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October 31, 2012

Want it Wednesday: Illamasqua Gleam in Aurora

I've only ever tried one product from Illamasqua (thanks to Lizzi at Make Up and Coffee), however I've heard amazing things about almost all of their products. 

I'm not a huge fan of the highlighting products I own at the moment (High Beam just doesn't seem to blend for me), however I love the glow that this product seems to give. I've watched many beauty gurus use it on YouTube and it seems as though it provides a stunning, yet natural, glow. 

I'm not sure whether I'll ever end up buying it (I like to try products and, unfortunately, there's no Illamasqua counter in Perth) but, knowing me, I probably will.

Have you ever tried this product? What do you think of it? Does it make a nice highlighter? What's the top of your shopping list? 

Always look your best,
Sophie
x

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October 30, 2012

SPRING/SUMMER TREND TUESDAY: Bright + Pastel Nails

There are number of nail trends that are super 'hot' this Spring and Summer, with brights/neons and pastels being some of my favourites. 

Pastel shades of lavender, mint, sea foam green and baby pink are all very popular. Everyone's lovin' mint at the moment, are they not? If you're anything like how I was, colourful nails (even pastel) might scare you. If so, pastel greys and blues will add a sense of sophistication to your outfit, whilst staying totally on trend. 

As far as brights/neons go, oranges, pinks, purples and blues of any kind are very popular. They can add a pop of colour to any outfit, being the best accessory of all.

October 29, 2012

Ulta3 Nail Art Stickers Review and Giveaway!

"Australia's number 1 nail polish brand ulta3 is onto the hottest nail trend, Nail Art Stickers! Inspired by celebrities around the globe who are well known for flaunting wild designs on their nails, ulta3 has 6 brand new nail art sticker designs full of fun prints, patterns and styles and, in true ulta3 form, these are launching at just RRP $5.00.
These stickers are not made from real nail polish so you don't have to worry about using them all at once as they will not dry out. Each individual sticker pack comes with a nail file and easy to follow instructions to help you create instant fashion nails. To ensure a perfect fit, each pack contains 8 sizes and a total of 16 stickers."
- Ulta3 Nail Art Stickers Press Release 
Left to Right: #04 Safari Diva, #05 Golden Gate, #02 Diamond Droplet,
#Black Tie Affair, #03 Bling it On and #06 Rainbow Bright 

October 28, 2012

October Favourites, 2012

October has been a really exciting month for me. On October 5 I had the opportunity to be a make up artist at a youth Pamper Day held at my local youth centre. I will be writing a post on this day soon, so stay tuned. As I'm sure you can tell, that was very exciting for me. This month as also been a busy one. I'm studying my Diploma of Community Services and Youth Work and, with only weeks to go until I finish my course (YAY!), I've had a bit of an assessment overload. 

Anyway, this post isn't about me and my life, it's about the make up I'm loving! 

Much like I was in September, I'm loving my combination of Benefit's the POREfessional primer  and Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray. I haven't used my Setting Spray as much this month because I'm scared it'll run out soon, but I'm finding my make up is staying well well with Benefit's the POREfessional primer alone. 

October 26, 2012

My Girl Crushes..

This week has been a really exciting one for me. Two of my favourite female artists, Taylor Swift and Delta Goodrem, have released new albums this week (Taylor's came out on 23/10 here in Aus, and Delta's comes out today!). This is Delta's first album in four years so, as I'm sure you can imagine, I'm very excited. These two artists have to be two of my biggest girl crushes of all time so I figured this was as good a time as any two write a post on my Girl Crushes. 
SOURCE
SOURCE
Delta Goodrem
Delta Goodrem is my ultimate girl crush and, if I want to get all mushy, my total inspiration. If you know me personally, well, at all, you'll know this and, to be honest, I'm sure you're quite sick of hearing about her. Not only is Delta on of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, she's incredibly talented. I could talk about Delta all day. Seriously.

