e.l.f Australia Blogger Entry - Contour & Highlight Video

Hey guys! I received an email the other day from e.l.f Cosmetics about this Beauty Blogger Competition they were having. I immediately thought 'OMG I MUST ENTER! I LOVE E.L.F!', something you all should know by now!

I decided to film a video on how I like to Contour and Highlight my face, of course using all e.l.f products! I hope this video is helpful to you. Please hit the like button after watching it if you liked the look and love e.l.f and of course to show your support! A million thank you's and all my love for you!

Love,
Nur x

Michael Todd Chronicles: Week 1

Hello guys!

This week, Michael Todd and I got off on a shaky start. Safe to say, my skin was not happy with any of the products I used! Apart from the masks which made my skin feel lovely for a day or so, everything else just seemed to irritate my skin. I wasn't blind sided though, I saw it coming. My skin does not like change... at all. So I just ignored the redness, itchiness and bumps that kept coming my way.

I am now pleased to report that as of yesterday, my skin started to adjust. Its clearer in that the redness has dramatically reduced and the bumps have shrunken in size! My scars look like they are lighter which is also a plus!

This is how my skin looks this week, hopefully there will only be improvements from here on out!

I figure you'll need a comparison on what my skin was like before Michael Todd so I took a picture before trying it.. then I deleted it by accident... so upon scrolling through what felt like EONS worth of photos I found one of my bare skin from about 3 months ago. As you can see my hair was significantly shorter back then but my skin was more or less in the same state. The scar you see below was only slightly lighter last week, before I tried Michael Todd products so as you can see, the pigmentation of the scar has reduced nicely. I think I have the lemon extracts to thank for this!

Anyway, that is the update for this week. I will chronicle my skin's improvements and drawbacks every Sunday, so if you're interested, keep your eyes out for that by subscribing to my blog! Thanks a bunch!

Love,
Nur xx

Michael Todd Skincare Routine Haul!

Hello guys! These glorious products right here are from the skincare line manned by Michael Todd. Being an ex-sufferer of acne, skincare has become a somewhat large addiction from my adolescent life. I have tried pretty much every skin care brand in the drug store from Garnier and St.Ives all the way to the likes of Proactiv and The Balm. Now what I consider as 'skincare products' is anything from cleanser to moisturiser, basically anything that will improve my skin but not help me hide my skin problems.

Being a skincare enthusiast, I stumbled upon Michael Todd products a few times. I was intrigued by the idea of organic vegan skincare. I can't see any faults in the idea, if anything natural products should be the best thing for troubled skin! "I have to try it!" I told myself... until I saw the hefty price tag that followed the brand. So I put it off, to the point I forgot all about it.

Months had passed before I saw "Michael Todd" in bold print on a sale site known as Ozsale. That link will take you right to this amazing site that has sales everyday! All you need to do is sign up and you're free to bask in the glory of year round awesome sales and deals - and membership is completely free! The thing is that the sales are limited time and come on once every couple of months. That said I stumbled across the Michael Todd sale one day before it would end. I had a day to decide if I wanted to invest in a whole new skincare line which I wasn't sure would work, and since my current routine was pretty good, did I really want to mess it up? That and the fact that although the products were on sale, they were still pretty pricey. After pondering for a solid 20 minutes I took the plunge and decided to go for it! Hours of googling later and I put together my own version of their skin care line - one that was tailored to my skin that is really sensitive, oily, troubled and dry at the same time.

For cleansing and toning my skin, I chose to go with the Charcoal Detox Deep Pore Gel Cleanser, Jojoba Charcoal Facial Scrub and Organic Lemon AHA + DMAE Toner. As you can see I opted for the charcoal infused cleansers in the hope they will help keep my skin clear and keep excess oil at bay. I chose to go with the Organic Lemon AHA + DMAE Toner as I had read good reviews on it and I feel as though the lemon in the toner may assist in fading my acne scarring faster.

To moisturise my skin I chose the Moisture Lite Non-Oily Hydrating Lotion, simply because it claims it will control oil and shine which I always look for in a morning moisturiser. I also purchased the Hyaluronic Acid + C Antioxidant Moisturising Serum since I really want to get into using them. This one seemed like it would do wonders for my dull and dry skin. I know my skin is weird, oily and dry at the same time - it confuses me too - but hey if this serum could help with the dryness that would be one less thing to worry about!

