Contour Countess

I’m going to be honest I’m really trying to open up my options when it comes to drug store cosmetics let’s just say I have been a little bit of a snob towards them.Physicians Formula is a brand that I am not experienced in and the thought has never really crossed my mind to purchase any of their products. I was watching a YouTube video and this YouTuber was just going on about the smell being so tropical and yummy and an all-round great review back about the product its self so from then forward I was a little sold. When I attempted to buy it from I herb I started to notice that this product was consistently sold out and I had to put myself on the email notification list twice. When I see product’s consistently sold out like this I just know then that it has potential.

The packaging alone reminds me of a tropical summer with all those colours the green pop of purple and the yellow and for me I can pick up the scent straight away even when the compact is closed. The packaging its self isn’t overly flimsy the bottom of the compact is sturdy for the price. Let’s talk about the smell OMG I want my house to smell like this I’m in love with the sent its self just so intoxicating , smells like a summer breeze of coconut reminds me of ether Malibu the drink or that tanning oil you can get. The bronzer its self when swatching does honestly fell so creamy it does not feel like powder at all its just so soft and it blends like a dream there is no need to add any more elbow grease to the blending process when your applying this to the face. This bronzer on my can last a full work day 8 hours I have not seen it become patchy throughout the day like some high brands I haven’t needed to touch it up at all and I even wore it on a 5+ hour flight and it still didn’t budge so the longevity has me sold.


Overall I’m in love this bronzer it has replaced a high end bronzer for me. I even went out and repurchased the benefit Hoola bronzer and I haven’t even touched it because I have been using this one nonstop. To compare this bronzer to any other ones on the market it would be close to the benefit Hoola same colour, same undertones just this one has that creamy texture to it. If you’re a Hoola fan I think you cannot pass this one up I think you too will be pleasantly surprised. I brought mine of the iherb website as I have not seen this item stocked yet in my local Priceline sotre’s. But I will say that I love this product so much I would not hesitate in spending the AU cost of $29.99 to get this item closer to home.

I have provide both links and I have a discount code for those who have not purchased off iherb before this site is also fantastic for the real technique brushes.
For those purchasing of the iHerb site for the first time here is a Discount code WCD475 you will receive 10% of your total cart at checkout once it’s applied.
I hope you enjoyed this review love CC xx

https://au.iherb.com/
https://www.priceline.com.au/

So I went on a little drug store makeup binge for the month of September so I had the chance of trying a few cult brands and popular product’s on the market at the moment. As I mentioned before I can be bit of a snob when it comes to drug store makeup. So I initially went in and purchased this product only because my theory for the day was to travel light when I was going to Perth this month for a friend’s wedding. Let’s just say the whole packing light situation it’s not in my genetic make up. So I was hoping this little pallet will help me cut down the amount of makeup products I need to pack for the trip. The normal amount for me would be two blushes, two highlighters and two bronzes. I packed two bronzes any way thank god I did. And yes I’m a makeup junkie and I pack way to much makeup anyway.

So the look of the packaging looks a little fancy and on trend with the rose gold border but yet the plastic does seem to feel a little cheep I feel like in a matter of time the lid is going to break off or it cracks but I’m not really going to complain to much it’s a 16.00 dollar product that I got half price. There is no smell at all that’s a good win in my books but sometimes you get that makeup smell and I juts can not pick up on it. The style of the pans I do find quite annoying I struggle to get my good blush brush in to the bottom one which is the blush I fell the shape is to awkward to get a decent size blush brush to collect the product, the contour one is fine and I only use small brushes for the highlight so there is no issues there.
Lets talk the highlight so the product does fell powdery and there isn’t to much pay off but it works as a very subtle highlight I do find it build able though if you work at it and It still turns out subtle so if your hopping for the strong pop your not going to get it with this product I do feel that it disperses after a few hours I would say after four hours .If you want to keep the highlight going you would need to keep this on you for touch ups.

The contour colour, my favorite thing in the world, look it would be a great contour colour if it had more pigmentation to it but this lack’s pigment. I struggle to even get the colour to show up on my arm for swatching and that’s me rubbing my finger in it and I am a medium pale so this is a bit disappointing. But after some persistence and work I can get it to work, it just mean’s I have to dip it in to the pan over and over and then apply a few times. The wear is better then the highlight and it has stayed in place fort 6 hours now and this one application should last through out my 8 hour working day.

The blush is okay this one seems to be a little more pigmented then the highlight and the contour colour. It fades away just like the highlight I am 6 hours in to my work day and its non existent I will need to touch it up through out the day . Pay off wise its good its still not the best but it works if you want to just add a little colour for a flushed look but it’s a blessing in disguise as well I can take a blush like this over a overly pigmented one I’m not picky at all when it comes to blush really.
So over you are getting what you pay for with this product and this one retail’s for 16.95 that’s how I see it. I am for the time being going to let this one kick around in my hand bag and for further I will take it with me for my nights out only because I wouldn’t want to lose or brake my urban decay flush pallet and wouldn’t want anything to happen to it.
To be honest I wouldn’t go out and repurchase this product. If you are interested for to Aussie laddies I have provided a link below to chemist warehouse this is where I have seen it priced the cheapest if you do hold out you will be able to pick it up from their 50 % of sales I would honestly advise to hold out so you can get this one at a more discounted price love CC xx

Apologies for the crappy swatch photo I tried to work with it , as I have mentioned this product isn’t very pigmented.


http://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au

I thought that there would be plenty of people out there that can not get there hands on the Cover FX drops, By no means is this a comparison blog post as I have not had the pleasure of being able to obtain the cover FX drops or play around with them. Now I have looked in to the Cover FX drops but due to the wide range of shade, under tones and colors this would be a product I would need to be able to see in person.

