Category: makeup

beauty, makeup, review

Empties and reviews – January to June 2013!

christinahopgood
This is my FIRST EVER empties post!  Most people have monthly empties, but I can’t seem to finish products that fast. So I’ve been saving up my empty products since the beginning of the year.  I only have 9 even after 6 months! After I took these photos, I had a great time throwing all these bottles in the recycling bin!

So, in no particular order, here are my empties!  Links to buy products are at the end.

1. Pond’s Cold Cream

Pond’s Cold Cream is the best makeup remover there is.  It is just a beautiful cream that is magic.  You do need to wash your face with a cleanser afterwards, but for makeup removing it can’t be beaten.  And I’ve tried lots of things!  Luckily my mum bought my a new tub for my birthday last week.  These tubs are huge but I certainly go through them!

2. Simple Clear Skin oil balancing exfoliating wash

This is a pretty average, normal cleanser.  The exfoliating beads didn’t do much for me, they dissolved quickly and didn’t scrub very hard.  A nice cleanser though!  I bought this because I wanted to get some pimples under control, and it does not help with that at all.  I probably won’t buy this one again.

 3. Palgantong Vita White Bb Super Cover

The first BB cream I bought.  I got this in Japan in like 2010, and it is a perfect colour match for my skin.  I’ve never had a product so exactly my colour!  The only probalo is that it makes my face look a bit powdery and dry.  I’m going to experiment with mixing this with moisturiser or a more dewy foundation.  I mostly use this for spots, and it works great. I just bought myself a new one on ebay.

4. Palmer’s Cocoa Butter formula Night Renewal Cream

This is supposed to be anti-aging, but who knows.  I just really like the product as a night time moisturiser.  It’s thick and creamy and feels nice on my face.  The smell is pretty too.  If I put a good dosage of this on at night, my face feels soft and supple in the morning. I’d totally get this again once I’m finished some other stuff.

5. Rosken Bio Serum

This is a cheap knock off of Bio Oil, and I think it’s exactly the same stuff.  Nice as a bedtime moisturiser, but if you wear it in the day it looks weird.  I’m not sure if I’ll keep going with the bio oils.  They’re supposed to reduce scarring (I have quite a bit from pimples on my forehead and around my mouth) but I can’t notice any change.

6. Natio Ageless Lifting Day Cream

I love this moisturiser!  It smells like musk sticks!  It’s a pump action bottle which is nice for hygiene but annoying because you can’t get the last bit out of the bottle.  This is a nice light cream which is absorbed pretty quickly and leaves your face feeling smooth for makeup. I love the feel and the smell.  Mmmm musk sticks.

7. Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque

My Bobbi Brown corrector is that product I can’t live without.  I don’t step out the door without it on my face.  I’m pretty sure this is my second jar, and I’m nearly done with my third already!  Love it.  My only problem is the packaging, it somehow gets bits of fluff in it.

8. Face of Australia Gentle Make-Up remover

Well this does work as a makeup remover, but it’s nothing on the Pond’s.  It’s made of two parts which you shake to mix.  This worked at removing makeup but left my face feeling dry and left with a residue.  I always washed my face after using this.

9. Garnier Roll-On Anti-Dark Circles… stuff.

I put this stuff over my Bobbi Brown to even out the skin tone.  This is more yellowish.  I can’t believe how long this tube lasted me!  I think I got it over two years ago, and used it literally every single day.

Where to buy!
1. Pond’s Cold Cream from Chemist Warehouse
2. Simple exfoliating cleanser from Ebay
3. Palgantong Vita White Bb Cream from Ebay
4. Palmer’s Cocoa Butter night cream from Amazon
5. Reskin Bio Serum at Amazon
6. Natio Ageless Lifting Day Cream from Beauty Heaven
7. Bobbi Brown Corrector from Bobbi Brown
8. Face of Australia Makeup remover from Priceline
9. Gariner Anti-Dark Circles Roll-On  on Amazon

lipstick, makeup, review

Maybelline Lipsticks – review and swatches.

christinahopgood
I shall now share with you my favourite lipsticks!  I havefour Maybelline lipsticks in Shocking Coral, Pink & Poper, Pink Peony, Juicy Bubblegum.
I really love their square shiny tubes.

As you can see, my Pink Peony one is the most used.  


Juicy Bubblegum
When I first got this one, it seemed to be really sheer. But as I used it, it became more pigmented. I think maybe there was some coating on the lipstick when I got it that made it less pigmented at first.
It’s a kind of light mauve-pink. Very cute!  This lipstick is shiny without being shimmery.  I’d almost use this one as a gloss.



Pink and Proper
This is my latest addition.  It’s a lovely warm pink with a bit of shimmer to it.  I know it’s not really *fashionable*, but I love shimmery lipsticks as they don’t emphasise cracked skin and you can afford to be a bit messier with them.  I wear this colour a lot!

Pink Peony
I’ve had this one the longest and I love it to bits!  It’s very similar to Pink Peony, only a little darker and more sultry.  Beautifully pigmented!

Shocking Coral
So when I got this I was confused by the name because this is really a HOT pink. Not really coral.  However, this lipstick is amazing!  Extremely pigmented and a gorgeous colour.  I wouldn’t have normally picked this colour (remember I thought I was getting coral), but I adore this lipstick and wear it on weekends quite a bit!  The pigment is so strong it stays for hours even through eating.  It kind of stains.



