Acne Be Gone - Home Made Face Mask

This is my Favourite home-made facial mask!!! It is very easy and inexpensive to make, you might even have the ingredients in your kitchen pantry, Go Check!

I don't say that this will work for everyone, but maybe trying this is worth a shot. It worked for me, no more expensive shop brought products for me (who knows what chemicals are in some of the products on the market).

Ingredients:

Honey

Cinnamon

Combine three teaspoons of honey and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, stir.

Microwave for up to 30 seconds (depending on microwave), microwave in 3-4 second batches  if you are unsure, we only want the honey heated up. It should resemble melted chocolate. 

Note: Honey heats up very fast, make sure to test it on your wrist before applying to your face, you don't want to scald your face. Remember, hot honey is not your friend!

Once heated, apply an even coat to the face. I apply mine with a foundation brush, a lot cleaner then using your hands, but you can use what ever. 

Wait 10 minutes and wash off. Skin feels soft, baby-bottom-like and refreshed. 

I apply my mask before showering and wash off in circular motions, the cinnamon gently exfoliates dead skins cells.

This mask is great for acne prone skin and is gentle enough to be used daily. Alternatively you can apply to problem areas before bed and rinse in the morning. Please be advised if you sleep like I do (Tossing and turning all night) this is probably not an ideal way to do it, Also if you have ant problems in your kitchen, you will now have them in your bedroom.

Honey & Cinnamon are a great combination for acne problems. Honey has natural antibacterial properties and will sooth and calm problem skin. Cinnamon will bring oxygen and blood to surface, drying out the oil that causes pimples.  

I highly advise to use ground Cinnamon rather than Cinnamon Essential Oil, the Essential Oil is very potent  and can cause skin rashes and discomfort (The essential oil would be better used in large batches of cosmetics and lotions etc)

WARNING:  If you have any allergies to Cinnamon or Honey DO NOT USE this mask! In-fact stay right away from anything containing these ingredients.

Chi Chi Pre Foundation Flawless Face Skin Primer

I brought this primer from Myer about 12 months ago for $39.95. I had been looking for a full face primer, and this one promised many things

Description From the Website: (I have misplaced the original packaging)
Create the perfect canvas for flawless face foundation application with this silky, oil free and paraben free, hydrating skin primer. Enriched with Hyaluronic spheres this primer visibly improves the look, texture and tone of the skin by filling, plumping and smoothing out fine lines and pores leaving a fresh face complexion. Suitable for all skin types this lightweight primer will make your make up last longer and may even be worn alone on non- make up days for a natural, healthy velvety smooth finish.

My Opinion:

I really like this product; It is very light weight, glides on smoothly and feels like you're not wearing anything at all. As a silicone based product people might expect an oily residue on the skin, but it soaks into the skin; smoothing lines and filling pores leaving the skin feeling silky smooth.
It has a pump for easy application,  one pump will usually cover the whole face. With this primer I will get a full day out of my make up. I would recommend using an eye-primer such as, Naked Decays Eyeshadow Primer Potion around the eye area as this is probably its only weak point. 

I moisturize before applying the primer, it doesn't hydrate the skin enough to be used in place of a moisturizer. For best results apply Moisturizer up to 30 mins before applying primer. The moisturize will be well and truly absorbed, leaving no oily/creamy residue behind.  
It works well with liquid and mineral foundations. Liquid foundations glide on over the top, blending with ease and mineral foundations stick to it giving it a good even coverage. 

I would recommend this for all skin types but more for people aged 20+ (if younger, with really dry skin). The silicone works really well for anti-aging the skin. A big thumbs up in my book.
I don't use this product for everyday make-up. I use it for special occasions and long days in harsh weather conditions (summer is a really good time to use it).  The only reason I don't use it every day is that it is quite costly. 


Price:$39.95 

Rating: 4 / 5

Where to Buy: Myer, Target or from their website Chi Chi Cosmetics

NP Set Eye Primer

NP Set Eye Primer : $19 AUD 
Available: Target

I had heard some good things about Napoleon Perdis and so I decided to give his: Set Eye Primer a shot. 

It advertises, "NP Set Eye Primer maximizes the lustre and longevity of your eye shadow by applying our eye base first. Ideal for those days when you require staying power."

I found that while the eyelid feels silky smooth it doesn't provide a creamy base for the eye shadow to stick to, the eye shadow just slid right off, It definitely did not last all day as advertised.
I felt that my eye-makeup was more vibrant without the primer, the eye shadows just didn't seem to stick to the primer and any that did creased within the hour. 

It did make my eyelid feel silky soft. 

Would I buy again: NO! 

Quality: 1  out of 5 

Overall Opinion: For the price and the quality I would not recommend this product at all. It does not deliver anything of what it advertises. 

Alternative: If you are looking for a good primer Urban Decay's Primer Potion is definitely the way to go. I know it's more expensive (more so because its hard to get in Australia) but it is worth it for the quality and finish. 

MUG - Makeup Geek Palette

MAKEUP GEEK 

Makeup Geek was founded in 2008 by CEO/ Makeup artist Marlena Stell. 

