Toofaced white chocolate chip palette dupe

Hello hello, on this chilly good friday, I'm coming to you with a little first impressions, swatchy swatch and a dupe alert of the Toofaced eye shadow palette which is the much talked about, the white chocolate chip palette, I won this from bright somethings on instagram this week which I was super excited about, as you can imagine. I have a few palettes from toofaced now, so I was happy to add this to the little collection.

so my comparison dupe alert is the maybelline rose nudes palette and its because there are quite alot of similar shades in the palette and when swatched they do look, very similar. When on sale the maybelline can be found for $10 it does however retail for approx $25 aus full priced but it is often on sale.

Its a very light and airy sort of palette but it is pigmented and buttery smooth, not chalky or hard to blend out. None of the shades are patchy and they wear on my eye lides really well and and the shimmer shades are really pretty.

These are swatches of both palettes toofaced being the top swatches and maybelline being the bottom swatch

But the toofaced palette is what I am most excited about and the shades include are named on the back as followed.
Glaze
Ambrosia
Exitica
Pearl Candy
Rasberry Rose which is a reproduce as it is re brought out from the toofaced chocolate shop eye shadow palette which I thougbt was interesting.
Indulge
Gult free
Cake batter
Cookie Dough another reproduce from the toofaced joy to the girls eye shadow palette
Sugared raisin another reproduce from the toofaced joy to the girls eye shadow palette
Black sugar

The palettes here are both similar in size, but the maybelline is obviously bigger, with 12 shades and the toofaced one being smaller with 11 but much smaller pans. Yes you are getting higher quality shadows but I do find the maybelline palette is more pigmented in this instance. But its all in personal preference and what you are looking for in a palette..
So last year there was all this drama with the toofaced palette and I'm glad I live in Australia because I don't think there was such drama when it was released, But I could be mistaken as I do live with my head in the sand quite a bit.

so the shades are just as pastel inspired as the toofaced and shimmery themed in my opinion and I really do think you could pull off the exact same eye looks within the same eyeshadow palettes.

so the maybelline palette retails full price here in Australia for $25 but can often be found on sale for $10 and the toofaced palette is $37 here in Australia.

What do you think of this dupe comparison of mine?

Happy Easter!

Jess
xx

Kmart makeup dupe alert bys berries palette is it a dupe for the Anastasia beverly hills Renaissance palette

 Hello hello my lovelies, long time no see, I am sorry for that however school and sickness have taken over but I am back with a bang because I have a brand new palette with swatches and a first impressions to show to you! I also have a video link at the end to my youtube channel if you want to see live swatches as well. I wen't and picked up the much raved about Bys berries palette from kmart over the weekend and let me tell you, everyone is talking about it across facebook, twitter, youtube and instagram. I hunted it down, because I wen't to not one, but three kmarts to find this palette and you will find out if I find it worth while or not. And no I don't own the abh palette but it is said to be a very good, affordable dupe for it though.

you can purchase the bys berries palette online here buy it online

 So pricepoint is $16 at Kmart $20 at bys website and other places that you are able to buy bys, also side note I heard on the grapevine that bys is heading down the cruelty free path, which I find really interesting. So I love the fact that all the shades are named within the pan as well as on the back of the tin. the tin itself is a little flimsy as one of the lightest shades did fall out, however I slipped it right back on in, and its been fine, ever since. All the shades are pigmented, most are buttery smooth, two are a little chalky and they are the two plumy shades however they are still very workable and pigmented.

 I do love that its all housed in a neat little, embossed tin that says berries in rose gold on the front. You get the standard 12 eye shadows, which I think is quite fair for the quality and the standard that bys is now bringing to the game. It does come with two dual ended applicators that I wouldn't be using. But it also does feature a very hd mirror which I was most impressed for drugstore packaging from kmart

So I think for makeup from bys and from kmart its actually a decent palette and worth $16! I love the shades, and its very on trend at the moment. They are pigmented and seem to blend out well as I did a brush test as well.
Will you be buying this palette?

check out my youtube first impressions and swatches of the palette swatch video subscribe :)
hugs Jess

xx

Australis velour liquid lipsticks lipswatch review Mi-a-Mee

Happy March lovelies! how are we? I can't believe that Summer is officially over! But it's still lovely weather to be sporting these Australis cosmetics summer themed lipsticks, and my favourite currently is Mi-A-Mee, I have been gathering quite a collection and thought I'd post a swatch review of this shade. 

What Australis says about their lipsticks.

“Highly pigmented lips are the look of the moment, and this lip cream takes it to the next level with its beautiful matte finish! The creamy long-wear formula glides on easily with its doe foot applicator, finishing to a velvety matte look with intense, full coverage colour payoff. Perfect for when you want lasting, matte colour that moves with your lips without flaking.

Time for a change from gloss! It applies creamy, lasts all day and finishes with a soft suede look. A matte lip cream that moves with your lips so you don’t have to worry about caking and flaking.”

