Tom Ford. Ah, Tom Ford. A man who can do no wrong. Make up aside, his perfume is fast upping its rank in the beauty world. Previously I have blogged about how much I love the Tom Ford Neroli Portofino perfume and I still do and it is still my favourite Tom Ford perfume.
However, we are here to talk about Tom Ford Lavender Palm today and what I think of it. Packaging wise, it’s a winner for me. Sits perfectly right next to my Neroli Portofino and I have a thing for square things rather than round. I pick square watches over round too. This perfume is inspired by the Californian coastline evoking scents of sunlight, natural blossoms and the coastlines. So you can imagine the floral, the sharpness and mellowness pouring out of this perfume.
As with its name, you can imagine this fragrance oozes with lavender as its key note. Surprise, surprise, two types of lavender are included in this fragrances – one with bright tonic lavandin & one with concentrated herbal lavender note with undertones of lavender absolute. If you’re a fan of lavender, you can be sure this is the one for you.
I find this perfume quite sharp to the senses after first spritz but for some reason it mellows out to this lingering floral scent that is quite warmth, woody to the senses. Definitely a cooler weather perfume. Loving it!
Top notes – Citrus lemon, bergamot, clary sage
Middle notes – Lavender, palm leaf accord, sparkling aldehydes, pink & white oleander, lime blossom
Bottom notes – Vetiver, cedar, benzoin, tonka bean, olibanum, rich green moss
Private Blend EDP Spray 50mL / RRP AUD$290
EDP Decanter 250mL / RRP AUD$750
Available on counters now
“From the dusty tones to the sandy textures, fall is about rich colour made wearable” - Bobbi Brown
Inspired by a trip to Morocco, the Marrakesh Chic Collection ranges of colours that are very boho chic and oozes creaminess. Think soft washes of colour even though the eye shadows have intense pigmentation, creamy application and soft feminine finishes.
I got to trial #Rich Kashmir (comes in 8 shades) Rich Color Eye Shadow that is really soft and smooth to apply and blends effortlessly on the eye. Be careful with it though as the look can be deceiving and the eye shadow is highly pigmented so be sure to use very little to blend for the soft wash boho chic look.
For this particular shade, I use a fluffy brush and blend as my crease (because I have no crease!) and it is really natural, comfortable (very lightweight) and long lasting! The colour stays true to the palette shade and doesn’t smudge. Due to its power to cream finish, it melts upon application so you can use the eye shadow as your base and press pat it onto your lids or blend with an eye shadow brush.
RRP AUD$48
There’s also lip color ($44), metallic lip color ($44) and creamy lip color ($44) from the Marrakesh Chic Collection
I will start this blog post with my encounters with Sukin. Previously, I have been given many Sukin products to trial and have always given it away as I have always believed that natural/organic products are not for me. I love my potency and I adore the tingling, high performing products. The only product I have previously blogged about Sukin was the Nourishing Lip Treatment.
So couple of weeks ago, due to personal reasons I stopped taking the pills that I have been taking for half a decade. Needless to say, my skin broke out in all sorts of imaginable places. This was something I have half expecting to happen as I am quite the pimply kid that I have documented on my blog many times. Everything I had and everything I thought I knew about skincare were not helping my skin and it wasn’t clearing up.
Not the salicylic acids, not the benzoyl peroxides, not the acne skincare ranges, not the pillow case changing, not the salt water rinsing, not the food diet avoiding all the food that might trigger further breakouts, not the drinking 8 cups of water a day rule, not the avoiding skincare and use minimal products helped.
Naturally, I did what something unusual, I went for Sukin’s natural skincare products. Keeping it minimal.
Sukin Foaming Facial Cleanser > Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner > Serum of the day > Sukin Facial Moisturiser
If you noticed, I have also dropped spot treatments from my routine and can I just say, it works WONDERS?
