My pit stop at Sephora in Sydney, Australia

Sephora in Sydney 

Hello! Jeanne here, sorry for my absence, uni has been crazy this year. Anyways now that I'm done, I'm doing a bit of traveling on the east coast of Australia, and had the opportunity to visit Sydney's brand new Sephora! 

Sephora is located on the Pitt Street Mall, a bustling pedestrian mall in Sydney's CBD. I visited on 10 December, and they still had the queue-dividers up to help keep people lined up in an orderly fashion. When I walked past at around 2pm, there was a moderate queue of about 25 people, so I decided to come back later. It had calmed down a bit around 4pm and there were only 6 people in line, so I decided to join them. I didn't have to wait long, no more than 5 minutes, and I was in the store. The floor space is not very large, but there are two stories. Most of the makeup is located on the lower level, while skincare and the cash registers are on the upper level (there were some sales assistants with EFTPOS machines in a corner on the lower level, but I recommend going upstairs because near the cash registers is where the very tempting small/travel sized items are located!). Even though it was still pretty busy, the staff were friendly and efficient, and I never felt crowded, rushed, or uncomfortable.  

My mini Sephora haul

Since I am still traveling, I had to control myself and only picked up two small items (even though the OCC Lip Tar and Tarte Lipsurgence sets kept calling out to me!). I purchased Kat Von D's Lock-It Tattoo Concealer in Light 18 and a pack of Sephora's brand of Targeted Eye Makeup Remover Swabs. I have been on the hunt for years for an opaque, liquid, cruelty-free concealer and I hope Kat Von D's lives up to my expectations! The lovely lady at the cash register said that she loved it because it's highly pigmented, long-lasting and doesn't crease. I forgot to pack eye makeup remover with me and I haven't seen cotton swabs that contain eye makeup remover in them in Australia yet, fingers crossed that Sephora's brand don't sting my eyes!      

Kat Von D's Lock-It Concealer in Light 18

Sephora's Targeted Eye Makeup Remover Swabs

Have you been to Sydney's Sephora? What have you hauled?  

Travel the world with Savvy by DB's Long Lasting Matte Lipstick

Savvy by DB Long Lasting Matte Lipsticks

If you like highly pigmented, matte, budget-friendly lipsticks, run - don't walk - to your nearest Priceline and check out the Long Lasting Matte Lipstick range from Savvy by DB! I can't find any information about these online from DB or Priceline's website, but it appears that these might be limited edition.

Initially, I picked up Morocco back in April in order to qualify for Priceline's Beauty Bag. I had never tried anything from Savvy before and since I'm loving matte lips at the moment (and I feel incredibly compelled to buy cosmetics named after places I've been to!), I thought I'd give one of them a try. I didn't get around to wearing it until a couple of weeks ago -- I was absolutely blown away. They are richly pigmented, achieve full opacity in one swipe, and are one of the most comfortable matte lipstick formulas I've tried. Since then, I've stopped in nearly every Priceline I've come across to try and pick up more! It seems that I'm not the only one loving them because many of the displays were completely out of stock.

The specs: they are 2.8g/0.098oz and come in slim tubes with the names on top of the cap; the bottom of the tube gives you a glimpse at the colour. These small details make for easy storage, either upside down so you can see the shades or right way up to show the names.

• Paris is a light beige, which will be a nude shade for light to medium skintones.
• Tokyo is a pale, cool-toned pink.
• Maui is a warm coral.
• San Fran is a bold medium pink.
• Vegas is a bright, strawberry red.
• Morocco is a deep, cooler-toned red.

While they all have matte finishes, Tokyo, Maui, and San Fran appear to have a hint of fine silver glitter particles. However, they are not obvious nor do they feel gritty when worn on the lips. The matte finish on all of these lipsticks is not completely flat and could arguably be classified as demi-matte rather than matte. I'm not too sure of any budget-friendly lipsticks that don't have a high shine/cream/shimmer/glitter finish though, so for me, these do fill a much appreciated niche.

I purchased these for $6.99 each from Priceline.

Manicare Glam Express Nail Wraps in Lace Me Up

I was very excited to try out Manicare's Glam Express Nail Wraps since I've seen many brands coming out with lots of different colours and prints. I haven't tried anything like this before so I was eager to see how these performed.

Manicare's Glam Express Nail Wraps are nail stickers which can be repositioned (as opposed to the kind that are made out of real nail polish and adhere to the nails like real polish). They do feel like stickers on the nails, and the design with the gems and flowers are raised so you can feel the bumps when you run your fingers over them. The decals come on a clear strip of plastic as a way to align the best shape for each nail prior to applying them.

Each pack comes with 40 pieces  (2 designs x 20 pieces) in a variety of lengths and widths. It's better to pick one that is too small rather than too big, as I picked some that looked like they fit but were too wide and they didn't sit flat on the nail (which I tried to remedy afterwards with a cuticle clipper). I did use the smallest one for my pinky nails and those were still too wide -- I think those with very narrow nails may have to do some extra trimming.

