Australis Fresh & Flawless Foundation Review

Recently I won a giveaway from Smack Bang Beauty with lots of Australis goodies in it! One of the prizes included the Australis Fresh & Flawless Foundation which promises to treat skin while giving it a shine free medium to full coverage at the same time. So.. does it?

Shade Natural Fawn, RRP $12.95AUD.

Swatch.

Blended in.

I can't tell you whether it clears skin yet as I've only started wearing it. However, it does give a medium coverage (easily buildable to full). It does leave a matte finish (I'm currently wearing it without powder and it's still matte). As you can see in the above swatch, it does start to darken as it sets so maybe keep that in mind if you're wanting to purchase. I can say however that this doesn't look orange on me at all and I've worn it for a few hours now! 

"It contains Vitamin E which acts as a powerful antioxidant, moisturises skin from within and enhances skin smoothness and Allantoin which reduces inflammation and protects the skin from environmental pollutants."

The only thing I don't like, and this is what I experienced with the Mineral Inject Foundation from Australis too, is that the formula feels sticky, so it's a bit harder to blend and I would definitely recommend using a sponge or your fingers to apply this as it tends to stick to brush hair very easily.

I give Australis Fresh & Flawless Foundation a rating of;

4/5

Thanks so much to Steph for the lovely prizes! It's so nice to win something especially after holding a giveaway myself :)

Check Steph from Smack Bang Beauty out via the links down below!

Smack Bang Beauty Blog

Smack Bang Beauty Facebook/SmackBangBeauty

Smack Bang Beauty Twitter @Smackbangbeauty

BANG Cosmetics Review & Swatches

BANG Cosmetics is a New Zealand owned and handcrafted cosmetics company that is far from plain and boring! They have such a fantastic range of glitters, lip colors loose eyeshadows, mixing palette, rings, eyelash holders and they also have AWESOME mystery packs for undecisive people such as myself ;). I got two pro lip colour pottles and two loose powders, see the swatches down below. Oh, did I forget to mention they DON'T test on animals? I'm a sucker for cruelty free companies! You can find their products at Real Groovy in Auckland. Here's some more info.

"Handcrafted in NZ with love, our aim is to inspire and entice you, with colour and glitter, to get creative with your makeup"

Pro Lip Colour Pottles 'Kermit' & 'Luck Dragon' $23.00NZD each.

Luck Dragon is a very light peachy matte shade that is perfect to wear with very bright eyeshadows if you want the focus to be on the eyes. The great thing about these little pots is that they are very easy to use with a lip brush! (These babies come with a free one!)

My new favourite peachy nude! 'Luck Dragon'. Can you see how satisfied I am with it? :)

Kermit is a bold daring metallic green, pair it with a smokey eye and you'll surely be the center of attention!

Tutorial with 'Kermit' coming soon!

Loose Powder 'Mello' & '1965' $18.00NZD each.

I love how most of the colour range from BANG cosmetics is really unique and unusual. I think everyone needs something a little different in their makeup collection and BANG cosmetics is an absolutely great place to get this fix! These two loose powders are extremely pigmented, a little goes a long way and they can even be used as eyeliner! Simply wet a liner or angled brush and apply it as you would eyeliner. Why not try one of their shades on your eyebrows? The possibilities are endless!

Mello is a bright yellow shadow with subtle shimmer, if you place it over a naked lid, you'll achieve a softer shade of it, applying it over primer will achieve a very BOLD colour! This looks so pretty on its own matched with a nude lip and thick winged liner, there are no rules with makeup however so go crazy with colour combinations! 

1965 is a pale, pearl blue packed with sparkle! The name of this shade is perfectly fitting as this is a colour I assume would have been highly popular in the 60's! Twiggy anyone?  Match it with a pink lip and you'll have a 60's feel instantly. You'll be ready to hop into a time travelling DeLorean back to the 60's and fit right in!

Please note unlike Mello, 1965 is not lip safe. Whether a product is lip safe or not will be addressed on the packaging.

Shop BANG Cosmetics

BANG Cosmetics on Facebook

I give BANG Cosmetics an overall rating of:

5/5
What's not to love?!

Look out for videos coming up soon where I'll be using BANG Cosmetics in tutorials!

XO Beauty False Lashes 'The Gold Digger' Review

Wee! I'm so excited to finally review one of Shannon's (Shaaanxo) lashes from her XO Beauty brands new lash line freshly launched on the 6th of January 2014! Shannon Harris is an amazing 'beautuber' from New Zealand who has just grown and succeeded so progressively over the last few years, she should be super proud of herself, as I'm sure a lot of people are for her! :) Anyway, back to lash talk! I chose to go with 'The Gold Digger' as they're so big and pretty! I usually get very natural looking lashes but I couldn't resist! With 6 different lash styles to choose from, it's not hard to pick one that will suit you! Lets get right into it;

The yellow and red baggie that so many girls look forward to receiving ;)

Packaged so nicely and securely!