The citrus-ey Facial Cleanser is a sulphate free foam wash that is non drying and very comfortable on my skin. I use this both day and night to cleanse my face and the results are clean, soft and comfortable skin. Packed with ingredients like chamomile, aloe vera, witch hazel, green tea, macadamia and evening primrose oil, this cleanser feels and smells luxurious and very invigorating in the mornings.
Instead of pour toner on a cotton pad or patting down, I love the refreshing and Hydrating Mist Toner that is also hydrating. Great to help soothe skin, refresh makeup, travelling or in the office. As this is alcohol free, you can spritz as many time as you wish to instantly revitalise skin.
Last step, I finish off with the Facial Moisturiser while this moisturiser feels quite rich with just one pump, it did however absorbs very quickly and feels that it is penetrated into the skin leaving a very thin veil of hydrating layer at the top. I have no problems with the make up application after using this moisturiser and haven’t broken out from it which is tops!
Did you also know that Sukin products does not contain parabens, artificial colours, mineral oils (huge thing for me!), SLS, animal derivatives or synthetic fragrances. So even the most sensitive and fragile skin can benefit from their products.
Love the pump bottle packaging and mist spray! I think I might have stumbled across a new found respect for natural products.
RRP AUD$9.95 each
Available on counters now
Maybelline recently launched 10 new shades to the Color Sensational Lip Colour range that is very on trend ranging from pinks, reds to browns.
The lipsticks are easy to apply, feels lightweight on the lips and have a shiny finish. Some shades appear to be quite sheer but there’s quite a few that are very pigmented as well (namely the brighter shades).
Maybelline also launched a range of shades for the Super Stay Lip Liner perfect on their own or under lipsticks. These lip liners are self sharpening and is doesn’t drag on lips. Application is a matte finish.
Let’s get onto the swatches shall we?
#109 Rosy Dream – Icy pink, didn’t think it look good on me. Pale lipsticks and me can’t be friends.
#140 Juicy Bubblegum – Gorgeous blue pink shade that does not look tacky or accentuate the fine lines on my lips. Major love!
#161 Juicy Pink – I find this quite sheer and the pink shade looks very natural on my lips. Perfect for everyday wear.
#255 Mauve Diamonds – True to its name you can see sparkly flakes in this lipstick.
#330 Sugar Plum – Very similar to Juicy Pink but a more hydrating and is slightly darker in shade.
#550 Cherry Candy – Bright red, for some reason once applied they don’t look as intense as they do as a lipstick. Blends perfectly onto my lips.
#602 Beige Rose – While this lipstick looks very brown but once applied it is very, very sheer. The gentle wash of nude over lips I’d say.
#715 Ice Tea – This shade is also another version of nude that has a very shiny finish and reflects light. Not sure if I am a big fan of finishes like this.
#760 Luminous Cocoa – Very natural, minimal shine but glides on smoothly just like the rest of the lipsticks. If nude is your thing, you will definitely want to check this out. As you can see my natural lip colour is quite pigmented on it’s own hence it looks quite brown-red.
#445 Mango Diamonds – Definitely one of my favourite shade as it comes with a hint of orangey coral in it.
Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Color RRP AUD$16.95 each
Maybelline Super Stay Lip Liner RRP AUD$12.95
All products are now available on counter
For a limited time, the ghd Gold Classic styler will be transformed with an iridescent injection of jewel colours. Think sapphire blue, amethyst purple and emerald green.You don’t have to ask my personal favourite is amethyst purple!
Each of this styler will function exactly like the ghd Gold Classic styler and it comes with matching plates, accents and power indicator light. On top of that you’ll get a protective plate guard too.
ghd Peacock Collection retails for AUD$279 each and is available from approved ghd salons or online now.
In March, we see the launch of Vivienne Westwood’s latest perfume – Cheeky Alice aka the ‘sexier older sister’ of the Naughty Alice perfume.
Vivienne Westwood Cheeky Alice is a fun, playful and sexy perfume made in France that is sure to charm anyone with it. This perfume shouts feminine with it is fresh burst of floral notes (lily of the valley, peony, rose) with a woody/musky base. This perfume is perfect for someone don’t like heavy scent perfume. It is very upbeat and uplifting floral-y, great for Autumn I’d say.
