Review: Lush - Emotional Brilliance

Spin the Emotional Brilliance Color Wheel to get a personalized color reading – choose the three colors that stand out the most and they will uncover certain words that reveal a little bit about your current state of mind. Then wear the color to feel the word, you word-up!

Introducing a brand new concept matching psychological needs to which color cosmetics one should wear.

This range – consisting of lip colors, eyeliners and eyeshadows – is less about wearing make-up that’s in-season or on-trend and more about wearing colors that shape your mood. Emotional Brilliance is a way to wear color that’s designed for you. Choose colors, each with a corresponding word such as Confident, Take Control or Glamorous, and they will be significant to your needs at that time – wear those colors and you truly wear the word. It’s the power of suggestion – if one believes enough in something, there will likely be a change in behavior.

When I got invited to go into Lush Queen St to get an Emotional Brilliance reading done, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting myself into! I didn’t really know anything about Lush’s makeup range, so I was eager to find out more.

When I got there I was greeted by the lovely Kendra, and then our Emotional Brilliance adventure began!
First of all, I had to close my eyes and think of something that was happening in my life (I was thinking about work), then open my eyes and pick the first three colours on the Emotional Brilliance wheel that appealed to me. She then proceeded to tell me what those colours meant.

Left: My reading, Right: Camille's reading

1.      Your Strength or Weakness: In Charge – Take Control

Whoa! What a fabulous strength! So many things to be IN CHARGE of: your job; your situation; your bank account; your life. If you have felt you have been a little too free and easy lately and let others rule, then pack it in. Get back IN CHARGE or keep IN CHARGE, but whatever you do, take control!

Damn this is good. I’m quite often feeling like things are out of my control at work, which is hard for me because I like to feel like I’m in charge of every situation.

2.      Your Subconscious: Passionate – Feel Strongly

Uh oh! What is going on here then? Subconscious giving you a little reminder that you need to be souping up the PASSIONATE side of your nature? Are you without an aim at the moment and need to find something to feel strongly about? Do you need to be showing and feeling more Passion for something already in your life? To be PASSIONATE and feel strongly is energising. Buck yourself up you!

This one was even more surprising. Kendra made me realise that if I concentrate more on things I’m passionate about, like my blog, then the things bothering me (like feeling out of control at work) will fade into the background.

3.      Your Aspiration: Independent – Stand on your own two feet

Perfect! Feel INDEPENDENT and stand on your own two feet in a beautifully positive way. This is what will make all the difference to whatever is going on in your life right now.

This is honestly so true! The whole experience made me feel more at ease with things and I actually felt like I understood myself a little bit better. Thank you Kendra!

The lovely girls at Lush gave me three Emotional Brilliance products to try: Believe, Vibrance and Ambition.

Without flash: Believe, Vibrance, Ambition

With flash: Believe, Vibrance, Ambition

Believe

Vibrance

Ambition

For review purposes, I applied them with the little applicators they came with so please excuse the wobbly lipline! Hahaha!
Believe is definitely my favourite out of the three, and Vibrance is the one I find hardest to wear on it’s own but actually looks gorgeous when mixed with other lip colours. I also love just dabbing them on and wearing them as more of a stain rather than a full on bright lip.

Overall I think the whole concept behind the Emotional Brilliance range is awesome and a lot of fun! It also helps that the products themselves are actually gorgeous and very well pigmented. Head along to Lush Queen St or go online and check it out for yourself!

Thanks for viewing!
oxo

Review: Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Day Cream

Total Effects Daily Moisturiser provides the total anti aging power of hydration fused with vitamins and antioxidants for visibly younger-looking skin.

Total Effects fights 7 signs of aging by:
• Minimising the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• Moisturising to soothe and nourish dry skin
• Balancing color and tone while reducing the appearance of age spots
• Smoothing skin’s texture with gentle exfoliation
• Refining to minimise pore appearance
• Protecting skin’s surface from free radical damage with antioxidants
• Firming skin’s appearance with hydration

I was lucky enough to receive this Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Day Cream from the lovely Fleur at ImpactPR. I had never tried anything from the Olay range before, so I was quite excited to give it a go!

At 25, some of you may think I’m a little too young to be worrying about fighting the 7 signs of aging – but surely you all agree that preventing them for as long as possible is the best way to go right? So I think the sooner you get started, the better!

The first thing I noticed was the very gentle fragrance, which is awesome for someone like me who gets irritated by everything. I also didn’t realise how little you actually need to use. One pump was more than enough to moisturise my face, neck and chest!
Because it’s oil-free and fast-absorbing, it doesn’t leave that ‘shiny’ look on my skin that I tend to get from most moisturisers. And it’s non-comedogenic, so it won’t clog my pores!

The main winning point for me though, is that it has an SPF. When you live in a place like New Zealand where the UV rays are really harsh, it’s so important to protect your skin as much as possible.  We all know about the risks of skin cancer, but sun damage is also one of the worst signs of aging! 

Overall, I really enjoyed using this product and would recommend it to anyone who like me, wants to protect their skin while at the same time, fight those 7 signs of aging!

Another amazing thing Fleur sent me was the new Vicks Vaponaturals in the flavour Cherry Menthol. She also sent me this adorable little hot or cold pack, look at how cute it is!!

They honestly came at the most perfect time since I have been sick with this flu/infection for over two weeks now. Being the allergy kid that I am, Vicks lozenges are the only ones I’m not allergic to and these Vaponaturals not only taste great, but they have definitely helped soothe my throat.  She was also kind enough to send me some extras when she found out how sick I’ve been. How lovely is that?! 

