BEST OF BEAUTY 2015

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to my blog! Confessions of a Make-Up Addict has been reformed into my beauty diary xo - a new fun project for me to work on and continue what I loved so much about COAMA. There was no huge reason to change my blogs name, seeing as I'm continuing in the same direction. But after last year, I feel like I am in a completely free and less stressed headspace, and I wanted the blog to reflect that, if only that it was just a name change.

I've missed blogging and writing all about beauty - and also missed all you guys! I hope we can continue our fun journey of being beauty addicts and discussing our love for it all together :)

Moving on - my first post of 2016 is all about my favourite products of 2015! After last years favourites, I really narrowed it down this year and kept it 90% products that I discovered last year, with only one rolling on from the previous year. I definitely enjoyed many more products during 2015, but I really want to keep this purely to the products that I felt deserved the spotlight over the year.

Let's get started! Keep reading to see what products I have looooooved this year!

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecters Pressed (Moonstone, Champagne Pop & Opal)

It goes without saying that 2015 was the year of highlighting, with strobing being all the rage. I definitely bought into this trend way more than it was necessary, but of all highlighters that I own, my Becca highlighters take the cake. I turn to them constantly, they go on beautifully and really just bring that extra somethin' somethin' to your face. The formula is incredibly creamy and silky, and I have never had an issue with chalkiness or chunky powder. 

I own three - Moonstone, Champagne Pop and Opal - and of all of them, Opal is definitely my favourite. Closely followed by Moonstone and Champagne Pop. Opal is a gorgeous beige tone shimmer, Moonstone is a very finely milled white (it's definitely more of a 'glow from within', rather than straight white highligter) and Champagne Pop is a peachy gold tone. I would definitely recommend any of them for any looking for a highlighter that will really bring that glow and luminosity for both day and night.

I brought mine here from Adore Beauty, and Champagne Pop from Sephora US. However, they are now all available from Sephora AU for $58AU (even Champagne Pop woo!)

Maybelline FitMe Dewy & Smooth, BareMinerals Complexion Rescue & Maybelline FitMe Concealer

Yes I know I don't have the packaging of Compleion Rescue - this is all I have left of it :( - but that should tell you just how much I loved it this year. How much I loved all three items this year! 

Maybelline FitMe Dewy & Smooth is 100% my HG drugstore foundation - it is incredible. The formula, the finish, the colour range, lasting power. I love every little single thing about it. I cannot say one bad thing about this foundation, and I highly recommend it for those with drier skin and for those after a luminous finish. 

The FitMe concealer has been a must have for covering any blemishes I've had throughout the year. It does have a little more coverage than the Age Rewind which is nice because it does help to really hide those pesky little spots without making it look cakey and obvious that I am trying to hide them.

The BareMinerals Complexion Rescue is definitely coming up on HG status for me too. I cannot imagine a makeup desk where I can't have this in my reach. It has sheer coverage, but it really helps neutralize my skin and even it out, as well as hydrate and keep it smooth and clear. This was my saving grace in the winter season, and I will be repurchasing once I'm completely out for sure.

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara & Anastasia Beverly Hills Browiz in Soft Brown

Oooooh the Lash Sensational is absolutely incredible for a drugstore mascara! I am partial to a few drugstore brands for mascaras, though I haven't stuck it out with them for as long as I have with the Lash Sensational. It really helps fan out my lashes, while giving volume and separation and really all the good things you need in a mascara. My only qualm is that it does transfer quite easily, so I do wear a different mascara on my bottom lashes, but I'm not too fussed about that. Not going to stop me buying it again or anything ;)

And the only product to make it to this list from last year, the ABH Browiz in Soft Brown. I have only gone through two this past year, and I use it every single day for my brows. I won't drone on about it - you can click here to read what I love so much about it there :)

MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation, Anastasia Beverly Hills Eyeshadow Single in Morocco & Too Faced Dark Chocolate Soliel Bronzer

I never thought I'd like powder honestly. I have drier skin, that tends to look cakeier the more products that are loaded on it. 2015 was definitely the year where I learned to use less full coverage foundation, and instead for a more flawless complexion, use a light dusting of the Studio Fix powder over top. Again, I can't say enough good things - this powder truly takes my foundation to the next level. With a setting spray, it's even better. I carry this with me all the time and always use it for touch ups!

