IndieAna- In Search of the HolyGrail

Sitting there just waiting to be opened for the past few weeks were these parcels These are online orders I placed during the Black Friday sales. The time of year that I always buy Christmas and birthday gifts for myself. I have a set budget that I can go a little crazy with, I love it! Especially so, because I generally try not to buy non essential makeup during the year, so it's fun to break my makeup spending ban. I usually buy those lipsticks and eye shadows that I really don't need, lol! So, do you want to take a look at what's inside? Ultra Satins and Metallics from ColourPop MBA Cosmetics glitter shadows and metallic liquid lipsticks Some eye shadow palettes from BH Cosmetics ...and goodies I'd had my eye on from Makeup Revolution In future posts I'll go into more detail of the products I bought with reviews and swatches. I can't wait to play! I hope you had a great Christmas and have a happy and safe New Year! xx

 Acure Organics is a new brand to me, one that I discovered on discount website iHerb during a search for a day cream. Out of the many I had browsed and read reviews of, it was the Acure Organics Gotu Kola Stem Cell and Chlorella that appealed to me most. Taken from iHerb  "Face the day with gotu kola stem cells and chlorella. This powerhouse combo helps moisturize and protect with a one-two punch. Easily absorbed moisture and effective ingredients equal a great day."  The day cream is packaged in a squeeze tube with flip top lid. The hole dispenser is a great size for the consistency of the product. The product is of medium cream consistency. Thick enough to moisturise, yet light enough to absorb nicely into the skin, which is what I want in a day moisturiser. The scent is of oranges, sweet and tart. Although I love a citrus fragrance, I do find it rather strong. Thankfully, it disappears once it is massaged into the skin. Only a small amount is...

I had grand plans to create more than two Chrismas manis this year but alas life got in the way. Things have been so hectic! Tis the season! If you didn't see my first Christmas mani you can check it out here . For this nail look I wanted to pull out my Christmas themed stamping plates. I had the amazing idea to stamp with a deeper gold on a lighter gold base. Sounded good in my head, but turned out a lot more subtle than what I had envisioned.  I applied OPI Designer de Better as my base colour, then using Messy Mansion Soft Gold, I stamped on the Christmas designs. I liked the result, but it was very hard to capture with my camera. Oh well. What are your plans for Christmas? I hope you have a wonderful time no matter what you are doing! xx

I recently published a blog post on my morning skincare routine , so as promised I am going to show you my evening routine. I do have quite a few products that I use morning and night, but there are some that I use solely at night time. My evening routine is as follows in order of use Skinn AM Cleanser Pretty Damn Precious ACV and Lemon Ferment Toner Skinn Enriched Softening Essence mixed with a pea sized amount of Skinn Vitamin C powder Skinn Hylighten Dark Circle Treatment Hand Chemistry Retin Oil Skinn Collagensis DWP Age Reset Serum Skinn Crease Release Eye Contour Serum Yep, I use a morning cleanser at night! My reason for this is that there's other products waiting in the wings that I want to use, however in conjunction with these products, I can't use a cleanser with any acid based ingredients as it will render them ineffective. I don't want the AM cleansers that I have to go to waste, so am determined to use them first. I figured that focusing only on...

I am often introducing new products, or replacing older ones in my skincare routine, so sufficed to say it doesn't stay the same for long periods of time. I think most like-minded skincare obsessed are always on the look out for that elusive holy grail product.  So currently in my morning skincare rotation are the following products listed in order of use Skinn AM cleanser Skinn Sugar Lips lip scrub Skinn Hylighten Dark Circle Treatment Skinn Enriched Softening Essence Skinn Collagenisis DWP Age Reset Serum Skinn Crease Release Eye Contour serum Skinn BotaniLift Neck Corrector Cream Acure Day Cream RawSkinCeuticals SPF As you can see, my routine is very Skinn heavy. I have loved this brand for some time and when I have been wanting a specific product/s I buy value packs from TVSN (Australian shopping network). This means that I end up with products that I don't mind using but wouldn't necessarily buy. I'll put them in my regular routine to...

This year I have been panning (or trying to use up) an eye shadow palette. I was using the 88 Warm palette on a daily basis for eye contouring, so decided I would go for gold and see if I could empty the pans. So far, I've finished 36 pans, removing the pan once it's done which is so satisfying! My goal was to totally finish it, but I'm probably going to bin the palette when I've used the shadows that I enjoy using. I'm not really one to wear greys and silvers, plus there's some colours that don't have enough colour pay off for my liking. To be honest, I'm pretty stoked to get this far!  Face W7 concealer Garnier BB cream for oily/combo skin Models Prefer Argan concealer Silk Naturals Bronze Blur Powder 88 Warm palette for bronzer, highlight and blush Eyes 88 Warm palette ColourPop Cosmetics eye shadow in Cornelius YBF Universal Brow pencil Poni Cosmetics White Knight Mascara Urban Decay 24/7 eye liner in Bourbon ...

