♥ Kit Lippy in ‘Hip Shaker’ – $24.95 ♥

As a makeup artist, I need to know which beauty products are good, which are bad and which products are not even worth putting on your clothes, getting into the car, going to the shops and paying good money for.

It’s hard though, there really are so many products out there, how are we supposed to get through them all? Well that’s where I step in (cue superhero music) and with the help of Kit Cosmetics hopefully we can make your next trip to the shops easier.

When I think of Kit, I envisage fun, international beauty products… but did you know they also offer their own makeup range? The line includes Lipsticks, Tinted Moisturiser, Mineral Foundation and more. The products come in wonderful black sleek packaging and are all Australian made.

♥Kit Mineral Tinted Moisturiser – $32.95

First up in my review is the Kit Mineral Tinted Moisturiser. Containing Grape seed oil and Vitamins C and E, this tinted moisturiser is nourishing which gets a big tick from me. The coverage of this Tinted moisturiser is sheer but there is enough there to even out the skin tone and add a glow. The whole point of a tinted moisturiser is exactly as it sounds, to moisturise and tint. You don’t need or want too much coverage otherwise you are essentially wearing foundation.

♥ Close up!

Next up is a lipstick from Kit’s new collection, Capture the Moment. This lipstick is soft and creamy and when I first applied it I did scoff a little to myself, thinking there was no way it will last half an hour on the mouth. But I was proved wrong when three hours later, I still had strong colour on the lips and no flaking. The shade I was given to review is ‘Hip Shaker’ which the website describes as a rich magenta rose. Personally I prefer shades with more pop but I think this would be ideal for a woman needing a simple colour to wear during the day.

♥ All the new season shades! (Ed: Isn’t she cute?!)

Lastly I was sent four shades from the Capture the Moment nail polish range. These are pretty pastel colours, all perfect for Summer (and Autumn!). My favourites from the range were Phase in, a bright eggshell blue and Play Down, a pastel Lavender colour. The shades dry fast, with minimal streaking and the colour pigment is strong.

Phew! So there we have it. Kit’s aesthetic is fun and fresh, but the makeup products are seriously good. The sleek packaging appeals to women of all ages and the products themselves have a great colour pay off and lasting power. An all round win in my books!

You can shop online or head to Kit Cosmetics in the Enex100 building or Perth city Myer in town.

Hope you enjoyed!

Review by Jacqui, fashion blogger, make up artist and all round cute thing.

Be well,

xoxo

♥ Beeeeyootiful new season Kit nail polish colours! ♥

If you fancy a spruce up before the weekend or just want to try a fresh new shade on your fingertips, then you must absolutely make sure you pop on down to Kit Cosmetics in the enex100 building, Hay Street Mall, this Friday – 18 March 2011!

The lovely Kit gals will be dishing out FREE 10 minute mini paint ‘n polish manicures between the following times:

11am to 2pm & 5pm to 7pm

I reckon this one will be popular, but very worth it.

Let me know if you’re thinking of heading down!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥ Aggie Hong ♥

♥ First up, briefly tell us a little bit about yourself!

I love to dream big and every experience along the journey is always a blessing!

I’ve just recently opened Moi Moi Fine Jewellery in Carillon City. So it’s all very exciting right now. Because it is so new, I’m currently running complimentary Jewellery Appreciation Workshops which educate people on how to choose the right jewellery to suit their face shapes, what to look for when purchasing fine jewellery and most importantly just to have some fun and enjoy champagne and canapés!

We also stock bright coloured MiABELLE enamel jewellery, my current favourite piece is the Faberge inspired enamel egg pendants (above) which are hand-painted and set with white topaz, they start from just $135 and you can’t get it anywhere else in WA!

♥ Tell us about your daily beauty routine.

Well it all depends on my mood and weather! When it’s hot and sticky, the lesser the better.

Step 1: Cleansing

I would always start with removing my eye make up with Lancome (fab to remove water resistant and water proof mascara) and then with Shiseido’s cleansing cream, as I do wear make up so that is a good way to remove them before using my Clarins gentle exfoliating cleanser. I would never skip a single step here even when I’m dead tired! Without cleansing properly you might as well not bother putting anything else on your face.

Shiseido Concentrated Balancing Softener – RRP $150

Step 2: Softening & Eye Cream

LOVE Shiseido Future Solution LX Softener!! It’s instant hydration to your skin and smells divine. Currently I’m using La Mer Eye Concentrate, expensive ($350) little pot of eye cream but you really to get what you pay for! Never skip eye cream! First signs of aging begin around your eyes. In summer, I usually stop here without moisturizer on top as this softener is rich enough.

Clarins Multi-Active Skin Renewal Serum – RRP $89

Step 3: Moisturise & Treatments

I like Loccitane Olive tree organic moisturiser which feels very comfortable and light. When I feel in need of boost, I would use Clarins Multi-Active Skin Renewal Serum and Crème De La Mer for a bit of pampering as well.

