Seasonal Favourite - Lush 'Snow Fairy' + a new perfect partner!

One of the only times I get really excited about Christmas goodies being available super early is when I see this seasonal body wash back in Lush. Time to stock up again!

Snow Fairy from Lush is a vegan friendly sugar sweet body wash that is only released for Christmas time each year. It smells like it looks, a fairy floss delight with a hint of fruit and musk! It's a bright pink with a blue/purple fine glitter in it, but the glitter definitely doesn't show up on your skin. I think it's just there to make it more magical. ^_^

If you aren't a fan of sweet smells in the shower, this might not be for you, but I have found that with it's new partner in crime (Rub Rub Rub, also by Lush) it definitely tones it down a little and changes the scent. You really need to get them to try it in store on you (that's how I fell in love with this new combo) to really experience the combo properly before buying.

The 'Rub Rub Rub' body scrub is a smooth paste of really fine particles so it's not overly abrasive, but still leaves your skin smooth and exfoliated and smelly amazing! You can use it on it's own of course too, and it smells great by itself, but I am definitely a fan of this combo.

Lush describes Rub Rub Rub as:

"a bit of a variation on the normal shower gel. Sea salt is gently exfoliating, extra cleansing and mineral-rich. After scrubbing, it dissolves in water, leaving your plughole free of blockages. This new blue scrub is startlingly refreshing, with a dash of lemon juice and the tropical scent of mimosa blossom. Just hop in the shower and rub, rub, rub!"

[image from www.lush.com.au]

If you're a fan of sweet bath and shower gels then this is definitely one to check out. I've been buying it for 3 years now and I always stock up with a few bottles to last me through the year. 

You can purchase Snow Fairy by Lush in 3 sizes: 

- 100g / $9.95 aus

- 250g / $16.50 aus

- 500g / $29.95 aus

Rub Rub Rub by Lush comes in one size: 330g / $12.95 - a little goes a long way with this product though. 

I purchased mine in store, and you can check your local store on their website here: https://www.lush.com.au/shop/common/store_locations . You can also purchase online if you're not close to any stores. :) It's also a great gift idea! Cute and cheap. 

Have you tried Snow Fairy or Rub Rub Rub by Lush? What is your favourite Lush product? x

New Goods - NEW Venus Palette from Lime Crime

There's a new Lime Crime palette in town, and it's a lot more grown up than any of the previous palettes!

If you're a fan of Lime Crime makeup I'm sure you've seen this new palette around the internet already, but I couldn't resist sharing my verdict on the new "grunge" palette Venus too!

I recently stopped into the opening day sale for the new shop for http://www.makeupnet.com.au/ which is the Australian distributor for Lime Crime (meaning everyone in Australia and NZ that stocks Lime Crime is stocked through them)! It's exciting to have a shop so close to me that physically stocks Lime Crime products as I don't always want to take the risk of buying colours from the internet without testing them first, and being the stockist they will always have the stock before anyone else and have the biggest range!

Lime Crime describes the Venus palette as:

"Mash Botticelli's classical painting with the rebellion of the early 90s, and you get VENUS: The Grunge Palette.

In a sea of nude palettes, VENUS emerges with 8 game-changing, unconventional "new-trals" and rusty-reds. Full-sized, recklessly pigmented eyeshadows mesh flawlessly for a nu-grunge look with a soft, painterly finish. Beautiful mirrored box with kitschy artwork makes this palette the ultimate collectible artifact!"

I must say the packaging on this palette (as with most of the Lime Crime packaging) is absolutely stunning! The bright blue mixed with the gold foil makes for a perfect match. It's a little bit of an odd shape, and a little thicker than most palettes I own, but not to the point that it would be hard to travel with. The packaging being a little bit thicker actually makes it feel super secure as the mirror fits tightly in against the shadows meaning there's extra padding.

There are 8 colours in this palette and I think they would all go together in any combination that you try. From what I've tested so far that's definitely true.

The colours as described by Lime Crime are:

VENUS: The color of bruised fruit (velvet matte)
SHELL: Opalescent shell-pink (glow)
AURA: Golden ivory (glow)
CREATION: Rust brown (matte)
ICON: Dirt brown (matte)
REBIRTH: The color of an over-ripe nectarine (matte)
DIVINE: Dusty stone (matte)
MUSE: Deep burgundy red (matte)

The colour payoff on all of the shadows is great! There was a little bit of crumbling when swatching and only a tiny bit when using the shadows for my look, but I always control the shadow going on my eyes with the back of my hand by tapping it into my skin beforehand anyway so I don't think it's enough for it to be an issue.

I love that most of the shadows are matte, with only 2 "glow" shades as Lime Crime describe them which is perfect for highlights and giving the eye more depth.

