I dipped into Target the other day, as one does, and noticed there was 30% off certain cosmetic brands, so I took this as an opportunity to spend up try out some NYX goodies, the new Maybelline Brow Satin Define and Fill duo and a Stay Natural Concealer from Essence Cosmetics.

L-R: Essence Stay Natural Concealer, Maybelline Brow Satin pencil and powder NYX Nude Glam, Golden Glam liquid eyeliner, Color Mascara

Okay, so these swatches aren't cute but you get the idea.

Let's get the bad out of the way first. The Stay Natural concealer lived up to the first part of its name, as indeed I did stay natural with dark circles under my eyes. However, the "concealer" part was sadly lacking. Thin, watery formula with no concealment properties whatsoever. This is my first burn from Essence, whose products I usually find very good despite the low price points. So at $4.10 or whatever it was, I can safely bin it with only mild irritation. Unless anyone has tips or tricks for repurposing weak concealer? Essence, I ain't mad tho - I still really really want your Love & Sound Glastonberry lipstick but I have been to no fewer than ten (10) Pricelines with no success! Can anyone help me track one down?

Onto the Maybelline Brow Satin duo thingo. I generally fill my brows with a matte brown Almay eyeshadow and an angled brush but I'm always looking for an easier way. This contraption has a waxy pencil at one end and a foam applicator with powder at the other. Needs a bit of refinement, I feel. My brows are petite and kind of stop halfway so I have to be careful that they don't look too drawn on or heavy and the foam applicator doesn't quite give me the precision I need. I've been using the pencil but it's really easy to misstep and end up looking like Bert from Sesame Street.

The NYX products I picked up were a Color Mascara and two Glam Liner Aqua Luxe liquid liners (now that I'm a pro at liquid liner). 

Nude Glam is a gorgeous rose gold while Golden Glam is a deeper true gold. Both apply easily with the thin, flexible brush and have good staying power. The range of colours available will probably see me going back for more to add some pop!

Speaking of colour, the blue mascara is a nice shade; visible in sunlight but subtle enough for everyday looks. There was also a purple and a brown available in store, but I've since seen this post on Rachel : Beauty : Style that shows red, teal, pink and even an acid yellow! I think I really need to try the pink so if you see it in store, do let me know. Coloured liners and mascaras are a good (and - importantly - subtle) way for me to satisfy my need for bright jazzy colour on the eyes without going full 80s disco.     

I'm also keen to try out a NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream - I've seen a makeup look done using "Copenhagen" that looked divine.

I tend to forget about Target for cosmetics. Which is probably a good thing given how much temptation I don't need!

Not at Target but I also picked up another Maybelline Color Drama lip pencil in "Red Essential", taking my total up to 5. These things are sooo good. I've been looking for this colour for a while but it's always sold out, so I was pleased to finally see it in store at Priceline and scoop it up with my $5 birthday voucher. Apparently they are a pretty good dupe for NARS Velvet Matte lip pencils (some say better!). I don't own any (as much as I would seriously like to) so I can't draw the comparison accurately but feel free to chime in if you do. I am hanging for an expanded colour range!

Linking up with Ingrid at Fabulous and Fun Life for the Monday Make-Up Madness link party.

Bought any jazzy coloured make-up lately?

So . . . it's MUH BIRFDAY TODAY!


I am still quite happy to celebrate birthdays and have zero issues with my new age, which is 37. Apart from the fact 3 and 7 are both odd numbers and that doesn't sit well with me *shudder*. Ask me again when I jump into the next age bracket on surveys and questionnaires, however, this week it's all about the celebration!

One of the emerging trends of awesomeness is the birthday voucher from companies getting you in while you're all abuzz with celebrating and/or buying yourself presents on behalf of your spouse.

Here's a round-up of the birthday-related offers I've received:

$5 off next purchase at Chemplus
10% off code at ASOS
$10 gift voucher from Jeanswest
$30 gift credit at Mimco
Free pizza from my local place, Pizza Bite
15% off at Best and Less
$5 voucher from Priceline
20% off at The Iconic
Free burrito at Salsa's Fresh Mex

In related news, a month or so ago, in an effort to be better with my bucks, I switched my car insurance to Coles Insurance (despite their achingly irritating television ads) as they could save me over $20 a month and were offering a $100 Coles gift card as a sweetener. It arrived recently, and after the initial disappointment of it not being a Coles Myer gift card and wondering what I was going to spend it on (groceries for the family? As if!) I remembered Mix Apparel!

I've only bought from Mix a couple of times before and was reasonably pleased with the items I got but hadn't really bought anything else since; my local Coles doesn't stock Mix so it's a mission to get to one that does and I embarked on that said mission this week and was pleased to find they had all Womens Bottoms for $19. I'll leave you to make the lady bum jokes yourselves.

Side note: when fetching that link for Mix above, I was reminded of the floral shorts I bought last season and wondered where they were. I later discovered a whole bag of summer pants stuffed away at the top of the wardrobe so that was exciting! #rediscoveryourwardrobe

Back to the story at hand. With my $100 voucher printout at the ready, I tried on a million things and ended up with these items:

Side Zip Denim Skirt Usually $29 - $19 on special

Rib Cuff Soft Pant Usually $25 - $19 on special

Denim Button Front Skirt Usually $29 - $19 on special

Pop Over Knit Blouse (??) $19

Denim Moto Jean Usually $35 - $19 on special

Mandarin Collar Top $19

God, I love free money.

