The lazy gal's guide (life hack) to getting clean skin, fast.

The makeup wipe 

Forty winks, counting sheep, catching some z's -- these are the thoughts that race through my head as I ready myself for sleep. In the morning I'm willing to cut a couple of corners as much as the next gal for those few extra minutes of sleep and I'll certainly do the same before bed.

Think about all the things you do in the course of day..

• Commute to work (drive, bike, walk, train, etc.)
• Chat on the phone or text
• Type
• Frequent the bathroom
• Hit the gym
• Pick up the kids (for some of us)

Now, how many times did you or even a loved one touched your face after doing any or all of these activities? We always sanitise our hands, yet we only manage to wash/cleanse our face once a day.

Show of hands, have you hit the sheets without washing your face? I certainly have and I'm ashamed to admit this, but it's a habit (albeit a good one) I really only picked up a couple of years ago. Plus, who knows how badly I've harmed/damaged my skin from being so neglectful.

Now that I wear makeup almost every day, I make the time to remove my makeup off. Key word here is make, no matter how tipsy, tired or sick I am. I don't want my made up face smushin' with my pillow, guys we all know where it's been and it ain't pretty.

So, for those post-party evenings or even for the long, hard days at work or school reach for a makeup wipe. I've been using Neutrogena's Night Calming Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes (say that three times fast) when I can't be bothered hovering over the sink as the water reaches a luke warm state. The soft wipes get rid of the day's grit and grime all while calming the senses, I'm left feeling squeaky clean and zen.

Side note: makeup wipes shouldn't permanently replace a proper facial cleansing regimen, but they [wipes] sure are handy whenever you're having a Garfield moment. 

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Neutrogena's Night Calming Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes:

• $7.99 AUS / $6.99 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 7 out of 10 bags — Cheap and cheerful.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• I wish Neutrogena sold their makeup range in Australia.

*PR sample provided  –  Thoughts and ramblings written here are completely my own.

Not sweet enough: MAC's Patisserie

MAC's Patisserie

I swear I'm on a never-ending quest to find the perfect shade of "my lips, but better." But like my skin, my lips are fickle too. There are some formulas out there my lips wholeheartedly embrace, others not so much.

Case in point: MAC's Patisserie, a brownish pink with flecks of golden shimmer.

Swatch of MAC's Patisserie

Seriously guys, it's as if someone is walking around with a magnifying glass only to highlight the fact that my lips resemble the Sahara desert. For whatever reason Patisserie is on a mission to suck what little moisture is left in my lips.

Can you say drought?

In regards to wear time, Patisserie maxes out just shy of lunch -- call it 3 to 4 hours. And in that block of time I grew very self conscious and weary as I knew my lips were being ravaged.

Wearing Patisserie

Patisserie is pretty, but I might have to tuck her away until Spring. Do you ever have this problem with certain lipsticks? Or maybe it's just me.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for MAC's Patisserie:

• $36.00 AUS /  $16.00 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 6 out of 10 bags — the hunt continues.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• Fathoms Deep is oh so enticing, but I must be good. Right?

How to apply almost every single shade from Urban Decay's Naked 3 Palette. Almost.

The palette in question

Urban Dacay's Naked 3 palette happens to be my most-loved and used eyeshadow palette ever and I have no qualms about recommending it to others. But what do you do whence confronted by all twelve shades; some might tuck it away, curl up in a ball and call it a day. Others, like myself, will rise to the challenge and find a way to use them all.

Mersaedes, this one's for you.

Let's get started.

Tools of the trade

Here's what you need:

• Primer, preferably one without shimmer
  • NARS Smudge Proof Primer - appears white, dries clear
  • Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (Original) - beige in colour
  • Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer - beige in colour
• A foundation brush and Q-tips for post-application clean up
• Spooly brush to rid your lashes of any mascara clumps
• Eyelash curler
• Mascara
• Brown Eyeliner - I'm in love with Marc Jacob's Highliner Gel in Ro(Cocoa)
• A blending brush or you can use the double-ended brush that comes with the Naked 3 Palette. I used UD's brush to prove that it's possible to execute these looks with a mediocre brush.

Steps 1 & 2:

• Grab your brown liner to tightline. I can't evenly apply eyeliner to save my soul, so I prefer to do this method as a cheat for fuller lashes.
• Apply Limit on your eyelid and blend out any harsh edges just above your crease.

Steps 3 & 4:

• Highlight your brow bone with Strange.
• Next, apply Burnout to the outer corners.

Steps 5, 6 & 7:

• Highlight the inner corners of your eyes with Dust 
• Apply Mascara
• Clean up any fallout

Now, you can stop here or skip steps 6 and 7 to take this look a bit further.

Step 8:

• Contour your outer crease with Factory to add a bit of dimension
  • Be sure to blend like it's your job

Steps 9 & 10:

• Lightly dab Trick on the centre of your eyelid for a pop shimmer.
• Starting from the outside and working your way in, line your lower lash line with Darkside and blend into Dust. 

Steps 11 & 12:

• Load the smaller end of the brush with Blackheart to define the outer v.
• Smoke things out some more by layering Mugshot over Blackheart and Trick

Steps 13 & 14:

• Build up the shimmer factor at the centre of the eye lid by layering Buzz over Trick.
• Finally, paint on a healthy helping of mascara and be sure to clean up eyeshadow spillage from the under eye area.

Close up of the final look

Jush your hair, pucker your pout and grab your dancing shoes because it's a three day weekend.

What sort of eye looks have you put together with UD's Naked 3?

This is not a Twilight fix: Chanel's Illusion d'Ombre in New Moon

Chanel's New Moon

I feel like a broken record whenever I review Chanel's Illusion d'Ombre. This particular eye shadow is a huge guilty pleasure of mine and I only splash out so long as the colour is especially unique. 

Let's take a closer look at New Moon (limited edition), one of three new Illusion d'Ombre shades from Chanel's Summer 2014 collection.

Close up of New Moon

New Moon is like a super fancy layer cake or even a fruit-infused molten lava cake. Rich browns mixed with golden flecks and peppered garnet captivate, tempt and truly leave me salivating from all this talk of cake and eyeshadow.

Swatch of New Moon

New Moon on closer inspection

For all of its gloriousness, New Moon isn't without its shortcomings; we're talking hellah fallout. But if you're ok with post-application clean up, well go forth, wield your mightiest brush and prepare yourself for top-notch sparkle and shine. 

Wearing New Moon on my eye lids atop Urban Decay's Limit

The rest of the look. Yep, I'm wearing MAC's Patisserie, too.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Chanel's New Moon:

• $48.00 AUS /  $36.00 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 9 out of 10 bags — Fallout can be really annoying.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• I thought I was going to purchase more, but I managed to restrain myself.