♥ What’s the one beauty treatment you can’t live without? And your favourite place to have it done?

Visage and Shiatsu are great ways to relax and pamper myself. I get it done once every few months at Shiseido in David Jones on Hay Street. Not only on my face, I even get my neck, shoulders and hands massaged too. All I have to do is purchase 2 products and I get to enjoy 1 hour of complimentary facial – absolutely great deal!

♥ Who do you trust with your hair in Perth, and why?

St James Hair Salon in Northbridge – my stylist always meets my expectations when styling my hair. I am very picky with colouring but they always have a can do attitude even when I come up with a hard and tricky colour request. Great service, friendly atmosphere and superbly priced!

Aesop Three Acts Kit – RRP $69

♥ Favourite budget / at home beauty treatment?

A relaxing massage from my partner! Body oil from Aesop is beautiful, rich with Vitamin E and botanical extracts.

Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist – RRP $24-39

♥ Your three, absolutely cannot live without, favourite products?

This is a hard question! Coming from a beauty background, I’ve tried many amazing products, so this will be a hard one but I managed to pull out 3.

1. Lancome Hypnose – good mascara that will work magic on your look. For the budget alternative try Maybelline volume express, works just as good!
2. Jurlique Rose Face Mist – it comes in a mini 30ml and I always carry one in my handbag. It’s my quick fix for an instant pick me up when I feel tired or dry in air conditioning and in winter. Spray on with or without makeup and you will sure get a radiant glow.
3. Chanel Coco Mademoiselle – need I say more? (Available online at StrawberryNET)

♥

♥ Do you have any secret tips you use to keep looking / feeling great?

Drink lots of tea, especially green tea. I hardly ever drink anything with sugar or anything fizzy. I like to sing as it helps me to relieve stress and always think positive!
Last but not least, lots of beauty sleep of course!

♥ What beauty treatment/ wellbeing activity would you love to try but haven’t yet? (Due to time, money, scared etc!)

Pilates – seems hard but would like to try it someday.

♥ Describe a typical day of eating for you.

Talking about food I’m actually craving sushi right now!
Well this morning I had a cup of Twining lady grey and honey on multigrain toast.
As I’m opening the shop I made myself Dilmah Rose with French vanilla milk tea.
Then its tuna and avocado sandwich for lunch with green tea. By late afternoon it’s time for my coffee fix, I love Chai tea latte from Gloria Jeans and sometimes I snack with carrot cake. For dinner I love my fish, especially salmon and other food I love eating are mushrooms, beans, roast lamb, salad especially with balsamic dressing and things with vinegar and a bit of chilli.

♥ Describe your fitness routine.

Does walking 20mins everyday while getting to the bus stop and back count?
And if I’m not too tired by the end of the day I try to go for a swim in my backyard.

♥ Do you take part in any alternative therapies or take supplements? If so, discuss.

I like to drink warm honey and apple cider vinegar at least 2 to 3 times a week in the morning.

♥ How do you like to relax? What are your favourite ways to de-stress?

Listen to soothing music and lie down with a mask.
Watch chick flick or comedy with a bunch of girlfriends.
Get away from the city completely for a retreat in the nature, somewhere that’s not too hot.

Thanks so much Aggie! We hope you enjoyed delving into her beauty & wellbeing routine, if you have someone in mind you’d love us to interview, leave a comment below!

Be well,

xoxo

♥

Fed up with the way many products and brands in the beauty world were either overpriced, poorly formulated, marketed in a misleading way or all three, Perth chemist, businesswoman and mother Bridget Black decided to take matters into her own hands.

Her chemistry background provided the foundation for her to create her own range of beauty products. Her absolute commitment to ethical practice means no ingredients used by the business are tested on animals and she tracks carbon footprint for everything from manufacture to distribution, as well as crediting $2 for the return of every piece of BB packaging.

I was lucky enough to be treated to a deluxe facial at Bridget’s flagship Mt Lawley boutique.

Reception / store area.

The fit-out is gorgeous. Considering the namesake of the business, black is the obvious choice, but it’s complemented with lots of bright white, chandeliers and make-up style light-bulbs around the mirrors.

I don’t know about you, but the moment I always fear most with a new beautician is the one where that lamp with the all-knowing light hangs over your face and tells of the multitude of sins: drinking too much alcohol and too little water, smoking (not that I do), spending too much time in the sun (driving a soft-top in summer doesn’t help); eating poorly or whatever other vice you have or temptation you give in to. Luckily, it appears all that drinking water and diligent application of sunscreen paid off and my skin, is, happily, free of premature aging and sun damage.

Temily, the therapist I had on the day, was an absolute professional.

