"Grey Matter" Makeup Look | Blog Collaboration

This is my first blog collaboration post and the idea came about from my blogger friend Hana where we've both come up with our own makeup looks. I needed some ideas for a name and she helped me name this one 'Grey Matter'. Here's the look that I've created:

Excuse the hair frizz

The inspiration for my look came from one of Hana's shawls. The initial idea was the incorporate similar-coloured shawls into our looks by wearing it but seeing as I own none, I instead decided to create a look to complement the colours and patterns on her shawl, as though I were wearing it.

Seeing as there were many colours and patterns going on with the shawl with contrasts of dark and light, I decided to keep my look fairly neutral with a slight pop of colour to my eyes. With the crimson and berry tones in the shawl, I chose a berry-shaded lipstick to pair the look as well as blending in a berry eyeshadow colour.

I'm getting better at filing in my brows - practice makes perfect!

The look reminds me a lot of the ELES Berry Crush look that I did last year except I've used grey/taupe shades and a hint of blue. I swept the same berry-toned blush over my cheeks and contoured with my Benefit HOOLA Bronzer. Below are the products that I used:

FACE

Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin Foundation in 030 Sand (Reviewed HERE)

Benefit HOOLA Bronzer (Featured HERE)

ELES Mineral Blush in Mixed Berries (Featured HERE)

EYES

Australis Eyeshadow Primer

Models Prefer Day to Night SHADOWS Palette (Reviewed HERE)

SAVVY Liquid Eyeliner in Navy Blue

The Face Shop Lovely Me:Ex Make Me Star Waterproof Gel Liner in Indigo Blue (Featured HERE)

Dolly Wink Eyelash Glue (Featured HERE) 

Benefit Gimme Brow in Medium/Dark (Featured HERE)

Red Earth Brow Kit (Featured HERE)

DAISO False Lashes

L'Oreal Miss Manga Mega Volume Mascara (Let me know if you'd like a review!)

LIPS

Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick in 31

TOOLS

Shiseido Eyelash Curler (Featured HERE)

L-R: Sigma Brushes x3, Manicare Brush, EcoTools Brush, Bella Brush, Real Techniques Brush x2, Bella Brush

I used three shades from the Day to Night SHADOWS palette (which looks strikingly similar to Urban Decay's Naked 1 palette but we've already established this long ago). Apologies for all of the noise in the photo, photography and photo editing are still not my strengths. Anyway, I've indicated with arrows which colours I used. I started off with 'Hot Date' (third arrow) as my base taupe colour, then used the crimson shade 'Overachiever' (middle arrow) on the centre of my eyelids to make my eyes pop. For the outer corners of my eyelid, I used 'Co-worker' (first arrow) and blended this into my eyelid's crease. I blended the colours in to create a subtle smokey look.

I really wanted to add a touch of blue to the look so I decided that the best way to do this without blending it in with the rest of my eyeshadow was to use it as a lower lash line colour. I used the shade circled on my 88 Shimmer Palette above and ta-da, I was happy with the colour combinations.

Used a blue liquid eyeliner for my upper lash line and added mascara and falsies - look complete!

I got a bit of an 80s-90s vibe from the shawl as it looked a little retro so I found that my colour combinations matched well with the retro-ness of the accessory. Using blue eyeshadow and eyeliner already brings back memories from the past!

Definitely suitable for daytime wear!

Now in comparison to Hana's look, this is completely different! I think it's awesome how we went about this differently and created looks that aren't like each other's. That is simply the joy of applying makeup and playing around with it - we each have our own interpretations and that shows how individual and unique we really are when it comes to all sorts of things, including being creative. Take a look at how amazing her makeup look is:

So on point and stunning!

Seeing Hana's look after doing mine makes me think 'wow, I should've done that' haha but nonetheless I had fun with what I did and keep it fairly winter-themed and subtle. Hana's the pro here, the makeup artist so big claps for her gorgeous look! I think my next makeup look should be a vibrant one though, what do you reckon?

Anyway, now that you've had a preview of Hana's look, I definitely suggest that you go and check it out and leave some love on her blog as well!

Questjen to you:

How do you like your eye makeup - vibrant or subtle?

