Review: OCC Lip Tars in Queen & Pretty Boy

When you stalk as many beauty blogs as I do, you start to notice trends amongst the products reviewed/swatched. Urban Decay Naked palettes, Ciate Nail Art Kits, Stila Foil Finish Eyeshadows... the list goes on! Such was the case with Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars. Fellow beauty addicts will relate: when you're lemming for a product this hard; nothing, not shipping restrictions, not customs tax, nothing can get in the way of you getting your grubby little hands on your precious! So you can understand my utter joy when I discovered these beauties in the Bellabox Shop. Not only that, I had a discount code; SCORE! I ordered these maybe a week or so before Christmas and to my delight, they turned up just a few days later. Bellabox for the win! I purchased two shades; Queen (neon red coral) and Pretty Boy (rich fuchsia). Read on for the swatches and review.

Revlon 2013 Spring/Summer Collection Colorburst Lip Butter Review - Sorbet & Wild Watermelon

Just a quick one today! I recently picked up these two lovelies during one of my ritual Priceline binges and fell in love almost immediately. I was already a big fan of the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters and these two shades from the 2013 Spring/Summer Collection are utterly perfect for the warmer weather now upon us! Wild Watermelon (left) is a lovely bright pink/orange that builds up to opacity in just a few swipes. Sorbet is an intense blue based fuchsia that again, can be layered for an opaque colour. Both shades are sheer cremes that don't have any shimmer or glitter. They kind of remind me of jelly! Read on for swatches.

DIY Cocoa Lip Scrub

In anticipation on the blisteringly hot Perth summer and the blisteringly bright lip colours I hope to wear, I made a handy dandy lip scrub to whip my lips into shape. Winter was a cold hard mistress and my lips definitely suffered! I used to just give my lips a quick scrub with my toothbrush after brushing my teeth but I decided that this delicious sugar lip scrub is a way more fun way of getting the same job done! Read on for the recipe!

In Defence of Drugstore Makeup

Alright, I'm just going to come out and say it. I love drugstore makeup. While I also covet the highly pigmented, luxury makeup brands like MAC, Illamasqua and NARS, I find they can be a bit much for the everyday makeup routine. I have 3 reasons why I love drugstore makeup:

1. One of my biggest, admittedly irrational, fears is running out of makeup. Crazy, I know! But being able to buy these products from just about any Priceline or department store is very comforting. I do realise how insane that makes me sound but then we all have our little peccadillos! 
2. As someone who wears makeup almost everyday, sometimes applying it twice a day, I go through products at an utterly ridiculous rate. I'm also a bit of a germaphobe so I definitely stick to that old 3-month mascara rule. This means that makeup can be quite an expense for me so buying my everyday stuff at L'Oreal prices rather than Chanel ones definitely hurts the wallet a little less.
3. It's fun! I love walking into Priceline and checking out the staggering number of displays and picking up a couple of new lip colours or nail polishes for less than a pineapple ($50 note for those not accustomed to Aussie slang). High end cosmetics seem to be marked up so much more here, whether because of import taxes, shipping etc and it's hard to justify paying $60 for a lipstick you may only wear twice. Read more about the cost of high end cosmetics in Australia here.

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation is super light on the skin and comes in a load of different shades and undertones. I mix this with Revlon ColorStay for Oily/Combination Skin which bumps up the longwear factor and increases coverage as well. Also, Revlon foundations are a little bit too pink for my skin so the golden undertone of the Maybelline foundation helps to counteract that a bit. 

The Restorative Powers Of Bright Lipstick

Anyone else think lipstick has magical powers? Whenever I'm feeling a bit blah or like I'm stuck in a bit of a makeup rut, nothing thrills me more than swiping on a bright, cheery colour. It's like serotonin in a tube! As you can see from the excellent Cara Delevingne and the plethora of lovely ladies below, bright lipstick doesn't really need much more than a bit of mascara, some blush or bronzer and maybe a spot of eyeliner. With lipstick, prep and application is everything. Bright colours will obviously bring attention to your mouth and matte textures in particular, will highlight dry, flaky lips like nothing else. So give your kisser a bit of a scrub after you brush your teeth and use a lip brush for precise application and you'll be totally golden.