w7 Naughty Nine eye shadow palettes Bangkok nights and Midsummer Nights review

Raise your hand if your a fellow eye shadow hoarder!

Hello all, I'm Jess, and I'm an eye shadow palette addict, ok well a makeup addict in general, however my obsession has been for years, collecting eye shadow palettes, drugstore and highend, I want them all. But my bank account tells me I sadly can't have them all *sobs* but today I wanted to delve into two eye shadow palettes that are so affordable and that have really blown me away, they look great in any makeup collection/flatlay and I think I need to collect all of them, best of all they only cost $5 so I can! 

 W7 cosmetics have really upped their game in my opinion, recently I have been enjoying the w7 photoshoot foundation to the point I've nearly finished the bottle, which basically never happens! and I picked up two eye shadow palettes that caught my eye. The naughty nine palettes, which I believe are a dupe for the mac eye shadow 9 pan palettes, I can't say for sure as I don't own them but I have seen pictures and swatches. I have two palettes, I picked up Midsummer nights which is trending on so many levels because of all the warm toned palettes that are coming out right now, and I was literally blown away by the pigment, these swatches are one swipe, no primer, and in natural window lighting. I have worn them both on my eyes and they wear very well, no creasing and no fading, also very pigmented on the lids.

 So if you are wanting to delve into an affordable warm toned palette but can't afford the ones such as Huda beauty Rose gold addition then this one is for you. The packaging is a standard cheapish plastic casing but it is sturdy enough for travel, I took the midsummer nights one when I wen't house sitting and it travelled well in my makeup case. Would also be suitable for taking to work/school or as needed for touch ups.

 I actually fell in love with Bangkok nights purely on the taupe purples and mattes in this eye shadow palette. Similar shades I have seen in the Tarte in bloom palette when I was last in Sephora, and a heck if a lot cheaper.  I love in both palettes that you get a range of finishes, mattes, shimmers and glitters. The Bangkok nights has amazing shades ranging from purples to dusty pinks and plums so great to play around with and create so many looks

 I'm going to be purchasing more in this range, I think there's two more to collect so I may as well get them all I am intrigued in the Arabian nights palette as its mostly all earthy tones I believe, but these two spoke to me the most. I will be adding these palettes to my daily makeup bag, and with the size of the eye shadow pans themselves I think its really good value for the price.

Have you tried any of these at all? let me know! I highly suggest you go now to get them!

Jess
xx

Review and swatches Shaaanxo palette by Bh Cosmetics

I have been a fan of Shaanxo on youtube for many, many years now and I knew I had to get this palette when she launched it, sadly I wasn't able to order it until recently due to funds but now that I have it, I'm proud of Shannon who continues to strive and grow and improve her videos and makeup skills, I have learned many makeup tricks of my own from Shannon.

I've had this palette for a little while now, and I have been playing with it, swatching it, admiring it, looking at it, that kind of thing. Do guys do that as well when you get a new palette or makeup item? I can't be the only one!

 I also wrote a first impressions on the bhcosmetics haul that I purchased and the link can be found right here. first impressions of bhcosmetics haul

 The palette features
two sided palette
9 eye shadows
9 lipsticks
hydrating and pigmented lipstick formula
pigmented eye shadows with different finishes
clinically tested, paraben free and non irritating.

This was important to me the non irritating and clinical tested part because I have sensitive skin, especially around my eyes, I'm prone to dermatitis and dry skin, so it's always handy to know these things about products that go around the eye ball area.

The cost was $14:50 USD but regular price will be $22:00 but I haven't actually seen it change in price at all and its been out for awhile now, that converted to approx $18 or so dollars in AUD my maths is off, not to mention I had to convert postage cost but I had a $3 off voucher at the time of purchasing, Bh cosmetics often do deals.

