Handbag Declutter: August 2014

Today, I've decided to take a short post break from the continuous swatching of nail polishes (I'll get back to that tomorrow though). Instead, I'll show you what products have been partying in my bag for the past month!

I'll try my best to make this a monthly thing since I've figured that it's a great way to keep you updated with what products (although mainly lip products) I've been using, liking and trialling! Of course, to declutter too. I go to uni for one subject a day, but my bag feels as if I'm holding at least 5 textbooks. In fact, all I have is one textbook, one notebook and a bunch of beauty products that I've added every fewer days since my schedule is always "on-the-go".

By "on-the-go", I mean.... Sleep late. Wake up late. Go to class late. Repeat.

So here are the products that I've accumulated in my bag for the past month...

1. Face Of Australia Lip Quench in Peachs & Cream*
This is one of my favourite pink lippies ever. It's not bold. It's a lighter pink (not to be confused with being a "nudy-pink") that looks pretty and natural, with a slight pop.

Old photo from my review here >

2. EOS Lip Balm in Sweet Mint
I've finished my Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm recently! Finally unpacked this EOS Lip Balm. The shade is so cute, and so the application is so funky! Really enjoying it for now. May change my mind later.

3. Face Of Australia Lasting Looks in Love Berry*
I can't remember how long this has been in my handbag. Probably since last semester. Was supposed to trial it to review, but ended up using it to dab over the lips for a subtle, rosy pink tint. I jut can't see myself wearing such a bold shade to Uni. Haha..

 4. Maybelline Color Whispers in Lust for Blush
Only tried one shade from this range so far and I like it much better than Revlon's Lip Butters (if that is what people usually compare it to). Feels nice, looks nice, isn't slippery on the lips and is pigmented. Loved sporting this nudy-pink until I realised how dead it made me look!!

5. NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Amsterdam
I've only worn this once, when I was heading to the Dental Hospital in the city. No, I was not having any procedures done on the day, so before you squeal "WTF"... I did not. Which alien in their right mind would wear a red lipstick to the dentist anyways?!

I love these Soft Matte Lip Creams. Amsterdam is quite nice. Not much I could say about the shade. It works for me, I didn't mind it. I did think it'd work better with a lip liner though, since the doe-foot applicator that it comes with isn't made for a sharp, clean look.


6. Savvy by DB Eyeliner in Bronze
This is the older packaging for their eye pencils. I'm not one for eyeliner on the go, but I grabbed this today for my lower lash line since I didn't squeeze in enough time for mascara in the morn. Either way, this has been in my collection for yonks! Time to get down to finishing it!!!

7. Face Of Australia Glossy Lip Crayon in Apple Crumble*
I quickly got over these since I reviewed them here. I did try to back to use them up though (to declutter my stash). Used this as a gloss over NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Amsterdam, since I found Amsterdam is a tad drying on its own.

SWATCH TIME!

Top: Face Of Australia's Peaches N' Cream

Bottom: Maybelline's Colour Whispers Lust for Blush

Face Of Australia's Love Berry , NYX's Amsterdam, Face Of Australia's Apple Crumble

That's all for this month! Quite a few FOA products we have...

And thou shalt not be surprised if every month is lipstick, lipstick and lipstick. I don't like doing my make-up on-the-go. I prefer to sit at home, in my own comfort [and peace] to slowly put on my face every morning. Therefore the only products that I'd apply on the go are lipsticks, though there may be a few exceptions here and there...

Anyone else like myself, who just WILL NOT do their make-up on the go?

Especially public transports.... *squeals*

Disclaimer: Products marked with (*) were provided for review consideration [only]. For anyone pondering, please click on my Disclaimer Policy at the top. 

Drugstore Cosmetics Launches for Australia -- August 2014

A TAD late again. Very last-minute post, but I assure you, the following are the only products I've gathered for the month of August.

Yeap. Only a handful, so don't expect anything lengthy today.


Ardell LashGrip Strip Lash Adhesive - Dark ($6.99)
Yosh, their strip lash adhesive is now available in Dark. Dries quickly, is waterproof and holds lashes securely in place. Thought they've always had these?!

