A few weeks ago I was in desperate need of a new perfume, I have a lot of winter scents but I felt as I’m coming into spring I needed a fresh new scent.  I have always been a fan of Diptyque but have never really had the budget to buy any of their products so when I had saved up my money I headed into Mecca Cosmetica to check out what they had to offer.  

After spending quite a while sniffing around I decided to settle on Do Son, it is such a beautiful vivid scent that I just couldn’t leave without buying it.  I always find perfumes a hard thing to describe but I’ll give it my best shot.  Do Son is based on fragrance of  seaside in Vietnam, it has a sweetness which is thanks to the tuberose, rose berries and iris tones with a hint of musk which stops the perfume from being overwhelmingly sweet.  For me it reminds me of being on holiday near the ocean which is my absolute heaven! 

Apart from its glorious smell Do Son also stays on me all day.  With a lot of other perfumes I own they do not last on me, at the end of the day I can’t even tell I’m wearing perfume anymore, this one however I can still smell on me at the end of the day.  This perfume also comes in solid form so I think I will be asking for that for my birthday in September!

Have any of you tried Diptyque perfumes or candles? Let me know if you have any other scents for me to try out.

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This week I’ve been wearing a mixture of new products, old favourites and some that I had forgotten about.  It’s quite an easy one that looks really beautiful, if I do say so myself.

For the base I moisturised my face then used my Cyber Colors Zero Prime primer, which i forgot to photograph.  After that I have been using the Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin in 10 Ivory, I am really enjoying this foundation it quickly evens out my skin tone and lasts all day which is what I need when I have a long day at uni or work.  As I’ve said in other posts I’ve been having late nights and early mornings so I have been using my trusty concealer combination of Napoleon Perdis The One Concealer and Maybelline Dark Circle Eraser in Light.  The combination of these two products completely conceals my dark, dark circles, thank the lord for that!  For powder I used my trusty ol’ Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Translucent,  this sets my foundation as well as helping it last throughout the day.  I haven’t been using a lot of bronzer lately so I used the NYX Powder Blush in Taupe to contour and add some definition to my face.  For cheeks I’ve been using Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Amused, although the colour looks shockingly pink it actually looks quite natural giving a subtle flush.  I used The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer to add some shimmer on my cheekbones and nose.

Now time for eyes!  I’ve recently rediscovered the Bobbi Brown Navy and Nude Eye Palette, I had forgotten how beautiful this looks on the eyes so I’ve really enjoyed wearing this for the past week.  I used the light taupe shade all over the lid then the darker shade blended into the crease, for some drama I smudged the stunning navy shade into the top lash line and if I was feeling daring I would smudge it into the bottom as well.  For lashes I used Covergirl Clump Crusher Extensions in Black, I love this mascara!  It completely separates the lashes and and extreme length, it almost looks like I’m wearing falsies.  Finally for brows I used the Essence Brow Pencil in Brunette, this is a great budget friendly eyebrow pencil which is doing a brilliant job at filling my brows in.

I didn’t include a lip product in the photo as I normally change it up during the week but I tended to favour my good ol’ NYX Matte Lipstick in Audrey.  I just can’t go past this lipstick at the moment!  It’s just a fantastic finish to a look without adding too much drama.

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Confession time – I went on a little bit of a splurge the other day and it wasn’t of the drugstore variety.  It was high end all the way!  After watching a bazillion youtube beauty videos lately I had a rather large list of products that I was dying to try so I headed off into town to see what I could get my hands on.  

I started at the MAC counter and managed to only purchase one product, it was hard but I did it.  I picked up an old favourite MAC Studio Fix in NW22, this is just such a beautiful product to set your foundation.  It leaves your skin baby soft and smooth, it also evens out any little bit of redness that my foundation and concealer missed.  Next I headed over to Mecca Cosmetica to try out the Nars Dual Intensity Eyeshadows, I swatched a few colours and couldn’t go past Himalia a beautiful light bronze colour that is stunning on the eyelid.  You can use these eyeshadows both wet and dry so I can’t wait to try this wet to up the ante of this colour.  The next purchase is a very special one, I have never owned a Tom Ford product before so I was super excited to by my first one!  I thought I would go with his classic Wild Ginger Lipstick and I tell you what I am not disappointed one bit!  It is such a flattering orange red colour that I want to wear it every darn day.  

Next up are two products from Benefit, I’ve heard mixed reviews about their They’re Real Push Up Liner so I thought I would give it a go myself.  I’ve tried it twice now and I’m in two minds about it, I first used it to do a winged liner and it flaked and smudged a fair bit so the next time I tried it I just pushed it into the lash line making a very thin line.  This time it didn’t flake or smudge at all and it looked great, it made my lashed look thicker which was great so I think I’ll just continue to use it this way.  Finally I picked up the Gimme Brow in Medium/Deep, I already own this in the lighter shade but at the moment my hair is dark so I really needed the darker shade to match it.  I absolutely love this product, its perfect for on the go to just subtly fill in and sparseness and add colour.  I have to say I think this will always be a part of my makeup collection.

What do you guys think of my choices?  Can you add any products to my wish list?

Also I just wanted to let you know I am changing my posting schedule due to my uni and work so I will be putting up new posts on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.

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I have got some pretty nasty dark under eye circles. Unfortunately they are genetic so no matter how much sleep, exercise or water I drink they will not go away which absolutely sucks!  Lately I have been having some pretty late nights and early mornings from trying to fit studying, uni and work all into my schedule which is just making my under eye circles even worse.  They actually look like I have rubbed black eyeliner under my eyes, not a pretty look.  

