Almay Eyeshadow Palettes & FOTD

First time ever trying Almay eyeshadows because I haven’t found a place that allows you to swatch them. So I was always reluctant but I just got two because I actually wanted to try them for the longest time.

Intense i-color

Powder Eyeshadow

Trio for Browns 021 (purples)

3.6g/0.13 Oz

Trio for Brown Eyes

I have to say one thing, I love the fact it is a clear top so I can see the colours without having to open the palette.  Each of these palettes also comes with a sponge applicator even though I don’t use them; it’ll come in handy when travelling.  The size of them is good as well as they’re not bulky so when travelling they don’t take up too much space.  The packaging is good quality and not the soft cheap plastic so it doesn’t break just from opening and closing them too much.



with Flash



The pigmentation is great and they’re soft and smooth so it glides on great when applied.  The colours are also good and great for creating a simple look with them on days you’re rushing and have little time to do your makeup.

Without Flash

Intense i-color


Light Interplay Technology

Powder Shadow

Trio for Hazels 033

4.8g/0.16 Oz

Trio for Hazel Eyes

I have no idea why this one has more products and the price is the same, and the highlight in this colour is huge compared to the purple one.  This palette however includes instructions on how the eyeshadows should be used.  Handy for beginners who are looking for how to apply eyeshadows on themselves.  Just like the previous one it is the same size packaging and comes with a sponge applicator as well.  The other different from this palette is that the packaging/case is completely clear but the quality of the plastic is just as good as the purple one.  This palette also contains one matte eyeshadow which is the black one and the purple one didn’t have a matte eyeshadow at all.

With Flash

The pigmentation is just as great and it easy to apply and easy to blend as well.  Even though it was made for hazel eyes I hope I can find a way to work it one my brown eyes.

Without Flash

Have anyone else tried Almay Eyeshadows?

Used my new Almay purple eye palette to create a look and thought I share it on my blog. It didn’t really turn out as well as I had wanted it to so I’ll have to attempt another time with this palette and hopefully then it’ll be better.

The camera washes out the colours, it was more intense than this :p

Need to reset camera settings, it's fading the colours too much!

Products used:


MSCHIC Face Canvas Primer

Maybelline Super Stay Makeup Foundation – Nude

Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme Concealer – 02 Light Medium

Almay Bright Eyes Eyebase + Concealer – 105 Light

Eve Pearl Loose Setting Powder

Elf Mineral Eyeshadow Primer

Almay Intense i-color trio for browns 021

Almay Eyeliner Crayon Contour – 01 Black/noir

Rimmel X10 Volume Mascara Flash – 001 black extreme

Savvy by DB Baked Mineral Blush – Mineral Rose

Rimmel Sun Shimmer Bronzing Compact Powder – Light Matte

NYX Lipstick – 546 Ceto

NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss – 153 Crystal Soda

cute?

Close up, doesn't look that pretty :p

Pout Pout

Hope everyone had a great weekend :)

E.L.F. Sale and coupon code!

Take advantage of this sale if you are and elf fan!
I would if they actually shipped internationally but unfortunately they do not so I would love to share this with anyone who do love using their products.

Note this is 50% off Eye Makeup and there is a minimum spend of over $20.

Happy shopping!

Gloss Mini Haul

Stopped by at Gloss Cosmetics some time ago and only managed a quick peek and picked up things that interested me instantly.  It’s a cosmetic store in Australia that stocks BYS, Chi Chi, Boots No 7, and some of the usual drugstore cosmetics as well.  I also noticed it sold some accessories and their own brand of brushes.

Mini Haul from Gloss Cosmetics

Anyway I picked up two things from the brand Be Yourself and they are two Shine Stick Eye Shadow in green and Blue.  You get 2g of product and it’s only $3 AUD per stick.  Pretty cheap in my opinion and I thought these two colours look pretty nice when I swatched them quickly on my hand in the store.

Top without Base, Bottom with Base
With Flash

Top without Base, Bottom with Base
Without Flash

 It’s the typical twistable pen and the texture of the shadow is very creamy and soft. Pigmentation is pretty good for the price it is sold at and glides on very well. There is a small chemical smell to it if you put it up to your nose otherwise you would hardly notice it.


I smudged the top line and see how it would look if I were to use it as a base, and I have yet to put dry/powder eyeshadow over it. However I think using them as a base would be the best way to use them.

