Cosmetic Cupcake

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang and Clearasil.

It’s finally spring here in Australia! I LOVE this time of year as it means I can break out the pretty colours I put away for winter, dewy skin and enjoy a fresh-faced look. One of the biggest beauty trends this spring is the no-makeup look and a twist is the barely there makeup look as I prefer a bit of colour in Spring. To achieve this look it doesn’t actually mean one doesn’t wear makeup though! For me it’s about enhancing your features for a fresh faced look by working with colours that suit your skintone. We want to enhance rather than conceal our natural beauty! Because I’m quite fair I love using peach and pink tones and this look is often my go to for spring.


Great skin is always the perfect canvas to start any makeup look but especially for the barely there makeup look! It’s a huge confidence boost when you can leave the house wearing minimal makeup or having only used just a few products. The Clearasil PerfectaWash can help you put your best face forward every day without makeup with the Super Fruit Extract and Soothing Plant Extract formulas to help soothe and protect against blemishes for visibly clearer skin. Something I think all of us ladies covet! The Clearasil PerfectaWash dispenses just the right amount of cleanser using the unique automated face wash dispenser that delivers exactly 1.5mls of product each time.


The automated dosage system prevents drying out the skin using too much product and active ingredients can irritate the skin and cause further problems. My skin is still a little on the dry side from winter and the formulas contain Vitamin E and antioxidants which are known for their soothing properties so are gentle enough for daily use. They’re dermatologist tested and with the combination of pimple fighting and beneficial ingredients it’s perfect for all young adult skin types to help attain clear skin.



I love a dewy finish in spring so I used the Clinique Even Better Foundation in 01 for a slightly heavier coverage than I would normally use as I find can get away with not having to use concealer when my skin is behaving well. It evens out my skintone and covers any blemishes or acne scarring well. I set it with Face of Australia Translucent Powder and I lightly swept MAC powder blush in Hipness on the apples of my cheeks for a just pinched look. I couldn’t resist a bit of highlighter so I used Benefit Watts Up highlighter on my cheekbones!

For the eyes, I primed my lids using Too Faced Shadow Insurance and applied a very soft wash of pink using MAC eyeshadow in Ego and highlighted my brow bone using MAC eyeshadow in Shroom. I used a teeny bit of the dark brown shade from the Stila eyeshadow trio in gold glow in my outer corner and added Illamasqua Powder eye shadow in Synth to the centre of my lid. I lined my eyes lightly using Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencil in Juju and 2 coats of Dolly Wink Volume mascara and one coat of Clinique Bottom Lash mascara in black.


For the lips I used Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Flirt for a sheer peach lip. I prefer using these lipstick-balm hybrids in the warmer months for a more natural look.


Fancy trying out the Clearasil PerfectaWash yourself? I'm giving away a Clearasil PerfectaWash Automatic Facewash Dispenser & Refill to ONE lucky reader! All you have to do is answer the following question:

Have you tried the new Clearasil PerfectaWash, what were your thoughts?
Leave me a comment with your answer below for your chance to win! The competition is open to Australian residents only and ends at 5pm AEST on October 28th 2012. The winner will be chosen by Nuffnang. See Terms & Conditions here.

Good luck!

Merry Christmas my lovely readers!! I hope you've had a wonderful Christmas surrounded by loved ones and filled with great food and lots of pressies.

I had a quiet Christmas lunch and gift opening session at home with my family before going to D's. We had a cold lunch of ham, prawns etc with pavlova of course to finish! Then I headed off to D's for dinner with his family. D made Singapore chilli crab for everyone and some roti to go with it but as I can't eat crab I had oysters mornay mmmmm.


D's sisters friend made some yummy creme brulee for dessert too!


Some pressies from my family and a friend. My sis had ordered the Deborah Lippmann Get This Party Started set for me but unfortunately it didn't arrive in time. But I have something to look forward to after Christmas at least!!!


Pressie from D =) I have Benefit Watts Up YAY!!!!!!!!!!


I'll leave you with some pics of our gingerbread house. The sis and I decorated it (next year we're going to bake our own!) very late one night last week and we reckon we did a pretty damn good job if I do say so myself! We're super proud of it lol. We look forward to doing it every year and it's an awesome sisterly bonding session for us too xp

Front of house
Back of house
What did you get up to today? Thanks for looking as always!!

Today's quick Christmas gift idea post features face and body products that I'm lemming! Only one of the products I've tried myself and the others are on my wishlist. Here we go!


