Beauty Review: 2 Thumbs Up for MAC & Revlon

The search for the perfect foundation and the perfect lipgloss is like the search for the perfect jeans: never-ending, frustrating, expensive; but still the sort of search that you don't want to end, in case you end up with nothing to shop for (the horror, the horror!). If my makeup bag was a Facebook page my current status would read: Kat's Makeup Bag is overflowing, but content *smiley face* . As you all know, if I didn't buy so many magazines and products and general crap I could probably buy more important things, like, um, a house, but houses don't make your skin tone even or your lips luscious. I have however found two products recently that make me so joyous that I hum Christmas carols in August:

1). MAC Select SPF 15 Foundation I actually wanted the Face & Body foundation that is eternally raved about but Myer Melbourne don't have it and I couldn't be bothered going out to Chadstone, especially considering I was meant to be making my way to appointments and not, in fact, having a makeover. Incidentally, if you're the type of person who gets slightly erotic thrills when you see swathes and swathes of colour pots all neatly lined up in order, then I suggest making a trip to the MAC counter to gasp in awe at the monolith of beautiful little pots of eye shadow just begging to be smudged with your pinkie. Sigh. Anyhow, a nice French lady working at the counter must've thought I looked like the arty type or something (I don't, but French people are odd) because upon enquiring as to a suitable foundation, she expertly chose the exact colour I've been looking for all these years and artfully applied it with a silky foundation brush. To half my face. Delighted with her choice, we both agreed that this was the new foundation for me and she trotted off to the counter to ring it up. I sat confused in the makoever chair for a few minutes, as one half of my face was made up and the other was not. I didn't know if this was a new trend I had somehow missed out on, but it looked a bit odd. Especially for meeting clients, regardless of how fashion savy they are. Phantom-of-the-Opera chic does not suit me. This fab foundation, however, does. I love it. I am most chuffed and will certainly be getting more, now that I know my colour (you can buy it online at the above link, or probably from Strawberrynet and Kiss&Makeup -love this store, especially for NARS - only I'm getting hungry and thus too lazy to check). The rundown: liquid foundation (best applied with a bursh), SPF 15 (in case you thought the title was cryptic), non-oily and nice and gentle. It possibly bakes yo-yo biscuits while wearing twin sets in shades of pastel, it's so nice.

2). Revlon's Mineral Lipglaze in Forever Raisin (yeah, I just do what the ads tell me) tastes so damn nice it could be bright blue for all I care. Um, I don't sit on the couch with a spoon dipping into the tube, I don't have a spoon that would fit for starters, I just mean it gives a nice sweet taste on your lips when you put it on. Plus it does stay on. Does what it says on the tin, indeed. I already have an all time fave lipgloss that is the most perfect lippy ever for everyday wear(Bonne Bell's cheapie Vitamin E range, get it from Priceline or similar bargain beauty store $6.95) but this one is my new fave "dressy" lip colour. Actually I wore it dagging around the house on Sunday because I love it. If you don't put too much on, it gives a nice deep stain; conversely if you get a bit tipsy on Saturday night and reapply it rather heavily, you'll get a slick, gorgeous gloss that lasts through more Jagerbombs then you can. I hope they release more colours, most of the current shades are either quite dark or quite light, or too brown for my liking though you might like it of course. Last time I checked Revlon weren't asking me specifically for shades, but in case they do something a tad lighter then Forever Rsin with a hint of more pink would be about perfect. Mwah.

What should come first? A wardrobe cleanout or makeup bag cleanout? Need to make room for a MAC-esque wall of colour to drool over I guess.....

Bargain Beauty Review: Lip Gloss

*beauty disclaimer: these are honest reviews and I don't get paid or free stuff to do them, or to induce any sort of bias. I have to pay for these goods the old-fashioned way! (However if you want to send me free stuff, please do. Especially expensive stuff)*

Just like one can never own too may shoes, bags, coats or tshirts, a girl should never be caught without her lippy. I am partial to a bit of shine (regardless of whether or not it is "in" this week; seriously unless you work on a glossy mag or something who would care if your lip colour is sooo yesterday afternoon or not. And if they did care, they're obviously not worth knowing. Does the colour suit you? Yes? Well then it's never going to be "in" or "out" is it? Why swap your perfectly tinted shade for pearlised coral with sparkles or whatever just because that's what is the latest on the runway? Sorry. Rambling.), so in this regard I am going to share with you what is quite simply THE BEST lip gloss ever. And it costs $6.95.