I’m not lucky enough to have a Sephora in my state and I don’t have a makeup counter that stocks Cover FX I would be able to order it online but there is just so many choices to chose from. So I decided to opt for the next best thing the body shop drops now the choices are a no brainier darkening or lightening easy choice made in my books the million dollar questions would be are you wanting to darken your foundation or lighten your foundation?

Now one of the main reasons why I wanted to purchase the cover FX drops was that I have a foundation that I dearly love but due to it being just a tiny bit pale for me its something I can get away with in the winter but by no means can I do it in the summer I do to tend to naturally tan a shade or two in the sun , to be honest I burn easily but then it turns in to a tan which I don’t recommended at all at the age of 31, I should no better.

The second reason why I wanted these dropsis I’m one of those medium pale skin tones that is borderline in the foundation spectrum I can find one but its ether going to be a tone or two pale or I can chose the medium one and have it be a little dark or yellow toned for my liking. I really dislike yellow undertone foundation. So thanks to this little creation the Body shop drops which is pretty much my life saver at the moment and so cheep and easily found I’m impressed and happy I gave them a go.

Foundation: Kat Von D lock It .

So this is the foundation that I wanted the drops for originally, I love this foundation but due to it being just a tiny bit pale it’s unwearable in summer. I did originally purchase this online before Sephora opened up in Australia so I think I did all right considering and I wasn’t able to return it as I purchased it of the US Sephora site at the time and I wasn’t going to let it go to waste.

So when looking at my foundation I knew I only need a tiny amount , I all ready guessed I would only need one drop and that got me to my desired shade . I was worried that it was going to be to dark but I had a little bit of product on my hand to mix in with it. Yes this requires work you will need to mix this product in with your desired amount of your foundation. I would strongly advise that this takes place and for some people maybe play around once or twice with how many drops you need per pump.

I used three pumps of this foundation to one drop of the darkening product and this worked and matched quite well I was surprised it toke the starkness out of the pale foundation and that is exactly what I needed. I did also play around with adding two drops in this worked for my skin tone also maybe more fore early summer. I was surprised that it didn’t affect the consistency of the foundation ether or the way it stayed on my skin. I see this foundation getting used more this summer which is a bonus.

This is the foundation that I’m in-between shades and this is common for me when it comes to drug store foundation. ts one of the main reasons why I don’t purchase them very often as it’s to much of a hassle and I don’t tend to wear them so all those bottle’s end up wasting away in my foundation graveyard as I don’t use them

But then the drops came along! Now this foundation is that more wearable. One drop to my desired foundation amount which consist of three pumps help take the starkness of white out of the foundation so I wont be going too work looking like Wednesday Adams !
So I decided to play around with two drops to three pumps of foundation I was a little worried at first as the foundation did look a little ashy at one point but after application with some powder and bronzer you really can not tell on my skin at all. I don’t think there is anyway I could push the friendship with three drops but I’m saying that I don’t need too, these are drops doing exactly what I need.

Just to clarify the FX drops are pigment drops if you want to have to be ability to make your foundation 3 time darker these are for you. The body shop drops are shade / undertone adjusting just wanted to explain he difference between the two. So I strongly don’t think these will help you make your foundation three tones deeper but defiantly recommend it to those that find their foundation at times to white for their skin or anyone like me that tends to sit in the middle of the shade range. These drops are great for anyone who can not gain access or can not decided what the need in the cover FX range or maybe you are like me and just can not decided .I would love to try the c over FX drops especially for when I’m faked tan so I can go two too three shades deeper with my standard foundation but that’s for another day and another blog post love cc xx .

I have provided links below for both Australian and US site's also leave me a comment on  your thoughts or questions of this product below and please don't forget all my social media links are to the right and don't worry you will not have to sign into any of your social media accounts when getting directed to my pages I wanted to make it easier for all :) xx

*Just a small side note, when I say I used a drop I did not mean a full dropper amount it is just one little drop.*

www.thebodyshop.com.au

www.thebodyshop-usa.com

So after completing my highlighter collection I thought more about the application of highlights and what can I do to compliment my last blog post so I decided on my own highlight brush collection.

Even though make up isn’t always about the rules and it’s just fun to play around with application and brushes and products to switch things up every now and then. Sometimes there is no need to go out a buy a brush just because it say’s highlight brush on it and not everyone has a Morphe or Sigma store at their door step or even money to spend on new brushes just because of a new makeup trend is in season. Sometimes we have to make do with what we’ve got and you may have some more then capable brushes in your collection that you may not have thought about using as a highlight brush.

Let’s look at the best brush we can find that will cost us nothing, fingers!! . I have noticed that I have some or maybe two highlighters that I have noticed apply way better with my fingers I just find you get more pigmentation with this application even though your fingers are not capable of blending anything out but who said you couldn’t get a little brush to do that job for you. I tend to go back over the area with ether a blush brush or one of my eye shadow brushes.

Sigma E40:
My favourite brush to highlighter with at the moment is the Sigma E40 which is an eye shadow brush. I reach for this one the most for applying both my Becca highlighters. This brush applies it well and blends it out perfectly and it’s great at applying it precisely to the high points of my cheek bones. I’m pretty sure I use this more as a highlight brush then an eye shadow blending brush.