 

 My thoughts
Fantastic colour pay off for the price, at just under $11 and often on clearance prices these are a great drugstore liquid lip alternative with a fantastic shade range that will suit basically everyone! Some shades can be a little drying, like the red shades and deeper shades but I just add a lip primer or a lip balm to counteract this. They are heavenly to apply, the doe foot applicator makes it a breeze for someone like me who isn't a pro.

The Pro's
They smell really nice
They are affordable
Great packaging for travelling with
Great shade range
Found at a lot of different places and online
Cruelty free and vegan

Con's
Some of the shades apply oddly if you aren't careful, I apply thin layers so to avoid the crumbly lip look
sometimes drying if you don't take care of your lips first

 In my opinion it smells like grape softdrink/soda and it isn't lingering so if you don't like strong smells this should be ok. I also like the fact they don't feather on the lips, Are easy to clean up any mistakes and I love that Australis is now starting to show up in more places than just Coles, Kmart and Priceline.

 I love the fact they are cruelty free and affordable here in Australia but they also do ship world wide from their website and if your a student like me sign up to unidays and you get 25% off!

Have you tried their lipsticks? what are your favourite types of lipsticks liquid or traditional?

Hugs Jess
xx

Kylie Cosmetics Holiday 2016: Review and Swatches

Hello lovelies, today's post is a bit of a special one because my hubby surprised me with the what I thought was sold out Kylie Holiday palette. He brought it way back in the December re stock of 2016 and kept it hidden from me for when I started college early Feb. Let me tell you it was the surprise of the decade! for me at least. This is my first ever Kylie cosmetics product and boy am I impressed.

Value

 So to buy on Kylie's website the palette costs $42 us but convert that and its approx $50 AUD,  the shipping internationally is $14.95 us so to buy that in Aussie dollars convert the currency and you'll work out it's approx $20 in shipping. I do kinda wish he purchased a lip kit as well to make it better for value but he wasn't to know! I am just floored by the quality of this palette. The packaging is stunning in its silver cardboard housing, and the eyeshadows themselves actually are pigmented and smooth. You get 0.45oz of product.

 The shade range I love because its gem tones, metallics and mattes, all being able to blend well and apply well. The formula applies well, doesn't crease, is pigmented, The one colour I found disappointing because it felt dryer than the others was evergreen and it can be built up to be just as opaque as the other shades. The stand ou being

Shades are
Sugar cookie a very matte finish, cream warm tone great for transition shade
Frosty Metalic silver with a very metallic finish
Chestnut Matte finish, a very dusty mauve purple
Mittens a deep red, metallic finish
Winter a metallic bright cobalt blue
Nutcracker a deep metallic shimmery plum
Gingerbread Metallic finish, silvery bronze
Evergreen matte finish, emerald deep green
Silent night matte finish, deep darkened plum

Even though I'm rather late on the kylie band wagon at least I have this gem of a palette!
have you tried kylie products?
Hugs Jess
xx

my February every day makeup Routine for school 2017

Hi lovelies,
today I am sharing my every day makeup routine that is full coverage, long lasting, drugstore and affordable, so for me, it ticks all the boxs! I love my sleep, and waking up over coffee, I try and plan things the night before like my hair, so its not a wild mess the next morning. It doesn't often work out but I have to tame the wild mop somehow, I'll do a hair post another time, shall I? but this is my every day makeup look for school, I go to school at a college, I'm learning Library services so I feel like I want to look put together, polished, and professional. But by adding a few tweaks it can also be jazzed up for the perfect date night or office party look!

 So to start with my Base, I use designer brands by db pore minimising primer, I love this stuff! so cheap and works so well,  I use the ELF that Kmart brought out, the FACE makeup is full coverage, lasts all day and hydrating, I set it with the Maybelline fit me powder that I am absolutely obsessed about, for my oily skin, literally lasts all day, no fading what so ever, and I was at school from 9:00 am till 5;00 pm and I did my makeup at 7:30 am. I want my makeup to last without touching up too often because I'm very lazy. So I move onto concealing the designer bags under my eyes, see what I did there? because I used designer brands correct and coverage concealer and let me tell you, this is full coverage. I love me a yellow toned concealer and foundation to help brighten and cover up my redness. I contour, highlight and blush with the Rimmel Kate moss contour kit in the shade Coral Glow.

In this photo you can see I added a wing, I struggle with wings let me tell you but if I chuck my mode cosmetic liquid eye liner in my bag, I turn my eye look into yass ma'm I use the contour kit in as my eye shadow! the brown in on my lids, and the highlight to add sparkle and highlight! I also make the lipgloss matte by adding a little translucent powder on the top.

I fully suggest trying out the I got the shade light, and its perfect on my fair skin tone, it doesn't oxidise and literally lasts all day.

 Next onto the Maybelline lustre lipgloss in the shade mandarin rapture! its a stunning orange, coral shade that's so on trend! this is amazing, full pigmented and so many colours, non sticky and not as formal feeling as a matte liquid lipstick. Eye brows I used my essence make me brow crayon and maybelline brow drama mascara to set in place.

to change up the look I throw in my hand bag a few different lipglosses or lipsticks and my base can change my whole look! it literally only takes me 15 minutes to get ready. I also love adding a perfume of the day and my current favourite is Chichi cosmetics peach and Mango, I get so  compliments wearing it! for mascara I use the w7 tripple drama mascara in blackest black, its amazing, cheap and doesn't flake.

