Monday 26 May 2014

What's In My Bag - My Daily Essentials (Internship Edition)

A woman's bag is a woman's life. We pretty much carry everything and the kitchen sink around with us, but I'll argue that it just makes us extra prepared!

I've been interning at this incredible company for the last couple of months, so I've upgraded the back pack that I used to take to university with me to a classier, more grown up faux leather tote. And with this new bag, comes a whole lot of things to put in it!

So I thought it would be a fun idea to do a post about all of the things that I take with me to my internship - maybe it'll give you some inspiration for what to bring to your internship, or if you're just a bit of a sticky beak and like to see what people carry around in their bags (that's me, guilty as charged!), then read on...


The bag that I use was a complimentary gift with purchase from Shiseido (thanks mum!) and it's surprisingly great quality. The bag is soft faux leather with a suede-like lining, and there is also a detachable bag inside, which is great because the big bag doesn't zip up - so I can keep my valuables in that little pouch.


So, what goes inside? 



Of course, the usual suspects! My phone (complete with the adorably hilarious phone case that my best friend gave me), my keys and my wristlet wallet from Sportsgirl. If I'm running out the door for smaller trips, this is usually all I take with me.


I tend to always have something to read with me, whether it's a book or a magazine. I usually pick one up from the newsagent on the way to my internship in the morning, because my commute there is an hour and a half - i.e. a walk, a bus, three trains, and then another walk. #yep

So I like to have something to flick through to make the time pass! If I don't, you'll probably find me scrolling through Instagram or scheduling posts for my blog's Facebook page


Being a writing intern and a journalism graduate, a pen and notebook is a staple addition to my bag. I like having a place to jot down any ideas and keep track of my to-do list for my daily internship tasks. My notebook and pen are both from Typo - how cute are they!


I'm the type of person who will almost always have food on me. I get hungry! So I like to carry around a snack (in this case, a Thank You nut bar) and a bottle of water. I really don't drink enough water, so I'm trying to train myself into better habits. I'm surprised that there aren't any lollies in my bag at the moment; I'm a massive sweet tooth and usually I always have something sweet with me.

Plus, I have mints for staying fresh and a tube of VapoDrops because the weather has turned pretty sour recently and I think I might be catching a cold...


iPhone headphones - pretty standard, plus a spare pair of contact lenses (if you've ever lost a lens when you're out and had to go about your day with only one eye functioning... you know what I'm talking about!), some hand cream and hand sanitizer. 


And of course, what sort of beauty blogger would I be if I didn't take a few (read: a lot) of my products around with me? I rarely actually have to use anything in my travel cosmetics case, it's mainly if I go somewhere after my internship and need to touch up my makeup. 


I keep it pretty simple, I just take a concealer to cover up any areas that need a little extra help toward the end of the day, plus I use the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Concealer because it doubles as a highlighter. Also in the bag is a fluffy powder brush and my favourite setting powder to nix any shine to my skin. Add a pocket-sized mirror and a few bobby pins to fix my fringe - it's still growing out and has a mind of it's own sometimes!


I know, I know, I carry around way too many lip products with me! I figure what if I want to wear a natural lip? Or what if it's a red kind of day? I like to bring options...


Lastly, I like to bring a travel-sized perfume, just because sometimes you need an extra spritz of loveliness! Well, that, or you've been running to catch your train and you want to smell fresh when you get to your destination... 

What are some of the essential items that you have in your bag? Share them with me in the comments below!
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Monday 19 May 2014

The Perfect Palette Tag!

Ah, palettes. There's just something about having multiple makeup products all in one pretty case! And after rummaging through my makeup storage to find all of mine for this post, it became pretty evident that I own a fair few... #liketoomany #loljokesneverenough

Thank you to the lovely Tarlie from Tarlies Corner for nominating me to do this tag! Do check out her Perfect Palette Tag post and her incredible Instagram - I always look forward to her beauty photos, so do make sure to visit her and send her some love!

Now, onto the categories! #drumrollplease


Best Packaging 
Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner in 'Natural Nude'

How adorable is this little cutie? It fits into the palm of my hand and the case is framed with actual lace. Talk about glam! The palette itself flips open like an old school mobile phone and comes with a little sponge applicator which I don't tend to use, but it is handy for touch ups.



Best Colour Pay Off 
Sephora + Pantone Universe Shades Of Nature Eye Shadow Palette

When it comes to pigmentation, this palette wins hands down. I had to get a friend to pick this up for me when she went overseas and it was 100% worth it. It's amazing at creating stunning, vibrantly colourful makeup looks like this NYE tutorial I did.


