Thursday 29 May 2014

May BellaBox Unboxing

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Hello lovely followers (and mum, hi mum!),

HAPPY THURSDAY! Only one day left til the weekend, get your excited pants on!

Today’s post is actually a video and that video is the unboxing of the May BellaBox, which I resubscribed to after seeing such great reviews. BellaBox is a beauty subscription box where you hand over 15 smakeroos each month in return for a box jam-packed with lovely beauty goodies.

Here’s what I thought of the May BellaBox:

Do you subscribe to BellaBox? If so, what did you think of this month’s box, were you as impressed as I was?

Stay beautiful!

Dani xx
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Monday 26 May 2014

The Lipstick Product Addict Tag

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I was having an absolute crapper of a Monday today. I slept badly last night (had horrible nightmares), it’s “that” time of the month (why, Mother Nature, WHY!?) and I had a banging headache for most of the day (the lights, they burn!). So when I sneakily checked Twitter at work, I was very happy to see that my lovely friend Kate from the Minted Beautyhad tagged me to do a post. My day immediately looked up and I couldn’t wait to get home to write this! Here goes, hang on to your lipsticks! 

Favourite balm/treatment


At the moment, I’ve been using the Nivea Caramel Cream Lip Butter before bed and it’s AMAZING! It’s almost good enough to eat! During the day, I carry my EOS Balm in Sweet Mint in my handbag. I find it works a treat against the nasty, drying air-con at work. I also love the original Chapstick for when I’m working in the field because it has SPF15 and smells deliciously vanillery. 

 

Best Eye-Catching Red


I LOVE a good bright red, nothing makes me feel more glamorous! I have a plethora of reds but one of my old faithfuls is also one of my best, the Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in Kiss of Life. (You can check out the rest of my Old Faithfuls here).




Best Luxury & Best Drugstore


My favourite drugstore lipstick brand would have to be Rimmel. The Kate Moss Lasting Finish lipsticks are amazing, as are their new Moisture Renew lipsticks. The Sportsgirl Pout About It range are also favourites for “drugstore”, although they don’t technically fit that category! As for high end, I would say MAC or Clinique and not just because they are the only two high end brands I have lipsticks from! I actually do like them!



Best MAC Lipstick


This is easy as I only own one MAC lipstick but I do love it very much! It’s a beautiful bright pink with a satin finish called Impassioned. I have a MAC lipstick wishlist a mile long! 




Most Disappointing


I’m going to be really controversial and say the OCC Lip Tars. I have two in the shades Grandma and Trollop and while I love the way they look, I was not prepared for the amount of effort needed to apply them properly.



Liner: Yay or Nay?


I always feel like lip liner is a really nana-esque product! I know it’s necessary but it always puts me in mind of old ladies. If I’m wearing a very dark shade or one I know (from past experiences) will bleed, then I will take the time to apply a liner but usually, I don’t bother. 



Best Gloss


I absolutely hate/detest/despise almost ever lip gloss ever created BUT I’ve been making a real effort to try and love them. I got two very cute Coca-Cola and Sprite flavoured ones by Lip Smacker which I love AND I’ve also been quite taken with the NYX Butter Gloss in Peach Cobbler. 





Something Extra


Like Kate, I have a scrub from the LUSH Lip Scrub range that I adore! Mine is the Limited Edition Santa’s Lip Scrub, which is bright red and smells like Cola. I can’t believe I have to wait another 6 months to get my hands on it again! 



TAG!

Jacquelyn from Hey There Jacquelyn

Reshma from Dazzlegloss3

(The other) Dani from Lace and Love XO

 Erin from The Beauty Box

Ally from Wild Glossy


Please feel free to participate in this tag, even if I haven't specifically tagged you and let me know when your post is up!


Stay beautiful!


