stila Cosmetics Aqua Glow Serum Foundation

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Finally, I am back on the blog with a review for you guys!

I've had a lot going on the last couple of months & it's been hard to find some writing time,

but I'm here with a new Foundation to show you all, my fave makeup product to review.

www.stilacosmetics.com

Review w/ Before + After pics

Stila Cosmetics recently came out with a few new products, the Aqua Glow range.

Consisting of blushes, primer, concealer & the foundation. 

With new, innovative formulas - Water/Gel based & Serum like products.

The new products, as well as a few older ones (like the Liquid Lipsticks) have been

 repackaged in gold & have a new luxurious feel.

The golden new style is what caught my eye to this foundation, also the name -

Aqua Glow, Serum Foundation I thought "Serum Foundation? Hmm?"
In my Sephora cart it went and $45usd later, I hoped I would like it...

It's available in 10 shades (I got "Fair Light") & you get 30ml of product.

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Stila promises Medium - Full buildable coverage with this foundation, 

and a natural, radiant finish. It has advanced multi-reflective colour pigments 

to instantly even skin tone & blur imperfections, pores & fine lines. 

With Ionized water, advanced Hyaluronic Acid & Essential minerals, 

the Serum formula helps hydrate and nourish for glowing skin with healthy radiance.

One cool thing about this foundation, it has a Drop Applicator & the pump

 rises when you twist open the lid! Very cool!

♥Before & After♥

So as usual, I applied with a Beauty Blender on one side, & Flat Top Brush on the other,

I used ONE pump for my whole face & am pretty impressed with the coverage!

      BEFORE                                                     AFTER

 Beauty Blender:

Medium coverage, evened out skin tone & blemish scarring is mostly covered.
 I feel the BB causes this foundation to sit on top of your skin as oppose to blending in & setting properly.

You can see above, the right side of my face is shinier & it felt like the foundation was slipping off my face

 Flat Top Brush

Full, Natural looking coverage, even skin tone & imperfections are covered. 
I definitely prefer using a brush with this foundation, it buffed & blended it in to my skin properly. You will however need to set it with a powder to ensure it lasts the day. 







It's very radiant & dewy, I wouldn't recommend this product for those with oilier skin. I have normal/combination skin & I still think this would be better for me in the colder months when my skin needs more hydration. At the moment it's Summer where I live & I can't say it lasts very long in the hot weather haha! I Love the finish & coverage, but I think the serum base causes the foundation to slip around, it feels like I've just put fresh beauty oil on that doesn't soak in...

For now I'm rating it 3/5 and will have to try it in Autumn/Winter

If you're interested in the Aqua Glow Blushes, check out my review 
on the one I got last year, very interesting idea for a blush..
- Stila Aqua Glow Blush Review


LucyLoves! xx

Anastasia Beverly Hills Cream Contour Kit

Swatches & Palette Review

Finally, I got my hands on the super popular Anastasia Beverly Hills 

Cream Contour Kit, in the new shade FAIR

I have the powder contour kit & use it a lot, so I was super excited to try 

out this cream kit, especially when they released the Fair kit!

I know Anastasia makes high quality products & this palette is no exception 

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Contains 3 highlighting & 3 contouring shades,
To sculpt, define & enhance your natural features
Price $40 USD for 6x 4.5g 
Available on anastasiabeverlyhills.com

www.anastasiabeverlyhills.com

First thing I noticed when ordering was the classy new packaging

Thick black plastic case with a clear lid & removable magnetic pans.

Very sleek & looks nice on your vanity.

One thing we look for in a great contour, cream or powder, is of course the shade

Is it too ashy? Is it too warm toned? Does it have shimmer?

These shades are spot on! (swatches below)

My skin tone is NC15 - 20 (mac) & the contour shades are perfect! 

Also the highlighting shades work really nicely, but I'd like to point out they do

not work like concealers & they aren't meant to, where you place the product is where you

want to brighten the skin & highlight, not conceal & cover..

Super pigmented shades & a nice consistency - not too creamy

I apply the shades, using a paddle foundation brush, exactly where I want shade & light 

then blend out using a damp beauty blender.

If you have dryer skin & find the product a little hard to blend out, I've heard a few people

say they mix a drop of beauty oil (e.g Argan/Jojoba Oil, Tarte Marajuca Oil) to make it

 creamier & help with blending.

