I love the whole process. From thinking about it, hunting and gathering, the wrapping and then the actual giving and watching the delight spread on the face of your loved recipient of your carefully chosen gift. Let's call that person, your "giftee buddy".
Easy DIY Gift using a recycled Jam Jar & a Succulent Plant
I don't think a gift has to be expensive. I do, however, think that it has to be well thought out. What do you want this present to say about you and about your giftee buddy you are giving it to.
Do you want it to say, perhaps:"hey, I think you're great and you mean heaps to me and I think about you every day and I want you to think about me every day too".... okaythat might sound kinda psycho, but I think you get what I mean. So, you could make a little present using a succulent plant (pretty hardy plant - almost impossible to kill) and a recycled jam jar like I have, that your giftee buddy can put on their desk and be reminded of you everyday.
Daytripper - Great for one charge and super light
Tech gifts are also pretty cool. I can almost guarantee that your giftee buddy will be happy/satisfied/trilled/amazed/comforted/etcetc and expect big hugs, if you give them a tech gift.
Try one of these Powerpods (which you can buy here SHOP). They come in heaps of colours and different features SO I'm pretty sure you can find one to suit your giftee buddy.
The Overnighter II - charges your Iphone Twice & your Ipad
Cool Bread Stamp
On a tight budget? I've got'cha covered my friend! Like I've said, it doesn't have to be a material/expensive gift.
How about doing something extra special, like making your giftee buddy a special breakfast? Breakfast in bed anyone?
Christmas is the best time to grab these
I don't know what it is about stars, but, hey, the more the merrier.
Give these to your giftee buddy and light up their day (well night) literally.
For more Gift Ideas - click on the box below for my video guide!
Vintage looking jewellery holder
Nest Fragrances Collection
Personalised Mug made using Vistaprint
Thanks for dropping by and I'll be seeing you real soon!
Hello! How have you been? I'm sure you are all busy with preparing for the Holidays, so thanks for stopping by!
I've finally tried Ellis Faas' makeup line! Here in Australia, it is sold at Mecca Cosmetica (if you are overseas you can buy it here, and I've always admired the Ellis Faas display with it's very modern and clean design.
Vogue magazine and celebrities like Cate Blanchett, Mary J Blige and Gwyneth Paltrow have raved about this line.
The Ellis Faas Makeup line offers a full range of foundations, face powders, concealers, eyeshadows in different finishes, lip products in various finishes, masacaras, and eyeliners, as well as accessories like holders.
As you can see, I bought quite a lot!! I got a bit carried away playing with it at the Mecca Cosmetica store in Balmain in Sydney. I think I was seduced by the sleek design and very pigmented colours.
The foundation is called "Skin Veil". I got the shade S103 which is the 3rd lightest shade. I thought it was a good match for me.
There are 8 shades to chose from. It is a mineral foundation and includes Vitamin E and also includes ingredients which give you up to SPF 15 PA+++.
You can choose to purchase the foundation either in a bottle or in the pen format.
The Foundation Bottle holds 1.01 fl oz of product and costs US$90 (in Australia it costs AU$110) . The Skin Veil Foundation pen comes with 0.23 fl oz of product and costs US$65 (in Australia it costs AU$76 - I won't be putting the Australian prices for the rest of the products but just a note that they all cost around AU$10 more than the USA prices).
I chose to purchase the pen format for it's convenience and fast application. To be honest, when I found out how much MORE product comes in the bottle, I felt a bit miffed :( BUT I had to remind myself I was essentially paying for the cool silver pen.
Each Skin Veil pen comes with two foundation cartridges. It's pretty easy and quick to slot into the silver pen. I'm not sure, but I think it is possible to refill the cartridges with the foundation from the bottle is you wanted to. The pen is a click pen. I felt the product came out well and it was easy to control how much product I wanted. The brush was quite soft but still firm enough to make application easy.
The foundation is easy to blend and sets quickly. It has a very light texture.
