What every girl needs in her makeup collection.

These are what I deem as the essentials to having the "perfect" collection. I think I've covered pretty much everything, even as a basic starter kit. However, in saying that, it is MY opinion as a makeup junkie who loves products. Even if you're starting to get into makeup and are kinda confused on what products you should be getting (old me would have said EVERYTHING! Haha), these are some great all rounders that can create a lot of looks without needing to get everything in sight! In saying that,  you don't need all of this, eg, I've listed great highlighters, and blushes, but if you have one, as a starting point, you don't really need them all, unless you want 1 white based & 1 pink based highlighter etc. you make the rules about your collection. Makeup should be fun and how you see it!

I also realise a lot of it is MAC, and high end, as these are the products I use and love and know they're great! Sometimes it is worth investing in higher quality products, however, there are definitely some great cheaper products around, eg, Chi Chi.

Face:
Primer:
Honestly, there are so many great ones out there, it's probably one of the 2 things (the other being foundation), that is total personal preference and trial and error. Choosing can also depend on your skin type eg, dry, oily, sensitive etc; your skin needs eg, combatting redness etc. My only recommendation is, if you can, get samples that you might like to try out and give them a go!

Foundation:
Again, can't really recommend due to different skin types and issues previously mentioned. Also, what finish you like and type of coverage you're looking for. However, these are the ones I like (my skin is combination, I prefer medium coverage and a dewy look).
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk
MAC Mineralize
MAC Studio Sculpt

Concealer:
You don't really want something cakey in this area, as we're trying to combat those pesky things like dark circles and fine lines, which, something cakey can emphasise these things. You need something creamier, but good coverage.
My picks:
NARS creamy concealer
MAC Pro Longwear
YSL Touché Éclat

Bronzer:
Bronzer is serious playtime, and used for sculpting and creating flattering angles to play up or downplay what you like or don't like.
My picks:
MAC Golden
NARS Laguna

Blush:
Blushes come in all sorts of colours, textures, finishes. These ones are what I find the most flattering and compliment pretty much any makeup look.
Pink:
MAC Dainty Mineralize (mid pink with subtle shimmer)
MAC Dollymix (mid pink)
NARS Orgasm (peachy pink, with shimmer)
Hourglass Ambient Etheral Glow (soft pink)

Peach:
NARS Deep Throat (peach)
MAC Peaches (true peach)
MAC Nuance (shimmering peach)

For those who like their blush as the featured look: (with a lighter hand, building up as you go!)
NARS Angelika (bright pink with shimmer)
NARS Cactus Flower (cream; bright watermelon/ poppy)

Highlighter:
A great highlighter adds dimension to the face and reflects light off the angles you place highlighter on. If you're just starting out or prefer a simple product, I'd pick a powder over a liquid, as they can be tricky to use.
My picks:
Powder:
The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer
Bobbi Brown Pink shimmerbrick (or any shimmerbrick really, I love them all!)
NARS Albatross
Too Faced Candlelight Glow (good value, as it has white and pink)

Liquid:
Benefit High Beam


Eyes:
Eyebrows:
Unless you have rich, dark eyebrows, I don't know of anyone who couldn't benefit from some kind of filler, be it powder, pencil or a gel.
My picks:
MAC Brow creme fluidline
Anastasia Beverley Hills brow Pomade
Benefit Gimme Brow

Eyeshadows:
Everyone needs a decent range of basic eyeshadows, which can help create, define and accent a look. Different textures are also important. These are the basic shades I LOVE!
Stila Kitten: the PERFECT champagne shimmer for the brow and tear duct highlight.
MAC Vanilla pigment: a white based shimmer, again used for highlighting.
MAC Pink Opal pigment: a pink reflective white highlighter. My absolute favourite must have!
MAC Vanilla: a neutral white.
MAC Vapour: a white duo chrome which reflects pink.
MAC All That Glitters: another amazing shimmery champagne.
MAC Beauty Marked: the perfect deep purple with red reflects for a smokey eye that isn't black.
MAC Bronze: lovely as a blended out shade for day wear, or smoked up for evening.
MAC Club: the most beautiful shade! Brown with blue reflects. Duo chrome finish.
MAC Swiss Chocolate: a brown, a great crease colour.
MAC Plumage: a smoked out dark teal.
Chi Chi Bronzes palette: a good palette for those who love their neutrals/ bronzes.
Chi Chi Neutrals palette: a good set of base colours to create any look.

