What's in my travel make-up bag ?

Hi guys ! Happy Thursday. How has YOUR week been so far ? Anyone else happy it's such a short week ?

Today I'm excited to share this post with you as I will be leaving for a mini holiday tomorrow for my 30th birthday on Sunday ,  I thought I'd share with you the products I love to take along with me when I'm travelling. These kinds of posts are always my favourite - I love seeing what people take along when they travel somewhere. 

So let's see what I will be taking along - 

1. Revlon Highlighter in Peach Glow

2. Colorpop Super Shock Cheek Colour  in Pre-nup

3. Mini Garnier Micellar Water (and how cute is the mini travel size ??)

4. Benefits Porefessional

5. Essence Pure Nude Foundation (Pure Beige )

6. Make-up sponge

7. Yardley Loose Powder (Translucent Buff )

8. Essence Happiness Is... Following Your Heart Palette

9. Maybelline Brow Drama

10. Essence Sheer & Shine Lipstick My First Love

11. Revlon Ultra HD Lip-gloss in HD Topaz

12. Essence All Eyes On Me Mascara

13. Almay Butter Kiss Lipstick in Pink Medium

These are all items I love and I know will work in any weather conditions. Although I love full coverage foundations, as I will be at the beach , I try to stick to minimal foundation and just a little colour on my lips , eyes and cheeks. 


Are any of these YOUR favourite ? What's your must have item to take along when travelling ??

Essence Liquid Lipstick Review and Swatches

Hi guys ! Happy Tuesday . Anyone else glad it's a super short week this week ? I am recovering from a cold this weekend, not the best way to start a week though.  I

Today I'm sharing some Essence Liquid Lipsticks with you . Last year Essence was kind enough to send me a press pack, and two of these shades were included, Around the same time I placed an online order with Red Square and also picked one up . (That one is my favourite shade - Colour Party) , These lipsticks aren't matte or long lasting like most liquid lipsticks. These really feel like a lipstick melted down - but they are super moisturising. These are a little sticky like lipglosses but nothing super annoying, these are quite comfortable to wear. . They last a good 2/3 hours on me and even when the colour has faded it still has a moisturising feeling on the lips - which for the price makes it worth while to check out. These retail for around R49,95 at Essence counters. 

I quite like the thin doe foot applicator brush, these make it super easy to apply the product. There are 6 shades in total , and they are really worth checking out if you like one of the colours. I love popping them into my work bag for days when my lips feel dry but I still want a little colour and gloss. 

So onto the swatches of the three colours I got - 

Essence Liquid Lipstick Colour Party -

This one is hands down my favourite. It makes me feel like a princess wearing the shade. This is a gorgeous light pink shade , and if you love pinks - You NEED this one in your life. Who doesn't like to feel like a pink princess ?

Essence Liquid Lipstick in  Show Off !

This is a gorgeous coral colour. Although I don't usually reach for coral shades, this shade does look stunning on the lips. If you love coral shades, this will be a winner for you.

Essence Liquid Lipstick in Make a Statement

I don't quite know how to describe this colour , it's a berry toned colour with a brown undertone. To be honest - this colour isn't really my style - but the formula is still a winner, so if you like these types of colours, you would love this. This shade will look gorgeous on darker skin tones .

Overall , I really like this line of liquid lipsticks , and I can't wait to add a few more to my collection. (Especially the nude one, swoon )

How has YOUR week been so far ? Any exciting long weekend plans ?

*These product/s was send to me in exchange for my honest opinion*

Almay Smart Shade Butter Kiss Swatches and Review

Hi guys ! Happy Tuesday ? How has your week been so far ?

Today I'm sharing a few swatches and my review on the Almay Smart Shade Butter Kiss Lipsticks. There are 12 shades in the range that are broken into three tones - Light , Light - Medium and Medium. The colour range consists of Pink , Berry , Nude and Red for each skin tone.

As you know, I love the Revlon Lip Butters , so I was excited to try these out and see how they go. The packaging is quite similar , but these are a little more balmy and shiny than the Revlon Lip Butters. These are a hybrid of a tinted lip balm and a lipstick - these are quite hydrating , and while they are a little more sheer than a lipstick , they have a great colour pay-off. 