Of course no skin care routine is complete without a mask or two for those pamper-your-skin-days. I decided to buy the Kaolin Clay Detoxifying Facial Mask and Avocado and Mango Hydrating Facial Mask. I chose the Clay mask for oilier and more troubled skin days and the Avocado and Mango mask to use on drier skin days.

My plan is to use the cleanser and toner everyday, use the scrub three times a week, use the serum every other day and the masks twice a week - changing them up accordingly. As for the moisturiser, I will only use it in the mornings as I don't need oil control at night. Instead I will use a typical Sorbolene Moisturiser every night as it is a neutral moisturiser which wont interfere with the functionality and properties of the Michael Todd range I'm testing. After all it wouldn't be a fair test if I use a special night moisturiser. Whilst I am testing this range I will still be using Oxy 5 on my skin each morning before applying make up and under my moisturiser, it is my staple breakout preventer and I simply can't leave it out.

I will let you guys know in a month if the Michael Todd skincare range is worth the hype, if it works and if its worth the pretty pennies they charge for it! Have you tried Michael Todd products before? Did they work for you?

Love,
Nur xx

Review: NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss!

I'm not sure if you guys know this yet, but I am a lipstick girl. Always have been and always will be. There is something about lip gloss that I can't quite fathom: it is sticky, doesn't wear long and is sheer. So why bother to use it? And I don't know about you guys but when I think about lip gloss, I think high school. It was a product every 14-17 year old had in their bag and being 21, I'm not to sure how that makes me feel.Well ladies and gents, there is always an exception to the rule, and this my friends is it. The NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss doesn't make me feel 15 again. It feels like a more mature lipgloss.

Let's begin with the formula. This lip gloss glides smoothly onto the lips. It isn't too thick and it isn't too thin in consistency. It is a lipgloss that is definitely not 15 year old sticky. It is a little tacky but definitely the least tacky gloss I have tried so far. It is also really pigmented for a lipgloss, probably one of the more pigmented lip glosses I have come across so far. The lipgloss also smells like candy - which is pretty juvenile - but definitely something I am not against as I love sweet scents. The scent doesn't linger for long though for those of you who are sensitive to scents.

The shade Tea Rose is a really gorgeous muted rose pink that is so feminine and natural. Since the formula is quite pigmented the colour definitely shows through when applied on the lips. It brightens the skin and brings warmth to the skin. It is such a lovely Spring shade in my opinion, but being a lovely neutral pink can definitely be used year round and look gorgeous! It is such a girly shade, I LOVE IT!

The swatch above shows the colour payoff when the gloss is applied heavily. The swatch below shows the colour payoff of the gloss when applied with a light hand.

The packaging of the NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss is a light plastic. It does look a little juvenile but not so much you'd be afraid to take it out in public. The transparent tube is adorned by a black screw top lid which has a little bow on it. The shape of the doe foot applicator runs a little large. I feel for this gloss it is an advantage though. As the gloss has a medium consistency (I really don't know a better way to describe it) the larger foot makes it easier to distribute the product much more evenly. As it is bigger than your average doe foot applicator, I feel applying the gloss is much easier as I don't need to run the wand around as much.

I really enjoy using this lip gloss. I even like applying it to the centre of my lips on top of lipstick to make my lips appear bigger. Usually I would be bothered at the idea of doing this as I don't like the feeling of lip gloss on my lips, but as I said since this one is just really nice, making me reach for gloss much more than I ever thought I would.

Have you ever tried NYX Mega Shine Lip Glosses? Did you enjoy them too and if so, which shades did you like?

Love,
Nur x

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation Stick Review (Shades 240 and 235)

Hello everyone!

This is the newest installment on my youtube channel. I genuinely love this foundation! If you haven't tried this foundation yet but you're considering it, I hope this video is informative and helps you make a decision about whether it is the right foundation for you!

If there's anything I missed in the video that you would like to know more about, just leave a comment below and I'll try my best to answer it.

Also this is the first video I have filmed on my new Canon DSLR which was purchased just for you guys! I really hope the sound and video was much improved compared to my older videos and that you guys love it! It has definitely made me want to film more videos and even demos for you guys, so enjoy!

Much love,
Nur xx

Review: Sleek Blush By 3 - Pink Sprint

Every Sleek product I have tried so far has been of amazing quality and with high pigmentation; and I'm pleased to say that these blushes are also the same! The Sleek Blush By 3 retails at $14.99 for 20g of blush. As the name suggests there are 3 gorgeous colours in each compact and each of them compliment each other really nicely. A single 8g blush from Sleek costs $6.99 so I feel this blush is totally worth it. You get 20g of product and 3 colours for the price of 2!

