Top 10 Drugstore Items

Lets Talk Drugstore Products.

Here in Australia Cosmetics are very pricey, so anything you can get on a budget that works well is a great buy. Here are my top ten Drugstore buys Australian edition.

Lip Products:

At the moment I would have to say the Revlon Matte and Lacquer Balms, I have rambled about these products for quite some time now but only because I do really love them that much. Having the two finish options and a wide range of colours (most of which are bright shades) means there is something for almost everyone. The $17.95 price tag is a little high for a drugstore product but nothing outrageous.  

Foundation:

This will come as no surprise if you watch my YouTube videos but for years now I have been obsessed with the Revlon Colourstay Foundation for combination to oily skin.  This is truly my holy grail of foundations, it has amazing coverage that you can really alter to suit your skin needs, the colour selection is reasonably large for a drugstore product and the lasting power and evenness though out the day is unparalleled in my opinion. Price: 34.95

Concealer: 

One of my new discoveries on this list has to be the Rimmel wake me up concealer. Although this product has been around for quite a while now It was just something I have not tried out. When I gave this product to my sister as a gift I knew I needed to try it out and it is great. The coverage is medium to high but reflects light enough that you don't need to use large amounts of the product, the formulations sits well with foundations and sets to a nice finish under powder. The one down side is the colour selection is terrible, even the lightest shade is a tad to dark for myself especially in winter and the darkest shade would only work for someone with a medium complexion. Price: $14.95

Powder:

This is not a surprise to anyone who has been following the beauty world in Australia and it has to be the Australia Fresh and Flawless pressed powder. If you don't know what I am talking about it is basically a dupe for the MAC Studio Fix powder (minus about $40.00). I have been obsessed with this powder for so long because it sets my foundations, ads a little more coverage and helps control my oily skin for hours and hours. I love that this product wears very evenly throughout the day so you don't end up patchy or cakey. The recent changed to the packaging SUCK but don't let that deter you from giving it a go. Price: $11.95

Bronzer: 

While I am no expert on bronzers being a pale skinned gal, I can easily say that I adore the Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer in '51'. A well known product in the beauty community I actually prefer the lighter shade in comparison to the infamous '52' colour.  The product applies evenly and is not overwhelming while still adding a little life to the edges of the face. If you are paler I would give this a go and of course if you have a little more colour the darker shade is a well know favourite. 

Primer:

I have not had the best of luck with drugstore all over face primers but I have come to really enjoy the Australis Eyeshadow Primer. I find that there really isn't too much of a difference between the Australis primer and something like the Urban Decay Primer Potion. I am not someone with terribly oily eye lids so I am not sure how it holds up in that department but I do not get any creasing throughout the day and definitely notice the pigmentation of the eyeshadows is much stronger with the primer underneath. Price: $12.95

Mascara: Drugstore Mascaras are top notch and even compared to most high end mascaras the drugstore options are just as good.  I am a huge fan of Covergirl (and Max Factor) mascaras and always have at least one on the go. Two of my favourites are the Lashblast Clump Crusher and the Lash Perfection, each easily amazing and both at amazing prices. 

Eyeliner: This is one that I often get questions about and it is the BYS Smudgeproof Waterproof eyeliner. This dip pot style product is quite a liquidy formulation but the opacity and finish of the product is worth the fuss. This the the only eyeliner I have used that does not smudge on me throughout the day. With the $4.95 maximum price this is one of the BEST products I own

Cream Eyeshadow:

Until recently I really wasn't a big lover of cream products, especially from the drugstore because normally they are sticky, clumpy and just not nice to use, but since the discovery of the Maybeline Colour Tattoo's I have been in love. I have several of the shades but my favourite is the golden based champagne with subtle shimmer that is Barely Branded. I use this product most days under my shadows to give them a little more life and deepen the pigmentation. 

Powder Eyeshadow:

Drugstore eyeshadows are something that I just don't get on with, I am really hard to please with eyeshadows because I don't see the point in using something that just isn't that great, and this product is not only a great product but one of the best eyeshadows I have used. The Loreal Color Infallible Eyeshadows are a pressed pigment style formulation which are the same as the Armani Eyes to Kill shadows. The incredible pigmentations and the unique finish of the shadows are hard to beat and are a staple in my collection. 

If you would like to hear me speak a little about these products please check out my video below!

Zeeta x

NOTD: Cute as a Button

As I promised I am going to talk you through as many of my polishes as possible and today we are going with a lovely spring time pick: Essie 'Cute as a Button'

As per usual I picked this shade up on a whim but I have since fallen head over heels. It is the perfect pink for this season being right on trend and just a lovely shade.

