Mini Make-up Review

Spring is in the air!

We're in the last week of Winter here in Australia and the weather is finally starting to warm up and the sun is coming out. This means Spring is well and truly on the way! 

Spring greets us with warmer days, sunny skies and in my case a runny nose, itchy eyes and hay-fever, BUT I will not let that stop me from feeling pretty!

While its time to (sadly) trade out the plums for the pinks, the deep reds for the fun oranges, (keep them for a rainy day) here are two products that I've been loving that help me get in the mood for Spring!

Rimmel Moisture Renew - 210 - Fancy: Packaging and Swatch

The first product is a Lipstick and its from Rimmel, its part of their Moisture Renew range and I have some lippys in this range already and I love them. However, they're plums and deep reds...so I hereby introduce you to my newest colour in my collection, it helps me feel... FANCY!

Colour 210 - Fancy. Its a gorgeous baby pink/dusty rose colour that has slight specks of shimmer/glitter. Usually I'm a matte gal and I'm not a big fan of glittery or even frosted or shimmer finishes, but this is just so sweet and subtle I couldn't say 'no'. I picked it up at Priceline for $13.95 which I think is reasonably priced. I love Rimmel Lipsticks and you get great wear out of them. I only had to touch up once during the day and that was after I'd just downed a 6inch BMT from Subway. So I think that's pretty good.

Physicians Formula Blush: Packaging and Swatch

The second product is a blush. Now normally I either don't wear it (my cheeks are naturally flushed all the time anyway) or I'm not really fussed by it, but I saw this one and I'd been eyeing it off for a while so I thought I'd finally purchase it. It is the Powder Palette - Mineral Glow Pearls Blush by Physicians Formula.

I have a few items by Physicians Formula, but for me, they can be a little on the pricier side, so when I purchase something from them, it has to be worth it. As I mentioned I had been eyeing it off for some time, every time I walk into Priceline I'd swatch it, so I finally decided to purchase it (I also had some membership coupons - so that helped me decide). The price is $21.95 but I have to say, It is totally worth it. It is an absolutely gorgeous colour and it stays all day. There are two colours to choose from, 'Natural Pearl' and 'Rose Pearl' - I opted for natural because I already have quite flushed cheeks. 

Secret Compartment: Mirror and Brush

I also want to mention the packaging of this, it is adorable! The product is Mineral Glow Pearl Blush and on the top of the case/lid it has a little pearl detail which makes me think of opening a clam shell with pearls in it because I just really want to be The Little Mermaid. The compact actually has a secret compartment and comes with a little brush and mirror - so this product is great for putting in your purse for daily use, touch ups, and fantastic travel size!

Because this is one of the blushes with mixed tones it looks very natural, it has just the right amount

of shimmer to it so it doesn't make you look like you're ready for a 'cheer comp'.

This product also doesn't go 'cakey' - not on my skin anyway - I have quite dry skin, because of this I choose cream products so my skin doesn't look scaly and flaky, but this product doesn't do that. Its the perfect pinched cheek pink that says 'flirty'.

Left: Blush - Right: Lipstick

Left: Blush - Right: Lipstick

I like to pair these two products together. I find they really compliment each other. These will probably be some of my 'go-to' products for the warmer months - (until the rainy day and I can bust out a plum again)

Another thing that I love about these two products, is that depending on your skin tone, the colours enhance your natural glow. In the photo on the left, my skin there is quite pale, and the colours show up pink and perky, whilst in the swatch set on the right, I placed the products on my arm where there is more of a 'tan', this made the colours show up a bit more bronzy but still with a nice peachy pink undertone. The colours adapt to your skin tone and look natural under different lights. I'll finish this post of with a shameless selfie of me wearing them together. I love this combo and I hope you do to. I 100% recommend these products and hope you try them out too! Get ready for Spring! 

The products look so natural and enhance your skin!

Powder Palette®Mineral Glow Pearls Blush

Powder Palette®Mineral Glow Pearls Blush

Powder Palette®Mineral Glow Pearls Blush

Powder Palette®Mineral Glow Pearls Blush

How To - DIY

Using a Microwave to Dry and Press Lavender!

You read that right! This is a 'How To' blogpost! 

To cut a long story short, I am making my own engagement invitations. The colours I have chosen for my wedding are peach and lavender. To reflect these colours in the engagement party, these are the colours I'm using for the invitations. I decided I wanted some actual lavender with each invitation, however, invites will be sent out next week and there just isn't enough time to dry and press them the traditional way. So after a short google search I came across another method of using a microwave, I couldn't find one for lavender specifically, so I decided to wing it, and it actually worked really well. So I thought I'd share with you the process. 

 Things you will need:

Fresh lavender. Of course. Kris (my fiancé) went on the extremely masculine task of gathering the flowers for me. Fortunately there was a thriving plant at his parents house.







