April Favourites | The Lipstick Hub

Here are my makeup favourites for the month of April, these were a little hard to choose because some of these products were supposed to be in March's favourites and some items didn't arrive until yesterday. Though May's favourites are going to be amazing because so many more products are arriving.

1. Violet Voss Holy Grail Palette - This was the product was supposed to arrive in March but that's a whole other story. Anyway this palette, is amazing! What really caught my eye was the Wine N Dine shade, it's such a beautiful shade and watching Jeffree's video on it made me really excited about this palette. The palette was quite expensive to get my hands on, you could only buy one, the palette retails for $52 (though it's $42 with the code HOLYGRAIL10) and shipping is $35 so it's $87USD for the entire kit and kaboodle. The palette has 20 shades in there and the names are awesome. As someone who doesn't do neutral looks very often, this palette is very appealing to me.

2. Bobbi Brown University Eye Palette - This palette is definitely a costly one, retailing at $99 at Mecca. That's a lot for a palette with 12 eyeshadows and the pans are also smaller than the Violet Voss one. I did pick this palette up for the shadows Antique Rose and Black Plum (there is a little bit of a colour scheme going on here). The shadows aren't the most pigmented but they do blend out easily and create a seamless look. The colours aren't what you'd expect to find in a palette but I like that, it's great for travelling when you can create so many different looks with taking multiple palettes.

3. Bhcosmetics x Shaaanxo Lip and Eye Palette - I was so excited when Shaaanxo started showing this little beauty off on her channel. This palette is such a creative idea, it's double sided, one side has 9 eyeshadows and the other side has 9 lipsticks. The palette itself looks beautiful, the pink tint with the lights from her background. The eyeshadows are more on the neutral side, there are 3 mattes and the rest are shimmers. One shade in particular is a duochrome shade, it reminds me a lot of MAC's blue brown pigment. The lipsticks are a little bit more pink based, though you do get a lot of variety with the palette, a red shade, a burgundy shade and some neutral mauve shades. This palette is a win for me especially seeing as it's only $14.50 USD. It's so cheap and you get tons of product.

L-R Swatches: 2 from Shaaanxo's Palette, Wine N Dine and So Jelly from Violet Voss, and Black Plum and Antique Rose from Bobbi Brown

4. Benefit Hoola - This product is a holy grail product for a lot of people, including me. The reason why it's in this months favourites is because it's personalised with my name on it. It also comes with a personalised brush as well. Other than that, it is a great bronzer or contour shade depending on your skin tone. It's buttery and so easy to blend out.

5. Rimmel Sculpting Palette in 002 Coral Glow - This is new to Australia, and I'm in love with it. It has 3 compartments, a highlighter illuminer, a contour sculpter, and a blush colorer. It's part of the Kate collection. The packaging is quite nice, with a copper bronze edge around it. The highlighter isn't intense but it gives you a lovely glowly-sheen to your skin. The contour shade does have shimmer so it might be more of a bronzer for some people but it's a great shade for pale people. It doesn't go cakey and it's not too dark, though don't go heavy handed with it, it's quite pigmented. The blush is also lovely, its really a peachy-pink colour that isn't too pigmented but you can definitely build it up.

6. Girl Scouts Lip Smacker Tasty Trio Collection - My inner child screamed out to me when I saw this pack. It includes a Lip Smacker in Chocolate Peanut Butter, a Liquid Lip Smacker in Thin Mints, and a Lip Smacker Lip Pot in Coconut Caramel Stripes. The first one, the Chocolate Peanut Butter, smells amazing, it really does smell like a Reese's. The quality is like any other lip smacker, I do use them more for novelty, taste and smell rather than actual hydration and treatment but it's cute nonetheless. The Thin Mints lip gloss smells exactly like a Thin Mint biscuit, not just mint but mint with chocolate. I feel like it would be perfect as a lip plumper as well because of the mint which gives you that tingly feeling in your lips. The last one, the lip pot, looks so freaking cute as the packaging is a cookie. I can't put my finger on what it smells like but it smells amazing.

7. Bite Matte Creme Lip Crayon in Cafe - This colour is so pretty, it's a pinky brown nude. I don't know if this is a permanent colour, though I think it is, because I got it in last year's Bite Beauty Christmas pack. The formula is beautiful, its a creamy matte formula, so it doesn't drag on the lips and the colour stays on all day. I've already talked about these quite thoroughly so I'm not going to go into detail too much but you should definitely check these out.

8. NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in Pink Lust / Passion Rose - NYX always seem to get it right with their lip products. The liquid suede lipsticks are incredibly pigmented and neon in colour. These are really creamy but they do transfer, however when they do transfer they leave a stain on the lips which looks beautiful. They dry down to a semi matte when dabbed with a tissue or something along those lines.

9. Seraphine Botanicals Carrot + Rose Hydrating Cream - This was something I got in an Ipsy bag, as well as the NYX Liquid Suede. I didn't expect to like this as much as I did. It's not a brand I've heard of before but I'm already in love. I'd never thought of putting Carrot and Rose together, but it smells amazing and feels like cashmere. Its not a thick lotion but it's about the same consistency as every other moisturiser. The hydrating cream almost has a blurring affect to it where it makes your face look flawless. I would definitely recommend this.

