Shiseido Lacquer Rouge in Blaze (OR 508)

I purchased this liquid lip glaze on a whim one day when I spotted it for sale online as I'd never tried a Shiseido lip product before.

This lip product comes in a cute, little tube with a doe foot applicator this is nice and easy to open and close and mess-free when applied.

It's a lovely, smooth liquid lip glaze that applies nice and evenly and it gives exceptional coverage with just one coat.

Unfortunately, I'm not too sure what possessed me to purchase the shade Blaze as orange lips have never seemed to suit me and I can never work them into a makeup look.

(Shiseido Lacquer Rouge - Blaze (OR 508))

As far as the formula goes, it doesn't bleed into my lip lines which is a bonus and it always feels more like a lip balm when applied as it's so lightweight and comfortable to wear all day. I can't seem to notice any smell or taste once applied which I also really like.

It seems to wear off pretty evenly throughout the day and does have to be re-applied every couple of hours, especially when doing a lot of talking, eating or drinking so I can't say that it's a very long wearing formula.

I just really wish that I'd bought one of the pink or red shades now that I could get more use out of, but there's always next time!

Have you ever tried one of these lip lacquers before?

Have a super New Year everyone!!

Michelle xx

The Balm 'How 'Bout Them Apples?' Cheek and Lip Palette

A little while ago I did a little haul of some The Balm products as it's a brand that I hadn't had much exposure to before. There was no way I could resist the How 'Bout Them Apples? Lip and Cheek Palette as it just looked so cute.

This palette comes in the signature cardboard packaging that The Balm are known for which is probably the one thing that I'm not a huge fan of as I can see it getting very dirty and showing a lot of wear and tear after a while. It has a flip top lid that contains quite a large mirror underneath and it is slim enough so that it doesn't feel too bulky to hold when using it.

On the back of the packaging is a list of the shades contained in the palette with little colour swatches as well.

Packaging aside, this palette contains six gorgeous creamy shades that can be used either on the lips or cheeks. The shades are all very versatile for any occasion, they are all easy to blend and don't end up patchy like some other cream products can on my skin. They are also very pigmented and a little goes a long way.

Each shade wears for a good couple of hours on my lips (with eating and drinking involved) and can last all day when I wear them as a cream blush.

I generally like to use cream makeup products on my skin when it is feeling a bit dry and I don't want anything emphasized by using powder type products so these get quite a bit of a workout when I am having no-so-good skin days.

The six shades swatched in order above are Cider (a pretty pinky nude), Pie (a nice bright pink), Candy (a more muted rose pink), Cobbler (a gorgeous red), Crisp (a shimmery pink) and Caramel (a darker browny nude).

I alternate between using all of them on my lips depending on what look I'm going for but my favourite shades to use on my cheeks as a blush are Cider, Pie and Candy. I have also used Caramel as a contour shade when in a hurry and it works really well this way when blended out.

The Balm's How 'Bout Them Apples? Lip and Cheek Palette can be bought almost anywhere that stocks The Balm products and seems to retail for around $34.95.

Has anyone else tried this palette? What are your favourite The Balm products?

I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend!

Michelle xx

Face of Australia Glossy Lip Crayon in Peach Parfait

So I grabbed this lip crayon a little while ago during a random Priceline visit as the shade looked really pretty when I swatched it in store.

Unfortunately I was severely disappointed when I got home and tried it on my lips and I still haven't really warmed to it yet.

This frosty peach/orange shade just doesn't seem to work at all with my skin tone and I actually think it makes me look years older whenever I wear it. The colour seems to really bring out the orange in my freckles too which I absolutely hate!

Face of Australia Glossy Lip Crayon in Peach Parfait - Natural Light

Face of Australia Glossy Lip Crayon on Peach Parfait - With Flash

It's such a shame really as I absolutely love the other three Face of Australia lip crayons that I have in Macaron, Sundae and Cupcake (previously reviewed here) and was looking forward to adding a new love to my lip crayon collection.