Natio Blush & Bronze Palette ($19.95/2 shades)
Limited editon alert! Luminous blusher and bronzer palette. Three blushers, one bronzer and and one highlighter shade. Looking at the photos, the shades from both palettes are pretty rosey. No corals, but there is a mauve colour!

Maybelline

Big Eyes Eyeliner ($11.95)
Been out for a while now methinks. A dual-ended eyeliner. If you're not familiar with the usage of white eyeliners, they are used to line the bottom waterline to create an illusion of "bigger eyes". Made famous by Michelle Phan I think, but let's just face it.... White waterlines just makes you look freaky and weird as hell!!

Volum' Express The Falsies Big Eyes Mascara ($19.95)
Dual ended mascara. I think Maybelline has quite a few of these already. One end features a volumising formula to open up the eyes, and one end features a much smaller brush (I believe), to coat the lower lashes with definition. Oddly, available in "Blackest Black Washable" and "Very Black Waterproof". Looooooooool. Since when did Maybelline get so horrible with shade-naming for their mascaras? :P

1. SuperStay Better Skin Foundation ($21.95/8 shades) -- Saw this featured on Lilit's blog. Anything over $20 is considered pricey for me, but I really like the packaging. I've enjoyed using most foundations by Maybelline. Hopefully, this will be promising too! Claims to: promote skin regeneration (whatever that means); even out skin discolouration; hydrate and plump the skin; protects the skin with SPF14 (odd number!); and provides a full and comfortable, long-lasting coverage.
2. SuperStay Better Skin Concealer ($14.95/2 shades) -- "A concealer that provides long-lasting coverage of blemishes, redness, dark circles and imperfections", says Maybelline. 
3. Matte Maker Powder ($11.95/3 shades) -- REALLY like the name of this product. MATTE Maker!! Offers 100% natural matte coverage with a lightweight and blendable formula.

AND, here are some products that I've NEVER seen before. I've included them here, because they seem "new". Correct me if I'm wrong though!

Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara ($12.95/2 shades)
Never seen a brow mascara from Maybelline. I'm pretty sure this is new. It has a sculpting ball brush to help shape, shift and coat every brow hair. Buildable with a streak-free tinted gel formula to help thicken brows.

Color Tattoo Pure Pigments Eyeshadow ($11.95/6 shades)
Very similar to their Color Tattoos from their Eye Studio range. I'm not sure if this is a re-packaged version, BUT the shades available doesn't cross-match between both ranges. Either way, these are described to be long-lasting and intense. Crease-proof and lasts for 24 hours. Typical 24-hour claims by Maybelline. Hehe.

Master Kajal Cream Kohl Liner ($11.95/2 shades)
Cream based liner, which is specifically designed to line the inner eye. I'm STILL looking for a bronze/brown to last on my waterline... Will this be it?!
No, it's not. Available in a black and blue shade. Strangest. If they're only gonna launch these with 2 shades... Why blue?!

Eyes & Lips Makeup Remover ($4.95)
They have two make-up removers, if I'm not wrong. This one is specifically formulated for sensitive eyes. Breaks down longwear and waterproof make-up without the harsh rubbing. Looks like one of those oil & water make-up removing products. Forgot what they're called!! :(







L'Oreal Paris Infallible Range
This range has been out for a bit less than a month already, I believe. I think it was after my previous monthly launch post that they've launched. The price tags of these are sooo hefty, as with the usual L'Oreal products.

Compact Powder Foundation ($29.95)
Not sure how many shades. This foundation is described to "help control oil whilst providing a long-lasting coverage". Non-drying texture and can be applied dry or damp, depending on what coverage you seek.

Liquid Foundation ($31.95/7 shades)
Packaged in a sleek, glass bottle, this foundation is supposed to even out the skin tone, leaving the skin looking flawless. Contains hyper-glide oils (sounds scary) which help the foundation glide over the skin and set comfortably. Flake-proof and non-cakey formula.

Infallible Longwear Concealer ($19.45)
Again, not sure how many shades. BUT! This concealer features a WATERPROOF formula. Waterproof concealer?! No way!! Covers blemishes, dark circles, unevens skin tone and doesn't dry out the skin, they said.


