Current Obsession

Coral Lipstick is something that has been on my mind for a while. I'm so intrigued by it. Not pink, not red, not orange, something else. Coral is vibrant and playful and enough of a statement on the lips without being overbearing and it was really big for the northern hemisphere S/S '10 season, and ever the fashionista as I am, I think it will be a key makeup trend for us southerners too.

I was in MAC the other day drooling over their coral offerings - Costa Chic (frost) and Vegas Volt (amplified creme)

Aren't they lovely? The swatches on my hand lasted for hours and I am now utterly convinced I need them both!

The fact that I already have the coral lippy from the MAC Venemous Villains Collection, Toxic Tale, only confirms my belief that I need several more.

New Years & Summer Festival Makeup Survival Tips

Where I live, it's summer and in summer it gets HOT. This means you have got to adapt your makeup routine to survive the heat, and afford you some amount of skin protection.When you're away from home for a few days or camping over New Years, there just isn't time to maintain your usual beauty routine, so the callenge is to cut down your routine to mere minutes with only a few key products, without compromising the end result.

Luckily, summer is also the time of year when you tend to go for a more natural makeup look with lighter coverage of foundation, natural eyeshadow and an overall moisturised, glowing appearance. My first piece of advice is to strip down your foundation routine to its bare minimum. If you have relatively good skin, a mineral powder is a good choice for sheer to medium coverage and little fuss, e.g.

• this Bare Escentuals Mini Refillable Buffing Brush which comes full of foundation with an SPF of 15

• or the Revlon Colourstay Mineral Foundation
  

and if you have skin that is a bit more problematic, try to find a tinted moiusturiser, I reccomend Aveeno's Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturiser with medium coverage and use a concealer on your blemishes. In the sun it is essential to find a moisturiser or foundation/tinted moisturiser with SPF to protect your skin from the harsh summer sun.
Another good idea is to find products that can be used all over the face, e.g. both cheeks and lips. Products like a lip and cheek tint are generally long lasting, which is a must when you dont have time to constantly touch up your makeup and cream products are moisturising with a healthy glow. Some I reccomend are;

• Benefit's Benetint or Posietint

• Nars Multiple Sticks
  
  
• or for the budget conscious, e.l.f do a great dupe for the NARS multiple, the All Over Colour Stick
  

Finally, you want some products to help keep you nice and cool and refreshed. I, for one, will not be going anywhere without

• several cans of Evian Facial Misting Spray. I have dry skin and last time I went camping it was a minor disaster so I'm not taking any chances, I'm doing everything I can to keep my skin comfortable and hydrated.




• rollerball perfume. These are absolutely fab for travelling/camping. The pen shaped bottle is convenient for fitting into makeup bags and I predict the rollerball style of applicator is going to be really big in the next few years. Plus, since thay are cheaper than your average bottle of perfume, you can buy a couple and keep them in your purse or handbag, so you can layer or swap from day to night. I would totally go for the Britney Spears Radience Rollerball, I'm completely obsessed with this scent

• wet wipes for face and hands




• hand sanitiser




• dry shampoo



• a decent Bronzer




• and finally, Waterproof Mascara! I'm going for either MAC Splashproof or Estee Lauder Sumptuous Waterproof Lash

Small Collective Loot

I just wanted to share with you all a few things I have picked up over the last month or so, mostly from the interwebs, especially allcosmeticswholesale.com, which has products that are basically FREE!, well to me anyway, living in NZ where makeup is so so expensive.
Also tiny tiny reviews of the stuff I've used quite alot that I have enjoyed using.

All very exciting products for me! First up;

• English Accents Lipglass from MAC (discontinued from the Liberty of London collection)
  

I bought this when it initially came out, and then lost it foolishly. I mourned its loss so much that I just had to buy it again, at a lower price than I originally got it for may I also add. its a really pretty pale pink with mauve-y purple-y undertones that are really flattering for my skintone.

• Currant Lip Pencil by MAC

I bought this to go with my Cyber and Cunning Lipsticks, since it's a red purple it goes well with both of them. I am literally rubbish at lipliner, it just goes everywhere on my face and I dont have any concealer so it always makes the red stand out in my face. Ahh well, gotta get some more practice. HOWEVER, its a good product in product terms, creamy and not too dry with extraordinary staying power. My friend wore it on Halloween and it lasted all night long!

