Product Review: ELF Long-Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadows

Hey Everyone,

Just a really quick review for you today as ELF has FINALLY arrived in Australia. I picked up the first colour Soiree up at Kmart for $8 and then Toast and Gala from iHerb on sale for $3 each.

Let me say that I love these and I am so happy they are in my life. They have an unusually dense, almost bouncy mousse like texture a nice colour range. I will say that the colour is very sheer but I love them for the amount of shimmer and glitter they have in them. So I will jump straight in to colour reviews.

 

Soiree:

A dark pink/plum colour with a lot of pink silver and gold glitter in it. I love to use this over a dark black smokey eye as the colour really picks up and looks gorgeous.

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Gala:

This is a beautiful cool toned dark brown with purple, red, silver and gold shimmer and glitter particles shot through it. I love to pat this over a bold brown smokey eye to really liven up the look and it is stunning!

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Toast:

Probably my favourite because it is the most versatile and neutral one I have. It is a gorgeous gold colour with gold shimmer running through it. I love this one when I don’t want to spend much time on my makeup when I’m going out, I just put a sheer wash of this all over the eyelid with a bold winged eyeliner and a dark red lip and then I am good to go. Below is a photo of it pushed over the eyelid with nothing underneath.

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So I do love these, I would say I most often use them to finish off a night time eye look instead of by themselves as they are so glittery and sheer. It does set so it isn’t like other cream eyeshadows that move all over your face but in saying that the shimmer/glitter does move around on my eyelid which isn’t a biggie but something that does annoy me slightly. Also another downside to this product is that the name aren’t written on the actual containers. I do highly recommend these though, do you have any? If so which is your favourite?

Talk to you all soon

xx Amelia and Carla

Perfume Masterclass

We build our wardrobes to fit different seasons and occasions, so why not our fragrance portfolio? When it comes to developing your own style and fashion, your fragrance is your ultimate accessory.

This week I was lucky enough to join five other ladies in a Pefume Masterclass at David Jones taught by the ever-so stylish and wise Lucy Borland, the National Training Director of Agence de Parfum. Lucy walked us through the basics of attempting to find what style of fragrance would best suit us as well as providing some insight into why it is we adore our favourite perfumes so much.

Ever smelt a perfume on a friend and adored it, only to detest it when you try it on yourself? There are many factors that effect how a perfume will wear on you; namely diet, hormones and the natural acid levels in your skin. We are all individuals, we have different taste in fashion, food, wine and music so why not perfume? Lucy showed us the Michael Edwards fragrance wheel, which colourfully describes that there are roughly four categories for perfume fragrance (Oriental, Floral, Woody and Fresh) and within those four there are further sub-categories. Majority of us will have a natural inclination towards one of these categories, and you should attempt to build your fragrance portfolio from there.

One of my favourite fragrance brands is Creed. The first fragrance by  Creed was made in 1781 for King George III. To this day, Creed is one of the most successful fragrance brands in the world. They design perfumes for specific people, eg. Lady Di and Audrey Hepburn, that can only be released to the public 5 years after their death, and only with permission from the family. The perfume to the left ‘Spring Flower’ was commissioned for Audrey Hepburn and is one of the most gorgeous bottles I’ve ever seen in my life. Creed has an extremely extensive collection and is worth a look if you are ever at a DJs near you. For further information on the history of the perfumes and the brand click here: http://www.creedboutique.com/

One of the most important things I took from the masterclass was where exactly to spray perfume. I knew neck, and wrists, but in fact one of the best places to spray your perfume is the back of your neck. There it holds for the longest period of time and gives you that ‘wrap around’ feeling of the lingering fragrance. Other good locations include all pulse points like the back of your knees, elbows and wrists. Lucy also recommended that spraying your perfume on warm skin straight after a shower will help with having a longer wear.

If anyone is interested in learning more about fragrance and how to find the best scents for you, Lucy will be running more of these Perfume Masterclasses, comment below for details of the most upcoming masterclass so the information is up to date each time you ask. I had the best time and I would highly recommend it.

Let us know where you think you sit in the wheel. Hope you enjoyed this post and maybe see you at a Fragrance Masterclass soon.

