Monthly Favourites // July 2018

So we are well and truly into the second half of the year...how that happened, I have no idea. I'm back at uni too (last semester!) so things are gettin' real and before you know it - I'll be graduating!! :O Exciting things happening at the end of the year though - I'm going on a trip to South Korea and Japan! Watch me spend ALL of the money on J and K-Beauty hahaha. Anyways, that's my news - onto this month's favourites because I actually have things to talk about this month!

Colour Families // The Grungy Greiges

Back with another Colour Families post! I'm hoping one day I'll eventually chronicle my entire makeup collection through this series... haha! Today we'll be looking at the grungy greiges (as you can see, I'm still loving that alliteration) which I was super into maybe a year or so ago. After shunning cool tones for the longest time - I suddenly embraced them whole heartedly! Well, on the lips that is - I'm still not really a fan of taupe eyeshadows (but gimme mauves any day). I'm less obsessed with them now, but I've amassed a decent enough collection of them that I can do a post! Also, I've taken a bit of freedom with 'greige' haha. Some of these are cooler brown nudes, some veer a lot into the purple/mauve family, but on the whole we're basically in the same colour family! 

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! :) 

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!

Haul // Estee Lauder Corporate Store #3

Talk about a throwback post if there ever was one! It's been a looooong time since my last Estee Lauder Corporate Store haul (2+ years actually) - not that I ever went there often but going to the corporate store actually reminded me of my early blogging days funnily enough! My mum actually got a membership thing through her work which means she can go whenever she wants, and I was able to sign up too so now I can go whenever too?! That could be dangerous... If you guys are unfamiliar with it, the Estee Lauder Corporate Store is where they sell any excess or limited edition Estee Lauder owned brands' products at a discounted price. You can usually go by invitation only, but I'm not completely sure on the rules! Even though I can now go whenever, I doubt I'll go a lot because I don't believe they get new stock that often! Also, randomly, since watching Beauty News's video about how old their makeup is, I was paranoid that this stuff would be super old (since it's excess stock), but I actually checked and everything was made last year so still pretty new!

The Best of 2017 // Beauty

I'm a little bit late to the 2017 roundup party, but better late than never! I'm also thinking of doing a skincare favourites of 2017 since I haven't done a skincare routine post in a while! Anyway, I tried to keep my 2017 favourites to products I actually discovered in 2017 and were new to me last year, but there are a few (three to be exact) repeats from 2016, and also a few products that I got in 2016 (perhaps toward the end of the year), but really loved in 2017. Do check out my 2016 favourites because I still absolutely love all of those products and many of them are still in my everyday rotation and could have easily been mentioned here! Also it wasn't purposeful, but I've actually got 17 products here, so it's my top 17 from 2017!

In the Spotlight // Highlighters

I have another In the Spotlight post coming at you today, only this time we're literally in the spotlight as we take a look at my highlighter collection! It's about to get LOUIS LITT up in here! I've been meaning to do this post for a while and I think I'm pretty happy with my current collection. The Anastasia Beverly Hills x Nicole Glow Kit is calling my name though... but alas, here we are at the moment! I've tried to organise them by colour family for best comparison. I'll also try to be brief but we could be in for a long one!

Monthly Favourites // January 2017

We made it fam, one out of twelve months are done and dusted...and I can't quite believe it! My January has been quite productive and sufficiently exciting, and is hopefully indicative of a good year ahead! Beauty-wise, it hasn't been too eventful but there are definitely a few things I have to talk about!

Two More MAC Nudes

My MAC lipstick collection doesn't often grow (thanks to the ridic markup here), but when it does, it's probably a new nude shade. If there's a brand that knows nudes, it's MAC. That being said, their entire shade range is pretty incredible! I managed to get my hands on two new (to my collection) nude shades thanks to my friend's recent trip to the US! I got Mocha and Spirit which aren't new shades, but they're definitely ones that haven't received much hype in the beauty community! I thought it would be worthwhile to share my thoughts and some swatches!