Both is great depending on the occasion however I never wear a lot of makeup so subtle is the way to go for me!

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Lippie Love: Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick

If you follow me on Twitter, you might already know that I've been quite obsessed with buying new lipsticks, both low-end and high-end. Today I thought I'd show some lippie love and share my recent lipstick purchases from Priceline when they had their 40% off all cosmetics promotion. I decided to pick up two Rimmel lipsticks from the Kate Moss range. I love the sleek matte black casing on the lipsticks as well as the 'Kate' signature with the heart as it reminds me of MAC limited edition lipsticks. Rimmel's crown logo is imprinted at the top of the lid to add some extra classiness.

Apologies for the graininess/noisiness of the picture!

I remember the first lipstick I ever purchased being a Rimmel one so the scent of their lipsticks always bring back memories. These retail for $11.95 each so by grabbing two when they were 40% off, I only spent $14.34! I decided on a pink shade and a red/coral shade as from memory these were the shades missing from my collection. 

Rimmel lipsticks' quality has been compared to MAC's cremesheen lipsticks which are pigmented and glide on smoothly across the lips. I definitely can see how they can be compared as the Rimmel ones do have that creamy texture but MAC creamsheen lipsticks are more creamy and more long-lasting. I also find that MAC lipsticks have a slightly better colour payoff as well.

Let's have a look at the shade #16 first:

From the sticker and the swatch, it looked like perfect light coral pink to add to my collection so I was really excited to finally have a nice coral shade. This one smelt different to the typical Rimmel lipsticks as it had a more citrus-like scent. In fact I found this scent to be a little more pleasant than the standard bubblegum-like Rimmel lipstick scent.

I have to be honest here, I was completely disappointed with the way it looked on my lips :( This was not the shade that I was after so I feel really misled from the sticker at the bottom of the tube and the swatch at the back of my hand! Also I don't think I can pull off a pink like this that has a blue/cool undertone when my skin has warm undertones. I'll probably be mixing this with other lipstick colours if I ever plan to wear it out. Such a shame! I find colours like these make me look a bit off and accentuates any cracks/flakiness.

Now this is the perfect coral red shade and it was love at first swatch! A lovely colour for people who have warm skin tones like myself and still want to be able to pull off a red lippie. The great thing is that this shade is also suitable for people with cool skin tones.

This is definitely my favourite out of the two, not only because of its shade but also because it matches the sticker and swatch perfectly! Such a gorgeous colour for everyday wear. It applied on very smoothly and gave a nice glossy finish that felt comfortable and moisturising and didn't dry out my lips at all. It faded evenly on my lips after a good 5 or so hours of wear without needing any touch-ups.

Generally I do prefer more high-end lipsticks that have better lasting power however these Rimmel lipsticks are great for experimenting with new shades without having to fork out so much. I do think that these last longer than a number of low-end/drugstore lipsticks as I could still see the colour after eating and patting my lips with a tissue. I do think that they give a lasting finish like the name says so these lipsticks get my tick of approval. However it would be nice if all of the Rimmel lipsticks had names just to make it easier to refer to, as numbers can be difficult to remember.


Questjen for you:

Pink or red lipsticks?

While considering both ends of the spectrum of pink and red shades, I think I suit reds more than pinks and I find red a little more easy to wear - plus who doesn't love a classy red lip?! Love both though!

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Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, nor am I affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in this post. Products were purchased with my own money. All opinions are stated by me and are 100% honest and free from bias. See more at http://www.questjen.com/p/disclaimer.html for full disclaimer.

10 Beauty Products I Can and Cannot Finish

With brighter days now that it's spring time over here, I feel more motivated to clean out my drawers and tidy up my room to help liven up the atmosphere while the sun shines through. It's no wonder they call it 'spring clean'! Cleaning my drawers allowed me to find all sorts of items that I had forgotten about and also made me realise how often I use the makeup and skincare products that I have. In these past couple of months I was able to finish a number of products and I had thought about writing another 'empties' post but why do that when I can do something a little different... talk about the products that I know I can finish and those that I just cannot!   Let's start with the 10 items that I can finish, and here's proof:  

Not all 10 items shown, only my recent empties - more can be seen in my previous empties post