The ABH eyeshadow in Morocco - uuuugh its the perfect eyeshadow. I use it alllll the time. I use it to line on my lid and under my eyes, blow it out into the crease. It's just beautiful. It its a perfect warm toned red/brown, and it really brings out the honey tones in my own eyes.

And finally, the Too Faced Dark Chocolate Soleil Bronzer has been my go to bronzer especially when I am tanned. Again, it's very warm toned, almost with a red sunburnt undertone, but the formula of the Too Faced Chocolate Soleils are amongst my faves - they blend out so incredibly well and look very natural in my humble opinion. Not to mention they smell like chocolate - its really just a delight to smooth it out into my face.

And that's all I'll be mentioning today! Like I said, there are plenty more products that I really have loved and used all year, however these are the stars of the year if you will. Definitely the stand outs for 2015!

What were you favourites for the year? What are you excited to try in 2016?

Until next time...

xxxx

in between blogging, you can find me here!

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WORTH THE SPLURGE // My Top Five Products Worthy of their Price Tag

Hey guys!

Having been a full time student and working as many hours as I could fit in with my schedule in order to save, I know what its like being on a tight budget. I used to want to just spend my money on the cheaper products from the drugstore, but as I've gotten older (and further into my makeup addiction), I've started to want to save a little more and spend it on something high end rather than blowing it in Priceline.

However, as we all know, being on a budget means you can only splurge every once in a while  - and its tough walking into Mecca or Sephora and realising that you can only pick one or two items out of the vast majority that you want to hurl into your basket. As such, I've compiled a quick list for five items which can possibly help you when trying to make that decision.

Read on to see what made the cut!

1. Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette // $76

Yes, this has been spoken about to death but I legitimately use this pretty much every day I do my makeup. Considering you get three powders, which although originally intended to be setting powders, can be used for so many different purposes. For example, I use the first shade as a setting powder, the middle shade as a subtle highlight and the third to warm up my complexion. They're incredible - they blend out so well and look so subtle on the skin. Not to mention it's such great value for money - you get three powders for $ and ONE of these powders costs $ at Mecca!

2. MAC Lipsticks // $36

Take it from someone who owns way too many of these lipsticks - y'all need at least one in your life. I say that these are worth the splurge purely because they have such a wide array of shades and finishes, that there would have to be at least one for everyone out there. There is one for every skin tone, every preference, everyones favourite colour - you name it, they have it. I am personally a nude girl, and own way too many MAC nudes and pinks, but also have purples, pinks, red, maroons oh my goodness, there's just way too many to choose from (which is probably why I own so many!)

3. Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask // $34

Lawd, I have just started using this in the last week (check out my post here to read more!) but it's already become something that I will 100% be repurchasing. Besides the magic that it has done for my skin, it smells absolutely incredible - seriously, get down to Mecca and smell this now, and tell me that you can't bear to leave it behind - and feels so unbelieveably luxurious on my skin. It is a mask that can be used both as a 10 minute mask (although they do have a seperate mask made for that) but really it just feels like a really lovely thick night moisturiser, which is how I personally use it. Just trust me - get a sample (or purchase the tube, either or) if you have normal to dry skin, and I'm sure you won't be turning back!

4. Stila In The Light Palette // $49.90

Of all the eyeshadow palettes that I own, this probably my favourite. Don't get me wrong - I'll always love my Naked palettes, however, I've noticed more and more that whenever I use eyeshadow, I always go immediately to this palette. The shade selection is amazing, neutral and easy to blend and work with - plus it goes with every occasion and includes the cult favourite Kitten shadow. I definitely recommend it for all those neutral obsessed addicts and also for beginners or anyone looking to get value for their money! And I personally think Stila is really reasonably priced in Australia too, so you really can't go wrong.

5. Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade // $18USD

What did my brows do before this? I am OBSESSED with this stuff for my brows! I use the Anastasia Brow Wiz on an everyday basis, but this honestly makes my brows look so incredible that I will never be able to go without it. Its a moussey, creamy texture that makes it super wasy to sculpt out dem brows and make them look super duper amazing. Plus, you only need a teeny bit of product for each brow each time - definitely value for money, as it lasts forever!

And that's my take on what products are 100% worth their price tag! Do you agree with me, or do you think that there are some others that should have made the cut? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Until next time...

xxxx

in between blogging, you can find me here!

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high end haul: mac, anastasia beverly hills & sephora

Hey guys!

