Do you know about Boe?*

Boe Beauty is an affordable, high quality make-up line available exclusively at Big W Australia. Prices start as low as just $2.00!

Boe Professional is Boe Beauty’s sister brand and the quality of these high-end inspired products are impressive, but the prices are still very affordable. The Boe Professional line contains everything you need to create all the latest make-up looks for a fraction of the price.

I was invited to a VIP Bloggers’ Event at Boe HQ in South Melbourne last year and it was so fun to see what goes on behind the scenes. We were treated to a yummy lunch, lots of bubbly and trialling some yet-to-hit-stores products. The team at Boe also sent us all home with a very generous gift bag of products to try at home.

 

Some of the Boe Professional products I was given to try.

 

I think that all of the Boe Beauty and Boe Professional products I’ve tried so far* have been amazing quality for the price, but the standouts for me would have to be the lipsticks. All the shades I’ve tried are pigmented with build-able coverage and are super comfortable to wear.

The Colour Pro Super Shine Lipstick* in Athena has become one of my favourite everyday lip colours.  It’s a beautiful peachy-nude colour with a dewy shine. It’s like a lipgloss without the stickiness factor and it’s pretty long lasting too.

The Colour Pro Matte Perfect Lipstick* in Vixen has become my go-to dramatic red lipstick. It’s a classic Marilyn Monroe-esque red and although it’s a true matte, it doesn’t dry out my lips. This is probably due to the amazing concoction of natural oils working under the surface – Jojoba, Vitamin E and Sweet Almond.

Honestly, I prefer Boe Professional Lipsticks to most more expensive drugstore brands that I’ve tried. If you realise at the last minute that you need a particular shade of lipstick to match your new dress and you don’t want to spend a fortune,  I suggest you give Boe a go – you won’t be disappointed.

Boe Beauty and Boe Professional Products and sold exclusively at Big W Australia. For more information check out their website.

So, tell me, what do you think of Boe? 

*All products in this post were provided for my review.  This has not influenced my views in any way.  Please read my PR & Disclosure Policy for more information.

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REVIEW: Real Techniques Bold Metals 200 Oval Shadow Brush*

Make-up lovers went wild when the Real Techniques Bold Metals Collection of make-up brushes hit Australian stores.

According to the Real Techniques website, the Bold Metals Collection was designed with:

[o]ne goal: to create a breathtaking, premium brush line that delivered amazing results.”

The stunning Bold Metals Brush Collection. Image: press release.

 

I was fortunate to be sent the 200 Oval Shadow brush* to review. It has a stunning, long silver coloured handle and fluffy white bristles which are very soft.

 

The Real Techniques 200 Oval Shadow Brush* from the Bold Metals Collection.

 

As with all Real Techniques brushes, there are helpful videos online, which show you how to use each brush in the Bold Metals collection. The video for the 200 Oval Shadow brush* (narrated by one of the Real Techniques’ founders, Nic Chapman) explains that the brush can be used with cream or powder eyeshadows and due to its size it is perfect for applying a base colour.

Nic Chapman also explains that the 200 Oval Shadow brush* can be used to blend coloured eyeshadows into the crease of the eye and even with concealer under the eyes. You can watch the full video on YouTube.

I experimented with this brush using my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. Firstly, I love how light this brush is! Will the metallic handle I expected it to be heavy but it’s light and easy to use. Secondly, it picks up powdered eyeshadow easily and you don’t lose heaps of product when you tap off excess product.

I have quite small eyelids, so this brush is perfect for applying base colours and a brow highlight, but too big for any intricate blending or crease work.

I am so tempted to try some more brushes from this collection. As I love contouring I am thinking about investing in the 300 Tapered Brush and the 301 Flat Contour Brush – also known as the two gorgeous brushes with rose gold coloured handles.

 

The 300 Tapered Brush and the 301 Flat Contour Brush – sooooo pretty. Image: Real Techniques Website.

 

The 200 Oval Shadow brush* retails for $39.00 in Australia.  You can find the entire Real Techniques Bold Metals Collection at Priceline. For other countries, stockists can be found on the Real Techniques website.

Have you tried the Real Techniques Bold Metals Collection?  What did you think?

*This product was provided for my review.  This has not influenced my views in any way.  Please read my PR & Disclosure Policy for more information.

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REVIEW: Katy Perry’s Mad Potion Perfume*

Katy Perry’s Mad Potion Perfume

 

It’s no secret that I love a good celebrity fragrance. In particular, the delightful Katy Perry never puts a foot wrong in the fragrance design department and I have loved all of her perfumes.

