What Came in the Mail + Accessories Haul

I was really excited when I cracked open my parcel last Monday and found these goodies. If you've stuck around my blog long enough, you'd know that I'm a huge fan of Katy Perry. Really keen to try these babies out. Keep an eye out for my review. I've never tried self-adhesive lashes before so things are going to get interesting!

Here's another photo at a different angle and closer up. I love the cookies on sticks. They are so cute! Haven't got the heart to eat them.

Okay, so there's been quite a hype around Michael Todd skincare products, especially in the Youtube community. I really wanted to try them out but at the same time, I didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket. Ordering all the full-sized products would cost me at least $100. I caved and bought this travel set instead. And yes, a review is on the horizon.

So for the last couple of weeks, Lovisa had a 3 for 2 sale. I was looking for a pair of earrings to go with my dress, for a ball that I will be attending. I spotted all these other items and I couldn't resist. My earrings hunt turned into a massive accessories haul As you can see, I purchased a set of gold bangles, a couple of necklaces, a pair of crystal earrings (for my dress) and a set of studs (see below).

What really sold me on the studs were the two birds at the bottom. Below is a clearer photo of them.

I think they are absolutely beautiful and I only wished that I have blonde (instead of black) hair, so that the black feather tails would show up more when I wear them.

Wicked Wednesday: How to Make Your Eyes Look Bigger Tutorial

I know my tutorials usually have lots of step-by-step photos. Today, I've decided to try something different. Something simpler. Do let me know what you think.

1. Apply Virgin (from the Naked Palette) all over your eyelids, particularly on your inner corners and your mobile lid.

2. Mix Naked and Buck (from the Naked Palette) and sweep them into your crease.

3. Line your upper lash line thickly with black eyeliner.

4. Line your upper water line with black eyeliner. This is to give the illusion of very full and thick lashes.

5. Line your lower lash line (thinly) with black eyeliner. This is to give the illusion that you have a thick lower lashes.

6. Line your lower water line with a nude/white eyeliner.

7. Apply false eyelashes if you wish. The one I used is from Eylure (pictured below).

Can you see a difference between the right and left eye?

So, ladies, what's the verdict. Should I stick with this style of tutorial or go back to ones like these?

Please note this is NOT a sponsored post; in case anyone got the wrong impression.

Triple S: Dramatic Navy Eye Makeup Tutorial

If you've read my post on Beauty on Pinterest, you'd remember how much I love this photo. So much so that it has inspired me to come up with a navy eye makeup look!

Pinterest.com

So here is the look I came up with! I would like to call this Pinspiration Look #1. (P.S. #2 is on its way.)

If you would like to see how I achieved it, just keep reading...

Step 1.  Cut out a strip of magic tape and tape it onto the edge of your eyes at an angle (pointing towards the end of your eyebrows). This will give your eye makeup a nice clean edge. Proceed to filling in your brows if you need to. My brows are horrendously thick and natural-looking, so I didn't fill them in. If I did, it would look horrible.

Step 2. Colour in your lids with a navy eye pencil, stopping just beneath your crease. Make sure you go right up to the edge of the tape. Here I've used my Bobbi Brown's Long Wear Eye Pencil in Black Navy. It is perfect for this look because it's very pigmented and long wearing. It has a slightly creamy consistency so it goes on smoothly. It's a lot easier and faster than slowly packing on lots of powder eyeshadow.

Step 3. Pick up some Naked eyeshadow from the Naked Palette with a fluffy blending brush and blend this into your crease. This will also blend out the top edge of the navy eye pencil to soften up the look.

Step 4. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo for this step. What I did was remove the tape, and using my Bobbi Brown navy eye pencil again, I lined the outer half of my lower lash line with it. I also drew the colour up to join with the top. 

Step 5. With a small flat brush, pat some glittery light sliver eyeshadow onto the centre of your lids. Don't bring it too far up; we don't want any on the crease. The silver glitter will help make the navy colour pop. I used Bobbi Brown's Rockstar Metallic Eyeshadow.

Step 6. Using a black pencil eyeliner, line your top lash line and your top and bottom waterline. It does not have to be perfect, you can just smudge it on with short strokes. Don't make the line on your top lash line too thick. We want the main feature to be the navy colour.

Step 7. Line the (remaining) inner half of your lower lash line with some dark glittery silver eyeshadow. I used Bobbi Brown's Gunmental Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow.

