April favourites.

I'm testing out quite a few products half way during the month due to recent hauls, but there has been a few stand outs throughout the whole month of April.

- Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer in 53 - amazing coverage, it is a bit light to conceal blemishes at the moment, but it is so pigmented it covers the blue and brightens the area under my eyes. $24.

- B by Bloom Collection Col.lecta Colour Cheek Tint in Yara Valley - it's gives an amazing natural glow (and it doesn't contain any shimmer) as well as adding a nice apricot pink sheen to the cheeks, I adore this product. $19.95.

- Essence Fix and Matte! Translucent Loose Powder - I love this to set my concealer, it doesn't leave any white cast behind and your skin feels amazingly soft after you apply it. $6.95.

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Daiso Sponge Detergent- after watching Amy on YouTube (amysass), I have been getting into using this to condition my brushes by mixing it with my Daiso Sponge Detergent, and it leaves my brushes extra soft with no oily residue. Daiso Sponge Detergent $2.80.

- Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set - ever since I've gotten this from the Priceline sale, I've been using this everyday to fill in my brows, the dark brown colour isn't too dark for my brows and the lighter colour isn't too light, it's the perfect duo. $4.95.

- Vaseline White Petroleum Jelly - small, cute and softens my dry cracked lips overnight. $2.39.

What were you stand outs for this month?

Little Haul + Don't Be Scared To Ask For Samples!

Yesterday I went to Chadestone with my mumma and my sister to have a girls day out and I did pick up two things as well as drown in samples.

- Here I got -

- MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Medium Plus $47
- Sample - MAC Prolongwear Concealer in NC30
- Sample - Too Faced Absolutely Flawless Concealer in Perfect Nude
- Sample - Giorgio Armani Lasting Silk Foundation in 5.5
- Sample - Giorgio Armani Designer Lift Smoothing Firming Foundation in 5.5
- Sample - Clinique Pore Refining Solution Correcting Serum x 2
-  Sample - YSL Le Teint Touche Elcat in BR30
- Sample - Clinique Pore Refining Solutions in Natural
- Samples - Neutrogena Gift Pack (link below)
- Lush Brazened Honey Fresh Face Mask $16.95
- Sample - Lush Herbalism Cleanser
- Lush Full of Grace Facial Serum $14.95

Being a uni student, my budget is pretty tight, so I want to try out products before I buy, especially foundations. Any Aussie lady knows that Australian prices for cosmetics are extremely high, in comparison to the US, and for that reason, I want to make sure if I want to buy something high end, I will know it'll work for me 100%, so I'm not wasting my money and time.

If you're curious about anything you have seen hyped up in the YoutTube community, in blogs or other beauty sites, you may as well go and test it out for yourself. Some companies don't offer samples at all, but give it a go. When I approach a counter to look at a product I have interest in, sometimes after a chat about the product, they might offer you a sample or an application. Yesterday, I was offered the samples at the Clinique counter just because I told her I had large pores. If they don't offer you a sample, it doesn't hurt to ask if they can get you one. And don't be afraid to ask, even if they look a bit intimidating, because at the end of the day, it is your money. Sales assistants are more than happy to help you, it's their job, however you do get a couple that might just be having a bad day.

I went to Lush for the first time after going into Myer and David Jones, and I wanted to look for a serum or moisterizer, something for my skin to help repair at night. And the girl that helped me was so helpful, she took me through a few products that would be suited to my skin type, but I held back and just purchased the Full of Grace Face Serum. When I told her it was my first time being there, she gave me a generous sample of Herbalism as well as the Blazened Honey Face Mask.
I left Chadestone with a gazillion samples, which was unexpected and amazing haha.
When I got home, I realized I got my Neutrogena Gift Pack in the mail, you can get it on Facebook with this link: https://apps.facebook.com/neutrogenagifts/

So I was swimming in samples, and I cannot wait to try all these products out! I hoped this post helped!

EcoTools Face and Body Sculpting Brush & Airbrush Concealer Brush

Hello there lovelies!

A few months ago, I stumbled across these two brushes on iherb.com. It seems that Ecotools has changed their look with the brushes and has brought out some new additions to their collection. 

If you haven't heard of this brand, here is some background; the Ecotools brand uses cruelty-free and recycled materials to create their products. Their brushes use cruelty free talkon bristles, recycled aluminum for their ferrules and bamboo for their handles. Some of the brushes in the range come in a cotton hemp bag, which acts as reusable storage for these brushes.  The brand is very affordable and the quality is amaze-balls for the price.

