MAC's Rebel vs. Ulta3 Sweet Currant

Lipstick time! So I recently caved and purchased MAC's Rebel lipstick. While I had only just bought the Ulta3 lipstick, I desperately wanted to try Rebel after seeing so many gorgeous swatches of it. I noticed that these two looked a little bit similar, so I thought I would compare...

The Ulta3 looks darker in the tube compared to the MAC. But how do they swatch?

MAC Rebel

Ulta3 Sweet Currant

The Ulta3 is a lot sheerer, and on the lips it comes out less dark and leans more towards pink than anything else. Rebel swatches as a deep berry shade on me and has more of a vampy look! Rebel is also a little drier on the lips, but seems to last several hours longer than Sweet Currant. I suppose that can be expected when theres such a huge price difference ($36 vs $2.95). I definitely would not say this is a dupe, but Sweet Currant might be a good option if you don't want something as intense as Rebel. Overall, I think I do prefer Rebel, but Sweet Currant is still nice and it certainly isn't a waste of (less than) $3 :)

Have you tried either of these? What do you think?

Seven Shades for Summer

This is a post about the seven nail polish shades I'll definitely be wearing over the summer. None of these are new shades, so you may already have them in your collection. 

Without any further delay...

The seven shades I pulled out of my collection when I thought of summer. 

L-R: China Glaze 'For Audrey, Maybelline Mini Colorama 'Coral Rose', OPI 'Strawberry Margarita', Essie 'Bikini So Teeny', Essie 'Fear or Desire' and Ulta3 'Purple Pumps'

First up - China Glaze 'For Audrey'. I have been lusting over this colour (and pastel shades in general) for a while now, and finally it arrived in the mail today. This colour is associated with the jewellery company Tiffany & Co., it is actually a trademarked colour so it will be a little bit different. Anyway, as I only just got this, I haven't been able to do any swatches for you, but there are dozens of swatches for this shade!

Maybelline mini Colorama 'Coral Rose' (56). I have already done a post specifically for this colour (see here for more info/pics) but this is a perfect peachy colour for warmer days. The sun makes this colour look beautiful. 

Just for fun - Coral Rose matched my summer fruit juice! 

No 3: OPI 'Strawberry Margarita' - now how can I not choose a pink nail polish! This is my go-to pink, it is so bright and I always get compliments on it. I refer to it as my Barbie pink shade. I've already mentioned this polish in a previous post, so to see a picture, have a look at this post. 

No 4. Essie 'Bikini So Teeny' - this is one of the six shades from the Bikini So Teeny 2012 Summer Collection. I think this colour is super unique! I've only worn this once, on my toes, but I had a sales assistant from a shoe store tell me what an awesome colour it was. No swatches for this one, but theres plenty on other blogs :)

 No 5. Essie 'Fear or Desire' - again, this is from the 2012 Summer Collection - the perfect eye catching orange. This is a true orange, one of the most vibrant I've seen. I have not worn this alone, but I've included a picture where I have used this shade for nail art.

On my pinky and ring finger, I have used 'Fear and Desire' - totally pops against the white! Like my Yoshi nails? :P

No. 6 is Orly 'Bailamos' - it doesn't look that exciting in the bottle, but it is a gorgeous aqua turquoise (I'm so bad at describing colours) shade. 

Bailamos above - pretty much could not stop staring at my nails when I had this on. (excuse my straightener/junk in the background)

Annddd lucky last is Ulta3 - Purple Pumps. I'm wearing this now, its an amazing shade. I got lots of compliments on it when I wore it for a night out (even from males!). 

The picture speaks for itself!

That concludes my seven shades.

What shades will you be wearing this summer?

My 10 drugstore favourites

In no particular order...

1. Sleek blushes
They are about $6-7 (AUD) and you get 8g of product in a compact rectangular case with a mirror. MAC powder blushes are 6g and don't have a mirror so I think I prefer the Sleek casing.
These blushes are incredibly pigmented. Warning - they can become addictive! I use them daily and my MAC blushes have been pushed aside for these guys.

Here are some pictures I have used on other blog posts

Sunrise (left) and Honour (right) - refer to my previous post for more info if you are interested in these two!

Sleek blushes: Sunrise and Honour 

Above: Honour 

Above: Rose Gold - said to be a dupe of NARS Orgasm blush

 Cases

If you're interested in Sleek, you can buy their products from their website.
http://www.sleekmakeup.com/



2. Milani Press Powder
I bought this for $5.75. I guess I've never really been a pressed powder girl before but I love this. It gives a flawless coverage on its own and is great for shine control. It comes with a handy mirror and sponge. I also find it is long lasting. It has 10g of product so its probably going to last me a while.

I bought this from beautyjoint.com




3. L.A Girl Pro Conceal
A fantastic concealer for $2.50. Again, concealer wasn't a product I paid much attention to but this changed my beauty routine. I use them almost every day to cover areas of redness. It has a creamy consistency to it and the brush tip applicator can be used to blend but I prefer to use my fingers.

I bought this from beautyjoint.com



4. Ecotools Brushes
Not only is this brand pocket friendly, they are doing their bit for the environment. Their products are 100% cruelty-free (as their website says) with recycled aluminium and bamboo for the handles. 1% of their profits go towards environmental organisations, so not only will you look good but you feel good too!
If you're ever used one of their brushes, you would know that they are incredibly soft. I use a kabuki brush of theirs for when I use mineral powder foundation and sometimes I find myself just aimlessly rubbing the brush on my face, because it feels so soft. Please tell me I'm not the only one...?

