Monday, February 24, 2014

Just Beyond Lip Tint in Red


I've always been one of those makeup junkies that loved natural coloured lips since they are way more easier to deal with. No need of checking up in the middle of the day in case it fades in the middle of your lips since it's not too noticeable for people to think your lips have gone crazy.
But obviously using a lipstain, you dont need to worry about it smudging halfway across your face or getting the dreaded lipliner look at the end of the day.... (oh the horror!)


I got this from Sasa while I was at Macau last year for $60 Patacas ($8.50 AUD).
This was one of the products I randomly chucked into my basket when I read the back of the box and found out it was a liptint. I find that there arent many liptints in the drugstore brands in Aus so any liptint I could find whilst overseas was my top priority to buy. 


I'm pretty sure there was an orange shade and pink, but I had a feeling it wouldn't show up too well on the lips, so I just played it safe and took the boldest colour.


Excuse the horrible nails!
 The packaging is the typical lip tint packaging, where it looks like a nail polish bottle. I thought it was adorable that it had pandas printed around the bottle! I wouldnt like to be caught reapplying this out in public since I'm pretty sure most people would automatically assume I'm using mail polish on my lips.





I was expecting the applicator to be brush-like or spongy but turned out it was like a flat flexible tip. It was a bit of a let down since it doesn't swipe on the lips nicely, instead it pushes the product off while you're applying it. So I find that I have to dab it on my lips then blend it out using my fingers which stains my finger afterwards.
The texture of the product is like a hybrid of cream and water, it's not too liquidy and runny but it's also not very thick.


The product itself is a teeny bit drying since it is a stain but it lasts a good 3-4 hours with food and drinks before fading back to your normal lip colour.
I love how this product is buildable in colour, one layer makes your lips a shade pinker and if you keep building on, the colour becomes a bright pink colour, which does not look flattering on me so 1-2 layers is enough for me. 

Have you tried any lip-stains lately?



Sunday, February 16, 2014

Using PriceUSA to purchase MAC?!

Awhile back I was searching through some mail forwarding service websites, for those who dont know about them, it's where you can purchase items off online shops that doesnt exactly send to Australia. So you can pretty much buy stuff from Sephora, forever21, h&m etcetc and they get sent to the website partners place and then they send it to you.
I already know of hopshopgo, but sadly since I'm not 18 yet, I dont own a Paypal account.
But I did some research on another website called PriceUSA and lucky for me, they accept Direct Bank Deposit. (They also accept paypal & creditcard but it costs an addition 5%)

When I found out they accepted Direct Bank Deposit I went crazy on window shopping at every american website I knew. But of course what I really wanted was to own a MAC lipstick.
So I used PriceUSA to purchase 2 lipsticks, Russian Red and Ruby Woo and the MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack.

Australian Price:

1x Russian Red Lipstick = $36AUD
1x Ruby Woo Lipstick = $36AUD
1x Fluidline in Blacktrack = $32AUD

Total = $103AUD

US Price:

1x Russian Red Lipstick = $15US
1x Ruby Woo Lipstick = $15US
1x Fluidline in Blacktrack = $16US

[[At the time the lipsticks were $15, but they have risen to $16US now]]

Total = $46US

To order from PriceUSA you have to fill in an order form where you put in your details, price & shipping estimate costs and the product details. The form looked tricky and intimidating to me but there is a help button that tells you how to fill in everything. But for those who dont know how to fill in the product details this is how I did mine:



After sending the order form they send you a quote of  the estimated total price and also a deposit price which you pay now then pay the remainder of the costs once it arrives at the partners address then you pay the shipping price to get to your address. Simple as that.
They have 3 bank accounts you can deposit to: Commenwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac. It's best that you deposit to the bank that you have so they recieve the payment quicker. but it is a downside if you arent with the following banks.
I had to deposit $42.65AUD and they recieved the payment a day after. They then send the payment to their USA partner who then orders your items.
After they received the items I paid $32.58.
So the entire order + service costed me $75.23AUD!
I only saved $27.77 which is better than paying the full price in Aus.

Overview:

9/01/2014 - Filled in order form
10/01/2014- Quote recieved
10/01/2014- Paid deposit
11/01/2014- PriceUSA recieved the deposit
12/01/2014- USA partner ordered MAC products
19/01/2014- MAC items arrived at USA partners
21/01/2014- Recieved payment
21/01/2014- Sent products to my address
10/02/2013- MAC products arrive at my address

Looking at it now, the whole process took a month but wasnt that bad if I think about it now.
The items arrived safe and sound, though they only sent me the MAC box that it was originally sent it, no bubble wrap only tissue paper protecting the products which scares me if I bought eyeshadow or any pressed products.

I will most likely use PriceUSA again and hopefully try purchasing some products from Sephora!

They put an invoice on the entire order on top.


Have you tried a forwarding site? What was your experience like?


Giveaway Winner!

So the time has come to announce the winner of my Giveaway!

But firstly I'd love to thank everyone who entered the giveaway.
I loved reading all the comments and have taken in a most of them and hopefully you'll be seeing different posts up in the future than the usual product reviews.

Anyways, congratulations to Bianca Rogoveanu!
I have sent you an email already so get back to me asap so I can send the prizes!

There will definitely be more giveaways to come so stay tuned and thanks again :)

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Klean Color Tattoo Eye Liquid Eyeliner in Black



Being one of them frequent eyeliner users, I'm always on the lookout for new eyeliners to try. I was searching through eyeliners on Ebay and found the Klean Color Tattoo Liquid Liner for only $4.90 + $1.80 postage and being the cheapo that I am, of course I had to get it. Though I am skeptical about cheap makeup products so I was 80% sure that it would not be a good product but doesnt hurt to try stuff right?

big high five to the people who can guess the orange thing!

I know Kleancolour has a range of cheap makeup products like nail polish and eyeshadows which can be hard to find in Australia, but I know it's an American brand and trying out American products gets very exciting for me.
Though the packaging is pretty frustrating as it takes up a lot of space and is made with a cheap feeling plastic.


I personally love liquid liners with a brush tip rather than a felt tip cause I find them harsh to use on the lids, sadly this has a felt tip which is a downer. Also with the felt tip, it doesnt evenly apply the liner so I have to tap the product on, to get an even pigmentation. The liner also dries quickly so the liner does become patchy if I go over it.


And to answer the question of whether I love it or not?! It's 80% love and 20% meh. 
The formula of the liner is so amazing. during the cooler seasons it lasts all day (no joke) I even tested it on the bottom lash line (put 3 dots pictured above) and it probably lasted around 3 hours of shopping with my mum with no smudging or flaking. 
During summer it doesn't last as much on the watery ends, but with primer underneath it lasts, even on the ends.
Also it is the most waterproof eyeliner I own. How do I know? I actually take off most my makeup when I shower and this eyeliner does not budge at all unless I try to rub it off. I'd say I wouldn't go swimming with it on unless you're going for a thin natural line but if the weather turns out to be rain it would be perfect to use.

If Kleancolor changed the packaging of this eyeliner I think this would be my HG eyeliner. For the price and formula it is worth it all.