Besides makeup

Hi guys!

So far, this blog has shown my love for makeup and skincare (as well as KPOP). I love doing peoples makeup and 'doll-ing' people up, but there's something else I love doing that I haven't shared with you guys yet. And it is... Hair styling! Ever since I was little, I loved playing with peoples hair. From when I was little, I would be pretty brutal by cutting barbies hair off, then in early high school doing my parents hair for special occasions, in late years of high school doing my friends hair for formal/prom and now I think I have some experience with different hair styles, techniques and how they are used differently for different hair textures. A few days ago I did a few of my friends hair for a uni event (which I didn't go to) and I thought I would share them with you guys!

What I used: Tony and Guy Dry Shampoo, TreSemme Heat Tamer Protective Spray, Loreal Elnett Satin Hair Spray,Tail Comb.

Heat tool used: BaByliss Pro Ceramic Curling Iron 32mm diameter

Friend 1 hair type: thick, colour treated, dry, coarse

Friend 2 hair type: long, thin, naturally straight

Friend 3 hair type: shoulder length, naturally straight, oily

Friend 4 hair type: slightly above shoulder length, oily, naturally straight

All of these hair styles took about 2 hours in total. If you guys are into hair styling, here are a few tips

1. Know the persons hair type and condition: This will allow you to know how to work with the hair, as well as how to treat it (how long you should have each strand of hair to be heat treated)

2. If you can, have a trial session: You get practice on how to work with the hair and talk to the person as to how they want their hair to be styled.

3. Little means more: The less styling products you use, the better. Using a massive amount of hair spray does not mean it's going to stay longer. It's how you put it on and where, that determines the hold of the hair. Same goes with bobby pins. The way you put them in is more effective than just putting hundreds into the hair. For me I concentrate more on using the heat styling tool. For hair that is rarely heat styled, use a bit more heat protective spray.

I hope you liked the looks. I'll be doing another hair session with my friends in a few weeks so look forward to the post on that. If you have any comments or questions, leave them in the comments below ^_^

August Favorites (beauty and others)

So I think this is my first ever post on my monthly favorites. Hopefully I can be diligent enough to do this every month. Here are some items that I have enjoyed using these past few weeks.

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation

This foundation is quite nice, and I am quite impressed with it as this is my first high end foundation. I got this in the shade 3.5 and it matches my face pretty well. I did mention this in one of my posts (First Impressions: Illamasqua) and from that incident alone, I was quite scared of using the foundation. I initially bought this because I needed a heavier foundation for a wedding I was going to, but as I use this everyday now and it's quite nice. It gives a light/medium coverage and very build-able. It covers redness, some scars and evens out skin tone. Oilier skins will need to powder as I found this to be shiny after 5 hours without powder. 

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Antwerp

I bought this on a whim; I've heard good reviews on this but I personally don't like matte lip products but this totally changed my thoughts on matte lips. It isn't too drying and the colour is very pretty (check my swatch of the colour here). It's perfect for lazy days when you want a natural look but still want to look 'alive'. For days where my lips feel more dry, I put a thin layer of lip balm before using this product, blot and add another layer, blot again and apply a thin layer of lip balm, and this makes the colour last longer. 

Shu Uemura Skin Purifier Cleansing Oil (green)

I was given this by a friend and I absolutely love this stuff. The first cleansing oil I tried was from Philosophy and it was ok. But after using this, I probably won't bother trying anything else because IT'S THAT GOOD! It removes all of my makeup (including heavy duty concealers and waterproof eye makeup) and does not leave any residues behind, without making my skin feel overly oily or stripped. As you can see I'm almost done with it, and I'm going to run out and get a full size once I'm done.

NYX eye Shadow in True Taupe

This is a typical matte dark brown. What I love about this is that I can use it all over the lids on days where I want something on my eyes without making the look too overwhelming and yet, still make it look super natural. For those that don't have such hooded eyes like mine, this would be a perfect crease colour. I find that this doesn't crease easily even without eye shadow primer (I have extremely oily eyelids).

Other favourites:

Songs:
1. EXO K - Baby Don't cry
 This is a re-discovery for me. I've heard this song before but I've been listening to this song nonstop for the past few days. The members voices harmonize perfectly (despite them being rookies) and there is nothing bad to say about the song or those that sing it. Check out the live performance here
2. Sunmi - 24 hours
 This isn't a typical song I would listen to by it's been getting in my head since it came out. If you don't know her, she use to be a member of the popular group Wonder Girls and she dropped out for health reasons (if I remember correctly). Check out the song here
3. Seungri - Gotta talk to you
 Another song that I wouldn't typically listen to. The soft singing and the chrous (hustlin' hustlin'), something about it makes it really catchy. Check out the song here

Dramas:
I've been really into crime related dramas these days and the ones I have seen do not disappoint when it comes to story line. I say only story line because the ending, as always, ABSOLUTELY SUCK! (more referring to the drama: Shark) because they are open ended (meaning that you have to interpret the ending yourself/ no definite ending). If you're a drama addict like me and you want something to watch, try these
1. I Hear Your Voice
2. Shark (1 and 2 are crime themed)
3. Nail Shop Paris (quite cheesing acting but the actors (men) are good looking and story line is quite good)
4. Wolf boy (This is actually a movie but it's one of the best Korean movies I've seen yet! It was quite a hit in Korean when it was released and I understand why. If you want to support International films, please go out and watch them in the cinemas if you get the chance. For those living in Australia click here to watch Wolf boy and other international films (as well as other Korean films))

Author: Paulo Coelho
I've recently got back into reading books and I've been loving the books from this author. I don't know much about the author but his books are brilliant. The ones I have read are no disappointments whatsoever. If you're into more philosophical reads, here are ones I have read so far and recommend:
1. The Alchemist
2. The Witch of Portobello
3. Manual of the Warrior of light

If you have products you would recommend and share, leave them in the comments below!