 So my thoughts on this palette is I love the packaging, the actual dual sides of it is rather interesting and unique. The packaging is sturdy, protects the product inside and has a magnetic closure on each sides, which I really do like. There are of course 3 matte shades of eye shadow, and the rest of the shades are different shimmers. The eye shadows have lovely pigment, and are comparable to the Carli Bybel palette which I have as well. All of the shades are long lasting, beautiful and unique colours, and very pigmented, they blend out like butter, and you have so many varieties of looks you can go for in the one palette.

 The lipsticks, I'm never much of a fan of lipsticks in a pan to be honest, its not the most practical or hygienic however these are pigmented, dry down to a semi matte finish and on me, they can last a fair while as long as I don't eat or drink oily foods etc. I was actually surprised at the quality of the lipsticks even though they are in a pan. I love the shades, all 9 are pigmented, creamy, don't streak, and are easy to apply. I find the 9 shades rather handy though if I ever go travelling, this will be perfect to take with.

 favourite shades are the deep plum shades, the bright pink, and the coral colour, they stand out the most to me. Some lipstick shades such as the nudes and mauvy colours are more sheer and a little less creamy in texture but over all very versatile. I also love that Bh cosmetics is indeed cruelty free and that means a lot to me, as I am converting to cruelty free products.

What are your thoughts on the Shaaanxo palette? have you purchased it yet? I love supporting youtubers where I'm actually able to afford the product and it still being good quality.

hugs
Jess

Designer brands pro contour palette and snowflake eye shadow palette limited edition swatchws of the pro contour kit

My Designer brands haul arrived today! I might have purchased some things on their website last week when they had free shipping. I'm basically showing you what I got cause I literally just picked them up from the post office this morning! but I'm so excited to start playing with them and giving you a more thorough review in the future!

First up we'll get the "boring" items out of the way haha not that they are boring in my books but they are the more practical items that I purchased. Well the concealer palette came free because I purchased 3 items in one go. Anyways I've been wanting to try this primer for ages! and I've read up that its meant to be a dupe for the Benefit porefessional primer, so I'm excited to try this! it has tea tree, aloe vera and peptides in it! The concealer actually looks pretty good too, and having a drugstore one that actually has an apricot shade is pretty cool! $14.95 for the primer.

ahh my beloved obsession with eye shadows continue! when I saw they brought out this pretty, limited edition for 2015, palette I knew I had to get it, I gravitate to these colours all the time, they are pigmented, and creamy, can tell after just swatching them. I paid $17.95 for this one which is the large, they do have a small but why get a small when you can go large?

swatches

Now onto the product I was most excited about because literally everyone has been talking about it on all the beauty review sites and Instagram. This looks exactly like a dupe for the Kat Von D contour palette, I don't own it, sadly but this is a more affordable option! cruelty free, and vegan friendly. $17.95 I love how big this palette is, and if I like it, I might have to get myself a back up though I do own 6 contour palettes already, derp.

What have you been hauling lately?
anything from Designer brands?

hugs Jess

5 things to try with your favourite powder foundation

Hi guys here I'm showing you 5 things you can try with your favourite powder foundation, currently I'm obsessed with this one by Maybelline.

1. Set your eye lid primer 
generally powder foundation is your perfect skintone, its matte and sets the eye lid primer perfectly, it creates the perfect base for blending out eye shadows that are harder to blend out.

2. use it on the days you don't want to wear foundation 
I use this on days when I want a no make up look and basically to cover minimal redness and or blemishes.

3.Use a powder as a matte highlighter on your eye brows and cheek bones
I do this and it looks pretty! a great way of adding a highlight if you want more mattes in your look. Very flattering.

4. Use it as extra coverage
I love using it as extra coverage to hide scars and marks, I have a scar on my nose after falling over a few years ago and it covers it well.

5. Colour correcting with powders
These pressed powders are great for toning down redness because it sets and doesn't budge after its been applied. Covers and corrects by adding a touch more coverage, I sometimes use this instead of concealer.

have you tried these tips? got any new ones?

hugs Jess

what bloggers really think when out and about in real life

Hi guys hope you are all well? today's post is about what bloggers really think when out and about in real life, meaning when we are about either shopping, with friends, or in general life's everyday setting. I will endeavour to explain my thoughts.

