Blushing Beauty

Multipurpose cream products are both versatile and easy to apply, and I've been particularly drawn towards cream blushes and the way they can be blended with the fingers for a natural and effortless flush. This Australis Crème Colour in Flirtatious Pink caught my eye quite a while ago, though I only purchased it this week. Rather than being a disappointment or just another product to play around with (that I don't love, but also don't mind), I'm happy to report that it's exceeded my expectations.

The colour is a soft pink with peachy tones that is quite sheer. There's no risk of overdoing it at first instance and the application can be built up to your desired opacity. It is non-sticky and has a subtle dewy finish which gives a natural, earthy warmth to the cheeks. The product contains lavender oil, which I personally love, but those with an aversion to lavender probably wouldn't be so enthusiastic. It is reminiscent of one of my most beloved products, Bloom Sheer Colour Cream in the now discontinued Dewy, which was also scented with lavender.

17 and Counting

I seem to have inadvertently developed a bit of a Revlon nail polish collection. Not long ago, I only had a handful of nail polishes from Revlon, either purchased at full price ($13.95 in Australia) because I loved the colour so much, or free from gift with purchase packs. When I found them at Gloss for $5 a pop, I couldn't resist picking up a couple each time I visited. I began to also see them at chemist discount stores, usually for $5 each, and Paddy's Markets at $5-$6. Last weekend, I spotted them at an unbeatable $3 each at some bargain bin store, so naturally I purchased 4 polishes after much scouring and debating (I mean, do I really need another glittery purple, metallic green, hot pink or coral?).

My current collection comprises:

• Peach Smoothie
• Peach Nectar
• Demure
• Tropical Temptation
• Victorian
• Guava
• Minted
• Black with Envy
• Blue Lagoon
• Midnight Affair
• Gray Suede
• Crème Brûlée
• Plum Seduction
• Gum Drop
• Plum Night
• Grape Fizz
• Star

Like most nail polishes, Revlon are a little hit and miss. While I love the shade of Minted, it is disappointingly so difficult to apply that I don't really bother with it. The same could be said for Blue Lagoon, said to be a near dupe of Chanel Riva. You really need a steady hand, immense patience and a considerable level of skill to apply those two polishes to perfection. Demure is very similar to Ulta3 Watermelon, while Black with Envy is close to Sportsgirl Berlin. In terms of both colour and application, my favourites are Gum Drop, Peach Nectar and Gray Suede.

Creating Light

I'm not really a matte girl, with the exception of lipstick. I don't particularly like matte foundation, eyeshadow or nail polish. When it comes to skin, I'm all for a radiant, glowing, almost dewy base. To me, there's something especially gorgeous about cheekbones that catch the light when you turn your face at an angle. It's no secret that illuminating the high points of the face (tops of cheekbones, down the bridge of nose, above the cupid's bow) can give that ethereal, youthful touch.

Recently Revlon Age Defying Spa Face Illuminator was on sale at Priceline and I managed to pick up the shades Pink Light and Gold Light. I wanted to find Bare Light (the closest to a natural, slightly golden highlight), but was unable to locate it. I'd been keen to try a liquid highlighter after purchasing a powder one (Models Prefer Glitz & Glamour) and enjoying using it as part of my daily routine. At the recommendation of MakeupAlley users, I tore the brush off that came with the product (I used brute force and sheer determination, though tweezers might also do the trick). The tube comes with a handy twist lock that ensures no leakage if the applicator is turned to "Off".

Apparently Pink Light is a dupe of Benefit High Beam, but since I don't have it, I can't do any direct comparisons. I initially thought Pink Light could be used as a light pink shimmery blush, but it's too silvery to be used on the cheeks. It also tends towards frostiness which is more apparent under certain lighting conditions (e.g. fluorescent lights). Having the consistency of a light moisturiser, you need only a very small amount, blended well into the skin, for a noticeable effect. Gold Light is way too dark for me to be used as a highlight. I can only use it as a subtle liquid bronzer, which doesn't bother me, except that I rarely wear bronzer so I don't envisage getting a lot of use out of it. I prefer the gold shimmer particles in Gold Light (as opposed to the silver in Pink Light), but not the colour base. The formula is perfumed, and although the smell isn't entirely unpleasant, I would prefer if it was unscented.

Evidently I didn't fully blend out the product, so the swatches show the colour of each. While nice to have, the Face Illuminator isn't something that I reach for on a daily basis. It comes down to not buying the right shade for me and preferring my existing powder highlighter. However, with Gucci Westman extolling its virtues, and for the price I paid ($7), it's far from an unwelcome addition to my collection.

Cult Status

I'm embarrassingly late to the party, but I finally managed to get my mitts on the much-hyped Urban Decay Naked Palette. I won't do any swatches because there's already about a thousand of them, but I will detail some first impressions. I do like the chocolate brown velvet exterior and gold embossing on the front, but not so much the cardboard interior, though it seems sturdy enough. The Shadow Karma Brush that came with the palette is surprisingly stiff and quite flat, so it looks useful for patting on a fine layer of shadow onto the lid, but not really for blending. Apparently the brush is $26 itself, which definitely is overpriced, but may be an added incentive to clinch the sale. Not that the palette isn't already impressively good value considering it consists of 12 full-sized eyeshadows (at 1.3g each), normally $17 each, as well as a mini Primer Potion. 

From only very lightly swatching the shadows onto my arm, I can say that the shimmery shades (Sidecar, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted) are absolutely gorgeous and the palette is worth it just for them. The two highlight shades are pretty but I don't really see myself using them that much, except probably in the inner corner of the eye on the rare occasion. The two matte shades (Naked and Buck) are not as pigmented and in a palette of such gorgeous shades, I doubt I'd ever even use them beyond initial experimentation. The shade Naked is especially light and barely shows up as it's too close to the colour of my skin. Surprisingly, Creep, which I expected to be a rich, sparkling dark grey from the way it looked in the pan, was actually quite chalky and lacking pigmentation.

I purchased my Naked palette from BeautyBay.com at just under $60 including postage. There are websites which offer free shipping, however, after reading several reviews, I decided to pay a little extra for postage because comments about shipping from Beauty Bay seemed generally positive. I can say from my experience, shipping was fairly prompt and without complications (my order was despatched on 23 January and the package arrived 1 February). I just checked and Beauty Bay currently have a free shipping promotion. If only they sold Naked 2, I would've already surrendered my credit card deets.