What's in my Custom Palette?

No favourites post again this month because there haven't been many new products I've been loving, so I thought I'd show some love to a constant fave in my collection that I don't mention too often (or at all really!) - my custom palette! It's actually a Z-Palette but since the whole social media debacle a year or so ago I don't totally want to support them (lol). Mine's actually basically full now though, so the next empty palette I buy will probably be from Colourpop or something (there are literally so many on the market so I'll have no probs not buying from Z-Palette again haha!). I have shadows from Colourpop, Makeup Geek and MAC in here, some of which are staples in my collection! So here is a dedicated post with swatches and reviews of all of them! :) 

Petal to the Metal // Smashbox + Vlada Rosemantic Highlighter

If you're a beauty junkie, I'm sure you would have seen the STUNNING Smashbox + Vlada collection making the rounds. The packaging of this collection is absolutely beautiful, and I think the collection is just so well thought out. The rose and rose gold theme permeates through the colours of the products, the packaging and of course the stunning embossing (if that's what you call it) on the powders. The highlights especially called out to me (and they are completely sold out at Mecca - oops!) and they truly looked like a gorgeous collector's item! While I wasn't planning on getting anything for myself, a few of my lovely friends got me the Petal Metal Highlighter in Rosemantic for my birthday. I am so grateful - it's such a special item and one I'll certainly treasure! The duochrome shade Prismatic Petal also looked super unique, but upon closer inspection it was actually very glittery and almost had a green-ish shift to it. I'm glad my pals got me Rosemantic as it's much more wearable and one they knew I'd get use out of!

MAC's Sunny Cheek Combo

I was fully intending on doing an April favourites post, but I completely forgot about it last week! So, when I went to take photos yesterday I realised that the only new things I've been loving lately were these two cheek products from MAC, that I was due to review anyway! So yes, I'm here with a review of the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Give Me Sun, and the MAC Powder Blush in Melba, which also happens to be an April favourites!

In The Spotlight // Milani Cosmetics

I'm back with another brand spotlight post, this time for Milani Cosmetics. Unfortunately I only have three products (trust me, I wish I had more) but they're all definitely worth talking about! Milani is a brand I've always been interested in but unfortunately don't have the easiest access to! We can pretty easily purchase their products online now which is great, but sometimes I just like to have a play in person! The three products I do have from them though are all pretty great...keep reading for my full review!

Light Those Cheeks Up

Can't quite believe it's only a few days until Christmas but alas, here we are! While I didn't go ham with the holiday releases this year, one product that majorly stood out to me was the Smashbox Light It Up L.A. Lights Palette. This is my first product from Smashbox and it's definitely a brand I want to explore more (HEllooo Covershot eyeshadow palettes!). This palette contains nine face powders - a mix of blushes, highlighters and a bronzer - and is absolutely incredible value for money!  It contains almost 40g of product for a mere $57. That is like CRAZY good. Anyway - I'm here today to give you the full rundown on the palette! I probably left this a little late (sorry!) but maybe you guys need a last minute gift idea?? It seems to be out of stock online at the moment ( :( ) but you may still be able to find it instore at Mecca!

In The Spotlight // MAC Cosmetics

I'm resurrecting a somewhat "old" series today, and coming at you with a brand spotlight post! I haven't done one of these in a while and I'm not sure why because I still have a lot of brands in my collection that I need to go through and document! Anyway, today I'll be walking you through my MAC collection. MAC is probably the brand you think of when you think of makeup. It's arguably the brand with the widest range of products and shades, and one that I'm sure all of us have had an obsession with at some stage. It was only when I was pooling together my MAC products for this post that I realised I actually have quite a few of their products, but there are only a few that I use really often! Like most brands, there are products that I love and hate from them!

