My recent NARS shopping spree

Hello Pumpkins <3

So some of you that follow me on instagram might know that i recently went on a NARS shopping spree!! I haven't really used NARS before because we don't have it in South Africa but I decided to try some things out!

This is what i posted on instagram, don't forget to follow meeeee <3

1. NARS SPF 30 PRO-PRIME MULTI-PROTECT PRIMER 

I actually like this primer, it does make my pores less visible and it has SPF 30 which lasts about 3 hours or so if you active in sunlight and not wearing a cap etc.  I'm not really a fan of putting an SPF on separately so this will do just fine for me. Only downside is that it has a sunblock kinda smell to it but other than that its not bad :) 

2.  NARS ALL DAY LUMINOUS POWDER FOUNDATION MEDIUM 1 

I think this would be a perfect powder for someone with more oily skin, I find this just a little bit dry on my skin but I apply it to areas that tend to become more shiny throughout the day but not all over my face. It has SPF 25 in it so it works perfectly with the primer

3. NARS DEEP THROAT BLUSH

This blush has a little shimmer to it so it gives a nice highlight to the cheeks, so therefore it acts as a highlight as well. I wouldn't apply highlight with this especially if you dry skin or have scarring because it shows it more when you in light and nope you don't want your pimples and scars to show more! 

4. NARS LARGER THAN LIFE LONG-WEAR EYELINER BLACK 

I love love loooovveeee this eyeliner! Its so soft and not harsh on the eyes, it doesn't smudge and is blackest of black! This works perfectly for my eyes especially when I'm monolid!

5. NARS LARGER THAN LIFE LENGTHENING MASCARA

This is a waterproof mascara, what i like about it is that the head of the brush is small and it gets into those small asian lashes! It does what it says, which is lengthening but if i compare it to the Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara i would choose that over the NARS one because its not black enough and doesn't add volume like the Bobbi Brown one does. I would only repurchase this just to use it together with the Smokey Eye Mascara because its waterproof and lifts those lashes!

6.  NARS PRO PRIME SMUDGE PROOF EYESHADOW BASE

All I can say about this eyeshadow base is that its really good! If you a person that wears lots of eyeshadows then i recommend this one!

7.   NARS LIPGLOSS ORGASM & PRISCILLA 

I love how pigmented the colour of Priscilla (bright pink) is! Its super cute and convenient to carry around especially when you travelling. Orgasm is just a nice basic shimmer to the lips.

8.  NARSISSIST SMOKEY EYE TRIO PALLETE 

These colours are everyday colours, you can wear it lightly during the day and heavy smokey eye at night! I am just obsessed with this combo <3

The eyeshadow is quite pigmented with just one swipe!

9. NARS CONCEALER MED/DARK 1 

I bought this concealer because they didn't have stock in the liquid one and this one. This is not my colour so i decided to buy this and use it as a nose contour :) perfect!!

I bought a bronzer as well but I can't seem to find it at this point haha! A mind of a goldfish i know ~~

Anyways overall I don't have anything bad against NARS products and they quite good quality, i love the packaging and the feel of it and also because its black haha! Would i repurchase? YESSSS

Thanks for reading!

<3 Angel

Liquid Liner Reviews

Hi Guys~ 

I've been wanting to do this review for ages because I absolutely cannot live without eye liner. It's my one thing that I must wear if I leave the house (ok, fine not always... but most of the time!). I've used all the different types there is to use: Liquid, gel, pencil and crayon. I must say I hate the latter two and have never found one that did not smudge on me... I'm also not a huge fan of tightening my water line or drawing too much eye liner on the bottom of my eye. so liquid liner is perfect for me. 

In the past, Bobbi Brown's gel liner was my holy grail for liner, but as I grew more and more lazy, I couldnt be bothered using a brush - so I slowly moved away from gel. Today's review is to show you guys which of the following liquid liners are proven (for my eyes) to not smudge or smear.

Starting from the top we have Motives Luxe Precision Eye Liner ($16.95), then Lancome Artliner ($45), Essence super fine liner($5) and Tony Moly Long Kinny Gel Liner (19.95). 

Let's get started. I've done a few swatches below to show you how they appear after ONE application. As you cansee the Motives and Tony Moly are very pigmented, while the other two come short. You do have to excuse Lancome's Artliner as it's a little old so the colour might have been a bit darker when it was new. 

Next we have the smudge test. I tend to rub each liner a about 3-4 times and quite hard for you to see the resistance of each liner. Poor Lancome just did not hold up. Although I must admit that none of these liners say "smudge proof" on them. Motives and Tony Moly have held on quite well. I only bought the Essence because I thought it would be fun to do comparisons between lower end, mid and high end brands.

