Mid Year Makeup Favourites

Hey guys! I've definitely been missing you guys so while I'm on mid year holidays, I thought I would do a mid year favourites post. Kind of like a yearly one but half, hahaha and also because I've discovered some fantastic products this year so far that I really want to share with you.

Face

Dr. Jart Rejuvinating Blemish Base Silver Label BB Cream 

Oh mylanta. I have been obsessed with this product for the entire year so far. It is honestly the only foundation product I've used all year except for my Nars Sheer Glow twice for two formals because it photographs well.  I've even had Giorgio Armani foundation samples that I still haven't tried because this BB Cream is simply amazing. It completely trumps all the other foundations I've tried. I just love the ease and practicality of this product. It's so easy to apply with any tool, I prefer using my fingers or my beauty blender, it looks so seamless and natural on the skin. It doesn't look like you're wearing tons of makeup, just that you have really awesome skin! The coverage is also build-able, which is fantastic because you can use a tiny bit to get light coverage or you can build it up to get almost full coverage even. I usually wear it at medium coverage using about half a pea size give or take. If I'm in a pinch, it gives great brightening under the eyes too or even when dabbing it on a blemish. It also has SPF 35 which is awesome and helps fight blemishes/redness with decent oil control. I love this product so much and it's all I ever use now, it's just legendary!

Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener in Light-Med Peach

I've mentioned this product before so I'm not going to go in depth. This is just my favourite under eye concealer and it's quite a light formula which I like and it's peachy undertone is great at correcting dark circles. I can't wait to get the new packaging of a doe foot applicator when I'm finished. 

MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC30

Again, another staple of mine. Still my favourite concealer. It just is fantastic at covering blemishes but still looking natural. 

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Dark

And once again, a staple of mine. Just such a fantastic natural powder that gives a really nice finish. However, not the best if you want really good oil control. Hence, I've been starting to use the next product quite a lot. 

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in Beige Medium

Great powder for more oil control. I will still need to blot throughout the day but it's much better oil control than my MAC one. It looks pretty natural however, the finish isn't AS nice as the MAC one. Well you can't have everything can you?

Bobbi Brown Blush in Nude Peach

My all time favourite blush, I talk about this all the time so I'm not going to go into it too much. I just love how it's the perfect balance between peach and nude, matte and shimmer, and sheer and pigmented. 

MAC Cremeblend Blush in Something Special

I've been getting back into this amazing blush in the cooler months and because my skin has been clearing up. Cream blushes weren't usually my best friend because of my combination-oily complexion and blemished complexion. But as my skin produces less oil in the cooler months, I like to wear this blush when my skin is on the clearer side. It's a really pretty colour, a little more peachy than the Bobbi Brown blush but still very natural and it's easy to use. I just apply it with my fingers and then blend it out in a dabbing motion with my beauty blender and wah la! Natural cheeky flush!

MAC Cream Colour Base in Hush

Still my favourite highlighter, love how natural it is! However, I am in the market for a cream highlighter because I want more oil control. So do you guys have any recommendations for a powder highlighter that gives a natural glow, I don't wanna be a disco ball haha. 

Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Still my favourite Bronzer as well, I love it!

Lucas' Paw Paw Ointment

This is a topical product that I like to put on my skin before/after makeup. I usually dab a bit on dry patches before I put on my makeup and after on any dry patches I missed that were accentuated by the makeup. 

Urban Decay DeSlick Makeup Setting Spray

I've been using this as a setting spray instead of MAC's Fix+ and it has helped my makeup last so much longer. I spritz this before and after I do my face makeup, however, if I want more oil control, I instead spray it before I apply my makeup and after I've applied all my cream/liquid products and then I apply my powder products over it. 

Eyes

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Still a fantastic eye primer, I've been using this for ages!

Nars Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base

I started using this eye primer at the start of the year. I quite like it but I'm still not sure if it beats UDPP. 

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow in Cement

One of my must have products, such a fantastic eyeshadow base for evening out the skin tone and it's also fantastic on its own. I usually wear this to school on its own because it's the perfect shadow for my skintone so that it doesn't look like I'm wearing eyeshadow but my eyes are brightened. Great for a no makeup makeup look. 

MAC Paint Poit in Bare Study

Another one of my must have eye products. Probably my favourite champagne toned cream shadow. I've tried a few and every time I come back to this one. The colour and formula is just fantastic. Unfortunately, the staying power isn't effective enough for my super oily eyelids so I still need to wear a primer underneath as I have to with every cream shadow. 