I also popped over to the Health & Beauty aisle and picked up a Maybelline Hyper Sharp Wing eyeliner as recommended by my friend Lizzie for 50% off, so it was a win all round. I then achieved a lined eye this morning before work! Can you believe it??

Bus selfie. Can and will.

Outfit posts will be heading your way in the future so you can see how I ended up styling these bits and pieces. I am in a state of shock that I suddenly own not one, but TWO denim skirts. Never say never, amirite?

Bought anything from Mix lately?

I have a love/hate relationship with eyeliner.

This is largely because while the professionals can give me banging looks like this:








However, when left to my own devices I end up looking more like Selina from Home & Away circa 1994.

"Rack off, you mole!"

No joke.

I made it a goal this year to try and perfect the winged eye look, which has led me on a search for the foolproof eyelining product to try and make this a reality.

Unfortunately, no cosmetic company has yet developed a product that I basically open and it does all the work for me.

Here are just some of the products I've tried and tested:

Swatch City

L-R: Maybelline Master Graphic, E.L.F Studio Precision, Maybelline Master Precise Clinique Quickliner, NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil, Estee Lauder Pure Color Dual, E.L.F Cream Eyeliner + brush

Maybelline Master Graphic Liquid Liner

This is touted as being a fabulous product for achieving winged eye perfection, and I wonder if I might have got a dud one because there is so little pigment to it that it looks like dirty dishwater. I may try again if I see one on super special because the texta-like tip seems to be a good thing.

E.L.F Studio Precision Liquid Eyeliner 

Picked this up at Kmart last week after umming and ahhing for a while, then finally grabbing it for the whole $8 it cost. The pigment is cray, super shiny wet-look black but that's where the fun ends. It's cracky, flaky and wears off so quickly I had to wonder when I looked in the mirror later if I had actually removed it myself without remembering. I like the thin brush tip though, so it might be worth seeing if I can repurpose it for something else.

Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Liner

This is the product I've had the most success with so far. A steady hand is required but it seems to have decent pigment payoff and I have managed to create this look below that I wore out in public, so that's a plus.

Clinique Quickliner for Eyes 

I bought this years ago as a replacement for the very good Max Factor smudgorama thing I had for a number of years and was desperately disappointed by it, especially for the price. It is so harsh and pencilly and doesn't blend nicely at all even with the brush sponge tip.

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil

Does what it says on the tin, essentially a big fat black crayon that isn't ideal for creating a smooth, controlled line, although to be fair, my technique is hardly refined. I'm not really sure what to do with this thing. Maybe a Halloween lip option!

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Dual Liner

This is a double-headed liner that I got in a goodie bag at the Little Blog Big workshop (they had AWESOME goodie bags!) and I have used the gold end a few times to good effect. The black end is SUPER black and has that wet-look finish. I have tried to use it once before work and that was a complete disaster, resulting in me having to completely cleanse and re-foundationise my eyelids and who has time for that in the morning. More testing required. The thin brush tips are good though.

E.L.F Cream Eyeliner + MAC angled liner brush 

This is meant to be the best way to achieve a winged eye look. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I seem to get a lot of skip and drag on the old eyelids, even though I wouldn't say they were particularly wrinkly or flappy. Maybe I need a more $$$ product for a better effect. Or, you know, skillz.

Eyeliner Tips

Storage

Keep things stored upside down so pigments don't dry up, this applies to pen styles and gel pots.

Practice

Whenever you have a minute while chilling at home (usually toddler naptime or before bed for me), duck off into the bathroom and have a go. Remember to check your head if you leave the house though. Not that I speak from experience or anything.

Take Your Time

Eyeliner for amateurs takes time. Before an important event or work where your time is limited is not the best occasion to start experimenting with extreme looks. Having to erase and refinish will put you behind, stress you out and may lead to further issues as you rush the rest of your look. Again, not that I speak from experience or anything . . .

My awesome friend Lizzie - who is a self-confessed eyelineaholic - has also contributed the following suggestions via Instagram:

"My current budget fav is Maybelline Hypersharp. Amazing for thin lines and pretty flicks. Very user-friendly and doesn't dry out or give too much product at once. My splurge fav is Kat Von D tattoo liner. It is absolutely amazing for all styles of eyeliner including super thick and vampy eyes. Never bleeds or smudges and has a fairly foolproof application. Honourable mentions go to Rimmel Glam'Eyes for being consistently good, cheap and available anywhere and Bourjois Glitter Fizz for something a bit different."

In terms of application, Lizzie suggests:

"Oh and one more thing. Always anchor your elbow when applying liquid eyeliner. Either on the table or against the mirror. It gives you a much steadier hand. Always start thin and build up the line as required."

Thanks Lizzie!!

Check out this Buzzfeed article for useful tips and enviable pics of people who know what they're doing.

Linking up with Ingrid at Fabulous and Fun Life for the Monday Makeup Madness Party!

How do you manage with eyeliner? Got any useful tips or products to share?

If you follow me over on the old Insta, you may have noticed a sharp increase in selfies over the last month.

That's because I've been playing along with the Fashionista In Suburbia 30 Lippies for 30 Days challenge, where I set myself the task of wearing a different shade every day.

Guess what? I TOTALLY DID IT!

Coming from someone who had about four lipsticks on rotation only a few short years ago, this is a telling indicator of how beauty blogging can affect your life in a very short space of time. . .



Here I present a months-worth of my head, with bonus unseen Auto-Awesome pics where appropes. I took the photos in the same place out the front of my house which accounts for differences in lighting, depending on what time of day it was!

Thoughts and Observations