goodies for me from Sephora a few months ago. We recently met up at the Melbourne Blogger meet and she gave me all the stuff I had ordered. I absolutely love each and every product and hopefully Nalini, we can do this again sometime soon ;)

The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

Lorac Pro Palette

Tarte Amazon Escape Palette

Too Faced Beauty Blogger Darlings

Tarte Thoughtful Treasures

Samples

I have already used some of the products and absolutely love them. I always wanted to try the Tarte blushes and eyeshadows so now I have a few to play around with. I was a little confused about the Hourglass palette but finally caved in, I am glad I bought it because I love it to bits. 

The Lorac Pro palette has been on my wishlist for ages and it was actually sold out when I told Nalini that I wanted it. As soon as it came back in stock, Nalini purchased it and that was very sweet of her. 

Have you used any of the above mentioned products before? What do you think of them?

Hope you guys have a lovely week ahead.

❤

The Melbourne Beauty Blogger/Vlogger Meetup 25/1/14

Hey guys,

A few weeks back Melissa from Bbubbles16 posted on her blog an invitation to meetup with bloggers and vloggers in Melbourne. The day chosen was the 25th of January which was just last Saturday. I was a little apprehensive at first because I am very shy when it comes to meeting people but I really wanted to meet all of these cool girls who blog and make youtube videos.

 I was very warmly welcomed by all of them and instantly we all chatted away. After some food and drinks Melissa had organized a Beauty quiz which had 3 prizes to be won. Claire from Missthisandthat blog came first, I came second and Jasmine from Sweetaholic Beauty came third. 

Anita from The Beauty Show talked about her website and the future plans for it. Can't wait to see it all coming together.

All the bloggers present are listed below, please do go and check their blogs out. They are all really very sweet girls and I had a great time with them.

Anita from the beauty show

Cody from codys fairytale

Claire from ms this n that blog

Erin from the beauty box

Evelyn from cotton candy diva

Jasmine from sweetaholic beauty

Kat from kitsch snitch

Melissa from Bbubbles16

Michelle from mishelle sleepy time

Nalini from the madeup maiden

Rhian from Rhian Autumn

Sue from sue love xx

The Gang ❤

The products I won :) 

I would like to thank Melissa for organizing such an amazing meet up and I honestly can't wait for more. 

#bbvmelbmeet

My YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Collection

Disclaimer: I am not bragging in any way. I just wanted to post swatches up so it would be easier for people to see what each colour would look like on a medium skin tone. I have been collecting these since last year and absolutely feel these are not a necessity, but would definitely make a great gift for yourself or to your loved ones. 

My YSL Rouge Volupte Shine Collection:

As the above disclaimer stated I have been collecting these since last year and most of them have been gifts from friends and family who asked me what I wanted for various occasions. I have 13 shades out of the 19 that are available in store at Myer and David Jones. I absolutely adore each and every one of them and wanted to share my thoughts about them with you.

What YSL says:

Introducing Rouge Volupté Shine.  Give in to the temptation of dazzling color. Succumb to a unique sensorial experience with extreme comfort and luminous shine.  Hyaluronic acid microspheres help seal in moisture for 8 hours of hydration. Anti-oxidants and emollients help condition and soften lips.

I absolutely agree with the claims of extreme comfort and luminous shine but it does not last 8 hours on me. If I am not eating or drinking anything it would last about 4 hours and if I do eat or drink then less than 3 hours. I would not mind touching up in public because of the gorgeous packaging. The colour payoff depends on the colours, some darker colours have a pigmented pay off, and the others are sheer. They retail for $55 in Myer and David Jones. You can also buy them for a little cheaper from StrawberryNet or Amazon.

Hope you found this post helpful. If you would like me to do a swatch post on my Rouge Volupte collection please do let me know in the comments below.