Monday 18 June 2012

I'll be back!

Hey ladies, just doing a quick FOTD/life post. This picture isn't from today unfortunately but i did however take it over a week ago. I have been so crazy busy with university as i am currently nearing the end of exam time! Ahhhh! I hate it so bad.

However, tomorrow I will complete my last exam for this semester and hopefully be able to put more posts up! I have so many reviews to do and collective hauls that I am excited to show you all. So please stay tuned!

On a final note, can i just say how happy i am that True Blood has returned for season 5!! It is by far my most favourite show out of all the possible shows i could choose from ( New girl, PLL and 90210 aren't far behind!) Anyone else agree? I am so excited to see how the season pans out! For any of you who do watch True Blood, please feel free to comment your thoughts on the new season ;)

Much love, Jess xxxx





Thursday 14 June 2012

Oh hey life!



Hey Lovelies! So today i just wanted to share some photos with you all from my life. They are in no particular order and are pretty random so hopefully you don't think this is a waste of a blog haha! If you wanna see more follow me on my instagram: mainbitchvanilla .. Let me know to follow you back as well so i can see all your pictures :)

Two months ago when my hair was red. I have had seriously every hair colour and style!
This is a fake tan! I'm not this tanned naturally. I'm extremely pale :(
(Ignore the mess! ) Me ready for my birthday celebrations in March :)

The picture below is my family back in the day! I love this picture so much and i love my family!


This next two pictures are of my good ol' pal dawn. I met her at uni and we are just so similar it's scary. GET OUT OF MY HEAD DAWN! haha ..You might all know her here on blogger but if you don't go check her out on her blog See it, Love it, Swatch it. 





The next few pictures are of me and my boyfriend of four years Blake. He is gorgeous and i love him to bits! I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have such a great guy :)

Blake and me (blonde Jess)  in 2009 before our Year 12 Formal



The most recent picture of us :)
The next few photos are of me and my two bestfriends Tiarne and Natalie. Love them to bits. I seriously tell them everything...even the gross and really inappropriate things you should really keep to yourself! 





And finally, here is my gorgeous beagle puppy Charlie! Isn't he just the cutest!!



I'm sorry if this blog seems a bit pointless! But i thought i may as well show you a bit of my life in picture form. Obviously there is so much more i could show you, but there is only so much you can put in one blog! haha. Anyways, i would love to see blog posts of my followers so i can get to know some of you ladies! Please link me if you want to show me your life in pictures.

Jess xxxx

Saturday 2 June 2012

To BB cream or not to BB cream, That is the Question!


Hey lovelies, so for today i thought i would show you my latest online purchase and give you my overall thoughts from the product. A few posts ago i was saying how i was on the hunt for the perfect BB cream and i now have a new found love for Lioele's Triple the Solution BB cream. Although i love it, i still wanted to test the waters a little bit and try some other ones, so i picked up the Skin 79 Super Beblesh Balm from the Gold collection. 


Much like the Lioele BB cream it offers 3 main functions which are; Whitening, UV protection and Wrinkle Improvement. Once again i can't comment on the wrinkle or whitening elements as i believe i will need to be using it for a longer period of time to notice a real difference. My favourite thing about this product would have to be the packaging. The packaging is very classy and is made with some type of plastic that gives the illusion of glass, and for some reason it is quite cold to touch. The glass-like effect also creates a shadow of the writing within the under layers which i thought was very different to any product i had seen. The product is also very hygienic because of the gold pump top which you distribute the product through.

Further, i find the consistency of the product to be quite smooth to touch and very easily blendable. I think it would work great on all skin types, especially those with dry skin, because it just glides on. I found this product to be of light coverage, so it would be great to even out skin tone and dilute any redness on the skin. However, it will not cover acne or harsh imperfections unless you pack it on and is generally more for everyday wear, not really a night out on the town with the girls. Overall, i like this BB cream, but i love my Lioele one more because i prefer the fuller coverage. I would recommend this product to anyone who wants a natural finish (you feel like your not wearing any makeup!) and also people who prefer the light coverage consistency. I recon that this product may even work well under foundation as it is moisturising and can even out the complexion before more makeup is applied. The only thing i didn't really like about this product is that it has a strong scent of sunscreen, which lingers after application. The smell does get less noticeable throughout the day but that may be because you have gotten use to the scent. So if you are someone who can't stand the smell of sunscreen, this product will not be for you.  If anyone is thinking of buying this product i would suggest stores like prettyandcute that sell them for around $22. Other than online boutiques, eBay is another option, but be careful of all the fakes they sell. I had to research before i bought this product because i didn't want to receive a fake one. I know for sure that prettyandcute sell the real product and the user 'Bellogirl' on eBay does not sell anything fake. I hope this helps!



