Sephora Haul!!

Sephora Haul. Who would’ve thought that’s something I could do when I’m all the way here in little old New Zealand? Well thanks to Youshop, I can now shop at the most glorious place on earth – all from the comfort of my own home!

First is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette, which is possibly the one item I was lusting over the most. Having never used the very popular Ambient powders before, I quickly realised that this would be the best way for me to try them out! Keep an eye out for a review, which is coming up soon.

Next is the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette which I have been trying to get my hands on for ages! I have the original Naked Palette which I use almost daily, and adore, so I’ve known ever since Naked 2 came out that I absolutely had to have it! A review and swatches are on the way.

Lastly I decided to chuck in this awesome Tarte – The Tarte of Giving gift pack. Remember how I’ve been wanting those Amazonian Clay 12 hour blushes? Well it not only contains one of those, but it also has little deluxe sample sizes of Pure Maracuja Oil and a LipSurgence skintuitive lip tint! I have already used the LipSurgence and blush and am very impressed, detailed review to come.

Wanna know what makes Sephora even more amazing? With every order, you get free samples! How many places do that in New Zealand? Zilch? Yeah, I thought so. 

Anyway, at the time they were giving away these awesome little sample bags – and I got to choose which one I wanted, so I chose the Festive Cheery Endurance sample bag.

Inside it contains:
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion Anti-aging 3.7ml, Ojon Color Sustain PRO Fade-Fighter 30ml, Anastacia Lash Genius Clear Waterproof Topcoat 3.2g, Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara 4ml, Kat Von D Painted Love Lipstick in Celebutard  1.2g, Ren Hydra-Calm Cleansing Milk 5ml and Smashbox Camera Ready CC Cream in Light/Medium 7ml.

It was also actually supposed to include a sample of Lancome Tresor Eau de Parfum – but perfumes are on Youshop’s forbidden list, so I’m assuming they confiscated it. But that’s ok, since I’d probably be allergic to it anyway, hahaha.

Overall, I am very impressed by Youshop’s service. It was expensive, but not actually as bad as I’d thought it might be – so that’s awesome. I will definitely be using them again in the future, I might even sign up for a UK address!

Thanks for viewing, don’t forget to check back for reviews of the above products!
oxo

Current Wish List - what am I lusting over??

The problem with being a beauty addict, is that you constantly discover new things that you become obsessed with. Unfortunately, living in New Zealand doesn't often make finding these things easy! In any case, here's what I'm lusting over lately:

LORAC Pro Palette

Who doesn't want one of these? They are all over youtube and the blogging world at the moment, and I seriously need to get my hands on one...  Does anyone know a NZ seller, or someone that ships to NZ??

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

This looks seriously beautiful. I'm not usually much into highlighters, but I've heard so many good things about this, it makes it hard to resist!


Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in "Tipsy"

To be quite honest with you, it's not just Tipsy I want in this range - I want all of them! If however, I was to choose just one colour, this would be it. I am a huge fan of coral blushes, and I think this one in particular would be great for someone with my skintone.

Benefit Gimme Brow

I usually use brow powders or pencils to fill in my brows, but this product really has me intrigued! I would love to have something quick and easy to use on days when I'm short on time and don't feel like wearing much makeup - this looks promising!

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup

I have heard nothing but good things about this foundation. I love sheer to medium coverage foundations, and this sounds like it would be perfect for me. Urban Decay has long been one of my favourite brands, but I have never had the chance to try their foundations.

So.. if anyone feels like getting me an early christmas prezzy, don't let me stop you! Hahaha
Thanks for viewing!
oxo

Mail of the week! 1 - 8 November

I know other bloggers post their Mail Of The Week, so I thought I might start doing this too! Because opening packages is ridiculously fun xD

I love MegsMakeup! I got this package when I redeemed 250 points, pretty exciting huh?
Closer look at the Napoleon products:

Thought you might like to see a couple of swatches.
Urban Decay Tinted Moisturiser - not rubbed in:

And this is how it looks when it is rubbed in:

Here’s the Napoleon Eyeliner, it’s such a pretty gold:

The Napoleon Lip Veil is nice:

But, didn’t show up that great in this photo:

And trying to take a photo of this Urban Decay eyeshadow swatch was just a joke – it refused to show up! Not very impressed with the eyeshadow unfortunately..

