Liebster Award Nominations :)

Was really excited to be nominated for a Liebster award by Bridget from the Life and Beauty Sandwich! Have seen a lot of these posts going around and I am honoured to be a part of it all, and thanks to Bridget for Nominating me :)

 

The rules are:

1. Link back to the person who nominated you

2. Write 11 random facts about yourself
3. Answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you.
4. Come up with 11 questions to ask the 11 people you nominate

 

Without further ado;

 

 

11 Random Facts about Amber!

My favourite colour is purple (can't you tell?)

I have a tattoo of a swallow

I am 20 years old

I am studying animal science at UWS

I am a compulsive spender

I have more makeup than I will ever be able to use!

I drive a hyundai

I work as a waitress :)

I love weird french movies

I love cats and I have one called Pixie

I am obsessed with cute asian beauty products, stationary and plush toys

 

 

11 Questions from Bridget :)

 

1. What is your natural hair color?
It's naturally dark ashy blonde, but I dye it lighter :)

 

2. What is your favourite piece of artwork?

The other day browsing instagram, I found a girl who does the coolest comic style cartoon type sketches and painting with a really girly edge and a bit of a badass attitude!: Bei Badgirl

 

3. If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

Something that involved trialling/reviewing beauty products would be AMAZING! Cannot think of a better way I would like to spend my days. Having a successful blog where I could write for a living would also be amazing :) if not, something to do with animals/animal welfare as this is another one of my passions.

4. Why did you start blogging?

I originally started blogging as a way of keeping record of the products I had used and what I thought so I could compare them to other products and also because I love to write :) then I had people start to comment and subscribe and I realized whilst I like writing for myself, I also really liked writing to an audience, however small it is :)

 

5. What makes you feel beautiful?

When my skin is behaving, when I am eating and excercising and treating my body right!

 

6. What is your most treasured item?

All my photos and sentimental messages etc are stored on my laptop so probably that!

 

7. Who is your favourite band/musician?

Don't have one favourite, but a few of my faves aree: Rick Ross, Bruno Mars, 2 Chainz, Example, Skism, Flux Pavillion, Skrillex, Delta Heavy

 

8. What is your favourite movie?

My favourite movie at the moment is pitch perfect - SO FUNNY! Love Rebel Wilson haha :)

 

9. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Somewhere tropical, bora bora maybe? haha - though I think I would always come back to aus in the end, love it here!

 

10. What is your favourite nail polish brand?

My new favourite range of polishes is the Loreal Le Vernis polishes :)

 

11. How many siblings do you have?

I have one younger brother, who is 4 years my junior.

 

 

 

Who do I tag?

 

Amy He

Sarah

Alina

Mia

Hannah W
Becki

Eleni May
Grace

Billi L

Sarah

Stephanie


And my questions for you girlies areeee:
1. What is something you have done that made you proud of yourself?
2. What's your biggest fear?
3. If you could only use one beauty product for the rest of your life, what would it be?
4. Whats your favourite weekend activity?
5. When putting makeup on, would you rather emphasise your eyes or lips?
6. What are you most excited for in 2013?
7. What is your favourite restaraunt?
8. What is your favourite beauty brand?
9. Favourite healthy food?
10. What is your favourite thing about blogging?
11. Do you have any pets?


Thanks again to Bridget for nominating me, it was really fun answering the questions and coming up with new ones! xx

I'd love to read everyones post with their questions and answers so please link them to me in the comments! :)

Valentines Swap Haul!

Today I have a very very exciting post.....

MY VALENTINES SWAP HAUL :)

First and foremost a massive thankyou to the lovely Jasmine Huston at www.sweetaholic-beauty.com for organising the whole swap! Very generous and thoughtful of you to do all the work of assigning everybody partners and doing all the other tedious organizing involved so everybody could enjoy this swap :)

My send thankyou definately has to go out to my lovely swap partner, Amy He ( go and check out her fantastic beauty blog @ http://www.bubblybabblings.blogspot.com.au/ )

She was such a pleasure to deal with throughout the whole swap process! As soon as we got emailed with our partners she immediately messaged me to introduce herself, and made it really easy for me to get a feel of what kind of products she liked and used (which made shopping for her soo much easier!)