Skin 79 Super BB cream Gold swatched on skin
The packaging. You can see the shadow effect.





Have any of you tried this product? If so, what did you think of it? Any suggestions of other BB creams to try?




Jess xo









Wednesday 30 May 2012

FOTD 31/5/12


Hey lovelies, So today i was playing around with my Naked 2 Palette and thought i would show you the end result. I am so sorry about the crappy picture quality. Unfortunately my new camera is broken so i had to snap these few pictures on my Iphone. I just did a classic smokey eye using more neutral colours such as browns and nude tones. 

So to do this look i mixed the shades 'foxy' and 'bootycall' from the palette and applied the colour all over the lid quite generously. I then went in with the shade 'tease' and applied that onto my crease, dragging it slightly out towards the inner corner of my eye, but then stopping just half-way through my lid. I lightly blended this out with a blending brush and then concentrated the shade 'Busted' on the outer-corner to make a gradient-like effect. I then used the colour 'busted' on my bottom lash line to make it look a little more dramatic. Finally, i applied my black liquid liner and a few coats of mascara on my top lashes.







Can i just say i LOVE the Naked Palettes by Urban Decay. I bet most of you have tried it, but for anyone who hasn't i would recommend getting them! I have both of the palettes and i honestly refuse to choose which one i prefer because i believe they both have amazing colours that compliment each other. I got mine from hqhair.com for only $48 each, so i was so ridiculously happy! haha. The pigmentation is amazing and they last all day even without an eyeshadow primer! I would definitely say that both the Naked and Naked 2 palettes are my favourite out of all the palettes i own. :)

So for those who have tried these palettes, what do you rate it? 

Jess xxx

Friday 25 May 2012

FOTD !

Hey lovelies, so for today's post I thought I would share my hair and makeup look for the day. I didn't do anything major with my makeup. I generally just did my everyday face routine which incorporates liquid liner (I'm a sucker for the perfect liquid line!) and a natural pink-ish lip. I rarely ever wear my hair up, but the weather has been so crappy in Australia due to the change in seasons, that I couldn't be bothered styling it. If you are wondering which blush I used for this look, it's from Sleek cosmetics and comes in a trio blush palette called 'blush by 3'. I will be doing a review on it shortly :)


I hope you all are having/ had a wonderful day in whatever country you live :). What is your essential makeup item that you cannot live without?

Jess xxx

Thursday 24 May 2012

My little MAC haul!

Hey ladies, So today i finally received my MAC makeup in the post! I was so excited to look at all the colours and swatch them on my hands. Unfortunately i had to carry it around with me at uni first, but i was too impatient to wait until i was home to open it haha. Here is what i got...


I ended up buying three blushes and four eyeshadows for under $130 in Australia! :)


So in the top row we have (L-R): Sheertone shimmer blush in 'Springsheen', Powder Blush in 'Frankly Scarlet' & Sheertone blush in 'Coygirl'.

On the bottom row we have (L-R): Fresh Daisy, Antiqued, Top Knot & Mega Metal eyeshadow in Odalisque.


(L-R): Odalisque, Top Knot, Antiqued, Fresh Daisy
I thought i would do a few close ups on the eyeshadows to show you just how shimmery and gorgeous the colours are! Fresh Daisy has gorgeous detailing with a flower imprinted in the middle. Unfortunately, i don't think these pictures do the eyeshadows justice. But here they are ..
(L-R): Odalisque, Top Knot

(L-R): Antiqued, Fresh Daisy

The eyeshadows are all very pigmented and even just from doing the following swatches, they were hard to get off! Therefore, they will definitely be long-lasting!
(No flash) L-R: Fresh Daisy, Antiqued, Top Knot, Odalisque

(With Flash) Same as above.
I absolutely love the blushes! I bet most of you are thinking that Frankly scarlet is too bright, but i think with a light hand and a bit of blending, it will look amazing. Springsheen is the only shimmery blush out of the three and looks gorgeous on. I can't wait to play with these colours!


