Burgundy Times Nine

As much as I've heard the complimentary colour rules over and over in the beauty world, the idea of anything red toned around my eyes never appealed to me. Picking up a super affordable burgundy Kiko shadow some months ago on the insistence of a friend, I fell in love with not only the way the shadow looked but how much greener it made my eyes appear - it really was like magic! That's how I came to find myself considering a palette full of these warm, russety shades at a MAC store in the depths of Paris.

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My Introduction To Kiko Cosmetics

Kiko is a brand that has burst onto the beauty scene in the past year due to a few rave reviews from big bloggers, and now everyone is in on the fun. It's a brand I have personally coveted for just as long, as it's not attainable outside of Europe. Stepping into a Kiko store for the first time was incredibly exciting for me, and although I knew it was an affordable brand, the prices still shocked me! I picked up just a couple of pieces, as I knew I would be returning for more at some point!

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The Chocolate Bar Palette

Naturally, as a complete chocolate fiend, the chocolate bar palette has been on my radar since it's release. My amazing sister got me a Mecca Cosmetica voucher for my birthday and I finally let myself pick it up. When I got back into my car I hurriedly, but oh-so delicately, unboxed it and I swear I heard the angels sing as I took in that cocoa scent!

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The Review: ChiChi Baked Eyeshadow in 'Call Me'

Single shadows are usually something I try to avoid. There are so many lovely shades I've eyed up, but I hate the clutter and I just don't find myself reaching for them. However, after hearing a few rave reviews on this shadow in particular, I couldn't help but pick it up. Chi Chi are known for their affordable, incredibly pigmented palettes which fill a huge gap in the Australian beauty market, so I knew this would be great.

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My Go To Festive Makeup Look

When it comes to my Christmas day look, I have to confess I like to keep things quite simple. After all of the excitement of Christmas morning, I don't usually have an hour to spend getting ready as I am the person who sleeps in and holds up the present-giving. The best way to get past the time constraints and still have a put together look, and this can be applied to any ocassion, is a bold lip and graphic eyes.

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Transition into Summer: Eyes

The look I am coveting most for the S/S time is a shimmery, almost metallic, white to champagne toned shadow all over the lid. I was never a fan of this super brightening look before and steered more towards browns and coppers, however my tastes have changed and luckily I already have a fair few of these kinds of shadows in my stash that were previously reserved for highlights!

1. Maybelline Eye Studio Quad in 'Copper Chic'
These quads are quite a favourite in the beauty community and for good reason! They are insanely buttery and very, very shimmery. I picked this up on a whim because it was on sale and I am a sucker for copper shadows. I never really thought of the first, bright, white colour had too much potential as anything but a highlight - but I was wrong. It is stunning all over the lid and doesn't leave the dreaded shimmery fallout all over your cheeks.

2. Lorac Pro Palette
There is one shadow in particular from the Lorac Pro that I love to use all over the lid to achieve this look and it is "nude". As the name suggests, it is a very natural shade but has that luminosity that I've been loving! The shade "champagne" next to it is also nice, but does have some larger glitter chunks that are more night appropriate.

3. Maybelline Colour Tattoos in 'Tough as Taupe' and 'Bad to the Bronze'
Okay, I know I said that I was avoiding bronzes, but these two are key when it comes to the summer. They stick around all day and make the perfect base to avoid creasing! Champagne shades on top of "Bad to the Bronze" also look stunning, and "Tough as Taupe" is a great one-colour-lid kind of shade.

4. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in 'Yoghurt' and 'Mocha'
These are amazing, but need to be paired with a primer for longevity. Yoghurt is the perfect shimmery base or standalone shade and Mocha when sheered out looks beautiful as well. They are a dream to apply and are such an easy way to create an eye look.

5. Smooch Eye Duo
This was a product I picked up in a sale bin solely because it resembled a NARS product. I had never heard of the brand before and was pleasantly surprised when I swatched these shadows and realised they were super buttery! The lightest shade in this is so, so stunning on the eyes, and while a little more chunky than some of the other shades, very workable.

What is your favourite eye look for the summer time?

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New In: The Lorac Pro Palette

I've spent so long holding off on buying cult favourites when it comes to palettes and I'm glad I did, because when the Lorac Pro got a lot of attention earlier in the year I knew that I wanted it even more than the Naked palettes I'd been eyeing up previously. Finding a reputable online seller that actually delivered to Australia was a challenge, but I found one on Amazon, ordered it and it landed on my doorstep bright and early this morning.

The thing that really drew me to this palette was the total mix of colours. There's a little taste of each Naked palette within the Lorac Pro. Some warm golds and bronzes for the original, cool blues and taupes for the Naked 2 and finally some mauves and pinks for the Naked 3. The quality is so buttery and smooth, even when it comes to the mattes which is rare.

Above are some swatches I did to see what some of the colours I was most curious about would look like on my skin. I didn't realise how in love I'd be with the shade 'Mauve' - it is stunning and I hope I can work it into a lot of eye looks. As I already knew I would be, I'm obsessed with Pewter and Slate and can't wait to do some darker looks with these.

This will definitely be popping up again around these parts, I was just too excited not to dedicate a post to it's arrival! Do you have the Lorac Pro? What is your all time favourite neutral palette?

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Kardashian Beauty: Kim's Kardazzle Palette

It's no secret that I love the Kardashian's, so when their makeup line hit Australian shelves there was no choice - I had to pick up at least one item. While the lip colours and honey scented glosses looked amazing, these shadows were too gorgeous to pass up especially for the price.

