POP this Summer...with COLOUR

POP this Summer...with COLOUR by beautysoiree featuring a ruched bikini

NP Set - Contour & Highlight Palette

Over the weekend I attended a Sydney Outlet Shopping tour through Bargain Buyers. This tour included a bus trip to various factory outlets in Sydney and included a stop at the Napoleon Perdis Outlet in Alexandra where I picked up the NP Set Contour & Highlight Palette.

NP Set is the new and more affordable cosmetic line from Aussie Makeup Guru, Napoleon Perdis and was designed “… with on trend colour options, skin-nurturing ingredients and totally decent pricing…” – Napoleon Perdis.  

The palette contains a white highlighter, contouring bronzer as well as a dusty pink blush and a pink shimmery highlighter to highlight, brighten and contour your skin, creating celeb-worthy bone structure.

To use, sweep the bronzer under your cheek bones and onto your temples to frame your face (blend, blend, blend to create a subtle glow). Add the dusty pink blush to your cheeks and pink highlighter above your cheekbones and to finish the look, apply the white highlighter to brow bone, inner corners of the eyes and your cupids bow (centre of lips) for a brighter complexion.

The matte bronzer is a nice shade of bronze however can apply quite heavy and I found I was buffing like crazy to blend it in and reduce harsh lines. The dusty pink blush is already a fave and applies nicely to create a blushing look.  Each colour works perfectly together and the soft powders make it fool proof to create a faux summer glow.

Swatches L-R: White highlighter, bronzer, blush and pink highlighter (both highlighters were hard to photograph)

Like all NP Set products the powders contain Shea Butter, Jojoba Oil and Vitamins A,C and E to soften, moisturise and provide antioxidant benefits and the palette comes packaged in a practical (and recyclable) hard cardboard box with a good sized mirror and a magnetic clasp.

NP Set is widely available from Target, Napoleon Perdis concept stores or counters or online at NPSet.  

Benefit's Confessions of a Concealaholic

Image source

Hi, my name is Stephanie and I’m a concealaholic, well not exactly but I sure do love it!

So when I saw this palette online at Benefit, I though it was quite fitting and a great excuse to try out some of the different concealing and brightening products from their range.

The palette, Confessions of a Concealaholic contains five of their best concealing and brightening products and includes:

That Girl – Brightening face primer

Erase Paste – Brightening Camouflage for Eyes and Face

Boi-ing 1 & 2 – Industrial Strength Concealer

Lemon Aide - Colour Correcting Eyelid Primer

Eye Bright – Instant Eye Brightener

The palette also contains two double ended concealer brushes and a booklet containing illustrated pictures on how to use and apply each product. The packaging is quite cute and resembles a lockable diary and includes a nice size mirror. The products included are sample sizes but I find it’s a great way to try before you choose to buy your favourite in its full size.  

My favourites from the palette include:

That Girl Brightening Face Primer – Great multi purpose product and can be used as a foundation primer or as a highlighter over your makeup. The pink pearlescent formula is silky to apply and is a glycerine based (applies like lotion) which allows your makeup to stay put and adds a bright sheen to your completion – it smells yummy too.

Boi-ing Industrial Strength Concealer – Which is a waxy based concealer, however don’t let this put you off. Boi-ing quickly becomes smooth and manageable when warmed with a finger or concealer brush. I mix 1 & 2 together for the perfect coverage which I didn’t find it to crease or become cakey. Boi-ing is great for full coverage and concealed my dark circles like a dream.

Lemon Aide Colour Correcting Eyelid Primer – I have been wanting to try colour correcting products for a while as I have redness is some areas and my eyelids are quite sheer. I like Lemon Aide as it colour corrects my eyelids, hiding any visible light veins and doubles as a great primer too. As yellow is great for counteracting dark colours, I also use Lemon Aide on early mornings (or the morning of the night before) to diffuse dark circles before I tackle them with Boi-ing.

So, are you also a concealaholic like me?

Purchase Confessions of a Concealaholic (or other great products) from Benefit for $36(US), from Adore Beauty for $68(AUD) or your nearest Benefit Counter.

EOTD - Feat. INGLOT

Colours are all the trend this Spring/Summer and while I’m loving the colourful new season clothing that is stocked throughout all the chain stores, I’m still a little safe when it comes to my eye wear.

In a bid to become a little bold, I created this eye look to showcase the oranges and navy blues in my recently purchased INGLOT palette.

Product breakdown:

Base: Benefit’s Stay Don’t Stray Primer

Lid: Inglot AMC Shine 15

Crease: Inglot AMC 51

Outer V: Inglot DS 483

Highlight and Inner Corner: Inglot AMC Shine 35

Liner: SAX Blackest Black Liquid Liner

Mascara (Layered): Lancôme Hypnose Doll Eyes & Clinique High Impact

Lush Haul

I haven’t had much time to relax lately, moving up the ladder at work means more responsibility and a larger work load. To treat myself and as a reminder to take time for R&R, I headed into my local Lush store to pick up some bath goodies.

Lush cosmetics are fresh, handmade cosmetics made from organic ingredients and essential oils with little or no preservatives and in most cases are vegan too. They have an amazing range of cosmetics that I’m always intrigued to try (such as there solid shampoo and conditioner bars) and their products have amazing scents that you either love (or hate) – my favourite scents are floral and citrus.   

