Hello everyone! I was getting ready - a little early - for my New Year's Eve dinner tonight with the fiancé (it still feels weird saying/typing this!) and thought, since I have the time, why not photograph it for a pictorial?

So here's a quick step by step on how to achieve this look, as well as the products that I used:

I am a huge fan of Dior cosmetics. Ever since I saw on Lisa Eldridge's videos that she performed tests on different eyeshadows, and that the eyeshadows that broke down the least were made by Dior. Their eyeshadows are lovely and easy to blend, and I have spent my 'makeup career' amassing all kinds of Dior eyeshadow palettes. And let's not even begin to talk about their amazing lipsticks.

So when I was given the opportunity to create a makeup look using the products from the Mystic Metallics Fall 2013 collection, I jumped at the chance. I honestly just sat in front of the camera, took a look at the products, and slapped them onto my face - no planning needed with a line this amazing.



I hope you guys enjoy the video, and take a look underneath the video if you'd like to see a small review of the products mentioned!


Products mentioned:

Diorsnow UV Shield BB Cream - full review here.

Dior Fusion Mono Eyeshadow in Cosmos and Lune - these cream eyeshadows are similar to the Chanel Illusion d'Ombre eyeshadows, but are much thinner and lighter, making them easier to blend and less likely to crease on the eyes. Also, the shimmer in these eyeshadows is much finer than the shimmer in the Chanel ones. In my opinion, they make for a much more polished makeup look - perfect for dinner parties or dates :)

Dior 5 Couleurs in Constellation - A gorgeous palette with neutral mauve-y browns and two beautiful glitter eyeshadows in purple and a cool-toned gold. All colours were as smooth as you would expect any Dior eyeshadow to be, and extremely easy to blend. These colours are not as dark and as pigmented as some other Dior palettes, so if you want a darker smoky eye you'll have to layer them over a dark Fusion Mono eyeshadow, the way I did in this video.

Clinique Brush-on Cream Liner in True Black - one of my favourite gel eyeliners because it is creamy and never dries up. It has great staying power as well, and never smudges under the eyes for me.

Dior Blush in Rose Diorette - I absolutely love the brush that comes along with this blush - it is so soft and spreads the colour perfectly onto the cheeks. A big issue with me is that I can never find a blush brush soft enough to apply blush with. Most of the blush brushes are too hard and sweep away my carefully applied cheek concealer. With this brush, I experienced none of these issues, and the blush itself perfectly complemented the smoky eye look. The colour Rose Diorette is a deep rosy colour with a tiny hint of peachiness to it so that it leans a little bit warm.

Dior Addict Extreme in Fortune - slightly darker than the natural lip colour in a natural rose, this lipstick is beautiful if you're looking to create a natural makeup look. I personally like more nude lip colours, so I mixed the Diorsnow BB cream in with this lipstick so I could lighten the colour. If you have darker toned skin, however, this would be absolutely perfect - no adjustments needed.

Dior Addict Gloss in Magic - this is a lovely, lovely lipgloss. All it does is enhance your lipstick colour and give it a gorgeous shine. If you have a very warm skin tone, this could fix some issues you have with cooler lipstick colours - the gold flecks in the lipgloss may be able to warm the lipstick tone a little bit so it won't look too harsh against your skin.

The Dior Mystic Metallics Fall 2013 Collection is out on counters now. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Last Saturday, I was invited to a quaint little makeup workshop, held at Muse by Watsons, by the latest brand to grace their shelves - Mary Quant cosmetics.

The brand is inspired by fashionista Mary Quant from London, and features loads of colours and textures, aimed at 'bringing fashion to faces'.

We were treated to a makeup demonstration by Mary Quant's senior makeup artist, and then given the opportunity to play around with the products. In particular, Mary Quant's Action Lashings mascara and Eye Gloss stood out to me - more on that later if I get the opportunity to trial these products. In the meantime, I have a couple of products that I did receive to trial, and here are my thoughts on the brand.


Mary Quant Malaysia have 20 shades of Moisture Rich Lipsticks, ranging from the light to the very bright. I was lucky enough to receive a shade of lipstick that I definitely enjoy wearing - this is the P-05 lipstick, and it is a soft, rosy pink shade. It has a slight mauve-y undertone to it which makes it the perfect soft pink for warm skin tones, and is sheer enough so that a tiny bit of your natural lip colour shows through. These lipsticks are very moisturising and easy to wear, but make sure that you don't have little flakes on your lips (check out my lip tutorial here to find out how to rid your lips of flakes before applying lipstick) or this lipstick will catch on those flakes and create unsightly lines on your lips.