October 24, 2012

Want it Wednesday: Urban Decay Ocho Loco 24/7 Glide on Pencil Set

Urban Decay is the make up dream, no? They have some of the most coveted make up products in the beauty community (is anyone else thinking the Urban Decay Naked palette?) and continue to release super amazing 'stuff'. 

I have wanted to try Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide on Pencils for years now. They are said to have a great formula, be well pigmented and have good staying power. 

October 23, 2012

SPRING/SUMMER TREND TUESDAY: Orange Lips

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If you don't think the neon pink lip trend is for you, why not consider bright orange? Orange lips are so on trend at the moment. Whilst orange lips can be scary, with people fearing that they'll look like a grandmother, there's an orange lip colour for everyone! 

If you like the idea and look of an orange lip but aren't quite sure about rockin' a super bright lip, consider more neutral alternative; corals and peaches are just as effective on the lips and can be a lot more wearable.

October 21, 2012

Brushing Up With Amy: An Introduction

Hi, everyone

My name is Amy from Following the Reader and I am guest posting for Sophie today. I'm an Australian book reviewer over on my blog and love doing it. Reading is one of my favourite things to do but I also love makeup. So Sophie and myself got to talking and decided that we would guest review for each other, so make sure that you keep an eye out for an upcoming review of one of Sophie's favourite books over on my blog. 

Now let's get down to the nitty gritty. As I said, makeup is one of my other loves and I have been partaking in a makeup course! Sophie has asked me to talk to you all about it today and possibly in the coming weeks as I get further into the course.

October 19, 2012

Project Pan #2

October 19, 2012 | , , , , , , , , 7 Comments
To put it bluntly, I have far too much beauty 'stuff'. By beauty 'stuff' I mean make up (obviously), haircare, skincare and small amount of body stuff products. Given that 

Back in November of last year I participated in Project Pan. Essentially Project Pan is all about going on a make up purchasing strike and refusing to buy any more make up/beauty products until you've used up a certain amount of products. Last time I set myself the goal of using five product because, well, I wanted a goal that was achievable. 

I found Project Pan to be quite successful and, this time, have decided to set myself a better goal this time. This time I've decided that I have to finish fifteen products before I can purchase more beauty products. Hopefully I save a bit 'cos my IMATS 2013 saving is failing so far. 

Once again, here are the rules for my second Project Pan. I've taken few of these rules from the last time I participated and others I've added since -

October 17, 2012

Bellabox October, 2012

My October Bellabox arrived today. I opened the box to see that a lovely chocolate from Chocolatier had melted throughout the box. Whilst non of the products were ruined, it was definitely inconvenient to have to clean it off everything, especially having just arrived home from a day of good ol' fashioned learning.
This box contained two products I received in early boxes, one of which was from Bellabox, but that's okay. I'll add them to my blog giveaway drawer and someone can look forward to winning them sometime soon.

This box celebrated one year of Bellabox and, although I've only been a member for a couple of months, I love what they do. Their boxes are always great value and offer a wide range of products. Also, $1.00 from each box was donated to the Look Good.. Feel Better Foundation, with the box containing a selection of pink products to celebrate October, International Breast Cancer Month. 

I only received this box today so I'm not able to review the products yet. Instead I'll type out the information provided to me so you're able to get some insight into the items. If possible, I'll also include my initial thoughts.

Want it Wednesday: NBCF Clinique Great Lips

October 17, 2012 | 2 Comments
As I mentioned in my Buy Pink and Be Breast Aware in 2012 post, October is International Breast Cancer month. As they have done every year, Clinique have released two limited edition 'pink' products, with a percentage of the money being donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

October 16, 2012

SPRING/SUMMER TREND TUESDAY : No Make Up Make Up + Purple Trend Giveaway WINNER

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One of the most on trend looks this Spring/Summer is the No Make Up Make Up look. Essentially, this look is about enhancing your natural features (eg. eyes, cheekbones, skin etc), without going overboard or adding extra colour. 

In saying that, however, this look tends for focus on flawless skin, with a natural flush of cheek colour and barely there eyeshadow and lip colour.

