Saturday 31 January 2015

My January Favourites

Since today is the last day of the month I decided to share some of my favourite products for the month of January.  It's a mixture of make-up, hair and skin care products.

Soap and Glory Scrub 'Em and Leave 'Em Body Buff (300ml)

First up is a body buff by Soap and Glory, I actually only bought this because Mecca Maxima didn't have any Flake Away left in stock. It's a combination of babassu oil, sea salt, jo joba and mandarin oils.  This smells amazing and leaves my skin so smooth! I almost prefer it to flake away, its really thick so it's great for scrubbing off dead skin! It's especially good for the legs if you fake tan. It leaves skin feeling smooth and soft. I paid $16 for my pot but it lasts so long I've had this for just under two months now and have just under half a tub left. Definitely great value for money. (It's also available in Boots for €11.29)

L'Oreal Paris True Match Foundation (30ml)

This by far is my favourite drug store foundation! Every time I wear it I get compliments on how good my make up looks. I bought this after I seen Lauren Curtis reviewe of it in her top 10 foundations and raved about it.

 My True Match is in the colour Rose Vanilla, it's more of a pink-toned foundation and matches my skin tone perefectly! It's a medium-full coverage foundation and it lasts well throughout the day. It also gives a nice dewy glow. I bought my True Match in Boots in Ireland and paid €14.99, it's available in Priceline for $29.95 which is definitely a price hike but I always wait to buy more expensive products when Priceline have their 40% off flash sales!


Real Technique's Expert Face Brush

This brush has changed my life! It perfectly buffs out any foundation. The bristles are synthetic and 100% cruelty free. It easily blends both cream and liquid foundations. As far as make up brushes go Real Techniques is extremely affordable, I got my brush in Super Drug for around €12 and I know they are stocked in Priceline here in Australia because I've bought a number of their brushes since discovering this one!

Benefit's World Famous Neutrals 


I was fortunate enough to get a  MYER gift voucher for Christmas so with it I bought this pretty pink eye shadow palette from Benefit. I absolutely love the packaging for this! It contains 6 eye shadows two creaseless cream shadows and four long wear powder shadows. The cream shadows come in little pots in the colours 'r.s.v.p'  which is a metallic rose pink colour and 'no pressure' a metallic light brown. The four powder shadows are called 'call my buff' which is a pale lemonade colour, I use this shade as a highlighter, 'thanks a latte' is a metallic mocha colour suitable as a base. 'Pinky swear' is a pale pink which is perfect for the brow bone or the inner corner of the eye and finally 'quick, look busy' is a matte dark brown shadow and it can be used for defining the lash line. All of the colours are neutrals as the name says and can be used to create both a day or night look. I thought this palette was really good value for Benefit it cost $44 which I was really surprised about because I also bought Hervana blusher and that was $53 alone! This palette would be ideal for someone who is just starting their make up collection.

Model's Prefer Mineral Blush

I picked up this blush in Priceline a few weeks ago because it reminded me of the Hourglass blushes. It's a two tone blush that is really pigmented ( I've inserted a swatch next to the blush). I got the colour 'Spring Fling' and it leaves such a nice glow on the skin, it's the perfect colour for these summer months. I paid $12.99 for this blush which is kind of pricey for such a small pot (3.5g) but it's really worth the money in my opinion.

Tarte Light Camera Splashes Mascara

When I was on holidays in Sydney I went to the newly opened Sephora store. I was really disappointed though because a lot of stock was sold out!I did however pick up this Tarte mascara, I adore the packaging it gives it an expensive look.I remembered Tanya Burr talking about this mascara in one of her videos so I thought I'd try it out. As the name implies it is a waterproof mascara with a short fiber wand. It makes my lashes look longer and fuller. This mascara cost $29 which isn't too bad for a high end product. 

Cien Q10 Eye Contour Cream

I used to be really bad for taking care of my skin and have only recently started a proper skin care routine. I'm only 26 but it's never to early to start wrinkle prevention! I got this eye cream from Lidl and it's so nice on the skin. The skin around my eyes is so soft since I started using it. I loved it so much that I brought a few tubes of it back from Ireland with me, I'm down to my last tube so I'll have to get on to my Mom to post some more over to me ASAP! The best thing about this eye cream is that its only €2.99!

Maybelline Brow Drama


I love this brow mascara from Maybelline, I have it in the shade dark brown. I use it after I've applied my NYX cake powder to my brows to brush out the powder and hold my brows in place. The small brush makes it so easy to apply and it stays in place all day!  I bought this in Priceline for $12.95 and it's also available from Boots for €7.49. 

Boots Coconut and Almond Leave-In Conditioner

Since moving to Australia using a leave-in conditioner is a must! My hair can get so dry in the heat and it's perfect to use after swimming in the pool or going to the beach. This conditioner smells sooo good!  I use it just after I shower and leave my hair dry naturally. It leaves my hair feeling soft and smelling amazing all day! I got this in Boots awhile back but it is such great value at €1.99!

Mac Brave 

This lipstick definitely lives up to all the hype. It's a satin lipstick so it's not drying on the lips and has good lasting power. It is the perfect nude! I usually wear it with Essence' lipliner in 'Satin Mauve', the two go so well together! I bought this in the Duty Free on my way back to Perth so I only paid around €17 for it, I know in MYER Mac lipsticks cost $36 which is really expensive so I'll have to save in order to re-purchase it!

And that's it! Let me know some of your favourites for this month :)

Thanks for reading,

Colleen x

Wednesday 28 January 2015

Product Review: Estée Lauder Double Wear


I recently jumped on the band wagon and gave in to buying Estee Lauder's Double Wear Stay-In-Place make up. I decided to see what all the fuss is about!

Prior to using this foundation I had read some reviews. I was wary that it may break me out as I seen this was the case for some people. This wasn't the case for me and I already had a small break-out on my chin before I applied it.

I decided to wear it for Australia day, it is a full-coverage foundation so I used a pea-sized amount and applied it with my Real Techniques expert face brush. It didn't feel too heavy on my skin and gave really good coverage without any concealer. The only problem I did have with this make up is once it is put on the skin you can't apply more if you miss a patch or want to touch it up, because it can become 'cakey' and you're left with lines wear you attempted to fix it.

I was out all day and when I came home that night  I was surprised  I didn't look like a sweaty mess as it around 37 degrees that day! My make up still in place and barely any had transferred onto my sunglasses which is usually the case with most of my foundations.

Overall I was impressed with the lasting power of this foundation, at $50 (for a 30ml bottle) a pop I think it is definitely worth the money! The only down fall is that the bottle doesn't come with a pump! I think I would definitely re-purchase this product

Feel free to leave a comment and let me know your experience with this foundation. :)

Thanks for reading,

Colleen x

Thursday 22 January 2015

About Me!

Hello,

I'm Colleen.

Just a little bit about me, I decided to start a blog to talk about the things I love! I have  a lot of free time on my hands lately so I thought it was time to put it to use writing about my interests.

Some of these things include make up & beauty, fashion, travelling and keeping fit. I'm by no means an expert in any of these areas but I thought this would be something fun to do for myself.

I'm originally from Ireland but have settled in Australia for the time being taking in all of the beautiful sites. :)