Essie Collection Mini Cube Haul

L-R: Essie Summer 2011 Collection and The Resort Colelction

A few weeks ago, gorgeous beauty blogger Vita from Making up 4 my age blogged about one of her recent beauty hauls and a couple of the amazing products she bought were the limited edition Essie Collection Mini Cubes for A$5 each!! Cosmetics and Fragrance Direct (CFD) were selling these, so I went into the Anzac Square Arcade store in Brisbane City and they had heaps and heaps of these mini cubes in-store. There were two collections available: The Summer 2011 Collection and The Resort Collection, both are limited edition sets in 2011. I purchased one cube from each collection, however I think I purchased the very last cube of the latter collection. So, if you are an Essie fan, I highly suggest you run out to CFD and check these out!

Essie Summer 2011 Collection. L-R: Braziliant (bright orange, shimmer finish), Smooth Sailing (azure blue, shimmer finish), Super Bossa Nova (bright magenta pink) and Meet Me At Sunset (bright red).

Essie The Resort Collecion. L-R: Fair Game (slate blue grey, pearl/frosty finish), Your Hut or Mine (muted rosey pink , shimmer finish), Lion Around (soft pale beige pink, pearl/shimmer finish), Da Bush (pastel creamy green).

Limited edition Essie mini nail polishes.

Stay tuned for my nail of the day posts!

What do you think of the Summer and Resort Collection shades?

xx Rose

Burberry Beauty HAUL!

On my recent trip to Germany a few weeks ago I went all out and crazy shopping in the streets of Berlin! Berlin is a beautiful city with so many historical buildings, inspirational museums and most of all easy access to all the high end beauty brands and fashion labels. Since arriving back to Brisbane after an exhausting 20+ hour plane trip, I've been busy back at work and haven't really had the chance to flick through all the photos.

During my trip I accidentally splurged on clothes and beauty products that I was surprised my luggage just made it under the 23kg cut-off limit! One of my hauls was from the Burberry Beauty counter at the Galeries Lafayette Department Store on Friedrichstrasse in Central Berlin. In fact, I think the only Burberry Beauty counter in Berlin was at Galeries Lafayette. Burberry Beauty has become so popular since reaching London, Asia and the US. Burberry Beauty reached Aussie shores just mid-last year and to date there is only one counter that I am aware of and that is at David Jones Melbourne City.

I was glad to have encountered Burberry Beauty in Berlin as the prices are soo affordable! The second my eyes hit the Burberry Beauty counter I fell head-over-heels and it was like LOVE at first sight! The packaging of this cosmetic line is a major hit with the signature Burberry checkered plaid and sleek charcoal metal-like casing. The compact foundation, blushers, powders and eye shadows are all housed in a lovely velvet pouch with the same checkered pattern print. Oh how I absolutely adore the packaging! If you love Burberry apparel and accessories then you will DEFINITELY LOVE BURBERRY BEAUTY!

The range of products is not so broad being a newly developed cosmetics line. The Burberry Beauty range includes a collection of Sheer Foundation, Sheer Compact Powder, Light Glow (blush), Warm Glow (bronzer), Fresh Glow (illuminating primer), Sheer Eye Shadow, Eye Definer, Mascara, Lip Cover (lipstick), Lip Mist (lipstick), Lip Glow (gloss) and Lip Definer.

My credit limit was reaching a near zero, though I was lucky enough to purchase a few things from their line. I walked out happily with Sheer Foundation in Trench No.05 (equivalent to NARS Fiji, Chanel Claire, MAC NC20 and Bobbi Brown Sand 2), Sheer Compact Powder in Trench No.07 (I was meant to receive Trench No.05 but unfortunately I didn't check to see if I received the right shade), Light Glow Blush in No.04 Peony,  Lip Cover in Primrose Pink Hill No.30 and Lip Mist in Feather Pink No.09. 

The Burberry Beauty SA was very helpful despite the fact that she could only speak a little English, I personally thought she was cheerful and full of character which made my experience on counter very entertaining! She was also very generous for gifting me a few samples and miniatures for me to experiment with. I received an adorable cute little miniature of the Lip Cover in Cameo Pink No.03, Lip Cover sample palette (Nude Beige No.01, Rosewood No.04, Blush No.09 and Brick Red No.19), Sheer Foundation sachets in Trench No.05 and No.07 and Burberry Body perfume vials.

