Makeup tricks

The Skin Wardrobe Must Haves

My must-haves from The Skin Wardrobe? Good question!

It’s no secret that I have fallen, hook line and sinker, in love with The Skin Wardrobe, a Kiwi-owned business that imports Scandi Beauty.

To think this all started when The Skin Wardrobe Catherine got chatting to a mutual friend, Melissa at the school gates (thank for the intro Melissa!). Catherine subsequently reached out via Insta to say hi and ask if I’d like to try a blush brush! The rest is history. Fast forward, I own a substantial amount of the range (some gifted, some purchased myself). I reach for The Skin Wardrobe products on the daily.

Here’s my The Skin Wardrobe Must Haves…

Side note, I tried to pick my top 5 products, but couldn’t… So here are my top 11 instead.

the skin wardrobe must haves (more…)

My Mini Sephora USA Haul

Sephora mini haulWalking into Sephora at Houston’s at Galleria Mall a few weeks back took me back to being a Kiwi Kid in the late 1970s.  Remember when you scored $2 and you got to go to the dairy? All those lollies that were one and two cents? Remember the excitement? Well that’s the same feeling as I had at Sephora in Houston. Only now I’m an adult and am in ownership of a credit card. 

Back to Sephora: Where to look first? Here’s my thought process “Holy crap, they’ve got Anastasia Beverly Hills makeup. I can see Charlotte Tilbury. Is that Tarte? Is that a Dyson Hairdryer? Where’s the basket? Do they have Pillow Talk? Shit a brick. I’m going to need to prioritise”. I kid you not: My heart rate quickened.  But that’s OK: I was always going to do a mini haul. I’d SAVED for this.

So, after a lot of anticipation (and hours of research), I bought some goodies – arguably, not as many as you’d expect! I was adamant: I was only buying product we can’t get easily here in NZ. Besides, saving some dimes was mission critical so my savings would stretch to my new Madewell Medium Transport Tote and Michael Kors watch.

So, what did my mini Sephora haul look like? More importantly, after three solid weeks of research product usage, how am I feeling about the products? Stand by caller, keep reading. (more…)

My Emergency Makeup Look

Emergency makeup lookI haven’t done a makeup tutorial post for ages. Truth be told, they are a pain in the ass to photograph and the posts take 100 years to write… And I don’t have the time nor inclination! If I knew how to edit videos maybe I’d do a start to finish quick and easy video tutorial (remember last time I tried that and I poked myself in the eye with the tube? #fail).

Anyway, for the last few days I’ve worn this super quick and easy minimal makeup and I’ve had a few compliments about the “low key Lou look”. Thus, I thought this would make a good tutorial, whilst also putting it out there that I don’t always wear a full face (just most of the time, ha).

Note, as I have oily skin, I don’t get a lot of wear out of this look – as I don’t bother to prime my face, nor set my foundation with a light dusting of powder (necessary for me to lock my base in place). But, it’s a quick and simple look that, longevity of wear aside, is fit for purpose. I guess you could say this is my ‘Makeup in an Emergency’ look!

Products used are below, there’s a new find in there – a McDaddy brow product at a hamburger-like price. I know you guys like it when I find good yet mega affordable products. (more…)

Lou Loves – June 2017 Faves

I was going to write a full on, full noise blog post for Lou Loves – June 2017.  But life in the last week has been CRAZY busy and I’ve been zooming around the North Island. Subsequently I had no capacity to sit down and write a post (well, I did, but I prioritised my family life)! So here’s a video. Again.

Now, I have worked REALLY hard to not say ummmm. I also tried really hard to look at the camera more. I tried really hard to not talk too fast. 

How did I do?

Products rambled on about in this vid

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Lip Liner – Why you should bother

lip liner why you should bother

I reckon lip liner (aka lip pencil) is the underdog of the makeup world and quite possibly one of the most misunderstood makeup products. I personally didn’t ‘get’ the appeal of lip liner until this year – and now I’m making up for lost time and I’ve transformed into an avid lip liner spokesperson!

So, why bother? Here’s three reasons you too should get excited about lip liner…

It’ll make your lips look fuller and more defined

In a few weeks I’m going to be hitting a zero birthday (it starts with the number four…) and in the last year I’ve noticed my lips have started to thin, albeit slightly.

Asking around my friends in their forties and fifties as market research for this blog post, everyone is whinging about the same thing: Bloody lines and thining lips. A few of them have even got Vaaesthetics.com Lip Fillers to help stop the aging! So why does this happen? I asked a beautician friend. She told me that the older we get, the less collagen we produce and it’s collagen that gives our lips plumpness. Seeing as there’s sod all we can do about collagen production (I’m not keen on having a procedure) this is where lip liner comes in. After a well defined natural lookin’ lip? Invest in a liner that’s close to the natural colour of your lips, line your lips, fill ’em in and your lips will have way more definition. Now, all that said, if you have super thin or uneven lips – you should go for a liner that is slightly darker thank your natural lip shade. This’ll make them look fuller. (more…)

Empties – A round up

I haven’t done one of these ‘beauty empties’ posts before!   I stumbled across one recently on another beauty blog and enjoyed it and figured I’d give writing one a crack. This thought was superb timing as a heap of my beauty products have run out all at the same bloody time (grumble).  Here’s a whistle-stop tour of my thoughts on each product!

empties

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Lou Loves – September Favourites

SAM_4407

 There’s been lots of love for beauty foodie products this month! 

SAM_4411Retinol Reface from Indeed Laboratories

Retinol is a derivative of Vitamin A and is widely considered to be a super-hero ingredient in the battle to combat the onslaught of aging (damn those fine lines).  Indeed Laboratories didn’t stop at biffing one kind of retinol in this product, they biffed in three.   I’ve been using this Retinol Reface every night for the last six weeks and I’m really happy with how it’s dealing to my fine lines, crow’s feet and wrinkles (that said, I reckon the combo of all the skincare I’m using at the moment is the dogs ‘you know what’).  What I also like is that it is also quite moisturising and I’ve had no skin irritation (that said, it takes a lot to wind my skin up). Be warned, typically with retinol you get a bit of redness and perhaps some peeling – so brace yourself (I didn’t…). Pop on a pea-sized amount after cleansing and use only at night (make sure you use a sunscreen during the day, you’ll be more susceptible to sunburn).  This is a definite re-purchase for me. Where to buy: Farmers $44.99 (I got  mine with 15% off, love their sales).

Book: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

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