All of these lipsticks have proved to be quite pigmented (especially the Shocking Coral), beautifully moisturising, non-irritating, and pleasant smelling.  My pictures really don’t do them justice!  I really love these lipsticks!  Can’t wait to expand my collection.

house, life, makeup

New makeup and jewellery storage!

christinahopgood
Since moving in, I’ve been trying to figure out a good arrangement for my makeup and stuff.  There’s no mirror in the bedroom, where I had it in my dressing table.  I’ve been keeping my makeup essentials in the mirror cupboard in the bathroom, but I wanted everything together where I could see it.  It was annoying to have to keep going to another room.

The bathroom.  No bench space and not much storage.

My solution… put it all in a basket to keep under the sink!  Bring it out to use it and then just put it back!

 All my stuff fits really well in here!

Up the back, my finishing spray, lipsticks, and Australis palette.

My brushes in a cardboard tube to stop them from getting away, my moisturiser and my Naked palette.

All my eye things: mascaras and shadows (except palettes)

It all fits super nicely under the sink!
My other problem has been my jewellery.  I love having my jewellery out where I can see it, but it has all been hiding in my jewellery box.  I went out to officeworks and bought myself a little pinboard and…
Cute jewellery display! All my necklaces and brooches where I can see them easily.  This way I’m sure I’ll actually wear more of my things.

The entire top of my dressing table.

In this little box I keep tiny keepsakes.  This box was given to me when I was really little.  I just love my bears.

My hook earrings.  I have them all hanging off a dessert glass I found at a garage sale, with some of my most-used stud earrings in the middle.
My jewellery box.  Now it’s not cluttered with necklaces and brooches, I keep my rings, stud earrings, pendants, and a couple of other bits in here.

Close up of my little pins.  Kenshin, robo-panda (Aranzi Aronzo), Totoro and dust balls!

Under the top part I keep the things I don’t wear much, some brooches, necklaces and bracelets.  I don’t wear bracelets at all.
I’m really happy with my new arrangements for my jewellery and makeup!  Already after two days, I’ve worn more of my jewellery and my makeup storage works super well.
My next project is our study/my sewing room… Oh gosh.

 Ha! Stay tuned.

lancome, makeup, review

Beauty review – Lancome Genifique

christinahopgood
While I was in California recently, I visited some Sephora shops.  They always give you little free goodies at Sephora, and one day I was given a tester pack of Lancome’s Genifique.  It was a one-week sample with little foil baggies for each day of the week.  I thought I’d give it a shot, as obviously I need it.  Right?  That’s what I took from the experience.

Here’s the Genifique info page on Lancome’s website.

 It said to apply every morning and night after cleansing, and before using your normal moisturiser.
The stuff itself is a clear liquid which is slippery to touch, and then is absorbed (or evaporates) really quickly.  When it’s been absorbed it feels like there’s nothing on my face.  It was a good canvas for makeup as it evened out my pores a little bit.

Since I don’t have a giant head, I got about 3 applications out of every packet, meaning my trial went for around 10 days instead of 7.


The result:

My skin feels a tiny bit more “velvety” or smooth/soft.
There is no difference in my fine lines.
The serum did not make me break out, nor did it make my pimples go away!
Would I buy it again?
No.  I’d try a few other anti-aging serums before getting this one again.  The results were not noticable enough to be worthwhile.  It costs around $100 depending on where you shop!

Interested in other’s thoughts?  Here is the Makeupalley review page for the product.  It received 3.5 out of 5.
craft, makeup

Consolidating my eyeshadows

christinahopgood
Generally when I’m doing my makeup I use my Naked 1 palette, Innoxa quad, or my Maybelline gold quad – all of which are fairly neutral and flattering colours.  Browns, golds, taupes, champagnes, plums.
But I had a whole lot of other eyeshadows that aren’t in high rotation, all in little individual packages cluttering up my drawer.  So I decided to consolidate them into one palette by removing them from their packages.
Here’s my collection before.  The ones on the left I didn’t include in this because I was so scared of cracking them!

 I used a sharp knife to prise the metal eyeshadow pans away from their plastic boxes.  They’re stuck on with annoying glue, and you have to be super careful not to bend the metal or your eyeshadow will shattter.  If they shatter a little bit, you can fix it just by pressing down with your finger.  I shattered one of mine irreparably, so be careful!  You also will want to put down some newspaper because it can get a little messy.  Sometimes I accidentally stabbed the shadow and a chunk came out.

When I was done, this is what I had.  I popped them in a little box, but had some others so changed packaging.  Notice how many purpley blues there are?  I count 10 purples of various shades (I think the camera didn’t capture it quite)!  I don’t think that purple eyeshadow looks good on me now.  But I must have liked it at some stage!

I transferred it to a little cardboard envelope that used to house a David Jones gift card.  I cut it down the side to make the lid.  I don’t have any way of keeping it closed, so I’m just careful with it and keep it on top of things in my drawer.

You can get magnetised palettes from various places online, which would be great for keeping your eyeshadow pans in place.  I was too impatient so i just did it without one!

This has cleared out a lot of space in my makeup drawer!  I’m trying to use some of these up, so keeping them all in the same place will help me with that.  Maybe I’ll do some Smurf makeup to use up all that blue…