Singapore Beauty Haul

I have recently returned from an eight day trip to Singapore. As it was around 30º most days, we decided to escape the heat by visiting some of the hundreds of shopping malls. While we visited lots and LOTS of beauty shops, I can say that without a doubt, my absolute favourite was Sephora. As there are currently no Sephoras' in Aus, I decided to make the most of it by spending about 90% of my money! Here are a few goodies that I picked up...

The first Sephora I went to was in the newly built ION shopping centre on Orchard Road. There was a MAC shop attached to it and since MAC products are ridiculously overpriced in Australia, I had a little snoop around. I ended up buying a Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft And Gentle. This highlighter does not add a lot of colour but instead gives off a really pretty shimmer that illuminates your cheek bones. 

The next product I bought was a Stilla eyeshadow in Kitten. This is the brands most popular eyeshadow and I can see why - its a really gorgeous champagne gold colour, that glides onto the eyes beautifully and I find it really brightens up my eyes. Stilla products are available at Mecca Cosmetica in Australia. 

I have always heard rave reviews about Soap and Glory products from British Youtubers and bloggers, so I purchased a few of their products from Sephora. As you can see I bought 'The Daily Smooth Body Butter', 'Butter Yourself Body Cream', 'Flake Away Body Scrub' and 'Hand Food'. So far I have been really impressed with all of them! Apart from smelling AMAZING, all the creams absorb really quickly into the skin and leave it feeling really soft and smooth. Would definitely recommend all of these products and the girly, tounge-and-cheek packaging is a bonus! 

As well as selling a variety of brands, Sephora also has their own range of products that are meant to be pretty great. While I didn't buy any of their makeup, I bought a few of their brushes. I firstly bought a blending brush (2nd from the top) which I have been really impressed with! Everything else in the photo - powder brush, angled blush brush, small and large eyeshadow brushes and a lip brush - came in a brush kit. While these look like natural hair to me the packaging didn't say if they were or not. However so far these have all been really impressive and I'm glad i spend about $50 on 5 brushes instead of $40 on one MAC eyeshadow brush. 

I didn't get this from Sephora, but I figured it fit in with the 'tools' section. It is not too clear from the photo (whoops..) but it is a Shu Uemura eyelash curler. I had seen Tanya Burr use this quite often in her makeup tutorials and had read great reviews on it. When I went to the counter in Australia I saw that one of these would set you back $40, which is beyond crazy in my opinion! So you can imagine by delight when I saw this one at the airport in Singapore in the duty-free section for $18. I have used it a few times and it does work really, really well... $40 worth well? maybe not. But if you can find it online, on Ebay or Amazon for cheaper I would recommend it. 

This next product I didn't buy from Sephora either (Surprise Surprise). I got this lipstick in the colour Whimsical from the TopShop Beauty section. I really love this colour, its kind of a pale pink coral colour. However I have found that it does tend to settle into the cracks in my lips (a result of the winter weather, I swear!) and look quite patchy. I will probably give this a go again in the summer time, as I imagine it must look great with a tan!

Back to Sephora, I finally got my hands on the Urban Decay Naked Palette! I was willing to pay literally hundreds of dollars for this because I had wanted it for soooo long! Luckily it was not hundreds of dollars, although the shop assistant probably thought I was a bit mad in all my excitement haha. This really is an amazing palette that deserves all the hype it has received. All the colours are really pigmented and blend really seamlessly together. It also came with a little Primer Potion which I have not yet used, but is meant to be amazing (bargain!!!) 

Another great thing about Sephora which I didn't realise is that when you spend over a certain amount you get a free sample/gift. I got this Dior Eyes Essential cream. I have not used this yet but I think it is a really nice idea to give a little sample and Australian retailers should take note!!


So that is the end of my Singapore beauty haul. My bank balance was left a little damaged, while I left as a very happy girl!

- Emily

I have recently discovered the Tarazz website which is an Australian website that sells Sephora products to Aussies. http://www.tarazz.com.au/store/sephora/ its worth checking it out. 

My First MAC Palette

I have always tended to steer away from MAC eye shadows, mainly because they are crazily overpriced in Australia. However after watching literally hundreds of Tanya Burr's makeup tutorial videos on Youtube, I finally gave in and decided to splurge on some of the shadows. Naughty me. 

Ta Dah! This is my completed palette after many hours of research on which shadows to buy. I chose Satin Taupe, All That Glitters, Woodwinked and Embark. All of the eye shadow pans are magnetised which ensures they wont fall out of the palette and smash. 

Satin Taupe: A shimmery taupey/brown with a slight hint of purple. Looks pretty during the day when blended into the crease with more neural colours to tone it down and also looks great with darker shades for a night smokey eye. 

All That Glitters: A champagne colour with gold shimmer. A Perfect colour for everyday use that also looks gorgeous when blended with any of the other colours. 

Woodwinked: A warm, bronze/brown colour with shimmer. Looks great blended into the corners of the eyes with a lighter gold over the lid and also all over the eye for a night-time look. 

Embark: A matte dark brown with purple undertones. This is the perfect crease colour for  people with green eyes, as the purpley red undertones really bring out the green. 

