Two haul posts in a row. I know.

Can I reiterate that I have not spent money on make up in ages? This is my last haul for a while, I promise.

Anyway, beauty aficionados in Aus will agree that Priceline is our one stop place to feed our make-up addiction monster & upon hearing about the 40% off cosmetics sale, well, I think we all got a little bit excited. 

G, being the amazing husbandito he is, took me to the shops to get me medicine & because we were in the general vicinity of a Priceline store, I thought... hey, we might as well have a look.

Here is my haul! (Everything was 40% off but I state the RRP in this blog post)

Maybelline Fit Me Shine-Free Foundation in 120 Classic Ivory: Super excited to pick this up. I swatched it & it has an awesome light-weight consistency with great blend-ability. RRP $15.95.

Essence Quick Dry Top Coat: A repurchase for my nail polish collection. I really like how quickly this dries & the shiny sheen it adds to my nail look. RRP $2.95.

L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau de Tint in 120 Ivory: I think i'm most excited for this product. Teaching all day makes my make up sweat off my face & I needed something that would stick to my skin all day long. Reading reviews encouraged me to buy this & give it a go. Looking forward to some awesome results. RRP $24.95.

Rimmel Scandal'Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Nude: Another repurchase. I lost my other one & I loved it. A great pigmented consistency that I use on my water line to make my eyes look bigger. RRP $9.95.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polish in 175 Arm Candy: I'm a super fan of Sally Hansen's Salon Effects nail strips & although I didn't pick any of them up, I did pick up this lovely pale pink nail colour. The colour gives my nails that 'put together' look which I love. Can't wait to rock this colour soon! RRP $14.95.

Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream in Fair: I absolutely love this BB cream & I can thank my gurl Carla for introducing me to it almost a year ago. It's super light coverage makes it such an easy product to wear every day. It doesn't break me out & it just feels so dreamy under my favourite powder. RRP $15.95.

And that's it! Overall I think I did a pretty good job at choosing old favourites & new products that I'm so excited to try.

Did you take advantage of the awesome 40% off sale?

-C.

Makeup H A U L ♥‿♥

After a looooong time of not buying anything (due to being broke), I was *finally* able to splurge a little on some make up! 

The joys of pay day.

So here it is, my recent make up purchases from the past week or so:

(Left to Right)

EOS Lipbalms: I've bought these before (on eBay) & I loved them. These little egg shaped beauties are 100% natural & 95% organic. This packet of four has the following flavours: Strawberry sorbet, Sweet mint (my fav), Summer fruit & Honeysuckle Honeydew. I bought this set for about $13 at Costco.

Maybelline 24 Hr Powder: A back up purchase of my favourite powder ever. Priceline $14.

ELF blush in Twinkle Pink & Peachy Keen: There has been a recent introduction of Elf brand cosmetics to Kmart stores around Australia & I've been so excited to finally have the opportunity to try out their products. I waited and waited until my local Kmart finally stocked the brand & I chose these two blushes as my first purchases. They were $8 each.

NYX HD concealer & Wonder Pencil (both in light): NYX is another American brand that has become available on our shores & I've slowly been trying some of their products. I bought these off of eBay because my local Target has sold out of both & I needed a new concealer & nude pencil. The concealer was $8 & the Wonder Pencil was $9.50.

Essie Nail Polish in Lilacism: I am a fan of Essie, a really big fan at that. In my recent Priceline Sister Club member letter, I received an extra 'perk' of $4 off an Essie nail colour. After much deliberation with Gideon about which colour to choose, I finally chose this lovely lilac colour. It was $9 after using the coupon.

L'Oreal True Match Foundation: Lauren Curtis (Laurenbeautyy on Youtube) raves about this foundation. My favourite foundation is the Nutri Lift Gold by L'Oreal so I thought I should give this one a go based on the awesome reviews it gets. So far I am loving it. I had a $10 off coupon from Priceline so I paid $20 (I think) for it.