The Best of 2016

Aaaaaand...we're back! I hope you guys had a relaxing break and lovely holiday period! I didn't intend to take such a long(ish) break but I ended up being super busy with work (yay retail) and spending time with family! It's about that time though for a big ol' round up of all of my favourite products of the past year! I hope y'all aren't too bored of seeing these posts! :P As always, I'm mentioning the products I loved last year, regardless of whether they're new or old! I tried not to go too overboard, but I also didn't overly limit myself. If you're a seasoned reader of mine, none of these will be a surprise (I don't think!)! Let's dive in!

Haul // Direct From The US

When my friend Tam jetted off on her rather spontaneous trip to the US, I knew I had to get her to snag me some goodies. Even though I went on a trip to the US this year myself (and hauled quite a bit)...new things come out and my wishlist is forever growing! That being said, I actually didn't have a very long shopping list and surprisingly nothing from Sephora (shocker!). Well, I did want the Sephora Favourites highlighter set but that was sold out :( Funnily enough, this is the second time Tam has gotten me stuff from the US and the second time I've documented it! My first haul was one of my first posts on here and I'm sure you can tell my taste in makeup has grown exponentially... :P Ah what a noob I was back then. Anyways, many thanks to Tam for bringing this stuff back for me! Keep reading to see what I picked up.

The Daily Makeup Edit

It's been a loooong, long time since I've done any sort of "daily makeup" routine post on the blog, and seeing as I've stuck to a pretty solid routine for the past several months, I figured I should update you guys! This post will also serve somewhat as a September favourites as I haven't really been using or loving anything new, just the same old shiz! I think that will change in the coming months though as I've broken my spending ban (a pretty lax one at that) and made a Colourpop order, and I anticipate I will be buying a bunch more with the impending holiday releases! I'm pretty proud of myself though, I pretty much hadn't bought anything since the Sweet Peach Palette which was all the way back in May! Anyway, if any of y'all are OG readers, some of these products might take you waaay back into the archives! I should say, I don't necessarily wear this makeup everyday but this look is typically my go-to for work (without the eye products) or long days at uni!

Monthly Favourites // August 2016

So we are well and truly on our way to the end of the year - mind boggling isn't it?! August has been pretty busy! Last week was assessment-heavy, but from here on out I pretty much have some sort of assessment every week which should be fun... Also - in case you missed it, Brisbane (where I live) was hit with Thor-mania! It was a bit hilarious actually, but Thor Ragnarok is currently filming at the Gold Coast and they came up to Brisbane for a few days to film some "city" scenes. They legit "transformed" Brisbane into New York City and disrupted traffic which got some people pretty annoyed but they also attracted huge crowds (me included...). What can I say, nothing ever happens here and that was pretty damn exciting! After waiting a solid few hours (in the rain!), I got a photo with Chris Hemsworth! Actually not my photo, but I sneaked in the background ;P Unfortunately, I didn't get one with my one true love Tom Hiddleston, but maybe it's better this way.... *CRIES* Anyway, I wasn't sure if I was going to do a favourites post this month because been using all the same stuff, but there were a few products that I've been using a lot that I haven't mentioned in a while! 

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!

Monthly Favourites // May 2016

Back here again, so soon. I want to apologise for my semi-absence round these parts the past month! I dropped from my usual two posts a week to just one as May has been hectic! I'm right back in the middle of assessment, plus it was my birthday and there were a few things going on! I probably won't post next week just because I'm currently drowning in assignments and have my one exam next Thursday, and after that we'll be free and clear and (hopefully) back to regularly scheduled program! Some pretty exciting things happened - I bought a new car! My old car (emphasis on OLD, it was legit 30 years old) finally broke down after like 5 years of being on its last legs. Parts kept going and we kept replacing them until finally it was just too costly to justify - may as well buy a new car which is what I've been saving for all this time right?? Yep, not to buy more makeup... Anyway, instead of 30, it's only 2 years old and it's a small lil zippy car and I'm pretty happy with it! But I'm broke now so the spending ban is BACK (tho obvs I made an exception for Sweet Peach). Also, yesterday I attended the Bloggers United Brisbane event which was absolutely amazing! I might do a post of the event and what we got in the mahoosive goodie bags, but I didn't take many photos at the event so we'll see. Let me know if you'd be interested! Anyway, into the goodz!

