Favourite Products Of 2012 - Makeup

Hello Ladies,

It wasn't easy but I have gone through my collection and decided on which products were my favourite of 2012.

Please note: all products were available throughout 2012 and I have attempted to keep limited edition releases to a minimum.

Enjoy!

First up we have the foundations.

Nars Sheer Glow: My shade is Syracuse, I love the "glow" this product gives my face, it can be built up to be a medium coverage but what I love about this foundation is the hydration it gives my skin.

Estee Lauder Double Wear: I have been wearing this foundation for roughly 6 months and it is my holy grail. My shade is Shell Beige 05 and it is perfect. This foundation is not matte on my skin, nor is it drying at all. What I love most about this foundation is its versatility, I can build up to a heavy coverage which will cover pigmentation marks or sheer down for every day wear.

Chanel Soleil Tan: I love this product! I add a few drops to my foundation (any brand) and it doesn't darken, it simply adds a subtle glow. It is one of the only products I have found on the market that won't emhasise pores, whenever I am wearing this and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror I think, wow! my conplexion looks great today, what is it? LOL

Georgio Armani Luminous Silk Powder: I feel uneasy including this in my blog post because this powder foundation is $85 for  6.6g (that is half the size of NARS or MAC). If you can get past the price point this powder really is like silk.  It is smooth and finelly milled but does not leave me feeling cakey or powdery.



Next Up cheek Products, from the Left

Dior Amber Diamonds: I purcchased this product due to hearing raves from: @tanyaburr of Pixi2woo, @missglamorazzi & Fleur De Force, this product continued to show up in their monthly faves, I finally tracked it down through strawberry net and I love it! It is not for the faint hearted but it is a gorgeous highlighter when applied mildly.

Mac Pink Cult blush: This is my Holy grail blush. I own nothing similar at all, when I purchased this product I thought it would not show on my Mac NW35 skin however it does beautifully, it is a very pigmented mauve type color with what I believe to be grey undertones. please note this was a limited edition product.

Nars Multiple in Malibu: This multiple was purchased in a trio and I find it to be amazing, multiples individually are extremly expensive and not all are amazing however I love this color with a small amount of a similar blush on the top, it adds so much extra dimension to a look.

Mac Light Year MSF: This too was a limited edition product, this MSF is not a total glitter bomb and the beautiful nude color looks amazing on the top of cheek bones.

Chanel Plum attraction rouge contrast:  The Chanel blushes have the most amazing scent, like roses and not that fake smell, real roses! the blushes retail for $79 I believe, which is very expensive but the quality is there which makes me feel a little better. The color is great for a contour and blends very easily so dont be scared by the reddened purple pan color.

Chanel Espigle rouge contrast: Another $79 blush, however this is so finely milled it is worthy of the price tag. The color is a peachy pink with fine gold glitter. amazing.

 Eyes next, from the left

Mac Extra Dimension eyeshadow pink venus: Limited edition, sorry ladies. This eyeshadow is amazing only a soft pink however so smooth and blendable a dream to work with.

Mac Extra Dimension eyeshadow rich core: Once again, limited edition. This is the perfect shade for my dark brown eyes, I often wear this with pink venus and get many compliments.

Nars night star: This is such an efortless eyeshadow. On days I am in a rush I will apply this all over the lid with a brown eyeliner and be done. It is quite glittery but that is what Nars are good at.

Mac pigment in Reflects Pearl: Out of all my reflects pigments this so far is my favourite, I did haul quite a few recently so I will show you shortly). I use this product with fix plus over the lighter half of a smokey eye and it looks fantastic.

Mac eyeshadow in Trax: This has been a favourite of mine since day one. It is a beautiful purple with gold glitter. When creating a dramatic eye I will use this around the socket for dimension. It is amazing.

Laura Mercier Lingere Palette: Funny story with this, I rung my local LM Counter when I saw this online to ask if the Lingere Collection had come out to be told that they do not sell Lingerie, only makeup :) The eyeshadows in the Lingere palette are phenominal, all of them. favourites include: buff pearl and tawny apricot. The palette was limited edition however I don't believe all the eyeshadows are.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Original: I have already raved about this product so please check out my Kit Cosmetics Haul, Best eye primer ever!

