A Crime to Look this Good?

Wish I could take credit for that title, but I can't; it was actually the title used for an article that covered the controversy surrounding Lime Crime indie cosmetics company. And surprisingly, as I was just browsing about the whole Lime Crime scandal, it, of course, tempted me to go to their site where I, unfortunately, fell in love with two unusual shades: New Yolk City and Chinchilla. I, thereby, stopped reading the interesting articles and other posts and scoured the web for some swatches and also sites that had the cheapest price + delivery to Australia. Now, while I know that I probably shouldn't have bought in and supported their company, the shades were so unique and I've never before owned anything by Lime Crime, so I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt.

God, I love me some cute packaging.

New Yolk City and Chinchilla

I'm not even a big fan of unicorns, but won't this look so cute in my bag?

Oh, hello, you beauties

I'm pretty glad that I chose shades that varied from the usual popular pinks and reds. After making my purchase at Beginning Boutique, I started to read more about Lime Crime to make sure my purchase wasn't too hasty. What I've found is that the colours (in particular, chinchilla) that I chose were probably the better option, as a number of the other lipsticks (in particular Babette) don't actually show true to the lip swatches that are displayed on the Lime Crime website (one of their controversies being that they photoshop their swatches). But if you're going for a nice, say, a blue shade like No she didn't, then it's more likely that you'll end up with what you're expecting. 

left to right, no flash: New Yolk City, Chinchilla

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New Yolk City

A nice, clean, pastel yellow shade. I don't really know what drew me to this colour so much. Perhaps because I've never seen a yellow lipstick before, and I thought the bright, almost pastel-ness, of the shade would look interesting on my slightly tan NC25 skintone. And boy, it looked so clean and bright when I first tried it. You really can't say that these lipsticks are not pigmented or opaque; they are full strength colour for sure. What I will say, though, is that New Yolk City was a bit dry, but I'm chalking that up to the fact that it is a very opaque pastel-like colour. What I'm really hoping to do is to mix this lipstick with a couple others to give them a more yellow undertone and hopefully more wearable.

Chinchilla

I think this one may actually be a limited edition shade, it's not quite lavender, but not too grey either. Definitely an unusual hue, but it really gives you that pretty grungy vibe. This one applies a lot smoother than New Yolk City and makes me feel luxurious and high fashion when I put this baby on. When I was looking up swatches for this lipstick, one of my favourite bloggers, Candice had this same lipstick, and by god what I would do to look like her. So this lipstick was pretty much a no-brainer, besides the fact that I have nothing like this in my collection as well. I think it would look amazing in a duo-lip, kind of like that in the Paranormal collection by Illamasqua. 

This feels like a little rebellious purchase, what with me being such a poor student, and the unusualness of these shades. Thank god for free (express!) shipping and 10% discounts for students at Beginning Boutique, otherwise I probably would have held myself back a bit more. At least with halloween coming up (but not really, just youtubers are damn jumping the gun), I might get a bit more wear out of them. Either way, as my first Lime Crime purchase, it does feel pretty successful. Just make sure to do your research... On what colours you like. 

Mini Benefit Baby Haul

Oh what's this? Both "mini" and "baby" in the title? Well, it's accurate. I wanted so badly to try out the Benefit They're Real mascara, because although I've heard a mix of both good and bad, you have to really try it out for yourself to give an opinion. And I also heard it was a really wet mascara, so yeah. I like wet mascaras. After seeing that Sephora's Beauty Insider program was giving a mini They're Real mascara and a mini Watt's Up! cream highlighter as a gift for member's birthdays, off to eBay I went as, clearly, they don't have Sephora in Australia. It turned out brilliantly for me, as not only did I find a seller that was auctioning off their Beauty Insider birthday pressie for about twenty bucks (hey, it's a good deal considering Aussie prices), but they were also including three other Benefit freebies which included a deluxe sample size of High Beam, and a sample of Stay Don't Stray and Garden of Good and Eva.

They're Real mascara

Ah the reason for the whole purchase, I don't really see this mascara as being as super wet as I've heard, but I'll guess I'll see when I actually apply it. The only thing I can say is that, daaang, that brush is spiky with longer bristles. It might be a tad painful if I try putting it too close to my eyes as I've found with other plastic brushes. 

Watt's Up! cream highlighter

A champagne cream highlighter. Have also heard good things about this, and, surprisingly considering my skin tone, I've never had a champagne highlighter, so this should be a good step. It blends really easily as I found when swatching it.

High Beam liquid highlighter

I have actually had this before, I think in the Benefit Finding Mr Bright kit. They call it "model in a bottle" and I was so tempted to shell out for the full size, but this deluxe sample should tide me over for a while. It's a pink pearl liquid highlighter, but, again, blends so easily into the skin and just makes you really look lit up and, not too sparkly, but just enough shimmer on the cheekbones. 

Stay Don't Stray eye primer

I've never had a huge amount of eye primers, but I really should use them more. Obviously, my eye make up has held up a lot better when using primers, so hopefully this will be what turns me around to consistent use.

Garden of Good and Eva eau de toilette

I have never tried any scents by Benefit, so I really didn't know what to expect. Unfortunately, this sample was almost empty when I got it, but it smelled pretty good. A tiny bit floral, a tiny bit herbal, but that kind of "water" scent I like. Water doesn't even have a scent, does it? But that seems to be the description of scents I like. I will admit though that when I first sprayed it on my wrists, it was definitely a bit stronger and I wasn't a fan. But it wears away to a really wearable scent.

left to right, without flash: Watt's Up! swatch, Watt's Up! blended, High Beam swatch, High Beam blended

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Natural Sunlight

Overall, I feel this was a pretty decent find on eBay, considering what I ended up with. I'm liking the highlighters, and the mascara looks promising. I'm even interested in the eye primer, knowing how good the primers from Benefit are. And the size of these mini's are just so cute too! Makes for easy travelling, sadly though, will probably entice me to eventually buy full sizes. 