Cheeky Alice also comes with a charming wearable red leather bracelet fasten by two hearts symbolising Alice’s magnetism and irresistibility. It is very cute but I find it too short to wrap around my wrist three times and too long to wrap around my wrist twice. I now use this to wrap around my bag handle instead.
Eau de Toilette 50ml RRP AUD$95
Eau de Toilette 75ml RRP AUD$125
Available in Davie Jones, Myer, The Perfume Connection and selected pharmacies for a limited time only
Earlier this year, few of us MBBE ladies attended a makeup workshop with the use of NP SET new product launch. I previously blogged about the NP SET make up brushes that comes in individual packs that you can pick and choose which you want.
NP Set Red Carpet Set
Comes with 4 shadows – #violet, #champagne, #gold, #blue, 2 contour and highlighting powder and 4 lip glosses – #tomato red, #silver, #magenta, #mauve.
Great for an all in one palette, eye shadow, blush and glosses. At the back of the palette there’s how-to in using the palette and where to apply everything as well. Personally, my favourites are the pink/orange blush as they are unique (something you don’t see in everyday blush colours option) and it is flattering for my skin tone as well. While the lip glosses look bright in colour they are actually quite sheer upon application, much like a glossy lip tint wash.
As for the eye shadows, I find them quite loose once I fluff my brush over it and can get quite messy. So use very little at a time to build up intensity.
NP Set Glam Set
This set also comes with 4 shadows – #chocolate, #silver, #pewter, #champagne, 2 contour and highlighting powder and 4 lip glosses – #peach, #mocha, #rose pink, #rosy brown
As you can see this palette is more of your day to day palette even though it is the ‘Glam’ set. The neutral brown shades for eye shadows are quite practical for daily use even with a hint of shimmer in it. The pop of blush + lip gloss shades helps to glam up the entire look.
RRP AUD$29 each
Available now at NP Set Makeup Bars nationally
Last year, MBBEs did a collab with Face of Australia. This collection can truly be said, tested on beauty bloggers and not animals! May I present you the Barbados collection.
Face of Australia Barbados Nail Enamel is a collection of 8 nail polishes with a shimmering pearl finish that dries in 60 seconds. I have swatched all of the colours and I must say they are easy to apply, streak free and lasted the whole week for me. Some of these shades are also named by You’ve Got Nail!
A lovely plum pink shade that has a hint of purple hue in it. One of my favourite from the collection!
The perfect orange shade that I insisted to include in this collection.
This I call it the mature orange, not the fluro orange nonsense.
Perfect for Summer!
A red shade that won’t look dated on your skin at all.
The polish is a little watery and requires two coats for colour to show.
Metallic gold that is timeless.
If there should be a star of a group, this would be it. A gorgeous shimmery blue-green shade.
I am sure you’ve seen all the craze about it amongst the beauty bloggers, it is as pretty in real life as it does in pictures.
A twist to your usual metallic grey shade, it’s shimmery!
This blue shade has alot of metallic shimmer on it.
While I’m not a fan of metallic hue, the gorgeous blue is definitely great for party digits!
I am in love with this jelly pink shade. Another favourite shade from the collection.
How can you not like jelly pink??!!
PS. While I have included all the pictures into collages, I have to say none of the pictures were tampered or filtered.
AUD $4.95 each
Available on counters now
One lucky winner can win the full set of Face of Australia Barbados collection. All eight bottles of it!
How to win it:
Leave a comment (in this post or facebook page) and let me know which shade(s) is/are your favourites.
- Competition starts today 1st March 2012 and will run until 8th March 2012, 6pm (Melbourne time)
- Winner will be announced on the 9th March 2012, be sure to check back to see if you’ve won!
- Competition is only open to Australia residing readers only
- Each user can only send through their entry once.
