Tagged: makeup

June 11, 2012

TONYMOLY – discovery

This is a Korean cosmetics and skincare brand which I’ve recently discovered in a Morning Glory store in the Sydney CBD.

What I fell in love with was :

1. The packaging – everything is in a unique/cute/pretty packaging. Whether its a fruit shaped lip gloss box or a styled tint, it just looks incredibly appealing.

7 Fruit Princess Gloss

Cutie lip gloss that gives a clear glow to the lips

2. The colours and the range – The number of different products they have will have you struggling to buy just one thing at a time. I know I wanted to buy the entire range when I saw it on the shelves. Had to restrain myself to just 1 lip tint but am definitely going back for more!

Backstage Oh! My Lip

3. The quality – From what I’ve read so far, the makeup and skincare products are great. I can’t speak for every product in the range, but from what I’ve tried and read reviews on TonyMoly products don’t often disappoint.

Read a review on a TonyMoly Face primer from becoming-beautiful here

4. The fragrances – Everything smells fantastic! I know that most of the times fragrances are bad but I am not a big fan of fragrance-free make up as it’s not aesthetically pleasing. Give me a cherry flavoured lippy anytime!

Prestige Crystal Lipstick/SPF13
Clear cased lipstick with UV blocking functions

5. The price – Really awesome fact – TonyMoly cosmetics are more than affordable. My lip tint was $12 when I just paid $40 for a Benetint the other day. The quality of TonyMoly is the same, if not better.

The brand concept is Chic, Urban, Stylish & Modern – and that’s exactly what the products reflect.

To have a look at the brand and the range of products go to their website here http://eng.tonymoly.com/ (this is the international site)

Nail Lacquer Glitter

This is the product I bought:

TONYMOLY Backstage Sure Tint in Peach

There is an easy applicator brush

Pink/Peach colour with a bit of sparkle

This is the colour on – the tint lasts for at least 4 hours and is quite bright so I try and layer a lighter finish lipgloss over the top. Its so nice not to have lipstick on coffee cups in the morning!

Would love to hear from you if you’ve tried TonyMoly before and have a product you recommend!

May 25, 2012

Quick beauty fix – eyeliner, lashes and nail polish

There’s nothing better than a quick beauty fix at Priceline.

I had a part time job at Priceline while at high school and I am not quite sure what it is but I still have a relationship with Priceline in that sense, like an ex from my youth days

I could spend a couple of hours in those stores and wouldn’t run out of things to do. Especially in the make up isle.

This is precisely what I wanted to do on Thursday night (late shopping night in Sydney), but decided that I would rather do a dash in and out and spend my time a bit more productively at home. So for a quick beauty fix (in and out) – here are the things I walked out with.

Now for my usual Priceline trips this is not a lot but I got some judgement from the counter guy. (Yes judgement!) His exact words: ” Wow, that’s a lot of stuff!” I said – Trust me, its not!

I’ll give him something for being a guy and not understanding the basic needs of women. I bet he’s single too…

anyway….these are my in and out buys which a girl can always put away for a rainy day.

1. Eyeliner (retractable)

Almay retractable eyeliner Black/Noir

Almay eyeliner is the best for a long lasting, smudge proof look. RRP $19.95 (AUD)

I’ve tried a lot of liners and I have a bit of a trial still occurring to this day as I like to try new things. This one however has beaten liners by Dior, Maybelline, L’Oreal, Max Factor, Lancome and Ck.

I guess because it does what it says: Lasts up to 16 hours and doesn’t smudge. Amen! (Of course all the other liners have a different texture and can achieve different looks so it really depends what you like and what look you’re trying to create)

I find Almay eyeliner so good I bought two – just because sometimes they go out of stock – another sign of a best selling item.

2. Eyeliner (liquid)

I’ve been using gel liner for a while and quite like it as you can control the thickness of the stroke and also there is a bit more precision since its a gel and doesn’t have a tendency to run/smudge. I use the Missha Gel liner (Picture 1) – my first ever gel liner from a few months ago so I wanted to get something really affordable in case I didn’t like it. This one is still doing the trick. You can also try Napoleon China Doll Gel Liner which is affordable and long lasting.

