Morphe Brushes | 35O Natural Glow Palette

Over the last two or three months I have acquired not one or two but FOUR Morphe eyeshadow palettes. And yes this includes the very popular and sought after Jaclyn Hill Favorites palette (cue gasps). If you are into makeup in any way shape or form then chances are you have already heard all about the 35O palette. Every beauty blogger, Youtuber and their cousin has been talking about this palette. I love a neutral palette but it didn't really catch my eye until Jaclyn Hill started snapping about it. Listen when the Queen of Youtube tells you that you need something you do not argue you simply hand over your money.

This palette is one of those that seem to go out of stock even before it is restocked, Morphe has released quite a few on pre sales but they seem to be selling out almost instantly. I have heard however that it is going to be part of the permanent stock, so if you don't get it with part of these pre sales you can rest assured that you will get your hands on it at some point in time.

PACKAGING I am always a sucker for pretty packaging. The packaging of the Morphe eyeshadow palettes however are pretty basic. They come in a black plastic casing and even the pan that the actual eyeshadows are seated in is a flimsy soft plastic pan. It does not have a mirror on the inside, which is a bit of a let down because I cant help but think with the size of the lid how awesome it would be to have a decent size mirror in there. But when you see the size of the actual palette, the amount of eyeshadows you get and the quality of each shadow and then compare this with the price I can fully understand why they didn't put that much effort into the actual packaging. I have actually come to love the packaging though because its some what of a trade mark and its very quickly recognizable.

PRICE The palette retails for $22.99 USD on the Morphe website, this is before shipping (if you did the math this works out to about 65c per shadow) I picked it up in South Africa for R550,00 also before shipping (this worked out to about R15.72 per shadow). So logically if Morphe did spend more time and money on making the packaging less basic they would be charging us allot more for this palette. If you look at it that way I am more than happy with it and would urge Morphe to not change a thing. 

PRODUCT Each palette comes with 35 neutral to warm shadows (the Jaclyn Hill palette only came with 27 WHATS THE DEAL THERE MORPHE). There are 21 matte shades and 14 shimmer/metallic shades. The colors range from a really light bone cream, glittery champagne, light and deep orange to both light and dark browns. There is a wide range of transition shades, crease shades and all over lid shades. Ive personally found that the darker shades have quite allot of fall out so its best to do your eyes before the rest of your face. And the shimmer/metallic shades I've found it easier to use a makeup mixing spray to apply the true color otherwise its allot more on the sheer side. 

PRODUCT FORMULA You know the saying "You get what you paid for" and when it comes to makeup this saying almost all of the time is 100% true. I've found myself so many times so disappointed by something and I almost always end up saying "Yeah but for the price I guess its pretty good". Well when it comes to the Morphe eyeshadows I can honestly say that you get way more than you paid for. The matte shades are really easy to apply, blend out and build up, like I said there is a bit of fall out but I personally think most eyeshadows have that amount of fall out (on me anyway). The shimmer/metallic colors swatch really well with your finger but this doesn't transfer to the lid really well, unless you are using a makeup mixing spray like MAC's fix plus. It then shows the true color of the shadows pretty well. I have a few palettes from different brands (Urban decay, Stila, Chanel) and I honestly prefer my Morphe palettes above them all. The shadows are really creamy and easy to apply and they wear really well. They are also really pigmented. I have oily eye lids and most of my other eye shadows by the end of the day have completely worn off. The Morphe ones I physically have to remove, and I have also found that they actually look better by the end of the day after it has settled on to my skin. 

With regards to the fall out and the shimmer/metallic shades not applying really well, I have found that it also depends on the brush you are using. It is true, the better the tool the better the application so I can say you need to take that into consideration as well. 

Have you tried any of the Morphe eyeshadows? What do you think of them and which palettes would you recommend? Let me know...

LUSH | Angels On Bare Skin | Face & Body Cleanser

My skin does not discriminate when it comes to facial cleansers! I have a R30,00 cleanser from Sorbet and a R600,00 cleanser from Chanel, both make my skin look like a 13 year old teenager going through puberty. If you have at any point experience those big painful bumps when you use something new or that doesn't agree with your skin then you will know exactly how I feel. When I find something that I think works I will not try or touch another because I am just to scared of the reaction I could potentially have. 

Quite some time ago a friend of mine gifted me a little tub of the Lush Angels on Bare skin face and body cleanser. I put it in my drawer and forgot about it because for me (I'm guessing this was the same for her that's why she passed it on) it was just to intimidating. It had little pieces of what I can only describe as twigs in it and was so messy that I just didn't know how or where to use it. That was until a couple of months ago when my skin broke out everywhere even in my neck, I got so depressed that I stopped using everything I currently was using even my moisturizers and makeup to try and find the cause of the problem. It lasted about 3 or 4 months until I decided I had had enough and took a completely different approach. I started drinking fruit infused water to detox my system and started seeing results right away, I then started looking for a natural face wash that did not contain any harsh chemicals because I just wanted a different approach to solving the problem. After some research I came across the Angels on bare skin which people were absolutely obsessed with and decided that I needed it in my life, only to find out that I had already had it for the past few months (shame on me for not using something before I bought more haha). I haven't put it down since then. 

