Everyone should love a nude lip. I live in nude lips, I have a drawer brimming over with nude lipsticks, and I constantly find newer, better nude lipsticks to covet.

But over my years of trying new lipsticks and rediscovering old ones, there are a few products in my lip product arsenal that I've discovered really works for me. Here are my favourite products, listed in order of application, for your reading/viewing pleasure.

And trust me, this really works.

The first thing you need to do is prep that canvas. You need to hydrate and moisturise those lips, and make sure that you remove all lip flakes.


My go-to everyday lip care product (this is something I discovered about a month ago and have been using non-stop since) is the Kanebo Sensai Cellular Performance Total Lip Treatment*. I am convinced that this lip treatment was sent straight down from heaven, because it worked miracles on my dry, chapped lips (I always have dry, chapped lips). Now, I know a lot of lip care products that can restore my chapped lips, but this is the only product that also made them look plump, moist and, for lack of a better term, juicy. My lips started looking better than they ever had, and I became hooked. I usually apply this before bed as a sort of lip mask. It works a right treat, and I think everyone should own this!
Side note: You are also meant to apply this product on the skin around your lips (and I'm guessing this is why my lips looked so plump and juicy) because it actually helps to restore the skin in that area and reduce and prevent the formation of pout lines.


Then comes the 'chuck-in-your-purse' lip care product that has been my fail safe for about a year now - the Simplicité Angelica Lip Care Balm. This lip balm is light and non-greasy, and lightens the colour of the lips just a little bit - perfect when applying nude lipstick. It is moisturising and convenient to carry around, and I love the light texture that makes it so easy to apply and wear.

Now it is extremely important to remove all flakes and chaps in your lips when you apply any sort of lipstick, and there is an easy way to do this. Before you start applying any makeup to your lips, slather on a thick layer of this lip balm onto your lips. Then, move on to the rest of your face. When you finally come back to the lips, take a cotton bud and rub it onto your lips in small rolling motions - this will catch any chaps in your lips, and the lip balm will have softened these flakes enough so that they will be easy enough to remove.

Moving on to the actual makeup application, here's what I do achieve the perfect, full nude lip.


Lip liner is not essential, but is perfect when you want fuller lips, or want to correct uneven lips. It provides a nice base for your lipstick to stick to, and makes it easier to apply your lipstick because you know exactly where it needs to be applied (I don't use lip brushes and apply straight from the bullet with nude lipsticks, as they are more forgiving than darker lipsticks). My favourite nude lip liner is one from No 7 - their Perfect Lip Liner in Nude. It is the perfect colour for most lip and skin tones, and is affordable enough that you can use it everyday to colour in the entire lip without feeling guilty about it.
In the picture tutorial below, I applied the nude lip liner to only one side of my lips, to show you the difference between the lips before lip liner, and after.


Next, apply your nude lipstick. As I mentioned before, nude lipstick can be applied straight from the bullet because you don't need perfect lines. Another thing I like to do is rub the lipstick in a little at the edges, because this gives you the illusion of a fuller lip by 'erasing' the lip line and allowing the overall lip shape to 'extend' a little bit. My absolute favourite nude lipstick is the Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Color in Blush Nude*. This is a gorgeous beige colour with a hint of pink, and isn't too light, so it won't wash you out. I recommend this for anyone with skin tones from the very lightest to about medium, and if you have dark skin and are a fan of light-light lips, this still won't wash you out as long as you have a lip liner well-suited to your skin tone applied underneath. Tom Ford is available on counter at David Jones both in Melbourne and Sydney.


Finally, if I really want to highlight my lips, I apply a lip gloss. My current favourite is from Candy Doll, because these sticky lip glosses are really long-lasting and hardly require any touch ups at all. The colours are moderately pigmented and add just the right amount of colour to nude lipsticks, if that was what you were looking for. I personally like layering the darker pink lip gloss on top of my beige lipstick, because then it gives you that 'milky pink' look that I adore. The only people I wouldn't recommend these to are people who live in windy areas, and who like to wear their hair down. Your hair will stick to it like it was super glue.
The amazing Candy Doll range is available at Sasa and Watsons outlets, as well as online on Tokyoniki.com.

Below, I've attached a little picture of my overall lip routine, I hope you enjoy it!


So that is more or less my full, nude lip routine! I hope you guys found a useful tip or two from reading this post, and if you have any questions at all, let me know :) Thanks for reading!