-Rubenesque xoxo

Review: Maybelline Color Tattoos

Hello lovelies!

Today I want to share my (embarrassing) obsession with the Maybelline Color Tattoos. I freaking love these things, I have very oily eyelids and the Color Tattoos are my saviour. Although I like the UDPP and the Two Faced Shadow Insurance primers they just don’t work as well as a product that sets, in my opinion at least.  I use these beauties almost everyday alone or underneath eyeshadows.  When I am going out or having a formal event to attend I can guarantee that I have one of these on. So lets jump into swatches and individual colour reviews!

Tough as Taupe– this is the first colour I ever bought so it has as special place in my heart and I adore it. This is not as creamy as the Barely Branded shade but I would definitely not call it dry. I have smaller eyes so when I want to do a dark, dark smokey eye I don’t like to use blacks because it can make my eyes look even smaller so I use this colour! I put this all around the eye, then I grab a similar colour and really blend it out, lots of mascara and flawless skin perfects this look.

Inked in Pink– I would have to say this is my favourite shade. It is a great metallic baby doll pink that makes my green eyes look greener without an in-your-face colour. It is very wearable and perfect for everyday. I love to wear this shade by itself with heaps of mascara, rosy cheeks and bright berry lip

Painted purple– Now I have to say that I am a little disappointed with this colour, I thought it was going to be brilliant but it is very sheer. Don’t get me wrong it is still a lovely colour and has a great consistency but I would have preferred an opaque formula.

Bad to the Bronze–  I did not get this colour for sooooo long and Carla kept telling me to get but I thought it just looked boring but there was a sale, one thing lead to another and this baby ended up in my collection. I am so glad it did! It is a mid toned bronze colour with quite a lot of shimmer shot through. This is so perfect by itself but I reckon it would be great smoked out with a darker brown for an evening look.

Barely Branded– a staple in anyone’s collection whether it be this product or something similar. It is a beautiful opaque champagne colour that is extremely creamy and is perfect for an eyeshadow base. I also wear it alone with a tonne of mascara for a great everyday look or as an inner corner highlight

Pomegranate Punk– A great deep red/purple/burgundy colour. I would highly recommend this colour for blue and green eyes as it will make them look so much brighter. Again it has a very creamy consistency and I love to use this as an eyeliner and as a great smokey eye colour.

Bold Gold– a gorgeous almost olive gold with fine glitter particles throughout. I love this by itself or another favourite look is to smoke it out with a dark purple and push some gold glitter over the whole lid, perfect modern smokey great for any formal occasion. I have to say though this Color Tattoo is slightly drier than some of the others, probably due to the glitter particles.

Electric blue– Okay this colour is a perfect smokey eye base but my favourite way to use it is as an eyeliner! Because these cream shadows do set they can be used as an eyeliner and I love it, I wear a thin line for a more day look and I have worn it out as a graphic eyeliner and it looks fabulous!

They boast a 24hr wear and although I can’t confirm this, as the longest I have worn them is 16hrs, I can confirm that after 16hrs they are just as vibrant as when you first put them on and show no sign of moving. For Victorians they are almost always on sale (or part of a deal) at Chemist Warehouse, I got mine for between $5-$8 each which beats the full price of $15.

So final verdict? I love them! They do not budge, they are super creamy, easy to apply, opaque, and will last you all day and all night. The colour range is fabulous and can be worn for everyday and evening looks, although I think they are missing a dark green and a dark purple, then it would be complete. Like a said before I wear these under eye shadows, alone and as eyeliner.

Tell me your favourites!

Hope you enjoyed

xxx

Amelia and Carla

Makeup of the Day! (with links for all products)

(Images of final look below)

Tropicoral set – http://www.sephora.com/go-tropicoral-lip-cheek-kit-P375251

Dallas – http://www.benefitcosmetics.com/product/view/dallas

Gimme Brow – http://www.benefitcosmetics.com/product/view/gimme-brow

Volume de Chanel – http://www.chanel.com/en_AU/fragrance-beauty/Makeup-Mascara-LE-VOLUME-DE-CHANEL-147260 (full review here https://rubenesquebeautyblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/battle-of-the-mascaras/)

