FOTD - A Fierce Utopia

Determined to use all my new Lime Crime products on a regular basis I thought I'd give this new Velvetine another run! I haven't tried it with my new hair colour yet, so here's a look from when I was still blonde. 

This lip colour is described as a 'blue based orchid' but it is still most definitely very purple! This is another great colour for those with green eyes that want to use the complimentary colour to give their eyes that extra kick. 

This time I decided to pair the bold lip colour with a nice big liner wing, and some pretty pink/purple hues to match the overall look. I added some pretty false lashes to keep my lashes still quite noticable even with the heavy liner which really adds some emphasis and balance on the eyes vs. lips. 

Products used for this look: 

Primer: Smashbox - Photo Finish Foundation Primer 

Foundation: Nars - Sheer Glow Foundation in shade 'Mont Blanc'

Concealer: Bobbi Brown - Corrector in shade 'Porcelain Bisque' for under eyes and highlights and 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 base/lid: Urban Decay - Naked palette 1 - 'Sin'

Eye crease/outer lower lash line: Urban Decay - Naked Palette 1 in 'Hustle'

Eyeliner: Kat Von D - Tattoo Liner in shade 'Trooper' for top and "wings" and Smashbox - Limitless Eyeliner in shade 'Onyx' for lower lash line

Lashes: False lashes by Kardashian Beauty - in the style 'Flirt' and Bare Minerals - Lash Domination mascara

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

Contour: M.A.C. - Sculpting Powder Pro Palette in shade 'Sculpt'

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

Lipstick: Lime Crime - Velvetine in shade 'Utopia'

Nails: Kit nail polish - Siesta Indigo [Limited Edition] (as seen previously on my blog here)

Have you tried Lime Crime's Utopia yet? What do you think of this look? x

Tried and Loved - NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in 'Damned'

Nars products have yet to disappoint me, and this is no exception! This is the perfect alternative to the "normal" bold red lip.

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in the shade 'Damned' is a magenta colour - meaning it has a purple undertone to it - and for me having green eyes this means the colour really makes my eyes pop! It definitely appears darker in the pencil than it does on the lips, so don't be put off if you don't reach for dark colours often.

Nars describe their Velvet Matte Lip Pencil as:
"The application of a lipstick combined with the convenience of a pencil in a jumbo crayon design. Lips are instantly saturated with rich pigments and a velvety matte finish. The long lasting, non-drying formula is enriched with emollients for a creamy texture, while a combination of unique silicones ensures long-lasting, seamless color for hours. Use for lining, all-over lip color, or pairing with another lip product."

The thing that really stands out with this lip pencil is that even though it's a matte finish, it definitely doesn't dry my lips at all! I would say this is owed to the vitamin E which is in the formula. 

The colour payoff is also outstanding and one swipe will give you the perfect colour which lasts for hours and hours. Being a matte it really lasts a long time, and even eating and drinking barely dents the colour (apart from oily food which will move any lip colour!). 

I find these lip pencils really easy to apply because the pencil makes for a really precise application, while the chubby pencil makes the coverage quick and easy. I have a NARS sharpener too which fits this pencil shape, and the smaller pencils perfectly meaning hardly any product is wasted when sharpening. 

I absolutely love every shade of these that I've tried. I also have the matte in Dragon Girl (an all time favourite flattering for everyone red!), and the Satin Lip Pencil in shade 'Lodhi' - to be reviewed at a later date ;)

In Australia you can purchase these from Mecca Cosmetica for the new lower price of $34! So great to see the prices coming down on so many products. 

Have you tried any of the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils? Which shade is your favourite? x

FOTD - Spring peach

I'm so glad to have time to be back blogging and sharing my new favourite looks and products with you all. I've missed blogging so much, so I'm going to definitely be making it a priority again! 

I will definitely be posting more shots of my 'face of the day' and some tutorials for my favourite looks. Make sure you leave any requests in the comments below for any looks you'd like to see! 

I recently took a trip to Adelaide and the hotel we stayed at (The Minima Hotel in North Adelaide) has these amazing murals on each wall behind the bed. Each room has a different mural from a different artist. So beautiful and unique! This is what you can see behind my head in these images. :)

I've also just recently dyed my hair a light peach as I'm sure you've noticed in these shots. My hairdresser wanted to experiment with some new colours that she got into her salon, and knew I would be a willing participant. I actually really love the colour! It'll be great for summer. I've found myself adjusting my makeup to suit my hair colour as it changes (it was blue before this, hehe) and to reflect that lately I've been using a lot of peach in my makeup to compliment it. 