'The Gold Digger'

What I already love most about these lashes is that they're SO lightweight, they don't feel heavy and make your eyes droop at all, and lets be honest for that price, that's pretty darn amazing! They're 100% handcrafted and made from 100% soft synthetic hairs, they are very soft! The only downside to this is that they are probably very fragile too! It'll be interesting to see how many wears I can get out of these little babies, *hopefully many*.

"The Gold Digger" Lashes are great for a feisty gal! These are more dramatic, but still very wearable because they aren't too thick or too long.Each hair is tapered and there are a few different lengths in order to make them super wispy. They have more thickness and volume in the centre of the lid which makes your eyes look larger! They are super voluminous and curly. They give a super sexy flick to your outer corner! These babies are perfect for clubbing, parties, dates…. or, even for the daytime if you are feeling glamorous!"

This pair cost me $6.99NZD as are all the lashes, except for 'The Flirt' falsies which are shorter than the others. In NZ this is super cheap, and although they don't come with glue, they do stock DUO on the XO Beauty website for $12.00 (clear and dark). Shipping in NZ costs $4 (includes tracking) and mine took around 4 business days to get to me via Courier Post. International rates vary from $6- $10NZD and can take up to 28 business days to arrive, approx.

Here, I'm wearing 'The Gold Digger' on one eye, without glue so please bear in mind these probably look a million times better when applied properly! I'm so impressed, I wasn't expecting them to be anything less than great, but I wasn't expecting them to be THIS great! Even these huge ones look super wearable, and I cannot wait to get my hands on all of the lashes in the range, and hopefully soon, try out the XO brushes :)

Check out the false eyelash XO Beauty range here; (don't forget to check out the brushes too!)
XO Beauty Shop
XO Beauty Facebook

Check out the lovely Shaaanxo via these links;
Shaaanxo on YouTube
Shaaanxo's very interactive Facebook page!
@xoshaaan on Twitter
@shaaanxo on Instagram

I rate 'The Gold Digger' lashes from XO Beauty;

4/5

Sample Bar January Review 'Fresh Start'

This month marks the last Glam Pack Sample Bar will be sending out! *tear* It has been so much fun filming unboxing videos and doing these blog reviews, so here's the last one!

Angel Nourishing Cream Leave In Conditioner. For stockists call 07 0847 8350 or email sales@phb.net.nz.

One thing I liked about Sample Bar is that they sent out mostly hair/skincare products, I found this a bonus because I never buy these things! So I can determine what I like from the samples then buy it :)

"Smoothens and calms the hair while protecting against harmful UVA and UVB rays and heat styling tools"

Perfect for summer and all you lovely ladies and gentleman that use heat styling tools like I do everyday! RRP $37.50 (180gr).

Calvin Klein Fragrance. Available at department stores and nationwide pharmacies.

Like I mentioned in my video, I've never smelt a CK fragrance before and I was pleasantly surprised, after a while though it did start to get musky and I don't think I'll be wearing it everyday, I probably will spray it on for evening events, it is nice though! Don't get me wrong, just not my taste.

"Bring with you to all occasions this summer to freshen up with one of the latest scents from Calvin Klein"

It's true! It's a very summery scent, personally, I'd say it's evening summer appropriate! RRP $100 (50ml).

MOR Little Luxuries Collection. Available at Redcurrent stores and department stores nationwide MOR Cosmetics.

Yay! One of my absolute favourite brands MOR, I've got a few products from then and they all smell absolutely delicious, it was such a nice surprise to get this! The scent is 'Lychee Flower' and it's a hand cream, I've already used it a few times and it smells so good and it leaves your skin feeling so soft.

"Drift into the dreamy world of Little Luxuries, where petite treasures leave you smitten with sweet cravings"

It smells nicer when it's warmed into the skin than it is from the bottle, it can seem quite overwhelming. This is a full size (mini) product! RRP $14.99-$19.99 (5g- 60g).

Carmex Lip Balm. Available at selected Farmers, pharmacies, BP stations and My Beauty Store.

This lip balm doesn't look cute or special but OMG, it works and it works well! This is my new go to lip balm, move over Baby Lips!

"Only Carmex lip balm gives your lips that distinctive tingle to let you know it's working to moisturize, soothe and protect your lips"

And boy does it tingle! Also available in jar,tube and stick formulas, this one's another full size! RRP $4.99.

Argania Hair Oil. Available at Farmers, selected pharmacies, department stores and My Beauty Store.

Um Yay! I've always wanted to try Moroccan oil and I'm so happy this was included! This is another full size (smaller retail product) which is now the 3rd full size product out of 5 sample products received this month. Way to go Sample Bar!

"A fortifying hair treatment for deep hydration and brilliant shine. Made with certified organic Moroccan Argain Oil"

It really works! I used this after filming my unboxing video and I hadn't used conditioner so my hair was crappy (previously bleached and over processed). It went on and felt quite oily, but in the morning it had all absorbed and it was lovely and smooth! I wouldn't recommend putting it in your roots because the become oily QUICK! RRP $5.99- $34.99 (5ml- 100ml).

Farewell Sample Bar, you will be missed!

Here's my *last* unboxing video for SB!

I give this months Sample Bar Glam Pack a rating of:
4/5