(L-R): Frankly Scarlet, Coygirl, Springsheen

(With flash) L-R: Coygirl, Springsheen, Frankly Scarlet

(Without flash) Same as above

So, that is the end of my haul haha. I'm really excited to try all of these products out and will keep you all updated with how i find them. Are there any MAC products you ladies would like to suggest for me to try? I'm in the market for some highlighters and other goodies, so i would love the feedback.  I have also been thinking of doing FOTD posts (Face of the day), to show you all how i use these products. Let me know if you think i should do it :)

Until next time, Jess xoxo

Tuesday 22 May 2012

New Beauty Favourites!

Hey guys, so recently I went shopping with the intent to buy myself a foundation brush. I have tried so many brushes but I wasn't really happy with the end result. So I made it my mission to find the perfect foundation brush that would make my skin look flawless. 


I went to David Jones on my hunt and stumbled across the Napoleon Perdis counter. I then picked up this bad boy and was amazed. The Napoleon Perdis Buffer Brush 24r is like the holy grail of foundation brushes. It generally could be referred to as a multi-purpose brush because it can be used for more than just foundation. You can pretty much use this brush for foundation, then concealer, blush, contouring and finally powder without cleaning it in between! It's so quick and easy to use, and the application is beautiful. The lady at the Napoleon Perdis counter said that it will give my skin an airbrushed affect, and I can tell you now, she wasn't joking. The brush itself is well made and quite dense so it will definitely last a long time without getting yucky!

Finally, to sum up on this brush, its easy to clean and works wonders on the skin. The Brush itself cost me $55 dollars from David Jones, so it is definitely a little expensive for just one brush. Nonetheless, to make myself feel better about the price, i will consider this item as an investment haha. Honestly it was worth every cent. 


Now onto another beauty favourite that i have recently just tried. I have been wanting to invest in a BB cream for quite some time, but wasn't sure what to look for. If you are wondering, i have very pale skin with light freckles on my cheeks and nose. Although most people don't notice my freckles, i generally don't like them because i feel they make my skin tone look uneven. I also tend to have small breakouts quite often, and they are usually those blind suckers that are under the skin and hurt like hell! So i wanted a BB cream with some coverage. I ended up getting the Lioele Triple the Solution BB cream. Just like the name suggests, this product has three main purposes. It contains SPF 30++ for sun protection, strawberry and tangerine extract to brighten the skin and fade acne scarring, and yoghurt powder and hyaluronic acid that keeps skins supple and provides moisture. 


This product offers medium-fuller coverage compared to other BB creams and goes onto the skin quite flawlessly. Although most BB Creams have grey undertones which transform on your skin, this product has more of a tint to it so it offers a bit of colour as well. I will say however that i don't think this BB cream will be for everyone because it tends to work better on paler skin. One of my friends is Chinese and this product did not sit well on her skin because she has darker more yellow-ish undertones. 


The coverage of the product itself is quite flawless and covers up pigmentation and acne scarring, which was a massive plus for me. In terms of the brightening effect from the BB cream, i don't think i can really comment because i am still new to using this product. But i will definitely keep you all updated on that aspect in later posts. I love that the product offers high SPF especially because it can significantly help stop the skin from prematurely ageing. The product says that it contains anti-wrinkle agents, but due to my young age i haven't noticed any difference.  


All in all, this is a great product and can leave the skin looking flawless, and for approx. $29, it's a great deal. The packaging is gorgeous and the ability to distribute the product through the pump top is very hygienic. My only concern with this product is that it can leave my skin quite oily after a few hours (doesn't help that i have quite oily skin!), so i would suggest setting the product with a powder and keeping some blotting papers handy if you have combination/oily skin. Finally, you can get this product online at many different stores, but i would suggest prettyandcute.com to ensure you aren't buying a fake product.


Jess xo.





Wednesday 16 May 2012

The Best Skin Peel For All Skin Types!


Hi guys, so for the last two months i have been consistently using a Japanese peeling jelly on my face, and now i can't live without it. After countless hours searching web reviews on peels and skin brighteners, i stumbled across Meishoku Detclear Facial Peeling Jelly (Mix Berry). This bad boy is made from Fruit AHA and Plant BHA and is a jelly type formulation. I bet most of you are wondering 'Huh, what is Fruit AHA or Plant BHA? Yeah, i thought the same when i was researching this product, so i'll give you the general run down. Fruit AHA consists of fruit extracts such as blueberry, cherry, strawberry, peach, pomegranate, and apple acid. The plant BHA is made from plant extracts. 
 