Smudge top without base to see how it would be if used as a base  before applying eyeshadows

I never knew that Australia even stocked Boots No 7 and I was surprised when I saw it because I’ve been seeing it a lot on the internet with some pretty good reviews. However there was a very small range of it and most of it was foundation so that didn’t really interest me much. I did however pick up an eyeshadow quad.


You get 4g worth of product at $7.95 AUD and to me I thought it was alright since you get four colours in the quad.

Boots No 7 Eye Quad Palette - Hypo Allergenic

“A palette of gorgeous shades that can be used wet or dry for endless combinations of colour.”




“Use the colours dry to create a soft wash across the lids or dampen the end of the flat brush for an intense flash of colour close to the lashes.”



Top without Base
Bottom with Base
With Flash



Top without Base
Bottom with Base
Without Flash

My thought on the eyeshadows were pretty good because I wasn’t sure what to expect out of them for that kind of price.  They’re pretty pigmented and the shadows are soft and smooth.  All four colours are shimmer/pearl under base and I liked the packaging quite a bit.  Travel size and it looks so simple yet sleek.

Beauty Ambition 100 Followers Giveaway!!

Just popping in to tell you guys that Evelyn from Beauty Ambition (http://www.beautyambition.net/) is holding her 100 Followers Giveaway and she has some awesome stuff in her gift pack.

100 Followers Prize given away by Evelyn

To see this giveaway and find out what the rules are please click on the following link:
http://www.beautyambition.net/2010/10/100-follower-giveaway.html

Giveway ends November 3, 2010 at 11:59 PM

Beauty Ambition is very informative and I love reading her reviews as her opinions are very honest.

Organisation Tip #2 – Plastic trays for False Eyelashes

Been a bit MIA lately and I apologise as this week my makeup course started and so things been a bit hectic. However I have to say I love every moment of it at the moment and I can’t wait to see how I will progress.


Anyway I picked up a pack of 4 plastic trays at Target for $7 AUD and thought I share with you guys on how I used them. They were the slim kind of tray so I had a good idea how I was going to use them. The now currently stores my false eyelashes and I love the way it holds them. Before I just had them in a whole heaps in a draw and it was so frustrating trying to find the pair you want to use. Now that I’ve got them all nicely stacked into the trays I can flip through them faster and find the ones I want.

Perfect for my false eyelashes collection that just get stored in a messy way in my drawers

I didn’t fill them all up so I ended up putting my glue and the rhinestones in there as well.  I also had one completely empty one so I was thinking whether I should put that away and save it or find another way to use it.

put my glue and rhinestones in together

All nice and neat and easy to see what eyelashes I have

Knowing me if I put things away I will forget and by the time I find them they’ll be ancient and I would want them anymore.  So I decided to use it to keep my stuff tidy on my desk.  I placed my hand sanitizer and other little things that I use on a daily basis.  At least they’re now always going to be neat on my table and not all over the place.  It’s also easier to wipe down the table as I can move it all at once and not have to more them and then stack them back neatly in place.

holding my daily products

Anyway I got some posts that I need to do for you guys and hopefully I can get them up very soon. Some cheaper drugstore products I’ve discovered and also some looks I think floating around in a folder.

I’m currently doing major hard drive cleaning so my photos are kind of all over the place. Please bear with me and I’ll keep you guys updated on how my makeup course is going and try post more often with looks and products I’ve tried.

Promos, Deals and Coupons

e.l.f.'s Makeup In A Minute



Cosmetics, Couture & Culture Central






October 22, 2010 Issue # 098

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Moderated by: Achelle

Published by: e.l.f. Cosmetics http://www.eyeslipsface.com

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............IN THIS ISSUE........



.......... SPECIAL OFFERS ...............



FREE MINI MAKEUP COLLECTION!

Use coupon code MINI with $10 purchase.

Mini added to cart when you use your coupon code!

Shop Now at:

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Expires October 25, 2010.



GET THE HALLOWEEN LOOKS!

Use coupon code GTLHW with Halloween Look purchase.

Shop Now at:

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Expires October 31, 2010.



FREE SUNGLASSES! A $40 VALUE!

Use coupon code SUNGLASSES with $15 purchase.

Shop Now at:

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Expires October 31, 2010.
 
 
COASTAL SCENTS

SALE EXPIRES 10/25/2010 MIDNIGHT EASTERN STANDARD TIME,USA.

ORDERS PLACED PRIOR TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WILL NOT RECEIVE THE DISCOUNT.

NO RAIN CHECKS.

Recent Looks of the past weeks

I haven’t posted many EOTDs lately so I thought I share the random quick photos I took during last week and compile them together.

