March? Seriously? Already? That zoomed past! Here’s a round up of beauty foodie favourites that pumped up my tyres in February.
Bourjois Bronzing Powder (colour 22 Peaux Mates*): This was part of my ASOS online beauty shop up on Waitangi Day. Hmmm…
Public holidays + online sale + comfy bed + my laptop = BAD combination!
Come on Lou, refocus! Anyway, I got this because I’ve found that inexpensive matt bronzing powders (that don’t make me look like I’m about to star in Jersey Shore) are hard to come by. When I stumbled across this for NZ$12.50 I was seduced by the cute chocolate inspired packaging. Luckily, it’s a winner: It is just the right colour for medium skin tones, lovely texture, good colour pay off and, despite the packaging stating this is “filled with glints of sunshine” it’s pretty much matt (but not ‘flat matt’, if that makes sense), which makes it a good contour powder too. I’m high fiving myself. *Can anyone translate the name of the colour?! It’s a real shame Bourjois isn’t available in stores in NZ, it’s such a great brand, I used to wear their products a lot when I lived overseas.
Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation (SPF 18): This was another ASOS purchase, representing bang for buck at NZ$12.43 (I got it for a tenner on sale, bargain!). This offers medium coverage, gives me a flawless slightly fresh faced dewy finish, covers minor blemishes, blends beautifully and lasts a good 8 hours (so long as you press it into place with a matt powder). I love it so much I’ve temporarily re-homed my beloved Estee Lauder Double Wear to the back of the cupboard and, instead, I’ve worn this non-stop for the last two weeks. It’s also lovely mixed with a little moisturiser to create a tinted moisturiser on days where I go (almost) barefaced. You can check out how it looks i the photo at the bottom of the blog post.
MAC Prep + Prime Highlighter Pen (Bright Forecast): I’ve heard many makeup gurus prattle on about this product . So when I was in MAC in Wellington a few weeks ago I asked the Makeup Assistant to try it on me. I had no intention of buying… Yeah right: Sold. This instantly brightens the under eye area (so you can fake a good night’s sleep) and it’s fabulous at covering any discolouration like dark under eye circles due to the slight peach tones cancelling these out. Incidentally, this was worth its weight in gold on a tired and excited bridal party recently! Now I want the two other colours… Bugger. Will my MAC wish list ever be complete?
Price: NZ$38 from MAC
Milani Blush in Berry Amore: Bargain beauty find alert! I love this gorgeous peachy pinky blush because: A little goes a long way, it lasts a good chunk of the day (e.g. as long as any of my blushers) and I especially love the healthy glow it leaves on my cheeks thanks to the gold shimmer in the blush. This last point is important for me as, being cursed with oily skin, I usually wear a matt foundation and a matt bronzer to take out the shine, however, I find I can end up looking a little ‘flat’ sometimes if I don’t put something on my skin with a little hint of sparkle. These baked blushers come in a bunch of different colours and these are definitely worth checking out. Note, the packaging feels a tad cheap and nasty, but don’t let that put you off.
Price: NZ$18 from selected Dollar King stores (or available online through Hikosencara/Cutie & Beauty for NZ$9-18 (they are often on sale)
Moreish 
Toner: I know I mention this brand quite a bit, nope, I’m not on commission, I’m just a fan! This hydrating toner replaced my Sukin one which, frankly, did sod all in my opinion. Moreish’s version definitely hydrates and gives my skin a good moisture hit. If you’ve read my blog post on beauty guru Caroline Hirons you’ll know all about toner and how important this step is in your beauty regime. I’ve taken to squirting this little superstar on throughout the day for an instant moisture hit – I’m actually going to get a second one to keep at work (the aircon takes it out of my skin).
Price: NZ$19 from a Unichem or Radius Pharmacy, or online through HealthPost. Edit – May 2018, disappointingly Moreish is no longer available at the afore mentioned supermarkets, but HealthPost can hook you up!
Cuisine Magazine (March 2013). I used to spend hours reading this magazine back in the day but I stopped purchasing it a couple of years ago because I got fed up with reading recipes that I had to specifically purchase a bunch of ingredients I never seemed to use again: I like recipes containing, predominately, standard ingredients I always have in my pantry! So what changed? A foodie colleague thrust it at me and said “you’d like this”. She was right, I did and off I went to buy my own. It’s packed full of salads (namely middle eastern inspired), noodles, ideas for using in season vegetables like tomatoes and eggplants (the latter is my favourite). I love fresh clean flavours and this has got me inspired! On that note, we are having Baked Eggplant & Mozzarella with Green Olive Pesto for dinner (page 68).
Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in Hot Plum (906). I was very self-conscious when I wore this for the first time, but I got so many compliments I got over myself quickly! I like vamping things up with a flash of colour and getting out of my comfort zone – I tend to be far too ‘safe’ with lipsticks and stick with my nude tones, so this is a lesson to ‘get out more often!’ This lippy is moisturising, the colour pay-off is awesome (so you don’t need much) and it has good lasting power. You can check out how this looks in person at the photo at the bottom of this blog post.
Price: NZ$24 (but you can get them on sale regularly).
Froozeballs. My bestie introduced me to these NZ made fruit and nut snack balls recently, I’m staggered I hadn’t heard of them as they are, frankly, amazeballs (he he he). If you like snacks that are all natural, look no further, these are preservative, animal product, chemical and colouring free. To be fair, these are calorie dense due to the fruit and nut content, but they are definitely better than demolishing several biscuits mid afternoon when my body craves sugar. There’s three flavours: Original, apricot and banana. I’m hooked on apricot. By the way, these contain five ingredients only: Dates, banana or apricots, raw cashews, raw almonds, and coconut (the original flavour also contains carob). Gordon Ramsay would approve. Now, to try and recreate their recipe… Watch this space.
Price: (NZ$2.00 – $2.50). Widely available at Health food shops and Bin Inn.
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