Definitely check out these out if you’re unlucky enough to get sick like me! 

Thanks for viewing!
oxo

NYX Haul!

When I saw that they were having a sale on NYX products on Cherryculture, I jumped at the chance to pick up a few things that I’d been wanting for a while.

The first thing I had to get was some of the Single Eye shadows. The colours (from left to right) are: Luxor, Purple, Golden, Hawaiian Coffee, Silver, Golden Dune and Greyish Brown.

With Flash

Without Flash

I’ve never used the single eye shadows before, so the first thing I did was swatch them – without a base of course!

Left to right: Luxor, Purple, Golden, Hawaiian Coffee
Silver, Golden Dune, Greyish Brown

Wow. The colour payoff is amazing on all of them except for the Purple. Purple, you’re really letting the team down!

I would have to say that Golden Dune and Hawaiian Coffee are my favourites so far. Golden Dune really reminds me of the MAC Pigment in Blonde’s Gold. Beautiful!

I am a sucker for eye shadow palettes, so next I chose The Runway Collection in Caviar & Bubbles:

Swatches: (again, without a base!)

With Flash

Without Flash

The lighter colours don’t show up so well in photos, but they are really nicely pigmented! Even though the Black is a little chalky – this is a really nice palette and would be absolutely perfect for travel! 

Lastly I decided to grab a couple of Butter Lip Glosses. The colours I got are Peaches And Cream and Vanilla Cream Pie

Swatches:

Left to right: Peaches And Cream, Vanilla Creampie

They smell so damn good, and that is coming from someone who hates anything that smells sweet – but for some reason, I love the smell of these! Shaaanxo said they remind her of the Bavarian crème donuts from Dunkin’ Donuts, and I totally agree. Delicious!

They actually have pretty decent colour payoff for a lip gloss, and don’t feel too sticky and gross either which is really nice!

Once again I am impressed by NYX products, they really are a brand worth checking out.

Thanks for viewing!

oxo

Review: Lush Love Lettuce

I was lucky enough to get invited to go in and meet with the lovely girlies at Lush Queen St. It turned out to be one of the best experiences I’ve had as a blogger so far! The staff were absolutely lovely and I have to say a special THANK YOU to the gorgeous Kendra, who gave me the full Lush experience and answered all of my never-ending questions!

One of the products I got to review was the Love Lettuce Fresh Face mask.

An effective, exfoliating face mask which gives normal to oily skin a softened, smoothed and radiant glow. Polishing almond shell is balanced by the softening qualities of almond oil and seaweed gel. With soothing lavender essential oil and the cleansing, tightening action of Fullers’ Earth, you’ll feel fresh in no time.

I have used quite a few different face masks in the past – most of which seem to make my skin break out like it’s nobody’s business. But this was completely different.   

It felt so beautiful and fresh, and surprisingly enough, it didn’t irritate my skin in the slightest. I actually felt a little disappointed when it was time to wash it off!
Afterwards though, I couldn’t stop touching my face. It felt so clean and smooth. I love it.

Kendra actually suggested that I apply the Full Of Grace serum before using this mask, because it helps your skin absorb everything a little bit better. I have to agree with her on this one, it makes the mask feel even more amazing (if possible!).

Overall I am a huge fan of this, and I’m kinda dying to try out the other ones in the range. I feel like I can’t go back to the other face masks I used to use, because none of them have ever made my skin feel this good.

I can’t speak highly enough of the Lush Queen St store, if you’re interested in any of their products you have to go there and check them out! The staff, like I said, are awesome.

Keep an eye out for more Lush reviews coming soon.

Thanks for viewing!
oxo

Hahahaha! I look amazing!

Tag: 7 Deadly Beauty Sins

I've seen this tag around for a little while amongst both bloggers and youtubers, most recently I saw Nana Wintour's take on it and it looked so cool that I decided I had to give it a go!

Greed

What is your most expensive/inexpensive beauty product? 

My most expensive beauty product would technically be my GHD hair straightener… but I actually managed to score mine for free by exchanging some points for it! So the most expensive thing I have bought would have to be my Armani Code perfume. I buy the 50ml which is around $175NZD.
My most inexpensive product would have to be a lip balm. I alternate between Maybelline Baby Lips, Nivea and Chapstick ones. Still yet to find one that I absolutely love though.

Wrath

What product do you have a love/hate relationship with? 

False eyelashes. I absolutely love the look of them, and have no trouble applying them on myself (and others!) – but I don’t particularly like wearing them for long. No matter which ones I wear, I always end up wanting to rip them off after an hour or so.

Gluttony

What are your most delicious beauty products?

I absolutely love the smell of most Lush and The Body Shop products – in particular I love the Lush lip scrubs which always smell (and taste!) delicious and The Body Shop Satsuma shower gel.

Sloth

What products do you neglect due to laziness?

I hardly ever contour and highlight – but that’s due to me always being in a rush and running out of time! Face primer is another thing I tend to actually forget to use.

Pride

What product gives you the most confidence?

Liquid eyeliner! I get compliments on my liquid liner almost everyday, so wearing it always makes me feel confident. My favourite ones at the moment are the Eye of Horus Liquid Define and the Maybelline Master Precise.

Lust

What attributes do you find attractive in the opposite sex?

Physically, I’m a sucker for big eyes and nice hands. I feel like a creep saying that though. Hahahaha. I find intelligence and a fantastic sense of humour to be far more appealing than looks to be quite honest with you! 

Envy

What products would you like to receive as a gift?

I love getting anything unique – especially handmade stuff! I love to be a little bit different.

I tag everyone who's reading this!
Thanks for viewing!
oxo