Saturday 7 May 2016

Anastasia Beverly Hills - Liquid Lipstick Spring Collection; Stripped, Crush and Dolce!

ABH LIQUID LIPSTICKS 

Soooo, I haven't posted in like two months, BUT, that's because I've been busy buying and testing makeup!!! 😉

About 2-3 weeks ago I got 3 of the brand new Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipsticks from their spring collection. I got the shades Stripped, Crush and Dolce.

Stripped, Crush, Dolce

STRIPPED: Stripped is a pretty light beigy nude shade. I have very fair skin so it suits me. Alot of nude shades are too warm for my skin and look odd. 

CRUSH: So Crush is my favourite liquid lipstick out of these 3, maybe out of my whole collection of liquid lipsticks. It's this perfect light nude pink shade and it looks amazing on the lips. 

DOLCE: Dolce is so pretty. It's a coral pink shade but it's not in-your-face kind of bright. It's a bit muted, I also love this shade, just perfect for a pop of colour that's not crazy. 

FORMULA/WEAR/ETC: The formula on these is fairly thick, but also very creamy and easy to apply. Quite a bit comes out on the applicator and the applicator can make it apply streaky so you have to work quickly to get a smooth application, but it's not that hard. They dry down completely matte, no transfer etc, but they don't feel drying, they are incredibly comfortable on the lips. They wear just like every liquid lipstick. I have probably 60+ liquid lipsticks, and the all wear off when you eat and drink, it just happens. So it's hard to say how these compare. Without food and drink, they're fine and last hours. Depending on what you're eating or drinking, they can last quite well and only wear on the inside bit, and they're easy to touch up. 

The end verdict is these are definitely worth the money. The shipping was only $17.95 USD which is very good. And I think I'll definitely buy more in the future. I got these direct from the Anastasia Beverly Hills website! 

Thanks! Xo. 

Friday 4 March 2016

BARGAIN!!! $3 MODE MATTE LIP CREAMS! REVIEW

Hiya!!! So I found something the other day which made me pretty excited. As I was shopping at Coles, blowing my money on unnecessary food, I came across a new display in the makeup section. They had added two brands, Australis and Mode. Most people know of Australis but I'd never seen Mode before. Turns out they are both owned by Heritage Brands. Anyways every item in the Mode range are priced at $3 each! Yes, $3 AUD. Normally when I see prices like that, I assume they probably won't be of decent quality, I'm sure I'm not the only Aussie girl who thinks this. And it's simply because makeup in Aus is never that cheap, unless it's from the cheap shop/dollar store. They have a range of things; foundation, powder, bronzer, blush, eyeliner, lipliner, lipstick and.......... Matte lip creams!!! 
Since I was a bit iffy about their quality, I just grabbed one, shade 'hottie'. I also bought an Australis primer and the newly formulated Maybelline Super Stay Foundation in 003. 

Anyways first impression was pretty darn good. Pigmented, yes. No weird smell? Check. Did it feel bad on my lips? Not at all. I would explain this shade as a red with a berry tone. You can thin the shade out to be more berry coloured. 


I was so impressed that I went back the next day and got the other 4 colours available: Sleeping Beauty, Jadore, Exotic Jewel, Russian Skies and Hottie on the end. 


The packaging is simple. A reasonably hard plastic tube with minimal detail printed on the outside. I like the packaging, especially for $3, plus you buy something for the product, not the packaging. 

All of these matte lip creams are very pigmented, apply smoothly and best of all, that sry completely matte. They won't transfer or smudge and they don't make your lips look dry and powdery. 


They have a doe foot applicator, which could be better by making it smaller and flexible, but its definitely not a deal breaker. The other downside is they take a long time to dry. I would have to walk around with my mouth open, BUT once they're dry, they're amazing. I have tried Colourpop, Kylie Cosmetics, The Balm, NYX, Chi Chi, Australis and Sleek liquid lipsticks/lip creams, and these are definitely one of the best so far. 