Some of the ingredients in Angels on Bare skin are ground almonds, lavender oil, rose absolute, chamomile blue oil and lavender flowers. The Rose oil acts as a toner while the lavender oil smooths out the surface of the skin. The scent is very natural to me like a wet forest smell, you pick up allot of the ground up flowers and fresh lavender but not in a "I want to bath myself it in" kind of way more like your in a all natural chemist kinda way. It is not totally unpleasant though or over whelming and once you add water you don't even smell it that much any more. All the ingredients are natural thus cutting down the shelf life of this product making it impossible to stock up on. A 100g tub sells for R145,00 and because you only use a pea or two size pinch at a time it lasts about 3 months. It does not remove makeup and I do use a makeup remover before I cleans my face with it. It does however mildly exfoliate the skin and help bring out the natural glow. It helped control the surface break outs I experienced and reduce the inflammation of the severe acne I had and softened the redness I would experience from them while controlling additional ones from forming. I found it best to use in the shower because it really does create quite a mess. You need to take a pinch in your hand with some water and create a paste, then use it like any other cleanser in circular motions on your skin and rinse off. 

Lush website: Angelic, medieval cleansing wash with rose and lavender. Angels on Bare Skin is the Lush version of an expensive medieval skincare recipe. Rare, precious essential oils were first brought to Europe by the crusaders who encountered Arabian medicine. The church immediately banned them because their ability to alter states of mind was considered the devils work! But the final result was Cosmetics 1, Church 0. Rose oil and Lavender oil were discovered to do wonderful things for the skin, too. Almost a thousand years later, you'd be hard pressed to find a better all round cleanser and exfoliator than Angels.

Some of you might be asking though how I know it is this that helped with my break outs but I know it did. I ran out about a week ago and started using of my old ones again and I immediately started breaking out. I went and repurchased this right away and now its calming down again. So yes I would highly recommend you give this cleanser a try it has become my holy grail!

It's Almost My Birthday | Wish List

I cant believe this year has gone by so fast and that its almost Christmas already!! Before that however is my birthday YAY ME. I thought I would share some of the items I have been wishing for, I think its the first year my list has been so short but I can say its been a good year so far makeup wise! What is on your list let me know down below.

Kat Von D | Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lolita

Have you ever bought a cult product and right off the bat you instinctively know that you are going to be that one in a million that is going to hate it. Before you have even had a chance to try it you have already crucified it in your head for spending so much on it but you must know what all the fuss is about and that FOMO is eating you up inside. Then you take it out the packaging and rather unimpressively try it so that you can put reason to your hating. And from the second it touches your lips you hear angels singing and you get it you really really get it. And now your sitting there wondering why you held out for so long and now it's to late to get a back up because they are all sold out again for the twentieth time and now you hate it even more for making you love it so much. No? Is that just me? Well then...

After doing some research I believe the one I currently have is the third formulation. If you are not aware of the whole drama around the Lolita formulations and how they are ever changing ill fill you in. Depending on when you purchased yours you might have either gotten the first batch which was the original and a lighter more chest nut version. The second batch which I believe was dubbed the bad batch which was a much darker dusty rose which quite honestly in my opinion looked like the most gorgeous colour ever and I wish mine was that shade. And then the current batch which is a little darker than the first but lighter than the second, more of a medium to dark dusty rose. Kat has announced though that they will be bringing back the original as Lolita two. 

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lolita $20,00 is described as a chestnut rose. It is a medium to dark dusty rose with medium to warm undertones and a flat matte finish. It has full opaque colour coverage and the intensity of the colour can easily be built up in layers. The application is very smooth and creamy and it sets to a flat matte and completely dry around two minutes after application. It has a really lightweight comfortable texture that doesn't settle into the lines once dry. It also doesn't crack when you smile or look and feel overly drying. I have only ever worn it for around 4 hours max and then I remove and reapply, I find it more comfortable than reapplying over the current/older layer and this way it stays comfortable through out and doesn't turn out to drying on the lips. The best application is also to add a thin layer of lip balm underneath so that it stays moisturized through out.

The everlasting liquid lipstick is a full coverage long wearing liquid lipstick with a smooth flat matte finish. I've only tried a hand full of liquid lipsticks and the Kat Von D formula is my favorite, it is the creamiest, applies the smoothest and is the most comfortable wear through out. I have only ever tried Lolita so I cannot speak for the other shades though. Their wearing time is said to be anywhere from 6 to 10 hours depending on what you have to eat or drink but like I said I prefer to cut it off at 3 to 4 hours so I have not really gotten to the point where it is overly drying on the lips. 

The formulation is really thin and creamy but not overly watery and the doe foot applicator makes it really easy and comfortable for precise application. I've heard allot of people complain about the packaging and that it looks cheap but I have to say that I love the detail and the feel of it and I don't quite get it. The only complaint that I have is that I would rather prefer the tube being shorter and fatter because the applicator is quite long (I understand this is to reach the product at the bottom of the tube) it sometimes makes it a bit uncomfortable to apply, I can only imagine that if it was shorter it would feel more comfortable in your hand making application easier. 

What version of Lolita did you pick up do you like me think the second batch is a pretty unique shade all on its own and that it should stay around let me know in the comments section below.