MAC Eyeshadow Quad - Naked Lunch, All That Glitters, Satin Taupe, Quarry

Even though I have quite a few fantastic neutral palettes, I always come back to this quad for my weekend eyeshadow looks (I don't wear much eyeshadow to school). Naked Lunch is a great classic champagne colour that looks amazing on the eyelids. I usually pair it with Quarry, which is a gorgeous matte neutral purple that adds a subtle purple to the eyes, or Wedge for subtle definition which I will mention down below. All That Glitters is a really nice warmer champagne shade, an 'almost' gold colour, kind of haha. I wear this more often in the evening with Satin Taupe, which is a beautiful taupe colour. Often I like to wear satin taupe on it's own all over the lid for a simple and soft smoky look. 

MAC Eyeshadows - Wedge, Brule

Wedge is my favourite 'blending' colour. It's one of those basic light brown matte shades. If I ever have a more dramatic look that needs to be muted, I blend with this shade to tone down all the frostiness. I also love this as subtle definition for Naked Lunch when I'm going for a really natural look. Brule is my all time favourite highlight colour. It's really velvety and pigmented, and it's a satin finish, so there's not shimmer but it has a sheen so it's not completely flat. I usually pair this with every eye look and for school I just sweep a bit under my brow with my finger for added brightness. 

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette - Blackout

I've never really loved how my eyes looked with black liner because it just seemed so dark. I love really natural makeup so black liner has always felt over the top for me, especially with my dark eyes, brows, lashes and glasses, it just seemed too much in my opinion. And then I found this great technique for applying powder as a liner from a video gossmakeupartist did on dailymixtv on YouTube. The technique is just to push the eyeshadow into your lash line with an angled eyeliner brush, which I find super fast and easier than applying powder eyeshadow with a gel liner 'dragging' technique. The look is really soft but still adds definition and an ever so slight sultry tone from the softness. I personally haven't used the two Naked palettes THAT MUCH except for the two formals this year, but that isn't saying the two palettes aren't great, as a whole I just haven't really used them that much this year so far. 

Too Faced Natural Eye Collection Palette - Sexpresso 

After that eyeshadow eyeliner technique discovery, I wanted to try it for a more neutral brown as well. I used this shade with the same technique and I love it for daytime. Again, it's really soft but gives added definition to your eyes and makes your lashes look a little thicker without undermining them. And again, is really quick and easy to do and I've been wearing this eyeshadow as eyeliner so much!

Urban Decay 24/7 Gilde On Eye Pencil in Demolition

I'd also been getting into pencil liner for most of this half year and I've been loving it. This is a fantastic brown colour that is really easy to apply. If I want a more natural look, I usually do a really thin rough line and then I smudge it out a bit with a cotton tip. The formulation of these are fantastic. I did also start tight lining with this and it generally stays on pretty well and creates a natural look. But I'm still a little iffy when tight lining so I've been leaning more to the eyeshadow eyeliner technique recently. 

Ardell Brow Sculpting Gel

I've been seriously slacking on my brows and I really don't care hahaha. I actually really like the natural, a bit messy & thick brow look. And I know this is terrible in the beauty world, but to people who don't care much about the beauty side of things (my parents, guy friends) it looks so much better and more natural. Every time I've filled in my brows, it felt like the face was too made up and I didn't like that. When it comes to makeup, I wanna just be me and hence, why I like natural makeup. I actually feel more uncomfortable with a cake face of makeup. So to the point of this product, if I'm going to some special event, I've just used this to ever so slightly shape my unruly brows a little better. 

Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara by LashBlast in Black Brown

OH MY GOSH I LOVE THIS MASCARA! I've only used this mascara all year so far, what a shocker for me hahaha! It fixed the one issue I had with the original Lash Blast Volume (my previous favourite mascara) which was clumping. It still gives pretty good lengthening and volume (I wouldn't say as crazy as other mascaras I've seen) but it still DOESN'T SMUDGE on me and can look natural or a little more dramatic. And it's funny because as soon as it starts smudging often I know that it's time to throw it out. I'd say the tube lasted about 4-5 months. It couldn't push the 6 months mark cuz it was just smudging every time so I bought a new one and it's smudgeproof once again! Yay! This is now my all time mascara and I'm hoping to get the waterproof one when I go to America, simply because whenever I cry, I just happen to be wearing mascara. 

Lips

Nuxe Reve de Miel Honey Lip Balm

This is probably, other than burt's bees simply because it's a more practical packaging, my favourite lip balm. My best friend got it for my birthday when she went to France at the start of the year and I absolutely love it. It's an incredibly luxurious formulation and lasts so long on the lips. It has a great finish that is mostly matte but feels very velvety. Just simply fantastic. The only down size is a not very portable pot packaging however, I don't think the formula would be as good if it was in a stick form. 