10. Essence All That Greys Nail Polish in Roaring Red - The last product for the April favourites is the new Essence nail polish from the All That Grey's collection. I really love this collection but in particular, I love this nail polish. It's a pearly matte finish. Its a deep burgundy colour with red reflects. It lasts a really long time and doesn't chip too much. I think it's amazing for such a cheap price. If you're interested in the collection you should check it out before it leaves stores.

Real or Fake? Lime Crime Velvetines from Ebay Review and Comparison | The Lipstick Hub

Recently I ordered a few Lime Crime Velvetine duplicates from Ebay. I would like to preface by saying that I am aware that these are fakes, I do not truly believe that there are genuine Velvetines being sold for about $1. If you would like to buy genuine Lime Crime products, then you can go to limecrime.com/stores to see their retailers or buy directly from their website. I would also like to address that I am aware that bad chemicals can be found in knock-off products, and that they have caused allergic reactions previously in some cases, however that is why I spot-test before applying directly all over my lips. It is also up to the buyer on whether or not they would like to purchase the product or not, I am not promoting these in anyway, I am simply comparing what is being sold on Ebay to the actual Lime Crime Velvetines.

So now that that little disclaimer is over, lets get into the actual review and comparison shall we? You can purchase these really cheap Velvetines from Ebay or Aliexpress, those two are probably the most common places, I'm unaware of any others. I bought three, each of my most used Velvetines, Red Velvet, Pink Velvet and Cashmere.

L-R: Red Velvet, Pink Velvet and Cashmere

My first impression of the packaging was fairly okay. The box that Cashmere came in was clearly old and fading but I didn't mind it. They said they were sample sizes on Ebay but these are full sized Velvetines. I did notice a few differences between the real ones and the fake ones. 

L-R: Fake Red Velvet, Real Red Velvet, Fake Pink Velvet, Real Pink Velvet, Fake Cashmere, Real Cashmere

There are a few differences that you can see, especially in the flash photo. Firstly, the fake Red Velvet doesn't have a matte tube, it has a very cheap plastic tube. The colours also come off a lot more vibrant through the real tubes. The closest tubes were the Pink Velvets. The font is different on my real one because it is from their original packaging from a couple of years ago. However there is a difference in the colouring of the roses on my fake Pink Velvet, it was a lot less red and more of a deep pink, there is a comparison photo down below. Another difference is between the Cashmere's and the Red Velvet's and thats the height. They were actually taller than my real ones.

Fake Pink Velvet next to Fake Cashmere for heigh difference and difference in colour on the roses.

Swatches of the fakes next to the real deal. First up we have the Red Velvets, the fake one only dried down to a semi matte, rather than fully matte like the real one. It was also quite patchy and was a bit darker than the real one. As for Pink Velvet, the fake one was more like a chunky gloss rather than a liquid to matte lipstick. The texture wasn't pleasant, it had no colour payoff, it was almost a completely different product. The fake Cashmere was by far my favourite out of the three, the colour was pretty much what I wanted Cashmere to actually be. The colour was a little patchy, though you do get that with high end brands as well, it just happens with lighter colours in general. You could definitely add a second coat to make it more opaque and pigmented. It was a lovely shade, I wouldn't call it a dupe for Cashmere by any means. Cashmere was also the only fake to dry down to a complete matte formula.

To summarise, it could be worth it, especially for only a couple of bucks. Its a bit hit and miss though. Also as they are coming from Hong Kong, they do take a while to arrive and mostly likely they won't arrive all in one package. I'm disappointed in Red Velvet and Pink Velvet but I don't really mind because they weren't expensive and I didn't have high expectations for them anyway. Cashmere was surprisingly nice.

If you've ordered these let me know what you thought of them in the comments down below! I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Indie Brand Impulse Cosmetics Haul and Review | The Lipstick Hub

Today I'll be showing you guys my Impulse Cosmetics Haul. Impulse Cosmetics is a brand that I found on Instagram, they are a small, indie, and up-and-coming brand. They are hand-made which I think is amazingly impressive. I ordered a few products so that I could really test out their products and give you guys my thoughts. 

The first product I have to show you guys is their Matte Lip Lacquer in Julep, it's a bright mint colour and is incredibly pigmented. The only problem that I have with the lip products from this brand is that they don't have the shade names on the products which gets annoying when you're trying to post Instagram photos or you know, write blog posts. The packaging isn't too bad, it's just plastic with stickers wrapped around; which I don't mind at all. The full sized Matte Lip Lacquer is only $11 USD so I'm not going to complain about an indie brand's packaging unless it's faulty. The formula is a nice change, it's quite thin but pigmented and it feels really lightweight. It doesn't feel drying or heavy after a long time of wearing them.

The next lot of products I bought were the Duochrome Matte Lip Lacquers. Because I wanted to test out a few of them, I bought samples sizes which is a super cool thing about this brand. It's like a try-before-you-buy. The sample sizes are only $3 USD each for 1.2ml of product, which isn't bad. They come with mini doe-foot applicators so you don't have to worry about how to apply them. The formula is the same as the Matte Lip Lacquer, it does seem a little bit chunky when you first apply it, but when you even it out, then its the exact same. These are super pretty and I'll definitely need to be ordering more ASAP.