Bobbi Brown BB Cream (SPF35) – http://www.bobbibrown.com.au/products/9447/Makeup/Face/BB-Cream/index.tmpl?cm_sp=Gnav-_-Makeup-_-Face-BBCream#

Revlon Colourburst (027 ‘Juicy Papaya’) -http://www.priceline.com.au/cosmetics/lips/lipstick/colorburst-lip-butter-2.55-g1

Pleats Please (Issey Miyake) – http://www.isseymiyake.com/en/brands/pleats_please.html

M.A.C. Powder Blush (Sprinsheen) – http://www.maccosmetics.com.au/products/spp/shaded.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CAT156&PRODUCT_ID=PROD329&SKU_ID=SKU3766

Hope this has helped you find some of the products you’ve been searching for. Would love to hear from you to find out about any new products (especially in the coral range)! If you like any of these images, we do #motd posts all the time on our instagram and would love if you could check us out @rubenesquebeautyblog, hit us up with a comment so we can find you too!

Thanks,

-Rubenesque xoxo

FRANCE: The place to be for skincare!

Hey lovelies!

So I just got back from an incredible 6 week trip overseas! And now it’s time to share with you all the amazing products I sourced in my travels!

My favourites for skincare:

• Bioderma Créaline H20
• Bioderma Atoderm Stick Lêvres Lip Balm
• NUXE Reve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm
• La Roche Possay Effaclar A.I. Corrector cream

All the hype surrounding Bioderma Créaline Water…SO. AMAZING. I. CAN’T. EVEN. EXPRESS. It is the best makeup remover I have ever used! Best paired with a cotton pad as to not waste any product, one pad was enough to remove majority of my makeup before attacking my face with my favourite cleansing oil by Shu Umera. My skin has never felt better. I don’t even understand how this product works, I mean it’s pretty much water but all your makeup just glides off without putting up I fight. I don’t know how I lived without this for so long.

It was winter over in Europe so I was determined to find a great lip balm to prevent my lips from drying. I found two! The first, a lighter option, is the Bioderma Atoderm Stick Lêvres Lip Balm. Lightly fragranced and soft to the touch, this lipbalm was my savior while I was over there. Will be a must have in my handbag this coming winter in Melbourne. And second, the miracle treatment lip balm: NUXE Reve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm! Thick, soft and amazingly hydrating, I would put this on before bed and wake up with the most amazingly smooth and soft lips.  The most amazing thing…you barely need any product to cover your lips. For the 14euro price tag it’s definitely worth it.

And lastly, the La Roche Possay Effaclar A.I. Corrector cream. It is the best blemish cream I have ever tried in my life! I know this seems ludicrous, my enthusiasm towards these French products, but wow…the French really know what they are doing when it comes to skincare. Travelling from Switzerland over to India my skin was not doing great with all the airplane travel and from the freezing cold of the north of India, down to the boiling 80% humidity south. Everytime I felt a pimple coming on, I would just put some of this miracle gel on and it would be significantly reduced in appearance by morning. I never expect treatment creams to be miracle workers and make a blemish disappear overnight but this product is the closest I’ve come to finding such a thing.

So these are my top recommendations for French skincare. I hope this post has helped some of you get some ideas of products to look out for in the future. Please let us know if you have any other amazing skincare recommendations! Always looking to try and review new products 🙂

-Rubenesque xoxo

My new obsession…

Hello lovelies!

I bought these over two years ago but I have recently fallen in love with them again! So what are they? drum roll please…….

Curl formers!

They look like weird little spiral things but I swear by them. As I said before I have had these for over two years but I tried them again the other day with a friend and now I am obsessed all over again!

Why do I love them?

Where to start??? I have heavy dead straight hair that will only hold a curl for a couple of hours when I use a curling wand or a straightener but with these things I have a nice wave left the morning after. They are good value for money, unlike heat products that eventually break on you, I don’t think these will ever need replacing if you use them properly. They are faster than curling wands, at least for me because I have to fry my hair (it takes me about half an hour). My favourite part of these is there is only a little bit of heat damage and so I can comfortably do this every week without having to freak out.

How to use:

I’m just going to tell you how I use them because I have difficult to curl hair but if yours is easy to curl I would advise following the instructions on the packet. Oh and I use approximately 30 of these in the long and short spiral curls.