Napoleon 22b:
I think this one is a blush brush but I find that I use this more for my less pigmented highlighters. The brush does apply it to a wider area but for the less pigmented products I have it’s not a problem. I do use this one more for my MAC soft and gentle or to blend out the highlighters that I apply with my fingers.

Fan brush: Brand unknown:
This one I am not too sure what the brand is I do know that it is natural brushes so it tends to apply the more pigmented products lighter. Like the Becca ones this is the one that I would use for work when I don’t want a concentrated highlighter look and I want to tone it down this is the one I use. Real Techniques : Duo fibre contour brush ( no picture Available )

 Real Techniques : Duo fiber contour brush ( no picture avalible )
This one strangely enough I do not like for contouring I have never used it for contouring. But it’s amazing as a highlight brush. I find this one really blends the highlight in to the skin seamlessly it’s great for all brand highlighters I do use this one on a daily bases. It was one of the brushes that I had never used until now thank you strobing trend! .


Real Techniques: Setting brush: 
Another brush that I would never use for it’s actually purpose. This is another one of my favourite highlighter brushes great control of applying highlighter. This one would be for a softer effect though you won’t get that concentrated pop. This one is great at blending the highlighter in for the seamless look.
Real techniques, angled highlighter brush: 
This would be the only brush I own that actually states that it is a highlighter brush. I believe it came in one of their holiday packs that they released in 2015 and it does the job that is says it does. But it’s another brush that I find blends all the products seamlessly. But this one would be hard to get that concentrated pop look.


The Beauty Blender:
The most useful tool there is great for applying highlighter and fixing it when you get a little excited when applying your highlighter. Of course the beauty blender is great at applying cream and liquid highlighters because it pushes the product in to the skin and if you’re layering liquid on top of your foundation it really helps to not disturb the foundation underneath. Also useful when you have applied way too much powder highlight it really does help pick up the excess to make for less intense look no one likes a disco ball at work.

There you have just some of my favorite brushes for highlighting that were not purchased for the intended use. Check out your brush collection and have a go who knows what you might find useful when it comes to applying highlighter’s if you have the one product that you’re not too sure about try a different tool to apply it with who knows you might come across something new love cc xx

Becca – Moonstone
Packaging is the silver on top and then the signature Becca brown on the outside this compact has the clip closure with a mirror in the compact which we all know is really handy. Moonstone is a champagne / ivory colour highlight with great pigmentation its soft in texture and isn’t overly powdery and I would like to say it packs a punch but can be applied lightly as well.
I find the product pretty versatile this way if I do apply this one heavy handed I can notice the colour can tend to sit a little light for me even though this one is best suited to my skin. And it does pop beautifully on the skin and it stays. I find a fan brush does apply it more lightly over a bigger brush like a highlight / setting brush but ether off these two will help if you want the real full on Highlight effect.

Brush – pop to highlight on fleek
Fan brush – Little added glow



Becca – Champagne pop
Packaging is the same standard Becca packaging as described above. So it really is a soft butter texture the colour is a real champagne gold / rose gold it’s got the pigment behind it to pack punch I think this is what makes this the product what it is as well as the colour. I really haven’t seen anything else of this shade around and there is no way this colour is comparable to the Mary Luo in my opinion.
It’s everything that you need in spring / summer. Now if you are worried about having to much highlighter I do find applying this one with a fan brush tones this down a lot this is the beauty of this product you can go very light handed for that glow look or go all in if you want to land that plane. I go both, I apply it light for work and when I’m out I go all in and layer and layer so I to can have the POP that we are all craving.
Brush – pop to highlight on fleek
Fan brush – Little added glow

I think Becca has really truly raised the bar for highlights and brought all they could to the table for the magical makeup statement that is strobing or highlight.
It can be hard as well as both of the Becca highlighters are known for them to enhance pores and bumps I tend to avoid applying this product to these areas.
Hope you enjoyed this series love CC xx

Nars Albatross:
The packaging is the signature Nars Packaging the normal black rubber packaging that collects your dirty makeup finger prints with a good clip closure with a little mirror which is pretty good for its size just a little small to be able to do a full face of makeup but is handy for touch ups.
This one was my first ever highlight it’s a oldie but a goodie looks completely white in the pan but when applied it does reflect gold, the product does not apply gold and it doesn’t apply completely white ether on my mid-range fair skin.
Though this highlighter is a little low key but you can build it up to an extent it still doesn’t give that effect of the wet sheen or the major pop which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you are after.
This one I tend to reach for during the week for work as it’s not over the top. I do find this one doesn’t accentuate any bumps or dryness that I have on my skin. I like to use a thick brush to apply this one rather than a normal fan brush as I tend to find it applies it too light. I do find it hard to build up and blend with the fingers with this one.
Brush – Subtle pop

The Balm: Mary Lou Manizer:
The packing to me feels a little on the cheep side but I feel that they made up for it with the mirror the mirror is amazing again has the normal clip closure even though when I did open it I feel like the packaging could break. This should pretty much be in any girl’s makeup draw it is on the lines of pale champagne colour. In the compact but it reflects a champagne colour too. I find this one just a little bit more intense then the Nars. I think it’s a little to pale for my skin if I look up close but from far away its fine I can get away with it maybe not so much in summer though.
I fell that this one didn’t apply that well with a fan brush compared to a Sigma eye shadow brush as I can get more product on my skin for that extra pop. Again when I apply this with my fingers you can really see the product on my skin and its enhancing my pores and bumps
Brush – pop