1. Liquid eyeliner Easy peasy Japanese-y! Liquid eyeliners are my one true love. I tend to feel incomplete without that single line above my top lashes - the one thing that I think makes the most difference compared to not wearing any makeup. Happy to go without the rest but liquid eyeliner, I need youuuuu, and lots of you. I finish these off really quickly, not only because I use them almost daily but because the pen ones only have around 6 mL.   2. Eye makeup removers and wipes Without these in my life, would I even bother applying makeup? Using regular face cleansers aren't enough when it comes to removing waterproof eye makeup for instance. I need the good stuff that gently and effectively removes all traces of makeup. I've gone through bottles and packets of these and I'm always keen to stock up whenever there are sales. Besides using facial wipes to remove my face makeup, I use them to spot-clean my brushes too.   3. Cotton pads, tips To assist with the removal of makeup, of course. They're also great for fixing up any mistakes :)   4. Lip balms I apply lip balm at least 3-4 times a day, and times that the amount of days in a year... yep that's how much I use lip balm - basically, a lot. It's as though my lips depend on it because a day without lip balm = chaos. I get dry, cracked, flaky lips, a nightmare for some. I don't have a favourite brand but I generally stock up on Maybelline Baby Lips and Nivea ones.   5. Body lotion, hand cream For someone who has dry skin, moisturising creams are a godsend. Need I say more? I feel so uneasy when my hands, elbows, knees feel drier than a desert. I guess everyone would but even that feeling I get after drying my hands from washing them makes me feel uncomfortable unless I apply hand cream straight away. Weird, right?   6. Foundation and BB Cream Medium-coverage ones especially! A big confidence booster when my blemishes are covered to a point where it doesn't look too obvious or caked-on. I've gone through a couple in my lifetime and the ones I have now are starting to finish up too.   7. Concealer These typically come in small tubes and when there are plenty of blemishes to cover, it's all gone before I know it.   8. Face and body wash The only way to really remove dirt within the skin and exfoliate is to use face and body wash. When they're used daily, I can't see how they CAN'T be finished.   9. Shampoo and Conditioner Reasons why I can finish these products: Water on its own won't cut it, the greasiness will still prevail. Conditioner keeps my hair in top condition :D   10. Perfume and deodorant I'm aware that it can be quite rare for people to finish a bottle of perfume but trust me, it's possible. As seen in my empties post, I finished a 50mL bottle of perfume and I have gone through many aerosol cans of deodorant. Not because I stink (or maybe I do *sniffs*), it's because I was once obsessed with spraying on lots of deodorant as a teenager. It made me feel cool and grown-up, okay.     Now moving onto the ones that I cannot, let me show you my current collection of each:  

1. Lipstick/gloss/pencil  

  Impossible to finish any of these no matter how hard I try. Actually to be honest, I've hardly tried. I'm reaching for lip balms these days, tinted lip balms to be more precise. My mum on the other hand doesn't use lip balm as she never has dry lips! Hence she's able to go through many tubes of lipstick. There was a phase where I was really into using lipglosses and then that died out. Everything else I just use occasionally since none of the above help with my dry lips :( I don't think I have that many lip products but it's not like my collection is getting any smaller (and I kinda want it to so I can feel less guilty about buying more).     2. Blush  

  I've never hit pan on any of them let alone finish any! Plus I rarely use blush due to my naturally flushed cheeks. Only on special occasions and photos for my blog. Whenever I do though, I only sweep a tiny bit. The blushes themselves are pretty to look at and have photogenic packaging (that Physicians Formula heart one in particular!) and as a result of my lack of use, they ain't going anywhere. Looks like they're stuck in my drawers unless I decide to give them away or something.     3. Pressed or translucent powder and bronzer  

  I know many girls out there rely on face powders to set their makeup however I'm the complete opposite. With dry skin that's prone to flaking, I don't feel the need for powder, in fact I find that powder tends to enhance my dry areas and so I'd rather use a setting spray or blotting sheets when my face needs mattifying. For contouring I use the bronzers and contour palette and just like blushes, I sweep a very small amount. My bad for not showing a picture of them all opened - I swear they'd all look pretty close to brand new. Best example is that Rimmel Bronzer with a clear lid that still has the star pattern on the pan.     4. Pencil eyeliner and brow pencil/products  