Shop My Stash: Spring

It's both a good and a bad feeling when you go through your collection and see what products you previously loved or new products that you neglected. Good, because you remember how much use you got out of a certain lipgloss and it was pretty much your go-to, and bad because you realise there was this eyeliner that you bought relatively recently and have not even really used it yet. But then again, it just allows you to start using those new products you forgot about rather than going out and purchasing "oh, I'm in need of a powder, I thought I got one recently though...".

And here I present to you my findings when I was home and had time to spare. I pretty much live out of home, so I rarely get to visit my cute collection I've been building up, so this was nice to pick up products that I used to love forever, and, again, ones that have not had so much love.

left to right: matte bronze, translucent, blissful

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MAC Bronzing Powder in Matte Bronze

This is actually one of the first MAC products I ever owned, and, boy, I used this every. Single. Day. It's not really shown well in the photo because of the angle, but I have made quite a dent in this powder from so much use, but just LOOK at how much there still is. I use it mainly for contouring, as it is a matte bronzer, but also a light dusting all over the face gives a nice tanned look, which is good because we're just coming out of Winter now and I have gotten pale. But, yeah, if you're new to MAC and are unsure of what to get, I really recommend this bronzer, it is matte, not too orange, weartime is amazing, and lasts a ridiculously long time too. 

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Glow and Mood Boosting Powder in Translucent

Also another first, this is the first Physician's Formula product I ever purchased and owned, I think when Priceline had 50% off this brand one day. I use it kind of like how you would use MAC's Mineralize Skin Finish powders. As a bit of topping/setting on the cheekbones and t-zone. It does apply really sheer on the face, especially if you use the brush that is included, and, while it doesn't really act as a setting powder, it adds a nice touch and very mild shimmer. A good investment for Spring coming up to look fresh and cute.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in Blissful

More firsts here, when I picked out my first both my first Tarte product and first Amazonian Clay Blush. It is a matte, medium, almost rosy pink that helps you get that baby-face, sweet girl blushing effect. I actually like applying this with a small foundation brush, and gently patting it on the cheeks to have more control on placement with this pigmented blush. Again, another good choice for the arrival of Spring.

left to right: midnight sky, belladonna

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Natural Sunlight

Face of Australia Budge Proof Eyeshadow in Midnight Sky
This just swatches beautifully, is a little tricky applying on the eyes though, but nothing a blending brush can't help. Just a really nice deep blue shade with a hint of sparkle in it and I love the dryer texture of this cream eyeshadow. The one thing I will say though, is that it is really not "budge proof" as the name claims, and you will need a primer underneath, but it's a surprisingly easy colour to wear. Adds a nice bit of colour to your face while still being work appropriate. 

Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Belladonna
I hauled this lipgloss pretty recently in this post, but damn, how the hell did it escape my memory? Super pigmented, more of a lacquer than a gloss, so it is a tad bit sticky, but the brush applicator is a great help. Quite a thin tube, so you can easily pop it in your bag or purse and it smells good too. It's a darker colour than what I would usually wear during the day, but this colour would be nice for an evening out with the upcoming season.

So what good finds I have in my collection, god, it feels so good to go through your collection and find things that you want to wear again. Just feels nifty and the pocket appreciates it too. I love using up my products too, so I should definitely shop my stash more frequently.

Nail Polish for Ants

I've never been consistently into nail polish. Sure, I had phases where I wanted to decorate my nails in cute prints and rhinestones, even had pretty long fake acrylic nails (at-home kit) that I did myself. But it always happens for a short moment, and then I start losing the interest to paint my nails and keep them looking prim and professional. But I had wanted the NYC Ballet mini collection by OPI for so dang long and I only recently gave in and acquired it.

My Pointe Exactly
A sheer grey with a tad bit of purple/blue tone to it. While I do love this shade, and have many a time painted a similar hue on my nails, it's a tad too deep to suit with my skintone. An in-between colour, not quite white enough and not quite earl grey enough either, but a single coat would be nice.

Care to Danse?
A pale, lilac pink. Again, it is sheer. Love this shade, it just brightens your nails a bit and adds that "healthy pink" to it too.

Don't Touch My Tutu
A sheer, clean white with maybe a hint of beige. My favourite shade of the lot, I've tried many a time to pull off white nail polish, why didn't I ever try going sheer? Possibly the hardest to apply, along with Care to Danse?, just because it's hard to get it even for someone that is not so super great at painting their nails.

Pirouette My Whistle
Fine silver glitter pieces in a clear base, with larger silver glitter pieces. Adds a really nice sparkle to your nails, I enjoy putting this on top of Don't Touch My Tutu, for that cute looking manicure, but I can imagine this being nice with My Pointe Exactly too.

Two Coats

Three Coats

Well, I think I may have found my everyday nail polishes to reach for. I love that they're all sheer, they add a tiniest bit of gloss to your nails and just look nice and well-made-up.These polishes are really easy to apply too, and I just love the size of the bottles - good for when you're travelling; and, because they are sheer, I think that's what helps them to apply so easily and dry relatively quick too. I know that the pictures look a bit splotchy, but somehow once it dries fully, it evens out a bit and settles, so that makes it great for amateurs like me too. 

I don't own a whole heap of OPI nail polishes, so I'm not sure if this is true for their entire range, but these dried on the nails pretty quickly, and lasted for at least two days without chipping, which is like a record for me! And, god, if I didn't love the ballet inspired names too, being a dancer myself and all. These shades all seem to be performance appropriate to (maybe not quite so much the grey), but really, it just really suits my style perfectly. Very much a professional, simple look.