Sunday 23 December 2012

Review: Australis 10 Hour Wear Pencil & Colour Inject Gloss

Australis products are definitely becoming more popular with quality that doesn't disappoint! Not long ago I was lucky enough to win a Colour Inject Gloss in Fandango from Australis and claimed the the "buy one get one free" offer from Priceline for my 10 Hour Wear Pencil in Bombastic Bronze. I was quite excited to try these products out as I've heard great things about it!


Australis 10 Hour Wear Pencil in Bombastic Bronze RRP $9.95
After hearing a few raves about this, especially from Mishelle from Mishelle's Sleepy Time I knew I had to get this eyeliner! Australis says it is a pencil that applies like a liquid eyeliner, waterproof and lasts for 10 hours. It comes in two other shades as as well, Aqua Attack and Grape Cake but I'm not adventurous enough to use such bright attention-seeking colours! I love how there is a bronze shade, I find that black eyeliner is too harsh for me.


Creamy formulation
Excuse the wonky swatch!
Thie beautiful eyeliner glides on so smoothly and its formulation is creamy and definitely didn't disappoint! There are very subtle shimmers which I like, giving it a bit of iridescence. So does it live up to its 10 hour wear? I used it without a primer for a whole day, and let's say I am impressed! No smudging and the liner stayed put, although there was very minor smudging on my bottom lash line but it wasn't much of an issue. The quality of the packaging feels great too except for its clear lid which makes it look a little cheap- and it would have won more points if didn't need to be sharpened. Despite that, this will definitely be a repurchase (glad I bought two of them!) as it has a superb formulation.

Australis Colour Inject Gloss in Fandango RRP $11.95
Thanks to Australis again for this lip gloss! I'm actually not a big fan of lip gloss as the shine and stickiness puts me off, as well as it somehow exaggerates the yellowness of my teeth (yuck). I've heard that Colour Inject Glosses have a nice colour pay off, as well as being nourishing, and containing and "injection" of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Sounds like a fun gloss!



Fandango is a bright coral colour which is great for summer! The first thing I noticed about the gloss was its delicious scent- Australis describes it as lychee but I find it quite fruity in general. Unfortunately for me the gloss was quite sticky and glossy, although it is meant to be glossy so I can't fault a gloss for being glossy!

Fuzzy applicator
Very glossy!
The colour was very pigmented which is impressive for a gloss. The swatch looks very bright but on my lips it was a little muted (my lip swatches did not turn out well and shouldn't be seen in public so I haven't posted a pic of it here). I quite like this coral shade and would be great for a night out.

Have you tried either the 10 Hour Wear Pencil or the Colour Inject Glosses from Australis? 


Thursday 13 December 2012

Review: Face of Australia Sheer Gloss Lip Crayons

Yes I am a little slow to try these hyped up Face of Australia Sheer Gloss Lip Crayons  but I wanted to wait until there was an offer before I purchased them! These three gorgeous lip crayons retail for $14.95, however I popped into a Priceline and its price was down to $9.95- add on a voucher I had that was for around $5, these lip crayons were mine for less than $5! However since these lip crayons were limited edition, you can't find them in stores anymore (good work Karen, reviewing something people can't buy anymore...)


How adorable is this cupcake candle? You open it up to reveal the candle!
 From first inspection, it seemed like Macaron would be the nicest shade of all; a nice dark pink, nearly red sheer shade for the lips and I absolutely feared the brown shade, Sundae. However I was pleasantly surprised! Sundae has turned out to be my favourite colour of the three as it didn't appear brown on my lips, but instead a nice nude-like shade! It seems like such a flattering shade for most complexions while being very modest.


These lip crayons can be built up to increase its pigmentation which I love! A thin layer for a subtle sheer look, or layer it again and again to achieve a stronger colour turn out. In terms of use, the wind up crayon is quite fun and cute, although the plastic packaging does make it feel a little cheap (but then again, it was cheap!). I wouldn't call these extremely moisturising but they are quite smooth and easy to apply.

L-R: Sundae, Macaron, Cupcake
Comparing these to the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm stains, the FOA lip crayons are much easier to apply and are much more sheer and forgiving to dry flaky lips. Revlon's lip stains however are much more pigmented and extremely long wearing (it was so hard to budge!) but tend to accentuate dry flakes. The packaging for Revlon's lip stains feels more sturdier than FOA's, however at $17.95 a pop, you would really hope so as FOA's lip crayons are just a fraction of that price (and for three of them too!). I am quite satisfied with this trio of lip crayons and I don't think I'll venture for Revlon's or Clinique's Chubby stick anytime soon.

Have you tried the FOA lip crayons before? How about the other lip crayons that are out?


Sunday 2 December 2012

Review: Lush Sweet Lips Lip Scrub

What an irresistible name for a lip product- "Sweet lips." Now, who wouldn't want to have sweet lips? I had always known that Lush had amazing lip scrubs but I couldn't justify paying $10 for a measly 25g of sugar and oil! Previously I had tried to make my own lip scrub using raw sugar and olive oil but it became an oily mess and I had no where to store my product, oops. The raw sugar has quite large crystals compared to your normal refined sugar, and refined sugar has larger crystals than castor sugar (which is used in Lush's lip scrubs) which was a little too rough on the lips (the raw sugar, that is). After reading reviews here and there about how long a jar of Lush lip scrubs lasted and how well they worked, I succumbed and bought my own little jar of sweet goodness.



I thought this was a cute little touch instead of just stating an expiry date!

Sweet lips is described as a "lip scrub for chocolate fanatics" with vanilla extract to keep lips moist and a rich, deep cocoa fragrance to give an "irresistible touch". Lush lip scrubs also come in Popcorn which I initially wanted as it was so unique and had a salty popcorn taste, but I wasn't sure if I would use it as often as the Sweet Lips; Bubblegum; and Mint Julips which I was told by a sales assistant that will help plump the lips. It was hard to choose, but I thought I could not go wrong with a sugary vanilla flavour.


"Lick off the excess"?! I thought lip scrubs were meant to be wiped away along with the dry lip flakes! The Lush lip scrubs are edible but the thought of licking dry flakes off my lips was a little off-putting- but I tried it anyway and it didn't bother me at all! Yum, sugar.

It looks absolutely delicious!
The lip scrubs are such fun to use! Dipping my finger into the little jar of sugar and scrubbing away will never lose its novelty, and also results in smooth exfoliated lips! Very impressed with the lip scrub and I do think that $10 is worth the joy of using it (well, that is just me I think). This jar definitely seems like it will last a long time, as not much is needed! A great buy for those who tend to get dry flaky lips (wait, isn't that everyone?)

Have you tried Lush's lip scrubs before or any other type of lip scrub?