My Last 5 Beauty Purchases

Now that I've officially finished my first year of uni, as well as exams (yay), I have waaay more time to get this blog up and running! One post which I thought would be somewhat interesting would be to do a haul and review of my five last beauty purchases! I may be the only one.. but hearing and snooping about people's last couple of beauty purchases is something I usually love to hear about from my friends - so hopefully someone finds this interesting!

Australis Lipliner in 'Tickled Pink'

Australis is definitely one of my favourite cosmetic brands. Based in Australia, all their products are under $20 and usually of pretty good quality - this lipliner being no exception! Having never bought a non-red lip liner, I decided to purchase one for an upcoming event I had and was pleasantly surprised! The pay off is really good and the colour is right up my alley!

Nyx Butter Lip gloss in 'Creme Brulee'

Australis 'Tickled Pink' with Nyx 'Creme Brulee' on top

Aaand in addition to the above lip liner, I bought this lip gloss to go with it! To me, the pair is a combo which I'm definitely going to be wearing for the next month. These butter lip glosses are already popular amongst the beauty community and I can attest to their greatness! The smell, the colour, the lasting power and the price are all A++++ from me.

Nyx Wonder Pencil in 'White'

Usually for my own eye make up I rarely go without eyeliner on top and bottom, but recently I've been trying to just stick to the top liner. So when I saw some pictures online of this product I knew it would definitely persuade me to go without bottom liner more often. Upon using it a few times I've found it to be less pigmented then I thought it would be (anyone else found this?). However, I do enjoy the nude fleshy tone which comes out from it and the lasting power is alright, but I think maybe a twisty eyeliner or perhaps Rimmel scandeleyes eyeliner would be better option for the waterline - any recommendations out there?

Palmer's Purifying Enzyme Mask

 I've found with this product - and most masks, that less is more and just a light layer on top of the skin is far more efficient and quick. I usually leave it on for around 20 to 30 minutes and afterwards my skin is SooOOOOOoOOOoo soft! Most clay masks I've come across have been somewhat pricey, so when I stumbled upon this in Priceline I was really excited! As it is a clay mask, I wouldn't recommend using it more than once a week as it is stronger against the skin the usual mask.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Dark Chocolate & Cherry Ultra Moisturising Lip Balm

Cherry. Ripe. Seriously. Every time I smell this I just crave Cherry Ripe! Some may find the smell a bit too cherry-artifically-smelling but if you can stand it, the red tint that it gives your lips is a winner for me. I usually put it on when I'm out and I've forgotten to put anything on my lips, it's definitely more hydrating then many other lip balms I own (e.g. the Nivea chapsticks) and gives a nice light sheer of red on top the lips.

PS. In ref to the selfie on the side, gaH! I always find it SUPER difficult to post selfies online, but I know I probably can't put a photo with a friend or anything haha.. ANywho the picture is from a ball I recently went to, I was thinking of maybe doing a make up & outfit post?? 

NYX in Australia - Soft Matte Lip Cream Review w/ Swatches

The recent release of NYX in Australia via Target has been met by much excitement by those in the Australian beauty world. Finally! Another much loved international brand has made its way onto Aussie shores - while not at the same fraction of the price as it is sold in the US, products still range between $8.95 and $21.95, similar to Australis with all their products being marketed as under $20.

I remember my first visit to a NYX counter came about a month or two after it had landed in Australia as I was waiting to go - and spend, after I had finished all my final year exams. Who knows, maybe my anticipated visit was what kept me going.

A product which I had always been interested in was the NYX 'Soft Matte Lip Cream' ($12.95) and upon seeing the range of colours, immediately picked out four which I found myself most drawn to.

Top - Bottom: San Paulo, Antwerp, Stockholm, Istanbul

THE VERDICT

What I really love about these lip creams is that you can easily build up the colour to a really opaque colour, or leave it as just a simple tint on the lips, I tend to apply them with a lighter hand and then darken them up if need be. They have a doe-foot applicator and easily apply on the lips like a cream, with a strong lasting-power of about 3-5 hours, (darker shades lasting a bit longer). The packaging is light-weight, making them very make up bag appropriate.

 There is a wide range of colours in the collection too, I'm definitely keen to try out the red colour (Monte Carlo)! I also love the cute idea of naming each of them by a city. My favourite at the moment would have to be 'Antwerp', which is a really pretty pinky-peach colour that is a perfect match with the Australian summer.

While I agree with that these lip creams can be rather drying on the lips, I've found applying a strong lip balm before applying my make up (I use the Nivea Lip Butter) and dabbing it off before i apply the lip cream is the best way to go.  

Another thing I really enjoy about these lip creams is that they can be used to go over a lipstick to mattify the look of the lipstick, I often use the colour "Stockholm' over Rimmel's 'Undressed' to complete the lipstick. The lip creams also have a strong sweet vanilla scent, something I don't mind but could deter others.

If you're a fan of matte lip products, or keen to test one out, this is definitely an affordable product to try!

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Since my first NYX purchase I've returned and picked up a couple of other goodies - some of which will be reviewed at a later date ;) I still have my eye on plenty of NYX products - such as the Jumbo lip pencil in 'Honey' and the eyeshadow palette in 'Caviar', but alas these purchases will have to come at a later date.

I and many others can only hope that the arrival of NYX in Australia will bring other internationally-loved drug store brands such as Sleek, MUA and Elf.

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