* These products are available for purchase online with worldwide shipping at www.harrods.com.

As someone with less-than-ideal features, I find contouring the magic solution to creating shadows and highlights where my face needs it the most. Contouring works beautifully in real life, and even better in photography.

The thing is, contouring isn't the easiest thing in the world. For instance, bad blending can make the contour look unnatural and obvious, and the wrong products can make your face look dirty, or end up bringing out features that you wanted to hide in the first place.

Now when you are looking for a shading product, you want a cooler brown tone, to mimic the grey that is naturally present in shadows. Reddish brown tones tend to look unnatural and a little bit dirty on the skin. Choose a contour colour about 2-3 shades darker than your skin, and only use a tiny amount at a time, and slowly build intensity.
When you are looking for a highlighting product, you want something with a more yellow tone, so that it looks more natural on the skin. Pinky tones can look slightly ashy on the skin. When picking a shade, find something about 2 shades lighter than your skin, so that the highlight is quite prominent. However if you are picking out something with shimmer in it, then stick to colours about 1 shade brighter than your natural skin colour.

After trying many, many, many different types of products (and methods, but that is another story for another post) I finally found some products that work beautifully, and I want to share them with you!

Let's start off with highlighters:



1. L'Oreal Paris Light-Reflecting Lumi Magique Concealer
I received #3 Dark, which isn't quite suited to my skin tone, but the light reflecting qualities of this concealer are beautiful. I've used this as a highlight on skin tones darker than mine, and they turn out beautiful, without making the skin look ashy or grey. In fact, it gives the skin a lovely glow when photographed. It also has the lightest texture of all these highlighters, which makes it easy to blend.

2. Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat
I use the colour #2, and this is great when you're looking for a subtle highlight that photographs beautifully. The Touche Éclat is a beautiful light-reflective concealer that blends into the skin very well to create a subtle highlight. The light-reflecting pigments in the concealer pick up beautifully in flash photography. Bear in mind that with light-reflective pigments, it is best not to layer too much on the skin, because it might cause a flashback in photos.

For more information about makeup products and how to avoid flashback in photography, see this post.

3. Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer
This is one of my favourite highlighters, because it is very obviously lighter than my skin, and is quite pigmented, so the highlight shows up well on the skin. It does not contain light-reflective pigments, and as such can be layered to create a more dramatically contoured look.
This concealer has a more salmon-pink tone to it, so if you have warm-toned skin, I suggest looking for a more yellow-based product to highlight.
One thing to note about this concealer is that it does oxidise slightly on the skin, so be sure to check it out in store first to make sure that you are picking out the right colour for your skin.

4. Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer
This is also one of my favourite highlighters, though I need to get it about a shade lighter so that the highlight is more prominent on my skin. This cream foundation/base product is highly versatile and can be used as a foundation, concealer, or highlighter, depending on the colour that you purchase.
It is quite a bit thicker than the other products I have mentioned above, but so long as you have prepped your skin well (moisturiser, primer if you need it, etc.), then it is very easy to blend into the skin.
Once blended, this product creates a beautiful highlight that stands out both in real life and in flash photography, but that also looks perfectly natural and gives the skin a nice healthy look.


And now on to the shading products!


1. Illamasqua Powder Blush in Obey
This powder blush from Illamasqua is a light, slightly orange-toned powder, more suited to lighter skin tones. I personally do not use this on my cheeks, as I prefer a slightly darker, more cool-toned colour. It is, however, perfect for my crease, and I often use this to tie together a look, no matter what eyeshadow I am wearing. To do this, I simply sweep this slightly above my crease using a fluffy blending brush, blending away the edges of whatever eyeshadow I am using as I go.


2. Sleek Face Contour Kit in Medium
This is a contour colour that I absolutely adore. Though it comes off looking very orange in the pan, it is actually quite natural on the skin, and is easy to apply and blend onto the skin. It is my favourite powder contour, and you'll see me use it in a lot of my videos.
The only issue that I have with this kit is that whilst the shading colour is perfect for my skin (used with a light hand, of course), the highlight colour is a little dark, and doesn't highlight my skin at all.


3. Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate in Intensity One
When you talk about contour products, there is only one product to rule them all, and that product is the Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate palette. It is so easy to use, and looks so natural on the skin, it's like magic. Even the most novice of contour-ers (probably not a real word) can use this with ease - the colour comes out subtly, and yet gives you the most beautiful, natural-looking contour you could ever hope to create. Whilst not the cheapest product out there (let's face it, this costs an arm and then some), it is undeniably the best product I have ever used to contour my face.

Here are swatches of the abovementioned contour products:


I hope you guys enjoyed this post. If you have any questions, please email me or tweet me (or leave a comment on Instagram), and I will get back to you as soon as I can! I will also be writing a post on contouring methods, so if you want some practical tips on how to contour your face, look out for that post! :)

Products mentioned:


Dior Diorsnow UV Shield BB Cream SPF50 (available at http://mizspa.com)
Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express Kit in Brunette
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk
Illamasqua Powder Eyeshadow in Sex
Tom Ford Cheek Color in Narcissist
Sleek Contour Kit in Medium
Clinique Brush-on Cream Liner in True Black
Essence Cherry Blossom Girl Paper Lashes
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Ivory
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-2
Daniel Sandler Watercolor Blush in Cherub
Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Powder
YSL Rouge Volupte in #1 Nude Beige
Beaute Cosmetics Lip Stain in Fluoro

I wanted to squeeze in one last Christmas tutorial, and thankfully a couple of tweaks in my video editing settings are helping me get videos uploaded a lot faster than they normally would, so I can actually do it!

Here is a brand new Christmas or party makeup look, featuring some fab Hedkandi 'Ibiza' lashes by Eylure.


I hope you like the video!


Products mentioned:

Chanel CC Cream (Tina's website is: http://www.chasingelixir.com/)
Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express Kit in Brunette
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-2
Luview Triple Baked Eyeshadow in 02
L'Oreal Paris Infallible Eye Shadow in Perpetual Purple
Tom Ford Eyeshadow Quad in Silvered Topaz
Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner in True Black
Eylure Hedkandi 'Ibiza' Lashes
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Ivory
Sleek Contour Kit in Medium
NYX Blush in Dusty Rose
Revlon Color Riche Lipstick in Fairest Nude
MAC Lipstick in Snob
Chanel Glossimer in 148

Thank you for watching! Happy holidays, everyone!

As everyone probably already knows, most makeup routines change as the weather changes. This is because the skin's needs change according to the change in climate, and certain makeup products that once worked, may no longer be as effective, and the same applies in the reverse.

And then there is also the inevitable (for a makeup junkie, anyway) discovery of new, more effective products, or old products that were forgotten for no good reason!

So here is my brand new everyday makeup routine for Summer 2012, and I am in LOVE with it! It makes me look so bright-eyed, and much younger (I think!).


So here are the products I am using (and loving) at the moment!


BurnOut Clean and Clear Sunscreen
Sunscreen is essential, and I have been loving this particular sunscreen that came on the very trusted recommendation of JFunnyValentine, who I always look to for sunscreen recs. This does leave a slight film on the skin, but I kind of prefer it that way, because it provides a lovely canvas for my foundation to sit on top of, and helps make my makeup last longer. On more humid days, I top everything off with a little powder, but most days I'm happy with my makeup just the way it is.


Chanel LIFT Lumiere
This is my current foundation of choice. The LIFT LUMIÈRE is a gorgeous, dewy finish foundation with pretty decent coverage, and I am loving the way my skin looks with it on. There is something about this foundation that makes your skin look younger and healthier, and so much more awake! Read my full review here.


Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer
I recently reviewed this concealer - it is affordable, effective, and does an amazing job at brightening the eyes! Read my full review here.


Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express Kit in Brunette
This is another product that I have reviewed in more detail, and I had actually strayed from it in favour of a more long-lasting brow product (the MUFE Aqua Brow). However, I tried it just yesterday afternoon, and I fell instantly in love again! In my picture above, I am wearing the Anastasia brow kit, and you can see how it applies so beautifully, and how well it defines the brows.


Skin Food Lecithin Base Mascara (1) and Clinique High Impact Mascara (2)
This is my mascara combination at the moment, and I love it almost as much as I love the Benefit They're Real mascara (which I haven't replaced yet).

