Hi all,

So the Red Earth show bag that I purchased a couple weeks ago from my local Royal Show contained a couple vouchers to spend on the website, so having adored all the products I got to test out from the show bag, I knew I had to snatch up some more goodies, and bought something for a friend of mine too! (Hence there being two illuminating skin fluid's in the photo below)

Secret Potion Illuminating Skin Fluid in Pearl

I picked up the Secret Potion Illuminating Skin Fluid in "Pearl" which is described on the website as a "white illuminator". I have pale skin and didn't want to risk getting "Magician" - the most popular shade from Instagram and the most frequently used in all the YouTube reviews that I located for this product. That one was described as a "soft gold" and I feel it'd be more suited to more medium to dark complexions.

Swatch of Secret Potion Illuminating Skin Fluid in Pearl

Face 'n Glow' Sparking Loose Powder

Another free item (YAY) that came with my purchase was the Classic Line Kohl Eyeliner Pencil in "Steel Brilliance". The colour is a coal black with silver shimmers throughout it which makes it incredibly unique! I was SO surprised with the pigmentation. It was creamy and effortless to swatch.

I couldn't help myself. Although I was slightly dubious about whether my purchase of Candy K and Koko K was worth it, I took the plunge and bought the two Kylie Matte Lip Kit shades I knew for certain I would love.

I have quite a pale complexion and I am always drawn towards brown, warmer toned nudes as opposed to cool toned pinks and mauves as I feel like they compliment both my skin and eye colour, which is what inspired my recent purchase.

Dolce K
Like I assume many of you would relate, I have been adoring the 90's brown lipstick trend. My younger self would squirm at the thought as her perception was that brown lipstick closely resembled the appearance of rubbing chocolate all over your mouth.
Dolce K was one of the first original releases, and I'm disappointed I was hesitant about purchasing it for such a long time. It's a lovely cool toned light brown, not too dark on my pale skin and contains just a hint of a warm tone so that it doesn't wash me out completely and make me look like a zombie.

Formula
Similar to the review I did on the other Kylie Lip Kit shades I purchased, the lipliner for Dolce K doesn't disappoint. It's smooth, creamy, pigmented, blends perfectly with the liquid lipstick, and is easy to sharpen.

Dolce K Lip Liner

This lipstick doesn't look drying, and doesn't flake, but it can look clumpy and cracked if you apply too many layers. With all these Kylie Lip Kits (including Exposed which I swatch below), I strongly recommend adding one or two very thin layers to the lips and that's all. I have found they look the best and most "natural", particularly if you're planning on overdrawing your lips with the lip liners, which I should mention is very easy to do.

Demo - Dolce K on the lips in different lighting

Dolce K Lip liner and Liquid Lipstick in natural light

Swatches: Dolce K (Left) Exposed (Right)

Exposed
Exposed, commonly described as an orange, warm toned nude is by far my favourite of all the lip kits I have bought so far. As you can see from the swatches below, it comes off more orange than brown, but I find that it's just the perfect shade to not wash me out or look too dark and daunting!

Formula
The product is virtually identical to its predecessors. The great thing about Exposed however is that it does not look dry or flaky on the lips in the slightest which is fantastic as that's typically the case with lighter, matte liquid lipsticks. Therefore it's easy to get away with not applying any lip balm underneath as the liquid lipstick won't dry you out!

Exposed Lip Liner

Longevity
With both Dolce and Exposed, they do come off when eating - I believe this is because I lick my lips constantly when eating (which I ought to stop doing). Even if you don't lick your lips, the product will slide off when eating oily foods.

Demo

Exposed Liner and Liquid Lipstick in natural light

Overall if you'd love to step outside your comfort zone and opt for a brown lipstick and are a fan of cooler tones, then Dolce K will be perfect. On the other hand, if you're pale and love warmer toned nudes, absolutely opt for Exposed as it will be your new favourite liquid lipstick. For darker complexions, the colour is likely to look more fluorescent and brighter but if you like browner/orange toned lipsticks then by all means give it a go.

Hope this has helped you all in some shape or form, and don't forget to check me out on instagram @australianbeautyblog for more beauty related pics!

Lexy xxxx

Swatch of theBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer Highlighter

One swipe of your brush on the product (I use a Real Techniques Setting Brush) is enough to cover your entire cheekbone. However, I commonly enjoy going overboard with my highlighter which means I've being using it up rather quickly!

Lasting power
I have to say the lasting power on this product isn't too impressive. I have quite dry skin to begin with so it's not as if my face is oily and causing the product to break up, but it virtually completely disappears within a couple hours. Of course it's beyond simple to re-apply but for $30 you expect something with a little more longevity.

