FOTD - Fresh Faced in 15 Minutes

Sometimes I just want to have a quick and easy look with no fuss, and this one meets that criteria perfectly! This is a quick 15 minute face with minimal products. Great for lazy Sunday's. :)

When you have limited products you can still definitely create depth in your face. Simply running over the crease again, after blending the colour across the entire lid, will give you a darkened crease and appear as though it's a 2nd colour creating depth to the eye. Add a lick of mascara to widen the eye further, a swipe of blush to brighten the cheeks, and a softly coloured gloss to even out the eye focus and you're done!

Products used for this look: 

Primer: Smashbox - Photo Finish Foundation Primer 

Foundation: Urban Decay - Naked Skin Foundation in shade 1.0

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: Tarte - Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow Palette V2 in the colour "copper kettle"

Lashes: Bare Minerals - Lash Domination mascara

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

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

Lips: Australis - Mint Condition Lip Gloss 

Note: While posting this I realised that I think this Australis lip gloss is no longer being sold on their website. I hope it's not discontinued because it's amazing! :(

What is your quick "go to" look when you're low on time? Would you try this look in 15 minutes?

Innoxa and Ahoy Deer Instagram giveaway!!

I am super excited to announce today that thanks to the wonderful people at Innoxa Australia I will be holding my very first giveaway! 

I couldn't ask for a better way to kick start my return to blogging than to hold a competition to give back to those that are interested in what I have to say about all things beauty!

The competition will be held on instagram, and the details of the competition are as follows:

1. You must be following Innoxa Australia on Instagram: @innoxaaus
2. You must be following my personal Instagram: @onwardprogress
3. You must repost the image for the competition that I have posted on my personal instagram
4. When reposting the image you must add the hashtag #ahoyinnoxa in the photo description so that I can find your entries!
5. You can repost as many times as you like. :)

And it's as simple as that!

The competition will run for 4 weeks, and after that time a winner will be picked at random on Monday 12th May.

The products you will win are: 

[Images and descriptions below from http://www.innoxa.com.au/ ]

INNOXA SKIN PERFECTING 5 IN 1 BRONZING BB CREME 
These amazing liquid illuminators will give you that beautiful dewy radiant glow, whilst helping to promote even skin tone. Formulated with skin correcting pigments and specialised extracts, these illuminators help to promote a smooth, hydrated complexion. It encourages light reflection without looking oily and creates a youthful glow on the skin.

• The bronzing shade can be used to give the face warmth and depth – perfect for that natural sun kissed glow
• Fragrance and Paraben free
• Dermatologically tested
• Can be used on face and body

LIP GLAZE in SHADE 'BERRY'

Nourishing lip glazes with high gloss & shine. Infused with Antioxidants to condition and repair lips. 

INNOXA 2 IN 1 EYE LINER & EYE SHADOW STICK IN GREY

The perfect dual product with eye liner and eye shadow in one convenient stick to make eyes stand out. The patent eye shadow applicator with spring mounted allows for easy application. While the complimentary 3mm twist eyeliner glides on effortlessly to define eyes.

• Ophthalmologically & Dermatologically tested

To win the above prizes from Innoxa please check out my Instagram: @onwardprogress and repost the following image and follow the guidelines stated above. 

I look forward to seeing your posts on instagram, and keep an eye out for a review of some Innoxa products in posts coming up on my blog in the near future.

Have you used Innoxa products before? What's your favourite product from them? x

Tried and Loved - Face Of Australia - Sheer Gloss Lip Crayon

 

Having spied these little beauties being raved about by a few other Aussie bloggers like on the Crosswire Dreamer's page I knew I had to get my hands on them and try them out for myself! 

If you haven't heard of them before Face Of Australia Cosmetic's is an Australian made and owned company who is 100% against animal testing, and who are committed to bringing Australian beauty lovers up to date makeup at an affordable price without skimping on quality. That's definitely the case with these Sheer Gloss lip crayons! You can read more about the company and it's products at their website here if you're interested in learning more. 

Face Of Australia describe the Sheer Gloss lip crayons as:

"Lip colour has never been so fun and sweet with Face of Australia's NEW Sheer Gloss Lip Crayons. These wind-up lip tints are smooth, moisturizing and smell like vanilla!

Treat your lips to mouth-watering moisture and a hint of shine. In 3 super delectable shades these lip crayons are also infused with a vanilla scent."

I was a bit skeptical that these lip crayons could be moisturising at all, considering how cheap they are ($14.95 for the 3 pack!) but I was pleasantly surprised at the texture and moisture that they provided. They glide on your lips super smooth and keep your lips hydrated for a few hours I would say. I like that they're a little bit slick, not sticky at all, so they still give a nice shine on your lips without the usual tacky feeling that can come with it. As you can see in my first swatch below, it's probably a good idea to give your lips a quick treat to make sure they're free from any bumps before applying or the colour can stick a little, but if you don't have any bumps then you're good to go.

The colours are really pretty, and each colour has it's own cute name. 'Macaron' - a nice sheer red, 'Cupcake' - the lightest of all colours a sweet sheer pink, and 'Sundae' - a caramel brown that blends to a nice wearable colour on the lips. The packaging matches each colour which is nice, and each has a cute little picture and sheer cap. I haven't had any issues with the cap falling off and I leave it in my bag at times, and I haven't had any issues with the wind up mechanism yet either, but I can imagine the caps being not so tight at times so you may need to be careful. 