This was the first swap I had ever done, and after seeing youtube vids and blog posts about some nightmare swaps I was a teeny bit nervous that something might go wrong. Thankfully I was so so pleasantly surprised so thankyou to these two girls for making my first swap so easy and lovely.

Now onto the goodies! Amy absolutely spoiled me!

The postbag arrived on my door (you have no idea how excited I was to see the postman) filled with little beautifully wrapped packages FULL of goodies!

Also, how cute is the little card she sent!

 So one by one, I unwrapped the little goodie parcels....

 

 Lots of fun little high-end samples and some deluxe samples for me to try out! Plus the cutest ever little vday themed lollies!

 

 Lip Products!

Face & Eye Products!

 Amy put lovely little notes on each product telling me more about them & why she included them :) so sweet!

 First up, the lip products!

Innoxa Classic Colour Lipstick

This was the first product I swatched and it is such a gorgeous formula and shade! Really smooth to apply and is very hydrating on the lips. Gives my lips a lovely shiny berry tint :)

 Panda Lip Balm!

Can everybody just take a moment to appreciate HOW CUTE THIS IS! :) I don't even want to take it out of the packet for fear of ripping the pandarey cuteness. I may just display it for a while :P

 Benefit Ultra Shines Gloss Haute Brilliance in Life on the A list

My first ever full-size benefit product! Sooo exciting! This lipgloss smells so sweet and yummy, and is the perfect nude :) I have been looking for the perfect nude lip product as they all seem to make me look dead or flat but this one is perfect!

Face products!

 Please do excuse my nooby photography here as I did not actually remove the post it from over the product... derp! But this issss...

Australis Ready Set Go True Translucent Finishing Powder

Have not had a chance to try this out just yet, but I am almost finished my Stay Matte setting powder so this will take its place as my finishing powder after that - I will write a review on how I like it! :)

 Bio-Essence Bio Platinum BB cream

This was probably the thing I was most excited to receive in this swap :) I have recently been OBSESSED with different BB creams, and have really been wanting to try out some of the Korean ones! My wish has been granted :P Am almost through my Chi Chi one (already! thats how much I have been using it - I love it!) and I can't wait to try this one out afterwards. Will definately review afterwards :)

 Benefit Porefessional Primer

 Benefit has such cute little samples! I love how it is actually like a little mini version of the full size bottle :) I see youtube gurus using this and loving it all the time so I was super excited to try it out. The product is a beige skin colour tone and has a texture not like other primers I have used, it is more like a paste but it does a great job of smoothing my skin for makeup and smoothing out pores :)

 Clinique High Impact Mascara Deluxe Sample

Have never tried any Clinique products and I love trying new mascaras so super excited to try this one out :)

Jemma Kidd i-design Eye colour

This is a gorgeous rich pigmented shadow in a dark slightly shimmery blue. Will be gorgeous for using in smokey eyes or as an eyeliner for a change up from black :)

Bloom Liquid Glitter Eyeliner

Amy chose very well with this as this is a product I already use and love! Bought this exact same eyeliner on my trip to Melbourne and I use it all the time :) great to have a backup for when mine runs out!

Korean brand eyeshadow - not sure of the exact name.

This is a lovely pale greeney blue shadow with gold shimmers :) I think it would be gorgeous to use as an eyeliner!

Innoxa Lash Define Mascara
I have tried this mascara out already and I love it! The wash is really different to any I have seen before - it is really long and thin, with short stiff bristles along its length. The bristles and shape of the wand really do a fantastic job at separating lashes whilst adding an awesome amount of volume. The formula is really pigmented black, dries quickly and doesn't smudge. Is also great for bottom lashes as it is non clumpy and defining. I think once I have finished up my current mascara this will become my new everyday go-to mascara :) This product is also not tested on animals which is a big plus for me.