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish: Soft and Gentle:
I was a little late to this party but I’m still glad I purchased this when I did so it’s a baked highlighter in a golden champagne this product does not apply bronze it does show up on my skin as golden when lightly applied.Packaging wise it’s just standard MAC black packing with clear window which is helpful as you can see the product. There is no clip closure to open but it does feel magnetic I do struggle opening this one on a cold winter’s morning as there is no grove assistance to help, if that is even a thing.
I do like to apply this one with my fingers I feel like it can be applied better that way especial if you want a full bam highlight it does apply well with a brush but it’s hard to build it up so if you want more of a softer highlight the brush application would be the way to go.
Brush = A little pop
Fingers = Highlight on fleek



Urban Decay: Naked Illuminated:

Product is in a think box with magnetic closure I wouldn’t recommend carrying this one around in our handbag’s as I believe the remnants of the kick back of glitter would come out through your hand bag.
There is two section the top one being the giant ball of glitter and the second where they have placed the brush now the brush isn’t too bad it’s synthetic and soft and it is great to use for other highlight on the go, so don’t go disregarding the brush.
Love the product but as a face highlight that I wanted this to be so badly was nothing but a big giant ball of glitter, Yep Glitter it has chunky glitter all through it that when placed on the high points like a highlighter it looks like I have been crying glitter. You can open the box and still see glitter flying out.
So officially I use this as a body highlighter for my décolletage and shoulders and I’ll be honest I use it on my cleavage as well
Cannot be graded unless you want the , I just got bitched slapped by a fairy then this one is for you.
Urban Decay can be found in Mecca Maxima Stores or on line , link's below



Urban Decay
http://mecca.com.au
US laddies www.sephora.com

MAC cosmetics
Mac Can only be purchased through MAC stores MAC counters at your local Myer or David Jones or online http://www.maccosmetics.com.au

With highlighting or strobing if you want to get technically being the top of its game at the moment and all the makeup companies that you can think of bringing out their own highlights its making shopping for that one highlight harder as there is just so many to choose form.

So you could be after a little extra pop or you’re after that highlight on fleek look or maybe your goal is to be able to land a Boeing 747 these are my thoughts on some common highlighters. As we are in Australian winter at the moment we are going to be heading in to spring and summer so one must get ready for highlighting season, am I right laddies?

I thought I would do a collection of my highlights with a little review of how the product works how I find it best applies and rate them for the pop abilities.
All highlighters that I will be mentioning are widely available and I will have links provided on each post.

So keep watching this space laddie’s xx cc

If there is anything that I have been seeing more and more of on social media is the rainbow highlight trend. Now I don’t know of the exact brand that is showing up on social media but I found one. I couldn’t help my self I had to buy it for the fun, let’s be honest it just looks so pretty I couldn’t resist.

The packaging of this highlight had me a little nervous when this product arrived as it was not in a compact it was just the pan. Lipstick republic out did them selves and the product arrived to me safe and sound no crack’s no breakage. As this highlighter is a pan only there isn’t much to talk about packaging wise. I own three Z pallets so I can easily find a forever home in one of those as the pan is magnetic there was no drama’s at all adding it to the Z pallet. The pan it self weigh’s in at 14g and is 57mm so a decent amount of product.
So in the pan it gives of this iridescent rainbow effect witch is just so adorable it was hard to captcha this in a picture, but I got there.Application of this product was a dream it was like the highlighting gods opened up and BAM there it was pure magic.

Even though in the pan at first glimpse it looks like a white iridescent rainbow it did not at all apply this way there is no white cast showing up and with the light reflection you get that pop of rainbow so its doesn’t’ apply direct as a rainbow it was more like a duo chrome effect where you get the changes of colour depending on where the light. This is just absolutely gorgeous and I didn’t go heavy handed with it ether it was a light brush stroke and the outcome is amazing I can still see this on me after 7 hours and my lighting at work is shocking so to be able to see it in florescent lighting environment is great .
For a small indie cosmetic group this was product defiantly had me at first go for them this product has gone straight to my top highlight list. For the sprig summer and festival season coming up in Australian I think this highlight will be the best accessories you can find. I’m not much of a festival goer but I’m very happy to rock this one through our warmer months. So this highlighter retails for $39.00 Australia Dollars and for my American readers retails for $18.00us dollars.

Don’t forget you can follow this blog through google chrome or bloglovin just search for Contour Countess or press the links to the left of my blog Love CC xx





www.devinah.com

For the Australian laddies I got mine at www.lipstickrepublic.com.au

Another product to add to my YouTube made me do it series this being my third one I wouldn’t even know that this product existed if it wasn’t for YouTube the product its self just seemed so flawless on camera so naturally I just had to have it and see for myself.

So the day I wanted to purchase this I went straight to my local David Jones I proceeded and waited at the YSL counter for well over 20 minuets waiting to get served. I finally got served by some one who was not an YSL representative that knew nothing about the product so I was not able to ask the questions I wanted too. On the day of purchase they couldn’t even help me with the correct shade ether I just had to play around with the testers in store and go form there. To be honest I hate the costumer service at my local David jones that’s another rant in it’s self.

The packaging is gold and there are no signs of the YSL logo which I’m a little unhappy about for the product you would expect it to have the YSL logo right? And for 63.00 Australian dollars I want a YSL logo. So its slim gold packing very light weight you click the top for the product to come out through to the brush this concept is well done by YSL because you can control the product like a click pen and the product is then distributed through the brush. The brush its self is soft and not plastic like some other brands which this can be dupable with apparently.
It has a lid which is very stable and clips on very well and the product will not spill out and you can see this would be a great product to take around with you in your hand bag or clutch for a night out.