In photos this polish looks like you standard bright pink but in real life it is a bright coral based pink with a lot of orange to brighten it up. I am not a huge lover of pink on my nails but with the coral base I find it much more flattering on the skin.

Overall I am very happy with the polish and would recommend it to almost everyone, especially those who are not the biggest pink fans as I think it just works.

Zeeta x

May Favourites

So that time of year has come around again and its May Favourite time. I always love a good favourites and so I am going to be sharing mine with you. Stick around to the end for my May Favourites Video

I have been loving wearing very seasonably inappropriate nail colours and really embracing the warmer hues for the cooler months. The two I have been reaching for are 'Cute are a Button' (on the left) and 'Tart Deco' (on the right). 

Glowy skin is my thing at the moment and these two products have truly changed how my skin looks on a day to day basis. I apply the blush (Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in 'Luminous Flush') all over my cheeks and build up the pigmentation to bring back some colour to my other wise pale complexion and then I use the Highlighter (MAC Mineralize skin finish in 'Soft and Gentle') liberally on the high points of my skin to bring the light back to my face. This combination is To-Die.

My two skin saviours of the month have been the La Roche Posay 'Effaclar Duo' and the Kate Somerville 'CytoCell Dark Circle Corrective eye cream' and they have been working a little miracle. The 'Effaclar Duo' is an amazing Acne fighting cream/serum/moisturiser that is used all over the face to control those nasty break outs and boy does it work. The 'CytoCell Eye cream' is the first eye cream I have used where I have noticed a difference, my dark circles are less noticeable and puffiness is at a minimum. 

Of course a monthly favourites couldn't be made without the inclusion of the Revlon Lip Balms (Matte and Lacquer). I wear these products almost every day. The soft texture, subtle minty scent and the amazing colour payoff, what more can you ask for!

The 'Tangle Teezer' is a relatively new addition to my hair care routine but I really do understand the hype. The soft rubber bristles glide through the hair with no pulling or harsh tugging that will cause breakage, it also feels very nice on the scalp, like a little head massage.

My new shower loves are the Soap and Glory 'The Breakfast Scrub' and the Dr Bronner 'Hemp Peppermint Castile Soap'. I loves using the soap to give my whole body a great clean but I also find it works great as a shaving gel type product and leaves the legs tingling. The scrub I like to think of as the Dessert of my shower routine, a sweet maple syrup scent with a milky texture to finish off a lovely hot shower is perfection.

That is it for my Monthly Favourites, make sure you check out my video for a more in-depth chat about each individual product.

Zeeta x

Matte or Lacquer

Lets talk my current lip obsession that is not going away, and of course it is Revlon Balm's: Lacquer and Matte.

I struggle to find anything other than highly pigmented lipsticks that I like to wear and that look good, but I have found my new love.

From the Lacquer range I have 'Provocateur' and 'Coquette', the first being a a bright pink based red which is very vibrant and highly pigmented, the second being a bright mid toned pink which I love as an everyday colour.

The Lacquer balms apply very smooth to the lips and the colour builds very easily. The subtle minty scent of the entire range is a nice touch but not too over powering (something I hate in products). They last for several hours on the lips and do leave a stain, but nothing to offensive or that will sit in fine lines.

The one criticism everyone has had is the glitter in formula. At first I didn't even notice any glitter, and thats because there wasn't any, well at least until I got down in the tube a little, and then BAM! there is a whole lot of glitter. I now have a lot of glitter in the 'Coquette' colour which is a little uncomfortable, I just wished they had skipped on that step. 

From the Matte range I have 'Unapologetic' and Stand Out' and I cannot say enough good things about these. I have always loved the matte look but have struggled to find one that was comfortable on the lips and didn't ball up in the corners (the most frustrating thing).

The pigmentation is amazing and the finish is beautiful, a creamy matte that doesn't appear dry at all. They are so comfortable to wear and easily reapply throughout the day without looking clumpy (not that they need much topping up).

'Unapologetic' is a bright coral pink which is right on trend with the colours of 2014, and just happens to be a shade that I LOVE. Although it is the wrong time of year for this beauty I still love brightening my day with it and cannot wait till summer to wear it everyday.

'Stand Out' is a truly amazing deep red that I am obsessed with. I personally struggle with traditional red colours and gravitate towards plums and berry tones when wearing red but this colour has changed that. Being such a deep red with blue undertones (that almost sways towards purple) this colour does not wash my pale skin out and would amazing on anyone.

