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

my thoughts on the Australis cream contour kit in light! cruelty free Australian beauty cheekbonesonfleek!

Hi lovelies, hope you are all doing well I went shopping the other day and some of you may know I have a huge obsession with contouring at the moment! I have about 5 contour palettes of different shapes and sizes from different brands. Well as I was browsing Priceline the other day, I noticed they had the much coveted Cream contour kit by Australis. I also saw that it was only $16.95 at the time which I didn't think about until today after my friend Mel told me its actually $24.95 so I actually think they had it wrongly priced! Sorrynotsorry for that little accidental bargain! haha.

It comes in very sleek packaging, the same type as the original powder one except now it has a mirror, only problem is, that the mirror doesn't really hold up on its own too well, but I generally do my make up in the bathroom anyways. But why can't a company get the dang mirror right in the first place lol. That's probably my only problem with it.

You get the typical six shades, 3 light and 3 dark, all ranging in different shades for different correcting reasons. This has been so highly raved about on instagram that I just had to get mine, the same reason why I bought the powder one as well heehee. However the shades are very pigmented, and quite creamy, I've heard some say that it drags on their skin however I haven't had that problem as I apply it with my fingers after warming it up slightly. Then I blend it all out with a Chichi Beauty blender.

I find warm shades actually suit my skintone better however I don't know about what cooler skin tone people will think with these shades. I love the banana shade, its fantastic at brightening the eyes and hiding dark circles.

so far this is only still quite new to me, I've never tried cream contouring before this so I'm still learning, I've only just got the hang of powder contouring and then they bring on this new trend! still I had to get it, what do you guys think of this new cream contouring trend? is it a hit, or a miss?

hugs Jess

5 favourites from last week Lorac, Thebalm, Australis, Sephora

Hello all! Who else is enjoying this Spring day in Australia? anyways I wanted to  share with you my fave products of last week I have been using!

I am sure you have all seen or heard of these products before! lately I've been loving the red lippie, extreme highlight, cream foundation, good lashes and a good contour.

 Thebalm Marylou maniser is my all time favourite highlight in all the world, and I'm totally smitten by it, it lives up to all my expectations and is stunning.

 I have finally gotten the hang of contouring! its taken me awhile to get used to the Australis contour kit, but now I know how to use it properly, I love it!

 The Lorac cream foundation is actually kinda wonderful, my perfect shade, being a more yellow undertone. It covers well and looks fantastic with a primed base.

For lips and eyes I have been loving the Sephora mascara, it creates great length, no clumps, and good volume without looking spidery or meh.The Physicians formula sexy booster lip stains is one of my faves! I love the colour and staying power too. I also have the matching blush.

What have your faves been?

hugs Jess

July make up favourites! Monthly make up faves Primer, contour, highlight and bbcream

Hi loves! hope you are all well, today I am bringing to you a post full of my July make up favourites that I've been reaching for, again and again this month!

I love this bbcream! the colour and coverage is fantastic for days that you don't want to over do the make up. $9 from Kmart and Priceline when on sale.

This will give you a healthy and light coverage that will make your make up stay all day, hide pores, and contour the shiz out of your non contourable areas. Does that make sense? Well I'm talking about Palmers Cocoa butter eventone bb cream in Extra light. Bys contour kit, Maybelline bare skin pore reaser and Elf whipped highlighter.

I'm so happy Maybelline has released this in Australia! its a fab primer, and one that actually does reduce the size and appearance of my pores! Great price too, and even better when on sale. I purchased this for $6 on ebay ages ago.

This contour kit I keep reaching for because I've finally found a shade that is great for my fair skin! also a great bargain under $10 at Kmart. 

 Last but not least is the shimmering facial whip by elf! I love this stuff, gives a nice healthy glow in all the right places. $3 from Kmart.

So these are my July favourites, what are yours? any good drugstore products I need to know about? comment below! 

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

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

Profusions pigmented and buttery eye shadows in emerald cruelty free

Hello lovelies today I have a first impressions of a profusions eye shadow palette that I have for you! the shade is emerald and it is stunning! in the pan it looks pigmented. And the swatches I'm about to show you do not disappoint.

The packaging is a tad cheap looking but I think from memory I paid less than $4 from the reject shop which is like a dollar store here in Australia. So for the price range that's not to bad, especially for a cruelty free brand as well! Don't the colours look rich?

They are a slightly satin finish, which I like, but the pigmentation is amazing, they are buttery smooth and the swatches are amazing. This was one swipe from the brush that came with the pack, its a sponge brush.

 True to life colours, that are so buttery soft. A little fall out in the pan but I believe that's the talc in the ingredient list but from the price you can't really go wrong from this drug store quality.

 Look how true to life these colours are! I think for an emerald selection you can really get away with a lot of looks from this pan of colours. Which I was grateful for because a pan of just greens does get rather boring.

 I wanted to show the back with the bunny saying cruelty free.

And the typical packaging saying emerald, which was the shade name.

I hope you enjoyed this first impressions, have you tried this brand yet? if so what products? let me know what you think!

Hugs Jess

Things I am going to do or change in 2015 a promise to myself

So its a running joke in my family that I can't make jello, it never turns out right. So for things in 2015 that I aspire to do here are a few interesting or funny things that are on my 2015 bucket list. 

Learn how to make jello
yup I need to conquer this, and not be the butt of my family's well meaning jokes 
I will do this! 

Not be afraid of contact lenses 
they scare the heck out of me! I don't like the thought of things going near my eye ball, I've never worn them but I am going to in 2015, even just once! 


Wear eye lashes, I've never, ever worn eye lashes! they kinda freak me out because they remind me of spiders legs, however I'm going to try, just once... maybe. 


Learn Tumblr and Twitter more effectively 
I admit that on both platforms I am a newbie and am learning how to tag and use these places for my blog and youtube channel. 


I will get into a good kitchen cleaning habit
I am the laziest when it comes to cleaning my kitchen, and its not even that big, its a small compact kitchen however I hate cleaning it. But I despise it more when its dirty come time to cooking. I will get into a routine! 


I will stop buying useless items
we all fall into this pattern, it makes us feel good, we like to spoil ourselves with the justification that it didn't cost much. But it does add up. I'm trying to save so I'm hoping this will help my saving next year! 

what are your plans for 2015 that you are going to change? 
hugs Jess