 Here is what two coats of the mascara looks like on my lashes :) great separation but still adds volume at the roots without being clumpy.

 All in all I was so happy with how the swap went :) loved all the goodies that Amy sent to me, and what a great swap partner she was! Be sure to check out her blog and tell her I sent you over! 
I will definitely be participating in more swaps in the future!

Have any of you guys participated in swaps? Did you have a positive or negative experience?

January Purchases :)

Hi guys!

Happy 1st of Feb! I know people say this at the beginning of every new month, but I really just cannot believe that January is over already! I have had a really busy start to the year, having just commenced my major third year university project (eep! wish me luck) but I am very excited for it to be Feb, with valentines day and the valentines swap I am participating in coming up soon! :)

I made a few beauty related purchases throughout Jan and thought I would share them with you guys!

Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeliners in Black Glitter and Bright Blue

Saw a lot of posts from other bloggers reviewing these eyeliners and decided to pick one up for myself :) and by chance target was having a buy one get one free on eyes and lip products by rimmel so I picked up the black glitter and bright blue. The black glitter is a very pigmented, smooth black with very very fine shimmer throughout it, nice as a switch up from my normal plain black eyeliner. The bright blue is exactly that, a very bright medium blue shade which again is really pigmented and lovely :) really happy with these!

Loreal Colour Riche Le Vernis in 609 Divine Indigo

Saw that Loreal had released the cutest new range of nailpolishes in mini bottles with gorgeous gold lids :) I really really enjoy polishes that are in smaller size bottles such as these, as you are actually able to use all if not most of them up before they dry out or go gluggy. I have wasted half of so many full size bottles after the formula has been rendered useless which is quite annoying, especially when they are expensive! (OPI!) I picked up a gorgeous royal metallic purple called Divine Indigo. The formula of these nailpolishes is so pigmented, opaque with just one coat, they are really quick drying and the brush makes them really easy to apply. LOVE! For the price, you can collect the whole set of beautiful shades! My new favourite nailpolishes :)

SJP NYC Fragrance Giftset

Picked this up for just $20 at Priceline! Had smelt this scent a few times before and loved it so I'm not sure why I had not picked it up by now but this was definately the perfect opportunity! For only 20 bucks I got the 60ml perfume which is a decent size bottle, plus a 75ml shower gel and a 75ml body lotion! This fragrance is very girly and sweet, very me.

SOHO brush set + case

Picked this up from Target in the after christmas sales when it was marked down significantly for only 10 dollars, and didn't really have very high hopes, but was really pleasantly surprised! The brush set comes with a large powder brush, foundation brush, stippling brush, angled eyeliner brush and a few other assorted eye brushes. Normally with cheaper brushes I experience a lot of shedding and not a great ability to pick up colour, but these are really lovely :) do not think I have had even one of the brushes shed yet and I have been using them everyday. My favourites are the large powder brush and the stippling brush. Come in a black & pink slotted pouch with a magnetic closure to keep them all secure.

Essence Cherry Blossom Girl Collection
Was so excited when this arrived at my priceline! I picked up the highlighter pen in 01 konichiwa girls!, the double ended eyeliner in 01 big in japan (black) and the lipstick pencil in 02 its peach not cherry. Absolutely loving the eyeliner so far, it is my favourite of the 3 :) the double ended pen makes it so easy to create a variety of eyeliner looks, and the formula is so longwearing and pigmented. The highlighter pen is also gorgeous, great for highlighting my cheekbones. The lipstick pencil has a nice formulation however it does not really suit my skintone as much as I thought it did unfortunately :( overall quite impressed by this collection, I love essence!

I was trying to keep my spending under control for January and I think I did quite a good job, did not pick up as many things as I normally do/would have liked to! Hope everyone is having a happy February and stay tuned for my Valentines swap haul post! :)

What products did you pick up this month? Anyone else have any new years beauty/spending resolutions? 

