Craving

My daily make up is usually ridiculously quick and simple but hopefully leaves me looking like I put a lot more than the minimum amount of effort required to look presentable in. I think I owe most of that to the lipstick though.

You might have noticed but I often don't wear lipstick, or anything on my lips actually. I'm just not a lipstick girl… not that you'd know that by looking at how many lip product I own, lipsticks are just so tempting with their beautiful colours, but once I buy them they sadly never get used. But in Dubai I fell in love with mac's Russian Red, wearing it almost every day I was there, so, convinced I was now a lipstick sort of girl,  I couldn't resist the mac counter in Sydney and somehow walked out with Craving.

Honestly, it's made me look at the rest of my lipsticks completely differently, I have so many lovely colours I just never wear. I think I just feel too 'dressed up' if I have lipstick on - makes no sense I know. But since getting craving i've been wearing it almost none stop.. possibly 5 days in a row which is completely unheard of for me!

On the rest of my face I just have Laura mercier tinted moisturiser, the Balm Bahama mama, Benefit they're Real, Collection lasting perfection concealer, L'Oreal brow artist, ChiChi Nudes palette

I love this lipstick liberally swiped on, but my favourite way to wear it is dabbed in the middle of my lips and smudged/smeared out so it's a lighter weight. Craving is my first amplified finish and it's amazing - creamy, pigmented, reasonably long lasting and it just wears beautifully throughout the day! I hate high-maintenance lipsticks, I just can't be bothered having to constantly reapply but it leaves a subtle stain once it's worn off which means I can put off reapplying! 

At the moment I'm sticking to a little bronzer for some slight contouring and skipping the whole blush and highlighter, but I don't see that lasting too much longer. As soon as I start having to wear a coat on a daily basis I can't resist piling on the highlighter to try and keep my skin looking really 'alive'.

I made use of my ChiChi Nude palette sweeping on a light shimmery shade and then layering on the mascara. I got the palette in Brisbane on a bit of an impulse as the colours were buttery soft and pigmented when swatched. On reflection it's not a particularly great palette as all the colours have a distinct silver, cool undertone but I can't complain as it was a bit of a bargain. And the streamlined packaging means it's great to throw in your bag for a weekend away.

Since getting craving I've been much more experimental with my lip colours, and I already know another amplified mac lipstick will be mine in no time at all!

Current Favourites

Although this blog is almost entirely me rambling about make up with the occasional hair or skin care ramble thrown in, I want to share a couple of my other random favourites every so often too. It's not going to be a regular thing, but maybe every month or so expect a bit of an odd collection of favourites to appear! I've had one of the most amazing month and these are just handful of things that sprung to mind Saturday morning while nursing my fuzzy head after celebrating a friend's birthday last night

Picking my own Fruit
Where I'm living at the moment I'm surrounded by fruit trees and everything seems to be ripe at the moment so I've been picking a little selection of fruit every morning. There's just something so lovely about starting your day picking oranges and lemons! - I can't wait for the grapefruits to be ready!

Myer Briggs Test
This has been around for ages, so it's probably not new to most of you. But it's basically a 'personality test', you answer a bunch of questions and you get given a 4 letter result. I'm INTJ if you were wondering. I've just been really loving googling the various 'charts' out there, there's one that correlates your 'type' with a Game of Thrones character, or someone from star wars, or even a disney princess! I had a girly evening the other night and after a glass of wine we figured out our types and had way too much fun comparing which characters we'd be! It's a fun way to waste some time!

Golden Kiwis
I've never seen these in the UK so I've been pretty much living off them here as they're so good and I want to make the most of being able to get them where they're grown!

John Mayer's cover of XO
I found Beyonce's latest album to be really hit or miss, roughly half the songs I completely adore, but some just don't do it for me. John Mayer, one of my favourite artists, did a cover of XO recently and I can't stop listening to it! I think he completely nailed it!

New Zealand
It's a bit weird to have a country as a favourite, but I'm now my time in New Zealand is coming to an end I just can't help but see all the wonderful parts of the country. I'm trying to squeeze in as many weekend trips and long treks as possible since the landscape here is truly phenomenal!

