Some High End Haulin' | Autumn 2014

Finally!! I have some time to sit down and type up a post! So much work has really pushed the blogging out the door. Just a quick recap on my past week: went to a wedding expo last Sunday in sunny Wollongong, went into school early on Wednesday to supervise dance rehearsals, crazily rehearsed myself for an upcoming dance eisteddfod, picked up my wedding dress on Thursday (weeeeeeee!!!!), visited my parents twice, decided to put together some dance ensembles for the school performance night which is in 3 weeks (!!!) and worked 6 out of the 7 days. My brain has not stopped zipping thoughts and ideas around. Of course, I am silly enough to taken all this onboard. Anyways, when crazy times are ahead, a little bit of shopping can relax oneself. I have some goodies I bought from Illamasqua, Estee Lauder and Napoleon over the last two months. A long and wordy post ahead!

I'm trying out my new camera for the first time too. Sorry for any weirdness in the photos =P

In the last school holidays, I ventured into the city to buy my wedding shoes (post here). I was such a high that I went into Myer and asked for a few samples from Mecca Cosmetica and other stalls. When I went to the Illamasqua counter for a foundation sample, the lady asked if I would like to try the foundation on my face. Why not? I had a young guy apply the makeup after the lady cleansed my skin. He sounded very knowledgeable about all the products he was using and was so funny to listen to. I told them that I would have lunch and come back if I liked how the makeup looked on me. After checking myself in a number of mirrors around the place, I bit the bullet and shelled out some cash for my second high end makeup I would own (the first being a Laura Mercier foundation - I need to whip that out again). 

I originally wanted to just buy the Skin Base Foundation in SB 08 but the staff were so nice, they convinced me to get the Satin Primer and the Loose Powder in LP010. Great salespeople! Hahaha. Anyways, I still haven't tried the foundation yet as I'm going through my samples that I picked up as well. I have tried the other two and I really enjoy them! The primer makes everything glide on smoothly, however it doesn't control oil on my nose and the middle of the forehead. Not that it says it does though. On the packaging, it says to create "a glowing, dewy finish" so there you go. I use the loose powder mainly to set my undereye area and down the centre of my face. It's a very finely milled white powder that is translucent on the skin. I asked the staff about how it fares in flash photography and they said it's fine as their products are made for professional photography. I did test that out and it seems to stay invisible when the flash is on. The oil control of the powder is good as I still get shiny by lunchtime.

For some strange reason I wanted to by more expensive makeup... When Rose's post (here) came up on her blog, The Beauty of Red Roses, on the gift with purchase for Estee Lauder, I was immediately transfixed on the deal. The deal was with every purchase of $70 or more on the brand, you would receive an 8 piece gift set. I wanted to buy the cult fave - Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup in 2C3 Fresco 01, after trialling a sample of it a few weeks earlier. When I first tried it, I actually didn't like how it finished on my skin. I don't remember what I did to make that happen but I was put off. Then I tried it with different primers including the Illamasqua Skin Base and then it goes on wonderfully! The foundation was $50 so I needed to spend a bit more to qualify for the gift. After trolling (probably not the best word) through all their products and I ended up choosing the Double Wear Stay-in-Place Lip Pencil in Clear. I haven't used it yet as I was waiting to take the photos but it looks cool.

Now on to the gifts which are all deluxe sample sizes:

• Pure Color Nail Lacquer in Black Plum - this will be perfect for winter
• DayWear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Creme - smells fresh
• Advanced Night Repair - The tiniest bottle I've ever seen!
• Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascara in Extreme Black - not sure about the lash multiplication but it make them look fuller and longer. Biggest brush in such a little tube!
• Pure Color Intense Kajal Eyeliner in Blackened Cocoa - so cute looking!
• Pure Color Long Lasting Lipstick in Rose Tea - a creme finish dark rosy natural shade. Looks like a full sized lipstick!
• Pure Color Eyeshadows in Ivory Slipper (satin), Lilac Whimsy (satin), Sepia Sand (satin) and Smokey Ember (shimmer) - another super cute sized product
• A rigid plastic cosmetic bag 

And my final haul - Napoleon! As you may know, one of the pharmacies I work at sells Napoleon makeup and I was able to attend one of their VIP event nights (post here). The cost of the event night was $70 and I got to redeem that back on products. I finally made up my mind on what to get as I knew I didn't need any more foundations. I'm annoyingly inbetween two shades in both the Advanced Mineral Makeup and the Sheer Genius Liquid Cashmere Foundation otherwise I would have bought them. Because I work there, I would like to 'disclaim' that I also got the products with a discount, likewise with the other pharmacies I work at. Done.

All the products I bought were used on my face during the event night demonstration except for the last one. The first product I needed to get was the Marshmellow Foam. Ohmegeee! This stuff smells amaze! It leaves the skin feeling smooth and fresh, however, it does it a few cotton pads to cleanse the face of makeup. I also use a separate eye makeup remover prior to this. I also wanted to try the Auto Pilot Napoleon Complex Skin Renewal System. I don't have that many concealers and not one of this tone so I added the Mighty Concealer Pen in Pink Beige. And a good perk about knowing people that know other people, I was lucky enough to receive the tester of the Auto Pilot Pore Minimizer and Mattifier in the old packaging. This one does help control the oils down the centre of my face! Love this stuff! Finally, to add to my increasing nude eyeshadow collection, I got The Ultimate Nude Palette which contains 8 eyeshadows and 4 highlighting and contouring shades that are all matte (I think). I hope to use this a lot with the Naked 1 and 2 palettes as blending shades.

Looking back at all these products has made me think that I need to slow down with the expensive buying hahaha!!! Don't we all say that?!?! Now I'm looking forward to playing with these products!

Are you excited about any of these?

xxx Kat