1. I start with freshly washed wet hair. (They advise just slightly damp hair)

2. I add the Tresemme Thermal Creations Volumising Mousse to the ends of my wet hair

3. Thoroughly brush through the hair and make sure there are no knots.

4. I then section my hair in two horizontally and pin the top out of the way. I then split and the bottom section and pull the hair to the front

5. I then grab a piece from the back about an inch wide (make sure it isn’t too big because it will tangle in the former and also will take longer to dry)

6. Put the curlformer on the stick thing, hook it on to your inch of hair and pull the former off the rod and around your hair. (Pictorial below)

7. Continue with this layer and then the top layer.

7. You will end up looking like a badly done Medusa Halloween costume but just go with it. I used to sleep on these but that was part of the reason I stopped using it, it was quite uncomfortable. Now I blast them with a hair dryer on a high heat for about 10 minutes making sure to get all those luscious plastic locks.

8. Pull out one of the back sections by straightening the former and then slowly pulling it off the hair. If it isn’t dry simply give it extra time.

9. Once you’ve pulled them all out, style as you wish! I love this curls just shaken out a little for everyday or pinned back in a low messy bun for a more elegant look

Here is a short picture demo 🙂

Where to buy:

I bought mine on ebay but I would recommend buying them off of their website as there are a lot of fakes around. However I have a packet of the fakes (bought by accident) and they are identical so if you want to save yourself money I would say go for it. The ones I use in the demo are the long spiral curls bought off ebay.

As usual please comment if you have any questions

Hope you enjoyed!

xx

Amelia

http://www.curlformers.com/starter-packs.htm

Fall and Winter Recommendations!

So we are well into Spring here in Australia, but I felt that I couldn’t leave Winter behind without sharing with the rest of you my favourites from the season. So let’s get straight into it!

Lips:

We all know that the colder seasons are perfect for those grungy-vampy dark lips, but one of my more favourite shades for the past winter was ‘Naked Paris’ by M.A.C. It is a really subtle shimmery-nude colour, with just enough darkness to grunge up your look a little. 

Another favourite was ‘Poisonberry’ by Lime Crime. This is a vibrant but dark purple at its full pigmentation. In most online swatches you’ll see it as a gorgeous dark sheen of purple, however, for an everyday look I tended to pat it onto my lips to a pigmentation that I was comfortable with. I’ll swatch it for you at both pigmentation levels so just check the images to the side.

I get really into stains in Winter too, because I’m always putting lip balm on to avoid chapped lips. Stains are a great way to keep some colour while continuously applying the balms that we so desperately need in the cold. Two of my favourite stains are ‘Rhubarb’ by Bloom Cosmetics and ‘Posietint’ by Benefit Cosmetics. Where Rhubard is a definite dark vampy shade, posietint can be used on both the lips or the cheeks to give a natural flushed look which can be really flattering in the colder seasons.

And last but not least the lip product that took the makeup world by storm last season ‘Solstice 201′ from the Apocalips series by Rimmel London! These gorgeous liquid lipsticks are so incredible, sit so well on the lips, give great pigmentation and have a cute colour range for most seasons. Well worth a look in the coming seasons *fingers crossed they release some more shades*

Eyes:

This fall and winter I didn’t really discover many new eye products that I liked in terms of eyeliner or mascara but as far as eyeshadow goes, I found myself coming back to the same palette most days. The Nude ‘tude palette by theBalm has so many fantastic neutrals with enough warm, dark shades to really grunge up your look for Winter. As far as selling it to you further, I really feel that this palette speaks for itself so check out the images.

Cheeks:

theBalm really stood out to me in the last season, with their blush ‘Down Boy’ being another favourite. (though I really feel that it is a great shade for any season)

As a highlight and finishing powder for the under-eye area I found myself wearing Hourglass’ Ambient lighting powder in ‘Diffused Light’ it is a stunning (yet ridiculously expensive) powder with just enough shimmer in it that it really lights up your face without making you feel like you are covered in glitter.