L-R: Charisma, Exploit, Hypnosis, Superstition (Duo-chromes), Julep (Matte Lip Lacquer)

The next products are eyeshadow collections, I got the Deathly Hollows sample eyeshadow collection (Halloween, 2015) and the Once Upon A Time sample eyeshadow collection. I picked one eyeshadow out of each collection to swatch because the OUAT collection comes with 10 eyeshadows ($12.50) and the HP collection comes with 12 ($15 USD). The Harry Potter set has a lot of darker colours and has more earthy tones whereas the Once Upon A Time Set has a lot of lighter colours. They don't have matte colours, all of them are like a duochrome eyeshadow with a lot of sparkle which is really awesome. I didn't buy something like a Morphe palette, that I expect to have neutral transititon colours and crease colours etc, I got these collections to have fun with some lid colours or to use as highlighters etc. They are a little difficult to open and they will spill everywhere if you aren't careful.

Once Upon A Time Collection

Harry Potter Collection

Left: Marauders, Harry Potter    Right: Sugarplum, Once Upon A Time

Out of everything I can not fault any of these products. They are all so wonderful and I'm already planning my next order from Impulse Cosmetics. I hope you guys found this mini haul/brand review useful and let me know if you got anything from them in the comments below.

Hidden Gems #11 - MP Pop by Models Prefer Liquid Lipstick in Fuchsia | The Lipstick Hub

This week's Hidden Gem is the MP Pop by ModelsPrefer in the colour Fuchsia. Could this be a new liquid lipstick formula from Models Prefer? I don't actually know much about this product because it came in a holiday collection about a couple Christmas' ago and its only a tiny little size. It doesn't have much information on the packaging which is incredibly helpful, not. I found this when I was doing a deep cleanse of my lip gloss drawer. I was swatching everything to see if I still wanted to keep them and I came across this, it's not exactly a lip gloss and it's not a complete matte liquid lipstick. It's just a liquid lipstick, I don't know how else to describe it.

I haven't heard anyone else talking about this product so I thought I would mention it in this week's Hidden Gems. It lasts a really long time, though its not transfer proof, if you eat a massive burger, you will get lipstick on your chin. It stays a long time because it has a stain effect on your lips. When first applied it has a little bit of a thickish creamy consistency but after that sort of transfers throughout the day, it leaves a really nice stained affect. 

The colour is very much a bright neon hot pink, there's nothing subtle about this colour. Perfect for a pop of colour or for a bright summer-y look. Hopefully they bring this back in another holiday collection because it is really different from anything else I have.

Sorry about the really short Hidden Gem but as I said, I don't have many details on the product so I worked off the information I had. If you've tried this product, let me know what you thought of it in the comments below.

New Hydra Matte Liquid Lipsticks by Gerard Cosmetics | The Lipstick Hub

I'm back again and with new products to talk about to you guys! I'm talking about the new Hydra Mattes by Gerard Cosmetics for their spring/summer collection. They released 4 colours though I was only interested in two, 1995 and West Coast. 1995 is by far my favourite lipstick from them so I was super excited to hear that they were making a liquid lipstick version of it. West Coast first interested me because of the name, and its the name of one of my favourite Lana Del Rey songs, then I saw the colour and I was in love, from the photos it looks like a very neon coral pink shade which I'm excited to put to the test.

I'll start with West Coast, it is a very neon shade, so if that isn't something that you're into I would give this a pass. However if you don't mind a pop of colour, this shade is stunning. The Hydra Matte smells a lot like the Lime Crime Velvetines, which I don't mind. It's very light weight and has a very liquid-y consistency, not at all like the Ofra ones. It didn't dry immediately but it still dried down to complete matte. I do think that it's a lot more pink than it is coral but a lovely shade nonetheless.

As for 1995, I think they made a wonderful colour though it's not quite the same as the 1995 lipstick, it comes off a lot darker. Thought if you put the lipstick on top of the liquid lipstick, there is absolutely no difference to the liquid lipstick on its own. I think that they did a wonderful job in making this shade and it was definitely a great idea from a business stand point, but it is darker than the actual 1995 lipstick.

L-R: 1995 Hydra Matte, 1995 Lipstick, 1995 Hydra Matte with 1995 lipstick on top, West Coast

Other than that I have nothing bad to say, shipping time wasn't horrible seeing as it was coming from America. I think the shades are wonderful and I'll definitely be getting a lot of use out of 1995 this Winter here in Australia.  

March Favourites! | The Lipstick Hub

Finally doing a March Favourites, I haven't done a favourites list in a long time so I'm excited. I do believe mostly that I haven't done one based on the fact that I do Hidden Gems which is sort of like a favourites list, but alas, this month I feel like so much makeup just came right at me that doesn't really belong in Hidden Gems because they are well-known makeup products that everyone's been loving this month. So let's jump right into it shall we?

1. Kylie Lip Kit in Koko K
This was my very first Lip Kit that I ordered and I'm so glad that I ordered two because I'm absolutely freaking in love. I can't get enough of this beautiful shade. I'd also like to give Kylie credit for her valiant effort with these Lip Kits. She restocks almost weekly, they smell heavenly and look so freaking beautiful. There are so many swatches and reviews out on these but there was no doubt about it that these were going in my favourites list. To be honest the Lip Kits are probably in my top 5 liquid lipstick formulas already.

2. MannyMua x Makeup Geek Eyeshadow Palette
I know every Youtuber, blogger and makeup junkie has been raving about this palette, but it is for a good reason. This palette is to die for. I literally bought this palette for the shade Mars because I have been wanting a burgundy eyeshadow that is pigmented to hell and isn't too brown based. The rest of this palette was just a prize really. Manny did a fantastic job with the palette and I couldn't be more proud of him. I'm absolutely in love with how versatile the palette is and the fact that it works well on so many different skin tones.

