IndieAna- In Search of the HolyGrail

Oh joy! It's time for another Come Play With Me feature! I just love the anticipation of the next theme. You never know what kind of makeup will be needed for the next look, it's rather exciting having a new inspiration for creating some makeup fun. Cathy from Silver Screen Beauty Queen kicked off her chosen "Gold" theme, with a lovely sunkissed golden look , so pretty! I love gold shades, but it's not something that I wear often, so I was only too happy to create a look based on this warm metallic shade. Face Natio Pure Mineral Skin Perfecting BB Cream in Medium . EveryDay Minerals "Viki's Radiant Creation" Lucent finishing powder. MAC "NW25" Mineralize Concealer. L'Oreal "Golden Apricot" Delicioux Blush. Benefit Sun Beam highlighter. Eyes Elf "Sheer" Eyelid Primer . Silk Naturals Stick 'Em Eye Primer . 6-Pan MAC palette highlighter shade. 88 Warm Palette blending shade. Hi-Fi...

Description " A lascivious blend of night flowering New Orleans jasmine and fiery spices igniting a base of red sandalwood and skin musk. " First applied, New Orleans Love Spell has a pungent, green and metallic scent. The spices emerge upon drydown, transforming the green to a hot red.  Sandalwood grounds the perfume as this note does so well. Such an interesting blend. Sexy? Maybe in its most raw, animalistic form. Though, as with perfumes, sexiness is very subjective.

I've been itching to try Silk Naturals HD Cream foundation. Because I have foundation that I am still getting through, I kept delaying. Well, being in need of some of my regular SN must-haves and a sale prompted me to go ahead and order some cream face product samples. This formula contains ceramic microspheres that give an airbrushed finish. Samples come in handy clam shells with enough product for a few uses. Certainly enough product to determine whether the foundation is a match for you. Well, the colour of this swatch looks crazy dark, but blended out is a pretty good match. I found that swirling first in the product with a flat top brush, then applying seems to give me the best finish. The foundation is easily buildable. Although, it is meant to dry with a semi-matte finish, it is more of a dewy look on my skin, which is really what I'd prefer, anyway. This could be as a result of my oily t-zone. I like that it doesn't make my skin look flat or too shiny....

I do love my lip products, going through phases of buying various shades and finishes from time to time. Using a lip liner has not always been a priority, hence my handful of lip liners. I now use a lip liner whenever I wear lipstick or gloss.  Here I have the 2 plastic drawers dedicated to lipstick (top) and glosses. The lip products that don't fit in the drawers sadly sit in this basket. You poor neglected makeup, I will get to you one day! After checking out my makeup collection post from March 2013. It seems I have accumulated a few more lip liners. The amount of lipsticks and glosses has increased, but not by a crazy amount, phew! What do you prefer, lipsticks or lip glosses? I used to always wear a lip gloss, whether on its own, or over a lipstick, now I seem to gravitate toward a lippie on its own.

Happy Australia Day! I'm not actually going anywhere to celebrate the day, but I am proudly Australian.  Our family will have a laid back BBQ tonight, which is a typical Aussie thing to do, isn't it. Of course, I couldn't let the day go by without showing you some nail looks I created over the past couple of weeks. I attempted a waterfall mani, beginning with a gold base colour, then using a thin brush to paint on strokes, using yellow and green polish. Another look, I used a sheer nude, then green and yellow swirled through a white tip. Finally, I tried a reverse gradient with gold and green holo polishes. This is where you begin with a gradient. Then nail striping tape to create the desired lines. Apply another gradient over top, only in reverse, then while wet remove the tape.  I hope you have a wonderful day!

JLo "My Glow" is a perfume that found a place in my collection, thanks to it being an unwanted gift of my daughter's. I was going to at least give it a try. Perfume description- "It includes lavender, lotus, freesia, peony, white rose, green leaves, Casablanca lily, sandalwood, musk, heliotrope and precious wood." The perfume certainly is not the floral explosion that I'd expect from a description like that. I find it to be quite soft and fresh, with enough floral to cut through the sweetness.  The fragrance is innocent and playful, suitable for a teen exploring the perfume world.  I do find the longevity to be quite good, albeit, it is very close to the skin, only enveloping the wearer. The bottle is sweet, having an angel as the stopper. A little too "cutesie" for me, but I appreciate JLo's direction for this perfume. She was pregnant when creating this fragrance, and captured the angelic essence beautifully. Are you a celebr...

I finally got to showing you Aromaleigh's Sol Invictus sample collection. If you didn't see the beautiful eye shadows that I swatched, you can see that post here . Today I wanted to show you the looks created using each shade from the collection.  Topsy Turvy, Saturnalia and Lua Saturni  Oscilla, Sigillaria and Luxuriae Maniae Opalia, Aureum and Lord of Misrule Sol Invictus, Unchained Revelry and Munera  The shadows were as good to use as they looked. So beautiully pigmented, yet buildable and blendable. Which look would you try?

I was lucky enough to win the "Sol Invictus" sample collection from indie mineral makeup company, Aromaleigh . I received the sample set of eye shadows before Christmas, but with the craziness of the end of last year, I am sorry to be bringing it to you now. Better late than never, right? Aureum- A richly shimmering soft warm gold  Luxuriae Maniae- Purple with golden duo chrome 10 Saturnalia- Golden greyish teal Oscilla- Golden neutral Lord of Misrule- Deep plum Lua Saturni- Indigo Munera- Rich golden taupe Topsy Turvy- Steely green Opalia- Foiled pink Unchained Revelry- Berry to copper duo chrome Sigillaria- Golden amber Sol Invictus- Bronzed berry Well, there you have it! So many gorgeous shades that are right up my alley, as I'm really loving metallics at the moment.  Stay tuned for the next post where I'll show you some looks created wi...

New year and time to take stock of my makeup collection. I'll show you the products that I don't seem to be quite so obsessed with. Just one plastic drawer for my face products. Foundation, concealer, primer, highlighter, they all fit easily. I am getting through my mascaras, albeit slowly. I haven't bought mascara for months, and don't intend to, until I only have 2 left. My selection of blushes has halted, as they don't all fit in a plastic draw. It will be sometime until I buy more. I have actually stuck to not buying blushes, and hopefully will continue. For comparison, you can check out my makeup collection from March 2013. What makeup items do you find you have more self control over?

Now that I've turned 40, I realise that my skin needs more care, so will opt for products that target ageing skin. Reading the product description, it's pretty clear that Mature8 is for the older lady, This product is jam packed with peptides that work together to actually redensify the structure of the skin. Reversing signs of ageing like sagging and thinning skin. As with the other Ciencia8 moisturizers, this cream also comes in an airless jar. This means that the actives don't lose their effectiveness. It is also hygienic. Although, this product is a cream moisturizer it is actually quite light in consistency. It smooths over the skin beautifully, absorbing rather quickly. One pump, and I have enough for face, neck, and even a little for my hands. Ciencia8 has formulated all of their products to inject plenty of hydration into the skin. I find this particularly so with Mature8. I have combination skin, so initially I was hoping that this cream wouldn...