I love you, NARS Carpates

As dark as night in the liquid liner world.

Carpates refuses to surrender, fights to define and gives me the perfect cat eye right meow.

Carpates

As much as I love and have enjoyed the subtlety of Koala, sometimes I need to take my eyes to new heights with the most perfect shade of black.

Swatch of Carpates

Wearing Carpates over By Terry's Opaline Flash

Which eyeliner do you continue to reach for repeatedly?

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for NARS Eyeliner Stylo in Carpates:

• $44.00 AUS  / $27.00 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 10 out of 10 bags — a perfect line every time. 

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• I played with Cambodia and I think it could change my opinion about NARS' eyeshadow formula.

The BECCA Experience: Special Occasion Makeup

Becca @ David Jones in the heart of Melbourne's CBD

Becca and I don't go back that far, so when I was asked if I would like to pop in to my local Becca counter for a proper getting to know you, I jumped at the chance.

Last Saturday Kristi of Becca educated me about the brand's history -- Becca was started 10 years ago in Perth by Rebecca Morrice, whose mainstay focus has always been on beautiful skin. Everything else is a thoughtful, yet secondary, addition.

In 45 blissful minutes I was naturally elevated from no makeup Nicole to a better version of me.

Here's a picture heavy walk down memory lane.

Before

Need a brush?

The One Perfecting Brush (foreground)

Kristi (left) and me

Discussing Becca's Compact Concealer, complete with two types of coverage (medium and extra) for those days when you need a little less or more.

Blend, blend, blend.

Which Shimmering Skin Perfector did I pick: Opal, Moonstone or White Pearl?

Using Moonstone (Pale Gold) as a highlighter

Contouring my cheekbones 

Brow action

Lips like sugar.. That's Becca's Beach Tint in Watermelon for lips and cheeks.

Checking out Kristi's handiwork

According to Kristi this particular mirror has the best light.

The goods! There's an in-depth rundown below...

The final look

Here's a list of everything Kristi used in the look above:

Skin - 

• Resurfacing Primer Perfector to help minimise the presence of my mid-day shine
• Compact Concealer for my dastardly under eye circles
• Mineral Powder Foundation - I prefer light to medium coverage
• Shimmering Skin Perfector (a best seller) in Moonstone, which can be used alone, atop your foundation or mixed in for a bit of radiance and luminosity
• Bronzing Skin Perfector to contour

Eyes - 

• Eye Priming Perfector - I have oily lids, folks
• Ultimate Creme Liner in Renaissance (Matte Brown)
• Ultimate Mascara in Black - it's their only colour and it's also a tubing formula
• Ultimate Eye Colour Quad in Sun Chaser
• Eye Tint in Vicuna, which was used as a highlighter along my brow bone 
• Brow Powder in Ash (not shown) - I think this product is getting discontinued 

Lips & Cheeks - 

• Beach Tint in Watermelon
• Mineral Blush in Damselfly (think NARS Orgasm)

Miscellaneous - 

• The One Perfecting Brush - my personal favourite and talk about soft!!

And how did the makeup perform? In a word, great! Everything lasted, never budged and looked just as fresh as when it was first applied. 

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for BECCA's Special Occasion Makeup Service:

• $75.00 AUS redeemable booking fee

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 9 out of 10 bags — I loved learning about and experiencing Becca's makeup range.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Before leaving, I bought myself The One Perfecting Brush, Beach Tint in Watermelon and Mineral Blush in Damselfly.

A special thank you goes to Kristi for all her tips, tricks and time, as well as my husband, Scott, for taking pictures of silly ol' me.

*PR sample (Special Occasion Makeup session) provided –  Thoughts and ramblings written here are completely my own.

Not my scene: Her Fashion Box

At first I thought the contents inside were having a bit of an identity crisis, but when I did some reading about the concept/inspiration behind Her Fashion Box I now understand what the creators, Kath and Kerry, are going for.

I, however, am still not sold.

Her Fashion Box - September edition

While I can (and sometimes do) appreciate snippets of fast fashion crammed into a petite box, I wish the execution was a bit more focused. Well known brands, namely Maybelline, Redken and Batiste might back this particular flashy September bundle -- however, the wonky clutch, chunky chain bracelet and adjustable ring leaves a lot to be desired.

From afar the accessories appear to be on trend, but on closer inspection things are far from good.

For Australian standards, subscribers are getting a good value for money. But, I'd rather spend the same amount of coin at Lovisa, Colette or Claire's (for the ladies in the States) on accessories to my liking.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Her Fashion Box:

• $39.00 AUS per month

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 2 out of 10 bags — Her Fashion Box is not everything to me. Pass.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Nope. Thanks for sharing.

*PR sample provided –  Thoughts and ramblings written here are completely my own

Have you met Shanghai Suzy?

On trend, yummy and cheap, cheap, cheap!

I've been known to talk about makeup from time to time, but when my friend Daniela mentioned Shanghai Suzy I knew I had to do a quick google to find out more!

Shanghai Suzy launched back in August by Melbourne-based Joanna Wheaton. She knows a thing or two about makeup as she was a cosmetics marketing maven turned model (and you think Blake Lively is beautiful). Joanna had her heart set on arming Aussie lipstick lovers with wallet-friendly hues.

Talk about a dream realised.

Can you hear the choir sing?

Shanghai Suzy's debut lipstick collection features eight eye-catching shades in two distinct formulas -- matte, creamy/buttery soft and nourish, moisturising with a touch of slickness. On Sunday I ordered five* of the eight colours currently on offer for S/S 13-14 and by Tuesday afternoon they were in my hot little hands.

Nourish from left to right: Miss Brooklyn (Rose), Miss Georgina (Pink Plum) and Miss Hannah (Blood Red)

Matte from left to right: Miss Sanja (Fuchsia), Miss Sally (Watermelon) and Miss Claire (Fire Engine Red)

Swatches from left to Right: Miss Hannah, Miss Georgina, Miss Brooklyn, Miss Claire, Miss Sally and Miss Sanja

Aside from being affordable, Shanghai Suzy smells good too. On my nose (you know, being a gum connoisseur and all) I get Grape Bubble Yum/Kool-Aid, but I read Grape Hubba Bubba served as Joanna's muse.

So far I've only put Miss Brooklyn* through rigorous testing, thankfully she yielded a great performance. On average Miss Brooklyn stuck around for approximately four hours and in that time she moisturised my lips with jojoba seed oil. My usual multiple helpings of Chapstick were minimised after introducing my lips to Miss Brooklyn.

The packaging is by no means flashy, but I definitely appreciate its functionality. The cover firmly clicks back in place, leaving the bottom half of the tube locked and secured. I have no qualms about tossing a tube in my purse, in fact I already have :)

Be sure to check in soon, because I'll be wearing these shades in all sorts of looks to come!

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Shanghai Suzy Lipstick:

• $12.95 AUS and you get free shipping in Australia when you purchase two or more.

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 10 out of 10 bags — move over, NARS and MAC!

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Miss Emma (taupe) and Miss Jade (orange) may've not made the cut, but I can always place another order!!

<3 Shanghai Suzy's doesn't test on animals and contain no animal-derived ingredients <3

*Miss Brooklyn was a gift from Joanna (thank you, thank you) and the rest were purchased by me.