A Girl Can Dream: February Wishlist

1. YSL Rogue Volupte in Red Temptation

2. Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray

3. Mac Mineralise Blush in Warm Soul

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Review: Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation - 081 Fair Ivory

I'm a bit of a foundation snob. It's not so much that I don't like drugstore foundations, but my experiences with them have been average at best. I know that if I spend the big dollars on high end foundations, it'll be well worth it in the long run.

However, being a poor uni student, my bank account is looking rather sad so when I was in need of some new foundation, I had to pass by the counters at Farmers and head towards the stands of makeup instead. I'm a big fan of Rimmel products so I naturally gravitated towards them. Upon seeing their new matte foundation in a wide range of colours, I was sold.

I got the lightest colour (Fair Ivory) and it matches my NC10 skin perfectly. No streaks, no orange, perfect. The mousse texture makes it super easy to apply and blend out (I use my Real Techniques buffing brush) and also to make it more sheer or higher coverage. 

The amount on my hand above is how much I use to cover my whole face. You hardly need anything for a medium coverage look. I usually apply Rimmel's Stay Matte powder in translucent and it becomes a full coverage face makeup that lasts hours - I haven't noticed any smudging or fading and my makeup is on from 8AM everyday. Even through rain and sweat, it doesn't budge. 

You can see that it dries slightly powdery, but even without concealer, the red marks around my nose have pretty much disappeared yet you can still see my summer freckles - which I love! The wide range of colours make it suitable for all skin tones too, and cheap enough to buy one for winter and one for summer. This is definitely a foundation I will be stocking up on.

I do recommend this to people who want a matte foundation at a low price point (I picked this up for $18.50NZD full price) that lasts all day. Paired with the Stay Matte powder, it creates the perfect base for everyday makeup.

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Appreciation Post: Lush Ultrabalm

Hi there, apologies for the lack of posting - I've been without internet for a while and then I went on a family holiday, so my priorities have been a little different lately. Anyway, I thought I'd start off with an appreciation post - a product I absolutely adore and use everyday.

My first appreciation post is Lush's Ultrabalm! Ultrabalm is described as an 'all purpose balm' and it was described to me in-store as being a vegan Vaseline (or petroleum jelly). I've been meaning to buy some form of Vaseline for a while now, so seeing this in Lush over the holidays, it seemed like the perfect excuse to invest in some!

And it's totally an investment! I use it for almost everything - lining my hairline when I bleach/colour my hair, as a heavy moisturiser for when my knuckles get sad and dry, itchy bites, lip balm. It covers a wide base and is made of the most beautiful ingredients meaning that both your skin and the world doesn't suffer.

As you can see, you get 45g for $9.90NZD which is such a bargain! It lasts forever too, I use mine nearly every day but you can see I've hardly made a dent in it. It's super soft and silky, gentle on the skin and works for all kinds of ailments - it really is an ultra balm.

Ingredients: Organic Jojoba Oil, Candelilla Wax, Rose Wax

 

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Review: Australis Extender Lash & Brow Clear Mascara

Just a quick and easy review today. I love my eyebrows, they require waxing about twice a year and have a nice natural shape but they get quite unruly. I have one tiny section that pokes downwards and makes it looks like I shaved off half my eyebrow.

Enter the Australis Extender Lash and Brow Masacara! At $19.95ZND it's s steal too. You simply apply it like a mascara, but to your brows. I use small strokes upwards to make sure my brows are fully covered, and then push them back down into shape with the wand.

It doesn't leave any obvious signs either - no weird clumping, smells, or gelled looking brows. My only issue with it does lie with the wand - it's a great, thick wand but it's quite long and difficult to use so close to your eyes. If you have smaller brows than mine, I can imagine it being a pain in the ass to use.

Overall, I am super pleased with this product. It's cheap and does the job. The clear packaging is handy to see how much you have left and the product itself is inoffensive. Also - Australis doesn't test on animals!

I highly recommend this if you're after a quick drying clear brow gel (or for your eyelashes, but I can't comment on it's usability for that) for every day use. While I'm new to the whole brow game, I know that this is a great product that I'll be using more often. It's nice knowing that when I wake up, my eyebrows will actually look like eyebrows and not like random hairs glued above my eyes, yay!

PS. Happy halloween! I wish I had a super cool halloween post set up but with exams/life, it's been too busy!

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Review: Revlon Lash Potion Volume + Length Mascara by Grow Luscious (Waterproof, Black)

Apologies for the lack of posts! Alongside having a hectic exam schedule, my home internet has stopped working so I'm in the university computer lab typing and scheduling a few posts. This computer isn't having any of it so apologies in advance, sigh.

So anyway, I was wowed by the packaging of this mascara and convinced myself to buy it, despite quite a few less than stellar reviews. As per the title, I bought the waterproof black version, and while it works, it has far too many frustrating aspects for me to be completely happy with my purchase.

Firstly, I have no idea what is going on with the title. Who/what is 'Grow Luscious'? Should I know this? And does this mascara have a lash serum in it? So many questions and no answers.

I am happy with how the product works though. As you can see, the brush is nice and thick and makes my lashes certainly look longer. But that is where it stops. I find that it's a very clumpy formula. It takes a lot for my lashes to clump and this mascara would literally stick them together. Not very cute.

Also, it's impossible to get off! I use my trusty Neutrogena eye makeup remover and have had no problems ever removing waterproof eye makeup with it but even after two applications of makeup remover - nada. Which I find ridiculous as I have a FEAR of going to bed with mascara on and the fact that this is the most difficult thing to take off? No way. 

And I want to love this mascara, I really do! The packaging is gorgeous, the tube is huge and the brush is great + it's marketed by Emma Stone! But I can't. I got it on sale for $22.95NZD at Farmers, and it normally retails for $27.95NZD so I guess it's a good thing I didn't pay full price? I am going to try and continue using it,over the summer it will be especially handy but UGH.

Left: with mascara Right: without

So as you can see, it gives good volume and length but it smells weird, it's clumpy and it just won't come off! Please let me know if you've had any success with other brands of makeup remover getting rid of it because I want to love and cherish this mascara but I just can't. Sorry Revlon! :(

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NOTW #1: OPI's 'Berlin There Done That' ft. Planks A Lot

Starting off my nail of the week series with my favourite nail polish ever - Berlin There, Done That from the OPI 2012 Germany collection. It's a simplistic brown/grey that I love. I have so many bright polishes but I keep coming back to this one. This is my go to polish when I need something neutral or I'm not feeling my other bright colours. It always applies evenly, opaque after one coat and it's gorgeous. 

Sadly, my nails are in an awful state due to stress (as you can probably see) but I had to showcase this wonderful polish because if you don't own it, you probably should. The 2012 Germany collection was amazing.

On my "feature nail" I have Planks A Lot from OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean collection. It's a gorgeous light purple, which I usually wear with a matte top coat because it looks wonderful. It would look great on all skin colours and you can probably pick it up the cheap due to it being such an old collection. 

They are the perfect autumn colours, for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, yet here in the South, they suit Spring perfectly too.

xo Bridget

PS. Photo was taken pre-blog change over, ignore the watermark. 

Swappin' Things Around A Little...

Hey all, just writing a quick post to talk about my blog change. Same blog, same everything but with a new name! I'm still working on my theme, just keeping it basic. Naturally I chose to change it all up during the middle of my exams, but c'est la vie.

New blog URL: http://lemonbridget.blogspot.co.nz/

I'm changing it on Bloglovin too, so don't forget to switch it over on there as well.

Hope you're having a wonderful day filled with fabulous beauty and warm weather.

Bridget xo Follow my blog with Bloglovin