I don't go swimming but sometimes we all have the unexpected tears... or if you're like me, I use a lot of eye drops, you'd want your eye liner to be semi-water proof. These aren't meant to be waterproof but I've taken some water and rubbed it over the liner about 2 times. Lancome has disappeared and Essence actually left a very faint liner which you can't see on the photo. Now this wouldn't be a problem for those ladies who dislike using an oil based make-up remover but I'd much prefer it if my liner could last through a storm.

And then the oil test - I simply put a cotton pad over my hand and removed it. Holy crap, the motives liner still stayed on. I suppose it could be a bit annoying if you wanted to remove everything and the liner still stuck behind a bit. But it came off after I rubbed it gently.

Conclusion is that I would love to buy more Motives & Tony Moly liners in future. Too bad Tony Moly's Kinny liner is so hard to find! I grabbed mine in Sydney but I can't find it anywhere in Melbourne. Those who live in South Africa can order Motives online and Tony Moly through Ebay (I'm not too sure how legit those on Ebay would be but feel free to try)

Cathie <3

Mini CHEAP Haul: Eye masks, Garnier, BB cream and L'Oreal vs Lancome skincare

Hi Lovelies~ 

I'm trying really hard to blog at least once a week because otherwise everything I buy will end up just sitting there and I'd be finished with the product before I ever get around to doing a review... Anyhow! This week I went on a mini haul~ Priceline (probably my favourite store for lower end brands - for those in South Africa, its basically a Clicks) had 40% off all skincare so I decided to try a few Youtube guru's favourites. AND My Yesstyle items arrived!

I haven't used the Garnier cleansing water enough to review or say much about it but so far I LOVE the make-up remover. It isn't as oily as my Lancome Bi-Facil ($60 for 125ml) and does a great job removing all my water proof make-up! For only $8.99 (200ml) is an absolute steal!! I'm probably going to switch to this gem in future because I cannot afford the expensive stuff T^T'''

Skin79 BB cream ($24) - for oily skin. I tried this the other day at Westfield and really liked the texture on my hand. It's super matte and WHITE. Two things I love in a BB cream. I've used the Gold one for about 2 years now and have loved everything about it. So I'm quite excited to try this new range from the same brand. (Apparently the gold one was for hydration.. ) I'll do a follow up review later as I haven't been using this long enough to say much about it.

Next is this Japanese steaming eye mask I got from Yesstyle - it's rose scented ($10). I LOVE THIS. Anyone who's been to Asia has probably seen those little heat packs you get for your tummy or hands in winter. This is basically little heat packs for your eyes. Now you might wonder - HEAT PACKS FOR YOUR EYES? Won't that damage your eyes? The answer- not if you use it wisely. It says you shouldn't wear it long than 10 mins. I generally put this neat little thing on before bed and take it off about 5-7 mins later because that's about all I can take and because it's still warm, for girls on their periods, you can use it was a tummy warmer! It's greaaaaat. For $10 (R100) you get a pack of 5. Definitely will get more of these in future. I absolutely adore rose scented things <3 (They have other fragrances if you don't like rose scented things. 

I'd be lying if I said I removed my make-up properly every day without fail. We all get lazy, especially when it comes to removing our make-up after a long day of work/uni/school/socializing. I went to Brisbane recently and found that these were a life saver~ they're easy to pack and convenient for those who don't want to pack 3 different cleansers. You'll probably have to use about 2 wipes to remove heavy make-up but I soak mine in a little oil based make-up remover and everything comes right off! I think I got these for about $3.99 (25 wipes) - they're not the cheapest things but they're good for those lazy days ;)

L'OREAL VS LANCOME

Did you know Lancome is owned by L'oreal? Don't believe me- check it out here. Recently I've heard a lot of people talk about L'oreal's Youth code being the same as Lancome's Genifique... one priced at $29.99 and the other $95. I just couldn't believe it- I had to try it out myself! I mean, why would people be paying so much more for a product they can get at almost 1/4 of the price? 

Before we move on to the comparison, I have to clarify the difference on the bottle itself. Youth Code is made for dark spot correcting and promises luminous youthful skin while Genifique is a youh activator that is ACTUALLY NOT A SERUM (you'll see why later). Genifique is made to activate youth proteins in your skin and promises more radiant and youthful looking skin within 7 days of use. 

L'oreal : Dark spot corrector + illuminates the skin

Lancome: Activates youth proteins + radiates the skin

Maximize the picture to see what it says about the product at the back. This is a pump bottle and made to look like metal but is actually made of glass(?). Both bottles have a nice high quality (sturdy) feeling to them and are 30ml. The Genifique is a self loading drop top. The top will automatically load when you twist it back in and each load is enough for the entire face.