I would recommend these to everyone. They're $3 each, you can't go wrong. Give them a try and let me know if you like them! P.S Heritage Brands has an online site where you can shop all their brands, however, the matte lip creams are not available online at the moment. 

Thanks! Kellyyyyy. 

Saturday 20 February 2016

Chi Chi - Soft Matte Lip Cream Collection - NEW!

Chi Chi Soft Matte Lip Cream Collection - REVIEW

Heya, so as mentioned in my previous review of the Sleek Matte Me liquid lipsticks, I actually went to target to buy this new Chi Chi collection of Soft Matte Lip Creams. So let's get into it. 

As a lot of us Aussies know, Chi Chi have a liquid lipstick range out called "Creamy Matte" and to all of our disappointment, they do not dry matte whatsoever. They are beautiful shades and very pigmented but they stay wet. So recently Chi Chi released a lip collection of Soft Matte Lip Creams. They have shown a few pictures of them on Instagram and they appear to dry matte, so as I'm writing this, I am waiting for them to dry on my arm, and trying not to wipe them all over my white desk :/ 

Front and Back Packaging. 
L-R: Simply Stunning, Flirt, Crazy in Love, Socialite & Drama Queen.

The packaging is very similar to alot of Chi Chi's products. Clear hard plastic bottle with a shiny black lid and silver writing. It has a small doe foot applicator - just your basic applicator. They come in a set of 5 and retail for $25. You can find these online at chichicosmetics.com or in store at Target - they are not online yet. I believe they will also be at Myer shortly. And they are not tested on animals, only on family & friends! Unfortunately it doesn't tell you how much product it contains, but I would guess about 4 grams each. 

SIMPLY STUNNING

This is a beautiful nude-ish tone with shades of orange and pink mixed together. I love these sorts of shades, however they don't always suit me - some do though. It's an easy to wear everyday shade and would suit so many different skin tones. 

FLIRT

I have this shade in the Creamy Matte version and I can't tell much difference with this version in terms of colour. It's a muted nude beige tone, I think my creamy matte liquid lipstick is a little more grey toned than this one, however I haven't compared them side by side. This is one of those popular nude shades at the moment - will suit most people, it's so pretty. 

CRAZY IN LOVE

I'd crazy in love as a medium bright barbie pink tone. This is a versatile shade - always popular! 

SOCIALITE

I would describe this a baby pink tone. It's a light-ish bright pink tone - yet not like a fluoro pink. Gorgeous for people who can pull this colour off, but it's not for everyone. 

DRAMA QUEEN

So I'm generally not huge on purple shades, just because they're so different and not an everyday colour. You can also notice a huge difference when a lip product like purple wears off. However this is a darker purple, slightly wine toned. Would be an event/night out/dress up colour for me! 

L-R as previous picture.
Bottom picture is me wearing Crazy in love, excuse my skin.

PROS + CONS

These are a creamy consistency and very pigmented. Good price. No scent. Very creamy and easy to apply. The collection contains all very usable colours - nothing crazy. 

The bad part is, I swatched these on my arm about half an hour ago and they are no where near dry. As shown in a picture on Chi Chi's instagram, there are swatches of them dry - but maybe it's the way the photo was taken or magic! because these aren't drying. However they still feel nice on and creamy - but once you try to drink or something, it'll wear off much easier. 

Thanks for reading!

Kelly, x. 



Sleek Makeup - Matte Me Liquid Lipsticks!

Sleek Matte Me Ultra Smooth Matte Lip Cream - REVIEW



So today, I got my hair done (just the regrowth - being blonde is hard work, sort of) and as always I do a bit of shopping afterwards. I had seen Chi Chi's new Soft Matte Lip Cream Collection on their Instagram page for $25, knowing Target always had a sale on, I waited to purchase it. Anyways, while I was there I became soooo excited when I saw that Target now sells theBalm & Sleek Makeup!!!!! I probably looked a little crazy in the store because I was so excited. theBalm isn't sold in stores anywhere near me, and I have never seen Sleek Makeup in any Australian stores. 