This is literally the same base of makeup I do every day for school, and slight changes can really amp up or play down the makeup look!

have you gone back to school? what's your favourite products let me know in the comments

hugs
Jess
xx

$80 foundation shu uemura against the Australis 16 hour foundatio $16 and trying the silisponge does it work

Hi guys today I'm roadtesting the Shu uemura face architect foundation which can be brought online for $60-$80 against the Australis stay put foundation from priceline $16. I also roadtest the silisponge which was gifted for review purposes! This is the original silisponge by Molly cosmetics, and was sent for pr purposes. All opinions are my own.

 So I tried out the silisponge yesterday and am in between opinions at the moment, I find it hard to actually blend out a thicker foundation, but if its the watery type base of foundation, then it works really well. It drags along the skin a little, I worked out that downward strokes work best, and some slight patting motions. I'm going to have to try it with concealer yet to really test out its capabilities.

 It doesn't smell, it does give a more full coverage foundation and you do actually use less product as it claims. I am unsure of the hygiene aspect as yet but I'm sure its probably better than the beauty blender because it doesn't absorb bacteria you can wipe it straight off, with an antibacterial wipe or wash it.

I tested it out with the Shu uemura face architect foundation and the Australis 16 hour long wear foudation, the Shu uemura one is spf 18 and the Australis is spf 15 so about the same in my opinion, they are both very yellow toned foundations, which is great for covering up redness and dark under eyes. The consistency is both pretty much the same, and the dry down to a demi matte finish on the skin. I found when using the silisponge it took longer to blend around the eyes, the nose and any littel crevices that seemed prominent. However it did leave a nice finish when settled into the skin. 

 I did left side Australis foudation, right side Shu uemura foundation, and I'm pretty sure they work as a dupe for each other, as both are pretty similar in colour, texture as well as coverage. Both are medium to full coverage and are buildable. They are a little bit too yellow toned without powder on my skin but I use powder normally to fix that up, I didn't this time to give it a fair go.

 I used a bit of Australis strobing highlighter and was finished with the look! over all I think the sponge did a good job. Would I personally buy one? probably not because it takes longer and I'm going to have to experiment with the way I apply my foundation, but pros is that it does give a fuller coverage without having to use as much product.

Have you thought of trying these foundations or the silisponge?
let me know in the comments
hugs
Jess
xx

my top 9 tips on doubling your instagram followers in a week! it works

Hi lovelies, today I thought I'd write my top five tips on how to double your instagram followers, in a week! this has happened to me, and I'm happy to say these tips work! If you're wondering how to grow your instagram, get out of an instgram funk, or get followers to become more active and interact with you, this is the way I did it! so keep reading.

Find my instagram page here my instagram
Tip 1. 
timing, find out who your audience is, where they live, and what times they are usually on, I've found for me my best hits are first thing in the morning or late at night because most of my followers are American

Tip 2.
 Be genuine, don't try and create a false life that is all happy and smiles, be you, be real, because I do believe there has been a shift in Instagram as of late, the new trend is connecting with others and wanting to feel involved.

Tip 3. 
Join challenges! I bet you never thought of that, monthly challenges are all the rage at finding new followers, either because its forcing you to create content, be active in the community and find new ways of exposing your account. Challenges can be in any genre, I often do a monthly makeup challenge, but they can be shorter than that if you find a month too daunting.

Tip 4. 
Always try and improve your photos, I've been using natural lighting, but found it better to take my photos in the afternoon when the light is warmer. I've brought instagram flat lay props, and have even diy'ed my own flatlay table to look like marble. Editing apps can help, I use picsart as its free and has everything I need.

Tip 5
. Always try and find genres
that you are genuinely interested on, this helps being active in the community and makes you seem like a "real" person,

Tip 6.
If you haven't switched to a business account on instagram, try it, you get analytics on your top posts, what users want to see from you, and you get an inside look at what is doing best on your page. It's free and you can easily switch back to personal if you find you don't enjoy that side of instagram.

Tip 7. 
If you are posting branded items I have found actually tagging the company in the photo has helped alot, I believe people like to know exactly who the brand is, and I always if I can link back to the brand itself.

Tip 8. 
Never feel obligated to do instagram, if you don't feel like actually posting, then don't force yourself to do so, people can guage even through a photo how you are feeling, if your forcing yourself to be creative when there is a block, a step back and a break might be in order so you can refresh yourself and your feed again. I do feel like the new trend on instagram is you being you, so don't try and force yourself to do anything you wouldn't do.

Tip 9. 
I've found actually adding a watermark on my photos has made my photos look like I actually care about them, and they seem more valuable to me, so that means followers see that you actually care about your photos, rather than just snapping away and banging it on instagram. I use picsart for it, and just use my name in my instagram.

So these are my tips on how I have upped my game in Instagram! let me know yours in the comments below.

Hugs Jess
xx