Conclusion:

Ta-Da. If you look below, the white is the Youth Code and the almost transparent one is Genifique. They are completely different from each other! The one is a thick silky texture while the other is a thing layer of almost watery texture. (Excuse the dark spot, that's from testing waterproof eye liner lol)

The biggest difference between the two is the first leaves your face feeling smoother, silkier for the first few minutes and then if you rub your face (in my case, the back of my hand) it starts to come off. Yes. That's right, it only SITS on top of your skin , it doesn't get absorbed INTO it. Sure, it feels nice at first but when I put my make-up over it... boy does it start to smear off. DID NOT ENJOY THAT.

Genifique on the other hand is absorbed within seconds and no residue is left behind. It does not feel as silky as Youth Code but your skin instantly feels much softer. I've used this product for the last 2 months and haven't really noticed a huge difference in terms of "youth" but my skin is definitely my softer than before and I love the fact it's easily absorbed! The price tag is the only thing that puts me off buying this in the long term... I mean, $95 (30ml) is pretty steep for someone earning a part-time salary. For those in South Africa, I think you guys have it for a little less R735 ($73) for a 30ml and R950 ($95) for a 50ml.  **

Anyways~ I hope you enjoyed my little haul. I really enjoy finding good substitutes to expensive things because I know we can't all afford  $100+ for a cream, especially students and those who aren't financially stable. Please leave a comment if you liked this post and if you'd like to see more of these posts, do let me know! Keep warm every one~~

Cathie <3

** I think I should put the disclaimer here that even though I work for the brand Lancome - I am leaving the company soon. So this isn't an advertisement and I'm not paid to write this review.Everything I say is all opinionated and you're welcome to go and test out every product I've listed here and prove me wrong.... if you're that kinda person. 

Benefit Review: Play Stick and They're Real Push Up Liner

Hi Guys! I know I am way over due for a post and have just been lurking around leaving all the posting to Angel (sorryyyyy)... I swear I'll be a bit more active. I've actually written up a few things but never finished them because I get easily distracted. So here we are! My new benefit cosmetics arrived in the mail while I was on holiday! For those who do no have access to Benefit, they ship internationally from their US website - which is where I got mine. Check them out here: Benefit cosmetics

Benefit is a moderately priced cosmetic brand that is aimed at younger audiences, even though I've seen mature ladies buy their mascara! But it's their fabulous pop retro pink themed counters that are bound to attract ladies of all ages. 

$36 Play Stick

First thing I got in this order was the benefit Play Stick in the colour Spin the Bottle. This is a stick foundation that starts off as a cream but blends into a powdery form. I like how easy it is to carry around and you can use it for a quick touch up through out the day. I only purchased this because I currently don't have a foundation and have been surviving on BB creams/samples.

The problem I have with this product is sometimes it would cake a little and even though it states that it's an ultra light foundation - it feels quite heavy on the skin. I can never blend it evenly with my fingers so I always have to use my beauty blender.

Verdict: Probably won't purchase again - as I didn't find the exact shade and this one was a bit dark... Plus I prefer the Bobbi Brown Stick Foundation in terms of texture. I feel like I've wasted my money this time.

They're Real $24

Oh boy, I don't know where to start with this product. I've been so excited ever since the rumours came out - I've always LOVED gel liners but hated using a brush (cleaning is a pain)... and so this product basically took care of both my love and hate. 

Gel liners are meant to be easily applied, long lasting and smudge proof... AND semi-water resistant. This liner does all of the above except "ease of application". As a make-up artist who's done countless eye liner on people, I've struggled to use this for the first time. I had no idea how much I should twist for enough to come out or how to angle the head so it would draw a thinner line. It also dried really quickly so working quick is the trick! The texture is smooth, the colour is SUPER pigmented (probably the blackest of black) and it's COMPLETELY budge proof for a while... till it starts to flake off my eyes. It just looks terrible by the end of the day and the flakes have gotten into my eyes :( 

You definitely cannot achieve a very thin line without going wrong a few times....

Verdict: I still have a love and hate relationship with this! I love how pigmented and innovative it is, but HATE it fact that it's not up to standard like my Bobbi Brown gel liner (which as withstood heavy rain). I probably won' get this again because I prefer my liquid liners Motive and Tony Moly over this. Sorry Benefit, you failed to impress me this time around :(

Well I hope you enjoyed my very first make-up review! I do apologise for delays. I'm currently going to a very busy time... For those of you who don't know what I do, I am a full time Master student and currently working two jobs 7 days a week. But I have finally decided to leave the retail make-up industry for something more related to my degree. I can't wait to have my weekends back :) At least then I'll be able to blog all I want. Hope you'll all stick around with us!

<3 

Cathie