Dramatic Eyeliner EOTD



Chi Chi Super Stack

NYX Single Eyeshadow – True Taupe

Coastal Scents Gel Liner – True Black

Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eye Definer – Noir

Maybelline the Colossal Volum’ Express – Glam Black

heavy liner



How much of a difference it makes with and without makeup


Easy Blue Makeup EOTD



Nivea Soft Intensive Moisturising Crème

CoverGirl Aqua CG Smoothers Tinted Moisture SPF 15 – 810 Light to Medium

Eve Pearl Loose Setting Powder

Elf Mineral Eyeshadow Primer – Sheer

Estee Lauder Concealer Resilience Lift Extreme – 02 Light Medium

Australis Intensifeye wet/dry Eyeshadow Palette – Out of the Blue

Elf Blush – Peachy Keen

Rimmel Sun Shimmer Bronzing Compact Powder – Light Matte

CoverGirl Lipstick – 825 In the Nude Desnudo Chair

NYX Gloss – 06 Mauve

Simple Blue

Add caption

I like this photo but I hate how the hair stick out on the side!

Purple and Green EOTD



Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Coastal Creative #2 Eyeshadow Palette

Rimmel Volume Flash The Max Bold Curves Extreme Volume & Lift Mascara

No Eyeliner

Now to finish the post a quick hair shot that didn’t turn out all that great and some scary nails




All photos are taken after work, so it's a bit messy :(



Makeup lasted all day so that was a plus :)

Sorry for ugly nails and it's been on for a week so started to get yucky and chip :(

Rimmel Mascaras and Bronzer Review

I’ve bought some Rimmel products sometime ago and had given them a good test and I’m finally here to share them on my blog of what I thought about. Bear in mind that what mentioned in this post is purely my own opinion and may not be the same for everyone else who had used this product before.

First I guess I should start off with the bronzer I bought. After all I was searching for a nice matte bronzer and I saw Rimmel had some in their product range. I ended up buying the Sun Shimmer Bronzing Compact Powder in Light Matte.

The bronzer is a smooth pressed powder and the packaging is very standard but sturdy.  It’s not completely matte and does a very small hint of shimmer in it, but barely noticeable.  It smells nice and the colour is not bad, but perhaps it is too light for me?  Maybe the medium might had suited my skin tone more because this one is not showing up as well as I thought it would when I swatched it at the store.

Without Flash

With Flash
Turned out a little blurry :(

I bought 2 mascaras at once from Rimmel at Priceline because I really wanted to test them and I have to say the first ever mascara I bought from Rimmel gave me MAJOR disappointment so I was rather reluctant to try.  However I’ve seen some review and so I thought I just give it a shot as not all mascaras are horrible.

Black Tube: X10
Pink Tube: The Max Volume Flash Mascara - Ultra Black

The Max Volume Flash Mascara – Ultra Black


I see that Jackee from Jackee’s Makeup Bag (http://jackeetmmakeup.blogspot.com/) had said was great on her. So I picked up this one and also noticed some other reviews on it after I googled on it too.

The brush is a good size and it doesn’t clump my eyelashes. It does give me good length but not great volume, which is something I need for my short lashes. After sometime it also flakes on me so I wasn’t happy about that.

Left: Black Tube
Right: Pink Tube

X10 Extreme Black Volume Flash Mascara – Extreme Black

I didn’t like the brush when I first pulled it out. Rather short and stubby which means it is more likely to clump your lashes and it was true on that. I noticed the formula of this mascara compared to the previous one in the pink tube is thicker, thus it gave length and volume which I liked very much. This one also didn’t flake on me or give me panda eyes after a whole day. However it means I have to put on this mascara with more patient since if I rush it I’ll most likely clump my eyelashes together so I don’t use this one if I’m on a rush to get the eyes done.
Both the packaging is pretty sleek and one is even in pink so a bonus for the ladies who love pink!


Has anyone else tried either of these mascaras? Would be nice to hear what you guys think :)

A Day Out in Swan Valley with Good Company

Yesterday was Saturday, so it meant it was pretty much my only real day off this week as I have to work tonight. Two friends and I decided about a week or so ago that we would take a nice little drive trip down to Swan Valley which is surprisingly only about half an hour drive from my house. I thought it was a bit longer than that, or was I speeding as usual? The day was beautiful and it wasn’t hot at all, but with complete sunshine and a very clear blue sky. The perfect weather for a day out in the sun.