I also received a beautiful peach blush, shot through with extremely fine gold shimmer - the Blush Baby in #11. Think of a toned down, very natural version of NARS Orgasm. The colour is an absolute beauty, and would match so many different kinds of skin tones. Don't worry about the shimmer because it does not show up in even the harshest of lighting. Mary Quant have perfected the glowing skin effect without the need to use harsh shimmer or glitter. It also layers well for extra pigment and colour. If you're looking for a natural blush that will take you from day to night, this is it!


I also received two eyeshadows - the FP-07, pictured in the palette with the blush above, and the M-07, pictured here. Both eyeshadows are beautiful and smooth, and I am particularly impressed with the pigment and the smoothness in the matte brown eyeshadow (FP-07) - good matte eyeshadows are so difficult to find, and this one passes all tests! There is not a bit of chalkiness in this matte, and it blends and applies beautifully.
But my absolute favourite among the products I received, by far, is the gorgeous M-07 - a opalescent silver with an amazing amount of iridescence. This gives the most beautiful sheen of silvery colour to your lids, and can easily be used as a higlighter in the inner corners of your eyes, on the tops of your cheekbones, and in your cupid's bow. Again, this is nowhere near as harsh as a stark silver, and has a tiny bit of lavender shot through it. This makes the colour more wearable on warm skin tones.

Here are all the products swatched side by side:



The brand's logo is a black daisy, which you will find incorporated into all their packaging. I love most of the packaging, but was quite disappointed with the fact that all their eyeshadows and blushes come with slimy, sticky goo on the bottom (presumably so they stick to the palettes), because for their price range (between Inglot and MAC for single eyeshadows) I think they should be able to stick some magnets in there somewhere.

Overall though, the product formulations truly impressed me, because the colours are beautiful and soft, yet can be layered for more colour or coverage. Their eyeshadows are smooth and buttery, and so are their blushes. There are a large range of colours across the board, from lipsticks to eyeliners to eyeshadow. If you're looking for quality colour options with colours that are formulated specifically to match a wide range of skin tones, then this is where you should look!

Mary Quant is available at Muse by Watsons outlets and is out on counters now.

I know it's been a while since I've posted a makeup tutorial and I apologise! It's been crazy trying to form a new routine on top of trying to adjust to my new environment and lifestyle, so I haven't had much time to film and edit. I filmed this video a couple of weeks back, but only just found the time to finish the editing.

This is a quick, simple day-to-night makeup that I've been doing a lot since I got back, and I hope you guys enjoy it!



Products mentioned:

Biore Perfect UV Face Milk SPF50+ - read a little more about it here.

NARS Sheer Glow in Ceylan - this is a velvety, slightly matte foundation that still gives your skin a great glow despite its texture. It has a medium to full coverage, so it's great for people with slightly problematic skin, and it sits beautifully on the skin without any cakiness or heaviness.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express Kit in Brunette - my favourite brow product. Full review here.

Sleek Oh So Special palette - a beautiful palette with plummy tones that is perfect for all skin tones.

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Eyeliner Trio (this is a mouthful!) - a fantastic trio of eyeliners with arguably the best formula on the drugstore market at the moment. It does not budge on even the most teary, oily lids, so if you're looking for a good quality eyeliner that stays put on your eyes, this is it.

Majolica Majorca Lash Enamel Glamour Volume On Mascara (another mouthful that almost doesn't make sense) - my favourite mascara to date. Gives you volumnised lashes with definition, and the comb wand makes it very easy to apply. This is also insanely waterproof.

Clinique Airbrush Concealer in Neutral Fair - this concealer doesn't look like it does the job when you first apply it - until you take a step back or catch a glimpse of your reflection in the car sideview mirror or a cafe window. Then, you realise your eyebags and dark circles are barely noticeable, if at all. Fantastic product.

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-2 - this is my HG concealer. It ticks all the right boxes for me - pigmented, easily 'mouldable' and blendable but doesn't move after it's applied, dual colours so you can mix the perfect colour for your skin...the list just goes on. I want to buy it over and over again even though I already have one in my makeup bag.