1.When we are out having coffee
Sometimes you just don't have a camera on you, the perfect coffee (mine is a latte) and you are at a chic and trendy cafe with a hot waiter. I generally take my photos with my iphone, I always try and snap pics of my food, aka food porn, and if I can't I get very frustrated and think why?

2. When you are out shopping and the bargain of the century comes about
I've seen pictures of when shops are having sales, pretty clothing racks, and make up displays, or home wares grab me. I'm always sad if I'm in too much of a rush to take a few photos, to share via blog or instagram. It's just how my mind works, I love telling people about a good deal when and where I can!

3. Feeling really awkward but having to pose in public for a ootd
I generally don't do fashion posts however sometimes the time comes, I either am in a trendy spot, or an artsy area and my mind goes but there are so many people! really takes some dutch courage some times to get up and strike a pose.

4. Being out at a social event and no one wants photos! 
This greatly annoys me, I get it that some can be camera shy but all of my girlfriends hate being in front of the camera, I tend not to care, and if I can't get a good shot when I'm out at an event or what have you I always tend to think, why am I even here? On the other spectrum it annoys me when people are randomly in shots.

5. When you are out  and see the cutest dog or animal and can't get a shot! 
I hate it if I'm in the car and see a really cute dog, and it feels so weird because I'm thinking aww I wish I could get a photo of that!

are any of you this way inclined in thinking?

hugs Jess

Face of Australia blush review Primrose

Hi loves! I'm excited to bring you this post/review because its one that I'm... well, excited about! I purchased this item a couple of weeks ago, Kmart were reducing it to clear and I paid less than $5 each for it, so a fab price to try out a new make up products, no? I am a huge fan of FOA products in general because of their amazing versatility and quality.

 I needed this lipgloss because its purple! #purplelipsdon'tcare! lol, and for less than $5 it was an amazing bargain, I think I paid $3 for it. Face of Australia lipgloss pencil in berry brulee.

 This blush is amazing! its one of the prettiest blushes I own, it builds up well, lasts all day, and its the perfect peachy pink shade. Even though there are sparkles in the pan, it doesn't come off on the skin which is so surprising due to how chunky the glitter looks. It just gives a nice glisten on the cheeks that looks super pretty. I paid $5. And the colour is called Primrose.

 you get 6grams of product in the pan, so this blush will last you forever! I also think this shade is super wearable for most skin tones, from deep, to the very fair.

What I love about them
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Easy to apply
Lasts all day
Blends out super well
No powdery look on skin so no cakeface
Packaging is sturdy, and very sleek for its price range

Anything I don't like
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The lipgloss is a tad sheer for my liking but still a good bargain for trying out new shades
Not the best shade ranges in the blushes with only 4 shades, Dolly, Primrose and Terra and Nutmeg

Have you tried these? I'll be getting more use out of these that's for sure! paired with a matte foundation they add lovely colour to the cheeks!

hugs Jess

ulta3 illuminating foundation, cc cream and felt tip eye liner first impressions

Hello all! today I am so excited to be showing you my latest make up haul! it is from the ULTA3 make up range, I purchased their illuminating and oil free foundation in  the shade ivory, I also purchased their felt tip eye liner in blackest black, their concealer in light and colour correcting cream in light medium.

 I believe they were under $10 each, I popped into the local chemist that sold these as I was about to buy some cold medicine, I was thinking of just purchasing their foundation, but I couldn't decide and got them all!

I am actually really happy I did, the cc cream basically works like a really nice base, it can be worn by itself or with a foundation. The foundation itself I think is my new favourite! it illuminates really micely and is the perfect colour. The concealer is really creamy, but my favourite out of the lot is the felt tip eye liner!