Woodwinked, Embark, All That Glitters & Satin Taupe

In Australia, each individual refill eyeshadow pan costs a whopping $26, while the empty palette itself costs $10. So in total I spent $114 on 4 eyeshadows... Although I did build up my collection over 2 or so months, in my opinion that is a ridiculous amount to spend. While the pigmentation of the shadows is VERY good and they all blend together flawlessly, I don't think the quality is any better than some of the other brands on the market. 
The Stila 'In the Light' palette and the Urban Decay Naked Palettes both include more than double the amount of eyeshadows and are half the price. Although it can be a pain having to order online, the savings definitely make it worth it in my opinion. 

- Emily

June Favourites

This June i have accumulated a lot of new products, and thought i would do a "favourites". I have made a list of the top 10 things, old or new, that i have being loving for the past month.

#10 - True Match Foundation

For the past couple of months i have been using the Mac Matchmaster SPF15 Foundation, and had been loving it, until a friend of mine recommended i try the L'oreal True Match Foundation. Being sooo much cheaper i thought i would give it a go, and turned out i absolutely love it! The coverage is rather dewy, and produces a good base to work off. I personally like to finish off by adding coverage with the Rimmel Stay Matte, and a Mac mineralize Foundation. Overall, i found this foundation a total bargain, and a keeper... making it into my top 10 this month! You can pick this up at your local Priceline, Kmart, Big W... you name it. 

L'oreal - http://www.lorealparis.com.au/cosmetics/face/true-match/nude-sand.aspx

#9 - Beanies

As its currently Winter in Australia i have been able to wear my favourite accessory pretty much everyday... a beanie! Between my brother and i, we have a HUGE collection of beanies... its actually a joke. These are my top 4 beanies that i'm loving at the moment... 

Crooks & Castle Praadigy Beanie

Brian Lichtenberg Homiēs Beanie 

Neff Daily Beanie in Mint

Diamond Supply Co Brilliant Fold Beanie

#8 - Toni and Guy - Dry Shampoo 'Cleanse'

Living in Aus, your hair gets very dirty and greasy quickly due to our beachy lifestyle.. so i use dry shampoo very often. Previously i used the Batiste dry shampoo, and loved it... except i hated the white stuff it would leave in my hair and i had to rub beyond silly to get out... so i thought i would try another. The Toni and Guy dry shampoo is, personally, i think better. Still a fan of Batiste, but i think this one has taken over, hence why it has made my favourites. 

#7 - 'Lords of Dogtown' & 'Dogtown and the Z-Boys'

These two are my favourite movie and documentary ever... and i just have to put this in my favourites because you have to watch them. Venice Beach in the 70's... what more can you ask for? 

#6 - Macrons - Adriano Zumbo 'Zumbarons' 

Everyone loves Macrons... i mean c'mon, they are tasty as ever. For my birthday my friends bought me a box full of the Adriano Zumbo 'Zumbarons'...and they are beyond words. Love them. He has also recently developed a line of home baking packets for his macaroons, brownies, cakes... and they are also beyond words... well done Mr Zumbo. 

Not my picture.

#5 - I Quit Sugar - Sarah Wilson

My mum purchased this book a while ago, and whilst i was bored at home, i saw this and decided to have a read... and has inspired me! As my friends and are a planning a trip to Asia/Indonesia at the end of the year, we have decided to go on a group fitness plan, titled "Bali Bod" - short for Bali body... and yes we realise how redic that sounds... but we try and make it fun. So i have decided that once i return to uni, i will start this lifestyle change...Ill let you know how it goes. So far i have made some recipes, and they taste delicious. Sarah claims she uses the same food products within different recipes, making it easier for us (which it does). My favourite recipe that i have tried so far was the 'salted caramel haloumi and apple'...brill. Props to you Sarah! 

Salted Caramel Haloumi Appl

#4 - Rekorderlig Cider

For my birthday my friends spolied me by buying me tons of my favourite Swedish cider ever...as its not the cheapest drink I'm only like to drink it on special occasions. If you haven't tried this cider... and you are over 18 (or 21 in America) you HAVE to try it. My favourite flavours are Apple & Black current and Strawberry-Lime. I also realise how much this contradicts my "I Quit Sugar" post... but I'm just taking things slowly! 

#3 - Lauren Curtis Beauty - Youtube

I came across Lauren's Youtube channel whilst browsing make up channels.. and think i have found my new favourite Youtuber. Not only is she representing Australian products and style, but she's really down to earth and promotes the use of fake tan...which being a fake tan junkie myself, i love. She's dope... i especially love her 'Red Mahogany Smokey Eye tutorial' - its so sick. 

Laurens Channel - http://www.youtube.com/user/laurenbeautyy/featured
Red Mahogany Smokey Eye - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7ESgz2X_sc

#2 - SugarBaby - Salon Style Instant Self Tan

Being a boarder line obsessed fake tanner... I'm used to trying to find the best fake tan for my skin. Keep in mind, every ones skin is different, and this is my personal opinion. A lot of my friends had used this before, and said it was an excellent tanner.. so i thought i would give it a try... and love it! It's easy to apply, smells nice, and isn't too hard to afford, being around $20. I only used the spray, but the mousse is very good as well apparently.. so might give that a go. Thanks SugarBaby!

#1- Rihanna Collection - River Island

Being heavily influenced by the pop culture of our generation... i get inspiration from many celebs, with one of my main influences being Rihanna. Early this month i stumbled across the Rihanna collection for River Island (I understand i was very late in this phase, but I'm obsessed). Her collection is redic and i have already purchased a hat, heels and pants... and i'm especially in love with the following products... 

- Courtney