First of all, I'm going to straight up apologise for the quality of these photos. It is absolutely disgusting weather in Sydney at the moment, and I just couldn't catch a break with the lighting. BUT I've been way too excited for this post, as well as being asked to do it, that I decided to forgo shitty lighting and photos and just get on with it.

Now not only is today's post a high end haul, it is also a review of the shipping service I used. I'd been going back and forth about ordering with another shipping service (I wasn't exactly thrilled with my last - see here), especially because makeup is just so incredibly expensive in Australia and because I attend university full time, I only work two days a week. I finally bit the bullet after speaking to Melissa from Loads of Lifestyle, and reading her post on the service she used. She gave such a glowing review I thought that I may as well try it - so I did! I'll first go through what I grabbed from MAC, Anastasia Beverly Hills and Sephora, and then give a quick overview of the service and my experience with them. Spoiler alert: I'm so damn impressed with the service, and everything that came with it!

If you've been like me, a bit indescisive about ordering through a shipping service, this is the post for you! 

First up, here's my MAC haul! I ended up mistakenly ordering two empty MAC palettes, and the wrong insert for it as well - oh well, I'm sure it'll come in handy soon! I also ordered two Pro Sculpting powders in Sculpt and Emphasise, a lip liner in Nightmoth, travel sized Fix+ and two lipsticks In Viva Glam II and Heroine. I've been using alot of these daily, and I love everything I picked up! It was so inexpensive as well, compared to the Australian site!

Next, I made a stop off at the Anastasia Beverly Hills website! I have wanted the contour kit forever, and Sephora was sold out at the time, so I just quickly grabbed it there. Instead of getting the original I ordered the one for light skin tones - although honestly, I think its exactly the same as the original contour kit.. But anywho, I've also been using this, and so far I love it! I'm also working on a comparison between this and the Australis Contour & Highlight Kit that I reviewed last week - it will be up in the near future!

And lastly, my Sephora haul! This was so nervewracking to order - all websites I ordered off either accepted international credit cards or Paypal so I ordered it myself, but Sephora is known for cancelling or rejecting orders with mail forwarding addresses. Luckily, it went through, which I was ecstatic about because I really wanted to get my hands on some things!

First up I ordered two limited edition Christmas sets - the Top Faced Melted Kisses Set and the Hourglass Ambient Blush Palette! These are due to hit Aussie shores on November 9, but let's be real, I'm super impatient and really the price was right. I've wanted to try the Too Faced Melted Lipsticks forever, and these are four travel sized ones which seems perfect for me - reality is, I'll probably never finish them, so this is a great solution to that problem. I've wanted to try Hourglass Ambient Blushes forever, and this was the chance to try three of them! Why wouldn't I jump on that? This is so gorgeous as well, I really don't wear blush that often, but these are a dream to use. Definitely want to get my hands on the original Lighting palette now. I'll be doing a quick review of it next week, so if you want to see swatches before purchasing it, don't worry I got 'chu!

After that ramble, I also picked up the Josie Maran Argan Lip Treatment, which has been on my list for over a year, the Tarte Power Pigment in Exposed and the Make Up Forever HD Foundation! They also included three samples - the CoverFX Cream Concealer, Elizabeth & James Nirvana White Mini Rollerball and the Soap & Glory Super Serum. The rollerball was taken off me by the US warehouse as it would delay the arrival of my items to Australia - no biggie though, but I still want to try it! I was so impressed with how quickly this order got to my US address - only two days!

Swatches of all lip products (bottom to top): MAC Viva Glam II, MAC Heroine, MAC Nightmoth, Too Faced Melted Lipsticks in Nude, Peony, Fuschia & Berry

Now onto my experience with my shipping service: holy cow, I am sososo unbelieveably happy! I used a service called Comgateway - you sign up with them for free, and are assigned a US address to which you can send all packges to and hold onto them for free for 30 days. Once all your packages have arrived, you can them combine then and ship them altogether. Shipping is a little expensive, but it does come with compulsory insurance, so I honestly didn't mind paying it especially considering that I didn't have to pay for signing up. I ended up paying $60 for shipping for all of this (which equaled 4kg with packing), and $1 was consolidation (combining packages). Consolidation is free for three packages and I ordered four, but $1? Pssh, take it!