 Finally for lips,

Illamasqua Fable Lipstick: This is a great lipstick to be worn with a brown liner such as Mac's electra. It is extremly matte however if you take care of your lips the color and pigmentation is amazing!

Ysl Rouge Volupte No 1: The rouge volupte is my all time favourite lipstick formula, they are so creamy and pigmented. This color is a gorgeous nude color that looks amazing with heavy eye makeup.

YSL Rouge Volupte No 30: Same as above, however this is a peachy color amazing on dark skin.

Mac Electra Pro Longwear Lip Pencil: This Lip Pencil is so smooth, doesn't tug or dry lips. Just a great staple brown with no orange or pink undertones.

Mac Creme Cup: My most worn out Lipstick, a beautiful nude pink that is pigmented and hydrating.

That Is everything Ladies,

Just a few products that I also should mention include: Diorskin nude concealer, and Laura Mercier metallic creme in Alloy.

What were your favourite products of 2012?

XO

Pemily

DIY makeup holder for Pencils

Hi Everyone,

Today I thought I would share with you something I recently made.

It was a lot easier than I had anticipated and was inexpensive.

To start you will need some of the diamante stickers shown below.

I purchased these stickers from Cheap As Chips for $3.00 per packet, I used one and a half packets.

Apologies for starting, I didn't realise this was actually going to work. I am not much of a DIY kinda gal.
This container was purchased at smiggle, it comes in an array of different colours and retails for $6.95 each.

The stickers are in sheet form with clear backing attaching them, it is quite simple to peel off and stick around the container.

Cherry Culture Haul NYX, Milani

Hello Everyone,

Today I am going to show you some things I hauled from Cherry Culture.
As you can tell I am not a "drugstore" kinda gal, not that there is anything wrong with Drugstore makeup but my preferences lean towards high end.
However, I was expecting to see NYX at the IMATS in which they didn't show up too... very upset, they were even in the manual and one of the workers told me they simply didn't bother to show!!
NYX is a brand that is raved about on YT, Blogs etc so I decided at the price point I really had nothing to lose.


First up I will show you the blushes, At the time  I placed the order Cherry Culture had 20% off. Each blush cost me $4.50 each.

Taupe



Angel



Dusty Rose



Natural



Peach

One thing with these blushes is not to have high expectations in terms of the packaging. Some of the lids seem really flimsy,  some of them wouldn't sit up on  their own for the photos, will report back if I get any broken lids!

Next up the lip products, Nude Peach Fuzz and Candy Land are xtreme lip cream's in which i paid $4.50 each. Mauve and Pink are NYX Girls glosses and they were $2.25 each (crazy!)

L:R Nude Peach Fuzz, Candy Land, Mauve, Pink

Once again packaging comes up, I can understand if the name label for the product is in a different spot for different glosses IE the Xtremes and the Glosses etc, however in the two glosses I received one has the sticker on the top and one on the bottom. This may sound crazy but I like consistency!


I have tried Nude Peach Fuzz and let me tell you! It packed a punch, extremely pigmented, think painting your lips with paint! in that sense it reminded me of an OCC Lip Tar, however it didn't seem to sink in to my lips as a Lip Tar or high end product would making the application quite difficult as the colour moved. If smell is a big factor for you, you may wan't to skip these as they are a plastic like smelling product.

As for the scent  of the Girls glosses, I get plastic mixed with a mild hint of burnt rubber. (I just sat here sniffing and  now have gloss under my nose trying to work out what the scent is!!)

My Hair Care Routine

Hello everyone :)

Today I thought I would show you my hair care routine..
Haircare is something that I truly, truly believe you get what you pay for.
I have extremely curly/frizzy dry hair that I manage to straighten and keep looking glossy and healthy (most of the time).
Please understand I am not telling you all to go out and spend a fortune on these products I am simply trying to show you what works best with my hair.

