Thursday, January 31, 2013

January Lust Have It!

It's the end of January already can you believe it?? I received my Lust Have It! box yesterday and was surprised by its smaller than average box. When I opened it up the reason became apparent, the packaging has changed back to the old Glossybox style sturdy reusable cardboard boxes. 


This box has a lift up lid which closes with a magnet and is a pretty lilac with a pink flower pattern. I will definitely be using this as some kind of storage in my house as it's just so pretty.

Now onto the loot!! Here is what was in this months box;


1. Nude by Nature BB 5-in-1 Miracle Cream (Full size 50mL - $19.95)

As you probably know by now I'm a big fan of BB creams, so much so I now use them on a daily basis over foundation. This is one that I haven't tried before so I am very excited to test it out. It says that it "hydrates, corrects, perfects, protects and gives your skin natural radiance". The one thing that stands out about this is that it has quite a strong fruity scent almost lemon like which I haven't come across before.

2. Face of Australia Bronzing Loose Powder (Full size - $12.95 for 20g)

Another thing I haven't tried yet, in fact I have never before tried a loose powder bronzer so once again I'm pretty excited to test this out. It feels amazingly silky and finely milled and has a really nice sheen to it, however, I think it's a little bit too light to be used as a bronzer but it would be really nice dusted over the collarbones and chest.

3. Lust Have It! Kabuki Brush (Full size - $19.95)

It seems like this is going to be an ongoing thing with lust have it putting their own branded items in the boxes, which I don't have a problem with as long as they are useful and good quality. This kabuki brush is super soft, however it absolutely stinks! and I have already noticed a few bristles have shed so it probably will end up at the back of one of my drawers unfortunately.


4. & 5. GKMBJ Latic Hydrating Shampoo & GKMBJ Fortifying Honey Creme (30g sample - 280mL $19.95)

My mum has tried a sample of this and said that she really loved it and was going to buy a bottle of it so that makes me excited to test these out. The bottles look very sleek although they do smell a bit funny in my opinion.

6. Amuse Nail Lacquer - Atomic Orange (Full size - 18mL $13.95)

I love neon polishes and this neon orange is right up my alley, in fact I still have the residue of a similar nail colour on my toes right now! haha


Value of the Box = $19.95 + $12.95 + $19.95 + ~2.13 + ~2.13 + $13.95 = $71.06

I think they have done a really good job with the first box of the year. For starters the new packaging is gorgeous and there was four full size products inside! I love it when these boxes include makeup items and to get a new bb cream to try is pretty exciting for me!

What did you guys think of this box? Have you tried any of these products??

Hannah xox

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Review: LORAC Pro Palette

Today I have for you a review of a much-raved about eyeshadow palette among the online beauty world. It is the LORAC Pro Palette.

Here it is!

When this palette was released it caused a great stir among beauty lovers for the simple fact that it is a neutral eyeshadow palette containing half matte and half shimmer eyeshadows.

The reason this was such a big deal is because this is not often done when releasing eyeshadow palettes...the reason? Because shimmery colours are a lot prettier than matte ones and therefore a lot more tempting for buyers!

Comes with a baby eye primer.
Packaged in a rubberised heavy duty cardboard.

However, as most beauty lovers know, matte eyeshadows are essential for giving your eyeshadow look dimension and can be very flattering on the eyes, especially on older eyes.

In my opinion this palette has the perfect array of colours for a neutral eyeshadow palette. You've got your base colours, highlight colours, all over lid colours, crease colours, defining colours, a couple of fun colours thrown in, colours for the perfect smokey eye and of course the always needed matte black shadow. Altogether there are 16 shades with each shade containing 0.55 grams. It also comes with a mini Behind the Scenes Eye Primer, which I don't find to be anything special, just your average eye primer.

Isn't it pretty!

The texture of these shadows are buttery smooth and feel amazing to swatch. Due to their softness they can result in fall out, if you are not careful when placing the colour onto your eye. I would recommend tapping off any excess that's on your brush before you apply which should combat any fall out.