Most Versatile 
OFRA Cosmetics Magic Roulette Concealer

This baby is super small and super convenient because it houses a whole bunch of different concealer shades. From green (covering up redness), to yellow (for concealing dark circles), to your standard skin tones, this palette is awesome at hiding any heavy duty skin imperfections.


Best for Travelling 
Estee Lauder Trio: Silky Powder Blush in "11 Nude Rose", Soft Matte Bronzer in "Bronze Goddess" and Shimmer Powder in "01 Gold Pearl"

Bronzers, blushes and highlighters tend to come in pretty bulky packaging, so I love that I can just take this palette with me when I go away. It has a mirror which is awesome for touch ups and I especially love the bronzer and blush, which are both matte so they suit most looks.


Biggest Regret
Rimmel London Glam Eyes Eyeshadow Quad in ' Smokey Noir'

I bought this thinking that I'd be able to rock some super sultry smokey eyes, but I was sorely mistaken. The eyeshadows in this palette are actually quite nice, but black, silver, grey and white are just not colours that suit me. At. All. So I haven't used this palette since trying it out, which is a shame.


Best Colour Names
Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

This palette kind of wins this category by default because it's one of the very few that I own that have individual colour names! Though in typical Urban Decay fashion, the names are quite unique. I especially love the name for the deep purple-toned colour, which is 'Blackheart'. Check out my full review of this palette.


Least Used
Shiseido Majolica Majorca Jeweling Eyes Eyeshadow in 'BR793'

Like this palette before it, this one also wins its category by default. It's my least used because I hadn't even opened it prior to writing this post! It was given to me as a gift from one of my best friends in Japan, but I've been waiting for the right event to come up for me to use the shades because they're quite unique.


Most Used
Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

You can probably tell just from the photo how much I've used this palette! I used to use it almost everyday for my university makeup routine, but since dropping it on the bathroom floor and shattering the matte black shade (this still upsets me), I haven't really used it much since. Warning, the below photo might be distressing for makeup lovers...


Most Loved
Rimmel London Glam'Eyes HD Eyeshadow Quad in 'English Oak'

This palette has a story behind it that makes it special. It was sent to me as a prize for making it through the first round of the Rimmel Beauty Insider competition two years ago and it was the first eyeshadow palette that I really loved. It became even more special to me because when I was flown to Sydney after winning the competition to shoot a video series for Rimmel London and Girlfriend Magazine, it was that palette that I used to create my eye makeup look #gettingsentimental 

I made a daytime smokey eye tutorial on my blog using this palette, which you can see here.


Special Mention (previously Desert Island)
Lancome Eye Brightening All-In-One 5 Shadow and Liner Palette in 'Violet Magnetique'

Realistically, I wouldn't take an eyeshadow palette with me if I was stuck on an island haha so I decided to swap this category for a palette that deserves a special mention but didn't make it into any of the other categories.

I bought this palette as part of Michelle Phan's limited edition makeup kit for Lancome when she visited Melbourne for a makeup masterclass and it creates the most gorgeous purple eye looks! Check out the purple smokey eye tutorial I did on my blog using this palette here. 



I tag everyone and anyone who would like to do this! Let me know if you've done it because I'd love to read yours, or let me know what your favourite makeup palette is in the comments below!
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Monday 12 May 2014

Outfit Of The Day: Belle and Beans Shoes

Are you red-dy for this?

Some days my style is girly to the max (think flower crowns and tea dresses!), whereas others I'm in super simple outfits that are minimalistic and effortless to put together.

The day I shot this blog post (well, the day my little brother shot this post - he was a champ for being my stand-in tripod since mine is on it's last legs; pun intended) was one of the latter.

Here I'm wearing a pretty monochromatic outfit with pops of red (a little colour never hurt anybody!) consisting of a striped cropped tee, high-waisted black skinnies, a bright scarlet lip and of course; a cute as pair of shoes!


You'll rarely ever find me in head-to-toe black and white, because I just adore colour too much! So when I head to two-tone-town, I always add a pop of a bright hue for funsies. For this look, I went for a pop of red, thanks to my Belle and Beans shoes.


At first, these cuties are kind of unusual to look at (check that unique woven rope design!), but if you've ever worn 'jelly' shoes, then you'll probably guess what I'm about to say next... that these are SUPER comfortable! 