After leaving me to tuck myself into the plush (black) blankets, she ran through my own skincare routine with me, having read the client details I had filled in on arrival.

The lush treatment room.

One of my pet hates is pushy therapists who try to sell you products while you’re having a treatment. Ditto for hairdressers trying to upsell serums, conditioners etc at the till.
I’m all for being informed, knowing what the therapist is using and the features and benefits, but it’s a fine line between informing a client and peddling products and Temily straddled it perfectly. It was an incredibly relaxing and soothing treatment, but also one where I felt informed and safe every step of the way, also another really important factor with a new therapist. Temily made me feel like just for that hour, there was no more important place to be than right where I was.

The jojoba buffing beads were one of my favourite products. I’ve used them since I had the facial, and have really never felt my skin so clean and clear of debris and dead skin cells.

Bridget Black Eye Gel, 30ml – RRP $35

The eye gel also felt beautiful on my skin and appeared to really make the skin around my eyes tighter and more soft and supple. The moisturiser for normal to oily skin, which is what I’ve got, was the perfect weight and I wasn’t left feeling at all greasy on a hot Perth summer morning.

One of the most delightful parts of the facial was the arm and leg exfoliation. Having a choice of scents added a personal touch, and vanilla, which is my all-time favourite, was one of them. Being able to select, when filling in client info, what level of massage you like is just one of the services that makes the Bridget Black experience more personal and far better than the average beauty salon encounter.

I left the salon feeling pampered, spoiled and like I’d been treated with products that had truly done my skin good.

The deluxe facial goes for 1 hour and costs $75.

Bridget runs a second store on St George’s Terrace in the CBD.
 
Follow Bridget’s movements on Facebook or on her website.

Have you tried Bridget Black, or any other local Perth brands before? Let us know in the comments!

Review by Athanae Lucev, a freelance journalist and writer with a keen eye for a pretty bargain.

Be well,

xoxo

Let me share some of my New Years Resolutions with you:

♥ Call or catch up with Mum and Dad once a week
♥ Try Omnilux and microdermabrasion
♥ Call my friends on their birthdays
♥ Finally learn, ONCE AND FOR ALL, how to apply makeup with at least a 1% degree of skill!

Last Saturday I turned up at Bella Hart in Subiaco in order to work on that final point. With my notoriously hard to match skin tone and eyes that I was certain just couldn’t ‘do’ eye makeup, the ‘Flawless and Minimalist‘ makeup workshop had found itself a tricky participant, but I was also hopeful my woes would turn out to be no match for the makeup experts.

The start of the class. The cute thing, which you can’t see very well here, is the cups! They have hearts on them 🙂 I thought it was a nice touch.

The workshops go for 2 hours, from 9:30am-11:30am, usually on a Saturday, and there were 6 of us workshop-ees in total, a mixed bunch – all with very different skintones and colourings, as well as one main makeup artist & her model / assistant.

Dani (makeup model / assistant) and Rachael, who ran the event showing us how to achieve an easy day look. I’d also like to note here that Rachael’s makeup was gorgeous, when she came up and greeted me at the start I was very impressed with how good it looked.

Armed with our sheet to write down the products we used and liked, an array of brushes, a personal mirror & our eyes and ears to watch and learn, we worked through each area of the face

As a makeup novice, I feel like I learned a lot!

Some of the highlights include:

♥ Finding a makeup shade that gives a bit more coverage than I would usually use, but looks great in photos. (Laura Mercier Oil Free Foundation in Porcelain Ivory (yep, I’m a ghostie!)
♥ Finding out you can apply primer using a foundation brush.
♥ BECCA Fine Loose Finishing Powder in Sesame. Winner.

The BECCA powder in question!

I did struggle with the eye makeup section of the class, as I literally have only the most minimal skill in that department. Another member of staff who wasn’t involved in the workshop came over and helped me by doing a great look on me with eyeshadow – unfortunately it wasn’t the one that everyone else was learning, and I have no idea how to replicate it, so I’m still lacking the basic eyeshadow skills.

Half the group!

The other half. (sorry about the pics!)

Overall I would recommend this master class for sure! It was a bit rushed towards the end so it would be nice if there was an extra half hour or additional staff member on hand to help out with the workshop, but all in all it was a success and I left with some new tools under my beauty belt.

I think the best thing about the workshops are the range of products available to try – because there is a wide range of makeup brands, you’re not going to get forced into a ‘not quite good enough’ shade like you might if you attended a brand-specific event.

I did laugh though, because the minimalist look that we did on ourselves was actually WAY more makeup than I would usually use – even for going out at night as I don’t tend to wear a lot of makeup!

I will be attending and reviewing another three workshops being run by Bella Hart in the coming months, so please stay tuned for more photos and reviews 🙂

I was invited by Bella Hart to attend the workshops.

Be well,

Annette

xoxo