3. Charlotte Tilbury Bar of Gold Highlighter
My god this product was hard to get my hands on, and that's coming after the Kylie Lip Kits and MannyMua palette, so that's saying a lot. I've been wanting this highlighter since about mid-last year and I was only able to get my hands on it in freaking March. That's insane. I was disappointed in the packaging, it feels cheap and the magnet is really strong. However the product is beautiful, though pale skin tones can only really use this particular highlighter on top of bronzers because it is golden based.

4. Revlon Nail Art Shiny Matte in 530 Emerald Suede
I've already talked about this product in a Hidden Gem but I loved this nail polish duo. The photos in the Hidden Gems post show the colours nicely but it certainly doesn't do them justice. I'll be wearing this again very soon.

5. Savvy Mineral Baked Blush in Coral
This isn't at all a coral colour, its a very coppery-bronze colour. I actually didn't buy this product with the intention of using it as a blush, I used it as a baked eyeshadow during the Mecca x Smashbox event. I haven't used it as a blush so I can't really give my thoughts on that particular use of the product but I can tell you that if you wet your brush, it makes a fantastic pigmented eyeshadow.

6. Makeup Forever HD Foundation (The original formula)
I managed to get my hands on the original formula which I am so happy about because it's a great foundation. I got the shade N115 which is amazing for pale skin tones, I haven't had to mix anything with it which is amazing to me. I love the formula, I wish that they hadn't taken over with the new formula.

7. Ofra Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in Laguna Beach
This colour is very, very similar to Koko K but it's a bit lighter and a little bit more pink than KoKo K which I wasn't expecting. Though the formulas are very different. The Ofra one is a lot creamier and has a more mousse consistency, whereas Koko K has a more watery consistency. Though I really love these formulas equally.

8. Lorac Pro Matte Palette
This is a little hard to get your hands on if you're in Australia but it's definitely worth the effort. The eyeshadows are so buttery and pigmented. They look stunning, especially for a more nude palette. This is definitely my new travelling palette for when I want a neutral look. Even the feel of the palette is beautiful.

9. Laura Geller Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator in Gilded Honey
While this product looks freaking amazing, it's also just a plain ol' great product. Being a lighter skin tone I can only really use this on top of bronzers but oh my Lord it is stunning. This product makes me want to fake tan so I can really see it's true beauty, but I'll just have to wait for Laura Geller to make ones that are a little more friendly towards pale skin tones.

10. Kmart Body Mist in Just Peachy
I will be doing a Hidden Gem's post on this at a later date but the new Kmart body mists are so nice especially for $4 each. Ever since I started wearing Just Peachy I have been getting tons of complements. It's also incredibly strong so you don't have to use much but offt it stays on for hours.

Unfortunately that's all the favourites for this month, until next. I did have a couple things planned to be in this month's favourites, though it didn't work out so it might have to be in the next month's list.

Hidden Gems #10 - Chi Chi Glitter Eyeliners | The Lipstick Hub

This week's Hidden Gem are the Chi Chi Glitter Eyeliners, they have previously come in sets of three or like this recent holiday collection, a set of 6. The eyeliners themselves don't have names which is a little annoying so I have to reference them by colour.

I don't think these are a permanent product that Chi Chi sells but they do seem to come back often, so you just have to wait if you missed out. The shades that the most recent set came with are light blue, dark blue, purple, bronze, gold and black. The colours don't actually have any pigment to them, they are glitters only. Some of them are very pigmented, the lighter colours especially, the only one that doesn't quite match the quality of the other ones is the black one. I have done swatches of all of them, then swatches of them on top of a black liquid liner, then a swatch comparison next to the Essence Crystal Eyeliner.

Essence on the left, Chi Chi on the right

The darker colours come off more glittery when on top of the black but the lighter shades come off more glittery when on their own. So that might be fun to experiment with. The light blue one almost changes colour completely when on the black, it has this peacock green-blue iridescent look which I think looks amazing. The black eyeliner looks more silver/gun metal compared to the Essence one which may be a little annoying for some people but I really like the colour, I think it's unique and it means that I won't be doubling up on products.

The packaging is pretty much exactly what I'd expect, there's nothing really different compared to any other eyeliner. But for $30 or less, depending whether you buy it on sale, these are definitely worth the investment. I hope they do more colours in the future, I definitely think a red or pink is over due.

Easter Show Beauty Show Bag Haul | The Lipstick Hub

At the Easter Show I got a few beauty show bags, but also some fitness ones and some other ones. I thought you guys would be interested in the show bags I got and what is in them. I do apologise for this being late and coming out on the Tuesday instead of the Friday last week, but it was a public holiday, Easter Long Weekend, so I hope you can forgive me. But after this it is pretty much back to your regular scheduled program.

The first bag I got was Elle ($20). If you want to see what's included in the bag you can look at the bag's information on the Easter Show website. I was really excited for this bag, I love Elle magazine especially because Kylie Jenner was on the cover. The bag also included dry shampoo, sun glasses, magnum chocolate and an RY voucher. The amount of things you get in this bag is amazing, especially because it's $5 cheaper than the most expensive bags.