The four shades I have are my favourites from the two collections which are available in Australia but I do really want to give a few more a go because my obsession with these grows stronger everyday.

I would love to know your opinions on these products because I know there have been both positive and negative reviews.

Zeeta x

NOTD: Secret Story

So it's no secret that I have a little obsession with Essie nail polishes, well it's becoming a kind of large obsession, so before I do my official collection video I wanted to share some fun colours with you in the form of Nail Of The Day posts. I also want to share a few different formulations that I have noticed amongst the range. 

Lets begin is 'Secret Story'

This polish is a mix of a bright, almost fluorescent shade with strong muted undertones to make it more wearable, I would call it a traditional bright pink.   

I love the formulation of most Essie polishes as they are very creamy and opaque, however I have purchased a few that are a little lacking on the creamy side, and this is one of them.

I find these polishes look amazing in the bottle and while they apply just like every other polish in the range they are a tad sheer.

As you can see, this polish still looks beautiful on the nails and I intend on wearing in till the bottle runs out, I just find it odd that there are a few shade in the entire collection in this formulations. 

I have applied three coats of  'secret story' and a single coat of top coat. 

I hope you have enjoyed this review, I have quite a few more lined up for the coming months.

Zeeta x

Perfect Blur

Lets talk bases!

As someone who suffers from enlarged pores and an uneven skin tone I do enjoy a good perfecting base, however they can feel heavy and just plain uncomfortable. 

In a spur of the moment shopping trip recently I picked up the Garnier Perfect Blur base perfecter which to be honest I hadn't heard a lot about, but it was on sale and I thought I would give it a go.

I comes in a simple pale pink tube, nothing flashy about this packaging but nothing offensive either. It comes in the 22.0ml size which seems about average for a priming product

This product claims to be a skin tone evening, light reflecting, smoothing a blurring and I would have to agree. This has been marketed to a mature clientele but I have had no issue on my young oily skin. 

You apply a small amount of the product onto your skin after applying your daily skin care routine, I tend to focus on the centre of my face as that is where I have the most unevenness. This product fills in pours and noticeably reduces the size once make up is applied.  I do not think this product necessarily fills in fine lines but I do think they look less serve.  

When this product is applied alone I do think it helps reflect the light and create a healthy finish to the skin but after foundation application I do not notice a large difference, something I do notice is that my foundation applies so smoothly over the top that my skin looks much more airbrushed. 

To me this product is very similar to the Loreal Base Magique but perhaps a little thinner and slightly smoother feeling on the skin. It can also be compared to the Benefit Porefessional primer which I am a huge fan of, and while I think they are very similar I do love the Porefessional for my skin issues. 

I would recommend this product over the previous two mentioned to a more mature skin type as it is lighter and worn on its own creates a very nice finish and glow.  

I am very much enjoying using this product and given that it is only $16.99 full price it may be something I purchase in the future to avoid paying the $40+ for equivalents.

Zeeta x 

Glossy Stain

So for today's post I wanted to share with you a very unique lip product that I am sure you have already heard all about. This is the Loreal Shine Caresse in 'Romy'. These came out a while ago now and while marketed separately it quickly became known that they were essentially the same as the YSL Glossy stains (a much better name for a 'glossy stain' product if I do say) and they were all the talk back then, now things have calmed down a little, lets talk.

While I have several of these I just wanted to talk about one because the formulation is very consistent in the line. 'Romy' is a medium, warm based pink with a hint of nude (or that 'your lips but better colour). On me the colour is noticeably pink as I have Yellow undertones to my skin and am very fair, however on someone with Pink undertones who is slightly more tan this could certainly be considered a nudey pink.

As for the formulation they are a medium pigmentation, somewhere between a lipgloss and a stain, nothing like a lipstick though, however with the magic of these product you can build them up. One coat will leave you with a gloss look with a small amount of pigmentation, the second coat will look more like a sheered out lipstick and the third looks like a full on glossy powerhouse of pigmentation.

These are a very sticky consistency so if you are not one for a bit of tack then this isn't for you, however if you don't mind then the staying power of there is amazing, they really do last hours and hours. While you can do touch ups when needed you cannot keep applying throughout the day without getting a small amount of clumping but nothing worse then a matte lipstick.

The applicator is very unique in almost a tear drop shape. Made of very soft plushy material and being quite flexible means you can easily create the shape of the lips. 

Overall I do enjoy these products, not my favourite in the Lips department but a nice little change from time to time.

Zeeta x