JANUARY FAVOURITES

I can't believe my favourite month is over already. I bought a lot of makeup in December and have been trying it out this month so here are my January favourites!

Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream in Light
Since it's summer in Australia I've been using a lot of BB cream because it's so light weight and usually has high SPF. I'm a huge fan of asian BB creams but after hearing some good reviews I decided to pick up the Maybelline one. I was really surprised at how good it is and I think I like it as much as I do my asian BB creams. It has good coverage, blends easily, feels light and lasts a good amount of time on my skin. It does make me a little oily but all other BB creams I use do as well. The differences I can see between this one and my asian BB creams is that the Maybelline is a better colour match for me - my other ones can tend to have a grey tinge. The Maybelline BB cream is only SPF15 whereas all of my asian BB creams are at least SPF30 but I still really like it and would recommend it if you're looking for a good and readily available BB cream. The Dream Pure BB cream is aimed at oily-combination skin, but Maybelline does make a Dream Fresh BB cream (pink packaging) for people with dry skin!

emcosmetics Scribble Calligraphy Liquid Liner in Tattoo Black
Since my beloved Stila Stay All Day has been drying out this month, I've been using it sparingly and trying out the emcosmetics Scribble liner instead. It has a really thin brush tip so it took me a few tries to get used to it, but once I did it was really easy to draw a precise line. The liner dries matte black which I love, I don't have any other liquid liners that dry matte. The only thing that I don't like about it is that the liner isn't waterproof. I have really oily and hooded eyelids so I basically need everything that goes on my eye to be waterproof. If I get teary or use eyedrops during the day the liner will smudge so I have to be careful about that.

emcosmetics Love Me For Me Flawless Finish Powder Compact in Nude 7
I'm really scared of using powder foundations because I think they'll look cakey but I think I'm starting to change my mind. This powder foundation is a perfect colour match for me and looks really natural yet flawless. When I don't feel like wearing BB cream or foundation I've just been using concealer and this powder and my skin looks flawless like I'm wearing liquid foundation. Even if I use this powder over BB cream it doesn't look cakey. I don't think it does an amazing job at keeping me matte but I love the way it looks so I don't mind.

L.A. Girl HD Pro Conceal in Natural and Creamy Beige
I'm sure a lot of you have heard about how amazing this concealer is already and I have to agree. The formula is amazing - it's very creamy and blends easily but doesn't move throughout the day or crease. I can use a brush or a sponge to get a medium to full coverage finish. It feel really hydrating so if you have any problems with your under-eye concealer creasing or building up in any fine lines then give this one a go. It's only $3 and comes in 18 different shades. I use both Natural and Creamy Beige under my eyes, one is a shade lighter than the other.

NARS Blush in Madly
I've fallen back in love with NARS blushes this month. It's definitely my favourite peachy-tan blush that goes well with everything. It adds a soft warm glow to the cheeks if used lightly, and can also be built up to give a more bronze look. Highly recommend if you're looking for a new blush to try!

Maybelline Colour Elixir in Hibiscus Haven and Caramel Infused
Maybelline says these colour elixirs "have the colour saturation of a lipstick, the high shine of a gloss and the moisturising feeling of a balm" and I have to agree. I'm usually not a big fan of lip glosses but decided to pick these up as they were 50% off at Chemist Warehouse (the stickers they put on their products kill me though). I'm so glad I did because I love these. They don't feel too sticky or tacky and actually feel moisturising. They're also very pigmented and look flattering on the lips. I rarely wear bright coloured lipsticks but I've been wearing Hibiscus Haven (the bright pink) so much this month because it's less intense than wearing a bright pink lipstick. They last about 3-4 hours on me which I think is a good amount of time, and they're really easy to reapply - I don't even need a mirror. I will definitely be picking up more shades soon.

MY MAC EYESHADOW PALETTE

Out of all my eyeshadow palettes (trust me when I say I have too many), I would have to say I reach for my MAC eyeshadow palette the most. It might be because I picked all the colours myself but I really could use this palette every day, for natural and dramatic looks.

