Elderflower and Trees of Tea

I popped into The Body Shop on my lunch break today, on the intention of having a look at their new line of lipsticks that I've been reading about on certain blogs. Well, it turns out those UK blogs I've been reading have clearly blogged about UK releases and so I was too early for those precious lip products, but it had been so long since I last went into The Body Shop, there were a number of things catching my eye. Alas, as the time for my lunch break is limited, I only played with a few things, and what I humbly settled on was the Elderflower Unperfumed Eye Gel and the Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner. Had I more time to browse, I would have picked up a body oil and probably some skincare for the hubby, as they had quite the range of male skincare products what with father's day nearing and all.

I've never actually had a lot of products from The Body Shop, be it skincare or bodycare or makeup. But I have had a couple of products from each section, and while they all did their job pretty damn adequately, they never super-wowed me or maybe it was due to my younger self not realizing that these products were actually decent considering the prices for them. I don't know what really enticed me to pick up these two products, but I guess I needed a new eye cream and I always love toner. 

This Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner is interesting, in that you have to "shake to activate". I chose the tea tree toner out of all their others, simply because tea tree has done wonders for my skin in clearing up any acne and it's an anti-bacterial too. I used this sucker tonight, and oh boy, it cleaned up my face like nothing before. It was really gentle on the skin though, with a very lotion-y scent of course with a hint of tea tree, but that cotton pad had so much dirt (embarrassingly) after I swiped it all over my face. So I swiped another pad with the toner on it all over again, and it was still very nice; my skin didn't feel stripped, but it was clean and toned and just nice.

The eye cream, or should I say gel was a pretty easy pick. I saw it on the shelf, with the nice clear jar and the nice black lid and I love simple packaging. It's unperfumed and practically odourless (besides a faint smell of elderflower, which is faint in itself) and so ridiculously lightweight, I'm guessing most of the weight comes from the jar itself rather the product. A very smooth gel, I swatched this on my hand in the store and it absorbed in really, really nicely, a tad sticky that went away, and my skin felt smooth where I applied it and, again, just nice. It really feels like the perfect gel.

I will clearly be popping back into The Body Shop sometime soon. I mean, I must have missed so much stuff since the last time I was there. And if the rest of their range, especially the tea tree range, is as promising as what I tried out tonight, then I will definitely be going back to pick up some other skincare essentials such as cleanser and moisturizer. Probably pick up some goodies for the boyfie too!

Non-poisonous Berries

I never thought I'd be the one to develop an affinity for lip products. Of course, I do enjoy the pretty colours and textures, but I was usually satisfied with my natural lip colour and a balm or clear gloss on top. But I'm beginning to realise, considering my constant use and visitation of my collection of lip sticks, balms, glosses... Well, now, we have a bit of an affair here. So when I popped into Kit Cosmetics and the brilliant sales assistant directed me towards what was new in store, the Lip Injection Color Bomb Moisture Plumping Lip Tint by Too Faced caught my eye. 

I'm sure you've heard of Too Face Lip Injection. Well, they have recently brought out a tinted balm version (akin to that of Clinique Chubby Sticks, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain, or Bourjois Colour Boost Lipsticks), along with their Pretty Rebel collection. And while these balm sticks are moisturizing too, the special thing about them is that they are also lip-plumping. I love having juicy, full-looking lips, generally with the aid of a plumper; I'm quite the fan of the Sexy Mother-pucker XL Extreme Plump by Soap and Glory, but I've heard many good things about Lip Injection. So in the form of a balm stick, and cute packaging? I'm sold. 

left to right, without flash: heavy swatch, blended swatch

With Flash

Natural Sunlight

Out of the 6 shades they offer, I decided to choose Bigger Berry. I think that this is the shade that suits my skintone the best, maybe the coral one they do could also have matched, but I decided to play it safe with a pink toned slightly deep red shade. Like, raspberry. It spreads onto the lips very smoothly with minimum pull, and, as you can see from the swatches, it's not very sheer, actually quite opaque. Slightest bit glossy too, which is a lovely finish on the lips, helping them to look smoother. And it smells wonderful too, I can't quite place the scent, maybe a bit fruit tart-y? The plumping effect is pretty neat too, I don't think it's quite as tingly as Sexy Motherpucker, maybe a tad stronger in sting for a shorter amount of time though, but it definitely does give effect. As for lasting power? It's nothing impressive, fades a little faster than I would have liked too, but I guess that could be the trade off for comfortable wear and moisture. 

