Gemini by Night palette by ColourPop in collaboration with Sonya Esman

Shimmers

Shades (Left to Right): Golden Gate Bridge, The Hidden Hills, Manhattan Coffee Run and Moscow Sunrise

Ultra Satin Lip - Strip (Sample)

The Ultra Satin Lip in the shade 'Strip' was an extra free and happily unexpected surprise that awaited me in the shopping cart. I would describe it as a dark nude with pink undertones (with a hint of brown). Definitely on the warmer side of the spectrum, which I feel will work wonderfully with all skin-tones!

The product has a reasonably thick consistency (not runny at all) and appears quite opaque on the lips on the first application! The formula feels smooth and creamy, and leaves only a very slight tackiness on the lips.

Despite being a satin formula, the product looks completely matte but without the dry and uncomfortable feeling! I would describe the feeling to be similar to Mac's matte lipsticks which appear matte but are reasonably comfortable to wear.

Even though it feels comfortable, the product tends to emphasise the lines in my lips, even when first applying - have a look at the photo below. The creases become even more apparent the longer I am wearing it!

Ultra Satin Lip in Strip (one layer)

I also picked up the Lippie Stix in 'Hotline', described as a deepened peach. I would definitely say this resembles Mac's Kinda Sexy, with it's peachy/apricot undertones. I am obsessed with the colour which is a combination of a peachy nude and fluorescent orange. Any brighter, and it would look extremely drying on the lips! The formula glides on the lips so smoothly and effortlessly and is genuinely one of the most comfortable matte formula's I've tried - alongside Mac's matte lipsticks!

Lippie Stix - Hotline

It does tend to emphasise the lines and crevices in the inner portion of the lips, particularly when layered so I ensure I apply lip-balm beforehand and stick to one thin application all over the lips to reduce this!

Hotline in natural light

Hotline in normal light

Hi all,

Recently I went to the Royal Show in my city and for those of you who are unaware, available to purchase are "showbags" which are essentially bags full of goodies sold at a significantly lower price than the price you would pay if you bought all those products separately.

This year, Australian brand Red Earth, released a showbag for $25, packed to the brim with a bunch of unique makeup items that I couldn't resist but to try.

Red Earth pride themselves on the high quality ingredients used in all of their products and promote natural, everyday beauty. I will hyperlink all of the products mentioned below so you can check them out in store (I believe they're sold in David Jones in Australia and on their website)!



Next is the Colour Rush Baked Eye Shadow Duo. I chose the duo called "Green Flash" which is a lovely shimmery olive/khaki green and champagne shade.

From swatching, the olive shade is reasonably pigmented (yet not as good as higher end eyeshadows), but the lighter champagne colour definitely needs to be layered and built up in order to give off more colour. I think this would be an impeccable colour combination for people with brown eyes in particular!
They had run out of black eyeliners, so instead my other option was to grab the Perfect Line Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in mahogany. I didn't object to this as I've never owned a liquid eyeliner other than black!




Lastly, the Lip Wonder High Shine Lip Plumping Pencil in "Candy Love" was another inclusion in this bag. I'm not really a fan of the shade so I think I'll most likely be giving it a sharpen and passing it along to my mother. Nevertheless, I have never seen a lip liner so glossy and shiny and as smooth as this. It's literally like a lip gloss in pencil form.

Go ahead and check out Red Earth's website and instagram for more products because I am REALLY impressed so far and I absolutely love supporting Australian brands!

Check me out on instagram @australianbeautyblog too!

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

I purchased the palette from Mecca for around $70 for myself for my birthday and bought something worth $5 so I could get free shipping!


This palette was non-stop raved about on social media and youtube so I figured I needed something that I would always use for more special occassions because I never really owned a high-end palette or a palette that supplied me with a diverse range of both matte and glitter shades.
The palette does indeed smell like cocoa which is a lovely touch but contrary to what every other reviewer and their mother has said, the typical 'eyeshadow smell' is still apparent - if that makes any sense!

The names of all the shadows

Pigmentation
As you can see from the swatches below, the colours are insanely pigmented and I can honestly say after using this palette for a long time - it blends tremendously well and you can build up the lighter shades to the darkness that you want easily!

Lasting power
The lasting power is impressive as well - having worn these shades clubbing on several occasions, the shades didn't fade or smudge (when using an eye-shadow primer) and creased only very minimally!

Top row (starting from the bottom the shades go from left to right)

Middle row

Bottom row

The only main weakness in the palette is the lighter shades, particularly White Chocolate and Strawberry Bon Bon as they do not have nearly as much pigmentation as they should have for a palette of this price. Nevertheless White Chocolate is still a great matte white shade to use to set eyeshadow primer and it works a charm.

