Australian Care Package with Diary of a Beauty Padawan!

Early in my blogging days (like, way back when I did my Hunger Games posts), I had this lovely Australian reader named Shae. Little did I know at the time that Shae would become a great friend of mine, and then go to create her own blog, Diary of a Beauty Padawan! While she and I have both been incredibly busy due to our college schedules, we still occasionally like to freak out and fan girl over the newest beauty products, and some country-specific brands that we love!

This isn't necessarily a beauty swap, like our last post together was, but more of a care package from her to me, filled with all kinds of Australian makeup goodies! I thought I'd type up a post giving you my first impressions of the fun things she sent me.

The first thing that caught my eye was the Sunset palette by Chi Chi. Chi Chi is known for having gorgeously pigmented, affordable eyeshadow palettes, and this is now the second one I own! The first one was the Chi Chi Brights palette she also sent me a while back. When she asked which one I wanted and gave me the choice between two, I'm pretty sure my exact words to her were "The Sunset one speaks to me on a personal level." And it is even more stunning in person!

The eyeliner she sent me was kind of a joke, because of the name, but it is truly a gorgeous purple liner -- which is perfect for my hazel eyes. This specific eyeliner, appropriately named "Beauty School Dropout," was sold in a limited edition set, and unfortunately is no longer sold. Hopefully they'll come out with it permanently though, because this color is gorgeous!

The next bunch of eye products she sent my way were from a few different brands. The black liner on the left is by Model Co, and is called the Eye Define Crayon Liner. While, yes, it is just a basic twist-up black liner, the coolest part about it is that it comes with a built-in sharpener! Never will you be condemned to a dull line with this liner, because the sharpener pops right into the cap. The swatch for this has been included with the Chi Chi liner above.

The Face of Australia Colour Max "Gold Mine" quad is a simple little neutral quad that is just perfect to throw in your bag and go. It's got 4 neutral shades ranging from light to dark, and is easily blendable! These shadows aren't crazy pigmented, but if you're on the go, you might want the forgiveness that these shadows give. 

Lastly for the eyes are these two neutral cream shadows by Australis. But don't be fooled into thinking they're just ordinary cream shadows. These cream shadows pack a serious punch, and are super metallic! I was actually really surprised when I dipped my finger in them, because I wasn't expecting a cream product. But as soon as I swatched them, I knew they were magic. 

Now moving onto my favorite part -- the lips! The two on the left took me by surprise, because they look like the cult favorite Lip Butters by Revlon, but they're in blue and silver! While it looks like Revlon Lip Butters have been discontinued in Australia, we can still get them here in the United States, but not in these blue and silver shades. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depends on how you look at it), these two shades don't come off as opaque as some of the Revlon Lip Butters often do, but rather are more of a sheer, shimmery formula, that I didn't bother swatching because it really doesn't pick up as much of a color. 

The Face of Australia Lip Paints are very intense (but somewhat messy) liquid lipsticks. You really need very little product to apply these, which I totally forgot when I went to swatch them, which resulted in messy swatches. I think these have been discontinued, though, as I can't find them on the FOA website. However, I love the pigmentation and shine of these lip paints, and they stain your lips, so even when they wear off, you're still left with some color!

And onto the last few products! The first product is by a brand called Boe Beauty, and this particular lip gloss is no longer sold on their website. But I can tell you that it smells like peaches! It is relatively glittery though, and a little bit grainy, but if you can get past that, it smells really, really good and makes your lips look super plump! 

Next are the Velourlips Matte Lip Creams by Australis in "Grandmaster Pash" and "Los Angel-es." "Grandmaster Pash" is part of their AC❤ME collection, which is really interesting because, while the product is matte, it also has like a metallic sheen. It's kind of hard to describe, and something you may just have to experience for yourself! In terms of color, it's a super wearable brick red shade. "Los Angel-es" is a super bright bubble gum pink, not for the faint of heart! I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to pull this color off (but you know I'll try), but I don't have anything like this in my collection! 

Also from Australis are the Colour Inject Lip Gloss and the Cray For Colour Lip Gloss Crayon. I didn't swatch the Colour Inject Lip Gloss because it is very sheer, with just a very subtle hint of color, but the Lip Gloss Crayon is super pigmented but still hydrating! The shade she got me is called "Twisting Roses," and is an orangey red shade that is super fun for spring.

That's all for this post! I'm hoping to get a tutorial up using a few of these products soon. Is there anything you'd like to try? Anything you want to see a tutorial for? Let me know in the comments below!

Again, a HUGE thank you to Shae for sending me all these products! Go over to her blog and send her some love for me!

- D. 

REVIEW: ColourPop Super Shock Cheek in "Lunch Money"

I'm gonna come right out and say it: I have a new favorite highlighter, as well as a new obsession. I recently purchased the ColourPop highlighter in "Lunch Money," and I can't say enough good things about it. The second I touched this product to swatch it, I knew I was going to want more products from ColourPop to add to my collection.

That being said, let's get down to the nitty gritty of this product!

So this color, "Lunch Money" is described as a" soft light gold with a reflective golden duo chrome finish." While I'm not really sure I see the duo chrome once it's on my skin, I definitely can see it as a soft light gold, although leaning more toward a champagne, since it's not super warm toned.