 Everything about Burberry Beauty exudes luxe and sheer elegance! So far, I'm very pleased with the quality of Burberry Beauty and will definitely look into expanding my collection (reviews on Burberry Beauty will come soon!). I've been searching for stores which stock Burberry Beauty and although there is one store in Melbourne, I might actually consider buying online directly from Harrods as they deliver directly to Australia (although postage is quite expensive at GBP 30). 

Are you a huge Burberry Beauty fan? Which Burberry Beauty products have you tried and love?

xx Rose

Mimco Online Haul

Parcel from Mimco

Surreal Flower Acetate Alice Band and Crystallized Mini Hoop Earrings

Crystallized Mini Hoop in Silver Pearl

A few weeks ago I received a $30 MIP (Mimco Important People) reward on my Mimcollective card after I made a purchase at the Mimco boutique in Queensplaza, Brisbane. A few days before the $30 reward expired I received a friendly reminder e-mail letting me know that it would expire in 7 days. It wasn't until the very last that I remembered about the $30 and figured I should just make a purchase at the online store to redeem my $30. Being indecisive me, I did take awhile oohhing and ahhing at the cute Alice Bands and Mim Bride Collection pieces. Everything is just sooo expensive! Anyway, I ended up splurging ontop of the $30 reward and purchased the Surreal Flower Acetate Alice Band in Petrol and a pair of Crystallized Mini Hoop in Silver Pearl. Their delivery was quick, items received after about a week and I was able to track it using the tracking code I received in an e-mail. I was surprised that the two items were packaged in such a large box and even more surprised as to how many pouches and layers of bubble wrap I had to go through. Normally all Mimco accessories are housed in a Mimco Satin bag, however, to keep everything together in the parcel, both items were placed in an additional drawstring bag which is the same material as Woolies and Coles eco-bags. That is quite a nice touch from Mimco!

What are your recent online hauls?

xx Rose

Korres Haul

Which Korres products have you tried that you love?

xx Rose

Vogue Online Shopping Night: Mecca Cosmetica Mini Haul!

Wednesday the 30th of November saw one of the most anticipated Vogue's Online Shopping Nights (VOSN) of the year! There were a number of fabulous offers for fashion, accessory and beauty brands online. This is the first time I participated in the VOSN event as there was an offer for Mecca Cosmetica that was just too tempting to resist! 

The VOSN offer was for the first 150 customers to shop with meccacosmetica.com.au between 12noon and 12 midnight to receive an exclusive trio of mini Nars makeup products. 

The Nars mini pack included: 

Mini Blush in Super Orgasm 3.5g 

Mini Illuminator in Orgasm 8ml            

Mini Soft Touch Shadow Pencil in Aigle Noir 2g

I purchased the Kit Cosmetics Nail Polish in Get Going, which is a pretty lilac shade with subtle shimmers.  

Mecca Cosmetica GWP Nars Mini Pack

Mecca Cosmetica Haul

Did you participate in VOSN?

Which offers did you take advantage of?

Rose

Hello Kitty Collection at Priceline + CUTE Haul!

Hello Kitty = Cuteness!

I was quite excited to hear that the newest makeup collection which launched a couple of weeks ago at selected Priceline stores in Australia was the Hello Kitty Makeup Collection! I was completely surprised to hear the news about this as it never occured to me that there would be an entire line of Hello Kitty makeup at Priceline!

I was a huge fan of Hello Kitty during my childhood years and I loved anything to do with Hello Kitty. As I’ve grown older I’ve been a little distanced from Hello Kitty and would just admire how cute Hello Kitty is! 

Well, until now, I think I’ve gotten back into my Hello Kitty craze!

  

I went to Priceline on Elizabeth Street, Brisbane City (the only Priceline of the three in the city which stock the HK Collection) and there was a promotion going on. Purchase two items from the Hello Kitty Collection and receive a Hello Kitty plush toy :) How could I not resist to this?! 

Decisions decisions! I wasn't sure which product to try as it is a new makeup line and I had no idea of the quality and lasting power etc of the colour makeup. I loved the metallic pink packaging of the compact powder foundations, however, they didn't have my shade in stock :( So, I purchased a nail polish in Gun of Roses (Bardie Doll) for A$9.95 (8ml) and matte lipstick in Bollywood (HK08-04) for A$12.95 (3.5g). I very much preferred the black packaging of the lipstick so that narrowed down my choices!  