Paper. Here I've just got plain A4 paper straight out of my printer. I've folded it in half and then ripped it to size. Size will vary depending on the tile.









Paper towel. Here I have two sheets, but I've still got them connected. It's not essential to have them connected, but as I was using it quite a bit, the better I got at the whole process, I realised how good it was to have them connected and able to fold.








A tile. Or a plate - something microwaveable but 'heavy'. I was fortunate enough to have just had my kitchen re-tiled and had some lying around. I made sure the paper when folded was the size of this tile. Nice and square. (shape and size really have nothing to do with it, the bigger the tile, the more you can press at once)

Steps:

 One:

First you should align your papers like this, have the paper towel down first, then the 'printing' paper. Place it so the fold of the paper is with the join of the two paper towels. (this is why it's easy to have them still connected together) It makes it easy to fold over. Next arrange the lavender on one half. I arranged mine like this, you can do it however you want with how ever much you wish to fit on there.



Two:
The next few steps are quite easy, however I've included pictures for every little step to ensure a full understanding of whats going on.

Carefully fold the papers over so they're looking like this. If any of the lavender slide out, be sure to wiggle it back in place.

Three:
Gently press down on the papers until you can feel the lavender, then give it a firm push, this will keep them in place long enough for you to get the tile:

Four:
Place the tile upside down (so the shiny, smooth side is touching the papers) and make sure it is aligned with the 'printing' paper, you'll be able to see through the paper towel so this really isn't a very hard step. 

The two papers will act as 'blotting paper'. Blotting paper is what is used in traditional flower pressing.





Five:
With the tile in position, give it another firm push, pressing it all together. carefully slide everything as it is here, onto your hand and make your way to the microwave!
 





Six:
Place in the microwave like so. (I put some more paper towel on the plate of my microwave, this isn't essential, it just helps soak up any excess moisture)


Microwave for 1 minute on high. take a peak and see if they're dried and pressed to your liking, if not, microwave in 30second intervals until desired dryness is achieved. 

You will know when they're done as a strong smell of lavender will be coming from your microwave.


Seven:
Carefully remove the tile from the paper, use a towel or oven mitt when handling this, as it becomes very hot!

Take the folded papers out of the microwave and place down, carefully unfold the top layers, and there you have it, nice crisp lavender ready for arts and crafts or just placing around the house!

Left: Fresh Lavender - Right: Microwaved Lavender

I really hope you try this out and let me know in comments if you do, also, let me know any of your tips and tricks for this, have you tried this with other flowers? let me know!

Makeup Inspiration

Dorothy - Wizard of Oz

In appreciation of the 75th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, I decided to do my makeup inspired by it, one of my favorite movies.

Please excuse the poor iphone quality

 I took inspiration from Judy Garland, and adorned myself in white lace, and baby blue colours. I chose to do a striking red lip to compliment the colour used in the movies and to somehow pay homage to her gorgeous hair.

This is the look I came up with: Baby blue on the majority of the lid and a darker 'sky' blue on the outer corner, these colours represented Dorothy's dress and bow. I used almost a canary yellow gold colour on the inner corner of my eye to represent the 'Yellow Brick Road' that Dorothy has to walk down.  The red on my lips is a deep red matte lippy, this one is from the brand savvy and in the colour 'Miss Monroe', the colour is fitting, I chose this because I wanted an 'old hollywood' look.

Ice Blue: applied to majority of eyelid

Baby Blue: applied to outer corner of eyelid.

Yellow Gold: applied to inner corner.

I added this baby blue, bow headband and then put my hair into two loose french braids on either side of my head with a part going straight down the middle. I matched the blue colours of my eye make up with this.

I curled my lashes and then applied a coat of benefits 'They're Real' mascara (my current fave) and then applied some false lashes to the outter portion of my eye to give me the 'doe eyed, bambi' look that Dorothy has because she's just an innocent little girl, this was fun to play with. I also did a slight wingged eyeliner to add to the classic hollywood look I was going for.

Last but not least, you have to have the ruby slippers, and sadly mine aren't as glittery as the real ones, but these did the trick to complete the look.

I had a lot of fun, and might end up doing more makeup inspiration posts in the future, I forgot how much fun it is to play dress-ups and use colours.

This would be such a cute look for Halloween, its very easy and can be dressed up or down.

Products Used:

Foundation: L'Oréal Paris 'True Match' Liquid Foundation R3-C3 Rose Beige

Powder: Covergirl 'Classics' Loose Powder - Translucent

Eye Liner: Bourjois Paris - Liner Pinceau 16h Liquid Eyeliner

Mascara/s: Bourjois Paris - Volume Glamour Ultra Curl

                  Benefit - They're Real

Lip Colour: Savvy Ultra Matte Lip Colour - Miss Monroe