Everyday makeup routine :)

I always find it really interesting to see what products people like enough to include into their everyday makeup routine, and how they combine products to work for them, so I thought I would put up a post about the products that have made it into my everyday routine!

This is the face routine I have been following for the past couple of months and it has been working really well for me :)

I begin with cleansed skin (I use my MP skincare line) moisturized with Natio sensitive gel day moisturizer, and put a lip balm on my lips.

I start off by priming my skin with BB cream. My two current favourites are the MP BB cream in light, and the Chi Chi Super BB in light, however I have been using my Chi Chi more currently as it suits my skin tone a little better :)

Before my BB cream has fully set, I follow up with my Flormar Mat Touch Foundation in Ivory. I really like this foundation as it is quite high coverage but is still thin, and is in no way cakey or heavy on the skin. Keeps my skin fairly matte throughout the day without being drying.

I then cover any angry blemishes or red patches with my Rimmel Hide the Blemish concealer in Ivory. It is quite creamy and pigmented so it does a good job of covering marks and is easy to blend out.

I set my face with my Australis fresh & flawless powder (which I find has the pigmentation of a powder foundation and sets my face well) in Natural if I want some extra coverage, or my Rimmel stay matte powder in Translucent if I simply want my foundation to stay in place all day without extra coverage.

Next up I use some blush on the apples of my cheeks and blend back through to my temples. I like pinky blushes, my two favourites at the moment being the Essence multi-touch blush in 20 fashionista and the Victoria Jackson palette blush.

I highlight the tops of my cheeks with either my Coral Colours palette face highlighting powder or my Essence Cherry Blossom Girl highlighting pen.

I use my Essence Kohl eye pencil in black or my Rimmel Scandaleyes eye pencil in black glitter to line my waterline, tightline, and smudge some throughout my upper lashline.

If I want some extra definition, I will line my upper lashline with a liquid eyeliner, either my Savvy by DB eyeliner pen, or my new current favourite, my Essence Cherry Blossom Girl eyeliner in 01 big in japan, a pigmented black eyeliner. I am loving the essence eyeliner as it comes with a thin tip end, as well as an angled marker tip end for thicker lines. 

I then follow with a couple of coats of my essence get big lashes volume curl mascara :)

Finally I will add a lipstick or a gloss, my current favourites have been the Essence lipstick in all about cupcake and a sportsgirl gloss I recently picked up in a light shimmery pink. Both these colours are not too dramatic but add a hint of pink to my lips and go with any outfit I put on.

And that completes my everyday face routine!

Have you guys tried any of these products? What did you think? What products have made it into your everyday makeup routine?



Favourites and Un-Favourites of 2012

I thought to start 2013, I would review some of my favourite and most-hated products of 2012. To keep up the new year positivity, I will begin with the products that I really enjoyed over the past year :)

Skin 
 

                

Models Prefer Skincare (Wipes, Cleanser, Mask, Scrub)
I started using this Models Prefer skincare line recently, and it has impressed me so much in such a short time that I had to include it :) I use the exfoliating deep clean wipes, the MILKYway 2 in 1 cleanser and toner, Rub&Scrub exfoliater, THIRSTstop mask, and the DAILYperfect moisturizer as well as the BB cream (which features further down). They contain MP aquaflex which focuses on hydrating skin at a deeper level. I love all these products as they are gentle on my skin, whilst being very hydrating.


