For my last beauty post of the year (I'll be taking a little break over Christmas and NY, more details on Sunday), I thought it would be oh so appropriate to share some other products from the extensive and gorgeous M.A.C. Nutcracker Sweet Collection. I recently reviewed the Nude Mini Lipstick Kit here, which my Dad bought back from the US with him, but a surprise parcel arrived last week filled with these products from the range.

As you may have noticed on my blog, my Instagram, my Facebook, my Twitter, my Snapchat, I am a little Colourpop obsessed. I have a real love for the brand ever since they launched and they are probably one of the fastest growing beauty brands with a following that would rival those that have been around for years and years. The past few months they have been offering free international shipping for orders over $50 and have been launching all kinds of amazing products so I have been ordering a lot! This haul is the combination of two orders (don't judge me), but as a help to you all, I have got swatches and my thoughts on the items I have bought recently.

Christmas is creeping up so quickly, I mean this time next week it will be Boxing Day! So with that in mind, I thought I would share this great set from Simply Essential that would make a good gift for any makeup lover because one can never have enough makeup brushes (especially if they are rose gold!)

2016 may have not been a good year overall for the world, but a very small positive that came from it was that Mecca Maxima opened it's very first store in New Zealand, made even more special as it is in my hometown of Christchurch! They also launched all the new brands and products on the Mecca Beauty website, along with the huge selection of Christmas gifting, and beautiful gift wrapping. I ordered the day they launched all the Christmas gift sets and Urban Decay, Too Faced etc on to the website and went a little overboard with the beauty shopping. I was also down in CHCH for work in November and managed to get through the crowds and do some shopping in the actual store. Here is my large and excessive haul from Mecca Maxima.

A couple of months ago I was lucky enough to be one of the first in NZ to try out the brand M.A.C Technique Masterclasses and experience their newly launched app to go along with it. The event I went to was held at Westfield St Lukes in Auckland, where they had a very sleek black and glass box set up, with makeup stations and a stage where the demo was done. Although I do know a fair bit about makeup application, there is always something new to be learnt, especially from one of the top M.A.C MUA's Kiekie Stanners who ran the class. Along with the app launch, we were also able to test out some brand new products that have launched which I can't wait to tell you about.

*Sponsored post collaboration with Shipito. Compensation was given for this post and towards using the service All thoughts and experiences my own.

I am an avid lover of online shopping; there is so much more range, and the prices generally work out a bit cheaper depending on the exchange rate. Don't get me wrong, I buy from stores here in NZ a lot, but for things that are hard to get here, or a lot cheaper overseas, I'll go online. The difficulty comes when they either don't ship to NZ at all (or your chosen country), have restrictions on what can be shipped, charge huge shipping prices, or don't accept NZ cards. This is where Shipito* comes into play. They reached out to me and asked if I wanted to try out their service and let you all know how I found it. I used the site exactly as a normal customer would, and here is how it all went.

I have an eyeshadow addiction. For some people, it might be lipsticks, or blushes (although I do own a lot in both categories), but I can't go past a good eyeshadow, and if it's in palette form, well that is even better! Eyeshadow palettes are amazing, single shadows do have their merits as well, but for a good selection of shades all wrapped up nicely in one palette is always going to win in my eyes. Max Factor has recently launched the Masterpiece Nude Palette Contouring Eye Shadows, in 2 shade ranges, which just cater to my neutral eyeshadow obsession.

There's nothing quite like The Body Shop bringing out their Christmas scents and products to really get you in the mood for the festive season. This year sees the introduction of some new (and delicious) smells and also the chance to personalise your very own body butter.

December is well underway already; the Christmas tree is up, All I Want For Christmas is playing in every single shop you walk into, and the advent calendars are being opened (follow my Instagram stories to see The Body Shop, ASOS Beauty Calendar + the Tanya Burr Cosmetics ones being opened daily!) But let's just take it back to November so I can share with you all of the products that I found myself reaching for loads and absolutely loving.  

Can you believe this is going to be my second to last Empties of the year? As with most month's I always think I'm not going to end up having many products, but am surprised when I empty the bag to find a whole load more. There's a good mix this month of skincare, haircare and makeup.