My ASOS swimsuit order arrived! Yay!! Was the first time I actually ordered from them and am really happy with the whole experience. It always makes me sad that it’s cheaper to buy swimsuits online from an overseas retailer than buy one in my own country though…

Tea Samples from Twinnings! My sister will probably end up with these as I don’t drink enough tea myself. :P

Ahhh. I love getting packages, it’s one of my favourite things!
Thanks for viewing!
oxo

FOTD: Woo! Lets get Naked!

After swatching my beloved Urban Decay Naked palette, of course I had to do a quick look with it! I'm gonna wear this out to The Doobie Brothers concert tonight - so excited :P

I needa learn to take better pics, but until then these'll have to do!

Face:

• MAC Face and Body in C2
• Ben Nye concealer
• Ben Nye Neutral Set (under eyes/middle of face)
• MAC Mineralized Skinfinish Natural in Medium Dark
• Smashbox Muse Blush in Masterpiece

Eyes:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Urban Decay Naked Palette - Toasted all over lid
• Urban Decay Naked Palette - Darkhorse in the outer corners
• Urban Decay Naked Palette - Naked in the crease
• Urban Decay Naked Palette - Hustle in the outer crease and under the eye
• MAC Penulitmate eyeliner in Rapid Black
• Covergirl Lash Blast mascara
• Revlon Colorstay eyeliner in Black

Lips:

• Lucas Papaw Ointment
• Urban Decay Lipstick Midnight Cowboy

Thanks for viewing, let me know what you think! I promise I'll do something more bright and exciting soon :P
oxo

Swatch Watch: Urban Decay Naked Palette

Swatch watch. Good luck saying that 10 times in a row. Hahahaa. This is another new (well it has a new name anyway) series on my blog - yay!

First of all, thank you to everyone who has entered my giveaway, and to those who haven't already - enter now!

I have an obsession with Urban Decay, I'm not gonna lie. When I discovered the Primer Potion, I was in love and I still use it every single day without fail. Their Skyscraper mascara was amazing and if I could buy it here, I probably wouldn't ever use another mascara.
Everything they come out with immediately goes on my makeup wishlist - I'm so annoyed that we don't have it in New Zealand!

I turned to ebay when I heard about the Naked palette, I knew it was the only way I could get my hands on this little gem - sure it was ridiculously overpriced and close to half my week's wages went on it, but I was sure it'd be worth it.
I'm happy to say that my assumption was right, this palette was worth every cent! The colours are gorgeous and I can confidently say that they would suit everyone, no matter what eye colour or skin tone they have.

So what do you get? 12 gorgeous neutral eyeshadows and a double ended 24/7 eyeliner in Whiskey/Zero (yeah I have the original one, the new one comes with an eyeshadow brush) AND a nifty little travel size Primer Potion - so cute!

Lets get our swatch on!

With Flash:

Without Flash:

From left to right: Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar, Buck and Half Baked.

With Flash:

Without Flash:

From left to right: Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle, Creep and Gunmetal.

Whiskey and Zero:

All swatches were applied without a base, so you can see that these eyeshadows are really pigmented! Honestly one to two light swipes is all I need to cover my eyelids, I'm not even kidding. I've used it so much since I got it and I've hardly made a dent in it at all!
The double ended eyeliner was actually an unexpected love for me, it's so creamy yet seems to stay put. What else could you possibly wish for?

If you don't have this palette, then seriously go out and get it. You won't be disappointed!
Thanks for viewing!
oxo

What's in my on-the-go makeup purse??

Hi guys, I've seen people doing these sorts of things all the time, but I've never got around to doing it myself - so thought I'd give it a go!

These are the things I carry around in my handbag everyday as my on-the-go makeup kit. I can actually do my whole face with everything in this, but usually I just use it for touch ups.
First of all, this is the little bag I keep everything in:

It's actually supposed to be a sunglass case, but when I saw it I thought it'd be perfect for makeup!

