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.

Blog Update

I am terribly sorry that I could not post on Friday or today due to being ill but, I'm trying to get back in the game. I will be cutting down on blog posting, it will now be on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It will continue being at 12:30P.M. and Wednesday's will remain Hidden Gem days, I'm just letting you know about this change so you aren't waiting for posts on Tuesday's and Thursday's. I am terribly sorry, I just could not keep up with the demand. That being said I will do have posts for you guys. The next post to go up on the new schedule is Hidden Gem #9 on Wednesday. Then another post on Friday etc. I hope you can understand why I changed it. Thank you for your support.

- Amber xx

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.

Top 10 M.A.C Lipsticks | Lip Week | The Lipstick Hub

I haven't really done a post like this before but you'll be seeing plenty this week. These are my top 10 MAC lipsticks. There's no particular order to them, these are just the 10 lipsticks from MAC that I like the most, so far. I do have an absolute favourite and I do have a couple staple shades but other than that, there's not really any order to this. So let's get into it shall we?

L-R: Brave, Velvet Teddy, Pink Plaid, Snob, Saint Germain, Please Me, Tats, Tenor Voice, Shy Girl, Diva

1. Brave - Satin finish: Brave is probably my absolute favourite, it was my first ever MAC lipstick and has definitely been used a lot, which is why the MAC writing on the inside is so messed up. The reason why I picked it up is because everyone was saying that it was the colour that Kylie Jenner was using so naturally I picked it up along with Soar lip liner and to this day it's probably my favourite lip combo. It's that colour that was so on-trend last year, that pink-y brown nude, it comes off darker on me than other skin tones because I'm pale as hell but it's still my favourite colour.
2. Velvet Teddy - Matte finish: My second favourite colour from MAC and it's no surprise why, it's a cult favourite among MAC fans and is also said to be the shade Kylie wears. Velvet Teddy is a more brown nude than a pink-y brown but I still think it's a beautiful shade for my skin tone and a lot of other skin tones.
3. Pink Plaid - Matte finish: Pink Plaid isn't my third favourite but it's definitely a me colour. It's very similar to Please Me except Pink Plaid is just a little more on the nude side than straight up pink. I did accidentally drop this on my carpet with a lid and it may have broken my heart just a little but it was fine after I cleaned it up. I can't say whether I like this one more than Please Me or if I like Please Me more than this one, they're kind of equal to me, it just depends on what undertone you want.
4. Snob - Satin finish: Snob was I think my second ever MAC lipstick and I still love it to this day, it's absolutely perfect for Summer and Spring which I love. It's almost like if Saint Germain and Pink Plaid had a baby, this would be it. For me, my perfect pink match is Snob with Hip 'n' Happy lip liner, such a nice combo.
5. Saint Germain - Amplified finish: Saint Germain is definitely an Amplified colour, it's hella bright and such a beautiful neon pink colour. Perfect for wanting to make a statement or just for a pop of colour. I really do understand the hype around this colour because I don't own anything like it.
6. Please Me - Matte finish: Please Me is the one I was comparing to Pink Plaid because they are so similar in colour however Please Me has more of a pink undertone rather than a nude undertone. The Please Me I have is from a limited edition collection but I am about 85% sure that it's a permanent colour.
7. Tats - Matte finish: Tats is from the Giambattista Vali collection and I'm pretty sure it's not a permanent colour, however they may bring it back in another collection or as a permanent shade. Tats for me is the perfect Hot Pink, raspberry reddish colour, I think it's perfect for a date night or just a general night out if you don't like reds.
8. Tenor Voice - Matte finish: Again Tenor Voice was limited edition from the Toledo collection but like I said before, they may bring it back in another collection or as a permanent shade. Tenor Voice for me is the perfect red, it's not too orange based, it's a blue based red that is a little bit darker than your typical pure red shade, absolutely stunning.
9. Shy Girl - Cremesheen finish: This is the only Cremesheen that's on this list and that I own because I hate Cremesheens, I really dislike the formula, though I dislike Lustre's as well. I mostly don't like Cremesheens because they don't give off much pigment and don't last long, but this is an except to that statement. Shy Girl gives off a little bit of a nude tint to the lips and it aslo gives you this shimmer to the lips that is to die for. 
10. Diva - Matte finish: Lucky last Diva, Diva definitely isn't my least favourite on this list it just got stuck with the last position. Diva looks almost like a dark brown in the tube (in photos) but it's a very dark vampy red, I live for colours like this. Especially in Winter and during the holidays. It's such a beautiful colour to match up with a big sweater and some black leggings.