Sometimes you wanna get a bit more creative with your looks and colours. For something a bit different, bold and fun, these are my recommendations:
MAC Humid: a great mid green shade.
MAC Shimmermoss: a beautiful shimmery mid turquoise shade.
MAC Freshwater: the best vivid mid blue.
MAC Deep Truth: a deep blue which is great for smoking out a blue eye.
MAC Parfait Amour: a bright mid purple.
Chi Chi Metallics palette: a good collection of colours, with a metallic finish for a bit of dimension.

Eyeliner:
Everyone will have their own preference in which they like, be it gel, liquid or pencil.
Gel:
MAC Blacktrack fluidline
Bobbi Brown Black Ink gel eyeliner

Liquid:
Maybelline Hyper Glossy

Pencil:
MAC Smolder


Lips:
Obviously the following recommendations are for those a bit more daring and like to wear brighter colours. Even if you're not a fan of bright colours, or really shy, I do highly recommend at least getting use to and discover your own fave shade of red lipstick. It might only be a lipstick, but it can totally transform, not only the way you look, but also how you feel and how you carry yourself. It can really boost your mood, especially if you're not feeling 100%!

Lip Pencil:
Chi Chi Nude

Lipstick:
Red: EVERY girl needs a go-to red lippy for when they want to add that extra sex appeal, or simply to brighten up their day. There is really no other makeup product that can do what a red lipstick does!
My pick:
MAC Russian Red

Nude: A nude lip is perfect for a smokey eye as the look is then not overdone and compliments each other. To find your perfect nude, make sure it's not too light (no one likes the "foundation lips" look, and the right texture. These picks are really great all rounders (great for pretty much every skin tone).
My picks:
MAC Creme D'nude
YSL Rouge Volupte in #1 Nude Beige

Orange: Definitely not for the faint of heart. I love orange lips, and orange tones are perfect for summer. Definitely accents a good tan!
My pick:
MAC Morange

Pink: There are 2 shades of pink a girl needs. One bright/ deep pink and a lighter, baby pink. Pink is girly, romantic and good for everyday wear.
My picks:
YSL Lingerie Pink (light)
NYX Paris (medium)

Berry: This is a perfect winter shade and very bold. Definitely the colour of the season, you can pick something more dark and purple toned or something more red toned.
My picks:
MAC Rebel (purple based)
MAC New York Apple (red based)

I hope this was of some use to you. Do you recommend any products that are MUST HAVES for everyone?

Review: Australis Showstopper gloss stick

It's been a while since I've done a review, and I bought this recently after having eyed it up for quite a while.

Fairyfloss.

I bought the shade "Fairyfloss", which is a beautiful Barbie cotton candy pink. When I purchased this, it was 50% off at Priceline, so I paid $6.50 for it vs the $12.95 it usually costs.
When I first swatched this (when I first bought it, not the swatch below), I felt like there wasn't much payoff, however, when I did apply this to my lips, it was a different story. These are definitely jam packed of colour and intensity. I also feel like it is unique and a true Barbie pink. I find other lip products that are described as a "Barbie pink", are usually darker and lean more towards a slight berry tinge.
These definitely don't budge once on the lip. Even though they're a gloss stick, they're not slippery or sticky on the lips at all, more matte than glossy and definitely more lipstick than lipgloss, however, in saying that, they're not drying or uncomfortable to wear at all. One of the biggest things I would say in wearing this, do make sure your lips are nice and moisturised and not flaky, as these will cling and define the flakiness on your lips.
These are definitely long wearing, and stayed on my lips even through lunch, and, it doesn't leave a coloured ring around your lips (think chola style), like most lipsticks do. They fade and wear evenly.

They only other draw back (other than the whole dry lips things) that I find with these, there's only 3 shades to choose from, Fairyfloss (Barbie Candy pink), Hoola Hoop (a blue based red), and Fireworks (a mid plum). They're lovely shades, but these gloss sticks are awesome enough to definitely warrant having more colours in the range.

L-R: Layered 3x vs 1 stroke. 

Would I re-purchase: Yes! Absolutely. These are amazing quality for a "drugstore" brand. I would definitely recommend everyone go check these out. I definitely want the other 2 shades.

Available: Priceline
RRP: $12.95

All Time Favourites: Red

I've decided to do these little posts on my fave products of certain colours, so if you guys are after new products to try, you can give them a go! I've tried to keep the products permanent ones, so you guys can actually access these for yourself. I apologise in advance if one escapes and is actually limited edition.
I also feel a bit bummed that I don't have a lot of red products. Most of my faves are, imfortunately, limited edition. Guess that just means I need to try out more permanent products!

