A Fatal Attraction to Cuteness

Covergirl Clean Sensitive Liquid Makeup

I’ve raved on here before about my ultimate foundation, Dermalogica Treatment Foundation, but I may have found a close second simply by accident.

Late last year I was about to run out of Treatment Foundation and I didn’t have time to get to a Dermalogica stockist so I thought I’d grab an emergency bottle of anything that looked good at Priceline to tide me over for the Christmas/NYE period. I actually spent a fair bit of time studying everything because I didn’t want to completely waste money and I decided on Covergirl Clean Sensitive Liquid Makeup.

I was wary at first because I HATE foundations where you need to pour the product out as opposed to pumping or squeezing it onto your hand. To me pouring it out creates so much waste and I’m exactly the type of person who is likely to splash it everywhere. I much prefer a thicker liquid or a mousse foundation rather than something as runny as Clean Makeup, but, from what I’d seen from the sample in store, I liked the texture.

After buying Clean Makeup, I noticed that bottle suggested applying one coat and allowing it to dry before applying another. I’m not the kind of girl who packs on that much foundation but after testing out these instructions, I totally understand what they mean. Clean Makeup provides very good coverage alone, but also works very well as a concealer on top of itself. Where some foundations won’t actually build up, I think Clean Makeup does a pretty good job of layering itself. So, if you are to try it, I too would suggest applying a coat and then another once the first one is dry. Over the past few months I’ve become better at pouring the foundation out so as not to waste too much, but I’d still love to see this in a pump-topped bottle.

The most interesting thing about Clean Makeup is the smell. It took me so long to work out what it was, and it’s cloves! Yes, like what you stick into a leg of ham. I’m not sure of the significance of cloves in makeup, do you? I thought perhaps it is to provide a cooling mechanism as it tends to treat the puffiness under my eyes, but I’ve certainly never noticed cloves in any other makeup.

As you can see in the photos below, Clean Makeup is pretty smooth. I’ve never felt any dryness or flaking – even after a whole day at work. It’s also good on extremely sensitive skin. I recently used some on a colleague who has a lot of allergies and whose skin reacts to the slightest changes in routine and she had absolutely no issues with it. Covergirl Clean Makeup is water-based and is oil and fragrance free for those of you who care about your pores clogging up. Sooooo that would be all of you. While I don’t think that Clean Makeup is improving my skin like Dermalogica’s Treatment Foundation I definitely haven’t noticed any redness or breakouts since first use back in December.

As you can see from the following swatch I probably could have gone a shade lighter and this might be one of the issues with Clean Makeup, it only comes in three shades: Creamy Natural, Buff Beige and Classic Beige.

Creamy Natural

Covergirl Clean Sensitive Liquid Makeup is $14.40. For stockists, please ring 1800 181 040

February 15, 2012 at 10:19 am Leave a comment

Quick Beauty Tip!

I don’t know if everyone already does this. Maybe I’m telling you something you’ve been doing for years already but oh well.

Whenever I apply foundation and/or concealer I find that it doesn’t wash off thoroughly with just soap. That’s why I keep a bottle of inexpensive yet hard-working makeup remover by my sink to ensure all foundation, primer and concealer is removed from my hands before applying the rest of my makeup. Who wants sticky, streaky makeup brushes anyway?!

The best one I’ve found is Dove’s Foaming Makeup Remover which goes from a liquid to a foam in just one pump, doesn’t take much effort/scrubbing to get the product off and does a fine job. At $11.87 for 155mL you will get dozens of uses out of it and it makes makeup application so much quicker and easier when you’re not staining your towels and spending time trying to get that product off your hands. Obviously it can also be used to clean your brushes as it’s gentle yet, as I mentioned before, extremely thorough.

What’s your best tip for speeding up the morning makeup process?

February 7, 2012 at 11:35 am 2 comments

Australis Limited Edition Nail Colour – Flip Flops

I’ve just done a big cull of my old, old nail colours, in particular some blue hues so I was very happy to try out the latest nail polish from Australis, Flip Flops. Flip Flops is one of two new limited edition nail varnishes (the other being a red glitter polish called ‘Vampy’) in stores until July.