First up here are my shampoo and conditioner. For the past 6 months I have been using Alterna, The science of 10. I don't know of which salons sell these products particularly as I get them from a hairdresser supplier.
at 250ml shampoo retails for $100 (In the pic it is the pro size) and a 200ml mask is the same. No matter what brand I am using I will always opt for a mask as my conditioner, they are generally not too far apart in price but a mask is always more hydrating.

These products are like none I have tried before. The shampoo lathers up into more of a cream than actual bubbles, just be careful not to get it in you eye because this one specifically hurts like you know what!!
I will always use a small amount (think 10 cent piece), rub through rinse and then shampoo again with slightly more the second time.

Once done with shampoo I move onto the conditioner, the Alterna conditioner is very very thick, think like a wax mixed with a cream, thickness in a conditioner to me indicates a good product. I will place my conditioner in my hair and comb thru (ends first) gently with a wide tooth comb. I usually do this in the bath because I like to leave my conditioner in for at least 20 minutes, this helps it absorb  and really deeply condition.

Now for the fun part, to rinse I go back to the shower put only cold water on and blast it with the cold water until all my hair is coated, I am not necessarily rinsing the product, only making my hair cold, like freezing cold.  This is actually painful! but the results are amazing, when I do this my hair is always softer and glossier.
then I will rinse it out with normal temperature water and I'm done :)

Once I have briefly towel dried my hair I will use 2 pumps of the Lakme K Therapy repair gel on the ends of my hair, This is another brilliant product. My hairdresser told me of this as I am NOT a fan of Lakme at all (bad experience in the past, was given what I believe to be hairspray in a bottle that was labelled straightening serum) however I honestly have not cut my hair in 6 months as my hairdresser insists it doesnt need it. I previously was pushing desperate for a cut at the 10 week mark. This product has done miracles for my ends.
This is also a product I picked up from a hairdressing supplier but I believe it retails at the $35 mark.

I then either take a pump of the Kerastase Elixir Ultime serum which I purchased overseas or the Davroe moisture senses.
What I love about this Kerastase serum is that unlike the previous Kerastase serums this one has heat protectant in it! I also read that you can use this serum before you shampoo, place a small amount in your hear and work through as this will help the shampoo.
As for the Davroe product I too think it is great, Davroe have totally shocked me! I am yet to meet a Davroe product I do not love, my recommendations are the Lemongrass detangler and their hairspray, they are also really affordable at generally $20 per product from Hairhouse Warehouse.

Last but not least: I will use a root boost, as I use such Hydrating heavy products I get left with no volume, however it is a real "catch 22" for me, I need them to combat the frizz but my hair is flat, any suggestions would be great (I don't use serum near my roots!)
If I am using the Davroe or Redken I will put this into the still damp hair, If The Aveda that's after styling.

The Davroe product is described as a voluminous spray, it says to use on damp hair but I do notice it also acts a little like a hair spray so I am a little cautious about whether or not this is good for my hair with the GHD, no problems as yet, the Redken root boost is just okay, I don't really see a great deal of results.

The Aveda is a really unique product. I purchased this due to LisaLisaD1's raves and it is great at volumising.
It is a product that you do not shake, and is a powder, once styled and dried, you place this white powder on the roots and work through, it kind of feels like chalk.
My only quarm with it is that I only need to wash my hair once a week and feel this leaves a waxy like residue in my hair.

Enough with the hair products.
If anyone has any questions or recommendations for me please leave in the comments below.
I hope this has been helpful.

XO
Pemily.

Sydney Haul - Tom Ford, Burberry, KIT Cosmetics

Hello :)

Here is another portion of my Sydney Haul!!!

almost there now ladies.

apologies on the delay :)

Let's get started!

First up the Burberry, Let me start by saying that I had an absolutely lovely lovely salesman.... he was attentive, NOT Pushy and gave me loads and loads of freebies!! I cannot remember his name but he mentioned that he was the Makeup artist for Burberry and was not assigned to one counter...