  Close to impossible for me to finish these, I can use the same ones for decades. Sharpening them decreases their size a little but no matter how much I use them, I can't seem to make them decrease to a size that deems them unusable or 'finished'. Same thing goes to my colouring pencils that I used as a child, which I still have by the way.     5. Nail polish  

  They dry up on me before I get the chance to finish the whole bottle. And besides, the brush applicator doesn't even reach the bottom for you to finish entirely. I can chuck out old ones and replace them with new ones but to be completely done with a bottle of nail polish? Uh...     6. Eyeshadow  

  Ah eyeshadow, another photogenic beauty product that I seldom use. I'm always so tempted to buy new ones for their pretty packaging/colours whenever I go shopping and then when I think about my collection, temptation is no where to be found. I haven't hit pan on any eyeshadows and I haven't finished any single one let alone a duo, a quad or a palette. Don't even get me started on my 88 shadow palette that I've had for years... which almost looks brand new.    Just this week I bought more eyeshadow palettes... what. What happened to no temptation, Jen?

... Yeah about that... review to come!

  7. Hair spritz and serums

 

  You can only spray so much out of a x mL bottle. For me, getting through one bottle takes forever, same with serums where you only need a couple of pumps of product. It's unfortunate that I get lazy using these sometimes :/     8. Primers for face, eyeshadow and lashes  

  Don't know why these are never-ending for me when I use them ALL THE TIME! I've had a backup eyeshadow primer for a few years now... and I'm no where near the end of my current one. I forgot to include my lip primer in the above photo, whoops.     9. Mascara  

  I have never finished a whole tube of mascara. Yes, the formula goes funky or dried up but there's still product on the wand which can be used, thus doesn't technically count as being finished... you know what I mean?     10. Many packet items i.e. samples and face masks  

These are just my samples. I have about the same amount of face masks

  Samples and face masks themselves are easy to finish but I can't finish many samples and face masks, like when I have an overload of them! Sometimes I'm too scared to use samples for my face 'cause there's no expiry/manufacture date on them which isn't helpful for knowing how old or new they are! I have really sensitive skin too and to me it's not worth taking the risk. Same with using face masks where I could get an allergic reaction from them anytime. The only difference here is that they have a manufacture and expiry date which I tend to forget about anyway. There are times where I feel like putting on a sheet mask so I go to look for them in my drawers, then I see that many of them have already past their expiry date! It feels like such a waste when I have to chuck them out :(   So, now that you've seen what I can and cannot finish, I'd like to ask you a questjen or two:

Which beauty products can you finish? 

Which can't you finish?

I wonder if there's anything similar or different~

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Disclaimer: Most products were purchased with my own money, some were provided or gifted. This is not a sponsored post, nor am I affiliated with any of the companies in this post.

University Graduation Day

2014 is proving to be one of the most exciting years of my life. This year I turned 21, got my first car and now I've become a university graduate. On Wednesday the 17th of September, I attended my graduation ceremony and received my parchment in front of fellow graduates, members of the university and guests including my proud parents and beloved boyfriend. I'm very thankful towards those who were able to be there for me on my special day, waiting outside the hall bringing gorgeous flowers and gifts. It was an incredible experience and the memories will stay with me for life.

This doesn't mean the end of my studies though, as I'm currently enrolled in a double/concurrent degree however it does mean the completion of one degree that I had worked hard on for the last 3 years. An accomplishment and achievement which makes it all worth it in the end and you tend to only realise this once you reach that finish line. I know I complain about uni taking up a lot of my time and I still will complain when things get tough because no journey is ever a smooth-sailing journey - it can't be helped. I had my good days and my bad days, good grades and bad grades but with the support from my family, friends, uni lecturers and tutors, I was able to pull through and succeed. If I continue to have this support network and motivation to push on, I will hopefully be completing my second degree and going through this wonderful graduation experience again. I'll find this out in about a year's time!