Initially I was a bit turned off because, despite loving the colour, the brush is really thin and it took me about 5 strokes to apply an even coat. Just when brands had started turning to thick, dense brushes I didn’t like this change back. After basically giving up on the overall application being neat, I was extremely pleased to find out that the nail polish dried quite quickly (I was sitting under an overhead fan, though) and actually cracked off my skin really easily. This meant I was left with just perfect colour on my nails and nothing left on my cuticles or surrounding skin. A happy result.

The colour is fantastic, like nothing I’ve ever owned! It’s got a subtle smattering of glitter which isn’t cheap-looking, just makes it look shinier overall. The blue is a real denim blue. It reminds me of that brand Fiorucci, remember them?

At only $7.95 it’s a fun colour for the remainder of Summer, Mardi Gras coming up in a few weeks or just if you love bright tips and it’s easy to track down at your local Priceline, Big W, Kmart or Target store.

I’ll try to put up a swatch of the other colour, Vampy, if I get a chance, too.

What do you think of bright nails? Do you prefer thin or thick brushes?

February 7, 2012 at 11:01 am Leave a comment

The Aromatherapy Co. Wild Rose and Vetiver Bath & Body Oil

A friend of mine, Rosie, was always the most prepared girl in my highschool year. She’s a Cancerian, meaning she’s organised, and in particular was always well-equipped in the health and beauty area with a school bag full of essentials. Hand cream, lip balm, tampons,  tissues, bandaids and yet not a Panadol or Nurofen in sight. Rosie swore by essential oils to cure anything and everything. From a headache to cramps to a sore throat; where most people would turn straight to medication, she’d always take a whiff from a bottle of oil.

Seeing this, and noticing how much better it is for you than popping a pill, I decided to adopt the same idea. Since then, I’ve always preferred to turn to natural remedies to cure what ails me. I was so excited when one of my favourite, pretty brands, The Aromatherapy Co., brought out a range of essential oils in the form of bath and body oils, candles, massage oils and pulse point products. My latest obsession is their Wild Rose and Vetiver Bath & Body Oil.

Although touted as a healer of skin conditions such as eczema, redness and inflammation, I’ve found that the Wild Rose and Vetiver Bath & Body Oil has been instrumental in helping me get a fantastic sleep every night. Originally, when I first started applying it to my eczema affected areas, I was having a far better sleep than normal but now I have started applying it to my pulse points for what is the best sleep I have had outside of a general anaesthetic.

The pulse points are:

• Forehead
• Behind the ears - for earache, sore throats or glandular problems
• Under the nose – to aid blocked noses and symptoms of a cold
• Temples – for headaches, fatigue or sore eyes
• On the wrists – for the menstrual cycle and the hell that comes with it

Not only are The Aromatherapy Co. helping keep this girl bright-eyed and bushy-tailed throughout the day, but they’re also a member of 1% FOR THE PLANET, an organisation which sees its members donate 1% of their annual profits to environmental causes. They also don’t test on animals.

For more information on The Aromatherapy Co. and their products check out www.thearomatherapyco.co.nz

What’s your best natural remedy for everything?

February 6, 2012 at 10:10 am 2 comments

Revitanail Cuticle Remover Gel

My nails are in an absolutely shocking state lately. Too many applications of red nail polish resulting in stained nails, forgetting to moisturise my hands daily, using nail polish remover that dries out the cuticles and not pushing them back.

Thankfully, I have Revitanail Cuticle Remover Gel on hand to fix me up. Revitanail Cuticle Remover Gel contains Sodium Hydroxide to lightly (you won’t feel it) dissolve the disgusting cuticle build up as well as green tea extract and aloe vera to soften the cuticle, allowing you to push it back and start fresh.

Put some gel on each cuticle. The tip of the tube is quite thin so it shouldn’t be too hard to get the right amount.

Leave the gel on for 1-2 minutes. The directions say ‘no longer than 10 minutes’. I’ve never left it on for more than 10 minutes so I’m not sure what happens if you do, but I’d just do as I’m told and go the 1-2 minutes if I were you.

While the gel is still on your nails, push the cuticles back. You shouldn’t have any difficulty doing this and the gel will turn a milky white colour instead of being clear because the dead cuticles will have dissolved off. Once all the cuticles are pushed back wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

All done! Ready to moisturise and paint. No more crappy cuticles. Huzzah!