I sent this all on a Wednesday, with an estimated date to be the following Friday, and it had arrived at customs two days after being sent! I then had it in my hands by the following Monday! That was a exactly two business days after it was sent that it arrived in my hands - and I only paid for standard shipping! Colour me impressed and absolutely so happy! I have made another order, which will hopefully be shipped tomorrow, and I'll test that arrival time again but either way a week is still a great amount of time for the package to arrive! Considerinf most packages from the US take 2-3 weeks, and sometimes longer, to arrive in Australia I practically cried with delight as I watched its tracking be updated and saw how close it was to me.

I did purchase everything myself with either my credit card or my Paypal, but incase you wanted to order from a place that doesn't allow international payment, Comgateway do have a 'Buy For Me' service in which they order everything for you and have it sent to your address for you. There is a fee associated with the service, but I'm not sure of how much that would be. I will try it out at some stage, but I'm considering I just ordered this lot as well as another 4.5kg currently on its way to me, it won't be any time soon. But I 100% recommend Comgateway! Cannot wait to shop with them more!

Let me know if you've been impressed (or unimpressed) with a shipping service you've used and why?

Until next time...

xxxx

in between blogging, you can find me here!

instagram: http://instagram.com/beautybybek

twitter: https://twitter.com/bekaaturner

first impression + review - australis contour & highlight kit

Hey guys!

Who else was super excited when they saw Australis announce that they were bringing out their own contour and highlight kit? Especially when it looked so super similar to a high end version not readily available here in Australia (cough, anastasiabeverlyhills cough)? This was FINALLY released on Australis' website last week, retailing for $16.95. It was due to permanently be in Priceline stores from Thursday, so if you're wondering why you haven't been able to find it in store or on their website, I'd definitely check back now.

As soon as I saw this on Australis website, I brought it - no questions asked. Funnily enough, I'd also brought the ABH version (which is currently in transit to be home with its mum) a couple of days before, but I couldn't wait. It arrived to me Monday night, and the first thing I did on Tuesday morning was swatch it and photograph it for this post. PS Thats why the photos are a little off - couldn't contain the excitment! 

Apart from the swatches, I have already used this once, and I'll include how it performed at the end of the post.

Read on for a quick overview and swatches of the kit!

Ok, so let me start by saying that this is A LOT smaller than what I imagined. The kit is roughly the size of my hand (see above) and the shades themselves are about the same size as a 50c coin. I mean, in terms of size and what you are getting for your money, it's worth the $16.95. It is just a heck of a lot smaller than what I pictured it to be in my head.

These are the shades themselves. The kit includes two matte highlight shades, one shimmer highlight and three matte contour shades. I would assume with the two matte highlight shades are more for setting areas of your face and that the shimmer for a typical highlight. As one highlight shade is more pink and the other yellow (hello banana dupe), both with fit lighter skin tones and brighten up your look. With the contour shades, two are more on the cool side and the last is quite warm. Like with the hightlight shades, I would say the two cooler shades are meant for actual contouring and creating shadows, and the warmer for blending them out and 'bronzing' in a way.

Australis also includes this handy guide at the back of the palette so that, if you are a beginner or just in general unsure of how to actually contour and highlight using the palette, you could easily follow this guide and achieve the look you want.

Shades swatched: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6

You can see in the photo above that they have amazing pigmentation for a palette that cost $16.95. This was the first time actually swatching the palette myself, and each swipe is one layer. Deadset, I am super impressed with the pigmentation of all of these shades!

Onto my first impression of actually using the palette - I used shades 1 and 2 mixed together to set my highlighted areas and shade 4 to contour. I have to say, the top shades are incredible. They go on so well, like butter, and they highlight so subtle-ly and set my concealer at the same time. However, I wasn't that impressed with my contour. It was a little grey and hard to blend out. This may be because I don't contour on a regular basis (just bronze), but I usually contour with a matte bronzer as well. I don't know.. I'll keep playing with it. But, the top three shades are definitely stand outs in this palette! If you're unsure about purchasing it, I would purchase it for those three shades alone. Despite my opinion on the contour shade, I still think this is incredible value for $16.95 and is very much worth purchasing.

You can find the palette here on the Australis website, or in Priceline stores (not currently online) for $16.95AU. Unfortunately, this is an Australian brand and is currently only available for international purchase on All Cosmetic Wholesale - this palette isn't on there yet though. Sorry!

If you've purchased this kit, let me know your thoughts below! Do you have any tips or tricks to using it? Also, if you'd like to see a comparison with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Palette, defintely let me know in the comments!

Until next time...

xxxx

in between blogging, you can find me here!

instagram: http://instagram.com/beautybybek

twitter: https://twitter.com/bekaaturner