This palette is definitely not your normal nudes though, and if you're not used to a bruised red colour with your eye you may feel a bit strange at first, but I say embrace it! I love that there is so much more room for experimentation for eyes and lip colours these days. This palette being so popular is another great example of that!

I love this colour palette for my green eyes, but the tones are sure to bring out most eye colours. For a more grunge look I wear the colours smoky around my eyes without a big liner wing, like in the pictures below. I have also used the more brown/peach shades with a big liner for a less grunge look so it's certainly still versatile in that way.

In the look below I've used divine as a base, and rebirth in the crease to warm the whole look. From there I layered Venus and Muse together all around the outside of the eye and finished with a spot of Aura inside each inner eye to brighten the whole look. I finished this simply with mascara and used the 'Wicked" Velvetine (also from Lime Crime) to really bring the look together.

This is the same look as above below but without the lipstick. You can see how you can tone down the look a lot without having such a bold lip. 

This palette retails for $55 on Makeupnet with FREE express shipping, or you can purchase it directly from the Lime Crime website for US$42 and a flat rate for shipping of US$10.95. I have ordered direct from the Lime Crime website before and it takes between 2 - 3 weeks generally to get here. I purchased this palette from the new Makeupet shop in Moonee Ponds so I could get it straight away! I purchased a few more goodies too as they had 30% off so I'll post those up soon too. 

What do you think about the new Venus grunge palette by Lime Crime? Do you think you'll add this one to your makeup collection? x

FOTD - Where's My Coffee? Ft. Coffee, Black by Portland Black Lipstick Co. + a review!

I know a deep coffee coloured brown isn't something I would have seen myself wearing 3 years ago, but I love this new trend of bold lip colours and this is one of the great ones!

I stumbled upon the indie brand Portland Black Lipstick Co. when one of my favourite instagram makeup artists I follow @jessicahazemua posted a few of their shades that she had sampled. After doing a bit more research I decided to make a purchase of a few shades for myself!

After a bit of a rocky start (the order took around 6 weeks to arrive, however I received extra samples as a means of saying sorry, and a lovely email from the company apologising for the delay caused by a backlog of orders) I received the 3 colours I ordered in the full size - Artificial Amethyst (a metallic dark purple), Indigo Bridge (a dark metallic blue bordering on black),  and the colour pictured above Coffee, Black (a very dark brown with warm undertones).

Swatches from L to R: Indigo Bridge, Artificial Amethyst, and Coffee, Black.

I also received samples of Gilded Lily (a gold foil), Pewter Couldron (described as the colour of duct tape by Portland Black Lipstick Co. Haha), Bad Penny (metallic copper), Perfect Foil (metallic silver), and Graey (a light grey). Samples can be purchased of any colour for $2, and I had selected a few but was also gifted with several by the company as an apology for the lateness of the products. I think samples are such a GREAT idea. When ordering very odd lip colours like this especially, it's not likely that you will go through a whole tube of metallic gold lipstick for most people.

As you can see from the wide selection above I was drawn to this brand for their very unique colour range. I had not seen metallic lip colours like this from any brands in Australia, and was excited to try them out.

The packaging on these lipsticks is a little odd. It's more like an old school chap stick than a luxe lipstick, but I believe that's part of the company charm. If you visit their website you'll see what I mean. I definitely use a lip brush to get a neat edge with these, so if you're not familiar with using a lip brush these might be a little tricky. Worth the extra effort though in my opinion.

The packaging is much the same as a "chap stick" and the lipstick within is flat to the tube.

These lipsticks all wear so well. They are incredibly pigmented, rich and moisturising and stay on for quite a while. I'd say they are no where near a long lasting all day lipstick like a velvetine, but compared to a normal lipstick, say a MAC lipstick for instance, these wear longer than that for me. Even eating isn't too damaging to the lip colour. It will however leave a mark on any glass you drink from, and edges must be kept neat unless you have a perfect matching liner (hard to find I think!).

This has turned more so into a review of the Portland Black Lipstick Company lipsticks instead of a simple face of the day post but oh well, it's a 2 for 1 kind of day! Haha.

Products used for this look: 

Primer: Smashbox - Photo Finish Foundation Primer 

Foundation: Nars - Sheer Glow foundation in Mont Blanc

Concealer: Bare Minerals - Correcting Concealer in shade 'Light 1'

Powder: Bare Minerals - Original Foundation powder in shade 'Fairly Light'

Eye Primer: Benefit - Stay Don't Stray

Eyeshadow: MAC - 'Scene' eyeshadow all over

Lashes: Benefit - They're Real mascara

Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills - Brow Powder Duo in shade 'Medium Brown'

Cheeks: Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 hour blush - in shade 'Blushing Bride'

Lips: Portland Black Lipstick Company - Coffee, Black

What do you think of this take on the bold lip? Have you tried any great indie lipstick brands lately that you've loved? x

Curls Ahoy - How to create a soft curl in your own hair

Today I'm going to show you a few simple steps for how to get movie star worthy waves! The above photo on the left is immediately after brushing out the curls, and the right is the next day after sleeping on them. :)

This is my favourite hairstyle on myself now that I have shorter hair. I definitely do not regret making the chop and getting a medium length hairstyle. I style my hair a LOT more now that it's a a medium length, and it's so much easier to maintain it. 