The product colour looks salmon so it has a pink undertone to it. The product it’s self is creamy and light it does apply well on the skin and blends out really well with any makeup tool that you have. I use a real techniques concealer brush as well as the trust worthy beauty blender. It is very light weight it doesn’t feel heavy at all on the skin near the eye area. As an added bonus for me there is no fragrance to this product, thank god.

When researching this product on the David jones website the description say’s this product can highlight facial features and can create a much rested look buy highlighting underneath the eyes and Due to the pink in it can conceal those dark circle.

Now I cannot determine if this product assists in the cover up of dark circles I do not suffer from this so I am not able to confirm if this product works for this one issue.

What I do not like about this product is when I apply it under my eyes it does brighten the area up as it is meant to do but the product sit’s in my fine lines that my facial expression create and yes I have set this with numerous powder products and it stills does this even though I blend the product up right under my eyes.

Yes the product does do what its say’s but I’m not repurchasing it.

This product has everything going for it in my books and if it did not settle in my fine lines then I would repurchase this but for me that is a deal breaker due to the creasing which age’s me by ten years and I’m only 31.

So this product is now assisting me with cleaning up my contour when using a cream or liquid bronzer. And to highlight in other areas then under my eyes
I hope this little review was helpful keep in mind these are my thoughts on the products and the product was purchased with my own money , Love CC xx

Yes another purchased made purely because I saw it on YouTube the only thing is it toke me a while to purchase it. Okay so I’m not to sure why I even purchased this as I didn’t even see any remarkable transformation when watching you tubers use it. It was more the way they talk about the product that had me intrigued.
So hourglass is known for their Photo luminescent technology in their powder products ranges that they have been bringing out. The theory behind it is that you pick the lighting that you would most want to create I feel like you need a science degree to figure that out. I would love to know more about this brand as I think they are unique with this technology and the concept behind their ranges.
I have been using this product for well over a year I still haven’t created a dent in the products. I was using this product as a setting powder and the powder sets my makeup but that’s just boring and I think the reason why I have not been attached to this pallet was because I was using it incorrectly. I now use the different powders to add depth and dimension to my face and it works but I’m still not over the moon in love with this pallet.
The packaging is really nice and solid the clip closure is secure enough to travel with or great to chuck in a handbag and forget about it. The mirror quality is fine the only annoying thing is the narrowness of it I would struggle doing a full face with this mirror. With the finish of the outer packaging it does tend to smudge and show finger prints which is a pet peeve of mine.
the consistency of the powders I do feel that they are some what chalky but smooth at the same time I do notice that the loose powder tends to collect in the compact up near the mirror. And there is no real scent which is my only love about this product.
Dim light:
This one is my favourite I use this one before I contour as it creates depth and adds a natural looking bronze. There is no added shimmer in this product which is one of the main reason why I concentrate this on my contour arears. Dim light comes of a little pinkie on my skin but it is very light product it is smooth and easy to blend on the skin and over foundation. I don’t need to build this product up for what I use it for but it is buildable.
Incandescent light:
This one is the lightest one in the pallet I use this for the high points of my face exactly where you place highlight. I find the product chalky in texture and I find it sits chalky on my skin too I think it’s a little too white for me so I do have to go very light handed with it when powdering my high points of the face. This defiantly doesn’t highlight though and doesn’t make me glow from within.
Radiant light:
This is the one I hardly use personally I find this one useless. When I do use it I use it to clean up under my contour and to set the T Zone area but other than that I find it pretty useless it does nothing for me, nothing sorry to say.

So would I buy the pallet again, NO sadly not but the pallet did open up the world of hourglass to me and I would be happy to explore more with this brand. I would be happy to say I would repurchase dim light or one that is similar to this in the hourglass range Love cc xx


The pallet is still available through Mecca and retails for $92.00 Australian dollars and can also be found in Sephora for $62.00 US dollars.
For the US ladies www.sephora.com
and for the Aussie ladies www.mecca.com.au

This foundation is not that new on the market but it was released this year in Australia so it’s relatively new.
I saw a few YouTubers rave about how great and dewy this foundation was so naturally I got sucked in to go buy it I don’t even think I saw anyone talk badly about it to be honest.
So I did it I spent 26 Australian dollars (that was on special) on this foundation.
So what are my thoughts on the new Lorel Nude Magique Cushion Foundation?
The concept of the packaging is really on trend at the moment I have seen a few brands come out with their own version it is a handy concept.
So there is a sponge that is soaked in the foundation and it’s placed in the compact with a push type lid so it stays in there, great for the hand bag as its light there is no lid falling off and rolling around in your hand bag this product is fully secure no spills at all. mirror for a full face if you didn’t have anything else.
The product in general has a strong scent it is hard to explain the scent it’s not a floral scent, Kind of reminds me of a great aunt smell, or grandma it’s just too strong for my liking and whatever the smell is, I just don’t like it
One other major dislike this product didn’t even last me a month it contains 14.6 grams of product so if you do the math on that using only 1 gram a day. It would only last two weeks for the cost of 29.99 not on special , It doesn’t make sense to me to be able to use this product every day it works out to be way to expensive. So me wearing this every day for work five days a week it didn’t last long I think just on three weeks in total.
Maybe this foundation is best to keep for touch up’s or maybe a backup foundation in your bag or gym bag this may make the product worthwhile.
Oh and we have the transferring, OMG did this foundation transferred.
I have red lipsticks that don’t transfer as much as this product you could see it clearly transfer on my black coloured shirts and my with shirts look like a foundation battle field.
The coverage is dewy for me a little too dewy but was easy to tame down with a little extra powder in the t-zone and after that I was happier with the outcome I would say it’s light to medium coverage you could build it up to a medium I tried and it just made me look too oily and I have combination skin so I don’t tend to create oil slicks on my face.
So would I buy this product again, umm no I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t even pay the full price for this.
I would buy another brand of the cushion like foundation I do like this concept it is handy as a backup or to keep for touch ups throughout the day the concept works.
Let me know your thoughts on the Nude Magique Cushion foundation.
Love cc xx