• 2 x MAC Pigment samples in Pink Bronze and Bloodline
  
• I ordered these from a lovely seller on Trademe.co.nz and they are both stunning! I think pigment samples are such an efficient way of buying more interesting or bright colour eyeshadow that you wouldn't use really frequently, although now that I have the Bloodline pigment sample (From the Fabulous Felines collection) I want the full size, its really nice! The two colours look great together, and I get alot of compliments when I wear Pink Bronze, especially wet. Even my 15 year old sister approved, and she is a real funky-fashion-model girl. There she is there...
  

• 2 little palette quads, also from allcosmeticswholesale.com, that I bought as a little post exam treat. One from Estee Lauder and the other Lancome. I'm pretty sure they are GWP size, so they are mini, but I thought it was a good opportunity to try some other brand's products.

• And finally a BYS (a local Australian and NZ brand I think) blush and a bronzer. The blush is in the colour Peach Sundae and is really sublte and natural, more of a highlighter than an actual blush shade. It's a soft peach colour that gives a real irridescence to the cheek and I absolutely love it. The formula is pretty powdery though so I like to use this with a duo fibre type brush

• The bronzer is in the shade Golden and I feel it is more of a coloured face powder than a bronzer. It is like a true golden colour that gives a beautiful colur and sheen to my face that makes me look glowing and lit from within. It also really nicely accentuates my cheekbones and I loooove it. Here is an example pic of me wearing it the other night when I was out
  
  
  
  

Vlog - Drop a dress size in 6 weeeks diet

2010 has not exactly been a great year for me weight wise. I've gone up a dress size and this can be attributed to several factors. First, my general lack of activity, at all. Second, being on the pill and third, my student diet of mostly McDonalds and Burger King. But this is all about to change! It's summer and I'm motivated!

Here are the main 'rules' to lose the 10-15 pounds (5-7 kgs approx for us Kiwi folk), I got my guidelines from this here website;

• Cut out alcohol, excess salt and sugar, baked goods and high sugar juice and smoothies
• Get 20 mins of cardio 4-6 times a week
• Complete the following exercises 10-15 times carrying about 5 lbs of weight in each hand, and increase sets after 3 weeks - chest press, tricep dip, back shaper, bicep curl, ab toner and butt blaster. (See the link for pictorial representations)

I used to be pretty good at exercising and eating healthy but I've gotten lazy and I hate cooking since I can never find something to make everyone happy - my dad is a real steak and potato kinda guy and my sister is a vegan - so generally I end up with cheese on toast.

I am pretty excited to get bikini body fit though, or at least back into my size ten jeans. I'm thinking eggs, salads and rice will be the way to go for the next six weeks, giving myself a chance to improve on my cooking skills. I also intend to combine my diet and exercise regime with a firming lotion - I've heard Nivea's Body Contouring Cream is pretty effective - so I can be all slinky and sexy at the beach and feel really good about myself for next year.

This week I'm looking at poached eggs for breakfast with wholegrain toast, cucumber salads with rice wine vinegar dressing, that weird chicken in a can stuff and maybe some sushi? just for a treat.

Look out for more update son my progress!

Review - Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturiser

I saw an ad for this on tv the other day, and I kind of just knew I had to have it for a few reasons. Firstly, I was just thinking I needed a tinted moisturiser for summer and secondly, Aveeno is a brand I have trusted for a long time to take care of my skin, as I have always battled with dry skin and eczema. I purchased this product for NZD$32 from a chemist but have seen it cheaper at the super market.

Pros

• Good coverage for a tinted moisturiser


• Matches my skintone well


• SPF protection for in the summertime
  
• Moisturising and hasn't caused any reactions in my skin so far

Cons

• Bloody shimmer particles! I'm not a fan of anything glittery or shimmery, even if it is going to make me "positively radiant"


• Has a little bit of a strange smell


• Only comes in 2 shades - Light/Fair & Medium
  

The Positively Radient line from Aveeno features their patented Total Soy complex, which claims to even skin tone and reduce dark patches/dark spots as well as reducing fine lines and wrinkles AS WELL as reducing unwanted hair! Whew! Can it solve global warming too? jokes. As far as those claims go, they seem a bit ambitious and I haven't seen a miraculous improvement in my face, but I know to give these things time.

