Weekly Makeup for October 07

I bought this nifty little makeup holder for a couple of dollars on eBay so I'd have something specific to hold my weekly makeup. I've also decided to use only one palette this week, as it's one I bought on eBay months ago and have never used, nor even swatched. I also have chosen a tinted moisturiser and a powder that are almost finished, so I have some back ups of those in case I run out during the week.

Face: 

• Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF20 in Nude
• MAC MSF Natural in Medium
• Wet n Wild Color Icon Bronzer SPF15 in Reserve Your Cabana (actually a subtle highlighter rather than a bronzer)
•  Jordana Blush Powder in 27 Sunlit Bronze
• Jordana Blush Powder in 32 Rose Silk

Back ups: 

•  Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream in Medium
• Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in 005 Silky Beige

Eyes: 

• 88 Color Palette in Metal
• Coastal Scents Shadow Worx Eyeshadow Primer 
• Milani Shadow Eyez 12 HR Wear Eyeshadow in 10 Almond Cream
• Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Pencil in 004 Taupe
• Milani Liquif'eye Metallic Eye Liner Pencil in 05 Brown
• Maybelline Master Liner in Black
• Rimmel Glam'eyes Mascara in 001 Black

Lips: 

•  NYX Retractable Lip Liner in 18 Peony
• Jordana Easyliner for Lips in Rock'n Rose
• Rimmel Apocalips in 201 Solstice
• NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in 164 Nude Pink

Nails: 

• Wet n Wild Megalast Salon Nail Color in On A Trip

Weekly Makeup for September 23

If you're anything like me, you probably know that feeling of being completely overwhelmed in the morning trying to decide which makeup to wear. If it's a week day I will usually end up gravitating towards the same super basic things and on weekends if I'm not planning on going out anywhere I'll mess about with some weird and whacky stuff, but there's a whole ton of product in between those extremes that just gets ignored.

I decided to start hauling out what I'm going to use for the week and keep it in the bathroom, so everything eventually gets a run. I figure that will also be a good way to properly test things I haven't really used much and see what I like and what I don't like. I know I stole the gist of this idea from someone, but I don't remember who, so my apologies for not crediting.

For my first week I'm starting off gently, with face products I know I like already, and mostly neutral, quick to apply eye and lip makeup. If I go well in the first week I'll branch out a bit more adventurously in subsequent weeks, with more brightly coloured eyeshadows and such. There are also certain things I use pretty much every day and they are already in a drawer in the bathroom - things like contour (NYX Taupe), highlighter (Face of Australia), eyebrows (NYX Cake Powder in Ash), primer (Face of Australia Face Base), and so on. I might mix those up if I use up a product - the FOA Face Base is nearly done, for example. But while they're in action, they're pretty much my go to products.

So here's everything for the week starting Monday, September 23.

Face (blushes not pictured because I forgot them):

• Wet n Wild Coverall Cream Foundation in 817 Light
• Palladio Rice Powder in RP02 Translucent
• Milani Minerals Blush in Luminous
• elf HD Blush in Headliner
• Simplicity Cosmetics Blush in Peony

Eyes: 

• Coastal Scents Shadow Worx Eyeshadow Primer
• Maybelline Color Tattoo in 15 Audacious Asphalt
• NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in 611 Yoghurt
• Benefit They're Real! Mascara in Black
• Milani Shadow Wear Quad in Exotic Berries
• Clinique Color Surge Eye Shadow Duo in Strawberry Fudge
• Sigma Eye Shadow in Indian Girl
• L'Oreal Infallible 24 Hour Eyeshadow in 890 Bronzed Taupe
• L'Oreal Infallible 24 Hour Eyeshadow in 033 Tender Caramel

Lips: 

• Rimmel Apocalips in 101 Celestial
• Rimmel Apocalips in 201 Solstice
• Covergirl Lip Perfection Jumbo Gloss Balm in 3103
• Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Airy Fairy
• Prescriptives Lipstick in Azalea
• Lacura Beauty Lipstick in 108 Soft Rose
• NYX Lipliner Pencil in 858 Nude Pink
• NYX Lipliner Pencil in 810 Natural

Nails: 

• Wet n Wild Megalast Salon Nail Color in Haze of Love

Hmmm. In swatching these I realise I've chosen a lot of very similar colours, so let's see how that goes. 