The next bag I got was the Designer Brands show bag ($20). I was a little annoyed because I specifically got there early so I could get the contour kit instead of the snowflake palette but I had already missed out before it was even mid-day. I think this bag would be great if you don't have a lot of DB stuff which I don't, so I'm excited to try out the nail polish, lipstick and mascara.

The next one is the Dolly show bag ($20) This bag had a couple of choices, like the backpack and the cap, I opted for the 'denim' backpack and the 'On Fleek' cap. The denim bag isn't what I thought it would be like, it's more a print on a canvas bag than an actual denim bag. I didn't know that one of the Dolly magazines would have an Essence freebie with it, so that was a nice surprise. The little 2016 dairy and washi tape is pretty cute. I'm also pretty happy that it had an RY coupon.

This one is the Girlfriend show bag ($15) which I think may have been the cheapest out of the lot and it's understandable why, it didn't have a whole lot in it. Though I was quite interested in the Sinful Colors nail polish, the Biore sample and the Instax magnetic pegs. I could have bought the items individually but the nail polish was a bit of a mystery colour, I really liked the design of this bag and I did want the magazines.

This bag may not be recognisable instantly because it had so many choose your owns but this one is the Young Designers Collective Fashion Bag ($25). This one was probably my favourite bag because it has so many things that are practical. I'll start with the choose your owns, so you got to choose out of two things for the bag, hat, sun glasses, purse, scarf and the Clearasil Superfruits line. I was really happy with the things I opted for, I like the chic marble design. I think the floral sunglasses are hella cute. The food and drink weren't too bad. Toothpaste is always a good thing to have a backup of. I did have to throw the coloured hair shampoo out because mine leaked which sucks but overall, definitely my favourite bag.

This bag is the Spirit State Killin It bag ($25), there were two Spirit State bags and I did purchase both of them, which means there were a lot of double ups. I'll show you the two bags side by side so you can see what I mean. There were some differences between the two like bag styles, bag and drink bottle designs. In the Killin It bag you got a phone strap for your arm where as in the Sweat More bag they offered skipping ropes. If you want to see the differences up close you can have a look at the Easter show bag website.

This bag was The Kylie and Jackie O bag ($25), it did have a lot of branding in it which kind of annoyed me. But in this bag it had a lot of practical things that drew me to it. For example, the headphones, the Bio-Oil, the Natural Paw Paw ointment, the Sunglasses, the travel charger and food I could actually eat. So if you can look past the branding, it's actually quite a good bag.

This next thing wasn't so much a showbag as it was just a stall at the Easter Show. After last years Lush boom, I was really excited to see this, the store was called Get Drenched and it was very similar to Lush, the had bath bombs, soaps, candles and lip scrubs. I picked up two of the bath bombs and the bubble bath bar for $18 all together. The bath bomb on the left is very similar to Lush's Sex Bomb so I'd like to see if it's a good dupe for it.

That's it for this year's Easter show, why don't you guys tell me what you got in the comments down below, or if there's anything that you'll be picking up?

Hidden Gems #9 - Profusion 6 Eyeshadow Palettes | The Lipstick Hub

This week's Hidden Gem are the Profusion 6 eyeshadow palettes. I have 3 of them though I know I have seen another one. These can be found at the Reject Store, Kmart and IGA as far as I know.

These palettes are incredibly cheap, I don't remember the exact price but it's either $10 or under. The packaging itself is pretty cheap but packaging is not essential. I do like it though, I think the ombre/gradient effect looks quite cute. The lid magnetises shut so there's no buttons to click or anything. It has a mirror in the palette which is always nice especially when travelling. The palettes do come with foam applicators but I don't keep those so I threw them away. 

The three palettes I have are the Drama palette, Shimmer palette and the Smoky palette. The shades are absolutely stunning, though they are all shimmers. There are no mattes in these palettes. These shades do have glitter in them, it's not too chunky but it does get everywhere. When swatching the colours they can come off a little chalky but they are really smooth and buttery. They are highly pigmented, especially when first swatching them on your fingers.

These swatches are of the 1st and 4th shadows in each palette, in L-R order, Smoky, Shimmer and Drama

I would definitely recommend checking these palettes out, especially for a starter, or a budget friendly makeup lover. They have a nude/naked type palette though I don't think it has matte shades in it. I hope this was helpful for you guys, if it was please let me know in the comments down below.

Best Lip Crayon Formulas and Brands | Lip Week | The Lipstick Hub

As Lip Week continues, I thought I've already done, lipsticks, lip liners so I decided to do lip crayons! These are my favourite brands of lip crayons and my favourite lip crayon formulas. So let's get into it shall we?

The first one I'm going to talk about is Mirabella Velvet Lip Pencil. I discovered these in Lip Monthly (a subscription box) and I fell in love with it pretty quickly. They first sent me a orange/red one and I wasn't crash hot on it because I don't wear that kind of colour but then I got a red one and it's so freaking pigmented! Pretty much all of the lip crayon's I'm going to talk about are going to have a creamy consistency but Mirabella knows what's up with pigment. The packaging is amazing, taking a step back from the trends and going with a gun metal look. I am so thankful for Lip Monthly for showing me this brand. Lip Monthly said they retail for $25, I'm guessing U.S.D? I also don't know if you can get your hands on these in Australia but if you can get them, definitely give them a go.
The next brand is of course Nars, Nars have very beautiful Velvet Matte Lip Pencils. The first set I got was the birthday present from Sephora and the second set I got was from Steven Klein collection. Out of all of these this formula is the second most matte, however they don't feel drying at all. In a few of the shades, like Sex Machine in particular, it can have a bit of sparkle to it which gives it a totally different look as opposed to a complete matte monochrome colour. These can be quite pricey but the quality is definitely what you're paying for.