Overall, this is quite a pleasing lip product. I've never actually owned anything of Too Faced before, so this was a nice dip. I will say, that I was very tempted to get their Pretty Rebel palette considering the pretty colours (and the sales assistant said she was wearing it today too, looked amazing (at least one her)). Quite enjoy the stinging/tingly effect too, my lips look smooth, plump, full and yet they're not too over the top or, let's say, dramatic. I suppose you could wear this particular shade for the day (considering it's basically still winter here), but it would definitely suit the night without being in-you-face.

Maple Candy

Oop, it happened again. I don't even know what blog I was looking at, but hey, I was feeling down, this one looked really pretty and so popped into the cart. Hold up here, I specifically have portions of my pay budgeted for this kind of treat, and MAC is pretty much always the one I turn to. A lipstick by MAC has never let me down, so go with what you know, right? But I went a tad different, and got Japanese Maple, which is not only a cremesheen finish (which I have never owned), but this cremesheen is also frosted, which makes it special. 

I've never owned a cremesheen before, but from what I've heard, it's the finish that is favoured by most MAC lipstick lovers. It applies creamy, with a bit of gloss and pretty decent pigmentation: more than that of a lustre, but not quite as much as a satin or a matte finish. When I first applied this lipstick, it pulled a slight bit on my lips, but I actually quite enjoyed how it spread. Just enough grip? And pretty comfortable to wear too, with a tad bit of moisture. 

left to right, without flash: heavy swatch, light swatch

With Flash

Natural Sunlight

Give a little cream a little love. It honestly looks like cream on my lips, so I guess that's where "cremesheen" came from. But it's the colour as well, I actually really love it. It's probably the lightest coloured lipstick that I have, and it doesn't look too weird or ghastly on my NC25-30 skintone. It's the tiniest bit pink, and, as you can see in the swatches, the frost part of it is not too noticeable, but maybe you can see it in certain lights and when it wears off a bit. And pretty much reminds of some delicious candy on my lips. 

I'll probably be wearing this baby quite often. It is just a nice neutral colour, but because it is quite a light shade, it just complements pretty much all of my make up so nicely. 

Feeling a bit Chatty

Damn it, MAC, stop being so alluring with your amazing selection. You can probably tell that I am quite the fan of MAC products, I certainly have a number of their lipsticks. What's the harm in one more right? And I guess Chatterbox was that one more. I honestly don't think that much thought went into this purchase. That may sound like a bad thing, but what I mean is that, I saw it and just decided I wanted it. Too easy.

I was on makeupbox's blog when it struck me to look up this lipstick as I read her post about primrose pinks. I originally was enticed by Force of Love, but I missed that limited edition boat, and Candice mentioned that Chatterbox was probably the most accessible, so away I went searching that baby up. Already interested in the colour. It's a MAC lipstick.Oh, hello, amplified creme finish too? Oh, AND it's considered a very wearable summer lipstick? And gosh dang, it is just so pretty. 

left to right, without flash: heavy swatch, blended swatch

With Flash

Natural Sunlight

It's the pink lipstick I didn't even know I was looking for. I'm just a sucker for colours that "belong" to summer, and I can see how this can fit in. MAC describes Chatterbox as a bright pink with red undertones, but it feels more like a red-pink with mauve undertones, which reduces the brightness of it a bit making it more wearable. And for some reason, on my skintone and in certain lighting, it appears a bit grapefuit-y. As a amplified creme, it is opaque as anything, but so creamy and smooth, and doesn't dry out your lips like a matte or satin finish would either. This type of pink can really fit a number of skintones and I can see why I'm reading a lot of love for this shade. 