Monthly Favourites // February 2016

Well this is a bit weird, March of 2016 has officially begun. WhahatatTatAT?!?? It's especially odd for me as this is my first favourites post of the year as I missed January! It wasn't intentional, I was just so busy packing and then travelling that I completely forgot. Also, I really wasn't using anything new so you can refer to my December/2015 favourites for what I was loving during January! Anyway, Feb's faves aren't particularly exciting either as I was pretty much living out of a makeup bag on my travels. I can ASSURE you that next month's will be quite exciting though ;) 

The USA Haul // High End

Aaaaand now for part two of my USA haul - all da high end shiz! Looking over my purchases, I actually don't think I bought that much...heh *scoffs*. I mean, obviously it still cost a buttload but I feel like I didn't go CRAY, especially considering I didn't end up getting any eye products, or that many face products (lips dominated y'all, MATTE lips). While I was over there, it felt like a lot (I went to Sephora in every city...MULTIPLE TIMES) but I only bought 2-3 things each trip (can't bear to hand over a wad of cash that big...what's up with atms not giving out notes bigger than 20s???). Anyway, enough rambling, of course there's still enough here for a haul! Like I mentioned in my drugstore haul, I didn't end up buying everything I mentioned in my wishlist, such as the Cover FX Custom Cover Drops or Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Palette because the drops are actually cheaper here (on PMstudio) and I can get KVD from Sephora online for the same price (saved me lugging it home in my already very full bag). Also, Burberry Pale Barley was sold out everywhere! :( Same with both of the other highlighters I wanted - Laura Geller swirly highlighter and turns out the Anastasia highlighters aren't available instore anymore (Y U LIE MACYS???). So I was let down a few times but it saved my wallet I guess!

What's In My Travel Beauty Bag(s)?

So I leave tomorrow for my three week trip to the US! I feel like I've been waiting forever for this trip to come, and now that it's here, I feel so unprepared! Why must I procrastinate in every aspect of my life?? I'm pretty sure I've never shared with you guys what products I've taken travelling in the past, usually it's nothing exciting, especially makeup wise as I'm never really bothered much in that department! I figured this trip I'd put more effort into my face as I'm going to some big cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Denver!). I tried to pack light, especially considering I'll be buying a WHOLE LOT while I'm there, but I may have overdone it on the skincare... :P My excuse is that my skin is actually pretty good right now and I don't want to mess it up! Plus I'm gone for three weeks so I cant just switch it up for an off week, y'know? Also, ignore the weird lighting in these photos. It was raining pretty heavily today! Plus, my camera decided to start acting up and basically died. Just before my trip of course!! I had to wipe the settings and I have no idea what they were to put it back to what it was lol. Ended up being a bad connection between the lens and the body which a quick clean fixed (for now...). 

The USA Wishlist // High End

Well guys, this time next week I'll be in the United States of America (or on the plane there at least!)! As promised, I'm following up my drugstore wishlist with my high end one! This one, as you can see, is a bit more crammed :P No doubt this is going to be a very expensive trip - especially with the horrendous exchange rate at the moment! Anyways, let's dig in! 

The Best of 2015

Hallo humans! I'm finally getting around to wrapping up my favourites of 2015! I hadn't thought of what I would put in this post (was probably procrastinating lbr), but when I sat down to write up my list, there were quite a few obvious picks! I had quite a bit of trouble narrowing it down, and will probably throw in some honourable mentions too heh. I decided to go about picking the products I used and loved during 2015, not necessarily new products of 2015, though I did get quite a few of them last year. I'm also not mentioning products I got in the last couple of months, but you can catch up on those faves in my November and December favourites posts! Anyway, enough rambling, let's jump in before this post becomes 10000 years long!