 I love that this comes in a glass pump and it feels nice, and not cheap. The formulation is lovely, not too runny and not too thick, perfect shade for light skinned gals like me.

 I don't think I have actually used a cc cream before! and I was really surprised that it covered all my redness! The swatch is on top of the foundation, the one closest to my actual hand.

 The concealer blends out really nicely and is super creamy, I'm rather happy with it though you do need to use a fair bit of it to get a good pigmentation.

Last but not least is the new felt tip eye liner pen I got! omg though the pigmentation in it is one of the blackest I've used and its so fluid! one of the best eye liners I have used for a long time, it also didn't smudge at all after it dried on my hand.

So some good first impressions there, have you used these products at all? what did you think?

How I wash and clean my make up brushes cruelty free beauty solution

Hi guys today I have a bit of a different post for you! I want to show you how I clean my make up brushes. I don't use nastmy chemicals, or pre bought specialists things and my product I used is dirt cheap and works every time, leaving no residue and my brushes feeling softer and cleaner than ever!

It's under $5 too!

As the product says its Herbon botanical soap,
The product 

What do I use? 
an organic soap that has no sulfates in it and no parabens or colours or anything unnatural in it that would be likely to damage the bristles. I mainly use synthetic brushes as I find them cheaper and easier to use in general. My favourite brush of all time is my Kabuki brush by nude by nature so that gets a lot of useage! I use that every time I apply foundation.

How often should I clean my brushes? I have to admit I am rather a lazy sod when coming to wash my brushes but I've given myself a promise to do it at least once a week. Our brushes do a lot of work so at a minimum you should do it once a fortnight.

How do I dry them? 
You can buy brush guards for this purpose but so far I've never had any trouble with keeping the bristles in shape with this process. I wash them, rub  them gently in a dry towel, then sit them up right in their container to dry overnight.

So that's what I do to wash and clean my brushes! I don't have top notch brushes but I do want to look after them so I get to keep them longer and not get any nasties on my face.

How do you wash your brushes?

Hugs Jess

Haul! Australian brands, Cruelty free, bath products and thrifted items

Hello lovelies! I didn't mean to leave you in the lurch for so long but with hot weather, work and not feeling very well it doesn't leave me for being in a writing mood on my little blog and I don't want it to be a whinging platform so I'm back after a few days grace. Hope you can forgive me! I know we can all have days like that.

But I wanted to show you some products I have been purchasing lately as I again have been shopping as when I am stressed, I go shopping, its my thing to do when I'm stressed and or just not feeling right in myself. I thin us women are wired in that sense lol. Not to sound sexist of course.

First up I bought some thrifted items because I felt the need haha I purchased these three books as I feel the need to read at the moment. Stephen King was a big part of my life when I was younger and I hadn't actually read these and thought it looked good! $2 each.

 I didn't actually get this, its actually at my thrift shop that I work at and its still on the wall, if its still there when I go back tomorrow should I get it?

 I got my partner to buy this on ebay because the author actualy sadly passed away I think a couple of weeks ago. And its meant to be a classic and I haven't read it, its one year younger than my age and I'm thirty years old!

So here's the make up haul, at Kmart they were clearing out face of Australia big time, which was good but mkes me sad at the same time. They had products starting from $3. I purchased multiple items. I bought the blush in nutmeg, mineral therapy foundation powder in light, lip crayon in raspberry coulis, quench lipstick in forbidden fruit, and maybelline electro pop in oh orange as I am obsessed with these lip balms for some reason! I got them from my chemist for $1.88 and I also got the bys contour kit in the shade sweet which suits me perfectly, by the way the blush is super pigmented! for under $6 you need it in your life, the contour shade suits my very fair skin amazingly. The video where I try it you can view here.

my contour first impressions

next is the designer brands products I purchased, I got these clearance sale, and I love a CLEARANCE sale. the eye shadow pallet is amazing, I paid $8.00 for it. It's the urban sultry and silky pallet I think from memory lol. And the lipgloss is the Passionate plum lavish lipgloss and it was $4. Now hold the phone! I had no idea db did bath products! and this was on clearance to $3.50 and I can't find any info on it online. But its the mint burst body scrub and its amazing.