Clarins Illuminating Cheek Colour in Lovely Rose - this blush is beautifully made, and contains sections of matte blush powder as well as sections of blush containing a lovely subtle shimmer. On the skin it just lights up the face (hence the very fitting name) - it gives you a subtle glow that doesn't look like makeup. I received this blush from ry.com.au. They stock loads of Clarins products as well as other well-known makeup and skincare brands, and haircare and tools as well. They also do some pretty great discounts from time to time, so make sure you check in regularly to score a good deal.

Diorskin Nude Compact Powder Foundation - read my full review of this powder and its accompanying liquid foundation here.

Sisley Phyto Lip Gloss in #2 - a beautiful colour that photographs even more so. One of my absolute favourite daytime lip glosses because I am such a huge fan of nude lips, but full-on nude can be a little much when you have minimal makeup on in the daytime, so this lip gloss brings just that little bit of colour back into your face. #2 is such a flattering colour, I think everyone should own a colour like this!

I hope you enjoyed the video!

Happy Hump Day, everyone!

A few weeks ago, I was sent this box of eyelid tape from a PR, which really intrigued me because eyelid tape has been around for ages on the Asian market, but this was the first I'd heard of something similar being marketed in Western countries. I was very interested to try it out and see how it compared to other kinds of eyelid tape that I'd tried before, and spent the last couple of weeks trialling it and trying to get the hang of it so that I could share what I thought here on the blog.


Eye Define is sold in boxes of 64 strips, and retails at AUD 29.95 per box. Along with the strips, the box also contains an instruction booklet, and a little tub of gel, all packed in a little plastic blister case so that the contents of the box don't move about when you shake the box.


The shape of the eyelid tape is exactly similar to Asian eyelid tapes, a crescent moon shape with the tiniest curve. According to the instructions, you need to apply the gel in the tub to the eyelid tape before applying it to your eye, to help with reapplication (in case you get it wrong on the first try, which, trust me, you will probably do) and to help the strip last all day. This is where it has a one-up on Asian eyelid tapes, because most Asian eyelid tapes only have enough stickiness for one application. If you get it wrong, it's into the bin and on to the next piece of tape.

Now let me preface this review by saying that eyelid tape is very difficult to get the hang of. It is very difficult to place it correctly on your eye - too low and it sticks out onto your lashline; too high and it looks like you took an entire months' worth of caffeine in one morning - so you have to practice a few times before you figure it out, since each eye shape is different, and the placement of the strip on your eyes could be very different from mine.

So here's how I fared:


Above is a picture of the tape placed on my lids after about 3 tries (and I've done this before!). It looks quite natural when placed correctly, and because the tape has a pretty smooth texture, it doesn't stand out too much when I close my eyes. Up close though, it's pretty obvious that I have something stuck to my lids.

I wanted to try this with a natural makeup look that looks best with a large mobile lid, so I chose a simple winged liner with a bright, shimmery eyeshadow, and a little contour run into the crease. Here's what the makeup looks like without eyelid tape:



And once I applied the makeup, I tried applying the eyelid tape. It was a little bit more tricky doing this (which is why I'm thankful that I practised on my eyelid without makeup before I did this) because the tape becomes a lot less sticky once you've applied it to makeup, and it can be quite difficult to remove it and reapply if you placed it wrong. However, I wouldn't recommend trying to apply the tape first, and then apply makeup on top of it, because the tape doesn't hold on to much, and makeup looks strange when it sits on top of the tape. Makeup remover does not work on the tapes either (meaning if you made a mistake and want to clean makeup off of the tape, it doesn't come off).

For me, I had to change the placement of the sticker when I had makeup on, because the sticker made my lid jut out a little over my eyeliner, which made me look a bit like I'd been crying all night. I had to raise the sticker a little bit higher, but not so high that it looked unnatural. It took me a good many tries, and 3 wasted sets of eyelid strips, before I finally managed this:


The eyeliner is still a little bit off, because my mobile lid is so tiny that I couldn't raise the tape very much higher, which meant that the tape still made my lid jut out a little right above my eyeliner on my lashline. It looks a little bit more natural in real life, I think, and only feels slightly strange the first couple of hours after your very first application, but then you get used to it.


As for lasting power, these tapes did a pretty good job. A set of strips lasts an entire day (that's 5-6 hours for me) without budging or lifting at the corners as some tapes are wont to do.

Overall, I actually really enjoy the effect that the eyelid tape has on my lids. It gives me a larger mobile lid, which makes my eyes look bigger and more defined. From a makeup lover's point of view, I can finally show off the eyeshadow on my mobile lid without having to close my eyes, and without that pesky hood covering all my effort!
Note though, that this only works for natural looks like the one I did above, and cut crease looks. If you like smoky eyes and wear them all the time, there's no need for this tape because it wouldn't make much of a difference unless you have extremely hooded eyes.