Colour Families // The Berries and Burgundies

Although winter is almost gone for us Aussies, I thought I would squeeze out another colour families post featuring my favourite winter-appropriate hue - berries and burgundies! I absolutely adore these vampy purples and reds on the lips and the nails, so I have quite the collection to share with you all (plus an eyeshadow and a few blushes!). 

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes

Oh, the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blushes - what a throwback! These blushes have been a cult fave in the beauty community for years and were hyped up especially a few years ago, though that hype has seemingly died down. I've had Exposed for a good couple of years, and last year I added Captivating to my collection in a Sephora order. I've been meaning to write up a post about it for a while now, but kept forgetting! Well, here I am! I have already done a review post on Exposed, but in my opinion, the formulas between the two shades I have differ, so I thought it would be worth writing about (and sharing some swatches!).

Colour Families // The Rusty Reds

You guys may or may not know, but I have a bit of a thing for colour coordination - especially when it comes to makeup. I like the whole monochrome thing of keeping all elements of a makeup look in the same colour family - it's highly doubtful you'll see me mixing warm and cool tones! So, the idea of starting somewhat of a 'series' on documenting my makeup collection through colour family sort of came naturally. I mean, here's an OG post of my colour coordinating makeup skillz. So, hopefully I keep this series up because I do love organising shiz by colour. The first fam I thought I'd showcase are the rusty reds aka super warm, orangey, terra cotta reds that have been super trendy of late, and are perfect for the current autumn/winter weather! Shockingly enough, I thought I'd have more products but turns out it's basically all lip products. Any eyeshadows I thought would fit are a bit too orange, though using various shades in the Morphe 35O palette can achieve a rusty red eye look. 

New In // Rimmel London

One of my favourite drugstore brands, Rimmel, has been on FIYAH lately with their new releases! The past couple of months has seen the launch of a new lipstick line, lip liner shades, cream shadow sticks, a tinted primer and a contour kit! I've been lucky enough to have been sent some of the new goodies and have been testing them out quite a bit! Keep reading to hear my thoughts...

H&M Beauty

With it's launch (or re-launch, I suppose), H&M's beauty range sure made a splash in the beauty community. It was kinda sudden, especially because the range is SO huge! Their collection of products ranges from makeup to nails, body and hair - there's so much to choose from! I managed to get my hands on three things while I was in the US - I was restrained! I read somewhere that it's supposed to make its way to Aussie stores this year...but that news was a while ago and I haven't heard any updates since! I really hope it comes soon because I would be hella keen to try out some more from them...

Dem Cheeks be Poppin' Some More

My dream would be to have a bouquet of Clinique Cheek Pops...wouldn't that be just SO DARN PRETTY?!? Alas, two will have to do me! In case you missed it, I added another Clinique Cheek Pop to my collection - Fig Pop - while I was in the US. Unfortunately it seems we won't be getting this shade in Australia. A couple more shades have been introduced here recently (Pink, Melon, Pansy and Rosy) but I don't think we'll get the full line up, which is a shame as there are some gorgeous shades! Anyway, we all know I absolutely adore this formula of blush given how many times I've raved about Peach Pop, but I figured I'd share some swatches of Fig Pop! (plus it's an excuse to take photos of these CUTIES). 

One Shocking Moment

Holy wow Christmas is so soon and everyone's busting out their gift guides while I'm just here buying gifts for myself. wuuUTT WUUT. Anyway, I have to say the Holiday releases this year were pretty great, you can read about my picks here. I feel like the hype has sort of died down and hopefully everything hasn't sold out. I thought I would finally write up my review of the NARS x Steven Klein One Shocking Moment Cheek Studio Palette. Hopefully this review isn't redundant seeing as most people have seen/heard a bunch about this palette or...they own it, and you guys know I already love it but what da heck, this guy deserves a post all to himself!