Katy Perry’s latest offering in her perfume collection is Mad Potion. It reminds me of her earlier fragrances ‘Purr’ and ‘Meow’ in that it is sweet, girly and fun.

Mad Potion is evidence that good things can come in small packages as the bottle is quite short and round. I personally prefer this shape to longer bottles as it is easy to fit in most handbags and I love to reapply perfume when I’m on the go.

According to the Mad Potion press release, it is best described as an oriental musk fragrance. The top notes are Tahitian Vanilla Orchid, Apple Musk and Pink Peonies. Middle notes are Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla, Creamy Musk and Jasmine Petals. Finally, the base notes are Mexican Vanilla Bean Absolute, Magical Musk and Glowing Amber.

For me, the vanilla, apple musk and magical musk notes stick out the most. Mad potion reminds me of fairy floss and musk sticks. It’s definitely a magical, mood-boosting scent.

Mad Potion is available in Australia at Myer, Priceline, Chemist Warehouse and selected pharmacies. The regular retail prices are $39 for 30ml, $49 for 50ml and $69 for 100ml. For international stockists and prices visit https://www.katyperryfragrances.com.

What’s your favourite celebrity fragrance? 

*This product were provided for my review.  This has not influenced my views in any way.  Please read my PR & Disclosure Policy for more information.

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REVIEW: Marc Anthony Argan Oil of Morocco Products*

Argan Oil has definitely been a buzz beauty product during the last few years, and with good reason too – it does wonders for dull, dry hair.

According to the Marc Anthony Website:

Argan Oil – the foundation for the Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco collection. This powerful Moroccan oil, with an added boost of strengthening Keratin, has been infused into each product to create a full system for high moisture and unbeatable strength. It starts with your wash to rid hair of impurities while gently moisturizing; then to your condition for super hydration, shine and restoration. Finally a daily lightweight oil treatment to impart strength, add shine and control frizz.”

I was fortunate to be sent two products from Marc Anthony’s Argan Oil range to try – the Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco Dry Styling Oil and a sachet of the Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco Deep Hydrating Treatment.

I love dry oils like the Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco Dry Styling Oil because it is very lightweight and not greasy. I like using it on my hair straight after a wash for a little bit of extra T.L.C and when my hair is dry, it’s great for keeping frizz at bay. It has a classic argan oil scent – slightly nutty and slightly floral – and it leaves my hair feeling super soft. A light spray of this product goes a long way and the regular retail price is $18.99 in Australia.

First of all, I love how big a sachet of Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco Deep Hydrating Treatment is! I have long, thick hair and hair treatment sachets don’t usually contain enough product, but the Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco Deep Hydrating Treatment contains 5o millilitres which is more than enough for me! I acknowledge that this might be way too much product for people with shorter and/or finer hair, so a resealable sachet might be a better design for this treatment. This product is a super creamy, dense treatment and it left my hair feeling super soft. After blowdrying my hair, it had a lovely shine to it, which was nice. Nourishing Argan Oil of Morocco Deep Hydrating Treatment retails for $6.99 per sachet in Australia.

You can find Marc Anthony products at Australian Target and Priceline stores. For international retailers, check out the Marc Anthony website. 

Have you ever tried Argan Oil products? What did you think? 

*These products were provided for my review.  This has not influenced my views in any way.  Please read my PR & Disclosure Policy for more information.

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Thank ‘Goodness’* for natural skincare solutions!

 

Goodness Every Day Cream Cleanser and Every Week Face Scrub.

 

I like to avoid chemicals wherever possible, so I was delighted when these Goodness skincare products arrived on my doorstep.

Goodness is an affordable, natural skincare brand. Their products contain loads of wonderful ingredients, including their star ingredient – chia seed oil.

According to the Goodness website:

Chia seed oil is the bees knees, the A student, the red carpet gown of plant oils for your skin. A couple of drops a few times a day sorts out essential fatty acids, minerals, B-vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants and general goodness for your skin.

Using chia seed oil means you’re giving your skin all it needs to do what it’s designed to do – making you look awesome plus keeping your insides infection free and in the right place.”

The Goodness Every Day Cream Cleanser* and the Every Week Face Scrub*  are very creamy and super hydrating. So, if you have normal to dry skin, they could be great for you! As I recently discovered that I have combination skin, these products are probably slightly too rich for me to use everyday. I hope that Goodness bring out some gel-based products in the near future.