L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Hourglass Beige: Judy from itsjudyslife & itsjudytime looooves these eye shadows & I love her videos and reviews. I thought I'd give this a shot & honestly, its so highly pigmented and amazing. Totally recommend these.

Essence Colour Pigment in Inti Inka: I love Essence products & I was super excited to see a new collection (Tribal Summer) at my local target. I picked up this lovely beige-y shade to make some wearable everyday eye looks for work. I love it & the product is highly pigmented. I paid $4.90 for this product.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water: I've admitted in the past how lazy I am at looking after my skin. I always forget to remove my make up before bed, & wake up with panda eyes & dry skin. It's the worst. Since discovering this amazing product, I can finally reveal that I am remembering to remove my make up only because I love to see this product in action. Initially I just thought I was purchasing glorified water BUT it removes everything & every trace of make up from my face. There are no harsh chemicals, making it safe for all skin types. This is my favourite product out of my entire make up haul! I bought it for $11 at Woolworths.

Those are all the products I've recently bought from Woolies, Kmart, Target & Priceline. I must say it has been sooooo nice to be able to buy things again, haha. Hooray for being employed!

What have you bought this month that you are absolutely loving?

-C.

(｡•‿•) Get Ready With Me: Everyday Make Up Routine.

In this post I show you how I do my every day make-up. I've tried so many different types of brands & so far the ones featured are my favourites to use every day.

(｡◕‿◕｡)

I start off with a clean face, fresh out of the shower.

I moisturise using my favourite Milk & co Ultra Light Moisturiser & prime my face using Benefit's The Pore-fessional.

Once that settles into my skin, I move onto foundation & concealer. I'm loving Nutri Lift Gold by L'Oreal & I've finally warmed up to my Collection 2000 concealer. Both are in the lightest shades.

I blend that into my face using a blending sponge for a flawless finish.

I apply my concealer like two upside-down triangles under my eyes, down to my cheeks to highlight that entire area. This concealer is awesome for covering up everything.

Once everything is all blended, my face looks like this:

I use two products to set my base. They are the Maybelline Super Stay 24hr Powder & Covergirl Tru Blend both in the lightest shades possible.

I buff the Maybelline powder along the perimeter of my face using a flat top kabuki brush...

...aaaand I highlight the Maybelline powder using my Real Techniques contour brush.

Next I contour, blush & highlight my face using Benefit's Hoola bronzer, Benefit's Hervana blush & The Balm's May-Lou Manizer highlight.

I contour along my cheek bones.

I use blush on the apples of my cheeks & highlight the high points of my face.

Using 'Bunny Hop' by Benefit, I prime my eyelids as a base for the colours in the Lorac Pro palette.

I just use two colours which give me that natural looking eye. 

Next using Rimmel's Scandal Eyes waterproof Kohl in Nude & my favourite Sephora eyeliner, I line my water line & give myself a perfect wing.

Next I use Jordana's Best Lash mascara & Benefit's They're Real mascara, I accentuate my eyelashes.

One eye with & one eye without mascara.

For my eye brows, I've been filling them in using the darkest brown shadow in my Inglot freedom palette & an angled brush. I set it with my favourite brow setting gel from Essence.

I love my brows!

The final step is lips & lately I've been using this nude lip gloss from Napoleon Perdis.

...and that's it! 

I absolutely swear by this routine as it gives me a flawless looking face & it takes only about 15 minutes to put it all together.

-C.

★ My Perfect Foundation Routine || Make up ★

Since as long as I can remember I have been searching for my own personal perfect foundation routine.

I think I've trialled over 20 different foundations, 30 different powders and 50 different concealers and nothing has given me the long wearing coverage I want... until now.

I have finally discovered a foundation routine that withstands any obstacle, including "end of the day oily face"!

Every single product is from Maybelline and two of the products are from my favourite line of theirs; Super Stay 24 hr make up.

