Priceline Haul!

While out shopping over the weekend I noticed that Priceline is having some pretty good deals at the moment so I picked up a couple of things.

One of the deals I was most excited about is that the Model's Prefer skincare line is currently 50% off until the 11th of Feb. Wanting to take advantage of this great deal I went ahead and picked up a back up of my favourite bb cream of the moment from them (see why I love it here). I also used this deal to try out one of the products I have had my eye on for a while which is the Deep Repair Anti-Age Serum. 

This product resembles the YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum, which I received a sample of in one of my monthly subscription boxes a while ago and subsequently fell in love with it. All would have been well except for it's enormous price tag! So I thought I would pick up the MP version while on special and see if it was comparable. 

I've been using it for the past few days and so far I haven't noticed anything substantially different with my skin (which luckily has been pretty good lately - despite my sweaty new job as Blake's apprentice!) although it does feel lovely to apply. Not quite as lovely as the YSL but it will do for now. Perhaps closer to the wedding I will invest in the YSL as a special treat but for the moment it's just too pricey.

The last item I bought was the new Covergirl Mascara named Clump Crusher. It's another version of the orange tubed LashBlast formula, which is one of my holy grail mascaras, so I am pretty eager to test this baby out. 

The brush is the same rubber bristled kind as with the original but this version has a curve to it. I'm not expecting it to be drastically different from the original version but for $10 (it's on sale until Feb 11th then goes up to $17.95) I thought I'd test it out.

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think of them?

Hannah xox

Review: Model's Prefer BB Cream

While shopping around at Priceline the other day I noticed Model's Prefer have released their own skincare line. One item that really intrigued me is their BB cream. I know what you're thinking....not another westernised tinted moisturiser claiming to be a BB cream in a hope to capitalise on the craze! 

Simple sleek packaging

But this one is different, for starters it is actually made in Korea - so that should give you an idea of how similar it is to the original asian style BB creams.

Great size for travel!

Here is what they say "MP BB cream effectively minimises pores and smooths the skins surface whilst concealing imperfections. BB cream leaves the skin perfectly soft, moisturised and with a flawless glow." The whole skincare line including the BB cream contain the "MP aquaflex system" which is supposed to do all this great stuff but really I think its just a fancy term for locking in moisture. It is dermologically tested, free of parabens and fragrance free, so is perfect for those with sensitive skin.

No wastage with such a thin nozzle

The packaging is a thin, sleek tube with a screw top lid and thin nozzle. It's easy to squeeze and contains 40mL of product. The thin nozzle gives you great control over how much product is dispensed so you don't get any wastage.

Swatched. Heavy on the left & blended out to the right.

In terms of consistency it's thicker than the western BB creams (i.e. Garnier), however, its slightly thinner than traditional asian style BB creams (i.e. Missha). I use my fingers to apply as I find they are best at really melting the product into the skin. It's one of those products that as you apply it your skin looks instantly smoother and evened out. It gives a medium coverage and so can be used in place of foundation, which is how I have been using it. I find that it is quite long-lasting as well. I have been wearing it to work most days and I find it still looks great by the end of the work day.

Just the BB Cream

As you can see this BB cream gives you a really nice glow but it isn't overly dewy (like the Garnier one) so even oily-skinned girls could get away with using this by just adding a powder. It is also pretty good at covering any minor imperfections as you can see in my before & after photos below. 

Before

After

The one downside is I don't think it contains any SPF. The reason I say I don't think it does is although it sorta smells like my other korean style bb creams (you know the slightly sunscreen-y smell) which do contain SPF it doesn't say anywhere on the packaging that it does. 

All done :)

The Model's Prefer BB Cream comes in two colours Light & Medium. I have the Light and it is a pretty good match for my skin, which is quite pale. It retails for $12.99 which I think is such a great price for what you are getting. This has fast become my favourite BB cream as it gives good coverage but is still quite natural-looking.

Have you tried this? Or are you a bit over the BB cream craze??

Hannah xox

MAC & Physician's Formula Haul

So recently Catch Of the Day had a big MAC sale on. Usually when this happens their aren't many products that catch my eye as they are generally the less popular shades, however, this time I saw a few products I had been lusting over for a while so I snapped them up quick (or Mum did for me - I was at work).

Being the makeup junkie I am I also picked up a few of the new Physician's Formula products from Priceline stands over the weekend as well as a few random items.

MAC Omega Matte Eyeshadow

I bought Omega as I was in need of a matte brown colour for blending out my eyeshadow and this is perfect. It is a light colour so it's the perfect blending colour for those with pale skin.

MAC Nylon Frost Eyeshadow

Nylon is quite a popular shade and I can see why, its a great highlight or all over lid colour. This reminds me of an eyeshadow version of Nars Albatross highlight. 

MAC Hush Cream Colour Base

As you probably know by now I am a bit of a highlighter junkie. The pictures may make Hush seem more like a blush than a highlight colour but I can tell you it comes off a lot lighter than in the pan. It leaves a gorgeous pinky gold sheen on the cheekbones.

MAC Trace Gold Sheer Shimmertone Blush

Just as Hush looks like a blush but is a highlighter Trace Gold is a blush which looks like a bronzer! I'd heard Sarah Hawkinson on YouTube rave about this blush and always love her makeup so when I saw it on the website I snapped it up. Wore this today and its beautiful!

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blushes Rose & Natural

These were all over YouTube a while back and as we are so far behind here in Oz these only just arrived in stores. They are so cute I could not resist picking them up. They come off quite light but are definitely buildable as you can see from the swatch. 

Physician's Formula Custom Eye Enhancing Gel CreamLiner for
Green Eyes - excuse the ripped packaging Tasha got to it!