You can purchase this at any Priceline, chemist warehouse I would suggest chemist warehouse as they tend to have this product on special the most.

www.priceline.com.au
www.chemistwarehouse.com.au

So it’s been a week scene I have received my July beauty loop box so I thought I would do a little review on the products. Even Though it’s been a week playing with these products it may seem not long enough to review them.
Just don’t thinks there is anything that was ground breaking for skin if there was I would wait for a few weeks if the samples were big enough, let’s get in to it

BareMinerals – Lash Domination Mascara
This is a really nice mascara I’m impressed it doesn’t do much volume wise it does lengthen my lashes and I noticed that they have kept their curl, and I don’t use a lash curler EVER
Its also really light weight too on the lashes so you don’t even notice that you have it on.
I have noticed that the product has not flaked off like some known mascaras and I have sensitive eyes and sitting in front of a computer screens does tend to make my eyes watery and I have noticed this mascara hasn’t run at all, or transferred.
This is going on to my wish list I hope to use this one every day for work but I do like to have a little mascara collation and don’t really own one that is great for lengthening the lashes that I know I can wear every day.

Josie Maran – Argan Cleansing Oil
As a straight cleanser I used it with my clarisonic and it went straight through the brush and despaired I can see it working better if you were to use your hands for washing your face.
I invested good money on my clarisonic and I love it so I’m not going to change that for a 48 dollar product.
As a makeup remove it worked well it removed all my makeup with ease I did have to go back over it with my makeup remove to remove my mascara a bit more.
The scent I am not a fan off ether it’s like a orange citrus scent to be honest the smell reminded me of this bathroom cleaner my mum uses.
I won’t be going ahead to buy the full size as it did not work well with my clarisonic

Ren – V-cense Revitalising Night Cream
I’m a little impressed with this one too it was a really decent trail size I still have plenty to go so I will continue until it is all gone.
It is a really nice Night cream I do wake up and feel that my skin is nourished and soft I can tell that it does hydrate my skin.
I thought the scent was going to annoy me but no it’s not too bad and it despairs after about twenty minutes.
Would like to give it more of a go before I decided to purchase.

NARS: Liquid Laguna Bronzer:
This product applied so smoothly blended like a dreams so easy and the colour is not scary at all Very wearable for me being medium fair.
I did not need to build the colour as I just did a light application its winter here so did not want to go overboard.

The product did not look patchy and I applied it over my foundation I did notice that this did not strip or pull up my foundation underneath which I was surprised with. This product works just as well by itself with no foundation.
I think this will be a purchase for me for this summer, this product is going straight on to the Mecca wish list.
Looks like I have some shopping to do, Love CC xx

Okay, this one is a little random and no! I did not spend my hard earned dollars on purchasing this product I am no sucker I stole it from the boyfriend instead. I’m sure I’m not the only woman who did that I’m sure there were plenty of girls ransacking their man’s bathrooms draws to see if they use this.
 So for me naturally after seeing this plastered on every social media platform from YouTube to Instagram curiosity hit me it was there I had to try it , it wasn’t costing me a thing so why not.
So one of the main reason this is a good primer is one of the main ingredient is Glycerine which is found in most makeup primers anyway.
 I would say this is more of a water based primer I wouldn’t be hopping for any line filler or skin smoothing action with this one.
The product goes on nice and thin as you rub it in to your skin you can start to fill the tackiness , please don’t stress just yet it does go away after a few seconds of drying.
I didn’t find any resistance when applying my daily foundation it buffed in like normal, powders went on fine It didn’t look shiny.
The scent , Yes it smell’s like a freshly showed guy so if you don’t mind that smell then yeah your going to smell like that for most of the day.
So I did notice my makeup didn’t move at all just the normal fading of blush and contour my eyeshadow and liner were still there those products are surely the first to go on me I put that down to those products not the primer I honestly prefer my foundation to stay then blush / contour anyway that’s my preference only cause I can touch them up no problems.
I did see foundation movement around the perimeter of my jaw and chin , but I tend to rest my hands on those area’s so I will not be adding those result in to this review ( I don’t think any primer can hold up to that bad habit )
Removing it was no drama as well easy I use bioderma I fell that gets anything off.
Only thing is I wanted to try this product out for a week I got to the third day mark and I broke out like Justin Bieber during puberty so badly I had to stop there.