While I'm not a huge fan of the packaging, I understand why it needs to be packaged this way. The texture of this is basically magical. It's got this creamy texture that is somehow actually a powder. I guess I'd almost call it like a mousse. Honestly, there is no good way to describe it, you seriously just have to touch it. It's cool to the touch, and when you put it on your face it's instant magic. Because of this magical texture, though, it has to be in packaging that can seal tightly, which unfortunately means ColourPop probably won't be coming out with palettes any time soon.

Personally, I prefer to apply this with my finger tips, just because I feel like I get a more intense glow that way (and since my skin is so pale, anything less than intense just won't show up), however, they also recommend either a flat synthetic cheek brush or a duofiber brush, depending on your desired finish. If you have darker skin than me, you can probably go for either of those and be just fine -- it just isn't intense enough for me if I use it that way.

That is one swipe from my fingertips. Just one. You barely have to dip your fingers or brush into the product to get fantastic pigmentation, and this stuff seriously stays put all day! I think my favorite thing about this highlighter is that it isn't glittery or chunky, and it doesn't make you look sweaty or oily. It just gives such a natural pop to the skin. 

I hope that you enjoyed this quick review!

- D. 

REVIEW: L'Oreal True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation

I know, I know, it's been forever, I'm the worst blogger ever. My fall semester was absolutely nuts, and because of that, I just couldn't find time to blog! I decided I was going to take a break for a bit so I wouldn't be so swamped with homework and also be worrying about school work and what not, however, I am hoping to be able to get back to it this semester. Forgive me if I'm rusty!

Anyways, for my first few posts of the New Year, I have some reviews to do for you guys! The L'Oreal True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation is all over YouTube right now, and I really wanted to give it a try.

I remember when I was younger, my mom had an Asian beauty brand cushion foundation that I loved playing with, so seeing cushion foundations in American drugstores really take me back to my childhood. That being said, cushion foundations originated within Asian beauty brands, and, especially with the recent interest in Asian beauty products, have become more popular in the US. It's kind of like how BB creams took the world by storm a few years back. A widely popular product in Asia made its way west!

Anyways, let's get on to the review. First thing I noticed about this product right off the bat was the packaging. It's this gorgeous rose gold compact that easily draws you into the display. When you get to the display, there are these little stickers that are supposed to help you find your shade. Personally, I didn't find those particularly helpful, but it was nice that they tried. Normally with the L'Oreal True Match Foundation, I wear the shade C2. However, within the True Match Lumi line, the lightest they go to in each of the shade ranges is C3, N2, and W2. For those of you who aren't familiar with the True Match line, each shade range is categorized by your undertone (C for cool, N for neutral, and W for warm). In the Cushion Foundation, I chose to go with N2, because I have kind of a cool-neutral skin tone.

Something super important to note is that the shade range of the True Match Lumi line is definitely not as vast as the shade range in the original True Match line. The original True Match line has 28, Lumi only has 12.

When you open up the foundation, it is just as all cushion foundations are. You open it, the sponge is sitting on top of a little cap, and when you open the cap, you see the foundation-soaked sponge. To apply, you just press the sponge into the cushion, then tap it on your skin!

While we're on the topic of packaging, I feel the need to make note that the sponge gets VERY dirty, very fast. While it is easily washed, it stains pretty badly. So your sponge will never look as immaculate as it does when you first open it.

My first thought when I opened this foundation was that it was pretty orange for a "neutral" toned foundation. But I still wanted to give it a shot. When you first apply this foundation, you'll notice it is very thin and almost watery. However, this foundation really lends itself well to the patting motion that is recommended. It's definitely a sheer-to-medium coverage, but you can build it up to medium pretty quickly. When the foundation is applied, it's definitely very luminous, if not a bit slippery. For me, with my dry-combo skin, this is ideal! At first I wasn't sure how I felt about the finish, but after wearing it throughout the day, I noticed something with this foundation that is always a major struggle for me: it didn't cling to my dry patches. Like at all. And it lasted pretty much all day!

Here's the struggle for me. I'm pale. Pasty even. Not only did this shade look orange in the packaging, but when I brought it down my neck to attempt to blend it out better, it definitely came off just slightly dark enough to show up as orange. To resolve the problem, I went back in with my Beauty Blender and kind of dealt with the situation. The problem here for me is that the shade range just isn't a vast as the shade range of the original True Match line. I'm simply too pale for this foundation (shout out to all my pasty girls out there).

Maybe in the summer I could pull this shade off. I mean, it isn't THAT dark on me, so I think with a tan I might be able to wear it. However, I paid $16.99 for this foundation. That's right. $16.99 for a drugstore foundation. Oh, and it only comes with 0.51 fl oz! The standard foundation size is about 1 oz, so you're paying a big chunk of money (for a drugstore foundation), for half the product. You're definitely paying for the packaging here.

Final Thoughts? For mid-range skin tones with dry to dry-combo skin, who wants the ease and portability of a compact liquid foundation? This stuff would probably be great. However, I personally can't forgive the shade range. If you're super fair, or even just a dark-medium skin tone, you're out of luck with this one. I also can't forgive the price. While I have no problem shelling out $45 on a good luxury foundation, I expect to get at least an ounce of product in my foundation. With this, I expect it to run out quickly and have a person running out to the store to buy more.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this foundation. I've been using it for about a week, on both bad skin and good skin days. I think my biggest beef with it is the shade range. Honestly, if the shade range was better, I could justify the price tag, due to the ease of application, the kind of coverage that gives you the "I woke up like this" look, and the fact that it doesn't cling to any dry spots.

Hope you enjoyed this review! I'm definitely rusty since it's been a while, but I hope to be back into the swing of things soon!

- D.