Bobbi Brown Party Shimmer Brick: This limited edition Party Shimmer Brick is dressed up in silver and gold and is just so festive and gorgeous. It's even embossed with a martini glass and shaker! WANT.
Available from Myer and David Jones for $85.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour blush: Tammie helped me get my hands on two a while back and they are the must have blush for the year. Long lasting, super pigmented and gorgeous matte colours. I have Natural Beauty and Dollface and I can't recommend them enough!
Available from Sephora for $25US.

Stella McCartney Lily perfume: I only read about this new addition to Stella McCartney's perfume range the other day and I know I already want it without smelling it! The Stella perfumes are my absolute favourite perfumes in the entire world and are my signature scent. NEED.

Benefit Watts Up highlighter: I LOVE highlighters and I've fallen for this new addition to the Benefit highlighter family. Everyone is raving about it and I really want to try it!
Available from Myer and Adore Beauty for $53.

Kiehl's Crème de Corps limited edition trio: A special limited edition version of the well known Crème de Corps. Kiehl's have collaborated with Australian designers Sass & Bide, Zimmerman & Ksubi for Kiehls and 7.4% of all sales will be donated to Australian children’s charities – THE SHINE COLLECTIVE, a sass & bide and Barnardo’s initiative, for sass & bide; the Starlight Children’s Foundation for Zimmermann, and War Child Australia for ksubi.
Available from Myer and Kiehl's online store for $45.

Have you tried any of these products? What face and body products are on your wishlist this year?

Thanks for looking as always!

Hi ladies! I hope you've all had a lovely weekend =) Today I have a quick haul post for you courtesy of the awesome Tammie. Sephora unfortunately doesn't ship to us Aussie ladies (BOO!!) so lovely Tammie is my US enabler! I haven't been doing many haul posts lately.. lots of people are really struggling at the moment so I don't really feel comfortable doing my monthly haul posts (I haven't hauled TOO much recently) but the occasional haul post is OK I think as I know you guys enjoy them.


So many goodies!!!! xD It was great to open up the package hehe. Tammie also helped some of my friends get some items too which was so nice.


NARS Sea of Love set containing full size Illuminator in Laguna, lip gloss in Turkish Delight, The Multiple in Orgasm and blush in Super Orgasm.


Look how cute the mini NARS blush is! Here it is next to my full size Orgasm blush hehe.


Some Urban Decay goodies!! 24/7 Shadow Pencil Stash, 24/7 liner in Yeyo and Grind House pencil sharpener. I mainly got the pencils to try the teal colour because I want to add some colour to my makeup ;)


I've been loving cream eyeshadows lately because they're so simple and quick to use! I've been itching to try the Benefit Creaseless Creams ever since I saw them over on Emily's Anthology. She raves about Strut and she did a great tutorial on how to take your makeup from day to night using it so I thought I'd get a few to try out. I got Birthday Suit, RSVP and Strut.


And last but not least my HG eye makeup remover Lancôme Bi-Facil and another Sephora exclusive Dior Addict lipstick in Model.

Tammie also helped me get something for my sis which isn't pictured because it's part of her Xmas present and hidden at the moment from her prying eyes ;) Thank you once again for helping me get my hands on Sephora items Tammie!! I seriously would have a lot less make up (and lemmings you huge enabler!) if it weren't for your generosity in helping me custom purchase ♥

What have you hauled lately? Thanks for looking as always!

My name is Michelle and I am a blush-aholic. I wake up and I NEED to have my blush fix - I can't leave the house without it! Does anyone else suffer from blush obsession? If I don't wear blush I look like a ghost so it's a must have in my makeup collection. I own about 18 which is a lot for some but compared to the makeup bloggers it's tiny! I'm always on the lookout for new blushes and I have yet to meet a blush I didn't like xD I've always wanted to try Benefit boxed powders as I've had good experiences with their other products so I was super excited when I was given the opportunity to try out 2 of their pretty powders recently. The 1st one I'll show you is their latest release and my favourite called Bella Bamba.


What they say:

"Release your Bella Bamba! The triple dimension of pink... brightening, sculpting & defining! Laced with shimmering gold undertones, this 3D watermelon blush is multidimensional to the naked eye... wear it on your cheeks or dust it lightly all over your face to look brighter, perkier, prettier!"

The packaging of these Benefit boxed powders is what sets them apart from the others. Bella Bamba comes in a square hinged box with a mirror and includes a brush. This packaging is new as the old boxed powders have removable lids.