When I received the blushes, they were packaged in a neat cardboard box which explains what the product is. The product itself was packaged in the usual signature matte black plastic packaging seen on all Sleek products.

The formula of the blushes is really nice! It's not too powdery and the blush is really finely milled that it feels so smooth on the skin. What makes me love the blushes in this palette is that all 3 blushes are matte and the pigmentation of all 3 is INTENSE! You can see how bright and rich the colours are below which is why I can't stress enough that if you don't apply these blushes with a light hand, you will end up with way too much colour on your cheeks. Unless that is the look you're going for I suggest using a light hand with the blush or a duo fibre or stipple brush with the blush so you pick up less product.

These blushes are not only pigmented but they last really nicely on the skin. When I use them I find the colour lasts all day and barely fades. This means the blushes are really good quality and are perfect to wear to work or on nights out as you wont need to touch it up!

A photo of the blushes under warm studio lighting.

This is what the blushes look like true to life. I had to go to a brighter room to make the colours appear as true as possible.

Here are swatches of the blush. Above, the colours are Pinktini, Pink ice and Pink parfait consecutively. Pink parfait swatches the lightest of the three, followed by Pink ice then Pinktini which swatches the darkest and is the most pigmented. My favourite shade is Pinktini, its a really warm rosy pink and would look gorgeous on any skin tone!

I have to say I really enjoy using these blushes and hope this review helped you decide if you want to buy it or not! I also have another Sleek Blush By 3 palette called 'Flame'. I'm yet to try this one as it has red based blushes which seem a little daunting and very different to rosy toned blushes which I prefer. I will definitely try it out sometime soon and post swatches of it here for you! Have you tried Sleek blushes yet? If so what's your favourite blush shade?

Love,
Nur xx

Getting Set Up On Bloglovin!

Hey guys!

I have recently discovered this lovely site called Bloglovin which allows you to easily connect with your favourite blogs and bloggers and be notified as soon as they create a new post! I thought to myself, oh my god that is such a nifty idea! There is nothing I love more then coming home from work, eating dinner then visiting my favourite blogs to unwind.

To make it easier for you guys to keep up to date and be notified of my new blog posts, I created an account on Bloglovin. It's so simple, either click on the link below or the gorgeous icon in the sidebar to get a notification as soon as a new post is up. What's better is you can also access and view your other favourite blogs from the one site, just create an account - it's totally free and you'll be able to read all your favourite blogs from the one place! I really appreciate all of you visiting my blog and reading my posts and I would really love to know you love me back. Just click the follow button :)

Thank you and lots of love,

Nur xx

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# TheBestSettingPowder - The Balm Sexy Mama!

I thought this product was SOO good it deserved its own hashtag! It's a translucent powder which I have no doubt has been raved about on all platforms of social media! Its the Sexy Mama Setting Powder by The Balm!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS! It's been my holy grail setting powder for the past month! It has not broken me out and it doesn't wash my skin tone out either. It is the first setting powder I have tried that is truly translucent.

That's not the only thing that's great about this powder. The powder is so finely milled that it feels like silk on the skin! That's right, SILK. It glides on so effortlessly and I only need a little bit of product to cover my face.



LASTLY WHY I LOVE THIS POWDER IS.... IT MATTIFIES MY SKIN FOR A SOLID 4 HOURS! My skin is really oily so anything that keeps it matte for more than 2 hours is AMAZING. 4 hours of matte skin before I need to blot is the best thing I could ask for. Especially on hot days or days when I'm working, this product really keeps me comfortable in my own skin. If I don't have blotting paper on me, I can reapply the powder and it does not cake at all and still looks really natural!

A quick note about the packaging, it looks like card board because it is. And trust me this does not affect the powder at all and it actually does not get dirty or look dirty. I've used it for a month now and the packaging still looks new. The magnetic closure ensures the powder does not come apart if its in your handbag and powder does not slip out of the packaging either. Its also really small and thin which means you can take it on nights out and it will slip into a small clutch bag. The mirror is also a really good one and is nicely sized, making touching up a breeze. The only con I would say, is that you have to carry your own powder brush or puff in your bag if you want to touch up with it during the day because there's no space to store anything in the packaging.

And that's it folks, I can't really say more. If you suffer from oily skin and just can't find a product that can keep you matte for nearly long enough, look no further, try Sexy Mama by The Balm. It has truly changed my life for the better!

Love,
Nur