Of course I couldn't let December go by without creating some Festive nails. Rather than a design, I wanted to incorporate some colours that came to mind when I thought of the Christmas season. Those colours being gold, silver, red and green.  Alternating each nail I applied gold and silver base colours, Naturistics "Chrome Crazy" and a gold polish that has no label whatsoever on it, helpful! Lol. With a small fan brush on each nail I painted stripes of green and red polish, Illamasqua "Viridian" and Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine in "Dazzling".  As much colour as I had going on, I couldn't resist a little sparkle so finished with a coat of LA Colors "Glitter Bomb".  Do you do something special on your nails for Christmas?

Hey there! Long time no see. I have been missing you and couldn't stay away any longer, I can't believe it's been a year since I last wrote a blog post, wow! I decided that with my return it would be nice to give my blog a little makeover, I hope you like it. Subject matter will be similar, which means all things beauty related, of course. It may take me a little while to get into a blogging rhythm, so please bear with me, but I sure am glad to be back. Until next time! xx

I've always promised myself that once I lost passion for writing blog posts, I would take a hiatus. Well, that time has come.  I think most bloggers go through a stage where they are just not "feeling it", I've been there in the past, more than once, but because it only lasts for a short time, the passion comes right back.  Unfortunately, I've felt uninspired to a certain degree for some time. I just feel like I'm writing the same drivel, and I think you, my reader, deserves better content. I still enjoy playing with makeup, and sharing my love of beauty products. So, for the time being, I believe Instagram is the best platform for me to do this. If you don't follow me, and would like to, just search @indie_ana1 to find me.  I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support. I've met some wonderful ladies and of course will continue to interact with ya'll on your blogs or on Insta. I won't make any promises abou...

My birthday is the 29th of December, so it makes sense to me to purchase my birthday and Christmas presents at the same time. I do this during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. My favourite time of year, lol. Before the sales had even been announced for Makeup Revolution, I had already decided that I wanted the Pink Fizz, Naked Chocolate and Salted Caramel palettes. Instead of an actual sale, there was a gift with purchase To qualify for the offer, I added 2 eye shadow blending brushes to my order. By doing so, I received the following products. So many extra goodies to play with. Totally didn't need them, but hey, they were free! :) Give Me Glow liquid lipsticks. I had come across this Etsy store on Instagram. I'd resisted temptation for some time, but during my splurge, I figured there was no better time to place an order. MBA Cosmetics Matte Liquid Lip Colors had been one of the products on my wishlist. MBA Cosmetics have sales quite of...

Thanks to being lucky enough to win one of Kat's generous giveaway's, I now own the Mirenesse Lip Rouge in "Sydney". I'd wanted to try from the Mattefinity range, but the price put me off purchasing. That, and the fact that I couldn't justify another lip product purchase. Taken from Mirenesse - " Our first rich mousse matte cushiony lip colour with GelLite technology and a lip hug applicator delivers elastic infinite wear, superb hydration, fine line filler, inbuilt lip stain. Anti-feathering technology combined with cushiony comfort for defined lip colour, lip pencil not necessary." Dusty rose shade The doe foot applicator tapers at the end in a leaf shaped sponge. I really find it easy to apply the liquid lipstick with. It is quite thick and creamy in consistency, giving a velvet matte finish. It does dry more after applied, but not completely. It does transfer some, but is long lasting without being too drying. ...

It has been a long time since my last attempt at pressing loose mineral shadows. It's not too difficult and I love creating a new eye shadow palette to play with. For more details on how to do it yourself, you can check out that post here . I decided my next endeavour would be to press some of my favourite shades. I enjoyed creating the palette so much that I went ahead and created a metallic palette. I used MBA Cosmetics Molten Metals collection, and 6 other metallics I had in my collection to complete the 12 pans. Swatches of the Molten Metals when loose can be viewed here , so you can see how they compare. Mind you, the original swatches were done over a lip balm, whilst these are all done on bare skin with my finger. Now I have 2 extra palettes, without even buying extra eye shadows! :) I'll be linking this post to Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness , feel free to check it out! :)

I'd like to start by saying that my makeup doesn't really change depending on the season. I don't have any rules, I just wear whatever appeals to me. However, I thought I would do a blog post on what comes to mind when I think Summer makeup.   Face DB Cosmetics CC Creme  Silk Naturals HD Concealer Dr Lewinn's Anti-Aging Concealer Silk Naturals Golden Cloud Finishing Powder MUA Cosmetics Highlighter in Iridescent Gold Darling Girl Cosmetics blush  Blush and highlighter Eyes Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Barely Branded" 88 Warm Palette (what else? lol) Silk Naturals mineral eye shadow in "Cloudberry" UD Eye Liner in "Midnite Cowboy" YBF Universal Brow Pencil Mirenesse Cougar Mascara Eye shadows used Lips Essence lip liner  MUA Cosmetics Matte lipstick in "Peachy Keen" Mirenesse Lip gloss No. 27 Liner, lipstick and gloss Bright eyes, bronzed cheeks, gold...