Onto the Matte Me Liquid Lipsticks, I'd briefly heard about them but wasn't sure if they would be decent, so I swatched them on my hand while I was browsing. They dried so quickly and were super pigmented so I bought 5 of the 6 shades. I didn't get the purple shade, fandango purple, as I would never wear it although it was beautiful and super pigmented also. I got Brink Pink 432, Rioja Red 433, Party Pink 434, Petal 435 & Birthday Suit 436, as shown below in order from left to right. 


I personally really like this packaging. Trademark Sleek design, as with all their products, it has a black matte lid with Sleek Makeup in a sheen. The tube is a hard clear plastic, the product looks exactly the same as when it's applied. Doesn't feel cheap, very simple pretty packaging. They have a long thin doe foot applicator.

BRINK PINK 432

Brink Pink is a super bright hot pink colour. It is absolutely gorgeous. Not something I would wear normally, however it was so pretty and vibrant, I had to get it. It's probably something I'd use just for pictures or when I'm going out for the night. 

RIOJA RED 433

Rioja Red (not sure how to pronounce that) is probably the most stunning red lipstick I've ever owned/tested. Red's can often be a little low on pigments and require a few coats, however this one definitely does not need that. As state previously, all off these are very pigmented. This colour didn't make my teeth look yellow either. 

PARTY PINK 434

This colour is more a red to me than a pink. It's sort of like, a fluoro red, if that makes sense. Has a tinge of orange to it, but I would say it's easily noticeable. Part Pink is another colour that I wouldn't wear often - and more of an event/photo lipstick. 

PETAL 435

Petal is a light pink, but not like a milky light pink, it's name suits it quite well. It is a nice light pretty pink but not too bright. My lips are naturally dark but this covered it pretty well. This one may require two coats depending on your lip colour, although when I tested this, I did it in my car in a car park - not the best lighting. This colour actually really suited my super pale skin. 

BIRTHDAY SUIT 436

Birthday Suit is a nude beige kind of colour. Very popular colour at the moment and it's very pretty. I haven't tested this on my lips yet, but I think it will be a lipstick I could wear whenever as it's not too bright, or too light for my lips.

L-R; Brink Pink, Rioja Red, Party Pink, Petal & Birthday Suite.

FORMULA, PIGMENTATION, LONGEVITY, PROS + CONS

This is one of the only matte liquid lipsticks available in stores, I guess in the "drugstore" bracket, although we don't use that slang in Aus. Now that these are available in stores, makes them even better! So many people have probably never heard of Sleek Makeup, but they're an awesome brand. These retail for $14.95 at Target. They contain 6ml / 0.21floz.

They dry completely matte within about 30 - 60 seconds, depending on how many layers/how thick it is of course. And they will not move. These are quite a liquidy thin consistency, which I actually really like as opposed to the Nyx Soft Matte Lip Creams. The pigmentation in these is INSANE. as you can see from the swatches, just one quick swipe and they are completely opaque. These are also a little difficult to remove, an oil based makeup remover is advised, otherwise you may lose the skin off your lips hahaha not really. I don't think they're overly drying at all, they are matte so they do show the lines in your lips as expected.

The downside to these is that as soon as you start to eat & drink, as with most lip products, they wear off quickly, especially on my bottom lip. I found my top lip didn't wear off much. When they wear off, they do flake, I wouldn't say it's too bad though. However I think that's something they could improve. 

But all in all, for $14.95 each, these are definitely worth trying and purchasing! And I hope they bring out more colours, 6 is totally not enough. 

Thanks for reading!! 

Kelly, x. 



Thursday 30 October 2014

Makeup Revolution Iconic 1 & 3 Palettes - review!

