Australis Bronzing Primer!

Years ago, I had a Boots No7 product called "liquid sunshine, which was a liquid gold shimmer for all over use. It had these lovely little reflective bits in it that made my skin glow and I always looked so healthy. I've never been able to find a comparable product here in Australia...until now.

This week, Australis release their new bronzing primer, which is almost exactly the same effect! It gives you a hint of colour and a golden glow, even after you've applied your foundation.

In the picture below, you can see that i applied the primer only to my contour areas, and it's had a lovely overall effect on my makeup look. In the winter months, I intend to wear it all over instead of foundation on days when I don't want to wear a face full of makeup, but I still want some protection from the winter cold and wind.


This product is absolutely gorgeous, and a must have for every beauty-conscious makeup fan this season.

At $13.95, it's a total steal, especially considering it contains all the good stuff to keep your skin moisturised and protected from free radicals.

 Head over to www.australiscosmetics.com.au or into your local Priceline store and pick it up today!



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Closer Look: Urban Decay Primer Potion

We looked at eyeshadow primers a while back, but I thought I'd give you a better look at Urban Decay Primer Potion, because it's one of my all-time favourite primers and it comes in four different colours!

A couple of weeks ago, it was reported that l'Oreal had bought Urban Decay cosmetics, which is going to mean that we are more easily able to access their products here in Australia.

So... about the actual product. It's one of my favourites because it provides a really great, non-creasing base for eyeshadows, which stays put and helps your makeup looks to last through the day/night.

The four colours are Original, which is a wonderful fleshtone that works with any look; Sin, a gorgeous pink-based bronzey colour which will add pop to any pink or purple based look; Greed, a bright gold colour to add punch to gold/bronze looks; and Eden, a slightly yellow variation on the original fleshtone.

Despite being disappointed that Urban Decay changed their packaging from the gorgeous little genie bottles that it used to come in, I am very pleased with the performance of the new packaging. There's no more scraping around trying to get product out, or (shock, horror!) cutting into the bottle to depot into a better container so that you get all of your product to use.

My favourite colour to use is Greed, because I do use a lot of nude/bronze eyeshadow to create really soft, gentle looks.

Currently, you'll need to hit eBay for this product is you live in Australia, or get a really awesome friend who lives in the USA to go to Sephora and get some for you.

Let's talk: Eyeshadow primer.

 Lots of people have asked me what all the fuss is about eyeshadow primer. We have primers for everything these days, base, eyeshadow, eyelashes, the whole shebang. Makeup is becoming more and more complicated with more and more products to use.
One thing I definitely do recommend, though, is a good eyeshadow primer. It will keep your shadow where you put it, and stop it from creasing as the day goes on. So let's have a look at some of the ones I have in my "tower of treasure".

First of all, the makeup artists' favourite, Urban Decay Primer Potion. They recently changed their packaging from the genie bottle to the squeezy tube, and although they say that they haven't changed their formulation, it does feel a little different to me (maybe that's just a mental response to the new packaging? I don't know). I've loved Primer Potion forever, and it was long considered my very favourite... until I found....

Benefit Stay don't stray eyeshadow primer. This is my favourite and the product that performs the best for me. I received this little sample size in a gift box, and I will be straight in to see the girls at the Benefit counter for some more as soon as I get close to running out. The formulation is great, it feels goos on my skin and my eye makeup does not budge at all when I use it underneath, no matter what crazy combination I've done.

Last of all is the more budget-friendly brand, Models Prefer, which I picked up from my local Priceline. It's a great all-rounder, I'm not as keen on this one as I am the Benefit product, but in terms of wearability, you can't go wrong for the price.

So tell me, do you use eyeshadow primer? Which one is your favourite?

Review Thursday: Exciting new products from Innoxa!

It's not often that I get all excited about a foundation and primer, but when I got my hands on these ones and tried them out, I did a little bit of a happy dance. You can find them at David Jones, Myer, Priceline, Terry White Chemists, My Chemist, Chemist Warehouse and leading pharmacies nationally.






First, let's start with the primer. Innoxa Pure silk skin primer is a really superlight formulation, almost a gel consistency, and clear in colour. I almost expected it to feel like water on my skin, but it really feels like smoothing a layer of silk over your face. I have some very high end products that cost a fortune, and do roughly the same thing. I'd even go as far as to say that this product is better, at half the price.
The primer provides a gorgeous, smooth, silky base for your foundation, and if you're a primer user (like most girls should be) this is definitely well trying. You won't look back.



Then the foundation. I am a big fan of high end foundations, and I've tried just about every awesome $70 foundation there is to try. Innoxa Long Lasting foundation is amazing. It's my new favourite base product. Its anti-ageing, light-reflecting. 16 hour lasting formula really does what it says it will do. I even (naughty, I know) fell asleep last night after a party with my makeup still on and woke this morning with a perfect face of makeup still applied. A good base makes all the difference when it comes to things like your colour products smudging, migrating, or wearing off altogether. Even my eyeliner (which sometimes moves into the outer corners of my eyes and smudges) was still exactly where I'd put it almost 24 hours earlier!
If you're looking for a new foundation to try, and you're in the market for something really awesome, save the extra money you'd spend of a really fancy product and get into a store (specified at the top of this post) to pick up this foundation. You won't regret it. At $29.95 it's a total steal, and I will definitely be replacing this product again and again. It's earned a place in my makeup staples.

These products were provided for review by the lovely people at Innoxa. As always, my opinions are my own.

PS...I really, truly love these products!