Sigma; Summed Up

Today I have another brand spotlight post for you all, but with a witty-ass title ;) The brand in question is Sigma and the nerdy side of me wanted to incorporate some maths (sigma in maths means the sum of .... whatever you want really). Anyway, if you got it from the get go, ILY but also I don't miss maths at all - BITCH BYE. A little while ago I was accepted into the Sigma Affiliate program which was suuuper exciting for me, and they very generously sent over a welcome pack with a range of amazing goodies! This is my first experience with Sigma and I must say, I'm impressed!

Triply Swirled Triplets

Paul & Joe is a brand that has always caught my eye. Uhh...hello? Have you seen some of their packaging?! Like, lipstick bullets in the shape of a cat's head??!?! YAS PLZ. Despite their absolutely PRECIOUS packaging, I've never gotten around to trying them. I don't hear much about them in the blogosphere and from what I recall they're fairly expensive? Plus available online only. However, quite a while ago I was lucky enough to win one of Dawn's giveaways and three of the Paul & Joe Triple Cheek Colours were included! These have actually been sitting in my drawers for a ridiculous amount of time untouched because I had to take photos before I ruined the delightful swirl!! And then I just got lazy and never took photos... But here we are - finally! Keep reading for my thoughts on these guys!

Geeking Out

Makeup Geek is a brand that's always been on my mind, but is it just me, or have they blown up recently? Maybe it's just because I got wildly obsessed with Jaclyn Hill, but my urge to make a Makeup Geek order got to be too much! When they had a free shipping promotion a little while ago - I jumped on that 'ish and made a big ol' order! Pretty much all of these are Jaclyn Hill faves haha :P

The Little Black Book of Bronzers

I've come a long way since first getting into makeup three years ago, who woulda thought that me of all people would buy an entire palette dedicated to bronzers?!? I used to think that they were used to make you look more "tan", but I've since learned that bronzer can add so much dimension, warmth and LIFE to the face! I can't go a day without it now! Though, a whole palette of 'em still seems pretty excessive hey? Keep reading to find out my thoughts on the Too Faced The Little Black Book of Bronzers...

In the Spotlight // Crop's Cosmetics

Crop Natural Skincare* is a relatively new brand that came out with a small range of skincare a little while ago, and just recently launched their makeup line! Crop is a natural brand with no nasties like parabens, mineral oil, petrochemicals, etc. It's suitable for sensitive skin and doesn't test on animals! The whole ethos behind the brand is very admirable and you can read more about it on their website! I was very generously sent almost the whole range of makeup (thank you so much Crop!) and have been testing them out for the past few weeks. Before I get into the reviews, I do want to mention the packaging! It's lovely and minimal and looks quite classy - I'm into it. Oh and, unfortunately I couldn't really test the liquid foundation or brow pencil as they are the wrong shades for me! I will try and keep this post concise and I've split the products up into recommendations, 'eh' products and ones that I wouldn't recommend, so keep reading for my thoughts!

Souff-laying at the Beach

Not gonna lie, I'm pretty proud of that title. APPRECIATE THE PUNNINESS. Aaaaanyway, back to the actual purpose of this post - I'm here to review the Becca Beach Tint Shimmer Soufflé in the shade Watermelon/Moonstone. This isn't the most hyped up product ever, but I'd definitely read and seen some really good reviews. That and, Becca is basically known for their cheek products! The product itself is quite unique, so keep reading to see how I went with it!

Bouquet of Blushes

When I first heard and saw photos of this palette online...I was like, "I'M GONN' NEED DAT". So pretty much as soon as it popped up on the Mecca website, I trotted off in store and BOUGHT THE DAMN THING. My love for blush is just too strong. The palette which I so eagerly dropped my "hard-earned" money on is the Stila Field of Florals Convertible Colour dual lip and cheek palette. I already own one of the CCs in full size (Gerbera) and I love that shiz dearly, I'm pretty sure it's my favourite cream blush formula. Knowing I loved the formula already, obviously I had to get this limited edition palette with basically every colour they make???

Look at me going outside!!!!1!1!11! :O #onewithnature