Revitanail Cuticle Remover Gel can be purchased from Myer, David Jones, Priceline, Priceline Pharmacy and selected pharmacies nationwide for $14.95/30mL

January 29, 2012 at 8:29 am 3 comments

Nad’s Gel Facial Wand

I’ve been meaning to write about the Nad’s Gel Facial Wand for a few months now. It’s the highlight of my day whenever I need to wax again. It actually makes me wish I had a moustache so I could wax that off too.

If you’re like me and extremely skeptical about having your brows ‘done’ by anyone else, this is the perfect tool. It’s also a great product if you want to save money and start doing your brows at home. Honestly, this is the only option for me. I’ve had my eyebrows waxed about three times in my life and the beauticians have never ‘got’ my look, leaving me with thin, sparse brows that had heaps of space in the middle.

Nad’s Gel Facial Wand is SO easy to use. Here’s how:

I like to start by brushing all the eyebrows in an upward direction so I can see the natural shape of the brow. This helps in finding the strays and for determining how much you want to take off. It’s good to brush your eyebrows regardless – I do it at least once a day – to encourage growth and get rid of dead hairs.

Because the wand has such a fine tip, the shape you’re going for will be really accurate. I’ve actually been enjoying trying out different brow shapes and arches just because I can. Although I hate thin eyebrows, I went for a thinner look this time around because I think it looks good with dewy, Summery makeup with highlighted brow bones.

Apply a thin layer to the hairs you want to remove and lay a small fabric strip over the top. Smooth over lightly and rip in the opposite direction that the hair is growing.

My apologies for the grossness of the next picture, but I wanted to show you how effective just a small bit of wax can be.

Here’s the final result. Obviously, like with any wax, you’ll have some redness. This subsides quite quickly particularly because you’re not using hot wax. I find that any excess wax washes off really easily with water.

My only problem with the wand is that it only comes with about 10 strips. I go through at least two per wax so I’ve had to make do with other bits of fabric or wax strips from other packets I had at home.

Although the wand is small (6g), I’ve only used about a quarter of it for about half a dozen waxes so at $13.95 you’re getting a huge bargain.

A little tip – don’t leave the wax on too long before ripping it off. Although not hot, the wax does melt with your own body heat so you can be left with a wetter, not so tacky/sticky wax which won’t work as well if you’re not relatively quick.

You should be able to pick up Nad’s Gel Facial Wand from Coles, Woolies and Priceline stores. What are you waiting for? Take back control of your brows!!

January 19, 2012 at 11:12 am 4 comments

Hair and Makeup How-To

I had a lot of people asking me via the blog, email or Twitter to write a post on how I did my hair and makeup for the Kardashian Kollection launch. Well, I’ve finally got around to it, so here you go. I’m no makeup artist or hair stylist, so a lot of it is trial and error and just knowing your own features, so have a practise and you’ll soon find your own style.

Makeup

Hair

To start, wash your hair the day before with Schwarzkopf Ultimate Repair Shampoo and Conditioner. You don’t have to wash your hair before you begin, but it gives a far better texture to work with so can you just trust me on this? Thanks.

After towel drying, spritz with the Schwarzkopf Ultimate Repair and Gloss Treatment. This will not only moisturise the hair but also act as a detangler. Mousse the lengths AND the roots with Schwarzkopf Ultimate Styling Mousse and then blowdry…dry.

I always straighten my hair before curling so that I have a clean slate to work with. If I have a bit of frizz and then curl it, I’m never happy with the curls so even a half-assed job of straightening gives me a better result. Before running the GHD over my hair I apply Fudge’s Straight Hair Stuff to protect against the direct heat and also to give ultimate straightness. Once the whole head is straight, you can begin your curls.

If you’re anything like me and have very fine hair, you’ll be thankful for all that mousse you put in earlier. I like to heat my curler up to 170 degrees and create tight curls which eventually fall to the level I want them by the time the event comes around. Spray each section lightly with Schwarzkopf Ultimate Styling Hair Spray before curling and if they’re too tight, you can always brush them out to desired tightness as well. Since I did this look before work and then went to the event at 6pm, you can see how much they would have dropped. I mean, I went to work looking like Shirley Temple and 9 hours later had the above – so just deal with the embarrassment for a couple of hours in the morning and you’ll look hot later.

