Friday 7 March 2014

Seasonal Favourites- Summer

So these posts aren't going to be a regular thing here on this blog, but for you beauty junkies (such as myself) I've decided to do 'seasonal favourites' so you'll only be seeing these once every three months. Summer has finally come to a close here in Australia so without further ado, let's get started! (Just so you all know- links have been added for each product mentioned so you can check them out and possibly purchase them for yourself)



As you could probably guess, living in Australia during Summer can get incredibly hot and humid. As a girl that likes a full face of makeup all day long these two primers managed to get me through the intense heat of our summer days (without my 'face' melting off that is). I've used both products practically everyday for the past two and half months and I'm yet to find anything I dislike about them. You literally need the tiniest little dot of the Too Faced shadow insurance and your eye shadows and liners will stay put all day long with out creasing. I have slightly oily eye-lids (tmi, I know) and this has been a life saver. I think the best thing about the Hourglass Veil is how seriously light the formula is. I really didn't want a silicone based primer (something like Benefit's Pore-fessional) because adding on another reasonably thick layer on my face during this heat did not sound appealing to me at all. When you apply this primer it feels as though you haven't put anything on your face, which is perfect for me during the summer! It settles in very quickly and foundation and concealer really just glide over the surface of your skin which feels (and looks) pretty amazing in my opinion. 

Now being as pale as a ghost probably isn't so bad if you live in a country with a little less sunshine and a little more rain, but here in Australia it is possibly one of the most annoying things ever. As I'm sure you could imagine, stepping out on a normal day without sunscreen (at least on my face) is a big problem for me. My freckles darken like crazy and I'm guaranteed to get sunburnt within half an hour or so. The only sunscreen that seems to work with my sensitive skin is the Clinique City Block Sheer SPF (25+). It hasn't irritated my skin at all (I'm allergic to most sunscreens so I was pleasantly surprised when I tried this a few years back and no irritation appeared!) and I find it to be quite light once it has settled into the skin. I personally like to apply this after my moisturiser, let it settle into my skin (waiting 5-10 minutes seems to do the trick) and before any makeup or primer.

We all know I'm a Lime Crime lover (who can resist the amazing colours of their lipsticks and the lasting power of their Velvetines?) but this is a fairly recent discovery of mine. About a month ago I decided to get a little creative with my eyeliner (thank you to the Chanel Spring/Summer 2014 fashion show for a little bit of makeup inspiration) and this beautiful silver caught my eye. The formula of this eye liner is very pigmented, shimmery and smooth. The packaging is adorable as always but I'm not too fond of the applicator brush. I prefer to use my own brush for a much more precise application but I think the product would be a little more amazing if it were incorporated in the 'felt tip pen' applicator style. Besides this, the product is really wonderful and I'm looking forward to trying and testing more of the incredible colours!

My Maybelline Fit Me Concealer finally came to the end of it's long life recently and I wanted to try something new. It just happened to be the day after pay day and I was stalking the shelves of Mecca Maxima before work looking for something that was pretty similar to my previous concealer. Soon enough I made my way to the NARS section and the selection of radiant creamy concealers caught my eye (the colours all lined up together look so beautiful). I have a feeling that Maybelline may have gotten a little inspiration from NARS to create their Fit Me Concealer as there is a resemblance in both the packaging and the formula of the product, so I simply had to give this NARS concealer a try. In short, I seriously love this concealer. I thought the Fit Me concealer was amazing but then I gave this a try and everything has changed. This covers EVERYTHING! I really don't find this heavy or cakey at all. From dark circles to freckles to redness and blemishes. It's got them all covered (hahaha, please tell me I'm not the only one to laugh at my humour).

I'm going to complain about the heat again, but my lips have been drying out like crazy every time I step outdoors- even when I'm not wearing other lip products. No lip balm or salve was doing me any good until I came across this bad boy (thank you Estèe from Essie Button for the recommendation). This hydrates my lips like crazy and has no horrible scent or taste to it. I like to apply this at the very beginning of my makeup 'routine' to let it sink in before applying other lip products (such as a lipstick) and just before I go to bed every night so I can wake up with lovely hydrated lips. 

These last two items are a match made in heaven. I stumbled upon the NARS lipstick a few months ago and instantly loved the amazing colour and formula. I wore it a few times on its own before deciding to vamp it up a little more with a dark lip liner. I couldn't choose a lip liner that matched well enough from the selection of NARS liners so when I asked for some help from the sales assistant she instantly recommended me the Bare Minerals Lip Liners. She swatched a few before coming across the shade Electrified which was a beyond perfect match for Scarlett Empress. The lasting power of these products when paired together is pretty amazing and the colour is simply stunning! I've never been a lip liner kinda girl but I've already begun thinking of the next few shades that I want to add to my collection from the Marvelous Moxie lip liner range!

That's it for my seasonal favourites! Even though it's just been over a week since I last posted it feels like a life time! Now that I've started university (I'm sure I'll do a blogpost on that in the coming few weeks) hopefully I will get a little more used to my timetable and can manage a blog post every other week (Tayla and I might alternate weeks or something like that). 

Anyways, thank you for reading this post! 
~Your feedback would really be appreciated~
Love from Maddie xo

4 comments:

  1. That lip combo is so beautiful! Is this what Tayla has been wearing in some of her insta photos? Thank you x

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    1. It really is beautiful! It sure is! Thank you for reading and commenting xo

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  2. Definitely going to check out The Body Shop Aloe Lip Care! I have sensitive and dry lips too and sometimes nothing works and I get soooo depressed not being able to wear lipstick over my dry lips! Hehe. Thanks for the rec, doll. Wonderfully written as always. <3

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    1. Ohh gosh I used to get very upset too! Thank you so much Jenny! xoxo

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