What I didn't like about this tape was that it wasn't natural-looking enough for me, and caused my lid to jut out in places that made my eyes look a little bit strange, especially below the eyelid tape where my lid met my eyeliner and lashline. It was also obvious when I closed my eyes that there was something on my lids.

What do you think? Should I keep wearing eyelid tape, or are my natural lids good enough? :)

A lot of people are afraid to tackle contouring, because it seems like something best left to the pros. When I first discovered contouring, I tried it, only to come out looking like I was auditioning to be a gazelle in the chorus line of a Broadway production of The Lion King.

But with some practise, I think I've finally gotten the hang of it. I can't be bothered doing this everyday, but when I want to impress on a night out, this is my go-to contouring routine.

If you have any questions at all, please Facebook message or email me, or Tweet me, and I will get to you as soon as I can :)


Here is a picture of the finished look:


And here is the video!


Products mentioned:

La Mer Moisturising Soft Cream (read my full review here)
Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation in Ivory (I'm Pure 4 Sure)
Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate in Intensity One
Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair
Sleek Contour Kit in Medium

Read more about my favourite contour and highlight products here.

Hi guys! Here is a brand new tutorial in celebration of the fact that it is FINALLY Friday! TGIF! xx



I hope you enjoy watching this one :)



Products mentioned:

La Mer Moisturising Soft Cream (read my full review here)

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation - this is a fabulous, lightweight, new-gen foundation (very similar to the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua) that gives your skin an instant brightening effect. Its lightweight texture is perfect for the warmer weather, and it gives great coverage. What I like most about this foundation is that it has a lovely dewy finish, and it does indeed brighten your skin considerably.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express Kit (read my full review here)
Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes in E103 (read my review here)

Vani-T Mineral Colour Crystals in Deep Russett - this absolutely gorgeous pigment was such a pleasure to use for this video. The pigment is very finely milled, has a lovely natural shimmer to it (no large chunks, yay), and applies and blends like a dream. Beautiful!

Prestige Total Intensity Eyeshadow in Black Magic - you all already know how much I love intensely pigmented eyeshadows, and I have been using Prestige's Total Intensity eyeshadows in so many of my videos because they are just that, and so much more. They have fantastic colour payoff, unique, beautiful shades, and are soft and buttery-smooth. Black Magic is a black eyeshadow with lovely, multicoloured shimmer running through it. I was expecting a lot of fall down with this but that didn't happen - another big plus.

Sleek Contour Kit in Medium (read about this and some of my other favourite contour products here)

Sisley Copper Touch - released with the A/W 2013 Belle de Shanghai collection (and a number of other preceding collections), the Copper Touch is a beautiful, iridescent bronze with gold flecks. I love using this in the summer, when I want my skin to glow. I am quite fair, so I love using this on my collarbone and on the tops of my cheekbones to give my skin a beautiful warmth. If you know that you're going to be under incandescent lighting when you're going out, slather this on. You won't regret it :)

MAC Mineralise Eyeshadow in Blue Flame

Avon Supershock Gel Eyeliner in Black - one of my favourite pencil liners, and for good reason! This gel/pencil hybrid is so intensely black and incredibly creamy. It blends like a dream, too. Once it sets, it is difficult to get this pencil to budge. Another plus point (as if there aren't enough already) - it's affordable. The total package!

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Ivory - this soft, creamy concealer is hydrating, doesn't get into crease lines, and brightens up the face with great coverage. For all these reasons, I love using it in the undereye area. These concealers also come in a variety of shades, so if you're particularly dark under the eyes, look for a peachy/salmon colour, which they do carry in this line.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Vapor

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Cream Blush in Soft Peach - this is a new favourite cream blush formula, right after the original Daniel Sandler Watercolor Blush. It is more convenient to carry around than the original formula, which is why this gets a plus. As with the original formula, it is a dream to apply (just use your fingers!) and blends so easily, it's foolproof. You can get this at the click of a button at one of my favourite websites, feelunique.com, and the shipping is incredibly fast.

Kryolan High Gloss in Toffee - I LOVE this lipgloss! It is my go-to nude lip, and I can easily adjust how intense I want my nude lip to be, by adjusting how much gloss I apply, and then blend it out with my fingers.