Step 8. Place some of the glittery light sliver eyeshadow onto the inner corners of your eyes to brighten the area. You can also use Virgin from the Naked Palette. I highlighted my brow arch with Virgin as well.

Step 9. Curl your eyelashes. I used my relatively new Shiseido eyelash curler.

Step 10. Load up your lashes with your favourite mascara. I used Rimmel's Scandaleyes mascara in Extreme Black.

Step 11. This step is optional. I put on a set of MAC #32 false eyelashes to make my lashes look as full as possible. They look wonky now because I did not know how to take care of them.

Step 12. Now for the face, put on your favourite foundation/tinted moisturiser. I used my Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser.

Step 13. Conceal any blemishes. As you can see, I have tons! My skin is not in its best shape at the moment.

Step 14. Powder your face, especially your T-zone which can get quite oily. I used my Smashbox Translucent Powder.

Step 15. Apply blush to your cheeks lightly. We do not want it to compete with the eye makeup. Choose a more natural browny pink colour. I used my Bobbi Brown Blush in Tawny. First I sculpted my cheeks with it, then I applied some to the apples of my cheeks.

Step 16. Line and fill in your lips with a nude lipliner. You may slick on a matching nude lipstick on top if you like.

Step 17. Apply some pink lipgloss to bring some colour back into your lips, to avoid looking like a corpse!

And there you have it! The completed look.

I also put my hair up into a top bun and wore some silver and navy earrings (to look more like the lady in the picture). I took a lot of photos for this look because I really loved it! It looks really nice in real life. Too bad I don't have a great camera to show its true beauty! But feel free to go through the photo gallery that I've compiled.



What do you think of this look? Love it or hate it?

Wicked Wednesday: July Haul

Yes, I know what you're going to say, "Ty, you are waaaaay behind on your July Haul post!" I'm really sorry but I felt that it was more important that I published my previous posts first. Anyway, let's jump straight into it. Remember from my May Haul post, I said that I would not buy anything beauty-related in June because I spent too much in May? Well, if you look through this blog, you will find that the June Haul post is missing. So yes, I lasted through that month without purchasing any beauty products. Hooray! So came July, I treated myself to three. I know, it sounds stupid that I saved in June and I ended up spending in July. But who cares? These products are relatively affordable anyway.

After watching so many American Youtubers and hearing (reading) so many Australian bloggers rave about it, I finally jumped on the Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter bandwagon. I have to say that I'm not disapponinted, in fact I am impressed! The best bit is, I bought it when Target had a buy one get one free Sale. So I got one for myself and one for you (my lovely readers). Expect a review from me soon!

The second product that I purchased is Australis 10hr Waterproof Eye Pencil. I bought it because I've been keeping an eye out for a blue coloured eye pencil to do a duo-coloured eyeliner look. And after hearing from Emily how wonderful this product is, I decided to buy it. I plan on doing a review and a tutorial with it in the near future.

Lastly, I got myself another pair of MAC lashes because 1) My #33 are wonky and out of shape from repeated use and abuse. 2) I was in a bad mood that day and need a pick-me-up and 3) I really like the look of this pair! At first, I went up to the MAC counter asking for #7, they said they've been out of stock for quite a while now. My eyes caught this pair #32 and I knew I couldn't go wrong with them. I'll post up a photo when I get around to wearing them (and when actually remember to take a photo). 

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think of it/them?

Hygiene & Makeup Go Hand in Hand

So I said I'd do a post on hygiene and makeup. As promised, here it is!

Source: makeupandbeauty.com

Hands
After having learnt about bacteria and hygiene in my previous post, this one is a given. Sanitise your hands or wash and dry them before you start applying any form of makeup.When applying product with a finger, opt for the fourth finger (the ring finger). It's been scientifically proven to be the cleanest finger because it is the least used finger.

Source: beautyatskindeep.com

Brushes 
Wash your makeup brushes frequently (at least once a week) because bacteria can grow on the product left on the bristles. If you're going to use your brushes on someone else, best to wash it a day beforehand and let it air dry. After air drying your brushes, avoid leaving them out or you will have dust and bacteria landing on them (undoing the cleanliness). I normally remove dust from my brushes my dusting them off on the back of my hand and then quickly store them away in a drawer.

