ADDICTED to kmart shopping

Hands up who doesn't love shopping at Kmart? *Crickets chirping* so it obviously means Kmart has upped their game, not only in clothing, homewares, but makeup! I've seen on Instagram Kmart makeup almost has their own little community happening, which is great because at least we in Australia get some affordable makeup that certain other countries don't get haha. I'm swatching today the Fifth avenue blush and highlighter that I got at Christmas.

This brand has been around for a little while now, launching when Face of Australia was taken off the shelves at Kmart. I picked these up in a Christmas gift pack that I paid $10 for, however you can buy them individually for $9 a piece which is still a great bargain for such a good quality item. The gold packaging is very similar to Milani, very chic, very pretty. But their logo FA on the top gives them away that they are not Milani. Still I do get sucked into pretty packaging and am very happy when they live up to how they look.

 Fifth avenue makeup has a range of products, including eye shadows, primers, mascaras, and lipsticks etc. I am yet to try the whole range though but from what I have tried, I am very happy with!

 As you can see the highlighter is a golden champagne colour, and is pigmented, creamy to blend and not glittery in your face, but somewhat like the Balm Maryloumanizer that it gives that sheen from within look. They staying power is amazing and lasts on my skin all day, without looking cakey, or accentuating my pores.The highlighter is named Goddess.

 The blush, Berry Parfait is a stunning dusty rose pink, that is creamy to touch, non powdery, and easy to blend, the brush picks it up like a dream and you only need a little bit to liven up those cheeks with a healthy glow.I think for the pack price that I paid it was a bargain! even $9 a piece isn't bad, if you are wanting to try them!

Overall this makeup brand has really surprised me! I want to try their illuminating primer next, and a foundation so you will see more reviews from this brand! have you tried anything? let me know your thoughts!

Jess

Just outside of Melbourne, Blue Lotus water garden

Hello all!

What could $17 get you these days? realistically speaking? Maybe a couple of Pizzas, a cheap foundation on special. But if you take a drive outside of Melbourne, to just outside of Yarra Junction you will stumble across a place called, the Blue lotus Water garden, an amazing garden full of, you guessed it, different types of Water lotuses.

bluelotusfarm

This was my lovely friends idea, her name is Shelley, and we have been friends for a couple of years now. And I was jealous of the pictures she had on her instagram page so I forced her, totally against her will, no not really haha we both wanted to go, she wanted to check out parts she hadn't visited as she went two weeks ago.

Shelley is the more practical one out of us, and came prepared for the biting sun that I ended up paying the price for and getting sunburnt down my chest and arms.But it was more than worth it, because I got to experience a special place of Melbourne that I'd never been to with my best fried, if that's not worth $17 then I don't know what is! and please be pre warned, there are lots and lots of pretty pictures of flowers in this post!

 I don't know about you, but I love bridges,I have a thing for bridges, and I'm not really sure where it stemmed from, (cough sorry no pun intended) however they just always feel romantic to me, and I'm not even a romantic person!

 The colours were brighter than life itself, and there were so many different varieties of lotuses, that one actually forgot what we were looking at, and just enjoyed the colour.

 The seed pods of the lotus flowers are so sculptural and pretty! when the seeds are ready to self seed, they literally pop out of those little holes.

 Even the closed lotus flower that was ready, to burst into bloom still looked like art, almost like a folded inwards star.

 We had so much fun exploring the nooks and crannies of the 14 acre property, no we didn't get through it all,but we saw a lot!

 Nature was working hard, bumblebee's and butterflies were everywhere!

 These huge lilly pads claime on a poster they could hold a small childs weight onto them, an that doesn't surprise me because of how huge their structuring is!

 These are more seed pods! I just think they are stunning to look at, so intricate and detailed. They remind me of a zentangle.

 I loved the little hide away's, made me feel like I was in Bali or some place exotic, because it really didn't feel, or look like Melbourne.

 we chose a great day for it, a balmy 22 degree C day, and my sunburn will sooth itself soon, I'm just a sook! haha.

 We tried Lotus chips! these are made from the lotus flower root, which actually looks the same shape as the seed pod! these taste cross between sweet potato and parsnip! I actually really enjoyed them!

so guys and gals leave a comment if you reached this part of the blog! I also have a vlog about it on my youtube channel you can watch!  I do suggest if you can to pack a lunch or bring food with you as food and drink there is pricey, but they aren't open all year around so they do have to make a revenue. Overall I'd happily go there again, and bring family for a fun, colour filled day, one that you might not expect.

Have you been here at all? did you enjoy it?
blue lotus garden vlog

Hugs Jess

Mode Cosmetics $3 matte liquid lipsticks in Austraila

Hello lovelies! now we all should know by now, I'm a makeup addict, and not just that, a Coles Supermarket addict. Coles has brought in a new brand called Mode cosmetics, and they are a sister brand to Australis, not only that but they are $3 each! well on my receipt though, it came to $2.45 each but I'm not sure if that was a introductory offer or not. However $3 for an accredited cruelty free brand is amazing!

here is what I've been hoarding, um I mean, buying!

 The foundations are amazing! the liquid and cream stick one claim to be matte, however the liquid one is more matte, but the cream one is a slightly Satin finish on the skin, which I like, both give excellent coverage, the cream stick one giving full coverage, liquid giving medium, but can be built up. Hasn't broken me out, perfect colour for me, and long wearing.

 I'm a picky girl when it comes to eye liner, but this one is good! not only that, I purchased the brown one and use it as an eyebrow pencil and its amazing! its the perfect shade for me. The black liner lasts along time, and doesn't smudge.

 The lipliners in this range, are superb, I have two, this one is my favourite one, long lasting, doesn't feather, doesn't streak, and lasts a good amount of time.