Physicians Formula Custom Eye Enhancing Eyeliner Trio (3) or Rimmel Scandal Eyes Kohl Kajal Eyeliner (4)
Drugstore brands are upping their games and releasing products that are comparable, if not flat out better, than some products on the high-end of the makeup market. My absolute favourite drugstore products to buy are eyeshadows and eyeliners, because some brands make some gorgeous products. My current favourites are the Physicians Formula and Rimmel eyeliners - both are insanely smudge-proof (the Physician's Formula one is more suitable for people with extremely oily lids, though), and perfect to use on an everyday basis! The Physicians Formula is slightly cheaper per pencil, but you have to buy 3 at one go, whereas you have the freedom to pick and choose from a large range of colours with the Rimmel eyeliners, which cost AUD 9.95 each (full review here).
The Rimmel eyeliner is slightly more intense than the Physicians Formula, so I have been gravitating towards it at the moment (I am wearing it in my picture above), but if you have extremely oily lids and nothing stays put, then I would recommend the Physicians Formula eyeliner.

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Sassy Marshmallow (5)
This is such a gorgeous colour and is so versatile because it is so appropriate whether you are wearing it in the summer or the winter. I love it because it actually goes really well with warmer colours - for example, I love pairing it with a peachy blush because it really brings out the warmth in the skin, and looks so amazing with a nude lip!


Tom Ford Cheek Color in Narcissist and Chanel Tweed Blush Duo in Tweed Rose
Blush is fast becoming one of my favourite and essential makeup items. They really brighten up your face, and can bring out such a gorgeous warmth in your skin. Though I don't own many, the ones I do own, I truly treasure. Two blushes that I have been reaching for constantly without fail are the Tom Ford and Chanel blushes above. The Chanel is extremely easy to blend and matches almost any kind of makeup look, whereas the Tom Ford is insanely pigmented (and a little harder to blend as a result!) and can brighten even the dullest of complexions.


Sleek Contour Kit in Medium
This isn't a step that I do everyday, but when I have the time or when I want to look particularly well put-together, I apply a little bit of contour to the sides of my face to add definition. The Sleek Contour Kit is my favourite quick solution, because it is very easy and quick to apply and blend.


Kryolan High Gloss in Toffee and Vani-T Mineral Lip Definer in Pout
A brand new lip liner that I am so excited about is the Vani-T Mineral Lip Definer in Pout! For the longest time, I have been looking for a lip liner that doesn't overly define the lips, because I want to look put-together but not too polished. The No7 Perfect Lip liner in Nude is beautiful, but defines the lips a little too well and isn't suitable for everyday.
Pout is a little lighter, and perfect for an everyday nude lip! It makes my nude lips last so much longer, and everything I apply over it looks simply fantastic!
My current favourite nude lip product is still the Kryolan High Gloss in Toffee, but I also rotate in the Tom Ford lipstick in Blush Nude, and the Burberry Lip Cover in Nude Beige.

So that is my current favourite makeup routine! Do you use any of these products? Or do you have a product that you highly recommend at the moment? Please share in the comments! Thank you for reading xx

Hi guys! This video is a little late because I didn't have the time to edit it sooner - I hope you guys enjoy it and please let me know what you think! x





Products mentioned:

Dior Diorskin Nude Foundation in 20
MUFE Aqua Brow in 25
Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in Strut
Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Creme in Rose Gold
Sleek i-Divine Mineral Eyeshadow Palette in Storm
Sleek Contour Kit in Medium
Clinique Brush On Cream Liner in True Black
Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Ivory
Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate in Intensity One
Sleek Illuminating Pressed Powder
Tom Ford Cheek Color in Narcissist
Tom Ford Private Blend Lipstick in Blush Nude

Thanks for watching guys!

I love the holiday season and all that comes with it. It is probably the only time I would wear a dark coloured lip - I love the way it looks against the homey greens and reds at Christmastime.

I hope you enjoy this look, and I hope the lighting in this video is better!

Hi everyone! I have the 'luminous skin' tutorial that I promised, finally uploaded and live!

It is a pretty simple look, done using very few brushes, and is quick and easy to do.

Here are a couple of pictures of the finished look:


And here is the video!