A very nice addition and very welcomed into the collection. I can see myself wearing this lovely lipstick quite a bit, simply because the colour is so easy yet versatile. Bright enough for going out, but not too bright for daytime. Good lord, this shade is, dare-I-say, perfect? Makes me feel so fresh and perky. Oh, MAC, you've done me in again.

Femme Fatale Haul

My Femme Fatale haul just arrived yesterday. Yes, I did recently post about a Shiro Cosmetics Haul. Don't judge me... or do, I have the pretty indie cosmetics here. So, just like Shiro, Femme Fatale is another indie cosmetics brand, that sells a lot of pretty pigments, but they're Australian this time 'round. They had closed for a short period to rework their business a bit, and opened up recently this month, so I snagged up some goodies for their reopening sale. 

The invoice with my order inside and free stickers

All neatly together

Nifty and professional

My total order

Two freebie samples attached to the business card

I am quite pleased with the selection that Femme Fatale offers: 99 different eyeshadows, 25 different cheek products, a buttload (to use the latin) of nail polishes both their own and other indie companies AND also free shipping if you're only purchasing samples. And good lord, I do enjoy a nice looking website with an easy to use interface. I picked up 15 shadows (two full collections plus three others), two blushes and I also got two freebie eyeshadow samples!

Handful of Treats Collection

left to right, without flash: the masquerade, pumpkin shrine, naga mask, candied apple, witchberry, spearmint candy, sour suckerpop

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Natural Sunlight

The Masquerade

Described to be in the jar it looks like a soft, silvery grey with very subtle pink shimmer, yet when applied the base comes out more purple/blue and the pink shift is more noticeable; vegan and not lip safe. This shade almost has a pastel feel to it, there is not a whole lot of shimmer, which is nice but the subtle pink shift adds a bit of dimension to it.

Pumpkin Shrine

Described as a bright lime/grassy green with orange duochrome shimmer; vegan and lip safe. I am honestly not sure when I would be able to wear this shadow, but I do like the orange duochrome to make it a bit more wearable for me. Very much a lime-y yellow-toned green.

Naga Mask

Described as a very soft turquoise with teal tones, and a subtle blue shimmer; vegan and lip safe. In the bag, it looks a lot more green but with the teal tones and subtle blue shimmer, it helps it appear more turquoise, good for a little pop of colour along the bottom lash line.

Candied Apple

Described as a pale redwood pink with a green duochrome, and blends out to have an almost brown undertone to it; non vegan and lip safe. Woah, I am digging this baby. "Candied Apple" is a really good name for it, because that's what I thought of when I swatched this shade. It's quite a bit duller in the baggie, but the green duochrome just makes it. 

Witchberry (Illuminator)

Described as a delicate vanilla-golden illuminator with a very subtle violet duochrome, and is a cross between Golden Lotus (illuminator) and Archangel (eye shadow); vegan and eye/lip safe. Pretty. Very pretty illuminator, it is quite pale though as it seems to have a vanilla base to it, so will have to test this out to see if it's ashy on the skin.

Spearmint Candy

Described as a very pale lavender with a frosty silver/green/blue colour-shifting finish; non vegan and not lip safe. A little bit of everything in this one, it's very pretty and pale, a little transparent too. Would work well to give you a little ethereal feel to your look.

Sour Suckerpop

Described as a very pale lemon shade with a frosty blue duochrome finish; vegan and lip safe. Very similar to Spearmint Candy, but it is a touch more yellow, more pigmented and the duochrome is very apparent in this shadow. 

The Queen of Life Collection

left to right, without flash: ruby wings, amber eyes, lady of the red, flowers from flames, crimson fury

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Natural Sunlight

Ruby Wings

Described as a soft ruby pink with a smooth pink finish; non vegan and lip safe. In the little baggie, it looks pretty much like a warm red, but as you can see in the swatches above, it does apply as a deep pink colour, almost a satin finish.