 Onto my favourite thing, Matte lip creams, and when in Australia did we get such affordable matte liquid lipsticks!!! this one is in the shade Jadore, I have three shades, and love them all, formula is creamy but dries and isn't drying on the lips. It lasts a good four to five hours, and doesn't transfer!

 I got the bronzer in Sunkissed and this powder is my favourite duo out of the whole range! the bronzer is the perfect, every day contour powder. The pressed powder is amazing and can be worn with, or without foundation.

I especially love this berry pink in Russian skies, and the lip liner is called Pink Orbit, and lipstick is Amazeballs. I'm seriously in love with this brand already and cannot wait to see what new stuff they bring out!

have you tried this brand? its all over instagram at the moment, have you seen it?

hugs Jess

a social media rant

Hello all today I have a bit of a makeup related rant! hopefully it ends up on a more positive note, but lets read on shall we?

At the end of the day it can be wiped off, totally clean, like a new beginning, but why is it taken so seriously? to me, it is fun, a self expression, but it doesn't define who I am as a person. What is this that is taken seriously? makeup. It's started trends, coverted products, and has of course brought out the best, and worst in people. If a girl is looked at because she wears a certain makeup then she's called a slut. Makeup however doesn't mean you sleep around with numerous partners, and who cares if you do? to me makeup is a personal thing, if I choose to wear it, its not because of others.

 Being singled out because of the way we look is disheartening but learning self confidence is an art. As is the art of makeup in itself, the thing I love about makeup is that there are no rules. You could transform into another person totally on the outside with the imagery of cosmetics. I use makeup like therapy, it brings me up when I am feeling down, I use it like a distraction technique, but I also just love all things makeup.  I've had positive and negative comments on my social media, luckily I have thick skin. For those that don't though, I find it sad, people like Esseno O'Neill coming out with that everyone on ig is fake, or at least explaining why she did what she did.

If we choose to examine why we are so judgemental as humans, are we jealous of the other person? what makes us comment on social media whether or not its positive or negative? makeup can actually influence behaviours. If a girl decides to not wear makeup she is labelled, or if a guy wears makeup he is emo, or gay.

I've always said labels are for jam jars, and expectations are just that, we don't need to live up to them. 

What are your thoughts on social media, makeup and some peoples behaviours?

hugs Jess

Hard Kandy blush

Hi lovelies! today I am sharing with you, two of my favourite drugstore blushes, I never used to be a fan of blush until sometime last year and that turned topsy turvey on me, and now I'm slowly picking up a sizeable collection, my hubby just rolls his eyes at me.

This is the Hard Kandy blush in Dolly I believe the shade is, its a baked blush and leaves such a nice sheen and colour on the face, its not too pink for me, but its able to be built up, blended out well and has a good staying power.

 This one you may think looks like Milani cosmetics at first glance however its Fifth Avenue from Kmart. It is in the shade Berry parfait, I believe they cost about $7 but they are actually a very pretty blush! its not chalky, and blends out well, great pigmentation and staying power.

 My favourite blushes seem to be baked blushes and that's what this hard kandy one is, I just love the marbled effect baked blushes seem to have. It's so pretty and natural looking on the skin.

 I tend to love deeper pink shades and just apply sparingly onto my fair skin, I'm rather pale! and when I have no blush on, well I look rather flat.

What are your favourite blushes? I'd love to try something different!

hugs
Jess

a vegan friendly day in pictures

 Hi lovelies, today I thought I'd share with you a lovely day I had through last week! it was a simple day, an outing with my partner. We went into Lygon st in Melbourne, which was something different and fun. First off though is my cat Krissy! I love how she folds her paws in!

 Don't judge! lol it was cheat day haha I was really craving something naughty like this, I'm trying to eat less and less meat, I probably only have meat about once or twice a week. Which is a lot less than what I used too, everything else is vegetarian friendly.

 Soy latte! yummy yummy! I was at a gluten friendly cafe when I had this, everything is gluten free, sadly I don't remember the name!!

 We had perfect weather! so nice and sunny, not too warm, just the way I like the weather to be!!

 yes! more treats! we went to a bakery that uses vegan friendly cream! I didn't really know that was so mainstream now! so I was surprised! these are cinnamon jam and cream donuts!

 Then I hauled some makeup cause they were on special and Db is cruelty free and vegan friendly! so that makes me feel good!

hows your day been?

hugs Jess

Eos dupe? Designer brands by db balm balls cruelty free Australian makeup blog review

Good morning! and happy Australia day to those in Australia or for those who celebrate it! today I'm sharing an Australian branded product, which I am in love with! its the Designer brads by db, balm balls! it looks similar to an eos, and the actual lipbalm itself, feels similar when applied, I have a couple of eos lipbalms to compare it with.

Their usual price is $4.99 but I picked up this one for $3.99 as my local chemist was having a sale, I love a good makeup saving! this flavour is Berry bliss, I love the pastel purple of the container, and it smells, amazing! not sickly sweet, but not tart either, a lovely combination that doesn't smell like that fake cosmetic fruit scent.

 These also look somewhat similar to the revo lipbalms that were launched late last year in Australia, I am yet to try those. I do love the trend that is a sphere lip balm, it actually does make it surprisingly easier to apply. I do love how these feel on the lips, smooth, and the scent lingers,but its not in your face. Wear time, for me is a couple of hours, because I have severe, dry chapped lips, that need the moisture! I feel that these help soothe and smooth the lips.

The packaging as you can see, is so cute! you get a great amount of product as well, these have peppermint, johoba oil, and coconut oil in as skin loving ingredients and they are both cruelty free, and vegan friendly. The sphere shape makes it great for travelling, and the lid is secure, as is the rest of the packaging. Not a bad buy for under $5 even when not on sale! I'll be getting more flavours!

Have you tried these?

Hugs Jess