And there you have it, my top 10 MAC lipsticks. Let me know if you would like to see the rest of them or any other top 10 lipstick lists in the comments below :)

Beginner's Guide to Lip Products | Lip Week | The Lipstick Hub

It's Lip Week here on The Lipstick Hub, our first ever themed week, that I have chosen. I've wanted to do this for a little while but things have always just come up that needed to go out before I could dedicate a week to just lip products. I was thinking of making this an annual thing but it's up to you guys, whether you want another lip week, whether you hated this one, etc. I do have some fun posts lined up for you this week and I think you'll really enjoy them, it'll give you a little insight to my lip product stash and what products I prefer and so on and so on.

Today's post is a guide for beginners on lip products, there are many different types of products for your lips how do you know what you'll like and what's going to suit you? If you are a newbie to makeup then I do have a little beginners guide post that I wrote not too long ago, which you can read here. So without further ado, here are the different lip products that are currently on the market, if I have left any out, I'm sorry and please let me know in the comments below.

1. Lip Primer - I don't actually own a lip primer so I can't show you an example, my apologies. But I do know that Colourpop have one for $5 USD and a bunch of other brands have lip primers as well. I don't view lip primers as an essential lip product to have and I do think it's a little gimmicky but I haven't tried one so I can't judge. Basically a lip primer would go under any lip product you are about to put on, generally lipsticks though, and the idea is that it will make it last longer and make the product go on easier. Again I can't give my thoughts because I don't own one but I've had never had a problem with my lip products so, it's up to you whether you deem it as necessary.

2. Lip balm/treatment - I'm sure everyone has owned a Lip Smackers, Chapstick or Vaseline at some point in their lifetime. I do view lip balms and/or treatments as essential because my lips do get really dry especially in winter and lip balms definitely help keep that under control. Lip balms keep your lips moisturised and stay healthy, just like using a moisturiser for your face, it's essential. Also keep in mind that when you are dehydrated, the first place it shows is your lips, so keep hydrated and keep a lip balm in your purse, pocket, desk drawer etc.

Watermlon Lip Smackers

3. Lip scrub - A lip scrub is somewhat new to the beauty world, its a product that will exfoliate your lips, i.e. scrub off the dry dead skin and leave you with fresh soft lips. It's definitely something that should be in your skin care routine, though don't do it too often, once a week should be plenty.

Ombra Sugar Lip Scrub in Watermelon

4. Lipstick - Lipstick is probably one of the biggest symbols of makeup next to mascara. You can pay $2 or $113 on a lipstick, it's insane. So I guess the fist thing to know about lipsticks is that they have different finishes, these include matte, satin, semi-matte, amplified, cremesheen (cream), lustre, sheer and metallic. I'm sure there's a couple in there I may have forgotten but matte and cream finishes are the most common. A matte finish is exactly what it sounds like, there is no shine to the lip colour but it's generally more pigmented. They can feel drying but that's what lip balms are for. Cream finishes are more moisturising, they tend to be like a gloss almost. They can definitely be pigmented but they will come off more easily and they can feel slippery on the lips. There is no better formula, it is entirely up to you which one you like better. 

Rimmel Kate Nude lipstick in 45

5. Lip gloss - Lip glosses are fairly well-known I'm pretty sure. I know I had quite a few lip glosses when I was younger, I'm fairly certain I wore lip glosses before lipsticks. Lip glosses can be really pigmented or really sheer, they can feel tacky, slippery or just plain sticky. It's up to you to find a brand that works well for you and suits you. I don't really wear lip gloss all that often and I'm pretty sure it's well known that I hate lip glosses because of the way they feel but I have worn a lip gloss from time to time.