Priceline 's 30 days of Fashion and Beauty

Hi guys!

Just letting you know that Priceline will be having events in stores.

Bourke Street Mall- Thursday 5th September

- Cosmopolitan Magazine Beauty Editor Alexis Teasdale will host a workshop from 10am - 11.00am

- From 10.30am - Celebrity horticulturalist and landscape designer Jamie Durie will be in store with his People with Plants brand

- 10.55am - The 30 Days of Fashion & Beauty official ambassador Jesinta Campbell will be in store

- 11.00am - Stephen Roche (Managing director and CEO of Priceline Pharmacy parent company API) will cut a cake at 11.00am with Jesinta Campbell and Jamie Durie to celebrate the Bourke Street store becoming a Priceline Pharmacy

- Consumers will be able to join in the celebrations across the day by meeting the special celebrity guests, attending the workshop with Alexis and enjoying special gift with purchase offers, product sampling, goodie bags and mini makeovers

Doncaster - Friday 6th September

- 10.00am – The 30 days event will begin

- Australian Woman’s Weekly beauty editor Kelly Baker will host a workshop from 12noon-1pm

- Consumers will be able to join in the celebrations across the day by meeting the beauty artists, attending the workshop with Kelly and enjoying special gift with purchase offers, product sampling, goodie bags and mini makeovers

Me and Olivia be attending on the Thursday, so if you see me around feel free to come up and say hi! 

Products I've used up #3

Hi guys!

Here are the products I've currently used up with a mini review.

Loreal Elvive Smooth Intense Mask

This product was better than expected. I bought this to try because I needed a cheap mask for my hair (I'm trying to grow out my hair). It smells like a typical conditioner and it does the job; moisturizes the hair and making it stronger. A few reasons I'm not going to repurchase this: you need quite a lot of product as the product is thin in consistency (compared to the Macadamia Natural Oil Mask) and the effects of it isn't long lasting. 

Etude House Shini Star BB Cream

I made a separate review (view here) and my thoughts on this is still the same. I was quite sad to finish this off and was on a search for this product (I think this is officially discontinued) but it's nowhere to be found T_T. Out of all the foundations/bb creams I have, I think this is the best colour match. It covers redness well and doesn't cling onto dry patches which is what I want in a face product. If you guys can find this, please leave a link below! Much appreciated!

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Peach

This was one of the first few makeup products I bought and I didn't actually hear any reviews on this product until recently. It is an ok powder; finely milled and is quite matte. I would recommend this to those with oilier skin types, as for me it's too matte for my liking (as my skin is on the drier side) and can make my face cakey looking.

Glasshouse candle in Montego Bay

This is my first candle I've bought and I absolutely love it. I actually bought this last year and kept it without using it until recently. Just having the candle exposed without burning it makes my room smell of the candle! It's described as a coconut and lime scent with other underlying scents to it, but it just smells so good I just want to eat it! Will definitely repurchase once I can find proper reasoning (it is quite expensive)

Soft Lips lip balm in Tropical

I use to really like this lip balm for the tingling sensation it gives, but it does absolutely nothing for my lips. I would apply it and within a few minutes it would disappear. Will not repurchase.

As I haven't been buying any new makeup related products recently, I've found myself to use up quite a lot of products recently. I have a few more products that are almost used up so keep an eye out for the next empties post. 

Review: Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Mask

Hi guys!

I was contacted by www.ry.com.au/  and they asked me if I wanted to try a product from their store, and so I got to try the Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Mask. I've heard a lot of good reviews on this product so I was super happy when I got this.

Our Macadamia and Argan oils combine with tea tree and chamomile oils, aloe and algae extracts to produce miracle-like hair rejuvenation.

Cruelty, paraben and alcohol free

To use: apply to damp hair and leave in for no more than 10 minutes. Use once a week.

First of all, the smell of this is really good and the smell stays for about a day, which I really like. When using this, I use very minimal and apply it to the ends of my hair and leave it in for about 5 minutes. I do this every 2 times I wash my hair which is about 2 times a week. I've found my hair is stronger, shinier and my hair doesn't break so often. It doesn't really do anything for frizz control, but my hair is naturally frizzy and nothing I've come across so far has tamed it (and I didn't expect this product to anyway..). I do like this product, but for me, it isn't anything to rave about.

Overall

Pros: 

- strengthens hair

- makes hair shinier

- smells good, isn't too overwhelming

- don't need alot of product

Cons:

- expensive compared to other leave in treatments (retails around the $50 mark for 500ml)

Would I repurchase? Probably not, only because it is quite expensive and I want to try other treatments. But if you want something that makes your hair stronger and overall healthier, give this a try.