Brunette Beauty

Packaging: Palm sized black opaque plastic squeeze tube. The cap is sturdy with the opening 4mm wide. It is a lot smaller then I had anticipated compared to other brands of primer. Smell: None. Colour: White in high density. Clear when rubbed in. Formula/ Texture: This is a smooth, thin moisturising liquid. It glides onto the skin and takes no time in absorbing up. Using a small amount I concentrate this around the centre of my face and smoothing out onto my cheeks. I find this is the area where foundation can start to fade the first. As it absorbs into the skin it has a really good hold for foundation. Pores are slightly reduced but it adds a more mattify finish to the skin reducing shine honestly through out the day. I find it to work well with loose mineral powder as well as the typical liquid foundations. I do like how the formula i s   alcohol free, non-comedogenic, dermatologist tested, synthetic and fragrance free. I defiantly have...

Packaging: Palm sized plastic tube with a screw on cap. The tube is an opaque colour that corresponds to the shade inside. This is topped off with a good cap to match the corresponding gold accents. There is a unique felt sponge applicator that has many holes in it to evenly spread the colour onto the lips. I do find this to be too tall as with heavy use, the tip looses it's precision as the colour drapes to the sides. Smell/Taste: Manufactured product. Colour: Melted Nude - beige nude with warm undertones. Melted Peony - soft baby pink with cool undertones. Melted Fuchsia - bright pink with blue undertones. Melted Berry - deep berry shade with warm/red undertones. Opaque pigmentation with a semi matte finish. These are all part of the permanent range which has a total of 18 shades. Formula/ Texture: These are a thinish, smooth liquid. They are easily applied using the song tip applicator but this may loose it's precision over time w...

  Packaging: Comes in a beautiful thick cardboard case covered in matte X-rayed orchids in black and white with a glossy red UD icon. The silver writing is also raised which is the same on the inside. Each lipstick and lipliner sits in it's own allocated slot in the foam padding complete with drawstring ribbon to hold the lid up. There is a flap magnetic closure. The lip liner is no different to the individual full size I have. The lipsticks do differ  however. With the same gunmetal colour however with a smooth finish and purple UD icon on the top of the lid. The inside of the case is the same with purple mechanics. The lipstick bullet features the same slant. I like this presentation, it makes it feel like a deluxe set. I don't care there's no mirror as I'll use a full sized due to the smaller lipstick bullet. The foam insert is pretty solid which means every lipstick has it's place and it becomes more of a feature rath...

Packaging: Aqua pencil with gold foil and black accents. The base and extended cap are black also. It's a standard size width pencil. Smell/Taste: None. Colour: Transparent. Formula/ Texture: This is a smooth, thick wax. It glides on easily onto the skin around the lips with no tugging. It doesn't dry white or flake throughout the day. Lip colour doesn't cling onto it either. This works great! Defiantly no bleeding which is the main thing. Any type of lipstick, gloss, balm stain all work and have the same effect. I really like this as it's just so easy to use and keeps the colour where it should be! Defiantly one of the better clear lip liners available. Available: From Mecca Cosmetica stores, meccacosmetica.com.au for $25 for 1.20g/0.04oz. I got mine in America from Ulta Beauty for US$18.50.

Packaging: Standard black square mascara tube. The wand is actually a sculpting ball brush which width is the same width as my little finger. I do find this to be way to large for the size of my brows. The bristles on the ball are too long that it doesn't pick up product to comb through brows evenly. It defiantly isn't going to work with thinner brows. Smell: Alcohol. Colour: Medium Brown - taupe Available in 2 shades which is disappointing. Formula/ Texture: This is a gel. Due to the width of the ball wand I do find this hard to apply. I'm not sure which way the ball is meant to be held over my brow. The way the ball holds the gel, it does get streaky when you use one dip across the entire brow. Sometimes the product gets on my skin which I have to wipe away. This is a multi dip use product unfortunately which makes it  less convenient as the brush isn't small enough to be precise and quick. It does dry quickly and is easily remove...

Packaging: Aqua slim oval plastic case. The casing slips off to reveal the twist up wax product. Winding the stick up too much can get the casing messing but other then that there's no flaws in the packaging. The plastic isn't opaque so you can see how much product you do have left. Smell: Lime. Colour: Clear. Formula/ Texture: It's a thick, tacky wax. No residue is left behind but it quickly sticks on the skin. The packaging makes it super easy with no mess to apply. Simply wind up the stick and apply. Layering this product is perfect with no balls of product forming. In saying that only a little bit of this is needed to stop the rubbing pain. I apply this to the areas on my feet where I know cause me pain when my feet swell. I didn't think this would work or that the effects would wear off over the course of the night. How I was wrong. This is quite amazing. It acts as a barrier between your feet and shoes and really stops any f...

Forever the two eye primers compared. One always wins but are very critiqued. Finally I wanted to put the comparison in it's own post. A brief overview of each is below; Urban Decay Primer Potion Used to be in a doe foot applicator 10ml Now in a friendlier squeeze tube 11ml Available in 4 shade varieties + 1 formula variety Occasionally available in larger and travel sizes (excluding in Christmas kits) Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer In a squeeze tube Available in 5 shade varieties Both have similar properties in the formula. For example both have these claims,  24hr wear, c rease/ fade proof, l ightweight, intensifies colours, waterproof, colourless, dries matte & quickly and glide on. So as you can see they are very much comparable. With UD's original doe foot applicator, not a lot product was being kept on the wand when it was coming through the filter. I found that not enough of the primer was added to the eye and the wand wiped away any p...

Packaging: Plastic slim palm size squeeze tube. There is an aqua/teal opaque colour with hints of pink. The tip is flat and has a 0.4mm opening. Not too small or large. Smell/Taste: None. Colour: Clear. Formula/ Texture: It's a silicone based, smooth thick gel. It glides onto the skin and takes a few seconds to absorb. I don't find it to sink into the skin but more sit on top. This isn't my preferred way for a primer to work either. It does leave that silicone feeling on the hands after it's applied, which I just to wipe off. It did mattify my skin but didn't hold makeup on my face as along as the other (higher end) brands I've tried. I didn't really see a reduction in my largest pores around my nose. Probably more evident on smaller pores. I did also use a setting spray to set my makeup too. It's a great affordable primer but not one that I would recommend buying. For a few extra dollars they are some great options ...

While on holiday in America, I stopped by the MAC counter to pick up a few favourite products. In this I noticed unknown to me that the MSF Natural had new and updated packaging. Little did I know this was packaging that all of MAC's compact packaging had the same effect. I've actually realised I've never done a review on this and I've been using it for 3years! The plastic compact is thicker. The lid is fully opaque, meaning the product can't been seen without opening the compact. The top portion is a smooth matte solid black but now there is elements of a shiny finish. This is only on the bottom portion. The width of the plastic from the powder pan to the edge is thicker. The inside lid features a mirror and appears to be more domed shaped as if a sponge would more easily fit inside. The powder itself doesn't seem to be changed in shape or height. The height of the lid does feel like a waste. It's still the same amount of product compar...