The Hello Kitty Collection at Priceline looks very sturdy and of course cute! The metallic pink packaging looks very girly but also chic. I like that some of the products have the black packaging and I think it gives a sleek and sophisticated look. I must the packaging is purrretty fantastic, though the size of some products seem just a tad small. 

The Hello Kitty Lipsticks come in two types, Shine & Kiss Lipstick (metallic pink packaging) and Matte & Kiss Lipstick (black packaging) . These lipsticks are small in packaging, though the amount of product is 3.5g which is average (e.g., Chanel Rouge Coco Lipsticks are 3.5g, Benefit Full-finish Lipsticks are 3.0g, Revlon Colorburst Lipsticks are 3.7g).

Matte and Kiss Bolloywood lipstick is a very common fuschia shade. It's a common pink shade and I can confidently say that this shade would suit any skin tone. The formula feels very moisturising and despite the fact that it's not long lasting, my lips looked like they have a stained fuschia/pink hue. Bollywood sure is a very girly pink shade that I love!

Hello Kitty Gun of Roses, oh I love the name of this shade! You can see Gun of Roses popping up in the top far right of the photo above. The shade is a pretty pink which again is a common shade of pink. I'm going to write a separate post on this nail polish with photos etc, so keep an eye out on my review of Hello Kitty Gun of Roses Nail Polish!

Hello Kitty Collection is exclusive to selected Priceline stores in Australia. All products are made in Paris, France, and each product has the official 'Sanrio' logo. The Hello Kitty Collection ranges between A$9.95 and A$14.95.

What do you think of the brand new Hello Kitty Collection at Priceline?

Have you purchased anything from the range?

Rose

Topshop, Topman and Topshop MAKEUP (haul + swatches)

Topshop Makeup Collection. Source: Topshop

Topshop is a British fashion retailer which houses in season fashion and accessories for both women and men (Topman). 

With stores open in over 20 countries, Topshop will officially open boutiques on:
Chapel St in Melbourne and 
the iconic Gowings Building (corner George St and Market St) in Sydney
in December 2011!

Together with the exciting news of Topshop's arrival to Australia, the brand new addition to London's Topshop fashion collection is  
Topshop MAKEUP

 Topshop MAKEUP was established in London last year and I only hope they will also join along very soon with Topshop boutiques in Australia. I think Topshop MAKEUP is a fabulous addition to this popular brand!

Topshop MAKEUP looks at vibrant and highly pigmented makeup with a collection of face, lip, eye and cheek products with simple, fun and quirky packaging. The price range is affordable, so you won't need to break your piggy bank!

Topshop Makeup- 'Beauty essentials that you'll wear everyday. Get set to indulge in your inner beauty queen. Each piece in the range has been created in amazing formulations and produced to the highest specifications. Choose your perfect skin tint, skin glow, blush and bronzer and build you look with glosses, liners, mascara and shadow You'll never leave home without them again!'

I managed to get my hands on some fabulous Topshop MAKEUP products from the Topshop website and here they are...

The Core Collection 
This collection includes a variety of face, eye, lip and cheek products.

Blushes in Head Over Heels (left) and Pinch (right)

Blush swatches in Pinch (left) and Head Over Heels (right)

I love these creme based blushes as they give a natural flush of coral or pink to the cheeks and they also double up as a lip colour. The formula is extremely lightweight and very creamy! The compact has an inbuilt mirror and the size is slightly smaller than MAC blush compacts. The polka dot pattern at the top of the compact is very cute!

Lip Stick in Thrilled

Looking at the pencil-like feature of this 'lip stick' I thought this looked similar to those funky Clinique Chubby Sticks that I reviewed here. The shade Thrilled is a gorgeous bright pink coral shade which brightens up my lips and leaves a soft 'glow' finsh. The texture of this lip stick looks and feels like a cross between a lip balm and lipstick.  

Eyeshadow Crayon Pencils in Lazy Days (top) and Midnight (bottom)

Lazy days is a gorgeous soft pastel pink shade with gold glitter chunks and Midnight is a beautiful intense navy shade with silver glitter chunks. These eye crayons glide on smoothly despite those gorgeous chunky glitters in them.