Oh well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

There seems to be a few different shades in this range now and I'd love to know if anyone has tried any of the others and recommend them?

Also, huge apologies for the lack of actual lip swatches lately but pregnancy has not been very kind to my skin at all and I have pimples and redness galore all over my face that no amount of foundation or concealer seems to make acceptable for face photography. I'm really hoping it calms down soon. Sigh!

Have a great week!

Michelle xx

MAC Stroke of Midnight Lip & Cheek Bag in Pink - The Perfect Gift From a Guilty Husband

So my husband had to go to Macau for a week on a work trip a couple of weeks ago and unfortunately it just topped off a bit of a crappy time where he'd been away an awful lot for work. For any new readers that don't know about me, I work as an Accountant two days a week, run my own Bookkeeping business on the side from home the rest of the week all while juggling the care of our very active toddler. I pretty much work 7 days a week sometimes. 

Now, I admit that I do love being busy as I get too restless when I don't have much on, but sometimes this means that when hubby has to go away a lot for work I tend to get very frazzled and exhausted trying to keep up with everything that needs to be done on my own. As a way to say sorry and reduce my frazzledness this time my lovely man decided to buy me some MAC as a surprise in the form of the Stroke of Midnight Lip & Cheek Bag in Pink, as well as the Stroke of Midnight Eye Palette in Cool (due to not wanting this post to be too photo heavy I'll be showing this one separately in the next couple of days).

I do think he's a keeper!

Firstly, the bag you get with this set is so fancy looking that it could almost be used as a small clutch for a night out if one was so inclined. I'll definitely be swapping my normal overnight makeup bag for this one next time we go anywhere.

 

Inside the bag is an assortment of goodies as follows:

* Cremesheen Lipstick in How Darling!

* Lipglass in Soft Spoken

* Beauty Powder Blush in Formal

* 129SE Blush Brush; and

* Mirror

First up, I have to admit one dirty little secret........ This is the first time I have ever used any MAC products! Yep, for some reason I have just never bought anything from them before. Mainly because they're not easily accessible from where I live and I never really worried about going out of my way for it.

So, being that these products are my first ever experience with the brand, I have to say that I definitely am impressed.

The Cremesheen lipstick in How Darling! is a lovely shade of pink that is so versatile and wearable for everyday use.

I've been wearing this quite a lot over the past couple of weeks as it's not too drying on my lips and seems to last a good three to four hours before fading away. It doesn't bleed into my lip lines and has a yummy vanilla scent and taste.

The Lipglass in Soft Spoken is a very subtle pink shimmer in a clear gloss base. It doesn't really give the lips any colour but imparts a lovely shine instead and looks really nice when worn over How Darling! It also has a yummy vanilla scent and taste to it.

The Beauty Powder Blush in Formal is a gorgeous rosy pink that looks really natural on my pale skin. It's quite pigmented though so I only need to apply a very small amount but others might be able to get away with a bit more than me if their skintone isn't so pale. It's really easy to blend and lasts an entire workday without really fading too much.

The Blush Brush and Mirror are both very useful, although I wish to mirror had a frame around it as it gets very smudged with fingerprints the way it is. The brush is so super soft and really good for blending.

Last but not least are the swatches....

From Left to Right: Lipglass in Soft Spoken, Cremesheen Lipstick in How Darling! and Beauty Powder Blush in Formal (With Flash)

From Left to Right: Lipglass in Soft Spoken, Cremesheen Lipstick in How Darling! and Beauty Powder Blush in Formal (Without Flash)

So I am proud to say that my MAC virginity has finally been broken and I'm definitely more interested in trying out a lot more from this brand now. I just can't believe it took me so long to finally get on the bandwagon!

Has anyone else bought this set or any of the others from the Stroke of Midnight range yet?

I hope everyone has a great week!

Michelle xx