Their prices vary depending on which brush/set you buy, but they can be purchased from Priceline as well as on their website.

This eyeshadow brush costs $4 on ecotools.com

5. Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliner

I bought this for around $9 quite a while ago and this is the third time I've repurchased it. It makes liquid eyeliner application really easy with the precise tip. I always get compliments when I use it to do a winged eyeliner look. A great tool to have in your makeup kit for doing a dramatic look.

I bought this from Big W.



6. MUA eyeshadow palettes
I have two of these so far and they are amazing. They are about 4 pounds on the MUA website. Talk about value for money! There has been a lot of hype about these lately and rightfully so. 12 eyeshadows at an affordable price. I want them all. 

Here are the ones I have

Above: The Undressed palette - read more about it here

Above: The Dusk til Dawn palette - read more about it here

7. Rimmel Extra Super Lash Mascara
$12.95 for this, pretty cheap (in Aus!) for a mascara. Nothing too fancy, but it does the job for daily wear. The brush is good and so far I haven't experienced clumping. 

Rimmel products can be bought from Big W, supermarkets such as Coles and Bilo, Target and I'm sure there are other stores too.




8. NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss
Soo shiny! Bought this one for $5.49 and its generous with its 11ml of gloss. It pretty much gives you everything you want in a lipgloss - shine, colour and its not all gooey and sticky. Super cute tube too.

The colour above is Spongecake. 
This can be bought from beautyjoint.com



9. Ulta3 nail polish
$2 polish. What more can I say? The formula is excellent quality, the brush is small but that can be forgiven. You get 13mL of polish which is quite a lot. The colour range is also great. With a base coat and top coat, they last me about 5-7 days. 

Above: the colour 'Jade'

Above: the colour 'Bouquet'



10. Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick
These are $10 and are one of my most reliable lipsticks. Great colour and lasts about 4 hours on me. I have quite a few of these and will continue to repurchase.

The colour above is Birthday Suit.
Again, Rimmel products are widely available in Australia.


Well, this concludes my list! What are some of your drugstore faves?

No such thing as too many pink polishes!

I'm a bit of a nail polish fan, my collection stands at about 40 at the moment. I noticed that I seem to have a few pink shades that are quite similar. Similar, not the same!

Google Images

Yes, the above photo fits perfectly with the theme of this post. This is how I feel in regards to pink nail polishes.

This is my collection of pink/fuschia nail polishes! Not huge I guess, but you can see a lot of them are quite similar (not the same!). 

Starting at the top and going clockwise - 

Rimmel I Love Lasting Finish - 'Hot Shot'

Essie - Big Spender

Orly (Mini - from the Viva collection) - Fiesta

Jordana - Hot Pink

Essie (Mini - from the Bikini So Teeny collection) - Off the Shoulder 

Ulta3 - Bouquet 

OPI - Strawberry Margarita 

OPI - I Lily Love You

Don't ask me to pick one favourite! My top 3 would probably include: Orly - Fiesta, Jordana - Hot Pink and Ulta 3 - Bouquet.

I've added a few photos I've taken in the past of my nails wearing some of the above shades.

Above: watermelon nails! The pink I have used here is Orly - Fiesta, a gorgeous bold pink. The green I have used is Essie Mojito Madness, if you were curious, and the gold was from a nail art kit. 

Above: Ulta3 - Bouquet, a bright fuschia that matched the sari I was wearing (to a formal function). Like my clutch?

Above: Cupcake nails! Done with OPI Strawberry Margarita and a nameless cheap white polish.

Above: Marble nails - using Jordana - Hot Pink (because of the pearl in the polish, it came out a lot lighter with marbling) and a red polish by Jordana.

Above: Essie - Big Spender - a bold fuschia with no shimmer.

What are your thoughts? Do I perhaps have too many pink based polishes? What colour nail polish are you obsessed with?

Revlon Colorburst 'Rosy Nude' dupe

I know that Revlon isn't one of the typical high end brands that you would want a dupe for, but I noticed a striking similarity between one of their Colorburst lipsticks and a lower end one by Ulta3, an Australian brand (you may have come across their nail polish at various chemists).

Revlon Colorburst lipsticks RRP - $23.95 (or you can cheat like me and buy them online)
Ulta3 Moisturising Lipstick RRP - $2.95

...I think you can see why I thought this was worth posting about!

Comparison of packaging of Revlon Colorburst and Ulta3. I won't lie, the case for Ulta3 does it no favours. It is quite flimsy and very light weight, doesn't feel or look as nice as the Revlon one. But for less than the cost of a coffee, we can let that slide.

Swatches - which is which?! First have a guess. On the left is Ulta3 - Tawny Pink and on the right Revlon Colorburst in Rosy Nude. One swipe each, both pretty pigmented and they look quite similar! Rosy Nude is probably a bit more pink I would say.

From the picture above, you can see they are quite similar. I'll just add that the consistency of the lipsticks are different, Ulta3 is more like lipbalm/lipstick as it is quite creamy. It also has the wear of a lip balm. Revlon Colorburst is a bit thicker like the traditional lipstick and is longer wearing. You can probably see above that Ulta3 is more shiny too (as it is a 'moisturising' lipstick).