First up, the eye shadows, from L:R pale barley, rosewood, tea rose.
these eye shadows are heavy, really really heavy!! (the packaging I am referring too), think double the weight of a Chanel and then some...... they seem to be a metal container that is gun metal in colour with the signature Burberry plaid packaging. The eye shadows retailed for $45 each which I believe is an expectant price for a brand such as Burberry, after all this is what we pay at Chanel.

I also purchased this lipstick in No. 2 Cameo, this lipstick is amazing! it has a little metallic in it which is something I would generally HATE but! I love it and it is so effortless to wear. I also really like the way the lid is magnetic, you need to turn it to the right side and it magnetises, so cool!

The Lipstick was $49.

The final instalment of my Burberry, believe it or not all these products were Free, F-R-E-E!!!!!
from the top: a sample of their sheer concealer, full size eye make-up remover, 2 samples of sheer foundation and 2 (TWO) full size makeup brushes, one being a blending brush which looks like a Mac 224, the other a pencil brush which is reminiscent of the Mac pencil brush, I was also given some perfume samples for men and women.

As you can see I was spoilt at the Burberry counter, us high end hauling makeup girls know that there are few and far between GWP's and samples given at these counters so once in a while it is nice to be appreciated and encouraged to sample the products.

Whilst in Sydney I had to stop past a Tom Ford counter to check out Tom Ford as TheCurrentCustom (Lorraine) and Christine from Temptalia rave about their products.
Lorraine loves their brushes so I decided to try out the No 12 Eye brush, I did want the face also however they had no stock. In all honesty for $75 yes that's Right $75 I would NOT repurchase, In my opinion the Mac 239 is a much better brush, although they are similar the Tom Ford has a slightly tapered head that I find to be very un useful on a brush like this.
I checked out the eye shadows but only quads were available and I found them to be all glitter and no pigmentation, not true to pan at all, this is how I feel about YSL eyeshadow quads.... no thanks, not at that price point (over $100), in Adelaide DJ's you can purchase Tom Ford Lipsticks but I didn't want to walk away with 1 product so I also purchased this lipstick in Nude Vanille, best thing about this product.... the packaging. it really is beautiful. The lipstick is nice but I find it to be a little drying and at $65 i want a perfect lipstick.

whilst in Sydney I was sporting an orange spray tan, we had a little mishap with the machine i think :) so foundations at the time were not an option, I did explain this to the salesman and asked for a sample to take home once the hideous tan came off and I was told (at no fault of the salesperson) Tom Ford does not believe in samples, this did annoy me a little considering I had just come from Burberry so I guess next time I am in Sydney I will go in store without any makeup on.

Kit Cosmetics is the sister company to Mecca Cosmetica, in Adelaide we do have 2 Mecca stores but no Kit so I wanted to take advantage of some of these US coveted brands whilst I was in Sydney!
I wanted to burn some serious money however not a great deal really appealed to me at the time. The first item I purchased was the Photo Op eye Palette, Soft box by Smashbox, in this palette there are 2 matte shades accompanied by 4 shimmers, on the back of the palette there is a QR scan to get the look and also a sticker to peel back with 2 looks to copy.
At the top we have a Mario Badescu drying lotion, This brand is constantly talked about! this product is fantastic, my pimples are literally gone within a day, no more gross white puss filled lumps on the surface.
finally my treasure of what could be the whole trip Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Oh my! this product is brilliant! eye shadows do not move! 40 degree heat is nothing for this primer. I have worn this everyday since I have been back and apply with my fingers right up to the brow bone, I purchased the original formula as that's all I will need.


well that's FINALLY it for my  Sydney hauling but now I have approx 10 more bags of makeup to show everyone..... I need to go to a makeup AA meeting!!! so please do let me know if there is anything you would like an in depth review on our would like swatches off and don't forget to vote on what you would like to see on the blog.

XO

Pemily

VOTE VOTE VOTE

Hey Guys,

ensure you vote on what you would like to see first/more off!!!

***voting to the left***

xo
pemily