I parted my hair at one side and back-combed the back sections to give a bit of sex hair and I Do Not Give A Fuck-ery to the look. I think it matched my dress. Do not be afraid of hairspray, my friends. It is on your side – use and abuse it until you’re happy that style is not going anywhere.

For the makeup I start with Dermalogica’s Treatment Foundation. Using Benefit’s Erase Paste, conceal any blemishes. You know this, why am I telling you?

Everytime you’re doing a full eye you have to prime. I like Benefit’s The POREfessional. Not traditionally a primer, it seems to work very well for me and you’ll never see me with an unsightly crease in my eyelid so long as I’m wearing it.

After priming, I cover the whole eyelid with the lightest colour in the Australis ‘Snap Attack’ palette. Starting at the inner edges and working up to the crease I apply the darkest colour with a thin brush and work my way over the out edge of the eye. Blend.

Using the lightest brown/bronze blend into the bone of the eyelid to highlight this area and using the darkest colour again, with an angled brush, create a small flick on the outer edge of the eye and continue the colour underneath the lower outer edge. With the same dark colour but a smaller blending brush, work the colour towards the middle of the eye and upwards over the crease. With the rim of the eye now shaded in the darkest colour, and with the lightest colour as a base, I brush M.A.C Woodwinked (which is a bronze shadow) over the middle remaining section of the lid to give dimension and create the illusion of a bigger, more open eye.

With the colour applied, it’s time to put on falsies. I received the Revlon lashes in a gift bag and I found these super easy to apply. Usually I’m a bit uncoordinated with fake lashes but I had no problems and I also didn’t have to cut the lashes down to size. Once they’re on, fill in any gaps with eyeshadow and apply M.A.C’s False Lashes mascara.

Now that the eyes are all done it’s time to concentrate on cheeks. Not everyone will suit the same M.A.C blush I use, so use your desired colour. Apply blush below the cheekbone in the ‘hollow’ section of your cheek and then to the apple. With the bronzer, I apply it to my temples and down along side my cheeks, the apples of my cheeks, the tops of my cheekbones, the tip of my nose and chin and collar bones.

Finish off with some Benefit High Beam on your brow bones and the highest point of the cheekbones, just under the eye. Don’t forget to brush your brows with Benefit’s Instant Brow pencil and fill them in if needed.

Rub Napoleon’s Whipped Dream Tan Enhancer into your limbs and you’re good to go!

December 29, 2011 at 11:37 am Leave a comment

Finger Waves at Brad Ngata Hair Direction

Last night was my work’s 1930s Circus-themed Christmas party at Hyde Park Barracks.

I decided to channel Reese Witherspoon’s character in Water For Elephants and wear a drop-waisted silk dress that was very performer-ish with t-bar heels and finger waves which are synonymous with that era.

I found a tutorial on LC’s blog, The Beauty Department, but it took me an hour just doing a tiny section of my hair during practise so I decided to have it done.

I’ve had up-do’s at Brad Ngata before, with great success, so I decided to go there for this ‘do.

Elise at the Ivy salon created my look and I absolutely loved it!

The process took a shit load of product (which I totally endorse) and tonnes of hair and bobby pins.

It started off by wetting the front section and applying lots of gel. Despite the name, I didn’t realise finger waves were actually created with the fingers. The hair is combed and then held with one finger, combed in a different direction and secured with another finger and so on. It’s then pinned into place and left to set until it’s actually rock hard and then softened with a hair dryer (and soft diffuser) and given a little bit more volume and shape.

I didn’t manage to get a photo of the back, unfortunately. It looked stunning and was actually quite thick and luscious as opposed to the textured curls that Reese wears in the movie.

The result was a comfortable, secure and accurate hairstyle and I couldn’t fault the service of the staff at Brad Ngata. I’ll definitely be back again (obviously!)

Up-do’s at Brad Ngata Hair Direction start at $129. They have salons at Surry Hills and Ivy in Sydney’s CBD.

PS – how cute is this little friend on the door at the Ivy salon? Squeee!

December 10, 2011 at 11:21 am 5 comments