Inventory 2012: Pressed Single Eyeshadows

This may be my final inventory post. I do have some nail polishes but I got rid of most of them a while ago and they're not something I ever use all that much, so I don't know that I can be bothered photographing those.

Things I have learned from doing this:

1. I have WAY more blushes than I thought I did. 
2. I actually have fewer eyeshadows than I thought I did, though having said that, I have sold or given away a ton of them in the past year or so. 
3. I think I have a reasonable number of lipsticks, but I have a tendency to only wear the same half dozen or so over and over. I might need to do a lipstick challenge or something. 
4. Since taking my mascara pictures I have acquired two more, one from Beauty Heaven and one sent to me by L'Oreal. 

Inventory 2012: Eyeshadow Palettes

I love palettes. I am such a sucker for a bunch of pretty colours grouped together, and it always seems like such good value. The problem is that I usually forget to use them, so a lot of my palettes are sadly neglected. Maybe I need to do a challenge where I use one every day for a week or something.

I did manage to get rid of a lot of my wasted palettes in the past year - I sold off 8 or so Sleek ones, threw out a bunch of crappy Maybelline ones, gave away a few others, and so on. I still have way too many, though. Time for another cull soon.

Crush Cosmetics Sale Haul

I don't normally pay much attention to Crush Cosmetics, because most of the time the stuff I would want from there I can get cheaper from Nonpareil or Cherry Culture, even when shipping is taken into account. The only advantage to buying from Crush is that you get the package within a couple of days, and since I'm used to buying online from overseas, the waiting part doesn't faze me. I'm on their mailing list but I usually bin their emails without even looking at them.

However, recently they had a sale with 20% off everything, and sent out an email saying, "Only a few hours to go! Hurry up, everyone!" and for some reason, I clicked those links at 10pm at night and there I was. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that they now carry Beauty UK products, I probably wouldn't have bothered with anything else. But I am a GRADE A SUCKER for UK drugstore brands so I was reeled in. And of course, once I'd bought a couple of products from that brand I had to throw in a few other things to make the shipping worthwhile, and then I hit a certain level where I qualified for free shipping, so hey - in that case why not grab a couple more things? Yeah, you all know the online shopping freefall.

I took these pictures close to dusk so the colour definition isn't great, but I was itching to get the photos done so I could start sticking my fingers in things.

Brush Guards: A whim, one of the things I added once I hit free shipping. I have some fluffy eye and face brushes that have gotten a bit splayed (bloody Sigma) so I'm curious to see if these help get them back into shape.

ELF Eyelash Curler: I had been wanting a Tweezerman curler for years and I finally lashed out (ha, see what I did there!) and got some at Christmas after my old drugstore ones had kicked the bucket and I HATE them. I don't know if one of my eyes is a weird shape or what but they pinch the lid of my left eye, and if I position them so they don't, only half my lashes get curled. Total bummer. So many people rave about the ELF ones (and emilynoel83 is always singing their praises), so I figured for a few dollars it couldn't hurt to give them a go.

Sleek Pout Paint in Milkshake: One of those things I was vaguely curious to try one of these days and a sale seemed as good a time as any. The colour selection didn't look all that great on the website - after Googling for swatches this was the only one I liked out of the shades available. It's quite bright but I think I can make it work. It's a stayer - Noodles was complaining several days and at least two showers later that the stain was still on her hand.

ELF Cream Eyeshadow in Eggplant: I don't know a lot about these and I'm not sure whether they're not widely talked about because they're crappy or because not that many people know about them. I wanted Bronzed but it was sold out so I went for a purply one. It's a pretty colour - I will swatch it over the weekend some time.

Beauty UK Baked Blushers in Peaches and Cream and Wild Berry: I know nothing about these. As I said above, I'm just all over any chance to try UK drugstore brands so here they are! The packaging is flimsy and cheap and a bit rubbish, but the colours are pretty so I'm looking forward to trying them out.

Beauty UK Eyeshadow Palette in Earth Child: Again, know nothing about these. I've swatched a couple of shades and the pigmentation is good. It looks a lot like the 88 palettes so I'm assuming it comes from the same mysterious Chinese factory that they come out of. I soooo don't need another neutral palette (or, let's face it - any palette ever again), but I can't resist one that has greens in it.

Wet'n'Wild Color Icon Trio in Walking on Eggshells: I owned this for a while after buying it on Nonpareil, but it sat unopened in my drawer so I ended up getting rid of it in a blog sale. I always half regretted it though, especially after I saw emilynoel83's MAC dupe video where she compared this to some MAC shadows whose names escape me at this moment. So I bought it again. And this time I opened it (yet to use it, though).

