Dark lipsticks - review & swatches

Over the past year, my obsession with make up has really taken a strong focus on lipsticks and lately on dark lippies. I'm not sure if it's because of the colder weather in Sydney, Lorde...or the fact that I've just been seeing it everywhere these days. Dark lipstick to me is romantic and mysterious.

I admit I had never imagined that I would ever wear dark lipsticks, and I think I am quite a novice when it comes to make up - I am blogging this because I love make up reviews and it really helps me decide what I want to buy next. (Also because I don't like to try tester lipsticks in store so it's always a gamble!)

Here goes! Hope you find this useful xx

Clockwise:

1. Sportsgirl Pout about it in Dark Angel

2. Rimmel - Lasting Finish lipstick in Cutting Edge #120

3. Rimmel - Lasting Finish lipstick in Starry-eyed #128

4. Revlon - Super Lustrous Lipstick in Black Cherry #477

Dark Angel:

Finish: matte

Shimmer / glitter: no

Application: smooth to apply, a lip liner wouldn't always be necessary for this lipstick

Pigmentation: strong (love it!)

Bleeding:  a little

Colour: dark maroon colour & darkest out of the 4 lipsticks on review

Would I wear this again?: YES! I carry this around with me everywhere

Other notes: 2 layers applied

Photo:

Cutting Edge:

Finish: creme with slight sheen

Shimmer / glitter: no

Application: glides on

Pigmentation: strong

Bleeding: negligible

Colour: dark purpley plum

Would I wear this again?: Yep. The Plum colour came as a bit of a surprise but I love that it turned out that way

Other notes: berry scented, 2 layers applied

Photo:

Starry-eyed:

Finish: creme with slight sheen

Shimmer / glitter: no

Application: glides on

Pigmentation: strong

Bleeding:  negligible

Colour: dark plum

Would I wear this again?: Yes

Other notes: berry scented, 2 layers applied

Photo:

Black Cherry

Finish: labelled as creme (but more of a sheen finish)

Application: I had trouble applying this since it is quite thin and highly pigmented, it bled quite a lot too.

I would definitely reccomend a lip liner with this 

(Although even in school I couldn't colour within the lines so... maybe it's just me!)

Pigmentation: strong

Bleeding:  yes :(

Would I wear this again?: Probably not

Other notes: I did have to apply a few layers to hide the bleeding and especially if your lips arent perfectly moisturised the application of the lipstick will not be even - you can sort of see this in the photo below

Photo:

 

And lastly, the swatches

This was taken before I began applying the lipsticks: 2 layers each

L-R: Cutting Edge, Black Cherry, Starry-Eyed, Dark Angel

This was taken after I had finished taking my photos - as you can see the lipsticks have faded (which is a bummer)   but that doesn't bother me much as I don't mind reapplying throughout the day.

As you can see - all these lipsticks are well pigmented and that is because I love intensity when it comes to lipsticks and I tend not to use lip stains or lip glosses. In saying that, it is very possible (with all but the Sportsgirl lipstick) to use these lipsticks as a stain rather than full colour.

I would love to know what you think of this entry, if you found it useful in any way - and if you also have these lipsticks, how you have found them. As they say - each to their own and it is certaintly true for lipsticks when it comes to matching complexions and the colour that comes out on each person's lips.

Thanks for reading! xx

Hats, capes and gloves - winter wardrobe

In today's post I share with accessories from my wardrobe that I've picked up from my past travels and also my love of capes! 

In particular, my hat and gloves (leather & Givenchy... squee!!!)

come from my 2011 trip to Japan. I was fortunate enough to see all the capital cities and the amazing ice sculptures in Sapporo before the devastating tsunami hit. 

Japan is honestly a beautiful country with beautiful people and hopefully one day I'll be able to return to Japan and experience it all again.

They also have super fast trains with temperature control (unlike ours in Sydney AHEM!). It's just so lucky I have this cape to wear in the mornings when the A/c suddenly switches on and all the carriages becomes colder than the winter air outside.

 (Ran away after seeing about one hundred spiders on the tree - OMG!)

Cape: Topshop
Necklace: Shieke
Blouse & skirt: Ally
Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Gloves: Givenchy
Hat: unknown

Until next time loves!
xx B

'err body wants some of dem Markus Lupfer lips - white on white

Hi everyone,

Just a quick post featuring my beloved Markus Lupfer glitter lips tshirt in a white-on-white combo.

I've had this tshirt for months now (thanks Glassworks!) and been saving it  for the right out outfit and I am so glad I can finally share this with all my wonderful readers and visitors :) 

Shirt: Markus Lupfer

Skirt: Nastygal

Clutch: Witchery ( & also thanks to my 2 gorgeous friends for this birthday gift last year!!!!)

Shoes: ASOS

As I said in a previous post, this is definitely a trend to look out for during spring/summer and I dare say autumn/winter. I have been love love loving white-on-white outfits the moment I laid my eyes on across many catwalks this year, it's such a  fresh, simple and classy look.