Source: misscatlo.com

False Eyelashes
I find that these fine little hairs can trap dust and bacteria so don't leave them out. Keep them covered in the case that it came in. You'll be placing it so close to your eyes that dust and bacteria can transfer to your eyes easily.

Source: glossandmagic.blogspot.com

Makeup
Don't share eye or lip makeup, especially mascaras. You may think that you or your friend are clean people but you will still have a certain amount of bacteria on you. The types of bacteria that you and your friend have are more than likely to be different. The last thing you want is to come across a "new bacteria" and be infected by it. If you want to know how to sanitise your makeup so that it can be used on others, watch this informative Youtube video by gossmakeupartist.

Summary

• Sanitise/wash and dry your hands before you start your makeup. 
• Your fourth finger (ring finger) is the cleanest.
• Don't leave anything exposed to the air for long periods, dust and bacteria will land on them.
• Don't share eye or lip makeup. If you wish to, you must sanitise it first.

Do you have any other tips to add? I'd love to learn more.

Wicked Wednesday: Best "Features"

Hey ladies, I thought I'd just do a really fun but slightly meaningless post on which celebs I think has the best __(insert feature)__! I'm also trying out a new post style/format. Let me know if you like it!


 First up, Best Hair Award goes to Disney actress, Katherine McNamara.

Aren't her cascading red locks just beautiful? Everytime I look at this photo, I just want to cry. I'm envious! Wish I could cut them off and attach them to my head. I guess the cheat's way of getting long gorgeous locks like this is to get hair extensions.















The Best Skin/Complexion Award goes to Odette Anable.

She's simply radiant. Oh what we wouldn't do to have skin like hers! I'd love to know what her secret is. Tip: drink plenty of water.

Odette is so pretty that I simply must add another photo of her. In case you've never heard of or seen her before, she's an actress. She plays Dr. Jessica Adams on House.

Okay, this is a really odd one but the Best Lashes Award goes to Dreama Walker. Apart from masacara, I don't think Dreama is wearing any false lashes at all. Doesn't look like it anyway. I'd kill to have her lashes! Okay, maybe I wouldn't actually... but I'd do almost anything.On a side note, Dreama is an actress on Gossip Girl.

For us mere mortals, we'd need to coat on lost of mascara and put on some falsies to achieve this look. I love Clinique's High Impact Masacra, YSL's Shocking Mascara and MAC's False Lash #33.






All these photos were taken from Primped.com.au. Thank you for inspiring this blog post!

Who would you give Best Feature Awards to? Comment below, I'd love to know!

Giveaway On Its Way

Remember me contemplating about throwing a giveaway? Well, I actually said that I would if I hit 100 followers. Now, I've changed my mind. Who cares whether I have a 100 or a 1000000 followers? I want to thank my loyal readers/followers whenever I want!

So, tomorrow, I will officially post up the giveaway. It'll either be a video or a regular post with photos. You'll get to see what's in the prize pack! But here's a hint, you'll get:

- Something for your hair
- Something for your face- Something for your lips- Something for your eyes- Something for your body

Here's another thing or two that you should know.
1. You must follow my blog (via GFC) to enter in this giveaway.
2. You must be an Australian resident.
3. Winners will be chosen at random (with random.org)

So make sure you look out for the next post!

On a side note, here's the photo of my Shu Uemura lashes that I promised!

Have a lovely day!

Birthday Online Haul

I went on a frenzy shopping online for my birthday last year. The items finally arrived two weeks ago but I didn't get around to taking photos and posting them up until now. I won't go through all of them because you can already see them in the photo. The box between the false lashes and brushes is a lip liner from Benefit. The big black box contains a Good Karma crease brush from Urban Decay. All Benefit items were bought from their website and all Urban Decay items were purchased from BeautyBay.com

I was really excited about the UD lipstick. I loved how pretty and purple it looked, especially in it's box! I bought the colour "Naked" because, apparently, it's one of the best nude colours around.


Now it saddens me to report this but uncapping the lipstick the first time was agony! I spent half an hour trying to open it. The little dagger thing doesn't give you a lot of room or grip. It was capped on so tight that my fingers turned red from pulling at the dagger. I even tried running some warm water over the cap to get it to expand. I had to Google it to see if anyone could shed some light on how I can pry the thing open! I was really really frustrated. I twisted and pulled at the thing for a long time. Finally, after LOTS and LOTS of twisting and turning, I pulled and it gave. I managed to open it! Hoorah! But wait, as though I wasn't already put off by the whole experience, the lipstick itself was very short, compared to MAC and Rimmel. They did not give me a lot of product!