The Maybelline ColorBlur's are something I have been waiting over a year to get, since Shaaanxo did her collaboration video with Maybelline which featured this product. The ColorBlur's are the most matte out of all of these lip crayons but I kind of understand why; the product was made so that you could easily create an ombre affect on the lips, that could be more difficult if you used a glossier product because gloss formula's can spread more easily. The ColorBlur's are hella pigmented, and are very neon depending on which shade you get. You can get these at Priceline, Target, Big W etc, and they aren't going to be as expensive as the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils.

The Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm's are more like a semi-matte, they don't instantly apply as a matte, but if you were to dab your lips with a tissue or apply some translucent powder to your lips, then it would be matte. I do have to say that these aren't quite the same as the other products that I've mentioned but they leave a really nice, stained look on the lips. They last a really long time because they have that staining effect. These tend to look really nice if you get a my lips but better colour. They are really big so they can be a little hard to apply evenly and crisply but it's not too much of a bother. These are also available at Priceline, Target, Big W etc and they are in the same boat as Maybelline in terms of price range.

The last two products are Bite products because if any brand knows how to do lip crayons, it's them. The first one I'm going to mention is the High Pigment Pencil, I accidentally stumbled upon these in Sephora when I was trying to dupe something that wasn't available at the time. I really fell in love with these. Super creamy and really give you that plumped pout look without having any lip plumping ingredients. The Bite packaging as just feels nice, the rubbery matte packaging is so nice. They are a little more expensive but they are completely worth it. Can be found at Sephora AUS.

The other Bite product is called the Matte Creme Lip Crayon which can be a little confusing because how can a product be matte and creamy? They aren't completely matte, again they are more like a semi-matte but they are extremely creamy like the High Pigment Pencils. These aren't going to dry out your lips at all. The only thing I fault these on is the face that they don't have the colour of the product on the outside of the packaging. They have the colour name but that's it. Again, Bite Beauty can be found at Sephora AUS.

L-R: Mirabella in Red, Nars in Sex Machine, Maybelline in 05 Pink Insanity, Revlon in 205 Elusive Insaisissable, Bite in Syrah and Aubergine

Let me know what your favourite lip crayon formula's are in the comments below. I also want to see if you can guess what the last post for Lip Week is! Of course the post will go up at 12:30 like every other day, so if you want to know what the last Lip Week post is, stay tuned then :)

Hidden Gems #8 - Essence Lip Liners | Lip Week | The Lipstick Hub

This week's Hidden Gem, in honour of Lip Week, is the Essence Lip Liners. These definitely need a lot more love in the beauty world than they are given. When I had to pick a lip product for this week's Hidden Gem, there was no doubt about it that these were my Gems.

So far I only have 6 of the colours, I'm fairly certain those are the only colours they stock in Australia because I haven't seen any other colours anywhere. I do know that they have other colours in other countries which is a little annoying that they don't stock them here because they are amazing. The colours that are available are 05 Soft Berry, 06 Satin Mauve, 07 Cute Pink, 08 Red Blush, 11 In The Nude, 12 Wish Me A Rose.

L-R: 05, 06, 07, 08, 11, 12

The lip liners themselves are in the pencil form, which means they aren't retractable or anything but they don't drag on your lips. They are very pigmented and leave a velvet feel on the lips. It's not creamy but it doesn't hurt to apply them. My most used one is probably 11 In The Nude though 06 Satin Mauve comes in a very close second. So if you are interested in picking these up, I would probably start there depending on what colours you wear. The colour range is very nice despite Australia not stocking all the shades. There aren't any purples or oranges which can be a little disappointing, though most brands don't make those kinds of lip liner colours anyway.

The Essence lip liners retail for about $2 each and you can purchase them at Target, Priceline or anywhere else that stocks Essence Cosmetics. They did recently change their packaging so that the lid is the same colour as the lip liner colour, the font is bigger and the lid is smaller but other than that I see no difference.

If you are on a budget or are just looking for a good lip liner in general, these are definitely the way to go. I use these just as much as my MAC, Colourpop or Chi Chi ones. If you have these, let me know what you think of them down in the comments below! I'd love to hear your opinion on them.

New Bhcosmetics Products | Haul and Review | The Lipstick Hub

I did a little shop around Bhcosmetics recently and saw that they had some new makeup like the contour palette and the collaboration with Pride + Prejudice + Zombies. I picked some stuff up and I thought I do some swatches for you and give my opinion on the products.

I'll start with the contour palette. The packaging is pretty cheap but I do like that it's somewhat see through, though I generally only need that on an eyeshadow palette, not a contour palette. I like that you have to click a button in for it to open, which makes it really nice for travelling with, though it is pretty wide. When you open the palette, it has 4 highlighting shades and 6 contour shades which isn't too bad. The palette does come with the typical banana shade that everyone loves, but I do like that it includes an orange shade which is something not many other contour palettes include. I did swatches of the contour shades only and they are pretty nice. There's a lot of diversity between the different browns. Some are really warm toned and some are really cool toned. They are incredibly buttery and pigmented. The first contour colour wasn't too pigmented on the first swipe but it's definitely buildable. I'd say it's a great contour palette for darker skin tones rather than pale skin tones seeing as there's probably two, maybe three, colours I'll be able to use. I would say for the average makeup lover, you could probably do without this if you have other contour palettes, but if you're a makeup artist I would say this is perfect. So many different colours for clients and it's perfect for travelling in which the palette won't pop open at any time. Also the palette doesn't have colour names which can be annoying.