On another note, I am sure it's not just me who has noticed that these luscious lips have been gracing their way across the designs of other fashion labels recently. Perhaps we should be looking out for these as a micro trend this year? Hehe.

Hope these photos brighten up your dreary day

P.S. I love bubbles!! 

XOXO B.

Get to know some 11 things about me - Liebster Award

Hi Everyone!

Yinyin of Yinyinloves recently nominated me for a Liebster award. It was such a nice surprise after an intense week and brought an instant smile to my face. Yay! :):):)

Thank you Yinyin for believing that I deserve a nomination.

The Liebster award
Is something that I have seen in my many years of on/off blogging/blog stalking but I had never expected to receive myself. 

The award in all its forms (click here) eludes me to no end because I swear I have seen blogs with the award/nomination for many many years but I never could find its origins. Other bloggers have mentioned it originating circa 2010 but I believe it has been around for much longer than that... Someone please shed some light!!!

In essence:
The Liebster Award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers in order to get them more noticed and give them recognition!  

The rules:

1. You have to say 11 things about yourself, 
2. Answer 11 questions the person who nominated you gave, 
3. Nominate 11 more people and give them 11 more questions to pass along! You then go to their page and tell them, oh and no tag backs! 

--- Here goes!

Eleven things about myself:

1. Self confessed magpie, I love everything and anything that shines/reflects/glitters. This also extends to beading and sequins haha

2. That makes me a true fan of the trends for SS/AW 2013/14 hehe

3. 5"4

4. Terrified of heights...TERRIFIED!!!!!

5. I love ice cold water

6. Not a huge fan of eating cupcakes (baking is another story!)

7. I can lose myself the kitchen

8. I can not stand it when MACARON is misspelt as MACAROON - especially when a recipe is published that way... come on seriously?!

9. Suffers from hay fever :( :(

10. Love reading

11. I just bought another Saint Laurent Arty ring

Yinyin's 11 questions:

1. Why do you enjoy blogging?
I have a massive addiction to shopping, especially when it comes to clothes & accessories. I always have an excuse to buy extra non-necessities such as leather gloves look better than woollen gloves… but my woollen gloves are like mittens!!! 

Unfortunately however, I don’t always get to show off my new purchases as often (or as soon) as I’d like. My day time job (previously and now) keeps me extremely busy and if I am not doing that I am usually studying or having much needed downtime. 

So blogging for me is an outlet, a way for me to share the beautiful clothes/accessories/outfits that I already own, buy or create.  

2. Favourite clothing brand?

Hands down, ASOS!

3. Favourite fashion/beauty trend for summer?

Summer is a long time away for Australia –however I think white-on-white will be my favourite. It’s fresh and simple and I am already collecting white pieces for my wardrobe. Can’t wait!

P.S. First collage I made in ages AND white on white will be my next post! XX

4.Where is your dream holiday destination?

The Maldives

Look at that endless blue... absolutely breath taking.

5. Best moment of 2013 so far?

Getting rid of the never ending deadlines in my life. A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and with that came a definite sense of freedom… one that I hadn’t had in quite a few years. I have to say though; most don’t know or miss this kind of freedom until it is taken away from them. 

Ohmgd I feel like I am almost describing slavery. Don’t worry it wasn’t hehe ;)  As an added bonus, the bags under my eyes began to disappear too 


6. Least liked make up item?

Probably eyeshadow. Don’t get me wrong, I actually love eyeshadow but I wasn’t blessed with eyelids meant for eyeshadow... OK maybe only one eye lid was. 

Haha see my problem?? P.S. yes was in a (very warm!) dragon onesie...

7. Top 3 songs this year (so far)?
Skylar Grey - Invisible (Kaskade remix)

Zedd - Clarity (W&W remix)

& and I just had to throw this one in haha hehehe always makes me giggle
The assumption song:

8. What are you looking forward to this summer?

The end of day light savings (November 3rd this year) - more hours of sunshine!!! weehooo

9. What's your signature scent?

I've never really had a signature scent per se. Though when I was growing up (ha still am) I always found myself drawn to fresh, fruity scents rather than floral, musky, sweet etc. Now that I am a little bit older, I do find myself more drawn to other scents.

I will easily rotate perfumes with which my hand comes into contact first with haha. Some of these include: Issey Miyake L'Eau D'Issey, Anna Sui Secret Wish, Elizabeth Arden Green Tea, Marc Jacobs Lola.

On a more trivial note, my friend recently gave me a Jimmy Choo Flash sample and that is what I carry around with me.