My overall my thought

This product will not be my every day primer due to the brake out’s on day three
I will not go out and purchase this product as a primer even though it does work as a primer.
If I ever get stuck and need a urgent primer and don’t have time to order one that doesn’t react to my skin as much I will turn to it I know its there in my bathroom cabinet.
But I will say I think there is other products out there that work just as good and with reasonable price tag I think it was more of a hyped Product because it was so random
Love CC xx

Fell free to try if for your self available at all main supermarkets, Priceline , Chemist Warehouse

So it’s been a week scene I have received my July beauty loop box so I thought I would do a little review on the products.
Even Though it’s been a week playing with these products it may seem not long enough to review them.
Just don’t thinks there is anything that was ground breaking for skin if there was I would wait for a few weeks if the samples were big enough, let’s get in to it

BareMinerals – Lash Domination Mascara
This is a really nice mascara I’m impressed it doesn’t do much volume wise it does lengthen my lashes and I noticed that they have kept their curl, and I don’t use a lash curler EVER
Its also really light weight too on the lashes so you don’t even notice that you have it on.
I have noticed that the product has not flaked off like some known mascaras and I have sensitive eyes and sitting in front of a computer screens does tend to make my eyes watery and I have noticed this mascara hasn’t run at all, or transferred.
This is going on to my wish list I hope to use this one every day for work but I do like to have a little mascara collation and don’t really own one that is great for lengthening the lashes that I know I can wear every day.

Josie Maran – Argan Cleansing Oil
As a straight cleanser I used it with my clarisonic and it went straight through the brush and despaired I can see it working better if you were to use your hands for washing your face.
I invested good money on my clarisonic and I love it so I’m not going to change that for a 48 dollar product.
As a makeup remove it worked well it removed all my makeup with ease I did have to go back over it with my makeup remove to remove my mascara a bit more.
The scent I am not a fan off ether it’s like a orange citrus scent to be honest the smell reminded me of this bathroom cleaner my mum uses. 
I won’t be going ahead to buy the full size as it did not work well with my clarisonic.

Ren – V-cense Revitalising Night Cream
I’m a little impressed with this one too it was a really decent trail size I still have plenty to go so I will continue until it is all gone.
It is a really nice Night cream I do wake up and feel that my skin is nourished and soft I can tell that it does hydrate my skin.
I thought the scent was going to annoy me but no it’s not too bad and it despairs after about twenty minutes.
Would like to give it more of a go before I decided to purchase.

NARS: Liquid Laguna Bronzer:
This product applied so smoothly blended like a dreams so easy and the colour is not scary at all Very wearable for me being medium fair.
I did not need to build the colour as I just did a light application its winter here so did not want to go overboard.
The product did not look patchy and I applied it over my foundation I did notice that this did not strip or pull up my foundation underneath which I was surprised with.
 This product works just as well by itself with no foundation.
I think this will be a purchase for me for this summer, this product is going straight on to the Mecca wish list.
Looks like I have some shopping to do, Love CC xx

 We are friends so let me be totally honest…. I have a problem I’m a self confessed shopaholic but I’m fine with it. I have studied makeup received my diploma in specialized makeup, had to build my kit from scratch. 

Due to work commitments and the fact I have a child makes practicing makeup a little difficult due to time restraints. That’s not going to stop my passion for makeup as that’s growing with every pay check I receive. 
This is where I thought I could just become another beauty blogger, why NOT 

If there is one thing I hate more when it comes to shopping especial online shopping these day’s is wasting my money not only on unnecessary stuff that I pretty much don’t need because some 21 year recommended it on YouTube with their clear gentle skin. 
 I’m over here in my 30s with acne scaring working 9 to 5 with no time in the morning to do a Smokey eye for work cause I’m tired and slept in and have no time to do my hair, nor do I want any glitter near my eye’s as I just spent the day before sitting in front of a computer screen for 8 hours straight looking at spread sheets. 
Yep real life makeup problems. 

So the one thing I hate is spending money on makeup that is just plan crap! It’s pretty frustrating I feel like a kid at Christmas that asked Santa for a puppy and got one of those fur real dogs’s instead aww the disappointment. 

I live in Canberra being that it’s a capital city we do lack in some stores I do tend to purchase a lot of my makeup online pretty much due to this reason so being able to play with the collections before purchasing them is pretty impossible depending on the brand. 
I’m not rich enough to escape to Sydney every time a new collections comes out just so I can visit the wonderful world of mecca maxima to play with new collections and brands, wish I could though No I have to do my research too see if it is worthwhile. 

So maybe it is just more of a blog to learn from my mistakes, working 9 to 5 with a passion for make up and shopping Follow me and see what shopping regrets I have or maybe splurge’s , comparison’s and what has been a totally waste of money 

 Love always cc xx

When I laid this idea out for a blog post I was thinking it was going to go in one direction but it kind of went in a totally different one as one of the products surprised me.
Micellar water for me was a discovery one of many beauty products I came across not really knowing at the time what it really was about.
I will say one product has now replaced the three product’s I would use to remove my makeup which is a given cause I just don’t have time for that.
This post may seem a little one sided but I have spent more time with one of these product so I have been able to use in more way’s then the other.

Garnier Micellar Water
So I tried this product when it was new on the market in Australia and it was a waste of money then so we can all guess where my thoughts were going when thinking of this blog post.
So for the purpose of this post I purchased this again to try it out to see if it was as bad as last time.
I was expecting it to be crap and a waste of five bucks to be honest.
Was so surprised it actually was not bad it removed my makeup not to a full extent though still felt like there was some makeup left on my skin.
There is no scent to this which is great there was no sort of reside felling left over which is another bonus.
I was also surprised that my skin wasn’t left with the dry tight feeling after.
I did notice it struggled with water proof mascara and I had to add a little elbow grease when it came to removing my eyeliner. I did notice it reacted a little with my blemishes.
The removal process included light foundation + waterproof eye makeup = 3 makeup pads saturated
For thicker foundation that included 4 to 5 makeup pads saturated.