I purchased two of their Bath Ballistics which I’m a huge fan of. When placed in a warm bath the ballistic will begin to fizz and dissolve leaving your bath water colourful, scented and full of essential oils that leave your skin smooth.

Sex Bomb Bath Ballistic $6.75(AUD)

Lush says: If this isn’t the sexiest bath you’ve ever had (by yourself) we’ll eat our hats.

Excuse this photo, the camera really picked up a green hue.

Dragon’s Egg Bath Ballistic $5.95(AUD)

Lush says: Bath tub fireworks. Fizz, froth, fruity fragrance – what more could you ask for?

I also purchased a bubble bar, which is basically solid bubble bath. I have tried one of these before and I found the bubbles really strong and long lasting. One bar (depending on the size) can last maybe 5-6 baths as you break it into pieces and crumble under your running tap water.

Dorothy Bubble Bar $5.95(AUD)

Lush says: At the end of this rainbow there’s a sky blue bath scented with ylang ylang and orange blossom.

My last purchase was some toner tabs to sample. I have not tried these before but I love the idea. To use, place a tab into a bowel of steaming water and place your face into the steam (not too hot or you will burn) and cover with a towel. Allow the steam to open your pores and soak in the toner goodness – I will let you know what I think once I try them out.

Vitamin E Toner Tabs $1.95(AUD)

Lush says: Excellent, effervescing toner tab with balancing lavender & anti-oxidant vitamin E. Rejuvenating for older skin.  

A little on the pricey side, Lush (to me) are indulgent products which are great as a special treat or for a unique gift. Have you tired Lush? If so, what are your favourite products?   

Priti NYC

2011 has seen and increase in natural and organic products as more and more people want to sway away from nasty chemicals and additives in not only their food but in their beauty products as well.

Priti NYC was launched in 2005 following the creative founder Kim D’Amato’s need to be natural on the inside as well as the outside. Priti NYC is an organic, non toxic and three free nail polish range; which means Priti does not contain the nasty chemicals toluene, dibutyl phthalate (DHB) and formaldehyde.

To celebrate the recent availability of Priti NYC Nail Polishes to Australia, I was sent a bottle of polish to try myself in the colour Deerjerring.

Deerjerring is a gorgeous vibrant pink that is on trend with current colouring blocking for Spring/Summer 2011. The polish was surprisingly opaque and you could easily get away with one coat however for a more vibrant look, I’ve applied two.

As a fan of OPI’s Pro Wide brushes, I did find that the Priti brushes are smaller however, with a steady hand the polish applies fine. The polish was quick to dry and I had a good four day wear (with Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat) with only slight wearing on my tips and no major chipping.  

I would recommend Priti NYC Polishes for those who look for vegan, non toxic, cruelty free or three free beauty products without compromising on quality or colour selection.

Priti NYC retail for $17.95(AUD) or $12.50(USD) and can be purchased online at PritiNYC.com or for Australian stockists visit the importer here.

As mentioned above, this polish was sent to me however; all opinions provided in this post are honest and I will be purchasing from Priti NYC myself in the near future.

Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend – Day One

Can you believe it has been well over a week since the Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend (ABBW)?

As mentioned in my previous post IMATS Sydney; the ABBW kicked off with four hours of beauty shopping nirvana at the International Make-up Artist Trade Show however, this was only the beginning of the amazing weekend that was in store for 85 of Australia’s best beauty bloggers organised by Kimmi from The Plastic Diaries and Jacie from You’ve Got Nail.

Following IMATS was a seminar hosted by Beauty Directory which showcased three unique beauty brands Pure Therapy, Trishave and Lapurete as well as an informative insight into building relationships with Public Relations (PR) from Beauty Directory Managing Director, Jackie Maxted and a panel of experts including Eleanor Pendleton, beauty editor of Instyle and Kimmi Nissen of The Plastic Diaries. 

Some of the great PR tips picked up from Jackie included:

• Keep PR companies informed of your blog
• Create a professional snapshot – know your purpose, content and audience
• Ask for samples but also be prepared to justify why you would like to review the product
• Always RSVP to events (even if you are unable to attend) and be prepared to justify your presence at an event
• Ask for information packs or media releases (Beauty Directory is also a great place for product information)

We also broke into group table discussions in which my table discussed challenges faced at events which was very interesting to hear different opinions from both established bloggers and those who are starting out (like me).  

The seminar ended on a high with champagne and canapés and we were provided with a very generous amount of beauty gifts from the amazing sponsors of the ABBW – who I cannot thank enough!

The excitement did not stop there, in the evening we were whisked away to The Establishment in Sydney for spectacular Gala Dinner hosted by Maxted Thomas PR. The event was beauty sensory overload as we were greeted with champagne, networking and samples from amazing brands such as Burt’s Bees, Coty Australia, NIVEA, ORLY, Remington and Sebastian Professional.

Mark Jacobs - Oh Lola (My new favourite)

During the delicious three course meal, I also had the chance to mingle with fellow beauty bloggers on table 12 including Angela from [Beauty] Blogged, Melissa from Missmakeuplover1, Tegan from Teganias Thoughts, Alice from ArsyParsy and Amanda from Thai Tales.

Although I was exhausted, I left the event feeling very inspired and could not wait for what was in store for day two – stay tuned post coming soon.

Images taken by Liz Giacco for The Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend, and are not to be reproduced, republished or reused without inclusion of this credit. Images remain the property of The Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend.