Review: Korres Smoky Bronze Antioxidant Eye Collection

I swear I wasn't meant to write about Korres products in two posts in a row but I've been too lazy to take pictures of my other recent buys! One day as I was browsing through StrawberryNET I came across what I thought was a great deal- an eye collection by Korres which included two eyeshadows, a small tube of mascara and an eyeliner pencil. I kept telling myself that I did not need this collection but I convinced myself that $10 for 4 products was great value. So there it was, this Korres Smoky Bronze Antioxidant Eye Collection was in my shopping cart.

The Korres Smoky Bronze Antioxidant Eye Collection ft. my floral t-shirt :)

Sunflower and Evening Primrose Eyeshadow in Brun and Bronze Brown
The two eyeshadows in this collection were from the Sunflower and Evening Primrose range- a velvety, easy to apply pressed eyeshadow with sunflower and evening primrose oils that care for the delicate eye area. The two shades I got were Brun and Bronze Brown.

L-R: Brun, Bronze Brown

The retail price of these cute eyeshadows are $29.95 a pop in Australia, from kitcosmetics, so I must say I am very pleased with the price I paid for the eye collection with these in it! The photo above I have to admit is quite misleading, the colours of the eyeshadows are a little off and I tried my best to capture their true shade but it was difficult given the lighting- but both these shades appear much lighter than they actually are. The texture was nice, no fall out and easy to apply. In terms of pigmentation, they were just decent, nothing really amazing.

L-R: Bronze Brown, Brun

L-R: Brun, Bronze Brown single swatch- a better representation of the colours. Also forgive me for this bad photo, I am yet to master taking pictures of swatches!

The Brun shade actually worked well as an eyebrow filler, the colour was perfect for my eyebrows! I quite like Bronze Brown as it is a nice wearable, neutral shade. The formulation is nice, albeit I wouldn't spend $29.95 on them.

Provitamin B5 & Rice Bran Mascara 3.55mL in Black
I have far too many mascaras to be used but a small travel sized one will always entice me! Described as an easy-to-layer, creamy mascara for volume, extra length with provitamin B5 and rice bran to to strengthen the lashes and intensify the colour for a rich finish, who could resist? The full size of 9mL retails in kitcosmetics for $35.95.

Simple brush

To be honest I haven't tried this mascara yet as I have quite a few others to finish off first. I have a feeling it might not be anything special, but don't take my word for it until I try it.

Eyeliner Pencil in Black
Last item from the Antioxidant Eye Collection is the smooth cedar wood pencil. The key ingredients are 100% natural based, rich with herbs and vitamins with a lead diameter of 4mm. This surprisingly retails for $29.95 from kitcosmetics and I'm definitely face-palming at the ridiculously inflated Australian prices for cosmetics. From an instant look, I knew I wouldn't be too fond of this eyeliner- purely because traditional eyeliner pencils smudge like mad on me, no matter how much primer I put on beforehand and however much I surround it with concealer.

Simple black eyeliner pencil

After a trial, I indeed was right. Smudged like crazy and gave me panda eyes all day. Disappointing, and to think this eyeliner is retailing for basically $30 is insane! Application was terribly, dragged across my eyelid and pigmentation was mediocre. Nothing really good to say about this eyeliner. A much better option for a black eyeliner choice would be the Revlon's Grow Luscious Lash Liner which is absolutely creamy, super pigmented, doesn't smudge and retails for $23.95 which definitely can be cheaper if you buy it on offer.

Despite being on the fence about buying this Smoky Bronze Antioxidant Eye Collection, and the disappointing eyeliner pencil that was included, I am still quite satisfied with the purchase as the eyeshadows make the $10 I paid for (an otherwise quite expensive collection) worthwhile.

Have you tried any of these Korres products? Any tips that I can do to make the eyeliner pencil work?

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Review: Korres Lip Butters

I finally got my hands on the much coveted Korres Lip Butters about a month ago from StrawberryNET- a trio pack with the shades Mango, Pomegranate and Guava. After seeing many reviews praising these little pots of buttery goodness, I just had to have them!

Retailing for $18.95 in Australia, I definitely wasn't too eager to pay that much for one small pot of lip butter no matter how great people said it was. I had a look around, and considered the $11.90 price for each pot from asos. But luckily I did pick up a great offer from StrawberryNET and got these three for $18!

L-R: Pomegranate, Guava, Mango

Described as a buttery lip balm that melts on the lips, the Korres Lip Butters offer a beautiful tinted finish,  hydration and a healthy shine. Each flavour has its own individual scent and colour which I love! The whole range includes Quince, Wild Rose, Jasmine, along with the three I have, Pomegranate, Guava and Mango.  My favourite from the trio I have are Mango and Guava, and then Pomegranate. This is probably mainly because of its butteriness- Mango and Guava seem to be much more thicker in texture and melt into the lips much better than the Pomegranate which I find quite strange! These lip butters definitely moisturise the lips well and lasts quite well. In terms of scent, Mango wins, but I quite love the scent of Guava too- it doesn't smell like guava, but a vanilla-like scent. Poor neglected Pomegranate! I absolutely love the cute packaging of the lip butters too- adorable little pots- although I agree with everyone else that it is not very hygienic to use (imagining dunking dirty fingers into it, ew!).

Mmm buttery, colourful goodness

Guava- smells like vanilla!

Mango- smells like mango! :P

The Pomegranate hadn't been touched yet in this photo!

In terms of colour pay off, I wasn't really expecting much and was not too fussed about it. Guava provides a creamy sheen to the lips; Mango, a beautiful coral colour; and Pomegranate, a pretty pink. I would have loved to have the Jasmine lip butter too (a sheer pink) but I think three of these lip butters are enough for now!

Overall, I am very happy with these Korres Lip Butters. They deliver creaminess and a nice sheen to the lips, while keeping them hydrated as well as smell amazing! It doesn't hurt that they are in cute little pots which are presented beautifully too. Another plus side is that Korres makes products which are environmentally friendly and have formulations based on natural ingredients. I was so impressed with these beautiful lip butters that I went and purchased the Korres Lip Butter Glazes which I will review soon, keep an eye out for it!

Have you tried the Korres Lip Butters? How about other products from the Korres range?

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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? 

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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?

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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?

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Review: Butter London in Pink Ribbon Nail Lacquer

Gorgeous packaging. Cute name. Free from formaldehyde, toluene and DBP (Dibutyl phthalate for you chemistry nerds out there... okay... *sulks away*) which are chemicals that may cause cancer (called carcinogens). Enough of the chemistry talk, but what's there not to love about Butter London nail lacquers? I got this as a freebie from the October's issue of In Style magazine (I briefly mentioned this in the previous post) and was pretty excited to try it out!

Butter London Nail Lacquer in Pink Ribbon

I had trouble opening the lid, I twisted with all my might but it didn't work. But alas, I had a closer look at the lid and it says "Lift to open". Who would have thought a nail polish would have a pull up lid?

Oh dear, Mr Butter London is naked!

Little bird with a crown

On inspection the shade "Pink Ribbon" is a sheer peachy pink, quite a nice neutral colour for the nails. The formula was runny- I had to take the photo really quick before it dripped everywhere- and easy to apply. However, I was extremely disappointed with how the colour turned out. I knew it was going to be sheer, but not SO sheer that my nails appear not to be painted at all!

Do you see it? No? Neither do I! The only thing "Pink Ribbon" offers is a nice shine to the nails. Perhaps this is the only disappointing shade in the Butter London range as I have only heard of good things about these nail lacquers! The other shades they offer look quite gorgeous so I definitely won't give the Butter London a miss- I'll just blame it on Pink Ribbon.

Have you tried Butter London Nail Lacquers? Which shades do you have? What did you think of them?

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Review: Lucas Papaw Ointment vs. Coco Island Paw Paw Ointment

Greetings everyone! I haven't posted in a while, mainly because of exams. But now I am free (yay freedom for more than 3 months!) I can freely blog :) Today I will be doing a review on Lucas Papaw Ointment and Coco Island Pawpaw Ointment, and comparing the two.

The two are packaged similarly and are bright and stand out in a messy bag. The Lucas Papaw Ointment and Coco Island Pawpaw Ointment are both are Australian made which is great.  For those who have been living under a rock, they are multi purpose- pawpaw ointments can be used for chapped lips, dry skin, minor burns and wounds, chafing, relieving symptoms of eczema and dermatitis, sunburn, nappy rash (let's hope none of us get that...), cuts and insect bites- something that will be handy to carry around with you!

Lucas Papaw Ointment 25g RRP $5.99

• contains Carica Papaya 39mg/g Fresh Fermented Fruit
• antibacterial and antimicrobial properties
• has a tendency to "bubble" up, not a smooth consistency
• unique subtle smell (of the pawpaw)
• when used for dry lips, the ointment doesn't last very long
• also comes in larger sizes 75g and 200g tubs

Coco Island Pawpaw Ointment 25g RRP $4.99

• contains Carica Papaya fruit extract and Bioactive Manuka honey 16+
• tropical treatment that revives, smoothes and moisturises
• smooth consistency
• no scent
• ointment lasts longer than the Lucas Papaw Ointment when used for dry lips
• also comes in a 100g tube

As I was browsing the shelves of Priceline one day, I stumbled upon the Coco Island's Pawpaw Ointment which I was excited to try- mainly because of the added Manuka honey in the formula (Manuka honey is wonderful, it is an antibacterial too!). Let's say lucky I bought it! I loved the Lucas Papaw and have used it for years as it was so versatile, but the Coco Island has won me over. Its smooth consistency and it's ability to stay on the lips to keep them moisturised for longer definitely gave it an edge over Lucas Papaw. I also nabbed a deal from Priceline where it was $9.99 for the 100g tube and a bonus 25g tube! Definitely a great deal. I remember the days when Lucas Papaw used to be $4, but I guess its popularity has made the price go up! All in all, a pawpaw ointment is definitely an essential with all its uses, it will always be handy :)

Have you tried any of these pawpaw ointments before? 

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