Zoeva

I've finally succumbed to the beauty of these higher end make-up brushes. I was torn between Sigma and Zoeva, but I was intrigued by some of Zoeva's make-up products so I thought I'd give these ago. Plus, they're pretty good looking!

My old brushes - I have a couple of $5 ones from a chemist outlet, are alright. Not that good, just alright. The handles themselves are pretty crappy, but the brush is okay, except for some light shedding.

These Zoeva brushes though, they feel soooooo luxurious. Handles are HEAPS better quality (my old ones frequently separated from the brush part) and the brushes are super soft and dense.

So this is everything I ordered from beautybay (there were a few options for Zoeva products). I got a free Mario Badescu travel set with my order!

The verdict:

• The brushes are amazing.
• The eyeliner is also great - I use it more as a eye shadow by blending it out, and it lasts for a super long time. 
• The lipstick is better than any drugstore brand I have tried. (I have yet to try high-end lip products.) Formula wise, it's creamy, smooth and not too matte or not too glossy. The lid is magnetic too, a bit like the nars lipsticks.

I would highly recommend Zoeva! Their makeup products seem to be on point, as well as being affordable! I am keen to get my hands on the eyeshadow palettes too, they seem to be well worth the money.

♥

Target Beauty

I always wander into Target at work (Westfield Shopping Centre) because it's massive, always open, and have really cool snacks and stuff. My work buddy told me about some of their makeup products being awesome - especially Chi Chi lipsticks which are comparable to even Mac lipsticks. I remember their lip glosses from when I was in early high school, all their stuff smelled yummy and it still does!!!

There was a 30% off all Chi Chi (and other makeup brands) sale, so I decided to wander in to have a look, hoping to find a dark lippy to replace my Barry M (black cherry) because it seems to cling too much onto dryness and is a lot more sheer than I prefer.

The one I found was a cream lipstick - not a velvet or matte, but I thought the texture was a lot more buttery and moisturising than some of the matte ones. Smells good, goes on well, it doesn't look as bad either when my lips are a bit dry.

I found these liquid lipsticks for $5, but they actually came down to $3.50. It's really similar to the too faced liquid lipsticks, but it takes a while for it to fully dry and set. I still quite like the formula, you only need a thin layer for it to look super opaque and pigmented.

[Sexy Lady] You have to be quite precise with application, when I put it on for a rough test you can see how messy it can get! 

[She's Not Me]

[Let Me Tempt You] Yes, my lips are really dry here.

I never thought I would hop on the whole beautyblender bandwagon but... I kind of did. Considering how expensive they are and even the realtechniques version, I didn't see the appeal of it. To be honest, after giving it a go twice I'm still unsure about it. It's pretty good for blending concealer but it feels like it's absorbing a lot of the product. Using it wet feels weird as well. I guess I'll have to give it a few more goes!

Feels a bit unhygienic to me - it doesn't try very quickly either.

Thoughts and Reviews

It has been a while since I've been using these products. And I gotta say, I'm relatively impressed. Now that it's winter, my Antipodes Hosanna serum isn't cutting it for me because my skin sucks up the serum and still craves some more - and I'm not using 1/10 of a bottle in one go to satisfy my thirsty skin.

The moreish one is mostly natural ingredients which seem to work really well for my skin. Sunflower seed oil, meadowfoam seed oil and argan oil give it the thicker luxurious moisture and I think the cucumber and chamomile make it suitable for sensitive skin. It certainly hasn't caused any reactions or problems for me.

The eye cream on the other hand - all I can say is that I'm just using it because I think I should be using it. To be honest I don't know if it does anything beside make my under-eyes more hydrated and prepped for concealer, and it feels nice to put something and massage it into my skin. It hasn't irritated or cause any problems!

Speaking of concealer, I've developed a solid opinion on the Rimmel's Wake Me Up concealer. I LOVE IT! I actually think it's really similar to the Age Rewind in terms of colour, texture and coverage. But the doe foot applicator makes it a bit easier to control how much I use. Sometimes with the Age Rewind, because you wipe the entire sponge applicator on your under-eyes you can't really control how much to use. Also, the doe foot applicator makes it easier to put TEENIE TINY dots onto small blemishes to conceal vs. patting the whole rounded sponge top onto the spot with the Age Rewind.

I don't know if it's because I have been using more translucent powder to set my concealer, but I find that the Wake Me Up one causes some weird patches/clinging onto some patches on my under-eyes. It's really not that visible until you are 5cm away from the mirror, but it does bother me sometimes. The Age Rewind concealer though, creased without any setting powder whereas the Wake Me Up doesn't. So I'd say they are on par with eachother!

Onto a long-term use of a lot of these lip products and my recent additions - I have realised that I am a very dry-lipped person. I really can't be bothered to top up my lip balm or forget my chapstick etc so my lips are dry a lot, and makes it hard to even wear lipstick in the first place.

1. Starting from the left - is Revlon super lustrous lipstick in a creme 'Pink in the Afternoon' shade - a very nice pinky your-lips-but-better colour. It's nice to apply and doesn't look that weird when I have it on chapped lips. Doesn't taste that good though and also doesn't last that long (I'm always eating so hmmm I don't know about that).

2 & 3. Barry M lip paints - first in 'Sunset', and then the pink-cased one in a moisturising lip paint version in 'Black Cherry'. I'm not a fan of the bright coral colour, I think it doesn't quite suit my skin tone because I'm already yellowish, and bright orange on yellow skin is questionable. I love the vampy cherry one, and it goes on ALOT smoother and glossier than the non-moisturising partner. It's sheer though, but I found it good for swiping a thin layer for a plum colour or building it up for the whole vampy shebang lip-do. However, it makes it really obvious when my lips are flaky!

4. My recent purchase - the Maybelline Colorsensational in 'Totally Toffee' is good for dry lips because it's moisturising and buttery. It doesn't last AS long because of the fluidness/glossiness but I like it, and it pretty much suits any look.

5. And finally the Revlon Colorburst crayon in 'Sultry Sulfureuse', LOVE the colour, love the applicator (it's basically a lip liner and lipstick in one) but hate how it dries out my lips - or doesn't go on too well on dry lips. I guess that's the downside with matte lip products, but as long as my lips are well moisturised then it's a-okay.

Also, excuse my for not winding the lipsticks up all the way to really see the colour - I have an irrational fear that winding it up combined with my bad luck will result in tears and slabs of lipstick snapping off and falling on the floor.

Some Essentials

I'm not one to use much makeup, let alone makeup that requires attentive use and careful precision - ain't nobody got time for that.

I recently purchased the Daniel Sandler watercolour fluid blusher in Cherub (apparently the best seller and easiest to match). Due to my lack of lip products, I also purchased two very different Barry M lip paints because they are similar to Lime Crime lipsticks but are much more affordable. I also am not that keen on spending much on lipsticks because I don't really bother with lips most of the time.

One is a moisturising lip paint in black cherry (a vampy berry colour) and the other was sunset (a bright, pastelly coral colour).

The blusher is like a more watery fluid like paint that seems to separate and needs to be shaken vigorously before use.
It stains very easily but also blends easily, so I can see the attraction in why this is a great long-lasting blush.
The after-feel of it is very matte, slightly chalky yet dewy unlike powder blushers. 

Everyday essentials, minus the foundation. (I change between foundations day to day, so sometimes I go for BB cream, sometimes I go for full coverage, sometimes I go for tinted moisturiser and sometimes I go for nothing at all.)