Monday 6 January 2014

Haul: What I got for Christmas!

Hi lovely people! I'm finally getting back into my jam after these holidays. It's been pretty exciting with so many sales and seasonal products around. I'm totally stuffed with shopping, so I thought I'd share with you all the things I got for Christmas and around Christmas.

(Christmas Presents -  red-eyed dog not included)


Etude House Facial Masks in Green Tea and Lemon.
I haven't tried these yet, but I'm kinda spiffed I have a bit of Etude House in my collection.


Hioki Platforms by ROC Footwear.
I am totally in love with these shoes. A really cute twist on school sandles. They add so much height, they're comfortable and they look good with so many clothes. I couldn't skip out on them when I saw them on sale.


Pore Care Pack from Daiso
Girl, we all need some pore strips in our lives to deal with those nasty blackheads.


L.A. Girl Pro Conceal in Creamy Beige
I hunted down every Makeup Clearance store in Auckland until I finally found this baby in Dress-Smart. So far I'm really, really impressed with this pigmented, full-coverage concealer. Full review coming soon.


MIKI Glitter Liner in Gold
I bought this especially for festive makeup - what's more festive than a little gold glitter on the eyes?


E.L.F. Mineral Eyeshadow Primer
So far, I've been really liking this primer. Really brings out the colours of my eyeshadows and the texture is silky smooth. Review coming! 


QVS Flat Top Powder Brush
I bought this brush to replace my Thin Lizzy kabuki brush that sheds like crazy. It's very dense, very firm and works well with a lot of my foundations. Review coming soon!


MUA Undressed Palette
Ever since I saw Shaanxo's Cara Delevingne tutorial I've been dying-itching-wanting to get Urban Decay's Smog. I found this dupe on Trademe and I really like it. Nice, soft and pigmented eyeshadows. Review coming!


Morgana Cryptoria Lipsticks in Belladonna, Love Lies Bleeding, Azalea Blue and Absinthe
I found this amazing indie brand through Phyrra and ordered these on Black Friday. These are harder and drier than most lipsticks, but this formulation means the colour stays on your lips like glue. And the colours are beautiful and unique. Review coming soon.


Baby Pink BB Cream in Shade No. 2
It's Summer here in NZ and I needed a lightweight and protective base. BB cream was the best answer. I got this from Ippondo in town. It gives light coverage, but still evens out the skin tone. I love how it's SPF 30. Review coming soon.


I've had a wonderful Christmas and New Years and I hope all of you have had the same! Wishing you all a great year. Cheers to 2014!




Review: Designer Brands Mineral Concealer

Hey everyone! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and got to chill out and spend time with friends and family.
Tired from partying all night? Splurging on food caused you to break out? We all need a little concealer in our lives to erase those pesky problems. I've bought this Designer Brands concealer a while back because of how inexpensive it was and I wanted to try it out. Does the price point equal to a cheap quality product?




Quick Pros:
♥ Inexpensive ($11!)
♥ Covers up redness and small blemishes
♥ Not cakey
♥ Semi-buildable coverage
♥ Does not break me out
♥ Not greasy
♥ Doe-foot applicator allows you to control how much product you want to use

Quick Cons:
♥ Only available in two light shades
♥ Both shades have a neutral undertone
♥ Doesn't totally conceal dark scarring
♥ Not long lasting



(Concealer in Natural Lighting)

(Concealer in Flash)


I was quite taken aback by the quality of this concealer. It has a thick-ish consistency (but still a liquid) that feels lightweight, but is able to cover up a lot of problems on the face. It's not greasy or dry, and you can build up the coverage you want. One layer is enough to cover small areas of redness and minor pimples and two will hide some darkness around the eyes and larger pimples.

I've tested both shades at the pharmacy and both of them seem to have a neutral undertone. I bought the darker shade since Natural seemed to be too light for my skin tone. It doesn't match my natural skin tone exactly, but over my foundation or BB cream, this concealer will disappear onto my skin,

I like to use this to concealer all over the face since I haven't experienced and creasing with it and it's not heavy or cakey. It layers up quite well if you need the coverage.






An important thing to note about this concealer is this strange oxidising thing it does. If you apply the concealer heavily on the skin and let it sit there, it will start to turn orange. However, if you blend it out the oxidisation does not happen. I'm not too sure why/how this happens.

The lasting power for this concealer is about 3-4 hours, not enough to last a whole day. However, it does not separate or start to cake around the oils on my face. It fades quite evenly, which is a relief.

For $11, I wasn't expecting something amazing but I would definitely compare this concealer to NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. They are both liquids concealers with good coverage, however NARS has a more glowy finish while DB's concealer dries to a matte finish.

I would recommend DB's Mineral Concealer to those who are looking for an inexpensive concealer and don't have a lot to cover. If the concealer matches your skin tone, you're in luck!

Designer Brands is available in most pharmacies throughout New Zealand e.g. Life Pharmacy and Unichem.





Have you tried this product out? What did you think? Leave a comment below!