Bella Bamba is a gorgeous watermelon pink with hints of gold shimmer. It is absolutely beautiful!! It reminds me of NARS Orgasm but much pinker and less peachy. I ADORE both pink and coral blushes but pink usually wins haha. Bella Bamba gives me just the right amount of glow when I apply it and goes wonderfully with my pale skin. It's very pigmented so I apply quite lightly but it blends easily creating a lovely soft pink pop of colour to my cheeks.


Swatch:


When applied:


Overall: I love pink/coral blushes and this is no exception! It's very pigmented and looks wonderful on me so I thoroughly enjoy using it. While the packaging is very cute it's not the most user friendly unfortunately. It's difficult to open and when open it doesn't want to stay up. Hopefully as I use it more often it will loosen up. I prefer to use my own brush to apply it (MAC 129) but the one included isn't too bad if you're travelling or on the go. I do find the packaging a little bulky to store with my other blushes but this is purely an OCD 'chelle thing so don't mind me =p


Would I repurchase?: Definitely! I've been reaching for Bella Bamba at least 3-4 times a week since I received it - I love it! It's wonderful for Spring/Summer It gives the right amount of shimmer and colour for a glowing look.

Where to buy:
Benefit Bella Bamba can be purchased from Myer Benefit counters in Australia for $51.
For US ladies, you can purchase it from Sephora or Benefit.com for $28US.

A big thank you to Renee for providing me with this product to sample! I was sent the above product for my consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion.

Have you tried Benefit boxed powders? What would you recommend?

Thanks for looking as always and don't forget to enter my Glitter Gal giveaway!

Hi ladies! How have you all been? I've been so busy with work and stuff so hence the lack of posts. I've been on a real makeup kick lately so I haven't been doing very fancy NOTDs. Don't worry though, nail art will return shortly! I've also been having lots of fun playing with lots of new (to me) Face of Australia products which were kindly sent to me for review. One of these products is the gorgeous Mineral Lip Shine in Fairy Floss.


What they say:

"Face of Australia Mineral Lip Shine combines natural mineral pigments and hydrating ingredients for lasting moisture and colour. The silky formula contains no synthetic dyes and shades range from light sheers to thicker creams."


Fairy Floss is a very pretty pink lipstick that feels more like a balm. They describe it as "the perfect go-between natural lip colour - not sticky or shiny like a lip gloss and not as heavy as a lipstick." It's somewhat sheer giving a nice pinky sheen to your lips, fantastic for when you need a neutral/pinky lip colour. It's super moisturising and feels lovely on! The smell is OK - it's a little sweet but it's not too offending.


It's packaged very sleekly in silver and there's a plastic protective cap included which is something I haven't seen before. Is this to prevent the lippie from drying out or something? I'm more of a lipgloss girl so if anyone could enlighten me that would be great! The Mineral Lip Shines are infused with natural mineral pigments for shine and contain antioxidant vitamins to keep lips soft and hydrated. It also contains natural sun protection filters which is a must for us here in Australia!


A quick FOTD for you using some of the Face of Australia products I'm been trying out:


Products I used:

Face:
Face of Australia Face Base Primer - I'm really loving this! Helps my makeup stay put for the day.
Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Liquid Foundation in Beige
Face of Australia Translucent Loose Powder
Benefit The Pore Professional - review to come.
Benefit Bella Bamba - review to come.

Eyes:
Eyeko Grafitti eyeliner pen in Purple - I did an Eyeko haul this month and I am absolutely LOVING these liquid eyeliners!!! They are freaking AWESOME. Haul post soon!
GOSH Velvet Touch eyeliner in Purple Stain
Australis TLC Lash mascara

Lips:
Face of Australia Mineral Lip Shine in Fairy Floss

I am loving the combination of Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Liquid Foundation and Translucent Loose Powder and I've been using it over the last week. It makes my skin look and feel fantastic even though it's far from great. Full review coming up soon! I have so many polishes and products to review but so little time x( I kinda regret taking up that 2nd job.. but the experience will be good for me I think.

Would I repurchase?: I love pink lippies so it's a definite yes! The colour is fantastic and I love that it feels great and is so moisturising.

Face of Australia Mineral Lip Shine can be purchased from Priceline, Kmart, Big W and selected pharmacies Australia wide for $12.95. It is available in 7 different shades.

A big thank you to Face of Australia for sending me the above product to sample! I was sent the above product for my consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion.

Thanks for looking!