I've been on the look out for a pair of flats for a while (my old pair of red Chinese-style flats have been worn in to the extreme), so I was stoked to find these. They're actually designed to be worn at the beach because they dry quickly and you don't have to wander around on the sand with bare feet (and thongs - or flip flops!! - are really difficult to walk with on the beach). It's a bit too cold to head beachside now, so I'll just be wearing them as regular flats.


While I won't be pulling these out on a rainy day, these are the perfect pair of shoes for running casual errands because they're really comfy to walk in. So here's my outfit for chilling out and looking chic - think a shopping trip, a movie night with friends or an afternoon coffee catch up.


OOTD:
Cropped tee - Sportsgirl
Leopard print skinny belt - Dotti
High-waisted black skinny jeans - Ripcurl
Amy watch (Rose gold) - Marc by Marc Jacobs


You can head to the Belle and Beans website to see their entire flats collection. They ship worldwide, their shoes are $25 a pair (say what?!) and there's pretty much a rainbow to choose from! 



What colour Belle and Beans shoes would you choose? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: These shoes were sent to me from Belle and Beans for free, but all thoughts and opinions in this post are honest and my own.
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Monday 5 May 2014

REVIEW: Chi Chi Glamorous Eyeshadow Palette NUDES (NAKED Dupe?)

There have been rumours that a dupe for the Urban Decay NAKED Palette has been floating around, and I think I may have found it!

The Chi Chi Glamorous Eyeshadow Palette NUDES is uncannily similar in colours to the Urban Decay NAKED, featuring twelve shades ranging from warm nudes to deep smoky hues, with a healthy mix of both shimmery and matte shadows.

Below you can see a direct comparison of the Chi Chi NUDES Palette (top) and the Urban Decay NAKED Palette (bottom).

As you can see, while not all of the shades are 100% identical, it's a pretty close colour for colour match! So you can imagine that I was pretty excited to have discovered this palette, because Urban Decay is pretty difficult to come by in Australia (both of my NAKED palettes were gifts from friends who went overseas) and the NAKED palette is the only one from the series that I don't own.

But... the big question is that while the Chi Chi eyeshadows in the palette look like Urban Decay's, does it actually measure up? Read on to see my review!

Review: Chi Chi Glamorous Eyeshadow Palette Nudes


Packaging

The Chi Chi palette comes in a plastic case with a see-through lid so you can see the shades inside. The plastic itself is solid, but I'm a little worried about travelling with it because I don't think it would be hard to crack or shatter if it was dropped. 

It snaps open and shut which is great, so it's secure unlike the NAKED palette which just opens and closes as it pleases. The palette itself has the same amount of product as the NAKED, but the case itself is quite a bit smaller (maybe half the size?). The packaging is very slim and sleek (think the size of a TV remote) so it looks super stylish on your vanity.


Added extras

Along with the palette itself, you also get two sponge brushes to help with applying your eyeshadow on the go. I'm not a huge fan of sponge-style brushes as they don't pick up much pigment and are a little more finicky than other brushes to use. 

But they're still better than using your finger tips (I find it fairly challenging applying powder shadows without some sort of brush), so I'm still glad that they are included. Plus they lock into place, so there's little to no risk of them falling out and getting lost.


Colour payoff & pigmentation

Compared to the NAKED palette, these shadows aren't quite as pigmented. But to be fair, the colour payoff of Urban Decay eyeshadows is pretty difficult to beat! Chi Chi gives it a fair go and the pigmentation is pretty good, though I would definitely recommend using an eyeshadow primer before applying these to stop creasing and keep the colours vibrant.

The darker colours are definitely more pigmented than the lighter ones, but I'm more than happy with the colours overall. There's a great range of metallics and mattes, they apply pretty smoothly and this definitely does the job well if you're after a palette that can go from day to night very easily.


Price

The Chi Chi palette is definitely great value for money, at $22.95 at Myer, which is really affordable when you consider that many pocket-sized eyeshadow palettes from Priceline are around the $20 mark. So in comparison to the NAKED palette, which is $54.00 on the Urban Decay website (and doesn't ship to Australia), it's starting to look like a pretty rad deal!

An added bonus; I actually scored mine in a makeup pack that included two Chi Chi eyeshadow palettes (this one and EXOTICS), a bronzer, a blush and two lip glosses for $15 on sale - score! Chi Chi often has sales on at Myer, so if you keep an eye on the catalogues, it's pretty easy to score an amazing bargain.


Have you tried the Chi Chi Glamorous Eyeshadow Palette NUDES before? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!
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