Bioderma Micellar Water:
Okay this product is hands down my Holy Grail product I think I actually would die if I didn’t have it.
I had this product given to me by a friend when I was studying makeup I can say now that I really had put this product to the test.
When I mean test, special effects, adhesive and waxy residue, calming the skin after latex
I have been using the sensitive one for some time now,
There is no scent with this product
It removes all my makeup with easy and I’m talking stubborn waterproof eye makeup including glue from fake eyelashes.
I don’t get that dry tight feeling ether after use, Can I say that feeling is a deal breaker for me.
The products has never reacted to my blemishes when removing my daily makeup.
I have never noticed this product leaving a residue ether after use.


The removal process included light foundation + waterproof eye makeup = 2 makeup pads just a little over damp
For thicker foundation that included 2 to 3 makeup pads a little over damp.

When I compare both of the products even though I haven’t used the Garnier product for long or given it a good testing.

I did notice I was using more of the Garnier product when removing my daily makeup then the Bioderma I don’t require as much of that to do the job.
For Garnier I would give it a rate 75% of it doing its job and the price point isn’t too bad considering.
I personally think you would go through the Garnier product quicker than the bioderma.

Still to this day I would give Bioderma a 100% I have used it on myself for a few years, as well as stocked it in my freelance kit.
You may think the price is a little expensive but I tend to buy the 250ml bottle and this one will last me well over 6 months and that sets me back $31.99

Bioderma can be found in all Priceline’s and on their website.
Garnier can be found pretty much anywhere, major supermarkets as well as target and Kmart ect and can be found in Priceline also.

I’m not one to jump on the YouTube collaboration band wagon but as I have been following Jacklyn for some time and she did not disappoint with her first creation of champagne pop.
I’m just in love with that every time I apply it and the fact that this pallet is a face pallet I already had the excuse there to purchase it, I actually didn’t have anything like it all ready.


Let’s talk packaging,
This pallet had me at gold, I am a sucker for gold at the moment, but the white and gold it just looks luxurious. The packing is a durable plastic it does not feel like it’s going to brake in my hands it has a closure on it which is easy to use but isn’t going to come open when traveling.
Can we talk about the amazing sized mirror which is the size of the pallet it’s self its very clear and handy to use while doing your makeup on the go and it doesn’t make the pallet top heavy it’s not going to fall out of your hands. My only pet peeve is due to the pallets patent gold I do tend to see my finger marks, that’s my own issue though.

With the highlighter pop pans as they are sitting of center to a pallet may drive the OCD laddies a little crazy but it does come in handy when holding whilst doing your makeup as your thumb doesn’t dig in CP pan.
Overall it’s a decent size, the pan size for both highlighters are very generous, blushes are a little bit smaller but they are still big enough that you can fit your standard blush brushes in.


Champagne Pop, ( CP )
Do we even need to discuss I’m sure there is a million reviews on this one alone all over the net so I will not bore you with this one. Yes it’s the same as the original and we love it.

Prosecco Pop, ( PP )
God dam it really is the sister just a more golden based, it just slides on to your skin, the shimmer is there, it’s a dream – sadly due to winter this little puppy will not get a workout from me until summer and due to my pale skin I don’t think I will be rocking this one in the day time I think I will reserve it for night time outings.

Rose Spritz – Luminous Blush
Now I’m under the impression this is not one of her creations and more of a Becca limited blush as it is not getting released in to the split pans but flowerchild is by reading the description this maybe a renamed version based around flowerchild they both have similar descriptions.
But Jesus I need this blush in my life every day, the pink and the gold reflex is my jam.
The consistence its self is on par with the high lighters, maybe a little bit creamier.
It applies like a dream on the skin and blends out. It looks scary in the pan and wouldn’t be for someone who doesn’t like the gold reflex but I can guaranty its no gold glitter so we are winning with this one.

Pamplemousse – Mineral Blush
To be honest I saw this one in the pan and thought I’m not going to wear this one ever.
This is the blush for the ones that hate the reflex , matte pink looks scary but just a tap of your brush in the pan is pretty much all I needed , again another shade that will become useful in summer when tanned.
For a mineral matte blush consistency is smooth, blends well and the pigment is there to back it up.

Amaretto – Mineral Blush
To be hones this one would be the most useless shade in the pallet, and I feel that this maybe the feeling that some would question prior to purchasing.
It in fact has a little bit of a pink undertone which I was surprised with it’s still not a shade I can rock during the day.

I do have further plans for this shade in summer as it would make a pretty bronzer if you mix it prosecco pop (for me I will have to be tanned) and may have to use this combination for night time outings.
It does swatch as matte shade with a pink undertone, texture is soft a smooth and blends like a dream also.

In the description on the back of the box it states “you can create endless combinations “
I do 100 percent believe this and if you look at with an open creative mind I thinks this is how the pallet can work and be used diversely this pallet brings out my creative side I hope it brings out the creativity in others as well.
Congrats to Jaclyn she has done it again,I only wish it was spring / summer so I could go all out and use it to its full potential.

As this pallet was $52 in the states it’s an absolute steel, think about it you can’t buy two Becca highlighters for that amount.
For the Aussie laddies it’s really hard to determine Sephora’s prices the best of times especially with our dollar I have tried to research on the price and the word on the street is that it may be more along the lines of $92 dollar’s but it is a big chunk of money to part with. But again the CP Becca highlighter in Sephora Aus is $64 dollars so for an extra $28 dollars you’re getting three blushes, and extra highlighter it isn’t too bad when you think of it that way depending if it does sell for that amount. Sephora always loves to surprise us with their pricing.


The new Jacklyn x Becca collection will be released in Sephora Australian stores and online on Monday the 11 of July.