As a 'beauty, fashion and lifestyle' blogger, I'll be incorporating all of those elements into this blog post, starting with my makeup for the day, outfit of the day and a brief recount of the event :)

FACE

Face of Australia Face Base Primer

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation in 200 Soft Beige

Benefit Fake Up Concealer in 02 Medium

Physicians Formula Happy Booster Glow and Mood Boosting Blush in Natural

Tony Moly Crystal Light in 02 Gold Beam

Australis Make-Up Finishing Spritz

EYES

The Face Shop Lovely me:ex Design My Eyebrow #04 Brown

Australis Eyeshadow Primer

NP Set Smoke Signals 12-color eye shadow palette (thanks Mandy)

Dolly Wink Eyelash Fix

Luminous Change Eyelash eX #12

Sailor Moon Miracle Star Power Prism Liquidliner Black

Australis Eye Pencil in Blackest Black

Benefit They're Real! Mascara

LIPS

Benefit Benetint

Max Factor Colour Elixir Lipstick in 720 Scarlet Ghost

Rimmel Lipstick Lock

NAILS

OPI Euro Minis Centrale Collection - Suzi's Hungary AGAIN and You're Such a Budapest (thanks Melody)

BODY
Lancome Miracle Eau De Parfum (my favourite)

Cetaphil Moisturising Cream (not pictured)

HAIR (none pictured)
Straightened using ghd Scarlet
Various hair products used - see this post
Dyed using x2 L'Oreal Paris Excellence Cream in 8.1 Ash Blonde

I made sure that I wore the longest-lasting products that I had on the day so that everything could stay in place for the whole day, especially for my lips. I always find that many of my lip products aren't very long-lasting (which was why I asked my Twitter followers if anyone could suggest a long-lasting lipstick) and for this reason, I was thinking of purchasing a high-end lip product but decided against it in the end. One day I will spoil myself with a luxe-branded lipstick like Tom Ford - for now I'll stick to what I have and what I can easily afford *crying emoji*

For my lips I lightly applied Benefit's Benetint to give my lips some initial lasting colour and added Max Factor's Colour Elixir Lipstick on top, topping it off with Rimmel's Lipstick Lock which supposedly seals the lip colour. I think this made a very good combination as I didn't need to re-apply any lip products for the entire day! Not bad, hey?

The Max Factor Lipstick reminds of a high-end one with its gold packaging. The formula is great too!

(Also unintentionally promoting the important use of seatbelts with my car selfie~ RIP EunB and RiSe)

I also made sure that my foundation stayed in place as I knew that I was going to be taking lots of pictures and needed to look as flawless as possible. For a lasting finish, a face primer is essential and I used Face of Australia's which has Vitamin E and chamomile, ingredients to help smooth and soothe the skin. The foundation I went with was Rimmel's lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation to give me light to medium coverage and a dewy finish. Trust me, I don't take the wording of products too seriously, especially when they state the number of hours that they claim to last. Anyway, I wanted my face to look alive and awake and since I have dry skin, I wanted to minimise the possibility of flakiness occurring so instead of topping it off with powder which accentuates my dryness, I spritzed some setting spray by Australis to keep it all in place and make me feel refreshed!

Since I opted for bold lips, I went with neutral eyes using the 6 shades on the right of the NP palette, a simple winged eyeliner and my most natural-looking falsies. I filled in my brows very lightly so that my brow game wasn't too strong (haha) and applied waterproof mascara being my favourite, Benefit's They're Real on my top and bottom lashes. I highlighted and contoured the high points of my face and applied a hint of blush to my cheeks.

Products from my recent Sasa haul that I used on the day

• Dolly Wink Eyelash Fix: holy grail eyelash glue, forever repurchasing.
• Sailor Moon Eyeliner: wooooo the packaging is awesome and so is the quality, really.
• Luminous Change Lashes: first time hearing about this brand, quality is just like Dolly Wink's with the clear bands and it's a fraction of its price with an extra pair of lashes - why not!

For my nails I used the front two shades from the OPI Euro Centrale Collection and this set was gifted to me by the lovely Melody on my 21st birthday. Thanks girl, it's definitely come in handy!