Back to these two brushes, I present to you the Face and Body Sculpting Brush and the Airbrush Concealer Brush.

Left: Face and Body Sculpting Brush, Right: Airbrush Concealer Brush.

You can see with the Airbrush Concealer brush, that the aluminum ferrule has changed from a silver colour to a brown, which matches the colour change in the bristles as well (to an all brown, from a two toned beige and brown). 

- EcoTools Face and Body Sculpting Brush -

Firstly, the Face and Body Sculpting Brush is massive, its the biggest face brush I have in my collection and the bristles are incredibly soft and dense.

It's amazing to apply foundation with because the denseness buffs  my foundation in like a dream, and cuts my foundation time in half. The bamboo base is very smooth and sturdy, comfortably fits in the hand and the shape of the brush overall looks lovely when it sits on my vanity. 

The only con of this product I can think of is that you need to be careful that this brush can soak up a lot of your foundation since it is very big. How I avoid this is dotting the foundation on my face first then using the brush, instead of putting the foundation on my brush.

I have not seen this brush in stores yet, however, on iherb.com it retails for $9.97.

Rate: 8.5/10

- EcoTools Airbrush Concealer Brush -

Next is the Airbrush Concealer Brush, this is also another new addition to Ecotools brush range and I am going to say already that I don't like this brush as much as the Face and Body Sculpting Brush. I have a couple of the eye brushes from Ecotools and I find that the bristles on this brush are a tiny bit rougher than the other older brushes. However, after using a bit of extra virgin olive oil with my brush cleaner, it does help soften the bristles. This brush does apply concealer nicely, using circular motions blends it well. I also like this brush to blend out harsh lines when using a cream shadow over the lid.

 

Left: Ecotools Airbrush Concealer Brush, Right: Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush.

I noticed straight away when I got this brush that it was very similar to the Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush. The shape of the bristles are almost the same, however the feel of the bristles on each brush is different. The Ecotools brush has thicker hairs, whereas the RT brush has thinner hairs, but there is more of them which makes the RT a bit more denser, but these are only minor differences. A good dupe I would say.This brush is also not in Australian stores yet, but on iherb.com it retails for $3.50.

Rate: 7/10


A little note, if you do choose to buy EcoTools, Real Techniques, Bdellium, E.L.F brushes, or other products that interest you on iherb.com,I have a coupon code that gets you $5 off purchases under $40, or it can get you $10 off purchases over $40. Coupon Code: FUF619

Priceline 40% off cosmetics haul!

Good day ladies. I received an email a day or two ago from Priceline to see that they have a massive 40% off cosmetics sale for today (23rd April) and tomorrow (24th April). It's online and in-store so get your butts down there, or on your computer chair and start your much needed retail therapy.

I got up early this morning to get there at 9am sharp so I didn't miss out on sold out products and had a chance to beat the rush. I stayed in there for over an hour and came out with a lot of stuff, $92.05 worth of goodies to be exact, and surprisingly, I got at the register the G.W.P bag with products worth over $220 inside if you spend over $60.

Here is what I purchased:

- Maybelline Hyper Glossy Liquid Liner in Black (R.R.P $13.95, saved $5.58)

- Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Concealer in Medium (R.R.P $18.95, saved $7.58)

- Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze (R.R.P $11.95, saved $4.78)

-Maybelline Colour Sensational Vivids Lipstick in Shocking Coral (R.R.P $16.95, saved $6.78)

- Face of Australia Face Base Primer (R.R.P $11.95, saved $4.78)

- Face of Australia Blush in O Peachy! (R.R.P $9.45, saved $3.78)

- Australis Pout Paste in Pash Me Pink & Berry Nice Kiss (R.R.P $12.95 each, saved $5.18 each)

- Australis Nail Glitter Top Coat in Milk Way (R.R.P $7.95, saved $3.18)

- Essence Eyebrow Stylist Kit (R.R.P $4.25, saved $1.70)

- Essence Mono Eyeshadow in Cappuccino Please (R.R.P $2.85, saved $1.14)

- Essence Lipsticks in In the Nude, All About Cupcake & Red Carpet (R.R.P $3.50 each, saved $1.40 each)

- Essence Multi-Action Blackest Black Mascara (R.R.P $4.25, saved $1.70)

- Essence Circus Collection Lip Laquer in Applause Applause (R.R.P $3.50, saved $1.40)

- Essence Silky Touch Blush in Natural Beauty & Babydoll (R.R.P $4.25 each, saved $1.70 each)

- Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in Tu-Tu-Turquoise (R.R.P $2.50, saved $1.00)

And here is the goodies that was inside the G.W.P bag:

- Ecotools Bath Sponge

- Savvy by DB Makeup Remover Wipes

- Kiss Everlasting French Nails Kit

- Australis Paparazzi Perfect Concealer in Medium

- Bourjois Volume Glamour Max Mascara

- Nude by Nature Undercover Airbrush Mineral Primer

- Models Prefer Brow Highlighter Pencil

- Revlon Lip Butter in Sugar Plum

- Natio Lipstick in Flutter

- Rimmel Wake Me Up Instant Radiance Shimmer Touch in Shimmering Sand

- Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Midnight in NY

-  Press and Go Manicure

- $5 off Revlon Photoready BB cream coupon at Priceline

- Manicare Cuticle Therapy

I don't think I'll need any more makeup anytime soon, and I'm also going to put myself on a spending ban for a while (let's see how that goes haha).

Let me know what you got at the Priceline 40% off cosmetics sale!

Look familiar? Zhousina Joursna Brush review.

 Whilst browsing on eBay for stippling brushes, I came across a few sellers with these products in my search. So they look very similar to Real Technique brushes, but do they have the same quality?

This brand is called Zhoushina, however the name on the handle is Joursna. The set of 5 brushes have a pink handle with the black flat bottom. The shape of the handle differs slightly than RT brushes and it is a more coral pink colour. Looking on eBay, it seems that this set comes in an orange colour (like the RT base brushes), and a light sky blue. The brush I got is number 4, but different sellers number the brushes differently, however they can be easily distinguished from one another. The black base of my brush came like this, it looks melted :S. However the seller gave me a refund for this, which I'm content with.

Moving away from the looks, the brush hairs itself are synthetic, soft and a little bit stiff (in a good way ;). I wouldn't think this is a true duo fibre brush (and it doesn't claim to be on eBay, or the packaging) but it does have a duo fibre design.

Its performance on applying liquid foundation produces an airbrush finish to the face, while providing the coverage potential of your foundation (the brush does not soak up the product). It does not give any brush stroke marks in your foundation, nor does it shed (in application and cleaning).

It applies powder lightly to the skin, which is nice to lightly set the foundation with loose or pressed powder. And It blends harsh contour or blush perfectly as well as applying powder or cream blush.

Top: Real Techniques Stippling brush, Bottom: Joursna Brush no.4

Left: Joursna Brush no.4, Right: Real Techniques Stippling Brush

In comparison to the Real Techniques Stippling brush, the Joursna makeup brush is definitely more softer since the RT brush is more dense, and the Joursna brush has a larger surface, which makes the application of foundation/powder/cream more faster. I find the Joursna brush applies powder product easier, and blends makeup better, but I prefer using cream products with the RT stippling brush.

Now ladies, this is the best bit, the price. I bought this Joursna brush off eBay for $3.79. No, that is not a typo, it’s actually pretty legit. And sellers offer free shipping with this product. The only downside is, since the sellers are based in China and Hong Kong, delivery is going to take around anywhere between 3 to 6 weeks, but check with the seller on delivery times.

You can find these brushes on eBay, type in “stipple brush”, tick the location box to “worldwide”, hit the “buy it now” tab and sort by “Pricing + Postage: lowest first” and they should come up in the middle-end of the page. The reason I'm not including the sellers name is because of the defect on the brush I received.

Rate: 9/10.

- UPDATE!!! -
I purchased another one of these brushes from the same seller, and it sheds like crazy. So be careful when purchasing, since the brush is so cheap, there is more of a chance to have problems when manufacturing the product and quality control may not be top notch.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog.

My name is Kathleen, I'm 19 years old and I am addicted to makeup and other beauty related things. 

So here is some background about myself and a few other things about me that may be useful for future reference.

I was born and raised in Australia (Vic) and I live with my parents. I'm a half Anglo-Celtic Aus (my dad) and half Chinese (my mum). And I have one older sister.

I am in my second year of university studying Psychology, however I would like to pursue a qualification in makeup sometime very soon.

Besides makeup and psychology, my other interests are video games, fashion, food, my boyfriend and just having a good ol' chill.

I'm sure others can relate, but I have started becoming interested in makeup because I wanted to simply cover up some pimples, and so it grew from there.

In this blog, I'll review products, create looks (FOTD, EOTD), suggest my favourites, present hauls, etc. 

Looking forward to making this happen!