Remember Lip Smackers at school? And it became a sort of competition as to who could have the most? And you lined them up colour co-ordinated on your dressing table? (No? Oh.) Well this is a sort of grown up Lip Smacker. It's called VitaGloss and it's a lovely, lovely conditioning gloss (thanks to vitamin e and aloe) that has just the right amount of natural-looking tint AND it stays on for aaaages. It gives your pout that airbrushed magazine look and it will make handsome foreign princes propose to you. Well, maybe not quite, but it'll look damn good. You may know that I have an obsession with collecting lip glosses and lipsticks. If you didn't, well you do now. I've got everything from Chanel to Rimmel and this one is my day-to-day fave. I have one in ech handbag, a spare beside the bed and another in the bathroom. Once I went into Priceline and they had "Buy 2 get 1 free" and I bought all of them, lest I happen to run out one fateful day. It comes in six different flavours/colours (oh and it doesn't taste awful either); my preference is raspberry, which is a deep pinky colour. And not, in fact, red like a raspberry. But whatever. If you are blonde you might like kiwi (it's pink, not green) or strawberry; darker skin tones plum or melon; and cherry is great for adding some shine on a night out.

I hope you realise that if I was ever interviewed for a beauty section of a magazine and they asked me what my all time must-have beauty product is that I would alone take to a desert island and repopulate the earth with, it is this. I haven't told many people about it because the shops are always out of stock and I am afraid of not being able to buy it. *starts shaking* actually, it sucks. Don't buy it, it's chemical enhanced crap that tastes like a shoe. I'll soldier on using it though, for old times sake.

Bonne Bell is available at Priceline, Target, pharmacies and supermarkets.

Beauty Review: Scrub Away Those Monday Blues

Disclaimer: I don't get paid to review beauty products on this blog, or get freebies to entice favourable reviews. My hard-earned cash is forked over the old-fashioned way and everything written below is 100% honest!

Hey that title almost rhymes. We could add a bit of acoustic strumming and some tuneful Dylan-esque lyrics (Bob Dylan, not 90210 Dylan. That could be a different story altogether) and knock the Idol-poppers off the charts. But I digress (as usual. Oh, there I go again. Sorry). Sometimes, Mondays suck. It's a whole 5 days, approximately 45 working hours and 4 sleeps til the weekend. But instead of slugging your way wearily through the week, try approaching it freshly scrubbed and squeaky clean - *adopts sci-fi voice* exfoliate-exfoliate-exfoliate those dead skin cells and let your skin make you happy!

I love a good scrub. A Beautician got me onto them years ago, and now I'm a daily buffer. Experts will disagree on how often to scrub, but really, it's up to you (as all things are, if you think about it). My skin falls in the yuk-category of combination/oily. Thus, I find daily exfoliation a really good way to keep it smooth and soft, and spotty bits at bay. There's heaps out there to choose from, and for the past few years I have been rightly obsessed with L'oreal's Pure Zone Exfoliating Gel Cleanser (about $12 from supermarkets, pharmacies and Priceline). It's fantastic if you're 15 to early 20's, but I have recently upgraded to the next stage of skincare (I'm still in my early 20's! I am! I am!) and swapped L'oreal for SK-II cleansing oil (it's the dog's bollocks of cleansers man, not one particle of makeup can cling helplessly to my skin when this baby has it's way with them. Exterminate, indeed!) but still like a daily scrub to get rid of the dead cells and make me feel nice. I found this and give it 5 massive gold stars for awesomeness:

The Body Shop Seaweed Pore-Cleansing Facial Exfoliator $19.95. It's got wild-harvested seaweed from Ireland and jojoba microbeads, and it works! Cleanse your skin first and massage a teeny tiny amount of scrub all over your face and neck. Seaweed is magnificent on the skin and this formula feels nice and grainy like an exfoliant should but lathers up nicely to give you a good gentle clean. Use it in the shower for a thorough rinse-off, and voila! Soft and smooth skin that tingles nicely in a non-erotic way!

I should add another disclaimer to this post: I did work at the Body Shop a few years ago, so am favourably inclined towards their products - especially their skincare (love vitamin e! and the vitamin C serum is divine for those of you 20+...) - but it's honestly the natural, community traded ingredients that I'd rather put on my skin instead of truckloads of chemicals that keeps me going back.

Tip: If you use a body exfoliating scrub (this is not for facial scrubs), use it on dry skin before you step into the shower, lather it up a bit and rinse off for completely and utterly divine softness!