Outfit of the Day - Graduation and Academic Attire

Professional photo where they made me pose like this lol

Dress: Forever New

Shoes: New Look

Bracelet: Michael Kors

Earrings: Pandora

Pouch and Bag: Mimco and DKNY

I decided to wear a floral dress to stand out from the black gown and since it's now spring, floral is even more appropriate :) I love that my faculty's hood is a pretty pink because it's my favourite colour, yay. The gown and the hood were hired except for the mortarboard (the hat) which is good so that I can keep it as a souvenir from graduating!

As my graduation was in the morning at 11am, I had to get up early and prepare to be at the hall by 9. If I had more time to prepare without having to rush and be sure to beat the morning traffic, I probably would have curled my hair and add a few finishing touches to my look. I guess I could have woken up even earlier but sleep is even more important to me. I felt so drained by the end of the day and mind you, I did get enough sleep!

My view of the stage from the third row

It was a very exciting process. I thought that we were all going to rehearse the 'walking up on stage' part during the pre-briefing session at 9 but we didn't! So when the time came, we were quietly told of what to do and that was it and in an hour the ceremony came to an end. My uni actually filmed the whole thing and uploaded it on YouTube and you can see me walking up on stage at the 38:00 mark :D Thank goodness I didn't trip over and neither did anyone else despite my high heels, I was super nervous.

I didn't want to make a big deal out of this event so I only notified a few of my close friends who gladly came along and took photos with me. I felt quite spoilt and happy to share this joyous moment with some of the most important people in my life. Thanks to everyone who congratulated me ♥

To celebrate we headed out for a late-ish Yum Cha and I was so full and tired afterwards that I just wanted to crawl into my bed. I couldn't imagine having more to do in the evening, which is likely to happen for my own wedding one day with the ceremony followed by a reception. How do people do it, I have no clue!

Although it was a very happy occasion, I couldn't help but feel a little emotional on the inside. A chapter of my life had came to an end and I could feel myself getting teary in the hall, listening to the speeches about how far we've all come and our achievements, and wishing us the best for our future endeavours. I was also thinking about my parents who were there to witness their not-so-little girl anymore, their youngest child and only daughter all grown up and receiving her Bachelor's Degree. They've always wanted me to study hard and graduate from university (you know how typical Asian parents are) and just thinking about how they were feeling on the day made me want to cry tears of happiness. I always try my best to make my parents proud and I am really glad to say that there is finally something for my parents to be truly proud of.

I love you mum and dad!

You know what's so special about awards/certificates/diplomas/degrees etc? The fact that recipients have been recognised for their hard work and have respectfully earnt it and deserve it. Many things can easily be bought, lost, replaced but with any award or degree, it belongs to you and only you. Your name is written on there and no one can take it away from you, claiming that it belongs to them. No one can take away your wisdom and the skills that you've acquired. It's something that money can't buy.

My questjen to you:

 Have you had a graduation and/or are you yet to have one?

I've had a year 7 (primary to secondary school) and a year 12 (end of high school) graduation prior to this graduation but this is by far the biggest one of them all. Fingers crossed that I'll have another!

Good luck to those who are yet to graduate from their studies and to those who already have, big congratulations ^^

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Haul - Blog Sale Purchases

Hello! I'm so glad that Blogger is no longer down :) In the past couple of days there were errors and maintenance work happening so none of us could access it. Apparently some people have had their latest blog posts removed along with some comments but Blogger is going to try to get them all back, so fret not! It was nice talking to some of you on Twitter while Blogger had errors.

Time to do a massive photo-spam haul for you all, with the majority of my pictures taken from my new Samsung digital camera. I got a microSDHC card for it a few weeks ago, it's only 4gb which doesn't seem like much compared to my 64gb iPod lol. I can only record around 10 minutes worth of video footage on my camera :|

These items that I purchased were from MisoJenny's Japan Tsunami Donation Blog Sale where all of the proceeds went towards the Red Cross. You may remember me having my own blog sale like this but it was no where near as successful as Jenny's! With all the items that she had for sale as well as donated items from other bloggers/Youtubers including Fuzkittie, the amount raised was $804.44!

This was probably where my makeup-purchasing ban ended because I purchased quite a bit x) However I didn't feel guilty about splurging because they were bargains and I did my bit to donate to help Japan. It actually made me feel good :) Also, it allowed me to try new brands and products which you'll see soon.