MAC Russian Red lipstick.

This is a blue based red lipstick, in a matte finish. This is my FAVE red lip product, and I cannot recommend this shade enough! I find it non drying and lasts very well throughout the day (except maybe eating lunch!). 

Available: at MAC counters and stores

RRP: $36

OPI OPI Red nail polish.
The perfect blue based red. Very classic. It was one of their originals, I believe, and they've kept it around for a good reason.
Available: David Jones, Myer, good nail/ beauty salons
RRP: 19.95

MAC Cherry Electric Superglass.
I LOVE these! I know glitter isn't for everyone, but I liken myself to a unicorn, so I do. These are stickier than a normal MAC lipglass (I find), and they do really hang on. The glitter definitely sticks around after the colour of the glass has faded from your lips. You might find these gritty if you just let it wear completely off and neglect to top up, as the flecks of glitter are quite large. This really is stunning though, and best for use over a lipstick. I would use this over Russian Red and RR is a matte so it's not competing against something with an already slippery texture. I do have all of the Superglass shades minus 1 or 2. That's how much I love!
Available: MAC counters and stores
RRP: $43

L-R: Swatches of Cherry Electric superglass and Russian Red lipstick. 

Britney Spears Hidden Fantasy.
I've enjoyed this fragrance for a few years now, and as most of my fav fragrances, it's a fruity floral scent. With notes of Jasmine, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Lily and Grapefruit, it's another great spring/ summer scent.
Available: Myer, Priceline, Chemist Warehouse and other pharmacies.
RRP: up to $60 (depending on size)

Marc Jacobs Dot.
I am not-so-patiently awaiting the arrival of this fragrance from my mum (birthday gift), as it is amazing! I love Marc Jacobs fragrances, and this is my second favourite after Daisy. It is the perfect spring/ summer scent, as it's a floral, with hints of berries and jasmine.
Available: David Jones, Myer, Priceline, The Perfume Connection, Chemist Warehouse and other pharmacies.
RRP: up to $160 (depending on size)

Marc Jacobs Dot

I'd love to hear what your fave red products are? 

Let me know what colour you'd like to see a feature on?

MAC Alluring Aquatic haul

To be honest, I'm really not a fan of MAC as I once was. The products just seem rather boring to me these days, nothing that really stands out. Except this. Oh my. Except.for.this. We all know I'm a sucker for packaging, and this packaging is STUNNING. So much so, that my aim was to get my hands on anything from this collection. Before seeing Alluring Aquatic in person, there was nothing that grabbed my attention, that I must have, except for the packaging.  My whole thing was, If I end up with something that doesn't suit me in the slightest I'm not fussed as I purely want something for the packing. That's a bit sad isn't it. I don't care, I love the packaging.

I knew this collection would go off but I really didn't anticipate it as much as what it did. So I thought I'd check in on Tuesday to the MAC store to hopefully get my stuff. I did a search on Instagram Monday night just to see who got what etc, and someone mentioned the website. Usually MAC collections drop on Tuesday on the website but I thought I'd take a look. They hadn't even "officially" released the collection yet (under collections banner) and had the items spread out through the site eg, the lipsticks under the lipstick banner etc, and they'd already sold out of 3 of the 5 eye shadows and all of the nail polishes. WOW!

Take a look at what I ended up getting:
* Soul Serenade eyeshadow (this and Lorelai were the only ones available)
* Delphic extra dimension bronzer
* Golden powder bronzer

Total cost me $133 with free shipping (sales over $100).

I'm a bit annoyed as I also wanted to purchase a brow fluidline but for some reason it said they were unable to ship it to me... Eh, I dunno. I'm just so glad I managed to get some goodies from this collection!

What did you guys end up getting? Did you get everything you wanted?

What I'm currently using: skincare

Being 27, skincare has become ever more so important to get down a good routine. This is what's currently working for me. There's still a few things I should/ could be adding in (here's looking at you eye creams) but I honestly haven't found the right one that's not too "advanced" for my skin ie. something for mature skin. It's honestly pretty daunting when there are so many products in the market all promising all sorts of things too. It's pretty basic as far as routines go and I know that in the coming year or so, I'll definitely need to be upping my game.