Lush Honey Trap Lip Balm

Another fantastic lip balm that definitely does rival the former, but has a creamier finish and doesn't last as long, but it still lasts so much longer than most lip balms. Also, it smells absolutely amazing, just like white chocolate, honey and a bit of mint. 

Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm

I've been trying some more of the Burt's Bees lip balms, such as the nourishing mango and replenishing pomegranate ones which I love too, but my favourite of the year so far would be this one. This one has a bit more sheen than the original beeswax one but isn't as glossy as the other two mentioned. Just a generally great great lip balm and I prefer this scent of the original minty scent which is often overwhelming in my opinion. 

Nivea Repair & Protection SPF 20 Lip Balm

This is the lip balm that I usually use on going out in the day because it has SPF, especially in the warmer months or on days when the UV is quite high. Generally not bad lip balm and it's one that I've always repurchased. 

Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Hibiscus

Okay now moving into the coloured lip products. Still, my all time favourite lip product without question. Not going to talk about it too much because I've mentioned this a lot before. It's just a fantastic formulation, great finish and natural colour and easy to apply without a mirror. 

Maybelline Pink Glow Mixed Berry Lip Balm in Pink Blast

This is one of those lip balms that appear clear but change to give a kind of bright colour based on each person's unique lip chemistry. It gives a really nice natural medium fuchsia pink. The only downside is Maybelline lip balms have a really watery consistency and they don't wear off very nicely, but I love this for a fuss-free tint of colour. 

Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart

I've been getting into more natural fuchsia lip colours and this one is really nice. I usually apply it really lightly because I think it's too dramatic when it's at thick application. It also leaves a hint of a stain that is quite natural. 

So they're my mid year makeup favourites. It's quite a lot for you guys to read hahaha. I'm currently on mid year school holidays which is why I'm posting this and because I've been missing this. Anyway, hope you guys liked this post and have a nice day!

Collective Haul - Lush, MAC, Zara & More

Here is a collective haul starting from a while ago, I just didn't have time to put the haul up then because I was busy with exams and now I have just accumulated stuff since them. 

Also a little update: Now I am finally on school holidays so I will try to post more. I had just finished my year 11 and year 12 subject exams and then I started year 12 because my school starts the next academic year early, however I was just too busy to post then too. However I have a lot of ideas and the second part of the Spring Favourites video is coming, I'm just in the process of editing it right now. 

MAC Perfectly Plush Brush Kit: Essential

(190 Foundation Brush, 129 Powder/Blush Brush, 275 Medium Angled Shading Brush, 266 Small Angle Brush and 226 Small Tapered Blending Brush)

Lush Snowcake Soap

Tag: 10 Products I'd Repurchase If All My Makeup Disappeared

This tag has been spreading like wildfire on the beauty community, although it has died down a bit, I still find it super interesting. It's basically about if you lost all your makeup and could only buy 10 products, what would you buy? This was actually super hard for me because I often change products depending on the weather or just my mood haha although I do have some essential products that I absolutely love. It's also really fun to read/watch other people's tags because it shows what your favourite or essential products are.

I was tagged by Amy of the great blog http://prettypinklipss.blogspot.com.au and her Instagram is @amyppl to do this tag on Instagram (@amywenting) and I thought I might do a proper blogpost about it on my blog.

I tag anyone who wants to do this, it's actually a really fun tag in my opinion and allows you to try and think that if it came to only 10 products, what you would get for makeup.

Products:

Collective Haul - Makeup, Clothing & Other

Buxom Lash Mascara - travel size

I actually got this off Ebay and it's the first thing I got off Ebay. I'm really pleased with it and as you can't get in Australia, even online, I resorted to Ebay and I'm pretty happy with the result. The shipping took a while but I don't mind and it was pretty cheap. 

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Punjab 

I got this from Mecca Cosmetica and I know there are websites online that are cheaper but I had a $20 giftcard so it was even cheaper. 

Burt's Bees Refreshing Lip Balm with Pink Grapefruit

Got this from Priceline.

Basic long sleeve shirts in Black and White from Miss Shop @ Myer

Winter Dress from Tokito in Myer

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

From book depository which has great prices and free shipping worldwide!

Crazy, Stupid, Love DVD

From JB Hi-Fi (love this movie!)

NOTD 1.7.11

I have been waiting to paint my nails like this forever and FINALLY the holidays have come and I can!