Lip Polish in Rhubarb

Love the cute little in-built mirror!

This cute little round pot of lip gloss looks so cute with the signature Topshop Makeup polka dot pattern on the side. To my surprise this little Polish has an inbuilt mirror which I find very convenient! The gloss is a gorgeous sparkly red shade which enhances my lip colour and looks great over lipstick. The shade you see in the pot is exactly the same intensity when applied to the lips.

The Heavy Duty Collection 
The name speaks for itself really! The Autumn/Winter 2010 Heavy Duty collection includes a variety of chrome/metallic nail polish, crimson lacquer for stained lips and bold, classy and smudged eyeshadows.

Duo Eyeshadow in Greyscale (Silver and Gold)

Duo Eyeshadow in Thunder (Peacock and Gunmetal)

Eyeshadow in Thunder, applied wet (left) and dry (right)

Eyeshadow in Greyscale, applied wet (left) and dry (right)

These duo eyeshadow comapcts are encased in a sturdy metal compact with a huge mirror inside! You can get high impact colour when applied using a wet brush. I like the idea of the little bridge over the applicator, so it won't scratch the mirror if you happen to throw it in your handbag. The shades from both sets are complimentary and are absolutely great to wear on a night out!

Sandstorm Limited Edition Makeup Collection 
This Spring/Summer 2011 Sandstorm Collection includes a variety of bronze/gold packaged eye crayons, eye shadows, semi permanent liners and soft subtle pink/bronze blush duo. Check out the range here.

Zephyr (top) and Equinox (bottom)

These eyeshadow crayons in Zephyr (gunmetal) and Equinox (rose gold) from the Sandstorm collection are stunning shades! These apply on  smoothly and gives my eyes such high impact colour. I'm amazed about the quality and the gorgeous shimmer it leaves behind. 

To conclude this post, here are a few swatches of some of the products mentioned.

L-R: Eyeshadow in Zephyr (gunmetal) and Equinox (rose gold), eyeshadow crayon pencil in Midnight (navy blue with silver glitter) and Lazy Days (soft pink with gold glitter), Lip Stick in Thrilled (bright pink coral).

 For more details on Topshop and Topshop MAKEUP click here.

Have you tried Topshop MAKEUP before? What do you think of their range?

Are you excited about the opening of Topshop in Australia?

Rose

ASOS Haul!

A few days ago I made my first ASOS purchase! Yay! 

Due to popularity, ASOS has announced to open the inaugural ASOS Australian online store in September 2011! So, you needn't worry about converting pound to Aussie dollar!

The great thing about ASOS is they offer free standard shipping worldwide and I received the parcel in no time!

ASOS order placed on 23rd August 2011

ASOS order dispatched on 24th August 2011

ASOS order received on 31st August 2011

After I placed my order I received a notification telling me that I would receive a tracking number, however, I didn't receive any other e-mails from ASOS. I wasn't too fussed about this as I  received my parcel after 6 business days. Now that is super quick and efficient service!

L-R: Illamasqua Gleam Cream, Intense Lipgloss in Mistress, Pure Pigment Loose Eye Powder in Ore.

I've recently found my new love for Illamasqua (I've talked about my first Illamasqua haul a couple of weeks ago), so I couldn't pass on purchase more Illamasqua products from ASOS. I've read so many blog reviews and swatches of Illamasqua's most coveted products, so I ended up buying 3 prodz.

In addition to the Illamasqua products, I also bought a couple of dresses. I absolutely LOVE the dress styles from ASOS that I wanted to buy a bunch of clothes, however, wasn't too sure about sizing, since this was my first purchase. The site has a sizing chart to follow, which I found useful. I ended up getting two dresses which fit just right! Phew!

Vero Moda Sheer Layered Drape Collar. Image: ASOS

ASOS Ruffle Neck Swing Dress in Ditsy Print. Image: ASOS

Have you made any purchases from ASOS recently?
What do you think of Illamasqua's Ore Pigment, Mistress Intense Lipgloss and Gleam Cream?

Rose

Illamasqua Haul + Swatches

 I was feeling very happy this morning when I discovered a parcel sitting in my mail box! I received some amazing Illamasqua products in the mail!