The only products that I have found to combat my under eye monstrosities is by using a combination of the Napoleon Perdis The One Concealer as a base.  This concealer is seriously thick and seriously peach toned but it does a great job of covering the worst of the darkness.  I find its best to use this with a beauty blender or sponge, it kind of thins it out a little bit and makes it much easier to blend in and look natural.  On top of that I use the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser in Light,  this does exactly what it says – erases dark circles.  I don’t know how it does it but it leaves a nice highlighted dark circle free area under your eye.  I also use this with my beauty blender because it looks absolutely seamless and well blended.  After this I just set it with with whatever powder I am using at the time and I walk out the door looking like I’ve had my full eight hours.

Let me know if you have any other tips for covering up dark circles!

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When a foundation offers to give me better skin I am going to try it!  I picked the Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundtaion up the other day at priceline after seeing an ad for and wanting to try it immediately.  I didn’t find that the colour range was amazing, I am in the shade 010 Ivory the second lightest shade.  This shade is the tiniest bit to dark but the lightest shade was too light so I am hoping this shad will be fine in summer.

I’ve been using this for over a week now and I am extremely impressed!  My skin is quite patchy, I have some red patches and some dry patches, so when this promised to even out my skin tone I was a very happy girl.  It immediately evened out my skin in just one pump, the redness had disappeared and it didn’t cling to my dry patches.  I don’t know how it does it but I am not complaining!  The formulation isn’t too thick so it doesn’t cake up it just gives you a beautiful medium coverage, it is also a superstay formula so it has been lasting all day on me which is another bonus.

I am very much looking forward to see how this holds up in the Australian summer!

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I have so much makeup that it is inevitable that I forget about some of it so the other day I thought it would be a good idea to go through some of my makeup draws and pick out a few products that I have forgotten about.

First up is the Chanel CC Cream.  Seriously who forgets Chanel?!  I honestly can’t believe I forgot about this beauty, it evens out my skin tone beautifully and gives a lovely finish that is a little bit dewy but doesn’t get shiny throughout the day.  It has a SPF of 20 so I think I will be using this a lot more when it starts to get a bit warmer.  Next up is the Australis Matte Out Mattifying Face Base, this product comes in extremely handy when it starts to get all hot and shiny in summer.  I use this over my normal primer and it gives the foundation a nice velvety base to blend into.  It really does keep your base matte and stops your foundation from slipping and sliding over your face.

I have a lot of eye products and lately I’ve been favouring my Urban Decay Naked Palettes so I thought I would look for some new colours in my stash.  Mac eyeshadows are some of the best going around and I think its definitely time I start using them more.  The ones I have hear are Mac Statin Taupe and Mulch.  Satin Taupe is a beautiful creamy, shimmery taupe colour, it always looks stunning on the eyes and actually makes my green eyes really pop!  Mulch is a dark brown colour with a gold shimmer through it, it is quite sparkly so I probably won’t be wearing this every day but when I have a night out this will be going straight on my lids!  Next up is the Bobbi Brown Navy and Nude Eye Palette, I honestly can’t believe I had forgotten about this palette.  It has a lovely mix of matte and shimmery finishes ranging in shades of taupe to light brown and a stunning navy colour.  This palette will be perfect for everyday looks and I can’t wait to start using it again.  Finally I have the Benefit Eye Bright Pencil, this little gem comes in very handy when I am very tired and need to brighten up my eyes and take away any redness.  I’ve been having some late nights studying lately so this will be my best friend for this semester.

I love rediscovering old products I might just have to have another little search in my makeup draws to see what else is hiding.

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I personally really rely on primer.  I have oily skin with nice and big pores so when I find a primer that really works my gosh I am a happy girl!  I discovered the Cyber Colors Zero Pore Primer on a recent trip to Malaysia in their drugstore Sasa, which by the way is the most amazing shop ever!, I was told that it is very similar to Benefits Porefessional so I really wanted to give it a go.  The texture of this product feels almost identical to Benefits, it is extremely silky and glides effortlessly over the skin filling in the pores along the way.

I used this for the first time whilst I was in Malaysia to give it a real go, it was 40 degrees Celsius with 100% humidity so I was really pushing its capabilities.  I tell you what, it passed with flying colours!  There was definitely some shine at the end of the day but the foundation itself was still there and hadn’t caked or separated.  Since then I have used it pretty much non stop, it really keeps my oil under control as well as keeping my makeup in place and lasting for a hell of a lot longer.

I have repurchased this since and because I can only find it on the Sasa website I grabbed a couple.  Another plus is that it is a fair bit cheaper than the Benefit Porefessional which is always a bonus.  I believe this will be definitely be a staple in my makeup collection and when I head to Singapore later in the year I will be checking out what else Cyber Colors has to offer.

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I think it’s safe to say we all need a serious stay put foundation in our makeup arsenal and for me the Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous is it.  I purchased this foundation after seeing it in use in a couple Sharon the Makeup Artist’s tutorials, she raved about it’s lasting power and its beautiful finish.

Now I have quite oily skin so I tend to look for a fairly matte finish and this is definitely that, its is a nice soft matte finish with a medium coverage that you wouldn’t necessarily have to powder but I do just to make sure its set.    I have used this quite a lot during winter when I have long days at work or at university and I can honestly tell you that a part from a slight shine I still have a full face of foundation and I can only say that about a few foundations that I own.

I know that in summer its is quite fashionable to wear a very lightweight barely there dewy foundation but with my oily skin and the Australian summer heat I do not have that luxury unless I want to look like my face is literally melting off.  So due to that problem I tend to go for this foundation thanks to its medium coverage and its matte finish, I just try to add a fair whack of highlighter so my face still looks glowy.

For anyone that likes a fuller fairly matte coverage and a formula that stays put, I couldn’t recommend this more!

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