So here is a picture of all the things I managed to get from the blog sale:

This post will only have swatches because it'll be too long if I review as well! I'm going to start from the top of the picture to the bottom.

  

My Beauty Diary Masks

5 Cooling Masks + 5 Mixed Berry Masks

= $9.78

Usually a box of 10 My Beauty Diary masks cost $10 plus and they're hardly ever mixed so I'm glad that I can try two different masks for the less than the price of one box. I haven't had the chance to try them yet but when I do, I may do a review on them!

NYX For Your Eyes Only - Mysterious Brown Eyes Palette

 

= $7

I think I purchased this by impulse because it wasn't something that I needed or had my eyes on but nonetheless, I'm happy with this palette. Here are some swatches:

First row

 Natural lighting + with flash

Second row

 Natural lighting + with flash

I love how they look so metallic and that they aren't heaps shimmery, just packed with lots of colour. There was a little bit of fallout when I swatched them but I blew them away. The eyeshadows had a very smooth texture which easily glided on my skin. I really like the neutral colours. I'm glad that I didn't previously own any neutral shades or palettes so this will come in handy :)

 NYX LIP PRODUCTS ♥

NYX Mega Shine Lip Glosses

= $9.99

  

How cute are those bows at the top?!

The 3D bows at the top of the lids make the product have more of an 'Asian' style to them. I guess it's because these glosses were made in Taiwan *_*

Swatches

 L-R: Natural, Beige and Smokey Look

With just one swipe, you can see that they are super pigmented :D I love all of the shades that I got, especially 'Natural' because well.. it looks so natural on my lips hehe. I don't have lip swatches at the moment but if I decide to review the NYX products then yes I will have lip swatches up. I must say that these lip glosses aren't sticky at all and they last quite long. I'm glad I snatched these up for less than $4 each.

NYX Lip Smacking Fun Colours

 = $9.60

Swatches

 L-R: Thalia, Indian Pink, Frappucino and Louisiana

These are my first NYX lipsticks and I'm so glad that I've had the chance to try them. I'm quite impressed with their formula - they have such a silky-smooth texture and nice pigmentation. It's great how they have the exact shades at the bottom of the lipsticks so you can tell exactly how it looks like and you can easily pick the lipsticks out from your collection without needing to look at the names.

Revlon Lipstick in 020 Baby Pink

= $4.50

It's great that the colour on the lid is the exact colour of the lipstick itself. Sometimes they can be a little misleading but this one isn't at all. It's quite sheer when swatch however, I like that about it because the colour is buildable. It reminds me of my Rimmel lipstick in 006 Pink Blush which supposedly is a dupe for MAC Viva Glam Gaga #1. $4.50 is really cheap for this lipstick - in Australia these lipsticks are $20+ dollars each!!

Jenny included some 'freebies'/gifts for me as a way of saying thanks for my contribution to the appeal. I was going to talk about these at the end but since they're lip products, I might as well continue talking about them and show some swatches:

Covergirl Natureluxe Gloss Balm in 210 Thistle Cardon

Stila Lip Rouge Liquid Lip Stain

I had never seen or heard about the Covergirl gloss balms until I saw them on Jenny's blog sale. They aren't sold in Australia (yet) but I think they should be because it's quite nice :) And this is my first Stila product, yay.

Swatches

L-R: Stila, Revlon and Covergirl

The Stila Lip Rouge is so much like a permanent marker o_o I swatched it and it was soooo hard to remove without makeup remover! It definitely has that stain-like effect, it's incredible. Unfortunately, I'm not fond of having red lips - especially stained ones :/ So I won't be using this Stila product. I was thinking of selling/giving away but since it was gifted so I should keep it. I'll be using it as a permanent marker haha. At least I'll be making use of it, right?

Now to the nail polishes :D These came in a separate package to the above items because it would have been way too heavy for one big package, plus the shipping would probably cost a bomb. In total, my items came in 3 separate packages. I'm glad Jenny did that because if the whole package of all the items got lost, that would be so bad!!

The Face Shop nail polish

 

= $1.99

You can get Face Shop products in Australia but I never have before. There's one store in my city and it's really quiet. In case you haven't heard of The Face Shop before, it's a brand from South Korea. I got this because it was only $1.99 and I don't have any gold nail polishes like this.