OPI Mermaids Tears from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection (2 coats)

OPI Teenage Dream from the Katy Perry collection (on ring fingers)

I fell in love with Mermaids Tears when I first saw it on a blog and I fell in love with it. I eagerly awaited it for a couple of weeks after ordering from beautybay.com and I am just in love with this amazing colour. It has hints of mint green and sea foam green, so beautiful.

And I've always loved Teenage Dream, such a pretty glitter polish and I love wearing this on my ring fingers.   

I thought I might show some of the stuff that I usually use when I paint my nails.

Sally Hansen Advanced Hard as Nails (top & base coat)

Cotton tips

Cuticle pusher

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

Cutex strengthening nail polish remover

May Favourites

Ahh, May, the month of Pros and Cons. I definitely feel this month has had many extremely bad moments but also some amazingly fantastic moments as well. Sorry this is a little late and it's already June, but the first week of June, I was really busy, super annoying. 

Recently at the end of every month I often go beauty shopping, so I've been discovering a lot of stuff, but then they always have to go into the next month's favourites. But it's good, because then I've definitely used these products throughout May. 

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B40 Beige - Desert - this foundation is AHHHHH-MAZING!! I've been trying to find a foundation that is light coverage so that it feels light, but gives more coverage than a tinted moisturiser, therefore I won't have to use a lot of concealer, which I shouldn't be, and this is the one. I'm a fan of very natural looks so light coverage doesn't bother me, because I still want to be comfortable in occasionally not wearing makeup. It really does feel like a second skin, it's light, barely feels like makeup, although you do need to use a primer to keep this on, because it is quite light. It is really easy to apply, I just use my fingers and works great. Also, a little note, this needs to me shaken TONS, think you've shaken it enough? Shake more! The product can often separate because it is water based and oil free, but it is an amazing product!

Smashbox Photofinish Light Primer - This is my first Smashbox product and I am very pleased. This keeps my makeup lasting very long and prevents a lot of the makeup from getting into my pores. I also love this texture and the smell isn't too bothering. This is also oil-free and I also find primers important to prevent the makeup from clogging my pores. This was recommended by a makeup tumblr makeuptips-, check her out, she is amazing and gives fantastic tips.

Garnier Pure Active 2 in 1 Anti-Spot roll-on - I bought this a couple months ago but now I've been really getting into it. This is mostly a treatment, it dries out pimples, and also has a subtle concealing effect. I put this on all my pimple areas before my primer so that it can get into my skin. It has definitely worked but I recommend balancing this with an oil free moisturiser, just over or under, because it is drying, that's basically the point.

Sigma Angled Top Kabuki F84 - this brush is awesome! It's sooooo dense that the bristles don't even feel like individual bristles but more like a fabric, that may sound a little weird. I love using this for my cream blush, I apply the blush to my cheeks with my finger and blend it out with this brush. Blends fantastically and seamlessly, it's amazing. I definitely recommend the Face Synthetic Kit, you can use the flat top kabuki for liquid foundation, and the round top kabuki which I use for cream highlighter, and MAC doesn't have anything similar.

MAC Brush Cleanser - This is just an awesome spot cleaner because I use a lot of cream/liquid products and so spot cleaning is more important because bacteria gets stuck in liquid easier.

H20 - This may be weird, but this is a technique I am loving. What I do is just spray water over my eyes before I remove the eye makeup, this dissolves the makeup and makes it easier to remove. And I just put it into a travel spray bottle. I learnt this tip also from makeuptips-.

Swisspers Cleansing Eye Makeup Remover Pads - Often when I'm practising looks or need to quickly remove eye makeup or I've made mistakes, then I just use this to quickly remove all the makeup, this removes waterproof makeup as well. I don't recommend using this every day though because it is quite bad for the environment.

MAC ES All That Glitters - Super cute warm colour for all over lid.
MAC ES Swiss Chocolate - I love this matte eyeshadow, just a basic matte dirt brown that works well with All That Glitters.
MAC Bare Study Paint Pot - I looooooove using this as a base for everything, definitely brightens the look and the eyes in general. I often use this even just on it's own and set it with a similar colour such as MAC's Naked Lunch.

Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner in Pure White - I use this to line my waterline to brighten my eyes.
Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liner for Brown Eyes - I love to use a very subtle brown eye liner to line my eyes and therefore they frame eyes, making them bigger, but remember to practise and not overly use it.
Artiste Manicare Professional Pointed Eyeliner brush - This applies the gel liner perfectly and is not too expensive.
Clinique High Impact Mascara - I always come back to this mascara, stays on great, like a waterproof mascara, and is super easy to remove. Doesn't clump, good volume and separates lashes well.
Inglot Eyelash definer - Super sharp comb that separates lashes better than a usual plastic one, just be careful not to poke yourself, cuz that hurts.