The best thing about db is that they have recently been accredited and and are not tested on animals! woohoo

like these items? what do you like? comment below
hugs Jess

drugstore and cheap lipsticks that are worth keeping in your make up bag!

Hi lovelies, I have three lipsticks that I have been loving to wear as of late and these are all darker shades either plums or berry shades as I am rather obsessed with these sorts of shades! I do have a ton of these I must admit! 




First up is this Revlon lip butter which is my only one in my collection of Revlon lip butters as my friend Angie gave me one. I love it. The colour is amazing, and its lasting power is fantastic. I really like wearing this sheered out on an every day basis and then a more opaque tone for a more sexy va va voom look! so its rather a versatile lipstick, so I rather like it.

Next is Savvy by db, its their lipstick in the shade Rose I believe and I am only thinking its this shade because the sticker on the bottom has actually rubbed off. These lipsticks retail for $6.99 but I got mine for free because I had a gift voucher from points that I had earned.

This last one is a newbie and a cheapie one but I am thrilled with the colour! I got it from a dollar store just because it was half price in a sale., It was cheap anyways at $3. And I loved the colour, it didn't have a name, just a number. However its by Blush Amour, which is a half decent cheapo brand if that makes sense.

This shade is the blush amour lipgloss, isn't it a lovely deep purple shade? 

This is the Savvy by db shade andI just love it. 

and this shade is the Revlon lip butter in Red Velvet 

These are the swatches, from the Blush amour, we have red velvet, and then savvy db.



hope you enjoyed!


what lipsticks are you wearing? would love to know! comment below? please share my blog, and follow too! 


hugs Jess

Designer Brand Eternal Colour Perfect Pink Review

Hello again there lovelies! today I purchased a couple of things from Designer Brands as I was filling out a script at the chemist, because if I purchased 3 things I got a free gift. Well I saw that they had 50% off certain things so I got three new lipsticks. I believe they were $4.99 each with the half off price.So I think that's a pretty good price tag for a drug store branded lipstick. I've been wearing it all afternoon and I gotta say, that already I am impressed!

First off the colour, its lovely, especially for a pink because normally I steer clear of pinks, however this is right up my ally as it is a cool toned pink. It's called Perfect Pink. And it was one of the free items that came in the box of goodies.

A rich, full and intense pink with a cool undertone that is unique and lovely, a rarity in my collection of berries and jewel tone lipsticks!

 The colour is truly lovely, I really think it brightens up my whole complexion and I think for its bargain price you can't go wrong. The name of this range of lipstick in Designer brand is Eternal Colour and my gosh these are pigmented. You will not be disappointed with these lipsticks one little bit.

 They are a dream to apply because they are a really creamy formulation which I love in a lipstick as I hate the tugging sensation that some can cause. They actually leave my lips feeling conditioned which is a rarity in lipsticks. These lipsticks have Vitamin E in them so no wonder they feel like they nourish the lips so well.

 The swatch itself was easy to apply, no double swatching needed to get the pigment to show up. I really love this almost a fuschia colour.

 The packaging is sleek, tightly made so it doesn't feel like it will come apart and make a horrible mess in your handbag which is another rarity with the cheaper lipstick brands. So Designer brands have really amped up the game I think.

 The lipstick has lasted me about 4 hours without needing to retouch it, so I'm so glad I have a couple of these now. I'll certainly be picking up a few more shades whilst the sale is happening. Also note how funny is it that the pink pretty much matches the roses my hubby surprised me with today? wasn't that sweet?

What are your thoughts on Designer Brand products or their lipsticks? have you tried them?
Merry Christmas!
hug
Jess