Products used for this look: 

Primer: Smashbox - Photo Finish Foundation Primer 

Foundation: Nars - Sheer Glow Foundation in shade 'Mont Blanc'

Concealer: Bobbi Brown - Corrector in shade 'Porcelain Bisque' for under eyes and highlights and 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 base/lid: M.A.C. - Eyeshadow in 'Bamboo'

Eye crease/outer lower lash line: Stila - Eyeshadow in 'Whim' from the 'In The Moment' palette 

Eyeliner: Kat Von D - Tattoo Liner in shade 'Trooper' for top and "wings" and Smashbox - Limitless Eyeliner in shade 'Onyx' for lower lash line

Lashes: False lashes by Ardell (my box is mixed up I can't remember the number sorry!) and Bare Minerals - Lash Domination mascara

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

Contour: M.A.C. - Sculpting Powder Pro Palette in shade 'Sculpt'

Cheeks: Nars - Blush in shade 'Orgasm'

Highlight: M.A.C. - Soft and Gentle

Lipstick: Lime Crime - Opaque Lipstick in shade 'Coquette' 

This look was easily transformed from day to night by adding a bolder lip for when I went out later that night. I often will do my makeup early in the day for activities later that night so I don't have to do my makeup twice. Hehe. 

Hope you like this look! Is there something in this look you love, or now want to try since seeing this post? x

Wishlist #3

1. Urban Decay - Smoked Palette

2. Stila - Natural Beauty Eyeshadow Palette

3. NARS - Foreplay Cheek Palette

4. Bed Head - Sugar Dust, Mega Whip, and Glaze Haze

5. Illamasqua - Precision Ink 

1. I spoke about how much I wanted to try this palette in my review of the Urban Decay - Naked 2 palette last week. It's just new from the brand and is obviously aimed at creating a perfect smokey eye range of looks. I love that there's a lot of colours I don't already have in this palette. Hopefully I can purchase it soon!

The only online shop that I know that you can purchase Urban Decay to Australia is BeautyBay.com and they have these online here for $55.50 at the moment. Little bit pricey, but hopefully worth it for the quality of their eye shadows I would think!

2. Stila palettes are always great value, and this is no exception! This is such a pretty range of colours that look as though they would be perfect for every day use. You get 13 shades in total, 7 matte and 6 shimmer. The pans do look a little smaller than a lot of others, but I never seem to get through any colours in a palette entirely, so that doesn't bother me too much, plus it's quite a good price! 

You can purchase this from beautybay.com here for under $20. I can't see it on the Mecca website yet, but I'm sure it will arrive soon!

3. When I saw this I lost my mind a little bit in excitement, not going to lie! It's called the Foreplay cheek palette and it's basically meant to be a deconstructed version of their best seller blush - orgasm. "Combine the gold highlighter, pink matte blush, peach matte blush and – of course – Orgasm Blush, for a beautiful range of cheek shades. Depending on your mood, make your ORGASM matte, highlighted, or even more intense." Sounds perfect! I love the orgasm blush so hopefully I can get my hands on this too. 

You can purchase this online from meccacosmetica.com.au here for $79, or in your nearest Mecca Maxima store. 

4. These hair products from the 'Candy Fixations' Bed Head range all seem good enough to eat, and cute as pie! I love nice smelling hair products and I have a feeling these would all be right up my alley.

Sugar Dust is a volumising powder similar to the Osis Dust It mattifying powder if you've ever used that. It's a powder you apply to your roots to give volume, and soak up any excess oil! So clever. 

Mega Whip is a texturiser with added staying power. It seems more aimed at shorter locks, but the packaging is amazing, I would want it on my shelf for that fact alone. 

The Glaze Haze is a smoothing serum that adds shine and reduces drying time. And if it makes my hair super sweet scented while doing that, I will be one happy lady!

I spotted all of these on the Beauty Bay website. I'm not sure if there may be other places to buy them online for cheaper, but they are $11.50 for the Sugar Dust, $13.20 for the Mega Whip, and $11.20 for the Glaze Haze. Pretty well priced I think.  

5. Illamasqua's Precision Ink is something that I've heard a LOT of good things about, but still haven't purchased! I am definitely a fan of long wearing eyeliner, and I've heard this one doesn't budge, smudge and applies super easily. Can't wait to try it out, though it may take a little getting used to as I'm so used to using a texta type eyeliner now!

You can purchase Precision Ink from the Illamasqua website for $26.98 US$, or Illamasqua is also stocked in most Myer stores now!

There are so many great goodies coming out at the moment, so I'm sure I'll be purchasing way more than I should be again! Hopefully I tick some things off this wish list soon. :)

What's on your current wish list? Have you tried and loved any of these products? x