College Prepster
I've loved Carly's blog for a while but the last month or so I've been checking it every day and loving every single post! Definitely head over and check it out if you haven't already as she's got a lovely style with great posts for young women, and actually women of almost any age. I always find what she posts seems to just perfectly suit what's going on in my own life - oh and her puppy, teddy, is adorable.

TED
I'm ridiculously late on the bandwagon here I know, but it's only the last month or so I've discovered Ted Talks videos. And oh my gosh they are addictive. I personally love watching one when I wake up in the morning as they're just so inspiring it sets me up for the day. They're also my guilty pleasure during study breaks as they keep me motivated!

It's over

It's been a 3 year love affair but I think it might be officially over.
Well… for now anyway, I'm a fickle soul when it comes to make up.

Gel Eyeliner was something I fell madly in love with the very first time I applied my Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black Ink. It glided on, instantly opaque and because you could choose your bush you have complete control over the process. Cat-eyes and all sorts of winged looks suddenly were so easy to achieve, and I've continually repurchased all these years.

While I was home I picked up this liquid liner pen purely because there was some offer going on and now, with my gel liner drying up with no where to repurchase, I've suddenly remembered how much I love liquid. There's no brushes to clean (one of the baines of my life), it dries so much quicker, you can get an incredibly fine line with the tiny tip and you don't have to constant redip your brush while doing your make up. It might seem like a tiny thing but opening the pot, closing it, applying half your liner and then having to open and close it all over again to stop the liner from drying out is a bit of a pain.

This certainly isn't the best liner out there, if I remember rightly L'Oreal has an amazing one, and I think I've heard mumblings of Soap and Glory having a pretty decent one too. I can't wait to get my mitts on some different liner pens as they are undoubtedly becoming a staple.

I'm particularly loving to draw on a tiny line with a mini flick in the outer corner with a dark brown smudged along the last line to soften the look. I just think it instantly looks like you've put effort into your make up!

Can't wait to try some others namely Smashbox Limitless Liner, Dior Addict It Liner, YSL Moire, and Soap & Glory Supercat liner!

Misses

I've had a couple of bits and pieces that I've wanted to mention for a while, but none are worthy of their own post since all four just miss the mark. Since they all seem to fall into the same basket I thought I'd lump them together, as they're all fine, not terrible, and I'll probably persevere and use them up but I can't recommend them as they all have one or two big failings. 

Stila Smudge Pot in Kitten looks beautiful in the pot. I bought it after hearing endless exclamations over Stila's kitten eyeshadow and my love of cream shadows was reaching it's peak so I figured it must be a match made in heaven right? wrong

It's impossible to work with, I just can't get a decent overall colour when I apply it. You either get a very, very sheer glittery cast on the lids or you get a clumpy mess. I have to be so careful with this it's just not worth it, as even on those rare days I get it right the colour just isn't that pretty. I'm definitely going to be hunting down Stila Kitten eyeshadow when I'm in the States in July but I'd definitely stay away from the rest of Stila's smudge pots since this was such a disappointment

I only have NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk with in my New Zealand as however beautiful Yoghurt is I just can't figure out a use for it. These things crease like crazy on my lids, and they just don't stick for the waterline. So I'm left either using it very, very lightly on my lids to the point where there's no point, or under my lower lash line… I see other people using these all the time so I'm going to persevere with them a little longer to find some use of them.

Mac Honey Lust (middle swatch) is another mixed bag, when you apply it wet with a mixing medium it is a gorgeous eye shadow that provides super shimmery, metallic pigmentation with pretty glitters. However you apply it dry and it's a whole different story. It's sparse, the colour is none existent and worst of all, the glitter drops all over your face.

The reason I'm mentioning it here is that although when applied wet it's an amazing shadow, even then you have to be very careful to not apply too much. Despite it being gorgoues it's just a hassle, I find blending it out wet is a little bit of nightmare, but if I wait for it to dry then it goes terribly chunky and I get glitter all over my face. I just can't win and it's not something I'll be buying again despite how pretty it is when you get it right

The final miss is the Live Clean, Fresh Face Daily Moisturiser, which I got while I was in Brisbane, around 3 months ago and it's taken until now to firmly make my mind up. But I don't like it. It's thin formula feels lovely when you're applying it, especially if it's hot outside as it's very calming, however the problems arise when it dries. I've never had a moisturiser that make my skin feel so tight after applying it! I put it down to my skin being dehydrated for a while but I'm now confident it's this.