♥SWATCHES♥

Soft Light - Cool toned Highlight, Satin Matte Finish

Lustre - Icy Pearl Sheer Highlight, Shimmer Finish

Fair - Warm toned Highlight, Satin Finish

Fawn - Cool toned Brown Contour, Satin Matte Finish

Shadow - Neutral mid-tone Brown Contour, Satin Finish

Mink - Neutral/Cool deep Brown Contour, Satin Finish

You might be wondering what I mean by the Satin Matte finish with some of

these shades, in my opinion they set slightly more matte with less radiance to them, which may be

another reason people add beauty oil to give a more dewy finish? But don't these shades just look delicious to contour with!? I had to smother them all over my face when they arrived! I was surprisingly impressed with "Lustre" the illuminating cream, it gives a very intense yet very natural glow to the skin. That is what I like about this palette, it gives the most natural looking contour & highlight, you wouldn't know you were wearing makeup! But if you're wanting sharp, more defined cheekbones I recommend going in with a powder contour instead, or as well for a contour that lasts all day/night long!

For $40usd I totally think this palette is worth it

You're getting 6x quality cream contour/highlight shades in one kit!
That's about $6.60 per pan, not bad at all! Plus I heard Claudia (Norvina) mention they will be bringing out refillable pans for these kits! So if you use one particular colour a lot, you don't

have to buy another kit to replace that shade once used. Or you can pop them all in a 

Z palette for convenience & travel.

Remember if it doesn't work or blend as easily for you, try using a damp 

beauty blender or adding some beauty oil to each pan before applying!

LucyLoves! xx

Chi Chi Cosmetics Extravaganza Face Palette

Review & Swatches!

Yay! A New Year has started & it's time to start blogging again!
Before Christmas, Chi Chi Cosmetics released a ton of new products
This Extravaganza Face Palette was just one of the many gift options they had available
And of course, knowing my luck, the palette had sold out everywhere in store..
So I went online Chichicosmetics.com & there it was! 
24 Eyeshadows
3 Highlighters
3 Blushes
2 Bronzers 
All for $30aud!
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It arrived to NZ in three days & I was able to swatch this baby for us all!
I was blown away by the quality & pigmentation of this entire palette!
Swatches Below 

www.chichicosmetics.com 

  This palette includes shadows from their individual eye palettes

 - some Mattes, shimmers, brights, bronzes, nudes & smokeys

 so you get to test out the quality & pigmentation of all their products in one kit!

I only owned the Chi Chi Nudes palette from their shadow range 

and thought this palette was a perfect way to try a lot more of their shadows

 plus some of their face products - blushes, bronzers & the new highlighters

All that for $30aud? I couldn't say no!

♥ SWATCHES ♥

First Row

Cream/Off White with slight Sheen

Flesh toned Matte 

Cool toned Light Grey Matte

Cool toned Taupe Brown Matte

Neutral mid-tone Brown Matte

Deep Purple Brown Matte

These shades were hard to swatch, not the softest shadows but they were easier to blend with brushes

Second Row

Light Pearl Gold Shimmer

Champagne Gold Metallic 

True Gold Metallic

Warm Bronze Brown Metallic

Copper Bronze Metallic

Neutral Deep Bronze Metallic

Every one of these shades swatch like butter, so soft & highly pigmented 

Third Row

Intense Yellow Gold Shimmer

Rose Gold Metallic

Warm Caramel Brown Matte

Red toned Brown Matte 

Apricot with slight Sheen

Bronze Gold Metallic

Another row that swatched like butter, the mattes on this row are softer & more pigmented compared to the first row

Fourth Row

Orange Metallic with Gold Shimmer

Bright Turquoise Blue with slight Shimmer

Medium Bright Purple with Shimmer

Lilac Purple Metallic

Dark Plum Shimmer 

Deep Navy Blue Matte

Considering the bright shades in this row, the pigmentation is definitely there! Just the Aqua Blue was slightly patchy when swatched

Highlighters

Intense Icy Gold Highlight  

Cool toned Champagne Highlight

Deeper Golden Highlight

Blushes

Sheer Peach Blush with Shimmer

Neutral Pink Blush with Sheen finish

Peachy Pink Blush with Gold shimmer

Bronzers

Tropical Island Bronzer - Neutral toned Bronzer with slight shimmers
Brazilian Beach Bronzer - Slight Warm toned Bronzer with Matte finish

All Stunning face powders & blend beautifully


The Tropical Island Bronzer looks a lot like NARS Laguna bronzer & the bottom blush reminds me of NARS Orgasm blush, also a lot of the shadows are similar to the Urban Decay Naked palettes! 
Some great dupes in this palette!
I definitely think this is worth picking up & adding to your collection, it's worth every penny! 
I would happily pay $60-80 for this palette getting the huge variety of colours, knowing the quality of the powders & seeing the pigmentation. 
Also I totally recommend ordering online off their website, when you sign up for email newsletters you receive a $15 coupon code, which could pay for your shipping, or you get Free Express Shipping to NZ on orders over $75 (and Australia over $50) 
This palette is currently still available, but it is Limited Edition so get it while you can!

I love Chi Chi Cosmetics!

It feels so good to get back in to blogging, 

I can't wait to see what 2016 holds for us Beauty lovers

So many new products in the making!

LucyLoves! xx