Overall I highly recommend this palette to anyone searching to make their first purchase of a high-end eyeshadow palette but in saying that if you're short on money, please do not feel pressured to buy this palette because everyone else is saying that you NEED it in your life. There are plenty of great alternatives on the market (e.g. Morphe palettes - I have a review on the 35O palette if you're interested) that are fantastic value for money and may be more in your price range!

I hope you enjoy the rest of the day wherever you are in the world!

Lexy xxxx

Hey everyone! And Happy New Year! Recently I was fortunate enough to win this palette in a competition (conveniently when I was searching for a palette with a range of red - brown shades as they've been a recent obsession of mine), so I thought I'd swatch and review it.

The Morphe 35O Palette retails at US $22.99 from the official Morphe website, but can also be purchased from MakeupNet when they have it in stock. It comes with 35 shades, as suggested in its name, which are widely diverse, ranging from dark brown mattes, to light glittery champagne shades.

Morphe 35O Palette (With camera flash)

Majority of the shades are matte, but some of the glitter shades in the palette are noteworthy! As you can see below, a couple of them are insanely pigmented and creamy and look absolutely STUNNING when packed on the eyelid!

Swatches of the most pigmented and creamy glittery shades

The palette includes a wide variety of transition shades that blend so beautifully and effortlessly into the crease, and can be built up as much as you want to get the intensity of the colour you desire!

However, the pigmentation of the remaining shades vary. As you'll be able to see in the swatches further down below, the lighter shades are the weaknesses in this palette, but nevertheless I continue to use the plain white shade for setting my eye-shadow primer.

Swatches:

First (top) row of shadows (left to right)

Second row of shadows (left to right)

Third row of shadows (left to right)

Fourth row of shadows (left to right)

Fifth (bottom) row (left to right)

I've already used the palette to create a peach eye look, dark brown smoky eye and a dark red/orange smoky eye. The shadows last all day (when using an eye primer) and seem to only crease a little bit.

Overall I LOVE this palette and can see myself using it for a long, long time. I would highly recommend checking out the Morphe website and ordering yourself one of their palettes, whether it'd be the 35O or otherwise.

I hope this has helped you decide whether you want to pick up one of these beauties! Feel free to leave me a comment of your thoughts or hit me up on instagram!

Lexy xxx

Long time no review! My apologies, University has comprised most of my time, and my lack of employment strictly limits the amount of make-up that I can splurge on, ugh! I would really love the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette for example (*heart eyes*), but I honestly can't bring myself to spend $70 on an eye-shadow palette, even though I would keep it for the rest of my life hahaha!

So anyway I've been using the "Chi Chi Glamorous Eye Shadow Collection" in the palette named "Elegant", a mixture of purple, brown, grey and glitter shades. I've used the palette for a good few months now so I feel like I'm properly equipped to do an honest review! I bought it from Myer for around $17 as it was on sale (? a New Years small discount off cosmetics, it's usually around $23 from Myer or Chi Chi directly, but it's $16 from Target) and selected this colour scheme as purple shades compliment green eyes.

Chi Chi Glamorous Eye Shadow Collection - Elegant

The shades (above) and the swatches of each shade (from left to right)

 I am a big fan of the dark purple/brown near the centre of the palette, as well as the brown shade on the far right, as they both successfully deepen the outer eye crease, giving a smoky purple/brown look. I tend to use the matte grey colours on the middle of my lid as I typically like my eye-shadow looks to be lighter in the inner corner and transition to dark in the outer crease.

Staying power:
The staying powder in these eye-shadows is quite good IF you apply an eye-shadow primer. I use the "Essence I Love Stage Eyeshadow base" which I purchased from Priceline (it's not on the website but I found it in store) which assists in maintaining the colour of my eye-shadows throughout the day/night. A high-end alternative is the "Mac Prep and Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base". When not wearing a primer, the eye-shadows will tend to fade and rub off easily if tampered with.

Creasing:
The products do unfortunately crease on me, even when I use an eye-shadow base. The only recommendation I would have for this product is to use a higher end eye-shadow primer/base.

Summary:
Pros:

• Diverse colour palette
• Pigmented dark crease shades
• Staying power is impressive when using an eye-shadow base

Rating:
★★☆☆☆
2/5 stars

I don't think this palette is worth the money, even if it is only $23 at most. The lack of pigmentation in some of the shades is what lets this palette down, alongside their tendency to crease. I personally would have enjoyed more shades of purple in the palette rather than the repetitive grey shades. However, I've heard brilliant things about Chi Chi's Nudes, Mattes, and Bases palettes, which I can understand as I really enjoy the transitional colours in this palette!

If you enjoyed this review, head over to my instagram - @australianbeautyblog, give me a follow if you like and I'll be sure to check out your account!

xxxx