This review will be on the UK brand, Makeup Revolution London, on palettes Iconic 1 and Iconic 3. I'm sure you already know or assume these are dupes for the UD Naked 1 & 3 palettes. Now I already own the UD Naked 2 palette, as well as a MUA dupe, so I thought it'd be silly to get another dupe. I also haven't been able to bring myself to spend so much money on more UD naked palettes. They're good quality yes, but I think the price is much too high for what you get. In Australia, it's usually $66-$85 to buy a UD Naked palette, excluding the shipping! Anyways on to the review,

These palettes were very affordable and I had seen pretty good reviews on them. I had a pretty big order, 5 eye palettes, 2 blush/contour palettes, eyebrow palette, bronzer and single blusher - these were a mixture of Makeup Revolution and their "sister brand "I <3 Makeup". They were $7.24 AUD each + $14.38 shipping for everything.


So these are basically exact dupes for the naked palettes, well appears to be. I think these are amazing quality for their cost. Well pigmented, soft, easy to blend and the case is pretty sturdy, although plastic. I have included swatches in the photos. The first photo Is the Iconic 1 and the second photo is the Iconic 3. Both pictures have been taken with flash.

So definitely check out makeup revolution, awesome products and they ship internationally. Definitely worth it!


Wednesday 8 October 2014

FACE OF AUSTRALIA GLAMAZON BLUSH AND HIGHLIGHT KIT - MINX - REVIEW

This is a quick review on the cute little duo from FOA I bought a few weeks ago. I got this from Big W for less than $10 AUD. It's one if two Glamazon duos but the other one wasn't there. I believe it has a bronzer and highlight. The packaging is black hard plastic with a zebra print on the front. Open it up, it has the two shades and a mirror. The products themself feel quite smooth and nice. The pink blush is matte and the highlight has a fine shimmer. They are well pigmented and was definitely worth it. I use these regularly and they're great for pale skin. 



Monday 29 September 2014

MUA EYESHADOWS - PALETTES + SINGLES

I think a lot of people have heard of the UK brand MUA (Makeup Academy). They have super cheap cosmetics. I bought them off their website, the prices are in pounds but you can change the currency. I bought a bunch of things super cheap. This review is on 3 palettes which were $7.20 AUD each!!!! And one single eyeshadow which was $1.80. How can you not try them. They ship to Aus - and the shipping is very good. I think I paid $13.50! Also, some cosmetics are sold through Crush Cosmetics but I think it was cheaper direct.

So firstly I'll start off with the single eyeshadow I bought. It's a pearly bright lime green. It's 2g of shadow. Black base packaging with a clear lid. Not all of their cosmetics have names, this eyeshadow is just shade 2. But it's Soooo smooth and pigmented, and even more so over the MUA primer. I was legitimately surprised! Swatch shown below.


Secondly, the MUA Undress Me Too Palette. This was $7.20, it has 12 shades which are incredibly similar to the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette - I found this out after I had purchased it. I already have that palette so I should have bought the Undress Me palette. But I think it's amazing anyway. Its 9.6g.
The other palettes I got was the Glamour Nights (12 eyeshadows - 9g) and Poptastic (12 eyeshadows - 9.6g).
These all apply so well over the MUA Eye Primer. The palettes aren't huge but c'mon look how cheap they are. They are super smooth and creamy. Almost like a cream shadow, and very pigmented. It comes with your usual double ended sponge brush. The shade names are on the back of the palette. Swatches below done using my finger over primer. I especially love the pinks! Most of the shades are shimmery/pearly/frost, and a couple mattes.

MUA UNDRESS ME TOO.




MUA GLAMOUR NIGHTS. This palette does not have shade names. 



MUA POPTASTIC.




For what these are worth, it's definitely worth buying to try. I also bought a bunch of other MUA cosmetics that I will review when I can. Please comment and share. Let me know if you'd like any reviews or info in particular. Ta. K.