...but that's not the point. So here I go, how to get a soft curl in your own hair using a hot iron curling wand. 

1. TOOLS... 

- A curling iron (mine has a clamp and is medium width - Babyliss Curling Iron, ceramic 32mm ) 

- Large section clips or something like a hair tie to keep your hair up and out of the way

- Small pin curl clips (similar to these will work, or even bobby pins if you don't have any)

- Brush (mine is this bristle brush from wasp)

2. SECTION YOUR HAIR...

I found the easiest way to work through all the hair without missing any on myself was to part down the centre (like for pigtails), then tie this off to one side. With the loose section leave one layer about 3cm in width all the way across the bottom of this half of your head. The rest of the hair should be twisted up and clipped out of the way like in the photo on the left below.

3. CREATING THE CURL...

Use the hot iron to curl the hair in small sections. Try to roll the hair along the length of the barrel so that it all heats evenly. It's also important when using a clamp iron to make sure the ends are smooth underneath or you'll end up with a kink in the hair ends!
I like to touch my hair to make sure that it's heated all the way through (be careful if you do this not to touch the iron itself and burn yourself), and then count for another 5 - 10 seconds depending on how thick each piece is.

4. PINNING THE CURLS...

This step isn't absolutely necessary, but it does help with the longevity of your curls. :)
Once you release the hair from the curler, re-curl the hair into the same curl that it held on the hot iron (it should easily reshape as you bend it around) and then pin it into place with the small pin curls. I found it easiest to pin them down flat on top of itself, but if you have more hair and want to pin them out round on the side that's perfectly ok too!

5. REPEAT, AND REPEAT, AND REPEAT...

Continue with this process, by working your way from the bottom up to the top, and pinning each section as you go.

After you pin a few rows, help set the curls with a soft spray with hairspray. This should help the curls hold once they're brushed out.

When you finish one side, repeat this process for the other side of your head. It took me a while to do it all because I have really thick hair. You might not end up with as many pinned curls as me, or you may end up with more. It's hard to do the back of your hair, so just do your best!

6. LET THE CURLS COOL...

Like I said earlier, it doesn't have to be perfect. It's hard to curl your own hair, and this is how mine ended up looking. Obviously the left side was my better side. Haha.

The curls can stay in this position until they are cool or as long as you want to leave them like that pretty much. If you wanted to curl your hair early in the morning for an event that night then you can leave the curls pinned in all day. That way the brushed out curls will be super perky for the evening still.

If you didn't pin your hair up while they were cooling they may just end up being a little more loose, but you should definitely still get the desired effect. The first time I tried curling my own hair I didn't pin it, and it turned out fine. It's just definitely beneficial to pin it if you can as it makes it neater and easier in my opinion as well as holding the curl.

7. WHILE YOU WAIT...

While your hair is pinned up out of the way this is the perfect time to do your makeup! 

I went out in public with my hair pinned up like this too. I say "own it!". It's nothing like the end result, but embrace the inner Nanna style of the pinned curls. :D

8. BRUSH IT OUT...

Using your brush gently brush through to turn the separated curls into a nice soft wave. You should be able to mould the curls with your hands into place once you've brushed them out too. I like to flip mine over into a side part as well to create the big romantic swept side look. 

9. SPRAY IT DOWN...

Once you have the shape in place and you're happy with it, spray hairspray from about 15cm away all over your head to set the hair in place. You can use the hairspray to keep any fly-away's down too. 

Final look - Left: just after being brushed out, Right: after being slept on

And you're done! All up this took me about 2 hours because, like I said, I have really thick hair. If you can convince a friend to do it for you, you can get them to do it in layers all the way around your head instead of splitting the hair in half and bringing it forward. It should take less time that way too because the hard part for me is always getting the tool on the right angle and holding it up on that weird angle without burning myself. Haha. [PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH ANY HOT TOOLS]

For me the curl was of course the best immediately after brushing it out, but the curl shape held quite well for almost a full week until I washed my hair again. This is not something I do every week, as I just don't have the time, but for special events (like my birthday in this case) it's a great alternative to paying a hairdresser to style it for you.

Doing this technique with thicker and thinner hot irons will effect your end look, so feel free to experiment and let me know what you think works best! You can also pin parts of the hair up, or all of it into a bun for different curled hairstyle variations.

What do you think about this technique? How do you curl your hair with a hot iron? x