October 14, 2012

What's in my Mailbox? #4

As I mentioned in my most recent Want it Wednesday post, I've been talking to Lizzi from  Makeup and Smell the Coffee a lot lately. Well, when I say talking I mean tweeting but, hey, it's the talking of the 21st century. 

Lizzi is a beauty blogger, make up artist and all round beauty lover with an unnatural love for Illamasqua cosmetics. Whenever I say I'm looking for ANYTHING cosmetics related, Lizzi can tell me the Illamasqua equivalent and recommends it. Being from Perth, Western Australia, I don't have access to an Illamasqua counter and, therefore, have never tried anything. I always want to check out colours before buying eyeshadows etc and, as I'm sure everyone does, I want to be colour matched to a foundation before buying it. I swear, whenever I tell her I've never tried Illamasqua I can feel her twitching all the way from Victoria.

Lizzi and I were recently talking about make up brushes and she mentioned that she was wanting to try a selection of brushes from Essence but wasn't able to buy them from the Priceline or Target near her. Given that both my Priceline and Target stock them I decided to pick some up for her and send them. I can't remember the exact names of the brushes I sent but I sent 2 x crease/pencil style brushes and 2 x flat/fluffy shader brushes. If you know the actual names of these brushes, please comment below. I can't find them anywhere on the website..

October 12, 2012

Blogiversary Giveaway WINNER!

October 12, 2012 | 1 Comment
I know it seems like I'm doing this constantly these days, but it's time for me to announce the winner of my blogiversary giveaway. It's still a little hard to believe that I've been blogging for over a year but dates don't lie, right? 

I really enjoyed the feedback from you guys on the giveaway post. It was great to read your requests and feedback on the posts I do and I will definitely be taking it all onboard.

Before I announce the winner, I do just want to say that the likelihood of me uploading anything Halloween related is pretty slim. Why? I'm just not a Halloween person. I absolutely hate being scared and, being from Australia, I just don't celebrate it. In saying that, it's possible that I will one day wake up with an overwhelming urge to look ridiculous. I'll keep you posted. 

And now, let's get into announcing the winner

October 10, 2012

Want it Wednesday: Sigma Dry 'n' Shape

I really like make up brushes. It's as simple as that. I like buying them, messing around with them, washing them and doing it all again. It's exciting, right?

Among with a number of other brushes and kits from Sigma, their Dry 'n' Shape sits very highly on my cosmetics shopping list. 

"The Dry 'n' Shape was specially designed to completely dry and shape your most dense brushes within 4 to 6 hours, guaranteed. The Dry 'n' Shape provides the necessary pressure to bristles to re-shape them while quickly and efficiently removing the water from every bristle. It is an easy, quick and effective way to quickly dry and shape your makeup bristles."
- Sigma Beauty 

October 09, 2012

SPRING/SUMMER TREND TUESDAY: Purple Eye + GIVEAWAY

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This Spring/Summer it's all about being out colour and how can one do that with a neutral eye palette? They can't, exactly. Add a pop of colour to any look, makeup or as a whole, by using purple eyeshadows this season.

When I say purple eyes I don't necessarily mean bright purple (although that can look awesome)! Lavender eyeshadows work just as well and can be a less intense way of creating a beautiful flush of colour. 

October 06, 2012

September Favourites, 2012

Before I get into my September Favourites I want to apologise for uploading this post late, very late. I've had this week off and been quite busy. Sorry again.

September was a pretty good month for me. Much like August, nothing exciting happened. I've had some exciting stuff happen in the month of October already though, so I can't wait to tell you all about that.

This month I've been loving a combination of three face products; Benefit's the POREfessional primer, Make Up For Ever's HD Foundation and Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray. With these three products I feel like my make up lasts all day long, requiring minimal touch ups or blotting throughout the day. What girl wouldn't want that? 


As I mentioned in a recent collective haul, I bought myself a MAC Pro Sculpting Cream in Coffee Walnut. This product creates a fantastic looking contour, especially when teamed with my Real Techniques Contour Brush from the Core Collection. I will be uploading a review of this product soon so stay tuned. 