10. What TV series are you hooked on at the moment?

I'm quite committed to my TV shows so once I begin a series, I keep going with it (to the except that I never really like it in the first place)...you'll note that I'm also very behind in some of these shows haha. What I'm currently obsessing with 

-Revenge

-Suits

-The Game of Thrones

-Once Upon a Time

-Pretty Little Liars

11. Favourite pair of shoes?

OK. I am going to be a little bit biased now and say my favourtie pair of shoes are my brand new Jeffrey Cambpell Everly wrap boots. OMG! I honestly fell in love with these The moment I laid my eyes on them... through the computer screen haha. 

I can see how these are a little bit impracticle for winter but there are socks and since I can't get my mind off of them... I think it is only fair to say that these are my favourite pair (for the moment!).

Eleven nominations & eleven questions!

Nominations:

Anna @ www.obsessivechicdigest.com
Sass and Spice @ sassandspice.com/
Shari @ oishari.blogspot.com.au/
Ngetuiza @ wardrobeonwheels.blogspot.com.au/

Elise @ wildcupcake.blogspot.com.au/
Heliely @ helielyb.blogspot.co.uk/

Peach Cordial @ peachcordial.wordpress.com/
Monsparkle @ http://monsparkles.blogspot.com.au/
Jess @ fifteenohtwo.com/
Theresa @ theresathuy.blogspot.com.au/

Jenny @ outfitsinmyroom.blogspot.com.au/

Questions:

1.What made you decide to start a blog
2.Is there any significance behind the name you chose for your blog?
3.Which trend will you be working the most this year?
4.Are you more of a shoes person, or a bags person?
5.Favourite drink (either alcoholic or non-alcoholic)
6.What was your very first blog post about? How does it compare to your more recent posts –and how do you feel about the consistency/change/differences?
7.Celebrity crush / inspiration?
8.If you could be a stylist for any celebrity who would it be
9.Favourite era/decade of fashion?
10.If you could be any character from any story/movie, who would it be, and why?
11. What place/s give the you the most inspiration for your blog posts?

I hope everyone has enjoyed reading this post & learning a little bit more about me. Please make sure you visit my nomimees and also Yinyin's fab blog!

Until next time xoxo

All that glitters is green... and blue.

Ever since I received this beautiful green gemstone Zara necklace as a gift from my friends (thank you!) I have been wanting to do an outfit post with it.

I know that this necklace is rather versatile and can be worn with many colours and tones but I had it in my mind that I had to be green that I wore this beautiful necklace with.

Though I have to say that it is a little bit hard to find the right outfit when green isn't so in season. Luckily for me ASOS (yet again hehe) have this gorgeous bold printed tulip dress. A light bulb went off in my head as soon as I saw it. woo hooo!

The four things I love most about this dress are

1. Tulip shape, and midi sleeves. Peerrrrrfect for the office (perfect for me anyway)

2. The fabulous blues on this dress let me accessorise my outfit with another gorgeous present I received for my 24th birthday.

3. When the sunlight reflects off the fabric, it looks subtly metallic even though it's not.

4. My necklace blends so well into the dress that it it goes from a very statement type of necklace into something a little less so.

After though - a fifth : the dress has pockets!!!!!!! WIN!

Unfortunately with all things that we love, there are things that we don't necessarily like either...

like the true length of this dress. At a fabulous height of 165cm, I am far too short to wear this as it is, and I had to hem off the end completely, which is such a shame really. Wish ASOS had made this in petite as well.

So how would you have worn the necklace? Or the dress?

Hope you like! XOXO

Dress: ASOS

Necklace: Zara

Clutch: Diane Von Furstenberg

Shoes: Bellini

 XOXO B

Brrrr baby - faux fur for winter weather

I am usually never a fan of cold mornings, much less foggy ones but I will have to admit that waking up this - a blanket of fog over Sydney was actually so brilliant.

Firstly, this fog played as the perfect back drop to this shoot haha and secondly because I got to test out my new vest...and it is so toasty warm! YAY!

This is my first ever piece of clothing that is made from faux fur so I hope I did an OK job styling it :) Let me know what you think! 

Vest: Lush

Dress: Supre

Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs

Bracelet: PeepToe

Shoes: New look

P.S. getting grass on my shoes - gsfsjkf!!!!

Hope you're all having a great weekend and thanks for reading!

XOXO B

Cutesy in bold brocade prints

I completely fell in love after seeing Beyonce in Emma Cook's (sold out!!!!) Silk de Chine floral printed button down and shorts at Miami Art Basel last year, and ever since then I had been obsessing over trying to find something similar.

And so many months later (but better late than never), VOILA! ASOS created their own set.

and I love.

I so so love! It is just my luck really that bold, statement prints are also on the minds of many designers for the AW/SS2013/14 season. So many separates come in the same prints.
YAY!  

Shorts: ASOS

Tops: ASOS

Clutch: PeepToe

Shoes: Ninewest

Watch: Casio

Lastly, I just wanted to apologise for the absence of posts. Things just got crazy busy like I would have never believed. Hopefully things improve from here onwards! *fingers crossed

Lots of love,

XOXO

B