Its not a complete fail though, I imagine this could work very well for someone with oily skin or somewhere very humid. But for now it's being relegated to the back of my skin care. 

Piling it on for Autumn

Winter is definitely creeping in but last week we had a lovely warm spell so I celebrated by throwing my foundations in the corner and whipping out my tinted moisturisers. I'm a little (a lot) obsessed with Laura Mercier's tinted moisturiser, to the point that when it came to going out with som friends for a meal I couldn't bring myself to putting a foundation on despite craving so full coverage. So for one of the first times I layered up.

I'm not a fan of building up foundations, or tinted moisturisers, I apply one layer, buff it in really well and I'm good. If it's not enough coverage then I just accept that's the way that foundation works and smother my face in concealer. (for the most part LM tinted moisturiser gives the perfect daily coverage)

So I put an awful lot of LM's Tinted moisturiser on, and despite being doubtful of the finish, I've fallen even more in love with it. You really can get it to a solid medium, verging on full-ish coverage! And the best bit is the finish doesn't vary - it's still the lovely blend of dewy-satin finish!

Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser, Maybelline Instant Anti-Age Eye Eraser, Benefit they're real, Maybelline liner, Mac Camomile & Patina, Smashbox Avant/Garde, Benefit hula, L'Oreal BrowArtist
and, not pictured here, but lots of Baptiste XXL Volume dry shampoo to make my hair a little crazy

I kept the restt of my make up super simple for the evening, neutral lightly shimmer shadows, a lighter concealer than normal for under my eyes, and I didn't go for a lipstick, as when I'm going out for dinner I just can't bare to put some on when I don't its going to come right off.. and probably into my mouth while eating - not a pleasant thought. 

Keeping things simple.

Despite winter being well on it's way here in New Zealand this last week we've had a mini late autumn heat wave. It's not been breaking records or anything but bare legs and suncream have definitely made an appearance. I've wholeheartedly embraced the warmer weather and my make up has been kept to a complete minimum, as no one wants to slap on a ton of make up when it's going to sweat off! Following the same theme my skin care has become seriously streamlined with one cleanser being almost entirely to blame.

Simple make up

It's all about the skin at the moment, any shift in weather makes my skin a little funny for the first week as it handles the change, so instead of smothering it in foundation I've been reaching for a sheer, dewy tinted moisturiser. The perfect little combo at the moment in Laura Mercier's oil free tinted moisturiser and Collection lasting perfection concealer, these two together provide a great finish, slightly dewy but with great targeted coverage.

Everything else is kept super simple, a little hula bronzer for some slight contouring action, a tiny amount of They're Real Mascara (since it's a pain to remove) and just a slight shimmer shade all over the lid, usually Urban Decay's Sin or Mac's All that Glitter. Fresh, Quick and Simple for mornings when getting out of bed is just hard work.

Simple Cleanser

I actually first tried this when my friend let me borrow hers and I liked it so much I went out and bought it myself. Despite going out to get it I'm not going to tell you this is necessary in your life, although I do think something 'like' this is a necessity. It's gentle, it's calming and it does the trick. I've not seen any magical effects from using it but I know that regardless of how my skin is doing this will cleanse without being stripping, or leaving my skin clogged. 

It's biggest selling point for me has got to be that I really can use it on my eyes and it doesn't irritate or make my eyes water - I definitely don't use it daily on my eyes but if it's a late night and I just can't be bothered it gets rid of your eye make up while you cleanse your face. Ss many cleansers claim to be for skin and eyes, maybe it's just me, but I find half of them way to harsh to use anywhere near my eyes.

Here's hoping the warm weather lasts a little longer here - not likely sadly.

3 Mini Revelations

Today was a day of trying some new things - powder foundation, side buns and pale pink lips being three things I disregarded as not being very 'me' but I may, dare i say it, be a bit of a convert!