This month I've been rocking the bright lip trend a lot. As I featured in my Summer/Spring Trend Neon Pink Lip post, I love wearing a bright pink lip, however I found myself sporting a bright orange lip a lot too. My favourite two bright colours are LUSH's Liquid Lipstick in Strong and Covergirl's Lip Perfection lipstick in Spellbound. For days where I want a less aggressive pink lip I've been wearing Revlon's Lip Butter in Sweet Tart. 

October 03, 2012

Want it Wednesday: Saucy Sweethearts Spring Vintage Carousel Collection

By now I'm sure you'll know that I'm a big fan of the products stocked at Saucy Sweethearts. Everything I have tried has been of the highest quality and, as I'm sure you can imagine, there's so much I want from there now.

The Rockabetty Mineral Eyeshadow Spring Vintage Carousel Collection has four beautifully coloured mineral eyeshadows. Two of them aren't colours I've used much before but there's no time like the present, right?

October 02, 2012

SPRING/SUMMER TREND TUESDAY: Neon Pink Lip

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Rocking a daring lip used to be all about the right red lips yet it seems that's it out with the old and in with the new, with new being bright pink, of course. Bright pink lips are a great way to add some much needed colour to a drab outfit or give you a 'pick me up' when you feel like you're getting into a make up rut. It's the perfect all round brightener! 

If you plan on rocking the neon pink lip, it's important to keep the rest of your make up quite understated. You definitely want your lips to be the focal point! 

October 01, 2012

First Blogiversary and Giveaway

As I mentioned in my First Blog Birthday post, on September 9 I celebrated my first blogging birthday. In that time I had uploaded 208. I'm now up to 229 posts with 68 000+ views. YAY! These numbers all really excite me and, as I'm sure you can tell, I still absolutely love what I'm doing (probably more than when I first started, to be honest). 

Anyway, as a thank you to all my fantastic followers, likers and such on all my social media platforms, it's giveaway time! I know I JUST announced the winner of a giveaway but, well, I'm feeling generous. 

To celebrate my first blogging birthday I'm giveaway away a Rare Beauty Makeup Kit from Benefit Cosmetics.
"Be the fairest in the land with our enhanted makeup kit. Look into the magic mirror to reveal skin pure as snow, "rose red" lips & cheeks, an enchanting glow and lashes black as night. It's a fairy tale come true!"
- Benefit Cosmetics  
This kit is based on the Snow White and the Huntsman movie starring Kristen Stewart and, although neither the movie or the actress appeal to me, I liked the products in the kit, as well as the make up bag itself (so much so that I bought one for me too, actually).

The set contains the following - 
  • A full sized The POREfessional
  • A full sized BADgal Lash Mascara
  • 4mL sample of Benetint
  • 2.5mL High Beam

Make Up Box Shop WINNER

The response I had to my most recent giveaway was overwhelming. I had over 200 entries, with some dedicated viewers entering every day. That's dedication, right? Right.

Before I get into who won (I always say this, I know..) I want to thank everyone for entering. I loved reading everyone's entries and it's been great seeing what people love and, therefore, would love to put in Glamour Make Up Box if they won.

And now, let's get into announcing the winner

And the winner issssssssssssss...

Lizzi Dunbar!
"I think I might branch away from makeup and put my earrings in it." 
Congratulations, Lizzi! You are going love this prize. As I'm sure you could see from my Make Up Set Up post, I absolutely LOVE my Large Glamour Box and it's been one of the best cosmetic investments I've ever made. Please email me at dontstopbuying@hotmail.com, to organise the postage of your prizeIf unclaimed within the 48 hours, a new winner will be announced. 

Thanks again to everyone who entered the competition! Also, a big thank you to The Make Up Box Shop for sponsoring this giveaway. I really appreciate it and can not wait to order another box soon(ish).

I recently celebrated my first year as a beauty blogger and will be uploading my birthday giveaway today or tomorrow so stay tuned!!  

Always look your best,
Sophie
x

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