Nails:

I have really been getting into Butter London nail polishes in the last year. They always have great pigmentation, great lasting power and not too long a drying period so as you can imagine, I use them all the time. My two favourite shades for Fall and Winter would be ‘Queen Vic’ and ‘Gobsmacked’. I would highly recommend most of the glitter polishes from Butter London as they dry ridiculously fast which is always a bonus, and look so cute!

Related articles

• The Autumn lipstick post! (herdmu.com)
• Nars : “Fire Down Below” (shiawasenanoyume.wordpress.com)
• Gothic Glam by Collection (elizadoll.wordpress.com)
• Autumn/Fall Face of the Day (tabassumsabirmua.wordpress.com)
• The Sultry Season | Favourite Lips for Fall and Winter (shininglikesilver.wordpress.com)

HOW TO: Secrets of Sexy, Healthy Hair!

It’s Winter here in Australia, which means dry, unhealthy hair. But even for those of you that have just been through Summer, hours in chlorinated pools alongside heat styling before nights out can also do a fair amount of damage.

When it comes to the maintenance and repair of your hair there are a few simple steps to keeping it healthy and sexy smooth!

1. Heat Protectant ProductsBoth Amelia and I have naturally straight hair, but that doesn’t mean we don’t use heat styling. Most people make the mistake of not considering a hair dryer as a heat styling tool. BIG MISTAKE! When you are applying that much heat to your hair you are attempting to rapidly remove the moisture (being the excess water…) but often it takes the natural moisture from it too, especially at the ends. Leading to split ends and dry looking, listless hair.

So when using a hair straightener, curling wand or hair dryer…make sure you apply a heat protectant product beforehand. My personal favourite at the moment is REDKEN ‘heat styling-satinwear 02’ this is a serum so should be applied to wet hair…for straightening or curling of dry hair I would recommend using a spray version instead.

 

2. Treatments

Treatments are a great way to restore life to your hair. Where heat protectant products act as preventative measures against damaged hair, treatments are a great way to fix already unhealthy hair.

I have colour treated hair which is a sure-fire way to damage your hair straight out. I went from brown to dark auburn to an orange blonde, so as you can imagine…my hair is not loving me right now.

My favourite treatments right now are’ Mythic Oil’ by L’Oreal Paris which is a nourishing hair mask for all hair types and the Pantene ‘3 minute miracle’ which is an intensive treatment for severely damaged hair. Both of these work wonders in minutes!

3. Invest in good quality shampoos and conditioners

It seems like such a simple thing to say…but it’s actually really important.

Those products we all love, you know the ones that smell like a perfumery or a candy store? They are the ones to avoid. I know, I know…it’s incredibly depressing, but those products contain a lot of perfumed chemicals that end up causing a damaging, drying effects long term. Try to look for organic shampoos and conditioners (often they can smell amazing but don’t contain the same chemicals as the bad ones because the scents are organic and natural.)

My all time favourite shampoo and conditioner are part of the Moroccan Oil series but they can cost a pretty penny. Looking to go organic? A great brand to try is Organix.

And last but not least…

4. Try to not wash your hair too often

Again…a fairly simple thing to suggest. But washing your hair too often removes the natural oils from your hair, causing damage. At the same time, your hair is forced to produce more oils at a faster rate in order to compensate for the ones being washed away…this results in your hair getting greasy sooner.

I’m not telling you to go around with greasy hair and avoid washing it, but try to use things like dry shampoo to make your hair last that extra day without washing. My favourite dry shampoo at the moment is by Batiste in the Tropical scent! YUM!

There we have it! I hope this post has helped some of you with your hair care! Let me know if you incorporate any of these things into your new regime and if they work for you. Or if you are already doing these things and have some great brand suggestions I’d love to hear from you!

– Rubenesque xoxo

Beauty Blogging: Instagram Style

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July Favourites!

So for our very first ‘Monthly Favourites’ we decided to make a youtube video. Hope you all enjoy!

Some featured brands include theBalm, Maybelline, Rimmel, Chanel, Tony Moly, Benefit and Eyeko!

Would really appreciate it if you could subscribe or check out our other videos. If you also have a youtube please comment with the link, we’d love to check out your videos too!
One of the best things about the beauty community on wordpress is that everyone is really supportive of each other. Would be amazing to spread the love ❤