Sometimes I just can't be bothered to wash my hair, I know you have those days too so don't judge! And my usual coping mechanism is to throw it up in a top knot, and although I think they're pretty I don't think they necessarily suit my face - they always just look a little too harsh. 

So today, having been inspired by a random video from Meghan, I attempted a messy side bun thing - and I really like it! It keeps everything off my face without looking too sloppy, and I feel like its channelling the whole 'effortlessly stylish' look (I wish)

All the stuff I popped on my face: Vie One-Step-Face-Base in ivory, Maybelline master precise liquid liner, Maybelline fit concealer, Benefit they're real mascara, L'Oreal super liner brow artist, Mac viva glam gaga, Mac tempting, Mac brule, Urban Decay twice baked, Lancome tropiques minerale orche doree.

I've been interesting in giving powder foundations a whirl for a while now, and recently there's been a bit of a rise in my favourite bloggers recommending them, namely laura mercier's. But I just couldn't take the plunge since part of me was always convinced they'd just feel and look horrible not he skin, I had this image of dry flaky skin, probably because I've only ever used powder sparingly

 But while I was home I rummaged through some make up I left and rediscovered a powder by Vie which used to be my favourite for dusting over my foundation for nights out. Since I needed a powder for New Zealand I threw it in my suitcase, and yesterday I tried it all over with just a touch of concealer for some extra coverage under my eyes. And oh my gosh - it looks so natural! I don't think the vie powder itself is amazing, although I'll definitely use it up, but my interest in trying another powder foundation is well and truly renewed. It didn't sink into any pores, accentuate dry spots of make my face feel dry, was truly a doddle to apply with my ecotools kabuki, so I simply can't wait to branch into powder foundations

I picked up Mac's GaGa along with the powder while I was home hoping I'd manage to find a use for it. I pick it up when it first came up after hearing endless hype without considering the fact I rarely, if ever wear pink lipsticks. Spurred on by the successful powder foundation venture I gave it a whirl and I can't say I love it but I am definitely more of a fan now my skin is a little darker as it just suits my complexion a lot more.

Ignore the goosebumps, it's getting chilly down here. Tempting and Lancome's Tropiques Minerale.

Throwing in an honorary mention to Mac's tempting eyeshadow, this all over the lid with a little brule to blend it out and a touch of urban decays twice baked in the very outer corner is one of my favourite looks right now, which is surprising as prior to this week I think I'd actually used Tempting twice, possibly three times. I think it's been so neglected as it swatches quite poorly and it's a glittery mess in the crease. Tempting needs to be the centre piece of the look to work for me, the coppery tones and gold reflexes create a beautifully balanced look.

Do you ever have that, where you disregard a product only to use is again months down the line and have no idea why you weren't head over heels in love with it from the start? 

Jet-Lagged Face

I popped back to England or easter and while I was there I couldn't help but pick up a few bits and pieces - make up is damn expensive down under! Along with the obligatory collection lasting perfection concealer - I'm not going to talk about it since you're probably fed up of hearing about it's amazingness, I got the accompanying foundation, Super Liner Brow Artist from L'Oreal and Master Precise liquid liner, all of which I'm wearing today.

 I'm sure I'm not the only one who is completely impatient when it comes to trying out new make up, as soon as I buy it I can't wait to wear it!

 Excuse my terribly battered hoola bronzer - I've had this stuff for absolutely years and I've finally hit pan. But here's everything I was sporting today

I've been opting for the tinted moisturiser&mascara combo most days, with the occasional lick of concealer but today, inspired by collection's lasting perfection foundation I slapped on a full face, including the beautiful Soft and Gentle MSF from mac, I'd completely forgotten how this erases any hint of dull, tired looking skin (long-haul flights just make my skin look dead)

 Relvon's Tutti Frutti, Soft and Gentle, The Balm Bahama Mama, Hoola, Urban Decay Sin and Twice Baked eyeshadows

 I have a distinct love-hate relationship with Tutti Frutti, it's much brighter, and much more orange, than I'm usually comfortable with but sometimes you just need that injection of colour to give your fact a bit of a lift!

I kept my eyes pretty simply by digging out my old faithfuls of Urban decay's sin and Twice baked, I'm always surprised at the butteriness of sin and how stunning it looks swept all over the lid