Now lets take a look inside!
- MAC Skinfinish Natural in Medium Deep (this is the colour I wear in summer, for the rest of the year I use Medium)

- Thin Lizzy Brush. I don't use thin lizzy myself, and this brush isn't the best, but it's great to use on-the-go for reapplying face powder and blush!

- The Body Shop - Tea Tree Oil Facial Blotting Tissues. I can't even begin to tell you how often these have come in handy - I recommend that everyone carries blotting tissues with them!

- Cute little mirror that a friend bought me years ago. Could not live without this. Seriously. :P

- Two MAC Lipsticks in Snob and Hug Me. I actually wear these two colours quite often, so it makes sense to always keep them on me.

- Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Black. I'm not even sure what this is doing in here, must've randomly chucked it in one day when I was doing a smokey eye look.

- Altoids Tin 'Palette'! xD

I love this little thing. Inside there is:

• An empty Everyday Minerals container with Ben Nye Neutral Set powder inside.
• A Yaby Blush in BL005
• 3 Yaby eyeshadows in ES347, ES155 and ES154
• Ben Nye concealer depotted into a little Yaby emptie
• Mini Fresh Supernova Mascara
• Mini Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero
• Teeeeny little MAC 213 brush (from one of their little holiday eyeshadow palettes)

The eyeshadows, blush and concealer all have magnets on the back which keep them from banging around inside the tin. So easy to make, I can do my whole face with this little tin alone!

So that's what's in my on-the-go makeup bag. I also have a 'Girls Survival Kit' that I keep in my handbag at all times too - maybe that should be my next post?

Thanks for viewing!
oxo

Review: Urban Decay Hall Of Fame

I love Urban Decay products, I wish more than anything that they were available here in New Zealand! Their stuff would sell like hot cakes here, I swear!

I was actually lucky enough to receive this set from Meg’s Makeup! How awesome is that?! Meg’s Makeup is a site where you earn points and then redeem them for prize packs. If you’d like to join up, leave me a comment below with your email and I’ll send you an invite!

But now, onto the review!
The Urban Decay Hall of Fame pack gives you a chance to sample 5 of their best products.
First up is the Eyeshadow Primer Potion in the XL size.

I have used and reviewed this before and even though I find that the packaging is poorly designed, as you can’t reach all the product with the wand, it is still one of my favourite eyeshadow bases. Eyeshadow just sticks to this like glue and refuses to budge! If you find that your own eyeshadow still creases when using this, then in all honesty you are probably using far too much. You only need the tiniest amount! A little goes a long way.

Next up is the New Skyscraper Multi Benefit Mascara

This includes the actual full size brush, which is always a good thing, as then you get a real feel for the product.

I am actually in love with this mascara. It makes my eyelashes look almost fake! I so badly need the full size one as I’m almost out of this one and no other mascara I’ve tried so far even comes close to this. Highly recommend this product to anyone who has access to Urban Decay – you will not be disappointed!

Then comes the 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero

Well it would be pretty fair to say that this is one of my new favourite eyeliners. It’s soft, it’s creamy and it’s waterproof!! Genius! It says on the site that it will not budge, I disagree – anything that is applied on the waterline will eventually move. But this IS very long lasting! If I had one of those star rating systems, I would give this 4.5 out of 5 stars! :P

Next is the Lipstick in Midnight Cowboy

I don’t really think much about this, it’s just a regular lipstick. Nothing special really! I do like the colour and how natural it is, but I probably wouldn’t buy it myself..

And lastly, the Pocket Rocket in Timothy

Oh man, these things just crack me up. I actually have a couple of full size ones (including this) so haven’t used this mini one at all. I seriously would buy a heap of these to give to all my friends, just because I know they’d think they’re hilarious! As well as being funny, they’re also useful too! The gloss seems more slick than sticky and they come in the cutest colours. Timothy is a coral colour with a pink glow – just gorgeous! Do you need these? Probably not. But do you secretly want one? Of course you do! xD

Overall I love this pack and if you have a spare $20 USD then you should definitely get your hands on one for yourself. Great value for money!

That brings us to the end of this review, I hope you enjoyed it!
Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!
Thanks for viewing!
oxo