Overall I'd give this a 4 out of 5 stars - It's pigmented, has a lovely gold undertone and isn't glitter based so it looks like you're glowing from within and is perfect for everyday wear!

Don't forget to follow me on instagram @australianbeautyblog for more updates.

Lexy xx

I have gone over to the dark side (or good side? depending on how you see it) and purchased my first Makeup Geek eyeshadow in "Bitten"! I immediately knew I wanted this shadow when I first saw how beautiful it looked on the lid, and knew it would greatly compliment my green eyes!
The swatch below on my hand (I didn't prime my hand with any sort of eyeshadow primer) shows the colour after building it up. This is a matte red/plum/maroon shade that can be made darker the more colour is packed on. I found this was a little difficult to swatch on my hand because I didn't prime but I've found that this shade applies EFFORTLESSLY when using a eyeshadow primer on the eye. I also tried spraying my brush with Mac Fix + to see if it intensifies the colour but I didn't find it changed the pigmentation of the shadow all that much.
It also blends seamlessly! A darker shade like this can be daunting, especially for beginners who don't want to use a dark red/maroon eyeshadow from fear of looking like they've been punched in the eye! But using a chestnut brown shade in the crease as a transition shade works wonderfully with "Bitten" to create an easy yet beautiful red/plum smoky eye!

Overall if you're someone looking to get that one perfect shade you've been eyeing in an eyeshadow palette but can't commit to buying the whole thing, definitely opt for Makeup Geek shadows! I don't regret buying one loose shadow on it's own because I've been searching for something like "Bitten" for such a long time and I know I'll be using it all the time so it's completely worth it!

Please don't forget to check out my instagram @australianbeautyblog where I post all my latest beauty buys!

I truly hope you have a lovely day wherever you are in the world!

Lexy xxxxx

Hey everyone, so as I have written in a previous review, I was on the hunt for an everyday affordable yet reasonably good quality eye-liner. Well guess what, I found one.

The 'Australis Tiny Tip Eyeliner Pen (1.0g)' is a liquid eye-liner pen with a felt tip. It's $12.95 from Priceline which I thought was pretty good as I don't seek to spend over $15 or so for something that I will use up quickly as I will be wearing it almost every day.

The Australis Tiny Tip Eyeliner Pen

Ease of application: 
The felt tip isn't the smallest I've seen in an eyeliner, contrary to the name suggesting that it's "tiny", but it is honestly the easiest eye-liner I've used to date when it comes to application. You can form a perfect wing and if you make mistakes you can simply rub off whatever part you don't like and try again as it doesn't dry straight away.

The felt tip on the pen

Colour pay-off:
The pigmentation is also fantastic. It's a matte black which is something that I desire with eyeliner, so if you prefer a glossier finish then stray away from this product. You can see from the swatch below that it's pigmented, not the darkest shade of black, but still a relatively dark colour.

Swatch of the product

Lasting power:
I wear it to University so I'm usually there for around 5 hours, and although the line and the colour doesn't look as crisp and as dark like when I apply it by the end of the day, it doesn't crack or flake. I've noticed that after wearing it for a couple hours however it starts to look increasingly faded. The product decreases in quality immensely after this point, as after approx. 3-4 hours and onwards it will be extremely patchy and flaky, and nowhere near as dark in the photo. Ultimately, the lasting power isn't an issue for me because I don't need to wear it for an extremely long time. If you want something that's durable and lasts for a longer duration, then it's up to you whether you'd like to take the risk by buying this eye-liner because it's not particularly designed to be long lasting.

I have also noticed the product does smudge. I find black smudges where the product transfers onto my eyelid, and it's best to avoid rubbing your eye or anything of the sort as the product will come off. If you know you're going to be in a hot or humid environment then this is also definitely a no-go. Additionally, it's not waterproof.

Summary:

Pros:

• Easy to apply (with the small felt tip pen)
• Easy to fix mistakes
• Pigmented - considering the price (when first applied)
• Lasts well if you only need to wear it for a couple hours a day
• Small packaging, you can easily take it out with you anywhere if you want to re-apply during the day

The packaging

The packaging is quaint and it seamlessly squeezes into my already flourishing daily make-up bag. The colour pay-off isn't too intense onto a brush, so you have to rub your brush on the palette repetitively if you want a large amount of colour on your brush. But, if you're like me and only want your skin lightly flushed then a couple rubs of your brush should be plenty.  For those wondering, I use an angled contour brush to apply it, only because my Real Techniques Blush Brush is giving off this weird black pigment that smudges black marks all over my face... No idea what that is about.