Instructions

Steps for application 2

The instructions on the back of the package were easy to follow and since my nails are on the shorter side, I snipped off the excess with scissors before filing down the rest close to the tip of my nail. It didn't specify whether or not a base coat of nail polish was necessary so I applied them directly on top of my bare nails. This particular design, Lace Me Up, has some transparency in the design, because of this I think it could work over a coloured polish if you don't want it to be just black & skin coloured. The whole entire process took me about 40 minutes to apply them to all ten fingers; it would probably 30 minutes or less for somebody who's not photographing along the way ;)

Manicare Glam Express in Lace Me Up indirect sunlight

Manicare Glam Express in Lace Me Up under lamp 2

Before and After

I was very impressed by how long these lasted. I did lose some of the gems near the tips of my nails along the way but since it's a pattern, it's not as noticeable as when a solid nail polish chips. I think these would be perfect for traveling (especially if traveling for a special occasion) since they're easy to apply on the go, come in a lot of fun designs, don't take up a lot of space and are disposable. Removal was easy, after a week I noticed the edges that didn't lay flat were starting to lose their stickiness so I peeled them off. There was a tiny bit of glue residue on my nails but a quick swipe of nail polish remover took care of that. The price may be a deterrent for some because they are a single-use item, but I think the unique patterns and the convenience totally make them worth it (these are also priced on the lower end of the spectrum, cheaper than similar products made by Revlon, Rock Beauty and Sally Hansen). They're also great for people like me who spend too much time reading nail polish blogs and are envious of the talented girls who can draw elaborate designs on their nails :)

And because I could - Haiku wrap up:

Manicare Wraps - fun!

Easy, unique prints and shades.

Good for on the go.

Manicare's Glam Express Nail Wraps are available for purchase from Priceline for $9.99

I couldn't find anything on Manicare's website about their animal testing policy, but according to this fabulous post by The Plastic Diaries, Manicare do not test on animals.

*This product was provided for consideration, but everything I've written is my own opinion.

Essence Circus Circus

After seeing posts of the Essence Circus Circus collection popping up, I've been stalking my closest Priceline for weeks! The fun theme, packaging, and shades drew me in. I picked up 02 My Glammy Acrobat Lip Lacquer; 01 Applause, Applause Lip Lacquer; 04 Cotton Candy Colour3 Nail Polish; 01 It's Magic Highlighter Powder; 02 Raise the Curtain for... Longlasting Eyeshadow; and 01 It's Magic Lip Topper.

Essence Circus Circus swatches

The Lip Lacquers come with a doe-foot applicator; the texture of these is similar to a lipstain, yet it remains shiny on the lips like a gloss. I found My Glammy Acrobat to have a slight cherry scent. My Glammy Acrobat is a vivid hot pink and Applause, Applause is a cool strawberry red. Both are comfortable to wear, but application was a bit tricky since the watery texture made it a bit difficult to get a sharp, clean line.

Wearing My Glammy Acrobat Lip Lacquer

Wearing Applause, Applause Lip Lacquer

It's Magic Highlighter Powder is a fantastic value, 9g/0.31oz of product for less than $6! The texture is smooth, however, it's not as finely milled as higher end products given the price, but I can't complain. In the powder there is a big-top tent embossed that should last through several uses. I swatched it alongside my favourite highlighter, TheBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer; It's Magic is more yellowy gold and a bit less pigmented -- I think it would make a great everyday highlighter because it's not too flashy.

Left - Essence 01 It's Magic & Right - TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer under direct sunlight

Left - Essence 01 It's Magic & Right - TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer

Cotton Candy Colour3 Nail Polish consists of a vivid pink creme on one side and a pink glitter top coat on the other side. The pink creme was surprisingly opaque as I was able to cover my nail line in just one coat. The pink glitter top coat is suspended in a clear base and contains pink glitter which flashes a bright purple shade. So far I've been wearing it for one day and notice no chips or dents, just barely noticeable tip wear on the middle finger.

Essence Circus Circus Colour3 Nail Polish in 04 Cotton Candy

Essence Circus Circus Colour3 Nail Polish in 04 Cotton Candy in direct sunlight

Raise the Curtain for…Longlasting Eyeshadow is a shimmery taupe cream eyeshadow. The texture has a little bit of slip like a mousse product and when I applied it I had to pull my finger across my eyelid to deposit colour instead of patting my finger like I do for most cream eyeshadows. I wore this over a primer and it lasted all day without fading and experienced just a tiny bit of creasing, which is not bad considering I didn't set it with a powder eyeshadow. It's almost as if Maybelline's Colour Tattoos in Audacious Asphalt, Bad to the Bronze and Tough as Taupe had a baby.

Essence 02 Raise the Curtain for...comparisons

It's Magic is also the name of the Lip Topper, a glittery gold lip gloss. It comes out of the tube looking quite yellow, but it adds a nice golden shimmer to the lips. It's especially pretty when applied the to centre of the lips to create a fuller look.

Wearing It's Magic Lip Topper + Applause, Applause Lip Lacquer

As with any Essence Trend Edition, I recommend going to check them out sooner rather than later as the products fly off the shelves quite quickly! The Circus Circus collection is exclusive to Priceline. The Lip Lacquers are $3.50, It's Magic Highlighter Powder is $5.95, It's Magic Lip Topper is $3.95, Colour3 Nail Polishes are $5.50, and Longlasting Eyeshadows are $5.50.

Essence is cruelty-free :)