Face

Flormar Mat Touch Foundation
I purchased this foundation from a Flormar popup stand in my local Westfield. I chose the mattifying formula as it was summer and I had a bit of oily skin happening. Some mattifying foundations dry my face out too far, but I found this one to be perfect :) I use it all year round, and it never goes shiny or dries my skin out, even without a setting powder it sets itself to a beautiful light powdery finish. It also matches my skin really well in the lightest shade, it is a true ivory with just enough colour for me without oxidizing or being too dark & it does not break me out. I have had the bottle for about a year and with me using it a few times a week it still has some left :)

                

BB Cream - Currently Models Prefer & Chi Chi
I have been absolutely loving my BB creams during the second half of 2012 :) The first BB cream I discovered that actually benefitted my skin and did not break me out was the Models Prefer BB cream (in the shade light). I use this BB cream on its own when I want a light coverage and it also makes a fantastic base under makeup. 
It has also kept my skin extremely hydrated, and I feel has helped with my spots & marks. A new BB cream I have been trying out is the Chi Chi BB cream (in light) , and I like it just as much as my models prefer. I am yet to see the effects it has in the longer term on my skin, but so far it has kept my skin hydrated and has lovely coverage.
Its colouring is a bit lighter than the MP cream which is the slightest tiniest bit too dark, so I may begin mixing the two to create the perfect colour. 

Australis Fresh & Flawless pressed powder
I used this powder for the majority of the year when I needed a setting powder for over my foundation, especially when I needed a top-up on coverage.
This powder is lovely! I have it in the lightest shade, natural, and it keeps me matte throughout the day, whilst also providing the coverage of a powder foundation to keep my face looking nice all throughout the day :) does not break me out, no complaints about this one! I really like it.

Victoria Jackson Palette - Blush
This blush came in palette that was part of a Victoria Jackson makeup stand that was again in my local Westfield! The palette contains two eyeshadows, 4 lipcolours, and this blush. I do enjoy the other products, they are really lovely colours & good formulas, but not colours I wear enough to make them my favourites. This blush is a very Orgasm-esque shade, perhaps a bit darker, and gives my cheeks the perfect amount of colour and a delicate gold shimmer :) I love it!

Eyes

Essence Black Kohl Eyeliner
I love this eyeliner, it is so pigmented and smooth to apply, never pulls or tugs at my eyes! It is great for smudging on my lower or upper lashline & for lining my water/tight lines. It lasts quite a long time on my eyes, without smudging and for around $3.00, I have not found a better eyeliner.

Essence flat angled eyeliner brush
When I don't feel like wearing liquid eyeliner on my lid, instead I use an angled eyeliner brush to smudge some black shadow or black pencil along my upper lashline for some definition :) my favourite brush to use for this is an angled eyeliner brush as it gets right into the base of the lashline and allows me to create a nice thin line.


Lips

 Mirenesse Velvet Lip Glosses
Got given these from a friend who got them as GWP with her mirenesse foundation, and I am so glad I got to try them out as it is not a brand I would ever really have considered buying otherwise. They are honestly the best lipglosses I have ever tried! The formula is pigmented but still lightweight and glossy on the lips and leaves my lips so smooth after wearing that it's like I was wearing a lip balm!

Essence lipstick in 'All about Cupcake'
It took so long for me to hunt down this lipstick! Every target and priceline was sold out but finally I managed to get my hands on one and I love it! The perfect natural 'my lips but better' colour that goes with everything. I wear this almost every day and it has lovely pigmentation and a great smooth formula.

Nails

Max Factor Fantasy Fire
This is honestly the most beautiful and unique nail polish I have ever seen! Worn on its own it is a gorgeous deep purple with a red reflect, but worn ontop of other polishes it can be anywhere from red to yellow to green. Also comes in a cute little bottle, I like it when polish comes in smaller bottles as you actually get to use up the polish before it goes gluggy or dries out.

Essence Gel Look Top Coat
My favourite topcoat! Quick drying, glossy topcoat that finishes my nails off beautifully and helps my polish to last :)

Hair

 

Natures Organics 'dry nourish' shampoo & conditioner
These have to be the best shampoo & conditioner I have ever used! They are so hydrating, the shampoo lathers beautifully without stripping my hair, and the coonditioner is so thick and nourishing that you only have to use a tiny amount. They also have the most gorgeous sweet coconutty scent that lingers in my hair for days. Only a few dollars each from woolies, I love bargain products that still manage to perform outstandingly!