It was such an anticlimatic and exhuasting experience that I put the lipstick away afterwards, without swatching it or trying it on. I've been really busy so I still haven't had the time to try any of the products that I bought. I'm not joking. That's why there are no reviews for this post. I'll definitely be reviewing this lipstick (in terms of its quality) when I have the time.

My Addiction to All Things Makeup

It feels wonderful to be truly back and participating in the blogging community. That's right. You guessed it! We finally have internet at home!! I'm beyond euphoric. It took us two months to get it because the stupid company kept stuffing up our order! Anyway, better move on before I sink into a bad mood about that matter...

I've been wanting to do "haul posts" for a while now but I haven't had the time and the access to internet to do it. So this is a "collective haul post" and I'm doing it in chronological order.

In October, I went on a mini shopping spree to reward myself for doing well in a few quizzes. I bought a MAC lipstick, Katy Perry's perfume Purr and a red lipliner from Natio.


Out of all the items, I think I was most excited about the MAC lipstick because it's my first one. Well, it's not my first lipstick per se. My first one is a Rimmel London lipstick in red. Anyway, this one is pink and it's called Plink!. Isn't that cute name? It's under the Lustre range and it's a pretty pink with shine and very minute bits of (what appears to be) glitter in it. When applied, it looks a bit sheer (like semi-matte) but it's obvious that you're wearing a pink lipstick! I love it so much that I wear it everytime I go to work.


I used to be a member on dropdeadgorgeousdaily.com and I earned a fair bit of DDGD$, which I could exchange for some "SWAG". I exchanged almost all of my points for a Natio set. It looked like such a good deal that I couldn't resist. After all, it was free! The set consists of a mascara, a liquid eyeliner and an eyeshadow palette. I haven't used any of the items yet. I initially wanted to do a giveaway on my blog with the eyeshadow palette but I somehow managed to make a big scratch on its plastic top that I see it not fit as a giveaway item.


The eyeshadow palette contains four colours. The shades are called Light, Gold, Bronze and Black. I must say that the "Bronze" looks more like a "Brown" and the "Black" looks more like a "Navy".


I've been wanting Urban Decay's Naked Palette for quite a few months now. I've read so many blog reviews and watched so many Youtube reviews and tutorials that I was convinced that my life would not be complete without it. So at the start of November, I ordered myself one from beautybay.com (I made sure there was a discount going on first!) and by the time it arrived, my end-of-semester exams were over. The timing was perfect.


In case you've never heard or seen the Naked Palette, this is what it looks like. It is the ultimate eyeshadow palette. All its colours are neutrals and so it is universally flattering. It comes with an eyeshadow brush and a small bottle of their famous Primer Potion (eye primer).


Here's a quick swatch that I did for each colour. I was a bit stingy so you may not be able to see the colours well on my skin. Do Google or Youtube it. It's AMAZING! Here's my favourite Naked Palette tutorial done by itsjudytime. My favourite colours are Virgin, Sin, Toasted and Hustle. So if you're a makeup-junkie-to-be, I suggest you get this palette. I can positively say that when it comes to eye makeup you can survive on this palette alone because you can come up with tons of looks with these 12 beautiful colours.


Then, came the dinner that I organised to celebrate mine and R's birthdays with some friends. That evening, I purchased a pair of MAC false lashes and wore it to the dinner. R was the one to pick them out and boy did he have a good eye! I'll upload a good photo of my makeup for the night once I get hold of them. It's on R's camera. I also bought a really gorgeous pair of Shu Uemura lashes a couple of weeks but I forgot to take a photo of it. I'll save that for my next beauty post. It costed me a lot of money but it's so beautiful that I reckon it's worth it.

But here's a photo of me wearing makeup for Christmas using the Naked Palette and my MAC lashes. And yup, that's my best friend Nop who was visiting me at the time.


Phew! We're finally at the end! You must be thinking. I actually wanted to put up more photos but I thought that it'd make this post way too long. So if you'd like to see more photos (up close shots) of the Naked Palette or my makeup for my birthday dinner and Christmas, just leave a comment below. If you'd like me to review any of the items that I've mentioned, please leave a comment as well. I hope you've enjoyed reading this post as much as I've enjoyed writing it!