Picture 1: Missha Gel liner RRP $15.90(AUD)

However, a gel liner is good when you have the time to do your make up properly and precisely. When I am running late or feel a bit lazy to do the whole thing, I like to use a liquid liner. My all time favourite: SHE liquid liner (Picture 2). The Stila pen liner is also a good buy but comes in a pen so it’s a bit easier to apply as well. RRP$21.05

Picture 2: SHE liquid liner in black RRP $13.95 (AUD)

In line with my recent inspiration with Almay I decided to purchase a liquid liner by the same brand. It was a good deal with a 3 for 2 sale and I got one of the eyeliners for free. Bargain!

Picture 3: The Almay liner brother sitting together

3. False lashes

These are always needed when you’re hitting the town. Falsies don’t need to cost a lot of money and I find I get 2 wears max out of them no matter what I’ve paid.

I usually try and keep my lashes purchases between $5 and $10 unless it’s something exceptionally unique.

Some of the lashes I use:

Picture 4: Baby Doll Lashes RRP$3.78

Picture 5: Beauty Lashes PPR$4.99

You can get similar ones here for the same price Eye Lashes

One thing I’d recommend is – don’t use the glue which comes with the lashes. It’s never good and always seems to be dried out. Most of the times it’s just plain toxic (which is the real bother).

Try and invest in a good glue, preferably with a wand for easy application. I recommend Revlon Precision Lash Adhesive. (Picture 6)

Picture 6: Revlon Precision Lash Adhesive RRP$4.99 (this one is a bargain actually if you buy online, its more expensive in stores)

4. Nail Polish

When there is a good deal on nail polish and you know you use it (even if not regularly, like me), always replenish your supplies. There is nothing worse than getting yourself ready to go out and realising your toes look like someone’s been biting on them. This situation has prohibited me from wearing lots of open shoes and that can be an outfit killer. So its handy to have nail polish stored in one of the drawers for emergency uses!

Picture 7: These Rimmel twins only cost me $10 and you can’t go wrong with adding clear and pink to your collection as these will always go first. What’s good about these in particular is the drying time – 60 seconds! For impatient beauty buffs like me, its probably the only reason they ended up in my shopping basket.

Here is where you can get some online: The Brilliant Gift Shop or here: Rimmel

Happy shopping!

For full list of Priceline stores click here

May 20, 2012

The Benefits of Benefit

Benefit is famous for products such as Benetint and BADgirl mascara and eyeliner.

I am fairly new to this brand and only made my first Benefit purchase yesterday. Although we had a short encounter, I believe our love affair has begun and I went back to the Benefit counter at Myer Pitt St for a free make up lesson.

The girl at the counter was very friendly and was the same Benefit cosmetician who served me last night. She told me it was her 2nd day on the job and for day 2 she was doing pretty well. I naturally asked a lot of questions about the different products and tested a couple of things. I am impressed by this brand and the variety of colours and the unique approach to beauty. However, this is an indulgence I will take at slower steps as Benefit products are a bit more pricey here in Australia versus San Francisco for example (which it seems is the city that all the online Benefit stores lead to).

My buys were influenced by needing lipstick and eyeshadow.

1. Lips: My problem is that I somehow manage to get lipstick on my teeth, no matter what I do. So I opted for a lip tint. After all Benefit is famous for their Benetints – I decided to give it a go. The product pictured below is a benetint + gloss pen. I thought it would be easier to carry around in my bag rather than getting a full benetint product. Although if I get to a ‘can’t live without’ stage with the tint I might purchase the full size version. (Picture 2)

Picture 1 – Benetint + Gloss pen RRP $39.00 (AUD)

Picture 2. Benetint: Rose tinted lip + cheek stain

Picture 3: Out of the pack

Picture 4: Brush

Picture 5: Colour test

Picture 6: On the lips with the gloss

2. Eyeshadow: I have a pretty standard eye make up routine. Highlighter on the brow bone, base shadow and smoky effect + liner. I can usually find a pretty good eyeshadow (Current favourite Picture 1 below), but its really hard to find a matt/shimmer finish brow highlight shade. Some of them are too shimmery or too white or purple. I needed to find the perfect combination of matt/shimmer + pink shade that can be worn everyday.

Picture 1. Borjois Smoky Eye Trio Shadows. I use the darkest shade – Gris Dandy.

Benefit eye and brow makeover kit was able to cover my needs for all three shades and also a brow styling kit extra.

Picture 2: Benefit smokin’ eyes… (sexy eye & brow makeover kit) RRP $68 (AUD)

Picture 3: The kit with instructions/descriptions and a mirror

Picture 4: The below two colour pods are 1. brow gel 2. eye bright cream to brighten the eyes (similar to applying congealer around the eyes to make shadow last longer, but also brightening)