The main thing that attracted me to this product was that it was said to remove melanin, sebum, dead skin cells, and other impurities on the surface of your skin. Believe it or not, this product did just that! It is amazing! The texture of my skin and the overall complexion has improved so much since i started using the product. It has also significantly reduced breakouts on my face and gives me baby soft skin. You know the saying 'As smooth as a babies bottom?'.. Well i'm pretty sure whoever started that saying used this product,because that's exactly how your skin feels even after the first use! The product also helps to remove blackheads and unclog the pores, and promotes the growth of new skin cells. Basically, the skin feels smooth and soft and helps provided a more youthful appearance. Another advantage of this product is that it smells lovely and fruity and has pretty, colourful packaging.The pump dispenser to distribute the product is also very hygienic and is easy to use.

Okay before i keep rambling on, i probably should skip to the 'How to' part and explain the methods in which to use the product. Before using this product you must wash your face with a cleanser and ensure all makeup and oil is removed. Then, completely dry off your face with a towel. Next, pump 3-5 squirts of this baby into your hand and start to rub the product onto the face in circular motions. I usually start from the middle of my face and work my way out, but it depends on individual preference. The best thing about this product is that whilst doing circular motions, the dead skin cells roll up into visible little balls on your face. This shows you that the product is definitely working! Once you're done, you rinse off your face and BAM you have beautifully soft skin. I must also note that this peel is very gentle and could work for all skin types, however, it is only to be used 2-3 times a week.

In order to show you all how the product works, i attached a picture below to show how the dead skin cells are removed from the surface of the skin and roll up into little balls. This is dead skin that had accumulated on my face in just two days! I know it is kinda gross to look at, but who cares as long as it works.



To sum up, i highly recommend this peeling jelly to everyone, of all skin types. It is amazing and makes the skin look and feel so much younger! You can buy this product on shopping websites such as Amazon.com and eBay and of course the Meishoku store online. I live in Australia and found it hard to get the product shipped through Amazon, but was able to get it off eBay for around $25. I would love to hear feedback or suggestions to other products. So please feel free to comment below or even follow. :)

Jess xo

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Review: Revlon PhotoReady Airbrush foundation


Hey guys, so recently i tried Revlon's PhotoReady Airbrush foundation and thought it needed its own separate review. You may be thinking 'What is it that amazing?'... but i wouldn't be jumping to that conclusion just yet. I was skeptical at first about this product and whether i should buy it, but in the end the ad sucked me in. Who doesn't want perfectly airbrushed skin? The packaging of the product is neat and straight to the point which i love. It generally just looks like other Revlon products to me, however, the product is dispensed through a kind of pump-like system. The product is of a mousse texture which you press down with your fingers or brush into liquid form.The issue with the pump nosel is that it is easy to dispense too much product if you press it down too hard, not to mention how messy it can get if you don't wipe over the nosel after use.




The foundation itself is medium coverage and the coverage can be easily built up by using more foundation. Once i had applied it on the skin however the consistency was very oily and shiny. I absolutely hated it. The coverage did nothing for my freckle-bound skin as the oil highlighted my imperfections more than it concealed them. There is no way you could wear this foundation without a setting powder as it would be too oily. From my experience, i wouldn't recommend this product to anyone with oily skin. In most stores in Australia the product sells for atleast $33, so it is quite expensive  for a drugstore foundation. If anyone is interested in this product i would recommend going to your local cosmetics/ beauty counter and trying it out before you buy it.

I would love to hear any other thoughts on this product and whether it worked for other people, so feel free to comment below.

Until next time, Jess :) xo

Review: Revlon lip butters

So I finally bought into the Revlon lip butters craze and I am not regretting it. Although there are so many blog posts showing reviews on this product, I had to try it for myself. I absolutely love them! I bought the colour '090 sweet tart' which is a bright pink colour and is very pigmented. Not only is the colour amazing but it just goes on so smooth and bright even with just one layer.



I have tried all of the colours and swatched them in stores and all of them have the same result. Amazing! I would recommend it to everyone.. It is especially good for people who love to try different colours but hate the dryness of other lipsticks.

The picture below is a swatch of the '090 sweet tart' revlon lip butter (on the bottom) and a matte revlon lipstick in '011 stormy pink' (the top one). This clearly shows the great pigmentation of the lip butters. The finish for the lip butter is glossy and just slides on without being sticky.



Anyways to sum up... I love them! The only issue I can think of is the price. In Australia it costs $21.50 for one lip butter but in other countries such as America it is only half that price! I was so sad to see how expensive it was. Butttttttt for anyone in Australia wanting lip butters, I would suggest to eBay it. It works out so much cheaper!

Jess :)