2 coats

It's a sheer nail polish so 2-3 coats is ideal. There were no streaks when I applied it and I was quite happy with the time it took for the coats to dry. For $2 it's okay, its RRP is $2.99 so that's reasonable. The leaf groove on the lid is really unique.

Essie nail polishes

= $4 each

I'm still so glad that Jenny had Essie nail polishes for sale because I've been wanting to try them! In Australia, they are around $18 each whereas I only paid $12 for 3 of them ^.^

Of course, it's silly to do skin swatches so I painted all of my nails on one hand to show you proper swatches:

 Eternal Optimist

(1 coat)

 Demure Vix

(2 coats)

 Turquoise & Caicos

(2 coats)

I had high expectations for these nail polishes because of their high cost in Australia, and you know what? They exceeded my expectations! I swatched the 'Eternal Optimist' nail polish first and I was AMAZED at how pigmented it was for just one coat. The others were more sheer so they needed another coat or two. Applying the nail polishes on was such a breeze as there was no streaky-ness. The staying power is fantastic, I was able to wear 'Eternal Optimist' for over a week without any chipping! I swear it could have lasted so much more than a week - I didn't get to test exactly how long it would last because I removed it to do more swatches. I want more Essie nail polishes for $4 each lol T_T

 Sephora by OPI nail polishes

 = $4 each

I was also happy to see some OPI nail polishes on the blog sale! I've heard so many good things about OPI and I had been wanting to try them out! These aren't the original OPI ones that are really common but the formula should be the same. Again, these nail polishes are majorly overpriced in Australia, retailing for around $20 each (correct me if I'm wrong). I can't bring myself to splurge on high-priced makeup yet.

 Havana Dreams

(2 coats)

 Under My Trench Coat

(2 Coats)

 Handpicked for Me

(2 coats)

So happy to have a pale blue and brown nail polish to add to my growing collection. They have a ball inside which is good for shaking the bottle. They're quite sheer for one coat except for 'Under My Trenchcoat' which I'd be fine to wear as one coat. When I think about their RRP Australian prices, it makes me expect more from these nail polishes. If I had purchased these here for ~$20 each, I wouldn't be overly impressed. Sure they'd last long without chipping but I didn't expect them to be sheer. However for $4 each nail polishes, they are impressive =]

That's it for my massive haul! I was going to do a video but it would have taken me forever and editing is such a pain *props to Youtubers*. Even this post took me hours to do, no joke!

Thank you Jenny for holding such an awesome blog sale for a worthy cause. The items for sale were amazing and the people who donated items were so generous. I'm really glad that I've had the chance to try some brands that I previously didn't own like Essie, OPI and Stila which cost heaps in Australia.

Blogging is really rewarding, not only for the friendships and being part of a community but also for the blog sales and giveaways ;)

Speaking of which...

There's only 1 week left to enter my May giveaway (ends 22nd May)! Which also means that there's 1 week left until I turn 18 ^_^

I hope you enjoyed reading about this haul. Should I haul more often? I will have reviews for some of these items such as the NYX lip products since that has been requested :) Feel free to leave your requests below.

QuestJen of the week is:

Have you or would you ever purchase from a blog sale?

This was actually my first time purchasing from a blog sale and I had wanted to purchase from other blog sales but the items were snatched up pretty fast. I find them interesting to browse through and it's hard for me to resist a bargain when I see one. With this specific blog sale, I wasn't feeling skeptical about it because I had already known of the seller, Jenny. She has a Youtube channel as well as a blog so she definitely isn't some random person who has decided to sell things online. When purchasing from a blog sale, you need to be aware that the items may not be in mint condition as they could have already been used etc. The prices are discounted from the RRP for a reason - you pay for what you get. You also need to make sure that they are legit and are not scamming you. I haven't come across anyone who has been scammed from a blog sale but it could happen to anyone who isn't being careful. If you ever feel unsure about a blog sale, ask other people about it just in case it turns out to be fake or misleading.

If you know anyone who is having a blog sale now, feel free to link them to me! I'd love to have a browse.

PS. The next time you hear from here me will probably be when I'm officially a year older. Ooh!