Revlon Colorburst lipgloss in Peony - Love Revlon lipglosses, they're not sticky and this is a stunning natural shimmer colour.
Revlon Colorburst lipstick in Petal - Such a cute pearly colour.
Burt's Bees Lip Balm - I bought this in America but just started using it, it's much better than my Mentholatum Lip Balm that I used when my lips were pretty bad, it has a nice tingly feeling because of the Peppermint and is super great!

Lush Snake Oil - I am in looooove with Lush now, I was loving the shampoo but I have dandruff so I wanted the best of both worlds, and this helps me have that. I just rub the bar between my fingers and the  body's heat melts the oil, and then I just massage that into my hair. After that, I wait 15 minutes and then wash it off.

Lush Seanik Shampoo Bar - This is the most amazing shampoo I have tried yet. It makes my hair super shiny and soft, I think it's because of all the awesome ingredients that come from the deep blue sea. (:

Lush American Cream Conditioner - I just apply this conditioner to the tips of my hair and definitely keeps them soft and hydrated. My hair is soooo annoying, dandruff, oily roots and dry tips, but all these products are starting to help me.

Lush Joy of Jelly - So much fun to use but I eventually just made it easier and I break bits off and mash into a loofah. Smells sooooo great like jasmine.

Vera Wang Princess Perfume 30mL and Rollerball - My new all time favourite perfume, it is just amazing and I am in love with it. The rollerball is also really portable and convenient. I have been wearing this insanely much this month and am still in loooove with the detail in this scent.

Clinique makeup bags - They are both from Clinique in those gift packs you get when you purchase products for a certain amount. The left one is what I use to put my everyday makeup. I like it because it's quite big but the fabric is quite thin and so not ideal for travel. The right one is my makeup bag that I put in my bag, and its thick and a good size.

Body Shop Tea Tree Blotting Tissues - I looooove blotting tissues, I've been using these a lot, even just at home to remove excess oil and doesn't remove my makeup or anything and is super cheap, $5 for 65 tissues.

Bag from Rubi Shoes - I have been loving this bag, it's the perfect size, I loooove long strap bags and it matches with everything. It's like a knockoff of the trademark Mulberry bag and it fits much more stuff than it looks, seriously. (:

Now for non beauty related things:
CSI: Miami Season 7 - I've been waiting for Season 7 on DVD for more than a year, and also, based on the previous release dates, actually released two months late, GRR.
Grease - Recently our school musical was Grease, and because I went on the USA Music Tour, I couldn't be a singer/actor/dancer in it, but I was able to do backstage, and so I didn't get sick of it like everyone else, more so I love it more!
The Social Network - obsessed with this movie and Andrew Garfield! Can't stop thinking about this and just always am watching it.

Tennis Magazine - I am a crazy tennis follower, I almost religiously follow tennis and when one of my best friends and I were staying with our Boston host family, they had cable and it had TENNIS TV! We freaked out (my best friend is an awesome tennis player) and just watched it whenever we had spare time, it was awesome and so much fun! Super jealous of her.

I always have food favourites cuz I just love food (:

Blueberry Yogurt
Nestea Iced Green Tea Lemon
Solo Lemon Lime - For readers not from Australia, Solo is an AMAZING lemonade, and is usually lemon flavoured but my favourite is lemon lime.

Soooooo many products this month because I went shopping a lot, and I really did use these products this month. And thanks for visiting my blog! (:

Love love,
Amy

USA Haul

Hello lovelies!

I'm back! Recently I landed home in Melbourne airport and gosh I miss America, I had the best time of my life so far. I made some fantastic new friends and had some awesome experiences. 

Just a run down of what I did: I went to America for a 13 day Music Tour with my school. We had gigs, did all the touristy stuff and in Boston and New Jersey, we stayed with host families and went to the American schools. It was awesome! Altogether, we went to San Francisco, Boston, New Jersey, New York and Anaheim (Disneyland). 

Haul time!

Stila Lip Glaze 7 Pack @ Urban Outfitters Harvard Square, Boston for $25, $120 value!!
Shades from left to right: Majesty*, Merry Merry*, Grapefruit, Seashell*, Blush*, Guava, Kitten*, Apricot
* mean limited edition, guava is my favourite and they all smell great :)