Amber Eyes

Described as a very pale coral peach with pink tones, and a subtle green finish; vegan and lip safe. I like this. I very much like this, the description is pretty much spot on.

Lady of the Red

Described as a black based shade filled with red shimmers and sparks; vegan and lip safe. I would love to apply this baby on my lips. In the baggie, it looks almost black but the red gives it depth. Very good shade for a dark look. 

Flowers from Flames

Described as a mid-tone tangerine orange with soft-rust undertones, and has a bright green shimmer with soft aqua sparks; non-vegan and lip safe. Digging the name of this shadow, it looks exactly like the sparks you get from the top of a bonfire and surprisingly, the green shimmer goes very well with the orange.

Crimson Fury

Described as a deep red-violet base with purple tones and blue duochrome shine; non vegan and lip safe. Love the blue duochrome, this shade reminds me a bit of stars n rockets by MAC but with more pf a red tinge to it.

left to right, without flash: wildvine, sunfire, astral recall, heaven peach (applied dry), duskwing (applied dry)

With Flash

Natural Sunlight

Wildvine

Described as a mid tone mauve/taupe with strong dusk pink tones and green shimmer; vegan and lip safe. This is quite light and shimmery, I don't know if I would described as "mid tone", but it's very shimmery; the dusk pink stands out more than the green. 

Sunfire

Described as a sweet peachy pink with coral tones and striking copper gold shine; non vegan and lip safe. I'm pretty glad I got this shade. It looks like a super mid tone pink, but the copper shine in it is just wonderful and feels very... fire-y.

Astral Recall

Described as a soft puce pink (pale pink with somewhat grey undertones), and has a complimentary scattering of pink and blue sparks; non vegan and not lip safe. This is actually quite a lavender colour (especially in the bag), but the grey tones don't show up as much when you do swatch it and it turns out to be a shimmery blue-toned purple colour.

Heaven Peach (Blush)

Described as a mostly-matte blush with a delicate blend of peach and apricot tones; vegan and eye/lip safe. Very reminiscent of Coppertone by MAC (which I hauled in this post) but a touch more coral. I don't know if this will be too orange or too light on my NC25-30 skin, but I love the matte finish to it. 

Duskwing (Blush)

Described as a soft apricot peach with coral tones and a scattering of golden shimmer; non vegan and eye/lip safe. A nice sheer, shimmery, light apricot blush. This is very wearable for most skin tones, it has a hint of pink in it too. Note, that it looks a lot more lighter in the swatch, but that was also quite heavily swatched. A light dusting on the cheekbones would bring life to any face.

Freebies

left to right, without flash: polymorph, faerie fire

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Natural Sunlight

Polymorph

Described as a blue-grey based eye shadow and has a prominent colour shifting shimmer, alternating between aqua and a soft green; vegan and apply on eyes only. This one does not have a lot of shimmer and is almost a very solid blue grey, it would be very nice for smokey looks as the colour point, with just enough blue shimmer.

Faerie Fire

Described as a soft lavender pink with cool undertones, highlighted by an electric lime gold sparkles; vegan and not lip safe. I can't get over how pretty this is, pale lavender AND a green duochrome. I feel like a faerie.

Overall, I am quite impressed... Very impressed. Very pleased, in fact, I actually regret not buying more. It was especially a nice bonus that Femme Fatale is Australian, not only was my order was processed pretty quickly, it arrived in a timely manner too (yay for local). Besides all that, the samples are just gorgeous; I'm such a sucker for duochrome. It's quite a step away from my usual fairly neutral looks, but hopefully these bad boys will take me away from the shadows (ha). The pigmentation is great too, as well as the staying power (swatches are still staying on my arm). And all of it just feels so luxurious at such amazing prices. I just can't seem to rave enough about this company, will definitely be placing another order with them in the future.