The only thing I got from the collaboration with Pride + Prejudice + Zombies collection was the palette, mostly because the only other thing they had was a lip gloss pack and I don't like lip glosses. It's an eye and cheek palette and again it doesn't have colour names so that's a little annoying. Inside it has 12 eyeshadow colours and 3 cheek colours, a mirror and a cute quote by Elizabeth Bennet underneath it. When I first got the palette I mostly got it for collectors purposes but the swatches quickly changed my mind about this palette. I swatched a bunch of random eyeshadows and then three of the cheek colours on the right. They are so pigmented my jaw dropped. The colours are so buttery and bright I'm in love. There are definitely more shimmery colours than mattes colours but that doesn't really bother me. This palette doesn't really speak zombies to me nor does it speak early 19th century to me. So I don't know what it has to do with the movie in anyway but I still think it's an amazing palette, especially since I got it for about $15 AUD.

I don't really have much to say about the Pop Art lipstick seeing as I've already got one but I do really like them. This time I got the shade Zap and I'm in love with it. It's a bright teal-ly green and it's absolutely stunning. It's hella pigmented, I swipe is all you need trust me. The lipsticks can drag a little on your lips but they aren't a really drying matte, more of a satin-matte.

I got two of the liquid lipsticks that Bhcosmetics came out with a little while ago. I got the shades, Serena and Clara, although I didn't order Serena, I actually ordered Princess because Serena was out of stock but I don't mind that I got Serena instead of Princess. I'll just order Princess next time. Both of the colours are variations of nude. Clara is a bit of a dark-ish brown nude and Serena is a more pink and coral based nude. The liquid lipsticks are really light weight, they don't feel heavy on your lips at all and they don't make my lips feel like the Sahara desert. I'd say they are pretty damn good especially for the price.

All in all I'm pretty happy with this haul, the P+P+Z palette really surprised and definitely stole the show. I'm in love with all the lip products I got, and even though I won't be able to use about half of the contour palette, I still look forward to using the other shades.

Appelles Apothecary & Lab | Brand Review | The Lipstick Hub

I would like to say first off, that this is not a sponsored post. I did buy all of these products with my own money.

Appelles is a brand I stumbled upon from after visiting some family and I instantly fell in love with them. To start off on some basic information on Appelles, it's an Australian skin and hair care brand, that's relatively pretty new. Appelles are a cruelty free brand and all the products are locally made.

The first product I ever tried from Appelles is the Wheat Protein shampoo, it is such a great shampoo that for one of the first times in my life, I felt like I didn't need to condition my hair afterwards. On the website it states that the Wheat Protein shampoo is ideal for normal to fine hair. I have pretty thick hair and it still worked great on me but if you are someone who fits into one of those categories, I would definitely recommend checking them out.

Around early-ish last year, a subscription box service (either Lust Have It or Violet Box, or a different one entirely) had featured Appelles in their box, which had the Blackseed shampoo and Tamanu conditioner. You can't actually get the 35ml sizes from their website, they are specifically for these kinds of services, like subscription boxes or hotel complementary shampoo and conditioner. The Blackseed shampoo and Tamanu conditioner have Rosemary, Ylang Ylang and Lavadin Super in them. The Tamanu conditioner has a very cream lotion type consistency and it definitely smells like when you walk into a new age store. I don't mind that though, it just makes me think that it has really good, natural ingredients in it. This duo is ideal for damaged and coloured treated hair, so since I've bleached and dyed my hair it's been a really good combination for me. The twist off lid can be a little difficult to open but its not too bad.

The other two products I have from Appelles are the Vitamin B5 skin lotion and the Comfrey hand and body wash. The Vitamin B5 skin lotion has Mandarin Peel, Rosemary and Cinnamon Bark in it. The Comfrey hand and body wash has Australian Lemon Myrtle, Sandalwood and Rosalina in it. When I first saw the ingredients of the skin lotion I thought the smell would really turn me off the product but I don't really smell the cinnamon at all. It has a really woodsy smell to it. The lotion itself is a quite thick formula so it can be a little difficult to get out of the bottle and it's a cream colour. Despite the thick formula, it applies really nice and evenly to the skin and does leave the smell on your skin. I haven't really noticed a huge difference in my skin after applying the lotion but maybe after a few weeks of using the product, you'd start to see a difference in your skin. The Comfrey body wash is probably my favourite product that I have. It's clear and is much more runnier than the lotion. It has a very fruity smell that I love, it's not quite as citrus-y as you think it would be because of the lemon, but it definitely makes me feel clean and fresh. If I could only repurchase one of these products I would definitely get the Comfrey body wash.

Appelles do have other products like bath fizzes, candles and essential oils but these are the products that I currently have. I do think that it is a bit expensive but for the beautiful packaging and amazing ingredients, I do think that it's worth the money. I would definitely recommend checking them out.