In regards to application, a couple of times I have had trouble getting this to blend and apply evenly, and I think the trick is having absolutely dry skin under this, i.e. no moisturiser, no SPF, no concealer etc. Other than that it goes on equally well with fingers/hands or a brush, and you DO NOT need alot at all, I would say about one and a half pumps .

I really have enjoyed this product so far, it looks good on my skin and feels light weight yet moisturising on my dry skin. On an oily skin, this may not be as well recieved, I think the shimmer particles or "radience" would exaccerbate oil and maybe enlarge the appearance of pores. This will definately be my go-to summer foundation, especially as I go away over New Years, mainly due to its lightweight formula, good coverage and SPF of 30.

I really enjoy the Aveeno brand, they seem to have a lot of products that cater to all skin afflictions and ailments and are generally reasobably priced.

I Will Tell You Some Secrets...

There are no hard and fast rules for makeup, but there are some foolproof methods you can use for a flawless face. Here are some of my best makeup tips!

Put your primer or moisturiser on with your foundation brush, your brush absorbs much less product this way and your foundation will last longer.

Use a cool toned concealer e.g. yellow/green toned to conceal blemishes, as the cool tone cancels out the red and a warm toned concealer e.g. pink/peach/salmon under the eyes to eliminate dark circles.

Build up your colour in layers to achieve the depth of colour you want i.e. apply and blend out then apply some more and blend out again. This will help your makeup last longer since it will wear off in layers and not all at once.

When blending an extended eyeshadow shape or creating a cat eye flick with your eyeliner, use the natural extension line of your eye shape as your guide for where the lines should begin and end. This will give your eyes an uplifted appearance.

To make you look more awake and your eye makeup more vibrant, use a light yellow/tan or white eyeliner on your inner waterline and add a light shimmery colour to the very inner corner of your eye to make your eyes bright. Some reccomended products for this are Benefit's Eye Bright Stick or NYX's Jumbo eye pencil in Milk.

Artists brushes make a great substitute for expensive makeup brushes.

To prevent your eyeshadow from creasing or fading, use a matte eyeshadow, or if you have very oily lids, an eyelid primer, to your lids before you put on you eyeshadow.

If you are working with dark eyeshadows, leave your undereye concealer for last so you can clear away any of the dark shadow that falls down without having to reapply your face makeup

Sometimes I Get a Little Silly

Having recently sat two out of four exams for this semester, Law and Psychology, I went a little bit silly today. I popped into the Body Shop with the aim (not exactly outcome) of checking out some of those oily things you set on fire ... oil burners I believe they are called. I saw one on trademe.co.nz which was gingerbread flavoured and that got me a little bit curious.

Apparently Christmas Has Been Moved To November

The Shops are spreading their X-mas joy. The Body Shop has two new Christmassy fragrances - Cranberry Joy and Spiced Vanilla - both very warm, heavy, spiced fragrances. I got a bit sucked in and bought both fragrance's lip balms.

Spiced Vanilla and Cranberry Joy Lip Blams - NZD$12 for 13g from The Body Shop

This may have been silly, as I don't like either Christmas or lip balm


The cranberry one is a light baby pink with shimmer and the vanilla is a creamy colour with shimmer. I apologise for the rubbish picture but you get an idea of the moisture and shimmer.

So far so good, my lips feel moisturised, and I do get very dry lips quite frequently and they taste nice and if they do turn out to be duds, at least they smell good. I didn't realise till the bus ride home that I used to have a toy dog who smelt exactly the same as vanilla spice. I'm probably going to buy several more of these for christmas gifts, and because I really like the packaging which is the little metal tin version as opposed to the plastic containers which are the norm for the Body Shop. Maybe I have a use for lip balms after all

Coming up I have more splurge purchases and a tinted moisturiser review

Bonus: I got a free sample of the Vanilla Spice shower gel too, just for being pretty I guess :P