My skin facts: I have combination skin (slightly oily t-zone, normal cheeks/ everywhere else), and only break out on my chin at that wonderful time of the month when hormones go crazy. My "breakouts" consists of basic pimples and cystic pimples. About every 3 months I'll get a cystic pimple. I do have large pores on my nose due to being oily and frequently get blackheads on my nose. I have no acne scarring and a couple of chicken pox scars. I'm starting to get fine lines around my eyes and forehead lines are also starting to become more noticeable. I am/ always have been very fortunate with my skin and never has any hardcore acne as a teen, only a few random pimples.

All of the sexy products as a family.

Morning:
Wash my face with The Body Shop seaweed cleanser.
Apply Skinceuticals AOX +20 serum all over face (Have run out so instead I'n using The Body Shop Vitamin C serum).
Apply Olay SPF30 moisturiser all over face, neck and décolletage.

Morning ritual.

Night:
Remove eye makeup with a makeup remover (currently using Bioderma pink makeup remover).
Wipe over face with cleansing makeup wipe (love Swisspers pomegranate wipes, but using mango coz I couldn't find my beloved pomegranate).
Wash face twice with seaweed cleanser.
Use The Body Shop exfoliating puff (every second night) or Olay powered cleansing system (everyday).
Apply Trilogy Rosehip oil all over face, neck and décolletage.

Cleanliness in the night times. 

Weekly:
Use Jurlique fruit enzyme exfoliator twice a week.
Use Sukin purifying face masque once/ twice a week.

I also use a cold Body Shop eye mask (this one in fact) for when I'm feeling a bit puffy (This lives in the fridge).

Monthly:
Get microdermabrasion done once a month.


As you can probably tell, I'm trying to use animal friendly, "organic" products.


Where to get these glorious products from:
The Body Shop seaweed cleanser
RRP: $18.95
Available: The Body Shop stores and online

Skinceuticals AOX+20 serum
RRP: $130-150 (depends where you go)
Available: I get mine from skincarestore.com.au . I'm not too sure where you can get it, maybe facial clinics. I'm pretty sure Lasertech clinic in Adelaide also stocks it.

Trilogy Rosehip oil
RRP: $25
Available: Priceline and Myer

Jurlique fruit enzyme exfoliator
RRP: $47
Available: Jurlique boutiques, Myer and David Jones

Sukin masque
RRP: $17
Available: Priceline

Microdermabrasion
RRP: $140 (clinics will differ, depending on where you go)
Available: I go to the Lasertech Clinic in Adelaide. Most clinics offer it.

The Body Shop eye mask:
RRP: $13.95
Available: The Body Shop

May haul

It's gonna be MAY. Sorry, been seeing it everywhere and I love cheesy 90s music!

* Bioderma Crealine H20 makeup remover (pink).
Another thing I've been wanting to try for ages. I quite like it and it really does remove everything. Well, as much as it can, considering I don't use waterproof makeup. I guess that would be the real test.
Rate it: 7/10

* Cherry Bastiste dry shampoo.
A repurchase in the big can. I loved this when I tried it a few months ago, so naturally I repurchased it. Love the smell, and of course, the product itself. I recommend the big can as the small can is just too small! (Good for trying out though!)
Rate it: 9/10

* The Body Shop mini body washes in Madagascan Vanilla Flower and Amazonian Lily.
So my mum always sends me a shit load of Body Shop stuff for my birthday and Xmas and whenever she pleases really, coz she loves the stuff. The last thing she sent me was The Body Shop chocolate body wash and I recently finished the bottle and I've also run out of body wash (but my god, body butters, I will have until I'm 60!). I thought this would be a great opportunity to try some new flavours (scents I know, but flavours just sounds better, no?). These are delicious! My only gripe with them is the price for the full size, they are $20.95 vs the $12.95 for the same size "classic" flavours (both are 250ml).
Rate it: 9/10

* The Body Shop Seaweed deep cleansing face wash.
Another favourite of mine so another repurchase. I love this so much and I've been using it for years. Non drying and your face does feel really clean afterwards. I use it in conjunction with the Olay powered cleansing system brush.
Rate it: 10/10

* MAC Saint Germain lipstick.
Got this as a b2m as it wasn't part of my collection yet and I have every b2m shade or my MAC store didn't have it in.
Rate it: 7/10

* Paperself lashes.
I haven't used these yet but omg how cute are they?!! I've seen these for years and always wanted to try them, but they are definitely on the exxy side of lashes. Beautybay.com had them on special, so no excuses really!
Ps. They're still on special. Almost half price! Get on it! Beautybay.com
Rate it: 8/10