Hidden Gems #7 - Sephora Mattifying 8hr Pressed Powder | The Lipstick Hub

This week's Hidden Gem is the Sephora Mattifying 8hr Pressed Powder in the shade Clair Light 15. I'm fairly certain this has been in my favourite previously, maybe in a video or something along those lines. The Sephora collection isn't really makeup that I look at buying all that often but I really wanted a face powder that wasn't going to break my bank account. I'm fairly certain that it was around $20-30 at Sephora so it was a decent price. You get 10g of product in the compact which is 3g more than my Boe Beauty compact.

The packaging isn't anything too special, just a regular black compact. The lid is like an inverted dome shape, it dips in, there's no particular reason for that that I can see. Just an average standard click-close compact. Although on the packaging it does say 'Matifying' instead of mattifying like it does on the site.

The product itself is amazing, it gives better coverage, completely mattifies your makeup. It does kick up quite a bit of product when you dip your brush into it, so just be careful of that. It does smell like baby powder probably because the main ingredient is Talc but thats also something to just keep in mind.

Overall I do think it's a really great product, it's definitely the face powder I reach for the most out of all of them, I think it does a really great job of keeping my makeup stay matte throughout the day and helps give that extra bit of coverage when I need it. Definitely a product that needs more recognition than it gets!

Revlon Nail Art Shiny Matte Duo Review | The Lipstick Hub

The Revlon nail art shiny matte duo is something I picked up from Priceline ages ago but I'm fairly certain you can still get them in stores. The one that I have it in the shade 530 Emerald Suede which comes with a deep emerald colour with light green reflects and the other shade is the suede shade, a very light pink nude that finishes matte.

I really like the concept of this double ended nail polish and the colour combos that Revlon have are really nice. The colours complement each other perfectly. As for the nail polishes themselves, they are really good quality. They are super opaque, you only need one layer for it to opaque although you can build it up as well. I really liked the matte suede shade, it lasted about a week before I started to see any cracking and that was without a base or top coat. I did attempt to see if the American Apparel matte top coat would do anything to the nail polish even though it was already matte, all it did was make it glossy. So the two mattes kind of cancelled each other out and made it glossy which I wasn't happy about so I just reapplied the nail polish on top and it was fine.

These are fast drying nail polishes even if they aren't advertised as so, they do dry down quite quickly. Overall I love this polishes, I know I'm a bit late to the bandwagon with this one but I do think that these are spectacular, if I can pick up more I will for sure.

My Perfume Collection | The Lipstick Hub

Before I made this I actually sorted through my collection and gave a lot of it away because I just don't reach for perfumes enough to have so many. This is purely perfumes by the way, this does not include body mists, scented lotions or anything like that. I'm not going to go through my entire collection piece by piece because that would be way to long of a post, but I will give you a rough outline and list some that I think deserve some more recognition. There are some perfumes that I would like to buy in the future like Marc Jacobs Decadence, Valentino and the new YSL Black Opium but for now I need to finish what I've got.

I'll try to keep this as brief as possible because my collective haul post was so long.

Here's my collection:

I'll roughly try to go from left to right, though there are a couple no-name brands in there.
Juicy Couture, Bvlgari, Harajuku Lovers, Elizabeth and James, Rihanna, Chi Chi, Estee Lauder, Impluse, Byredo, Britney Spears, YSL, So...?, Victoria's Secret, Kimmi, Kardashian, Chanel, Vera Wang, Ed Hardy, Beyonce, Avon, Harvey Prince, Dior, Givenchy

My favourites:

L-R: Eau De Tears, Vera Wang Rock Princess, YSL Black Opium, Givenchy Play

The Eau De Tears one is actually one that I've had since I was about 4-5 years old and I got it from a reject style shop in Spain. I can't find it anywhere on the internet, if someone finds it I would be more than happy. The perfume also doesn't come with the stickers on the top and bottom, my 5 year old self was obsessed with putting stickers on everything.
Vera Wang Rock Princess was probably my first real brand perfume and a family member of mine gave it to me on New Years and I was so happy.
Yves Saint Laurent is a fairly new addition, I got handed a tester back in December of 2014 and couldn't stop thinking about it, so I bit the bullet and got one. I definitely don't regret it. I pretty much wore it all through high school I loved it so much.
Finally the Givenchy Play, I saw this when I was younger and fell in love with the packaging, I pretty much begged my mother for it as a gift for Christmas or my birthday and one day she did get it and it's been my special occasion perfume ever since.

They aren't listed but I also really like the Chi Chi mini's and the Bvlgari ones on a day to day basis as well.

The best for going out/date nights:

L-R: So...? Kiss Me, Byredo Gypsy Water, Harvey Prince Sincerely, Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black

I don't know what it is about these perfumes but they definitely speak, night time, sensual to me. All of them have this particular smell that I can only describe as, when you were younger and you'd see your mum, or another idol, do herself up for a fancy dress party, applying lipstick and spritzing perfume on. I can only think of that to describe these scents.


Prettiest packaging:

L-R: Harajuku Lovers, Unknown Priceline brand, Ed Hardy Skulls and Roses

Anyone who doesn't agree that these easily have the cutest packaging and get off my blog because have you seen that cupcake? That's literally perfume in the shape of a cupcake.

So that's all I have for you guys, if you have any questions about a particular perfume or you enjoyed this post, please let me know down below. I tried to keep this as condensed as possible because there's a lot of perfumes to go through, though a lot are from the same brands and some are duplicates so it wasn't that hard.