They also sent a free Wet'n'Wild lipstick, but I'm not keen on that particular WnW lipstick and it's a yukky brown colour so I'll probably just bin it.

If you want reviews or swatches of any of this gear let me know - happy to oblige!

Prize Haul Swatches

I have finally managed to pin Noodle Arms down to get these swatches done for me so I can actually begin poking around in all the stuff that J sent me when I won her Naked 2 giveaway recently (warning: link contains Paul Rudd nakedness - this should actually read YOU ARE ABOUT TO GAZE UPON THE PERFECT SPECTACLE OF NAKED PAUL RUDD CONSIDER WHETHER YOU ARE WORTHY). I'm not going to swatch Naked 2 - you can find them all over the internet if you're interested, and I haven't been able to bring myself to mess up its pristine perfection as yet.

My first L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow, but definitely not my last. This colour is Continuous Cocoa, which I haven't seen anywhere here so I'm not sure whether it's available in this country. The swatch doesn't do it justice - it's a lovely dark brown, perfect for the infamous outer V. The texture of this is as awesome as everyone says it is - a sort of creamy powdery pressed I-don't-know-what.

Chimera, Candy Corn Pixie Sprinkles, Witch and Famous

Witch and Famous, Candy Corn Pixie Sprinkles (swatched over Detrivore primer)

I had a bit of a decanting blitz the other day with eyeshadow samples so these have been moved from the little baggie wotsits to jars. As I said in the previous post, Darling Girl have been on my radar for a long time but I've never tried them before (because, let's face it, I'm not exactly hurting for eyeshadows). I like these quite a bit - especially Witch and Famous, which is a matte taupe with a teensy bit of glitter. You know I love my taupes!

The Wet'n'Wild Color Icon Glitter Palettes were a limited edition product that came out around the time of one of the holidays a while ago. This one - Tinsel Town - is kind of odd. The glitter is overspray, so once you poke through the top layer they're just bright cream colours, and I don't really mind that because I'm a bit old for too much glitter. They don't swatch all that well when you're using the top layer - you can see in the pictures they're a bit chunky and uneven. They're much better once the glitter layer is gone though, and I think they'll make nice bases. I've read mixed reviews of them and a lot of people say they crease easily, but they're a drugstore brand cream product so I wouldn't be expecting miracles. A good primer should keep them on there for a while. I love that green - can't wait to try that out properly.

Golddigger, Sellout, Platinum, Trashed

Trashed, Platinum, Sellout, Golddigger (swatched over NYX White Eye Base)

The pigmentation of these Wet'n'Wild Shimmer Singles is nowhere near as good as most of the regular WnW Color Icon singles, which is weird because this is a company that has really picked up their game in the last year or so. I don't mind though, because these are colours I'd prefer to be a little muted anyway - I don't think I'd be walking around with startlingly bright magenta or gold eyelids. They all came with a black eyeliner, which is very creamy and easy to use but doesn't set, so I'd be more inclined to use those when I wanted a smudged effect rather than a precise line.

Aussies are falling over themselves to get their mitts on these new Maybelline products, because they're not hitting our shores until the end of the year (shenanigans!) - they're scouring eBay and hitting up friendly US bloggers for shopping favours and it's no surprise because these are AWESOME. I know a lot of people have crapped on the Bouncy Blushes, mostly because they are lacking in pigmentation, but as I've said before, I find that a pro rather a con because I spend a lot of time covering the redness in my cheeks and I don't want to just whack a heavy streak of colour back on there. This one is called Fresh Pink and it's the perfect colour for me - I just love these spring time pink shades.

The Maybelline Color Tattoos in Bold Gold and Edgy Emerald will be getting a ton of use because after months of neutral obsession, I've just started getting back into using the many coloured eyeshadows I have. I'm particularly fond of green eyeshadow, so having a green cream base will be very handy! I absolutely must find a way to get hold of more of these. They are fan-freakin'-tastic.

I hadn't heard of the Maybelline Super Stay Stain Glosses before I received one, but now I want more, more, MORE. It applies like a gloss, with a sponge tip applicator, and is slightly similar to the 'liquid lipsticks' like NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams, except it's not matte. Once it sets it last for ages, fading a little to a stain but surviving through food and general daily wear (have not tested for pash-sustainability). The colour J sent me is Ruby Indulgence and it's really pretty - a very wearable red that applies semi-sheerly but can be easily built up. I really, really love this.