I'm so passionate about this routine because I believe that in order for you to have a flawless face of make up, you need to have a strong foundation & this method allows me to do so. I even shared this with my sister-in-law, Holly, and she loved how quick and easy it is to create such a flawless face & her husband, my brother, commented on how fresh faced she looked! Even though she looks beautiful 100% of the time :)

The products and method are below:

Contour

Step 1: Administer your everyday moisturising routine to your face. I've been doing the Clinique 3-step system.

Step 2: Apply a little bit of the 'medium' shade of the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream to the perimeter of your face. I find this works best for contouring later on.

Highlight

Step 3: Apply the 'light' shade of the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB cream to the highlights of your face. I apply it to my cheeks, forehead, nose bridge, chin and blend.


Step 4: Apply the Maybelline 24 Hr Super Stay concealer to the under eye area, and any other blemishes you wish to conceal. I like to form a upside-down triangle shape under my eyes and blend.

Conceal

Step 5: Seal in your foundation with the Maybelline 24 Hr Super Stay waterproof powder. This is the key ingredient to this success story. This powder is AMAZING.


Step 6: Continue with your favourite everyday or night time make up look. I love using this foundation/BB cream for my everyday make up for uni and even for special occasions or dates with Gideon.







I hope this works for you just like it works for me!

Even Gideon realises the difference and you know its a good sign when your husband notices your make up for a good reason :)

-C.

Weekend Budget Haul | Make Up ❀ ❁ ❃ ✼

As stated in a previous blog post, Gideon and I have been tight on money due to us trying to save for a house.

Because of this my lavish make up buying ways have come to a halt. This weekend, however, I was able to stretch my dollar further by hitting up the sales and bagging myself some AWESOME make up bargains. Who doesn't love sale time?

1. Revlon Nearly Naked foundation: I've heard some awesome things about this foundation and I really wanted to give it a go but $25 dollars for a foundation seemed a little bit much for our budget right now. Feeling down, I thought I had no hope until I checked my mail box and I had a $9 Priceline voucher through their Sister Club rewards program. I was able to grab this awesome foundation for $16 which pleased both Gideon and I immensely.

2. Maybelline Super Stay 24hr Waterproof Powder: I am a big fan of Maybelline and I think my first make up purchase was an eyeshadow quad by them. I saw this product and I had to have it but again, $20 for a powder was stretching it. Whilst Gideon and I were in Big W looking for some stuff I took a gander down the make up section and to my delight this product was reduced down to $14. Happy Clarissa.

3. Covergirl Outlast Stay Brilliant nail polishes in Black Diamond (325) and Mint Mojito (285): I wrote a blogpost about my love for these nail polishes a while back and explained the fantastic deal of 2 for $7 at Coles. Well, I think that deal has just been replaced with the bargain price of these nail polishes! I picked them up at Big W for $2.40 each. Seriously. The best.

4. Ulta3 Nail Colours in Corsican Rose and Lilac Bloom. Ok, I know the green minty colour is similar to the Covergirl Mint Mojito I bought but I just really love these colours for winter and even for when spring and summer come around too. I think these polishes took the cake at the biggest bargain for this weekend at 70c per bottle. I love Ulta3 polishes too with their thick formula and opaque colours which makes your nails look amazing. I can't wait to paint my nails!

I challenge everyone to look around and tell me about all the make up bargains you find! What has your favourite purchase been so far?

Let me know.

-C.

July Favourites | clarissaxplainsitall

As July is coming to a close (where has the year gone?!) I thought I'd do a July favourites because I've never done one of these posts before.

Nothing beats classic SNL to adequately describe your

feelings. 

Below is a collection of everything I have loved this month and have been reaching for more frequently.

1. Benefit 'They're Real' Mascara: I can't get enough of this product. If you're looking for a mascara that gives you length and volume then you've come to the right place. This is more of a ~high end~ product so it will make a hole in your wallet, but if you want to spoil yourself on a mascara that could replace all of the other 123249822 mascaras in your collection, then give it a go.

Price: Retails at $38 on the Myer website.

2. Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream: This has replaced my foundations this month. I bought both the medium shade to contour and the fair shade to highlight and I haven't looked back. This lightweight product stays true to its word by leaving your skin feeling lightweight and flawless with its oil-free formula. It's also available for those who battle with a more oily complexion.

Price: Retails at $15.95 on the Priceline website.

3. Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Base/Flawless, Core Collection Brushes: I believe in having quality make-up brushes above all else in your make-up collection, and this month I've loved using these brushes to apply my make up. They're give you absolute control and they clean easily.

Price: Retails at $17.99 on the iHerb website.

4. Sea Spray by Lush: I'm a pretty low maintenance kind of girl when it comes to my hair. I cut my hair really short once and I vowed never, ever to do it again because of how much maintenance went into keeping it looking cute. For my long hair, I love to just wash it, let it hair dray and spray a couple of pumps of Sea Spray by Lush to make it look like i've put hours of effort into it. It leaves it looking like I have just been to Bondi beach when really I haven't left my room.

Price: Retails at $12.50 on the Lush website.

5. Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette: Ok, you're crazy if you haven't heard of Urban Decay's Naked palettes. They're pretty much the bee's knees. I've been reaching for Naked 2 this month because the colours allow you to create any smokey or neutral eye look with its highly pigmented shades.

Price: Naked (the original palette) Retails at $59.60 on beautybay.com
Note: Naked 2 is currently out of stock.

6. Clinique 3-Step System: I was fortunate enough to score a 10-day trial of the 3-step system from my local Clinique counter and I think I'm going to buy the full sized system once I get some money. My skin feels refreshed and lovely after following the steps. Definitely worth the extra 3 minutes of my skin care routine.

Price: Retails at $29.00 for the introductory kit from the Clinique website.

Let me know what your July favourites are. I want to know!

-C.

Review | CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation

I like make up. I'm a girl who likes to wear make up.

Shock horror.

Not really, but I looooove everything make up. I love wearing make up, watching videos on youtube about make up, make up tutorials, inspiration EVERYTHING. Gideon even lets me put make up on him with the condition that he gets to watch a manly movie or video about the army or guns, you know, to make sure he doesn't lose any testosterone.

Don't tell him I told you.

In keeping with the make up theme, I thought I'd do a review on one of my favourite foundations I've recently purchased:

CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation

It looks like this:

Its a medium coverage foundation which takes the place of three of my own make up products. Its a primer, foundation and concealer! AWESOME! I paid $20 for it at Priceline at Castle Towers & it was so worth it!

I've started to use it in my everyday make up routine and the results are amazing! Its not oily or anything & it dries relatively quickly into this powder-like consistency over your face. It brightens dark circles and covers those not so lovely imperfections (which I have a lot of on my face!)

This is what my face looks like with NO make up on:

This is what it looks like with the rest of my everyday make up:

If you're interested, here are the other products I use in my everyday make up routine BUT to be honest, since using the CoverGirl foundation, I've been using less and less concealer and powder because it pretty much does all the work for me.

As you can see in the photos, it makes my skin tone look even and gives me a great base for the rest of my make up.

Other products:

Top row: MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC15, Essence Lash & brow gel, MAC Studio Fix in NC15

Middle row: Benefit Instant Brow Pencil in Medium, Essence Long Lasting Eye pencil, Maybelline Master Precise liquid liner, The Balm lip gloss, The Balm 'What's your Type?' mascara, Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation (for contour), CoverGirl Outlast Stay fabulous foundation, Physicians Formula Super BB Powder. 

Bottom row: Essence I love Stage eyelid primer, Secret Beam highlighter from Etude House in Korea, Benefit Hula and Sugarbomb boxed powders and Urban Decay Naked Palette.

Brushes: Bubbi Brushes in Flat Buffer Brush and Blending Brush, and Real Techniques Contour Brush, Pointed Foundation Brush, and Buffing Brush.

All in all, I'd give this product:

• 4.5 unicorns

Stay classy.

-C.