When I first started my blog I didn't own a single M.A.C product - would you believe it?! Of course, I was always fascinated with the brand and would have loved to own some things from them but at that point in time, it was a little out of my budget. Jump forward 3 years and I am so lucky to be able to be sent products from their PR (still shocks me every day), as well as spending my own hard earned cash. Now I have quite the collection! I recently did a little order from the US site and used NZ Post YouShop to get it to me which is something I do often and shipping works out to only be about NZD $22. My main reason for doing this order was when they launched the beautiful Mariah Carey collection and luckily I got my hands on a couple things before a lot of it sold out!

Contour kits, much like matte liquid lipsticks, are all the rage at the moment in the beauty world. It started with more high-end brands bringing out larger palettes but it has now trickled down to the affordable brands and we are seeing some pretty amazing kits out there that perform just as well as their higher end counterparts. Revlon has teamed up with one of my favourite beauty YouTubers, Australian Chloe Morello to create their own offering; the Sculpt + Highlighting Kit*, available in 2 shades.

Back in December, I shared a review and swatches on this same palette but in 02 Golden Nudes (see it here), and I promised that a review of the Cappuccino Nudes* palette was coming. Skip forward a couple of months and here it is... honestly, time has been flying too quickly! These palettes were launched at the end of last year and I rushed out a bought the Golden Nudes selection as soon as I could and instantly feel in love with it. I was so happy when Max Factor sent over this one as well, plus their new Voluptuous Mascara*, so here are my thoughts on both.

Summer took a heck of a long time to arrive in NZ, but now it is here and in Auckland at least, it's hot, sticky and humid. Trying to get my makeup to stay in place is a daily mission, but at least the humidity is really good for your skin! RY (Recreate Yourself) is an amazing website to shop all sorts of beauty products, and they have launched their 'Summer Edit', a page with all the products you could possibly need for summer from SPF to tanning products, and even sweatproof products. I have chosen a couple of things from this selection to share my thoughts on that I think are summer must haves.

Postie+ is a classic NZ store, for as long as I can remember it has been around but in recent years they have really stepped up their game, selling lots of various beauty items and makeup goodies, alongside their clothing. I have been doing Postie+ hauls since the early days of my blog (3 years ago now... wow) and you can see them all here. They recently got in touch with me to see if I wanted to see what brands they were currently stocking, all of which you can buy for under $20 - how good is that?! Of course, I was definitely keen as an avid Postie+ shopper from way back, plus I am all about trying more affordable options. 

Lately, my Colourpop haulage has been excessive - I will be the first to admit that, but this one (I promise.. kind of) will be the last one for a little while as I have vowed to not spend as much on that amazing website. You may have seen on Friday I posted about the new Pressed Shadows (see it here), and when I ordered those I added these few extras into my cart which I had to share.

I attempted to make a vow at the end of last year that I wouldn't buy as much makeup, in particular, much ColourPop, as that has been my vice over the past few months. They have been releasing so many new products and collections that I just can't resist. My self-control goes into a negative whenever I click on their website, and I'm sure a lot of you will feel me on that. One of their biggest launches earlier this year was the new Pressed Shadows and after seeing some amazing swatches online I had to at least try a couple...

Another month has flown by already, so it is time to review all of the products I finished during the month of January. The bag in my bathroom that is purely dedicated to my empty products (it must look so strange to visitors) was getting rather full, also helped that I had a little bathroom clean out as well.

It's that time again when I get to share with you all the products I have been loving from the previous month. January was all round a pretty good start to the year, I've got into a good rhythm of blogging after a few months of haphazard uploading, so long may it continue! When I went to pick out my most loved, there turned out to be a good amount of products from Neutrogena, Too Faced, Marc Jacobs, Colourpop, Mecca Cosmetica and Essence.

Australis Cosmetics is a brand I have been using for years; I'm sure some of my first makeup products were probably from them! Lately, they have been nailing their product releases with on-trend products at affordable prices (i.e. when everyone went nuts for the Contour Kit!) The latest releases follow the trends of colour correcting and the ongoing obsession with highlighting and glowing skin.

Every 6 months or so we are blessed with a whole load of new Maybelline products being launched. At the end of 2016, I was sent the most amazing PR parcel, consisting of a cardboard, Maybelline themed Christmas tree, with little lights and each branch had one of the new products attached to it (see below for some pictures of the tree). NZ is finally getting the much loved Color Jolt Lipsticks as well as the Loaded Bolds range, plus an affordable cushion foundation.