The Balm Read My Lips in BAM!

6. Matte liquid lipstick - Oh boy did these get popular in 2015, matte liquid lipsticks are probably my favourite makeup item ever. They were a massive hit in 2015, though some people did get sick of them and I can understand why, a) every single brand make liquid to matte lipsticks and b) everyone was blogging/vlogging/gramming them. Not to mention if you are a person who hates matte lips, it was definitely not your year. Shiny glossy lips might have been the 'in' thing back in 2005 but it's time for matte liquid lipsticks. Liquid to matte lipstick are pretty much exactly what you'd expect, they go on your lips a liquid, like a gloss and within 20-60 seconds, they dry down matte. Some formulas can be drying on your lips and some can be moisturising, just like any other lip product they can be a hit or miss.

Colourpop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick in More Better

7. Liquid lipstick - Liquid lipsticks are pretty much a hybrid of matte liquid lipsticks, lip gloss and lipstick. It's pretty much exactly as the name says, its a liquid version of a lipstick. There's nothing really more to go on about them than that. They don't really have different finishes because if it wear creamier and more shinier than it would be a gloss and if it were matte than it would be a matte liquid lipstick.

Savvy Liquid Lipstick in Ballet

8. Lip liner - Lip liners can come in different packaging and types, they can come in a pencil form or a twist up product. Lip liners are basically to help you outline your lips so that you stay in the lines, you can also fill in your lips with them so that your lipstick comes out more pigmented and stays on longer. Lip liners can also come in different finishes, you can get a more matte finish, that generally comes from a pencil liner and you can get a more cream finish with a twist up, of course there are some exceptions but that's just my observation.

Maybelline Super Stay Lip Liner in 41 Rosewood

9. Lip crayon - Lip crayons are pretty much exactly what they sound like, they look like giant crayons that you can paint your lips with. They tend to be creamy and moisturising rather than matte but some brands do have matte lip crayons. 

Laqa & Co Lip Lube in Beezlebub

10. Lip tint - Lip tints are really liquid-y. They are a little bit difficult to explain but I'll try my best. They sort of look like a highlighter or marker and once applied they leave a light tint of colour on your lips. They don't leave a full opaque layer of product, they just give your lips a tint of colour so they may look a little pinker or redder etc.

Universal Beauty Tint Stick in Pink

11. Peel off lip tint - This is definitely pretty new to the makeup game, and they are definitely more popular in Asian countries than Western countries, but we're catching up. You apply the product to your lips, which is going to feel like a really heavy gross lip gloss, you wait however long the product tells you to, and you start to peel off the product, what it leaves is a tint on your lips just like a lip tint.

Monomola Lasting Lip Color in Sexy Red

12. Lipstick transformer - These are definitely very new in the makeup world, that I've seen at least. Lipstick transformers are products that can your already applied product. For example, Kat Von D has a range of matte liquid lipsticks, mid-late last year, she released a liquid lipstick transformer, it would transform any of her matte liquid lipsticks into a new colour. Or a different example is the very new Smashbox Insta-Matte lipstick transformer, you apply a very small amount of the gel to your lips and dab it out so that whatever lipstick you are wearing turns matte. It also works on matte liquid lipsticks, if you need to moisturise your lips but you are already wearing a matte liquid lipstick, then you can apply the Insta-Matte to hydrate your lips but also keep them matte.

Smashbox Insta-Matte

13. Lip plumper - The last product I can think of, I don't actually own one, again I apologise for that, I just have no need for a lip plumper because my lips are plump enough for my liking. The general idea is that you apply the lip plumper, which usually has mint in it, and it will plump your lips in the given time. Mint actually irritates your lips, which gives you that tingly or burning feeling, its swells your lips and adds a little bit of flush to them without causing serious damage. If you want plumper lips, add peppermint oil to them, don't permanently damage your lips by sucking them into a shot glass.