Herbal Essences 'none of your frizziness' serum
I use this serum throughout the lengths and ends of my hair whilst it is still damp after being washed and it gives my hair extra shine and reduces frizz once my hair is dry, without weighing down my hair or leaving it looking greasy. Also has a really yummy tropical smell, and works better than a lot of the higher priced serums and creams I have tried. One bottle has lasted me months as you only need 1-2 pumps at a time. Great product.

Schwarzkopf LIVE Colour Silver Toner
 I began using this after one trying out a different dye brand that left my hair with a strange orange hue to it.. :/ I bought this in the hope it would neutralise the orange tones in my hair and it did a fantastic job! The formula is like a thick purple conditioner and is surprisingly extremely conditioning to the hair. Since then I have used this product to follow up every time I dye my hair at home and it always leaves my hair looking conditioned, fresh, and removes any warm brassy tones that the dye may have left. The packet says the toner only lasts 8 washes, but I use a purple shampoo to keep it maintained until the next dye job. And it only costs me a couple of dollars!

Fragrance

Vera Wang Princess

I adore this perfume! It is so sweet and girly but not overpoweringly so, I wear it almost every day and get so many compliments on it. I really want to try out some of the other Vera Wang Princess perfumes in future as well!

Un-favourites

Natio Vitamin E moisturizer

I love to use natural products on my skin when I can! However I absolutely DETEST the gross generic natural smell that comes along with a lot of them. I don't know exactly what the smell is, but I believe it may be geranium or a similar kind of plant smell. In this product it was just ridiculously strong, to the point where I could not even stand to have it on my face. Ended up using it to moisturize my feet and sunburnt legs to keep the smell away from my face.

Garnier Original BB cream

This was probably the most horrendous product I have ever used on my skin. Pretty much a tube of oily goop which broke me out SO BADLY, make my skin itchy, provided zero coverage, and lasted all of two seconds. Biggest waste of 10 dollars ever. I do enjoy the new formulation for oily skin however.

Revlon colourstay liquid liner

This product is so unpredictable! When it works, it works well, but when it decides it doesn't want to work it is nothing more than a useless, watery, straggly felt tip eyeliner with horrendous pigmentation. When I bought this eyeliner in Blackest Black, I expected it to live up to its name, but after using I think they should reconsider changing the name to unpredictable light grey. My first bottle, this happened about two weeks after opening, suddenly instead of being an opaque black the eyeliner was watery, no amount of shaking could get me even a hint of black. I thought maybe I had stored or used it incorrectly so I gave it another go, the next bottle was watery from the day I opened it!! Another thing I do not enjoy is how the applicator holds up. All my other eyeliners with the same style tip applicators hold their shape, whereas this one develops straggly little fibres at the tip, which collect eyeliner and leave you with smears and spots of eyeliner where you did not intend for there to be. Is not cheap either so I was expecting a lot more. The liquid liner I purchased from woolies works better.

Tresemme Shampoo & Conditioner for dry hair

A girl I use to work with had the most amazing shiny healthy hair, and when i asked her what S&C she used, she told me these ones. I was almost finished my old ones so I picked up some new tresemme ones, and unfortunately I was sadly dissapointed.

Sunsilk Hairspray (Silver + Green Can)

This stuff smelt nice, but was SOOOO tacky! It felt like it never dried, my hair was tacky and sticky to the touch all throughout the day :( It was hard to wash out, and I definately could not get a second day wear out of my hair with this in it. Much prefer goldwell or my elnett hairspray.

Edward Beale conditioning spray for blondes

Smells bad, and useless. Has a natural smell, but not a nice one AT ALL! It resembles chamomile, in its strongest most horrendous form. The stink did not leave my hair, and I think it may have made my hair frizzier. I actually think I would gain more benefit from just spraying water in my hair. Chucking!

So they are my favourite and un-favourite products of 2012! 

 Have you tried any of these products? What did you think? What were your favourite products of the past year?