The scent is right up my alley - I love vanilla, and it's not too overpowering so even if vanilla isn't your favourite I don't think it would be prominent enough to turn you off buying them completely. 

I was able to wear these lip crayons alone for almost a full day, but by the end the product had built up a little bit too much on my lips gathering in places and I needed some extra moisture to sort it out. SO you can't rely on these for moisture alone, but they would be perfect to perk up an every day outfit though, or if you're heading out to dinner and want a light lip colour that won't stain your lips. :)

[Top: Macaron - Middle: Cupcake - Bottom: Sundae]

Overall I'm super impressed with the quality of these lip crayons for the price that they're selling. They're cute, fun and smell lovely. They'd be great to pick up as a gift as well I think, so I might grab another packet before they're gone forever, as unfortunately I think these are limited edition. 

I purchased these for $14.95 from Kmart, but if you're in Australia you can pick this 3 pack up for from Priceline, Big W, or you can check their website for the nearest stockist in your state on their website here. They are also sold online on the wesbite www.fashionaddict.com.au - I had never heard of this site before today but it seems quite good for Aussie brands! 

Have you tried these lip crayons? What's your favourite cheap or luxury lip product? What's your favourite Face Of Australia product? x

Tried and loved - Clinique - Superbalm moisturising gloss - 01 Apricot

If I had to name my number one lip gloss at the moment for every day use, it would be this. Big call I know! But it ticks the box for me in every lip gloss / lip balm category. 

The Clinique Superbalm Moisturising gloss is a non scented, ever so slightly pigmented gloss that comes in 8 shades. Clinique describe the gloss as "lip balm with a colourful twist. Gorgeous colours treat your most undermoisturised skin to helpings of soothing shine. Instantly relieve dryness, protect with antioxidants and more. Dip in." And I would agree that that's a perfect description of the product. 

What I love most about this lip gloss is that I can put it on my lips when they're dry to the point that they're cracking, and this will almost instantly heal them, leaving them smooth and succulent once again. I find this is where a lot of other lip glosses can fall short, which is why I hold this gloss so close to my heart - literally, I take it everywhere! 

The gloss is high shine, lasts for hours at a time, and is a little sticky, but thick enough to not be a messy gloss that will slip off your lips. It allows me to fulfil my terrible habit of rubbing my lips together, without any friction on my lips and without pulling at my skin - just another reason it's a perfect fit for me. 

I have the shade Apricot 01 and I chose this because I really wanted a barely there colour. This doesn't seem to change the colour of my lips much at all as it's quite sheer and almost the same colour as my lips anyway, but it does even out the colour and give a nice gloss look. This was what I wanted when choosing my colour as I wanted something I could wear everyday, especially in the office. If you're wanting a bit more noticeable colour then maybe try one of the shades like Raspberry or Currant. Or just check out the testers in a local stockist if you can. In my experience they are all quite sheer though which is another reason I really like this gloss. 

The Clinique - Superbalm Moisurising Gloss can be found in major department stores Myer, and David Jones, as well as specialty stockists like some chemists in Australia. Find your nearest stockist on the Clinique website here, or you can order online from the Clinique Australia website. :)

Have you tried the Clinique Superbalm Moisturising Gloss? What is your all time favourite lip gloss? x

Tried & loved - Barry M lip gloss - Coral and Toffee

Today I thought I'd do a post about a lip gloss that I love - Barry M! 

For those of you that don't know Barry M cosmetics they are a wonderful brand from the UK dating all the way back to 1982! They have a massive range of really affordable cosmetics, that are all great quality. I haven't tried anything I haven't loved from this brand yet. 

The Barry M lip glosses currently come in around 10 shades, as can be seen on their website here. There are also often limited edition and new glosses popping up, just like with their nail polishes, so the shades may vary from time to time. The 2 lip glosses I've photographed today are 1. Coral (11) and 2. Toffee (2). Barry M products usually have a number and name so it's handy to check both depending on where you're buying them from. 

The lip gloss itself is a perfect consistency for me. It's thick enough to last a few hours, my lips don't rough up or have issues when I'm constantly rubbing my lips together because of the thick consistency, and it's not too sticky either. It's not drying at all and I can wear just this lip gloss for an entire day and my lips will still look smooth and fresh, unlike a lot of other glosses that I've tried which require deep hydration before applying or they can look quite rough on my lips. 

Although the colours look quite bright on my hand, once on your pinkish lips they settle as almost transparent, but there's still just enough pigment in them to see just a of colour which makes them a perfect every day gloss for me with these 2 colours. I have also used Bubblegum Pink (5) and Pastel Pink (4) previously though and they are really pigmented so I prefer those for when I'm venturing out, rather than as an everyday colour for around the office. 

The other amazing thing about these glosses is the smell! They all have a unique scent pertaining to their name - Toffee smells like toffee, and Coral smells like a tropical punch! I love little things like that so that's probably another reason I'm a sucker for this gloss. The scent isn't overpowering, and you can only really smell it as you apply it, but a nice touch either way. 

These lip glosses can't be picked up in Australia in any shops that I know of, but you can definitely purchase them online and they're such a great price. You can buy them on Crush Cosmetics for $10.95 which is an Australian online company, or you can also purchase some shades on ASOS which has free postage for a usual price of $7.23, but they're curently on sale for $4.76 so I'll definitely be stocking up!

Have you tried these Barry M lip glosses? Which is your favourite colour? Have you tried any other products from the Barry M range? x