Illamasqua recently started their Summer Sale on their online site with a selection of makeup products on sale at up to 65% off. Have a read through my recent post about the sale here.

I must admit that I 'was' an Illamasqua virgin until the day this package arrived...

Since the day I made the order, 11 business days went by and these Illamasqua beauties arrived in my mail box! Postage to Australia was £8, which is very reasonable in my opinion. 

L-R: Powder Blusher in Sin (£10) and Cream Blusher in Betray (£12.40)

Swatches without flash, L-R: Sin and Betray

Swatches with flash, L-R: Sin and Betray

Powder Blusher in Sin: Deep violet plum with a matte finish
Cream Blusher in Betray: Deep rose plum with a dewy finish


Both Sin and Betray are slightly too dark as a blusher for my light skintone, however, it's a good thing that Betray is a cream blusher and that it works perfectly well as a lip colour! Betray is a highly pigmented cream formula which gives my lips a very modern and professional look. I would definitely wear this shade for any formal meetings to come.


Sin appears slightly rosey in the photos above, so don't be fooled as this shade really is a slightly darker plum shade. The pigmentation is supurb and I found the swatch on my arm very difficult to remove! Sin would be suitable for warmer skintones and I wouldn't recommend this shade for pale skintones, unless you're looking for a dramatic look.

Lipstick in Filth (£5) and Lipstick in Wanton (£10)

 Filth Lipstick: Pastel pale pink with a matte finish
Wanton Lipstick: Warm lilac rose with a matte finish

Matte lipsticks tend to appear chalky and unattractive, however, the trick is to dab the lipstick onto your lips then use the warmth from your fingertips to blend it in. This gives an overall 'soft' and 'matte' look. 

I've never attempted to try such a pale pink lipstick before, but since 'Filth' was on sale for £5, I couldn't resist not trying it out! I actually like this shade more than Wanton as I have way too many dusky rosey shades like Wanton. Wanton is still definitely a beautiful shade and it reminds me of Chanel Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle lipstick and Revlon Colorburst lipstick in Soft Rose.

Intense Lipgloss in Femme (£9.75)

Intense Lipgloss in Femme: Bright red/coral 


Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss smells absolutely divine! It smells like sweet candy and it's just really addictive! The shade Femme appears more red than coral, though it's a very wearable bright shade. The finish of this lipgloss is highly reflective and provides a bold and beautiful finish which leaves my lips looking fuller. 


I absolutely LOVE the packaging of Illamasqua's Intense Lipgloss as the tube is nice and slim and the applicator is small and slanted. This makes applying lipgloss on the go so much easier!

Swatches without flash, L-R: Filth, Wanton and Femme

Swatches with flash, L-R: Filth, Wanton and Femme

Top, L-R:  Cream Eye Shadow in Morn and Stimulus (£5)
Bottom: Pure Pigment in Involve (£11.65)

Swatches without flash, L-R: Involve, Morn and Stimulus

Swatches with flash, L-R: Involve, Morn and Stimulus

Cream Eye Shadow in Morn: warm pink with satin finish
Cream Eye Shadow in Stimulus: Soft lavender purple with satin finish
Pure Pigment in Involve: Royal purple shimmer

The cream eye shadows provide a beautiful satin finish. The texture is very thin, however, the pigmentation is fantastic. The intensity of the shade appears exactly the same after you apply it on the lids.

I'm a fan of products that are versatile and so I've decided to test out the shade Morn as a cream blusher. Morn is such a girly pink shade that it really does pass as a pretty pink blusher for my cheeks. I don't really see myself reaching out for pink eye shadow as often, however, I would probably reach out for this more often as a blusher rather than eye shadow. 

Pure Pigment in Involve is packed full of irredescent shimmer and the swatch in the above photo just doesn't do justice! The texture is surprisingly smooth and very easy to blend. I never knew how good the quality of Illamasqua Pure Pigment collection was until now!

Illamasqua is my new love! I will definitely look into expanding my Illamasqua collection, as their range of shades and quality really is exceptional!

I'm already going through a list of Illamasqua products in my wish list and I really need to try Pure Pigment in Ore and Intense Lipgloss in Mistress.

Have you purchased anything special from the Illamasqua Summer sale?

Which Illamasqua products do you love most?

Rose