In the begging the Makeup Geek name was a  label she went by for her makeup tutorials on YouTube. Since then she has brought out her very own makeup range: Eyeshadows, lipsticks(TBA) and Blushes (TBA) 

Marlena and her team at Makeup Geek continue to create and inspire new looks on a regular basis. 

They have a large fan base on: Facebook, Twitter and  their very own forums

So far she has 50 eyeshadows in her range:  $5.99 USD each  + Shipping

*Makeup Geek ship worldwide 

 Makeup Geek's 8-Eyeshadow Starter Kit

Today's review: Makeup Geek's (MUG) 8-Eyeshadow Starter Kit

$45.00 USD  +Shipping 

The starter kit consists of 8 eye-shadows: 5 Matte and 3 Shimmer

*Note this kit  consists of colour pans only - Z palettes or other compacts are sold separately. The pans are the same sized as MAC so they will fit into a MAC compact.

Makeup Geek describes the colours:

• Cocoa Bear –  Matte golden brown
• Mocha – Matte Warm medium brown
• Glamorous – Bronzy, shimmery gold
• Purely Naked – Soft shimmery nude 
• Shimma Shimma – Shimmery highlight
• Purple Rain – Deep but subtle matte purple
• Unexpected – Light and subtle pink matte purple blend
• Corrupt – Intense matte black with small bit of sparkle

I was mildly surprised that Marlena chose this colour range for her first palette set. Usually a palette would be made up so similar that they are only a few shades apart with one or two darker colours. 
I love what Marlena has done with her colour choice; The purples go really well with the browns and Shimmer Shimmer is a fantastic highlighting shade.


Makeup Geeks Shadows are:

• The highest quality.
• Highly pigmented
• Talc and paraben free. 
• Cruelty free  - Not tested on animals

The price for the starter range: $45.00 USD  +Shipping 

The price is very reasonable for the quality, considering others of the same quality or less sell for more then twice the cost. 

These are the first products I have brought by MUG and I believe they are exactly as described: 

• Highly pigmented and of the highest quality. 
• These eyeshadows do not crease and will last all day
• The colours go on smoothly and blend without difficulty together or with other brands

For an example these eyeshadows click here!

The Service from Makeup Geek was 100% positive

I received Confirmation of my order straight away by email and then confirmation of posting the very next day (different time zones) 

All up, the process from payment to delivery was approx a week to 10 days. (To Australia)

They were packed so well not even a fall from Heaven would damage them. 

The only downside I found, Corrupt had a fair bit of fallout, lots more then the others. Being so potent in colour this can be a little bit of a pain to get rid of. I recommend to tap all excess shadow off the brush, minimal product is required when using this colour. Otherwise apply eye-shadow first and then the rest of the make up or have a tissue under the eye when applying. This is truly the blackest eye-shadow I have ever seen and even with the fallout I would definitely recommend this. 

If this is the quality to go by I will definitely be buying more from MUG's Eyeshadow range. 

Z PALETTE 

To store your MUG pans consider investing in a Z Palette. I brought a Z Palette for these shadows to go into, they fit with plenty of room for more. The magnetic power is strong making sure none of my pans move about in travel. 

Small Z Palette - $13.99 USD

Standard Z palette - $18.99 USD

There is also a Z Palette Pro Option but for $27.99  but I find the standard size to be more then adequate for a colour range. 

Urban Decay - Naked

Recently I purchased Urban Decay's Naked palette from Beauty Bay. It is the first time I purchased anything from this site and I have to say the service was great, no issues at all. 

For all you fellow Aussies (Australians) I'm sorry to say that Urban Decay does not ship to Australia :o( and to buy off Ebay and most web-stores is double the cost.
Beauty Bay is a UK based online retailer, they ship world wide and the costs of the products are very reasonable, almost as if you brought it direct. I happened to purchase the palette when they had a free world wide shipping promotion. Bargain!

The palette itself (at the time of purchase with the exchange rate) was $48.00, I also picked up a Urban Decay, 24/7 Eyeliner - Zero for $19.00  - I had heard some good things about this eyeliner and was eager to find out for myself.  I am quite satisfied with this product. 

Urban Decay's Naked Palette: $50.00 USD (price from Urban Decay's site)

Available - Ships to Australia: Beauty Bay, Ebay

Available USA: Urban Decay, Amazon

Here is my take on the palette:

What I Got:  The palette came with 12 Neutral colour; 3 Matte and 9 Shimmer, an eye shadow brush and a travel sized eye primer pot. 

First of all I love the colours, it is suitable for all skin tones and they are all exceptionally different in colour from each other. The quality and pigmentation of these eye shadows is amazing, They blended well together and with other eye shadows. Using the primer pot these shadows will last all day. The other thing I adore about this palette is they do not crease. 

The eye shadow brush that came with the palette is pretty good quality itself, magnetized with the palette so it won't fall out as soon as you open it. 

The only down-side I found with this palette and I say this reluctantly, because the palette is worth it as is, but I would have liked to see some more matte finish colours. 

Would I buy again?: YES!

Quality: 5 out of 5

Overall Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5

Overall Opinion: I love it! This is an amazing palette for work or play.