I also got a matching concealer and a blush. It was very easy to pick the right concealer as the last number of the concealer corresponds with the last number on the Skin Veil pen/foundation. So as I was a S103, my concealer colour is S203.
The "S" stands for Skin - I thought this was pretty neat
The blush I chose is a peachy pink colour (there are 4 colours in the range). Both the concealer and the blush blended well and also set quickly, making them a very good product for days when you are in a rush. The pens are in the twist up format unlike the Skin Veil which is a click format.
The brush on the concealer & blush pens are the same
I got 5 of the eyeshadows. 4 in the Creamy Eyes formula (E105, E106, E115 and E124) and 1 in the Lights formula (E301). The Creamy eyes formula gives you a velvet matte finish. The Lights formula gives you a more metallic eyeshadow. There are 21 shades in the Creamy Eyes formula and 5 shades in the Lights formula. It is important to note that the brushes are quite stiff when new, and that it is best for you to brush it against your skin for a bit to loosen the brush up. This will make application much smoother.
I found that the eyeshadows in both formulas were smooth, easy to blend and buildable (as sheer as you like to opaque). The pens are in the twist up format. Unfortunately, one of the Creamy Eyes pen did not work (the one in E105). I kept twisting and twisting and twisting but nothing came out. I was quite gutted by this as it is difficult to return makeup in Australia.
I was happy with the size of the brushes on the eyeshadow pens. Small enough to give you some precision and big enough that with a few swipes you can cover your eyelids and build up the colour.
For the lips, I got a Creamy Lips pen in L104 (deep fuchsia colour) and a Glazed Lip pen in L309 (clear). I liked how light the Creamy Lips formula feels on the lips. So pigmented, yet I did not feel like I was wearing anything on my lips. It also has a staining quality. It is meant to be a long wearing formula. The Glazed Lips formula which is the brand's lip gloss was so so. I found it a bit slippery. It was not sticky though. Don't you hate it when your hair gets stuck in your lip gloss? The brand also carries other formulas like the Milky Lips (a shinier and more liquid version of the Creamy Lips) and Hot Lips (bold striking colours in the Creamy Lips formula).
The last item I purchased was the Ellis Holder. Yup that's the round tubey silver (and so seductive) thing you see in the photo above.
It has six slots for your conealer, lippies and eye colours. The bigger middle slot is for your Skin Veil pen.
I weighed it with it fully loaded and it was about 321grams to 350grams. I was just using my cheapo kitchen scales.
In the lid, there is a mirror and space for you to put in your Ellis Faas face powder. The Ellis Faas powder is sold as a refill (does not come with it's own case), so you either have to put it in this holder or purchase a separate compact for around US$12. I didn't buy the powder as I felt it was similar in texture and finish to Rimmel's Stay Matte.
I think this cylinder holder is a design marvel. As you twist the bottom, there is a mechanism that pushes your pens up one by one - HOW COOL!! The middle slot has a spring loaded action for your Skin Veil., so when you take of the top, your Skin Veil pen pops up and says "Hello!".
You can remove the bottom of the holder (in the photo above it is in the middle with that sponge like thingamajig).
Mini Rant
Ok. first up, I love, LOVE, L-O-V-E the makeup. The product is so pigmented and it's so easy to get ready with. The design of the packaging is divine. BUT... I was a bit grumpy because 2 of the 9 products I purchased were faulty.
The first was the Creamy Eyes in E105 which had no product no matter how long I, my husband or the sales assistant tried to twist it.
Apparently there have been some issues with getting the product to come out of the pen. See below paragraphs which come from http://www.ellisfaas.com/contact/faq/:
The second was that the Holder I got was weird, as the lid of my Skin Veil pen just kept getting stuck in the container whenever I took my pen out and the only way it could come out was if my husband (using some amount of extra strength) pull the darn bottom out.
Both I was able to exchange for working ones, but I find it hard for a brand that is quite expensive to have such poor quality control.
Watch my video review
In my youtube video, I do a full face tutorial / demo.