Just like the blushes the gel cream liners have only just arrived as well. These are the creamiest gel eyeliners I have ever tried and the colours are absolutely gorgeous! They are also quite long-lasting as I discovered when trying to wash them off my arm and they wouldn't budge!

Savvy by DB Precision Pen Eyeliner in Blackest Black and
Models Prefer Metallic Black Eyeshadow Pencil

I was in need of a new liquid liner and the pen form is my favourite kind so decided to pick up a cheapie from Savvy by DB. The Models Prefer pencil I bought to use as a base for a smokey eye.

What have you guys hauled lately?? Any new products you are loving??

Hannah xo

A couple of regrets..

So recently you may have seen that I hauled a few Models Prefer products. I had high hopes for them but sadly they have fallen short and have become dreaded product regrets. 

Duo Concealer on top and Mineral Duo to the right. (The Australis blush I love - see here)

They are the Mineral Eyeshadow Duo in Rocker Chic and the Duo Concealer in shade 01.

I'll start with the eyeshadow. I've tried Models Prefer eyeshadows before and quite liked them so I thought that I would like this too. In the pan the colours look gorgeous, a beautiful golden shimmery colour on one side and a deep purpley-blue on the other.

That's where the positives stop unfortunately. I found these shadows extremely hard to apply to the lid. Using a brush was useless as it hardly picked up any product and what it did pick up you could barely notice on my lid. I tried using my fingers to apply them and this worked a touch better but was quite messy as you really need to dig at the product to get it to apply, which as you can imagine equals a tonne of fallout. 

I also tried to apply these wet and that didn't work either, it just created an even bigger mess. So while the swatches of this look great I would steer clear unless you really want to work at it to get it on your eye. 

Gold, purple and then mixed together

See how pretty the swatches look?? I wish it worked this well on lids :(

Now onto the concealer. The reason I purchased this was because it reminded me a lot of the Bobbi Brown colour correctors. It has a salmoney pink side to banish dark circles and a skin coloured one to use as your concealer. 

Skin colour and Salmoney colour (yes salmoney is now a word people!)

I think the colours are great and the salmon colour does disguise dark circles to an extent. The problem I have with this concealer is the consistency. When I apply it under my eyes or to my skin it just slides right off. It just won't stay put. Since I like to apply my concealer before my foundation (to cover redness and dark circles) it doesn't work well if it just swipes right off under my foundation brush. 

It had so much promise *sigh*

So I still haven't found a replacement to my beloved discontinued Maybelline dream mousse concealer :( These regrets haven't deterred me completely from the Models Prefer brand, I still love their mascara and the other eyeshadows I have tried that came in a big set. 

Have you tried these products? What are some of your recent product regrets??

Hannah xo

My First EOTD :)

Inspiration is sometimes hard to come by for me when it comes to different makeup looks. I was never a very creative person so my recent obsession with makeup and experimenting with different looks is quite new to me. This is why I love EOTD and FOTD posts.

This is my first attempt at an EOTD post. I never knew how hard these posts were to make! The photos took me ages to take and I'm still not overly happy with how they turned out but I think they will make do for my first try :) 

This look is just a basic goldy/bronze brown smokey eye. I hope you like it!

To create this look I first primed my eyes with Urban Decay Primer Potion. I next placed MAC's Honey Lust in the inner corner, MAC's All That Glitters in the middle and MAC's Woodwinked on the outer third of the lid. I then blended MAC's Patina into the crease and added a little definition to the lash line and outer v with MAC's Twinks. I used Urban Decay's Virgin as a highlight on the brow bone. 

I smudged some Face of Australia's Liquid Liner onto the lash line and lined my waterline with BYS's soft white eyeliner pencil. I also added some Twinks and All That Glitters to the lower lash line before I  curled my lashes and added a coat of Model's Prefer Jet Black mascara. 

And here is a full face shot (eeek!) haha

And the products that I used to create this look;

A Product that Surprised Me: Mascara

Last year for Christmas I received one of the Models Prefer makeup kits from Priceline. It's sort of like a book that you open and it has 3 different eyeshadow looks with the products inside and it tells you how to create the looks etc. 

Anyway contained in that kit was a mascara. I assumed that the mascara wouldn't be all that great, just because Models Prefer is a cheaper brand and I usually find that with these type of kits the mascara is always pretty rubbish. 

However I gave it a go one day and boy did it SHOCK me! I LOVE this mascara. It is probably the most lengthening mascara I have ever tried and although it doesn't add a lot of volume I find I can build it up for a more dramatic look (without clumping) or keep it to one coat for a more natural feel. 

The wand is just the typical mascara wand, no fancy curves or twists. It is quite big, but not too big that it gets everywhere when you apply it. The bristles on this brush are great at separating and defining the lashes. The mascara is in the colour Jet Black and it is just that, very black - a must-have trait in any mascara I use. The formula isn't overly wet or dry, but somewhere in the middle, which I like as I find overly wet formulas tend to get a bit messy and formulas that are quite dry tend to clump more. 

Close up of the wand.

Here is a pic after one coat of the mascara, as you can see it can look quite natural if you want and it definitely lengthens and separates the lashes.

And here it is the after two coats, this shows you can really build it up for a more dramatic look. 

Excuse the orangeness of the pics, it was a really overcast day and I couldn't get any better shots. 

I am not sure if you can get this mascara separately or if its only available in the kits..sorry! I've seen the kits in Priceline though so if you want to give this mascara a try check there. Not sure of the cost of this mascara either as it was a part of a kit and that was a gift. However I don't think it would be all that expensive as it is from Models Prefer. Let me know if you find this mascara anywhere for sale separately as I know I will want to re-purchase when mine runs out.

Also let me know what products have surprised you and if you have used this mascara :)