Products mentioned:

Simplicité Oil Controlled Day Cream
Shu Uemura UV Tsuya Skin Primer
Luview Aqua Essence Whitening BB Cream
Kanebo KATE Eyebrow Pencil in BR-1
Clinique Lid Smoothie Antioxidant Eye Color in Cashew Later
L'Oreal Paris Infallible Eye Shadow in Bronzed Taupe
Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Eyeliner Trio (for blue eyes)
Clinique High Impact Mascara
TheBalm Mary Lou-Manizer
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Ivory
Tom Ford Cheek Color in Narcissist
Hello Kitty Magnetic Gloss

One thing I didn't mention in the video is that in order to make everything look more natural, you can finish the look off with the Etude House Nymph Aura Volumer Mist (mentioned in a Favourites video), a setting spray that adds dewiness and a fresh glow to your skin. This will also help play down the highlighter to make the look more wearable for daytime.

I hope you guys enjoyed the tutorial. Thanks so much for watching! x

There is something about Tom Ford beauty that makes everyone swoon. Maybe it's the packaging, maybe the name, maybe the way the products are so immaculately displayed on their pristine countertops at the department store.


When I received some pieces from the collection, I had to try them out right away. They are everything you would expect from a high-end makeup brand - beautiful colours and impeccable quality and textures.

I received the Cheek Color in Narcissist (AUD 80) - a shocking fuchsia coloured powder blush that is insanely pigmented.


In my opinion, this is the star product of the entire collection (though I've got my eye on a lipgloss that was released with the collection as well!) and looks beautiful on the cheeks, when applied with a light hand, of course! I will be featuring this blush in a tutorial on my YouTube channel next week, so look out for that video :)

I also received the Plum Absolute for Eyes (AUD 45), a versatile product that can be used as both an eyeliner as well as an eyeshadow base, or just as a cream eyeshadow.


The colour is a deep, almost black plum. The product itself needs to be warmed up before application if you're going to be using it as an eyeshadow, because otherwise it can get patchy and flaky. Once it warms up it is very easy to apply, and just as easy to blend. Same goes with eyeliner - apply it to the back of your hand first to warm it up, and it will give you a beautiful wash of plum.

The final product I received was this Eye Defining Pencil in Exotic Teal (AUD 45). I was caught by surprise at how creamy and intense the colour is.


The colour is much darker than your average teal coloured eyeliner, which actually makes it perfect for Fall, or simply for a darker colourful smoky eye. Again, I must stress how amazingly creamy and intense this pencil is. Simply amazing.

Here are swatches of these products in natural light.


As mentioned earlier, the collection is already out on counters, so head in and try them out for yourself. There are also some amazing eyeshadow quads and lip products that were released with this collection, so if you're a fan, you should head in to check them out.

These products were sent for review and consideration purposes in accordance with this site's Disclosure Policy.

Hey guys! I am finally posting my Halloween makeup tutorial, this one is of Natalie Portman as the White Swan in the movie 'Black Swan'. It's a rather mild Halloween look, and something that is pretty as opposed to scary. But I loved the look so much that I had to do a tutorial on it, so here it is!


Let me know what you think? Thanks for watching!


Here is a list of the products used:

Shu Uemura Tsuya UV Under Base Mousse
NARS Sheer Glow foundation in Ceylan
Dior Liquid Foundation Full Coverage Brush
Illamasqua Skin Base in 01
Kit Cosmetics Tool Kit Range (blending sponge)
Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express Kit in Brunette
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Pots and Pans (silver colour)
Sleek Cosmetics Molten Metal Palette
Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Fantasme
Boots No7 Smoky Eyeliner Brush
Sleek Cosmetics i-Divine Mineral Eyeshadow Palette in Oh So Special
NP Set Crease Blender Brush
MAC 217 (or equivalent)
Clinique Brush On Cream Liner in True Black
Skin Food Eyeliner Brush
Skin Food Premium Touch Point Eyeshadow Brush
CoverGirl Natureluxe Mousse Mascara
Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate in Intensity One
Glam Manicare Embellished Britney Lashes
Simplicite Angelica Lip Care Balm
Boots No7 Perfect Lip Pencil in Nude
Sleek Pout Polish in Peach Perfection

I hope you liked this post! Are you going to dress up this Halloween? What are you going as? :)

Hello everyone! This post is a little late, because I've had quite a few things to deal with, but it is finally up and I hope you guys enjoy it!


So as promised, here's my step-by-step guide to a long-wearing, shaped red lipstick.







And that's it! Here are a couple of products that I used to create this tutorial.

I have posted swatches of these lipsticks below:



As I mentioned earlier, the concealers used around the lip need to be moisturising. My favourites are the MAC Select Moisturecover and the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer.

I hope this post helped you! x