So exactly what colours do you get? Here's a rundown;

Shades on the left hand side.

White - pure white matte shade, perfect for an inner corner highlight, a base or brow bone highlight.
Nude - a shimmery pale pink colour, perfect for brightening the eyes.
Cream - matte cream shade, this shade can be a bit patchy but good to use as an all over base colour.
Champagne - a very pretty shimmery champagne colour with tiny white sparkles - lovely as a highlight or lid colour.
Taupe - a mid toned matte brown, not really a taupe but the perfect blending colour.
Gold - a very bright rich gold colour that leans towards an orange toned gold, this is an amazing lid colour.
Lt Pink - a matte light true baby pink, this is great for brightening the inner corner.
Lt Bronze - a gorgeous light bronze, looks very pretty swept over the lid.

Shades on the right hand side.

Mauve - a matte purple toned brown, this is one of my favourite colours as it's perfect for adding dimension and blending out the crease.
Pewter - your typical taupe colour (think MAC's satin taupe).
Sable - a rich warm toned matte chocolate brown.
Garnet - a gorgeous rusty colour, my favourite of them all! (This would be amazing on blue eyes!)
Espresso - a dark chocolate brown colour, perfect for the outer corner and to use under the eyes.
Deep Purple - a super dark vibrant purple colour with tiny, almost unnoticeable, specs of red glitters.
Black - a great matte black that everyone needs to deepen a look or to use as liner.
Slate - that perfect blueish grey colour to create a dark smokey eye.

Top matte colours in order (no flash)

Top matte colours in order (flash)

Bottom shimmery colours in order (no flash)

Bottom shimmery colours in order (flash)

The only downside to this palette for me is that some of the shades are a bit too soft and can create fall out, as you can see from this picture after I had swatched the shades. The packaging can also get pretty dirty, however, this isn't a big turnoff for me as most makeup does this.

Getting a little messy from all that swatching!

I highly recommend investing in this palette if you are new to eyeshadow or if you are simply a neutral eyeshadow lover. The combination of so many matte and shimmer colours in a range of neutral shades makes it the perfect palette, not to mention the ease at which the shadows apply to the eye along with their great blend-ability and pigmentation. The slim line packaging and large mirror also make it a great travel companion.

Packaging compared to Naked 1 & 2, a lot slimmer but roughly same size.

If you are a fan of the Urban Decay Naked palettes you will definitely love this palette too. I have both and can honestly say that I love them all equally.

The LORAC Pro Palette can be purchased from Sephora for $42USD, for those of us in Australia I bought mine from a highly reputable Ebay seller that can be found here for about $70AUD (all up).

Do any of you own this palette? What do you think of it, worth the hype?

Hannah xox

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

NOTD: Red with a hint of Sparkle

I've never been a huge fan of red nail polish...shocking I know as it's probably one of the more popular colours to sport on your nails. I'm not sure why it just never appealed to me until lately when I started to crave red, possibly due to it just being the festive season.

Anyway I gave in to this new found temptation and purchased a dark red polish as well as a red glitter polish and decided I'd give it a whirl.


The polish I went for is the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Colour (phew thats a mouthful!) in 90 Brick Wall which is a deep blood red colour. These are my favourite polishes in terms of application and staying power. They have a wide flat brush which makes application so simple, even for those of us that aren't the best at applying polish. They also last a long time on the nails without chipping, the longest of any brand I have tried.


The glitter I added to my ring finger is an Ulta3 Nail Colour in Disco Fever. This glitter has all different sizes of red glitters and applies evenly on the nails. There is nothing I hate more than a glitter polish that deposits barely any glitter to your nail! grr Ulta3 is another brand of polish I love, they apply well and best of all are super cheap and come in a tonne of colours! (I got this one for $2AUD)

I love how this looks with my new ring!! :)

What do you think of red polish? Love or Loathe?

Hannah xox