It's the MOST wonderful time of the year. Tra La La!
I always look forward to the last few months of the year, not solely because of the Holidays but because of all of the BEAUTIFUL gift sets and limited edition beauty items that almost all of the brands release.
Some of the brands start releasing their Holiday Limited edition items as early as September. AND there are also the Autumn/Winter fashion and related beauty items. Further more, a lot of large chain stores like Sephora and cosmetics companies like Urban Decay & Tarte hold their annual 20% off sales around this period.
Watch my video review for live swatches!
More photos below!
First up, we have Urban Decay's Vice 3
As per last year, Urban Decay released its limited edition/collector's item in September - the Vice 3.
UD's releases are always highly anticipated, so you can bet that I was sitting in front of my laptop, pressing the refresh button on the day it came out.
This year's Vice 3 comes with its own carry bag. Which is nice, as it keeps your palette nice and clean. I noticed that it was very easy to leave finger prints on the Vice 3 case.
Vice 2 on the left and Vice 3 on the right
I feel that the colours in the Vice 3 palette are a lot more vibrant.
Swatched on bare skin - no primer used
Not all of the colours swatch as well as each other, especially the lighter toned colours. However, when I was applying it on my eyes, on top of UD's primer potion, the colours applied like a dream and are very creamy. Please watch my youtube video review to see a demo (link to my video is up top).
This palette retails for US$60.
Too Faced - Everything Nice Palette
As you can see, the palette will not fit in the bag (?!)
On the Left is this year's palette, on the Right is last year's
This year's palette includes some brushes and a deluxe size of the Better Than Sex Mascara
This year's palette is thicker than last year's!
I'm not too keen on the brushes. I wish they included a lip product like last year instead
Look Book that is included with the palette
All swatched without primer
Some colours appear to swatch chalkier/dryer than others, but there were only a few like that.
They always include the Chocolate Soleil Bronzer in all of their kits!
I found the cheek products to be a bit chalky and dry. I was surprised by this as my other Too Faced's chocolate Soleil is nice and creamy. Also my sweethearts blushes that I have, feel a lot nicer than the blushes in this palette, and not as dry. Nonetheless, the cheek products in this palette are very pretty and as everything matches the eyeshadows, it's pretty easy to create looks with this palette.
This palette retails for US$56 and I think it is such great value.
Tarte Brushed With Destiny Set
This set retails for US$44 and is AMAZING!! For $44, you are getting 6 brushes (actually 5, but one is a double ended brush). Normally, a Tarte Brush retails for around $30 something. So if you love brushes (and Tarte make some really soft and beautiful brushes), this is the set for you.
I found this brush set on the Tarte website.
Marc Jacobs Limited Edition Style Eye-Con No.7 - Plush Shadow in The Parisien US$59.00
I am in love with this palette! The mixture of blues, greys and the addition of the plum colour makes this palette quite versatile.
The middle colour (sandy taupe) is quite unusual, as it is a beige colour with a grey undertone. It is also the only matte colour in the palette. All of the rest have little (very fine and not chuncy) glitters in them.
This palette retails for US$59. For live swatches click here
Shiseido Sparkling Party Palette
I saw this online and really liked the design of the palette.
So far (at least since I started really getting into makeup 3 years ago) I have not seen a palette from Shiseido that includes eye shadows, blush, eyeliner and lipstick. This one has all of that!
I just love the design and how compact it is.
The white square that you see in the middle is a creamy white eye base colour with fine glitters in it. To use this palette, you first apply the white base and then apply the other eyeshadows.
As with most palettes, this one includes a little blush brush, a double ended eyeshadow sponged tip brush and a double ended liner brush.
I do like this palette very much. I think you can use the blue eyeliner in many ways - as a base, to define your lower lash line, or as an all over the lid colour. I found that each of the powder items were nice and creamy.
This palette retails for US$50. For live swatches click here
I think the colours swatched quite well
Thank you so much for reading! As you got this far, here are a few hugs and kisses from me!