Both products have a very earthy scent, and the aroma of chia seed oil definitely shines through.

The Every Week Face Scrub* has tiny grains of powdered pumice in it, which creates a very gentle exfoliation. No nasty microbeads in sight! Hoorah!

As someone whose skin used to be incredibly dry, I can say that these are much better quality than most other ‘drugstore’ hydrating skincare products out there.

In Australia, you can find Goodness products at all My Chemist stores and selected Woolworths supermarkets and Priceline stores.

Have you tried Goodness products? What did you think? 

*These products were provided for my review.  This has not influenced my views in any way.  Please read my PR & Disclosure Policy for more information.

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REVIEW: Plunkett’s VitaE High Potency Intensive Vitamin E Ointment*

Image: http://www.plunketts.com.au 

These days, we’re all so busy. I absolutely love when I find a multi-tasking product that can help simplify my beauty routine.

Plunkett’s VitaE High Potency Intensive Vitamin E Ointment has over 150 uses! It claims to soothe a range of medical conditions including eczema, nappy rash and sunburn, to name a few. As a beauty balm, this product can act as everything from a lipgloss to a hand cream to a highlighter.

The combination of Vitamin E and Rosehip oil ensures that Plunkett’s VitaE High Potency Intensive Vitamin E Ointment provides extreme hydration. It is a dense gel and it has a very slight rosehip fragrance. It leaves the skin feeling very soft and gives it a glow.

Now, I’m only one person, so I haven’t been able to try out all 150 uses, but I love using Plunkett’s VitaE High Potency Intensive Vitamin E Ointment as a hand treatment, lip balm, brow gel and hair tamer. I tried using it on my face once, but for my combination skin it felt a little too oily. I’m sure people with really dry skin will adore this product.

I’m keen to try out the more medicinal uses of this product and see how it goes. I love using natural remedies wherever possible!

Plunkett’s products are available in most Australian pharmacies or online at http://www.plunketts.com.au

What’s your favourite multi-tasking beauty product?

*This product was provided for my review.  This has not influenced my views in any way.  Please read my PR & Disclosure Policy for more information.

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A reflection on 2015

Image: pexels.com

Firstly, I would like to thank you for sticking with me and my little blog this year, as my posts have been few and far between.

If you’ve read any of my recent lifestyle posts, you probably noticed me lamenting about how busy I’ve been with finishing uni, working two jobs, completing internships, and trying to have a social life.

Despite knowing how busy I’d be this year, for some reason I decided to make 2015 the year that I set myself some pretty intensive resolutions and actually make myself accountable for them. I guess I just love a challenge! Or emotionally torturing myself. Or both.

I wrote a list of six resolutions, which ranged from leading a healthier lifestyle to reducing outfit-selection stress and vowed to write regular posts informing you of my progress to keep myself accountable. Although I only wrote a couple of such posts, knowing that my promises had been repeatedly put out into the universe, ensured that my resolutions were always in the back of my mind, even if I strayed off the path occasionally.

So what exactly have I achieved?

I’ve maintained my blog and my singing teaching business. I passed all my final uni subjects with a distinction average and I can’t wait for my graduation ceremony next year!

As for wardrobe stress, I very rarely have ‘WHAT WILL I WEAR?!’ freakouts anymore because I’ve learnt to always plan my outfit the night before. I know this sounds incredibly geeky, but it saves me so much time in the morning and ensures I walk out the door feeling good about my look.

After falling off the bandwagon a few times this year when work and uni consumed all my energy, I’m finally leading a more active life. I work out from home most days. At the moment I’m loving following along with yoga and barre body videos on youtube.

Avoiding emotional eating will probably always be a struggle for me, but I have learnt to keep my diet simple with lots of veggies, fruit, protein and wholegrains.

So far, there hasn’t been a big difference on the scales, but I have more energy and have noticed more muscle definition, which is a really nice start. I understand that consistency is key and I look forward to seeing more results as I carry my healthy habits into the new year.

So while I wouldn’t say that I completely smashed my goals for 2015, I’m happy with where I am today. I feel stronger, wiser and more confident than I was in 2014 and I’m finally learning to be kinder to myself.

I’m not going to write a list of resolutions for 2016, because honestly, I just want to continue with the path I’m on.

If can sit here this time next year and say that my body is healthy, my mind is calm and my heart is full of love, I’ll be happy.

How did you go with your resolutions? 

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