Anyway we started off the day around 11am so not too early and not too late and managed to get to Penny Garden for a lovely lunch just before noon. Looking at the photo the café is a shed and yes it really is a shed, like a typical farm shed. It may not look appealing to certain people but I thought it was cute and the inside was rather simple and clean. The waitress who greeted us was very friendly and the service was not bad. Beside I had already looked up some reviews on this place and all of them were pretty good.

Penny Garden in Swan Valley

Now down to the real goodness, the food we ordered.  I ordered Atlantic salmon that is medium rare served over a delicious potato salad.  The salmon was cooked beautifully and the size of that salmon fillet was even better.  I have not eaten a salmon dish anywhere else that gives a serving size this big!  Most places give you half the size of what I got at Penny Garden.  The price of this dish was $29 so I thought it was very reasonable since I didn’t even finish the whole thing.  The sauce they used for the salad was a yellow kind of sauce so I’m guessing it has mustard in it, but there was more to it than that. The dressing was so tasty that I kept trying to figure out what was in it and as usual I’m a failure at doing that.

Atlantic Salmon, was one of the Chef's recommendation on the white board by the bar

The biggest piece of salmon served on a plate I have seen so far!

I was the only one who ordered a drink and I have to say this place makes the best banana smoothie I’ve had in a long long time.  It actually has real fresh banana in it and not the artificial flavouring most places uses.  For the price of $4.50 I’m completely satisfied with the serving size and the real banana used in it.

Already drank half of it until I realised I didn't take a photo.  This smoothie has REAL Banana in it.

My two buddies on the other hand had egg plant rolls and garlic bread and the other ordered chilli mussels.  I’m not super sure how they went, but it seems everyone had enjoyed their meal that day and left quite happy after paying.

Egg Plant Rolls, Entree Size

Chilli Mussels

Happy  customer

Thumbs up from me :)

View is not a paradise view but a very relaxing one.  Away from the crowd and the noise.

Mandy and Mandy

Asian Much?

A couple of places didn’t really appeal so no photos taken and not really worth mentioning.  However we did end up at the water lily and fish farm, and though it was small it was still something nice to do.  I’ve never actually seen real water lilies before and there weren’t many since the weather was getting a bit hot.  I realised how dirty the water were but also thought how such dirty water can produce such beautiful flowers in the water.

White Water Lily



Beautiful pink water Lily



Light pink water lily

Three bright pink water lilies in very dirty water

 The place stocked a lot of goldfishes and Koi and it was funny watching the small Koi gather as the lady came around to feed the fish. They went absolutely crazy fighting for food the minute the lady cascading them into the pond.

Lots of little Koi munching on fish food

I had to stop by at the House of honey and grab my honey and ginger sparkling water. This drink is so refreshing and to think its sparkling water so definitely better than grabbing for a can of coke. I never get sick of this place and the people who own and work here are all very friendly. I also recommend their Lavender honey for those who are a bit of a honey fanatic. The weather did start to get really hot here and we got ice cream from the House of honey with a bit of honey over the top.

The House of Honey allows honey tasting before purchase

After happy purchases sitting outside to enjoy a bit of ice cream in the hot weather.

Cold smooth vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of honey on top!

Those weird moments caught on camera

Some sort of flower outside The House of Honey.

Beautiful summer colours

We did stop at Windy Creek Winery, but due to the fact we were too busy wine tasting and eating crackers and cheese, we forgot to take photos. I do remember it being a very homely kind of winery place.

Mondo Nougat was a place we stopped by right after the winery and it is Perth local nougat factory owned by a local Italian family. Loved the little car inside and the wall painting of the sakura tree is beautiful. The place was pretty busy with people enjoying coffee and their nice cake selection. However I saved myself for chocolate factory instead.

Inside Mond's Nougat Factory and that little red car

Love the painting on the wall!

Margaret River chocolate factory was last and stupid me I didn’t even take a photo of the actual factory and the inside of it.  I wonder if it was because I was actually beginning to get tired by the end of the day.  It was absolutely packed in there and so hard to get around that we even had to line up to pay.  I enjoyed my share of free chocolate tasting and a nice cup of coffee to finish the day was nice.  Just perfect before the drive home.

Finishing the day at the Margaret Chocolate Factory with coffee and some chocolate

Chek's Cranberry, Pistachio and nougat chocolate! Yum!

Thanks to my friend Mandy for some great photos and I would definitely head back to swan valley again.  I would even love to try breakfast at Penny Garden, since most review were about their breakfast in particular.