Those are all of the different types of lip products, I could think of, please let me know if I left any out. Again if you need any help figuring out what a product is or need some more information on a certain product, give me a holla in the comments or social media, if you'd like to keep it private you can always email me, which is at the top of the screen. Let me know if I should do more in depth beginners guides as well, I could do eye products next or something along those lines.

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.

MOTD | Bold Bright Pink Makeup | The Lipstick Hub

Today my makeup was a bright pink look, pink eyes, pink lips and blush. If you don't like pink makeup then you probably will hate this look. I really enjoyed doing this look and just messing around with some new products that I had gotten. Criticism is welcome but this was just an experiment. Let me know what you guys thought of it. I didn't do a tutorial on this because I didn't really have a full face planned, I just knew what products I wanted to use.

The products I used, in order of use, were:
- Maybelline Dream Wonder Foundation in 10 Porcelain Ivory
- BYS Translucent loose powder
- Maybelline Fit Me concealer in 10 Light
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit in Vanilla to set my undereyes and then Fawn to contour
- Urban Decay Gwen Stefani blush palette in Cherry
- Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit palette using both Iridescent Light and Luminous Finish to highlight with
- Loreal Brow Artist Plumper
- Makeup Forever Brow Seal
- Benefit Stay Dont' Stray eye primer in light/medium and then set it with BYS Translucent loose powder
- For eyeshadow palettes I used a few, Be Indulged Summer Pop Eye Palette, Too Faced Chocolate Bon Bons, Sleek Ultra Mattes V1 and finally Too Faced Sugar Pop
- Essence eyeliner pen extra long lasting
- Revlon Bold Lacquer mascara, this didn't quite do the job for me so I added Loreal Miss Manga black mascara
- Benefit They're Real mascara for the bottom lashes
- Chi Chi Glamourama lip liner
- Mac Tats lipstick

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.

Palette Dupes | Stila Vs. Chi Chi Vs. Be Indulged | The Lipstick Hub

I had my eyes on the Stila Eyes Are The Window 'Body' and the Chi Chi LE Summer eyeshadow palettes for a little while now. I did get these a little while ago, both roughly around the holiday season but then I came across the Be Indulged Shimmer Eye Palette. The thing all these palettes have in common are the colour schemes in them.

L-R: Chi Chi, Be Indulged, Stila

Each palette has at least a pink champagne colour, a purple colour, a blue colour and a bronze-y colour. There are a couple other colours that are similar in a couple of the palettes, but those particular colours are similar in all three palettes.

The Chi Chi palette is limited edition but as of right now, you can get the palette in the holiday set online in their Sales tab. Chi Chi is an Australian brand but their website does ship internationally. This palette is $30 but in only comes in a set with a jumbo bronzer and blush, so you are getting your money's worth for sure.

The Be Indulged palette is a new brand from Kmart Australia. I do believe that it's Kmart's own brand but I'm not 100% certain. I'm also not certain on how much this palette was but it's between $15-$5, I know that it's definitely the cheapest out of the lot.

The Stila palette isn't brand new, it's been out for a while now and it's definitely the most expensive palette out of the lot, marked at $78 currently, though when I bought it, it was $72. Mecca's prices are rising so it does make it a bit hard to justify $80 on a eyeshadow palette.

You are paying for packaging, the shadows and the brand name, so obviously Stila is going to be the most expensive by default. However is Stila the best palette? Let's do some swatches.

All the swatches are done in order of: Chi Chi, Be Indulged, Stila

There are 4 sets of swatches for the colours that are in all the palettes. By far the most pigmented is Chi Chi for sure. The colours are a bit hard to see because the colours are so shimmery but Chi Chi definitely takes the cake with this one. The Be Indulged palette is okay if you're on a budget but the colours in the palette are darker than the other two. The Stila one is barely pigmented at all, it might be better if you wet your brush and then dipped into the eyeshadows, but so far, I'm not impressed with the $72 palette. Chi Chi, you are amazing as always.