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,

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

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

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

Hi guys! So I bought these a while ago because I LOVE matte lipsticks and, not gonna lie, everyone was madly raving about these and I'm a very curious individual.

Candy K - Liquid lipstick and liner that comes in the box

I ordered Candy K on the second restock (which was AGES ago now) and I ordered Koko K and 22 a couple restocks after that. They came to about $60 each AUD including shipping but considering you get a lipliner and lipstick, that's cheaper than buying it from MAC.

The letter from Kylie that comes with every order

Koko K and 22

Formula
Liquid lipstick
The formula is quite thin but is still incredibly pigmented and glides on the lips very smoothly. After applying, it takes about 30 seconds to completely dry, and when it has it feels like you are wearing nothing on your lips at all! It's only drying in the slightest amount. I highly recommend only applying one layer though because it starts to clump and crack if you apply more than one.

The smell is quite strong and very sweet, it smells like vanilla icing in my opinion but you cannot smell the scent when it's applied on your lips.

Lipliner
I would honestly buy the lip liner by itself if it was sold separately. It's the CREAMIEST, most pigmented and easy to use lip liner I've ever used. The lasting power is pretty impressive as well, but I'm not sure if applying it under the liquid lipstick extends how long the liquid lipstick lasts.

It's easy to overline your lips too and I find that the high quality of the liner means that it's not too obvious when you overdraw. I've already used SO much of my Candy K lipliner because I love the shade and quality.

Lipliner - Top to bottom - Candy K (My absolute favourite), Koko K, and 22

The shades

Liquid lipstick - Left to right - 22, Koko K, Candy K

Candy K
I bought Candy K before any of the others because everyone was raging on about how it was the "perfect nude" and I can't help myself when it comes to matte nude lipsticks!
HOWEVER, when trying it on, I notice the colour was MUCH darker than your every day nude. Perhaps it's because I'm pretty pale but Candy K (the far right shade in the swatch above and the demo below) comes off as a dark mauve. Honestly, I'm not a fan. It's a very mature colour and as I have reasonably small lips, it makes them look shrivelled and my face look washed out. I also have noticed it gets progressively darker the longer it's on your lips. Yikes.. I rarely apply this one by itself because of how much I dislike the colour.

Nevertheless, the lipliner is the ideal pinky "your lips but better" nude shade and is what I thought the liquid lipstick was GOING to look like. I pair the lipliner with all of my nude lipsticks and it's wonderful.

Candy K lipliner and liquid lipstick - As you can see it comes off as a mauve rather than a nude on my paler skin tone

Koko K
I bought this on my second order as it's the lightest in the bunch and since I loved the formula of Candy K, I knew I still wanted to give a lighter lip colour a go.

This looks much better on my pale skin tone in comparison to Candy K BUT when using the Koko K liner and liquid lipstick, it's a bit too light for my skin tone as it's a vibrant baby pink and I'm not about that pale lip life. So these days I use the Candy K lipliner with Koko K liquid lipstick on top to create the perfect shade (because I paid all that money and feel like I need to use it up).

Koko K lipliner with the liquid lipstick on the top

22
What's to say about this gorgeous orange/red shade? The formula is just as pigmented as the other ones, and the shade doesn't look patchy when applying. Nevertheless, it does feel a bit dryer when applying as it doesn't apply as seamlessly as the others. This one is way more longer lasting than Koko and Candy though and is much more difficult to remove as well funnily enough!

22

Lasting power
Considering how much I paid, I expected these to last longer. When I kiss the back of my hand after the lipstick dries, there is no transfer which I love.

BUT essentially after eating the lipstick is practically gone. I do lick my lips when I eat though so I'm certain that's why they come off easier. 22 is easily the shade that lasts the longest out of all of these.

Overall, I don't really like these lipsticks when considering the price. I love the lipliner as I've stated before, and the liquid lipstick is very comfortable but I feel like these kits aren't worth the money and the shades (except 22) aren't really too impressive. Candy K is way too dark and Koko K is a tad too light. It's a shame and I try to use these as much as I can but I sadly find myself reaching for my Mac lipsticks much more.

I hope this helped some of you in deciding whether you want to give these a go!

Remember to follow me on @australianbeautyblog on instagram for more beauty related posts!

Lexy xxxxx