And here's Noodle Arms lip-swatching it:

Loverly.

So, to sum up I will be hunting down more of the Color Tattoos, the Bouncy Blushes and the Super Stay Stain Glosses with a vengeance. Good show, Maybelline - you're doing the drugstore makeup world proud!

And now I'm off to pat my Naked 2. Possibly while gazing at naked pictures of Paul Rudd.

What's Even Better Than Naked Paul Rudd?

It's extremely rare that I would enter a blog giveaway - the only time I ever do if it's something I really want and can't easily get hold of myself. Like, say, Naked 2. J from Just Peachy had a giveaway of Naked 2 a few weeks ago and GUESS WHO WON.

If you said me, you're right. Me me, not you me. ME.
Okay, there is not one of you reading this who has the slightest need for this palette, but I'd bet that most of you either have bought it or intend to buy it some time in the future just because (except Liz). That's how I feel about it. I have neutrals up the wazoo, but eventually I would have ended up getting this when it became more readily available. So I was really thrilled to win it and have been itching to get my mitts on it, and yesterday it arrived!

Not only that, but J also included a ton of other goodies - almost all products I could also not easily get hold of. Everything was wrapped up snugly in layers and layers of tissue paper and you should have seen me squealing as I opened each little wrapped package and saw pretty after pretty after pretty. Thank you, J - AMAZING gifts. :-)

There are Wet'n'Wild Color Icon Shimmer Singles in the colours Platinum, Gold Digger, Trashed and Sellout. I've never even heard of these, and a quick Google search didn't bring up many results so they must be pretty new. I am very excited to get stuck into playing with these as you all know I love WnW eyeshadows. The Glitter Kit palette is a limited edition one from a while ago - they are the kind of thing that never turn up in places we Aussies can easily shop for WnW (Crush Cosmetics, Nonpareil, etc) as they're usually exclusive to one or two stores, so it was great to get one of those as well. So much pretty sparkle!

I've played with the L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows in Priceline a few times but baulked at the price of them here, so I was jazzed to get one of those as well - I've looked up swatches of this (Continuous Cocoa) and it's a gorgeous dark chocolate brown. Can't wait to try it out. And of course, Darling Girl has been on my 'must try' list FOREVER, so I'm looking forward to testing out the 3 samples as well. Uh oh, what if I really like them....?

But wait! There's more! I also received a Maybelline SuperStay Stain Gloss in Ruby Indulgence (oo-er!), and a Wet'n'Wild lipstick whose colour name I can't remember because it's down the other end of the house in the fridge at the moment so it doesn't melt into a colourful puddle. Oh, and a mini UD 24/7 pencil that isn't in the photo. So many things I'm forgetting them!

J also kindly sent me a sample of the Silk Naturals Cranberry Passionfruit Cleansing Conditioner, as she reviewed it on her blog a while ago and I mentioned wanting to try it. And she sent me some body butter that she made herself that smells DIVINE - all foody and delicious. I tried some on my arm and wanted to chew it off.

The products that had me squealing the most after Naked 2 were Maybelline Color Tattoo eyeshadows in Bold Gold and Edgy Emerald and a Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Fresh Pink. I've seen Emily talk about these as well as a few other bloggers and vloggers, and aLoveTart did an awesome video swatching all the Color Tattoos.

I have been busting to get some, but according to Suzanne (who got it straight from the PR's mouth), they won't be arriving on Aussie shores until the end of the year. (Apparently they're sitting in some refugee camp awaiting their papers or something.) I mean, COME ON. Why does it take a year for a product to be released here? That's just beyond ridiculous. I was talking to Jade about it the other day and we discussed how there is so much buzz about them now that if they were released, people would be rushing out to buy them at Priceline, even though they will be stupidly overpriced here. As it is, bloggers and beauty addicts won't wait that long - they will be hitting up eBay and their US blogger mates and anyone else they can scrounge up and get them sent over, so by the time we finally do get them here we'll all be totally over it. And the money we would have paid for them here will have gone overseas. Smart one, Maybelline!

Anyway, I just wanted to show everyone the awesome prize and many, many lovely extras I received and say a massive thank you to J for her generosity. Two thumbs up!

*Swatches to follow as soon as it gets cooler - it's too hot here to be poking around in makeup at the moment. :-(