This palette is designed to mimic Kim's personal style which is always very neutral in terms of shadow and blush, which is very true for me as well. I adore Khloe's palette which is full of silvers, burgundies and blacks but Kim's is what I thought I'd get the most use out of.

The composition of four mattes and four shimmers is what sold me, I love matte eyeshadows and they can be difficult to find. I haven't found myself reaching for the blushers (ignore the chunk missing, I dropped it!), though I really should, but the highlighter is gorgeous.

I can honestly say I use this every day I'm wearing makeup. Even if I just use the second colour in the top row to dust over my lids to give them a little something extra - you can tell this is my most used shade from the giant dip in it! The dark brown is perfect for creating a smokey eye while the medium brown is great for adding some definition to the crease. The shimmery shades are all gorgeous and perfect for night-out looks.

Overall, the shadows are pigmented and super easy to blend! Even if you aren't a fan of the Kardashian's this is definitely a must-have and I can't imagine doing my every-day neutral eye without it!

What other products are notable from Kardashian beauty? I'm eager to try more out!

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My NYX Collection

While NYX isn't entirely new in Australia, it still excites me that we're starting to get more and more American drugstore products hitting our shelves! Even with inflated Australian prices NYX still is a very affordable brand, especially considering the quality. These are the products I own from the brand and a mini review on each!

1. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils
Yes, they crease. No, they are not a good standalone base. If these are things you're looking for I would direct you to the Maybelline Colour Tattoos instead. These are really great products when used with a good primer. They come in a  ton of colours and blend out so easily. They are a cult favourite for a reason! While 'Yoghurt' is probably my favourite colour of these three, 'Milk' is definitely my most used. It is a great opaque white that makes any shadow you put on top of it stand out even more.

2. NYX Blush in Peach
My only issue with this product is its name! This is not a peachy shade at all, but it's the beige lipgloss thing all over again! This blush is a bright, matte pink and I'm in love! The pigmentation of this blush is spot on. It is strong, but not so strong that you're scared to put such a bright colour anywhere near your face. I swirl my brush lightly and get the right amount every time.

3. NYX Matte Lip Cream in Istanbul
I love pink lips and I love the matte look, so this was a no-brainer. The formula is quite heavy, and I can see why it wouldn't sit well with people who don't have immaculately exfoliated and moisturised lips. I know that I can only wear this at certain times, but when I do, it's love.

4. NYX Love in Paris Palette in 'Parisian Chic'
These are by no means consistently pigmented shadows, and to be honest, I was a little disappointed because I'd heard such great things about NYX shadows. However, there are a few stand out shades that perform as well as I'd expected! Firstly, the middle champagne in the top row is gorgeous. The matte white and brown next to it are also really great as a highlight and crease colour.

5. NYX Matte Bronze in 'Light'
I am by no stretch a bronzer girl. As a last attempt to find a bronzer I liked I bought this as the shade reminded me of the Bobbi Brown bronzer. It can run a little orange if overused, but I really don't find myself putting that amount on, so it is fine for me. I still don't feel like I've found "the one" and I don't know if I'm willing to shell out on a high end bronzer that might disappoint me as well! I sometimes think my face shape is just uncontourable.

What are your must haves from NYX? I know my next purchase will definitely be a butter gloss!

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Favourites #1

I don't find myself buying a whole tonne of new products every month and finding five brand new favourites as a result. My favourites are usually enduring, and sometimes even things I've forgotten about for awhile and am re-loving. These are just a few things I've been finding myself reaching for a lot over the past few months!

1. Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead
Admittedly I did finish this series a month or two ago, but I'm still in a mourning period! Definitely late on the bandwagon with this one and I only endeavoured to finish the series because of the movie which I haven't seen yet… Oops.

2. Sportsgirl Nail It! Polish in 'Lime'
It might be heading into winter here, but bright nails in gloomy weather just feels good. The best thing about this neon-green polish is that it smells like limes when dry! I know neon nails aren't for everyone, but I definitely have been loving them.

3. Batiste Wild Dry Shampoo
I have medium-blonde hair and should probably go for a more transparent batiste option because this can leave a white caste on my hair, but the smell is to die for! It is definitely worth the extra work to be able to have my hair smell this good.

4. Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

This is my ultimate multitasking brush. Perfect for both foundation and concealer, I would recommend this to anyone who doesn't like thinking about which brush to use for what too much. I know that I struggle to identify the difference between a concealer and shader brush half of the time.

5. Revlon 'Juicy Papaya' Lip Butter
Again with the spring makeup in winter! I have never and probably will never be an orange fan. I like corals, but only when they are more on the pinky side. However, this lip butter is the perfect amount of sheerness for me to actually like wearing orangey shades! And as with all the lip butters, the formulation is amazing.

6. Rimmel Scandal Eyes Liner
I hate smudged makeup more than most things and discontinued my use of pencil liners until I found this one. I find it does collect in the outer corner of your eye when worn in the tight line, but nothing as dramatic as I've found in other liners. Definitely a must-have for dark liner lovers.

7. NYX 'Milk' Jumbo Eye Pencil
This is such a great product for your makeup bag, travel or not, because it has three very different uses. It can be used as a highlight, a waterline liner and lastly as a base. They aren't bases that are infallible and won't crease on you on an unprimed eye, but I don't use them for this purpose anyway. I use 'milk' to amplify any colour I think will just be lost on the eye which is a problem I have with a lot of shimmery shadows.

8. Maybelline 'Copper Chic' Eyestudio Palette 
This is not a palette I'd reach for to create an entire eye look, but rather use each individual shadow as a main feature in four different looks. Each are super pigmented, shimmery and quite unique in their colours. My favourites are the super coppery shade and the white highlight.

What is your #1 favourite at the moment?

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