Dani xx
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Sunday 25 May 2014

NYX Primers - Pore Filler & Photo-Loving Primer

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Today, I have some beautiful base products to show you. I finished up my favourite L’Oreal Base Magique Primer and was looking for something new. I love the pore filling and mattifying effect so was looking for something similar when I came across the NYX Pore Filler. Side note: There is also a sister primer called Shine Killer, I always want to give them ghetto names and call them Pore Filla and Shine Killa…. listening to too much rap lately maybe? I also spotted the Studio Perfect Photo-Loving Primer and popped that into the shopping basket too. 

The Brand – NYX (pronounced “niks”)

As a teen, Toni K (founder of NYX) dreamt of a range of colourful, affordable cosmetics. In 1994, her dream became a reality and NYX was born in sunny Los Angeles. It has thankfully made its way to Australian shores and is available in Target and some pharmacies, with some products also available in online stores (I got mine from Lipstick Republic during their New Year’s Sale, win!). They have a really good range of products and continue to grow. I’m a big fan of the lip colours and blushes. They are also cruelty free (yay for the bunnies!).


The Products – Pore Filler ($21.95 for 20ml)

Very chic black & white packaging to start off with, nice and simple. It does have a twisty top in a really awkward oblong shape which I hate! I don’t like trying to get product out with the cap in one hand then trying to get it back on without dropping everything, it’s too much for my (lack of) coordination skills. The description on the tube says it’s a “magical agent that minimizes the look of pores”, any product beauty with the word magical in the title is ok in my books! The actual product is pink/peach coloured and it’s really more of a mousse than a liquid. It’s quite dense though and a lot of air comes out with the product when you squeeze it out. It blends out really well and doesn’t leave any colour trace but it does dramatically reduce the appearance of pores and mattify, win and win!

The Products – Photo-Loving Primer ($19.95 for 20ml)

Does this look suspiciously like the Smashbox Photo Finish Primers to anyone else? I haven’t used the Photo Finish Colour Correcting (green) Smashbox one before but apparently this is a decent dupe. There are three primers in this range designed to combat a variety of skin complaints, this green one is intended to combat redness. Initially, I was very worried (as was my mother!) that this green would be visible to the skin but it blends away completely. I’m not sure if that negates the point of having a green colouring or not? I’m not really sure about the “reducing redness” aspect, maybe slightly but not so much that it’s immediately noticeable. It has a kind of powdery or silky feel on the skin and a nice mattifying touch. I think it helps keep my makeup looking better for longer, it’s not perfect by any means but it is pretty darn good!
Pore Filler on the left and Photo-Loving Primer on the right.
Using the products

I apply the Pore Filler first, before anything else in my makeup routine. A little goes a long way and I only apply to my nose, chin and forehead as they are most “porey” areas. I follow with the Photo-Loving Primer. I dot a little over my face then rub in using my fingertips.  A tip for the Photo-Loving Primer, make sure you shake it first otherwise you get a weird runny liquid before the actual product comes out, kind of like if you don’t shake tomato sauce before using it. This one does have a bit of a stange powdery feel to it but it doesn’t look powdery at all and you can’t notice anything once foundation has been applied. 

Overall Score

Pore Filler
The Good
Very affordable.
A little goes a long way.
Does a good job both with mattifying and reducing pore size
The Bad 
Weird mousse texture, doesn't come out easily.
Awkward screw top. 
  


Photo-Loving Primer

The Good
Also very affordable.
Good all-round primer.
Mattifying. 

The Bad
Have to remember to shake before use.
Doesn't actively reduce redness.
Awkward screw top. 





KaBOOM! Cosmetics gives NYX Pore Filler and Photo-Loving Primer:

So there you have if for the ghetto primer Pore Filla and his homie Photo-Loving Primer (there is no way to gangsta-fy that). I like them and I think they both do a good job, I think I like the Pore Filler better though, I feel the Photo-Loving Primer could do a lot more BUT both are worth a try. Hit me up with your favourite primers, with accompanying ghetto names if possible. 

Stay beautiful!

Dani xx


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