The colour pay-off onto the skin

As you can see from the photo above the colour is not as vibrant as it appears in the palette, but instead is the perfect shade to give your cheeks a dash of pink.
5/5 stars.


I'd highly recommend it for anyone that needs an every day go-to blush. Honestly it's exactly what I was looking for as it's so easy to apply, cheap, isn't too pigmented yet it is also easy to build if you prefer a more flushed look!

Hope this persuades you to go check this little gem out!

xx

Hello everyone!

So over the past few weeks I was eagerly searching for an avenue to make my début at imitating the recently favoured trend of bold and dramatic eyebrows. As you will see below, I have unruly eyebrows, predominantly because I'm too scared to wax the top off in case I end up looking perpetually inexpressive afterwards. But what sparked this new-found determination to be "in with the times" was when I began to notice in photographs, particularly when taken with the flash on, that my eyebrows were grey. This was unsettling to say the least and was what motivated my search for a holy grail eyebrow item that could fill in the few gaps while concurrently not making the brows look overly fabricated and stencilled. (Only because they're already full and shapely - I am in no way disparaging anyone who prefers to draw their brows on afresh.)

Swatch of the Maybelline Master Shape by Eyestudio Brow Pencil in the colour Deep Brown

Before application

Helllo world! Happy New Year to all, at last 2015 is here! I'm feeling positive about the year to come as well as apprehensive for the change I'm going to experience by going to Uni! *shudder*

Anyway I'm just here to do a quick review on an eye cream I've been using for over a month as it seems that's a reasonable testing period to formulate an accurate and sincere review. The product is "[A'kin] Purely Revitalising Lifting Eye Creme" (by Purist).

The front of the packaging

Description of the eye creme

As described on the packaging, the crème naturally combats the signs of ageing by lifting and revitalising the fine skin around the eyes. It claims to smooth wrinkles and brighten the eye area.

15ml bottle

Review:
Pros:

• The consistency isn't too thick and is easy to gently tap into the skin and absorbs quickly.
  

  The appearance of the cream

• Smoothing wrinkles: After a month of applying the product every morning and night, I have noticed that the lines under my eyes have decreased slightly. They are not as deep and prominent as they once were, prior to my non-eye-creme using days. 
• When applying concealer under my eyes, all products still crease slightly- which is normal for me since the wrinkles were not completely eradicated, only minimised - but the creasing of concealers has lessened immensely which is an overall positive result since commencing the use of this product.
• Extremely moisturising.

Cons:

• Brightening eye area: The area is by no means brighter than the initial darkness that I began with, so unfortunately that feature of the cream didn't have any effect on me.
• Only diminished the appearance of under-eye wrinkles/lines to a small extent.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

For an early Christmas gift I received money to purchase the Elizabeth Arden Christmas Color Collection, or also known as the Elizabeth Arden Christmas Colour Blockbuster 2014 (box labelled as the All Day Chic Color Collection). It's a gift pack comprised of many different types of Elizabeth Arden products, half of which are 'work' or 'daytime' products to wear during the day to go to work for example, and half are 'play' or 'night-time' products to wear out to events or parties and so forth. The pack is available from National Pharmacies, members get a special discount, and to my dismay, they are also available at Myer and David Jones and have been significantly decreased in price because of Boxing Day sales. You can purchase it for around $69 from there, which is much less than I paid. I'd definitely recommend it! Here is what the pack comes with:

The box and the packaging. The makeup bag is quite large in size as seen above.

Left to right: Work/Day palette and Play/Night palette

The two eyeshadow/contour palettes are incredibly pigmented and have a very light shimmer in all of them. The bronzer provided in the work/day palette is extremely natural and the lighter blush is perfect for everyday wear. The play/night palette also provides a highlighter, visible in the bottom right of the palette. My favourite eyeshadow is the darkest purple on the play/night palette which is called "Heathered Plum" and is a contour eyeshadow.

The brushes provided from left to right: Eye-shadow Brush, Angle Eye Brush, and Blush Brush

From left to right: Eye-pencils: Gunmetal, Smokey Black, Lip-pencils: Bare, Sugared Kiss

I personally do not use eye pencils or lip-pencils but if I had to choose, I'd prefer the eye-pencils. They are pigmented and you do not need very much to achieve the desired look. The shade of the lip-pencils however are awkward, as Bare is too orange for my nude lipsticks, and Sugared Kiss is too dark for a normal pink shade. However they may be perfect for a lipstick that you already own.