I will get the biggest negative about MAC eyeshadows out of the way first. Each eyeshadow/pro palette refill pan costs $26 in Australia, the empty palette itself is $30 and the 15 eyeshadow insert is $15. So it doesn't take a genius to conclude that this palette is seriously expensive. I haven't bought anything from a MAC store in Australia for about a year, instead I order from the American MAC website and use a shipping forwarding company to forward the package to me. It saves me a lot of money because MAC in America is more than half the price that it's sold here. I can do a separate blog post about what company I use and my experiences if you'd like!

Aside from the cost, MAC eyeshadows are generally very good quality. I won't say that every shade is worth the money, but there are definitely many that are. If you're going to buy any eyeshadows from MAC, I would suggest that you look up swatches and reviews online because there are so many shades to choose from.

Here are swatches of the eyeshadows I have in my MAC eyeshadow palette.

I would recommend MAC eyeshadows to anyone. My favourite matte shades are Brule, Wedge, Soft Brown and Saddle - they're all pigmented and blend really nicely. The bottom row of eyeshadows are my favourite shimmery shades, I really like bronze toned eyeshadows if you couldn't tell. Woodwinked, Tempting and Bronze are some of the best eyeshadows I own, very pigmented and creamy.

There are some more MAC eyeshadows that I really want to try so I'm considering getting a second palette because I reach for this one so often. If you ever get the chance to buy MAC products somewhere for cheaper than the Australian prices, whether it be overseas or through a shipping forwarding company, definitely try some eyeshadows. They're well worth it.

If you have any favourite eyeshadow shades that I don't have, let me know!

BATTLE OF THE BROWS

Waterproof, long-lasting gel brow products have become so popular over the past year and these two - the Dipbrow Pomade by Anastasia Beverly Hills and Fluidline Brow Gelcreme by MAC have been really popular choices.

First I'll review the Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade. Anastasia Beverly Hills is very famous for its brow products including its Brow Wiz pencil, brow powders and brow gels. So when they came out with this product, it wasn't a surprise that it became so popular. The product was available in 5 shades, however I believe another 5 shades have been released recently. It retails for ~$18USD and can be purchased from Anastasiabeverlyhills.com, Beautybay.com, Urbanoutfitters.com and possibly other online stores (prices will differ between websites).

The consistency of this product is thick and creamy, the colour is very opaque and a little goes a long way. Applying it with an angled brush gives the best results in my experience, and makes it easy to control. I use the colour Medium Brown and it works really well for me even though I have jet black hair. When I looked at swatches online I couldn't really tell the difference between Medium Brown and Dark Brown.

I've been using both products for about 4-5 months now and I've noticed that the Dipbrow Pomade has become drier than when I first got it. In the picture below, you can see that sometimes when I dip my brush into the product, a big chunk comes off onto my brush. The product itself works really great on brow hairs, but I find that it applies a little bit unevenly on skin. I do like it though because I have thick brows so I don't need to draw on my skin much, I mainly just fill my brows in.

PROS - large shade range, comes with more product, great for filling in brows, cheaper than MAC
CONS - doesn't apply evenly to skin, can only purchase online










Next up is the MAC Fluidline Brow Gelcreme. It can be purchased from MAC stores, MAC counters and online from their website. The product is available in 3 shades - Redhead, Dirty Blonde and Deep Dark Brunette, and retails for $32AUD.

The consistency of this product is similar to a mousse. If I had to compare, I would say the Dipbrow Pomade is like a block of butter while the MAC Brow Gelcreme is like a tub of margarine (weird analogy, I know). It's very soft and applies evenly on both brow hairs and skin. Like the Dipbrow Pomade, it's very pigmented and a little goes a long way, and it blends out really easily because of it's consistency. I use the Anastasia #12 brush with both products and it applies very evenly and the brush is easy to clean.

The only but biggest downfall is the product's shade range. I use the shade Deep Dark Brunette and although it appears more warm-toned than the Dipbrow Pomade, it still works well for my black hair.

PROS - applies evenly, softer consistency, readily available at MAC
CONS - only comes in 3 shades, more expensive

Top: Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Medium Brown

Bottom: MAC Fluidline Brow Gelcreme in Deep Dark Brunette

Overall I love both of these products, however I do prefer the MAC Fluidline Brow Gelcreme. If you can get the colour work for you I would highly highly recommend it, if not then the Anastasia Dipbrow is still a really good product.