And unlike the Revlon Lip Butters that basically melt on you when it's super hot (trust me since I love them that happens to me quite often ) these doesn't seem to have that problem . Making it a bonus for keeping it in your handbag or car. 

I have three colours to show you - Red , Berry and 1 of the Pink range. But I'm sure the nude range is pretty awesome too. 

One thing I did notice though - The Light / Medium shade was definitely a lot lighter than the Light shade. Just something to keep in mind when picking colours. 

Almay Butter Kiss Pink Medium  :

This is my FAVOURITE colour by far . 

Almay Butter Kiss Berry :

From left to right - 

Almay Butter Kiss Berry Light

Almay Butter Kiss Berry Light Medium 

Almay Butter Kiss Berry Medium

Almay Butter Kiss Red :

From left to right  - 

Almay Butter Kiss Red Light

Almay Butter Kiss Red Light / Medium

Almay Butter Kiss Red Medium

Overall , I am pretty impressed with the Almay Butter Kiss shades . 

Have you tried any of the Almay Butter Kiss shades before ? Would you like to try them ? How is YOUR day so far ? 

*This product/s was send to me in exchange for my honest opinion*

Nimue Skincare Update 1

Hi guys ! Hope you are having a great week so far. Sorry for being so quiet , the last week I have been feeling a little under the weather .

As I mentioned on Instagram last week, I have started the Nimue & Rubybox skincare challenge. I was still testing out different skincare in February so even though I received this little kit earlier, I wanted to form an opinion about a different product I was testing out first. 

I did the little quiz on the Nimue app , and the app suggested I use the Interactive skincare range from Nimue. ( I was actually pretty sure it would be more of the problematic skincare range as I mentioned my skin has been freaking out lately and I'm not sure if it's stress related or me turning 30 end of the month ) 

Now here comes the tricky part - as I wanted to see how the range preforms , I won't be using ANY other skincare products or swapping out anything for one of my normal products. ( I will however still be using my Garnier Micellar Water to remove my make-up) I feel that's the best way to truly see how this range preforms . I won't be doing weekly updates as I feel there won't be enough info for a WHOLE post , but I will be giving another update in two weeks time. As it stands now - I'm using the range for just over a week .

So onto the products that was included in the trial pack - 

Cleaning :
A soap free 2-1 creamy gel cleanser at a pH 4.5 to prepare the skin for renewal . Gently removes make-up and impurities while offering a light exfoliation properties.

Conditioning :
A conditioning skin treatment that promotes skin health restoration through accelerated skin rejuvenation. Nimue skin conditioners degrease the skin while offering added exfoliation and skin renewal.

It's also recommended for this step you use gauze instead of cotton wool or wipes. 

Exfoliating Enzyme :
The exfoliating complex is a non irritating , non abrasive enzymatic exfoliation. With papaya and pineapple enzymes that work to gently detach dead skin cells, promoting cell renewal.

Day & Night Preparation : ( I got the moisture Lite )
A multifunctional day or night preparation cream that s able to restore and rejuvenate the skin, offering specific benefits based on your skin needs .

Spf40 Sunscreen :
A light weight , non oily sun protection cream that offers a dual focus in providing a certified high broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection and anti-ageing benefits to assist in reducing and preventing the visible signs of photo ageing, Formulated to help with DNA protection and repairs. 

They also recommend to take a before photo without any make-up on  ( as you can see below, excuse the grumpy face , this was before work and coffee...and flat hair ... eeck ) to show your progress. 

This is my before photo. 

My current thoughts  :
Honestly , I wasn't expecting to be impressed. BUT ... So far I'm LOVING the skincare set. It keeps my skin hydrated, yet matte surprisingly enough. My skin hasn't freaked out - another bonus. 

I was worried about the sunscreen as it was SUPER thick , but then again got blown away how quickly it absorbs into the skin, and again doesn't make you shiny at all. For me that's super important in a facial sunscreen - I don't want to look like a grease monster at noon.

From previous experience, I know my skin does really well with a exfoliating enzymes - so it's great that this kit included that. I can already tell my texture of my skin is improving... Yeah!

I'm excited to see what the improvement will be in a week or two . But will keep you guys updated. I will also be going for the free facial that was included with this kit, and receiving the Active Enhancer sample in a few weeks. 

Have you tried any Nimue products before ? 

*This product/s was send to me in exchange for my honest opinion*