Manicare Nail Polish Remover Pads ($4.95)
NEW. It is what it is, but in addition to that, the pads are formulated with argain oil to help moisturise nails and are also vanilla scented!

Lmao. I said that there was only a handful of products at the beginning of the post... Well.... I lied.. Ended up finding so many more products as I started typing away...

But that's all for this month!

Let me know by voting! Thank you everyone for your feedback in last month's poll. I'm switching to another poll-maker, so I'd appreciate if you'd let me know if this one isn't working!!

X

Face Of Australia Dark Side Collection: Magneto

Ooooooooh-kay.... Has no idea who Magneto is (I know it's wrong, but I won't lie!), so we shall jump straight into swatches.

Magneto is the ONLY duo-chromatic/metallic of the 8 shades in the collection. It's strange and different, but also exciting at the same time. Although it's a duo-chrome, it doesn't have a dark-base like the other seven -- a fresh breath from the darks, especially for those who are not a fan of darker shades.

Main silver base which reflects purple-y and slightly green. I really don't know how to describe duo-chromes, so hopefully these swatches will do! :P

The swatches above are of Magneto alone on the nails. On Face Of Australia's blog, I saw that Michelle [of Cosmetic Cupcake] layered this over Maleficent which gave it a totally different look. A bit more oomph which doesn't look bad at all. I would've never thought of the idea of layering this over another lacquer, so I thought it was quite funky! Here are the swatches of her layered manicure...

Credits >

Nice huh?

Overall, not a bad shade/finish. It's not my favourite to wear though. On others, possibly. On myself, I feel like it doesn't suit my skintone very well. Somewhat mismatched, but I love how much more glossier it looks with this finish, and how it elongates my nails!

On a slightly more negative note, the brush.... Grrr. In my [previous] feature of Ursula (another shade of this collection), I've mentioned that the brush had a slight curve, which made the application somewhat more challenging. Well, I thought that was a dud, but it's may not be so.

An anonymous reader (thanks you anonymous patootie!) commented that she also had the same problem.... on six shades of the eight that she had purchased. This is my 4th shade so far to feature, hopefully the remaining four to swatch won't have problematic brushes... -_-

These buttons will be updated after every post for your reading convenience!

Face Of Australia Dark Side Collection, $4.95, 8 shades, available at Priceline, Big W and Face Of Australia stockists. 

Disclaimer: This product was provided to me for review consideration only. I was not obligated to review nor mention this product. All opinions expressed in this post are of my own and remains to be unbiased/untruthful. 

Face Of Australia Dark Side Collection: Jarfar

Oops! This post was NOT suppose to be published a day late, but I eventually got carried away after I finished editing these photos... o_o"

If this collection released a year earlier, I would be all over Jarfar. Last year, I was all over dark-vampy nails, especially dark burgundy reds! Very unusual of me, but yes!

Unlike my previous post which featured Ursula, I have zero problems with Jarfar's brush. However, the colour was a tad harder to work with.

On first coat, it was quite sheer, so I needed a total of 3 coats for a full opaque finish. 

Whilst the formula was smooth just like the previous two, I felt like this particular shade applied to be a bit blotchy and uneven. I THINK it may be the colour that caused the problem, rather than the formula since I've tried plenty of other dark-reds and they've behaved in a very similar way

Oh, have I ever mentioned to you about how glossy they are without top coat?? For all three posts so far, all photos were taken without top coat! Sooo glossy right?


Somewhat off-topic: I had no idea who Jarfar was until I google'd!!! Ahhhhhh, the dude from Aladdin. Grrr, I don't watch half of the movies these villains are featured in! Yes, I have no childhood. And yes, you can expect these mini-rants for the next fewer posts. But no, you may not call me silly!!!

These buttons will be updated after every post for your reading convenience!

Face Of Australia Dark Side Collection, $4.95, 8 shades, available at Priceline, Big W and Face Of Australia stockists. 

Disclaimer: This product was provided to me for review consideration only. I was not obligated to review nor mention this product. All opinions expressed in this post are of my own and remains to be unbiased/untruthful.