Project 100 Pan

Having seen a few people up to the challenge of a Project 100 Pan, I decided to join in...
There will be no purchasing of items until I am done (there are exceptions, please see 'The Rules')

Pan technically isn't a correct term as none of the products I've chosen have pans.

I've got a huge range in here from skincare, to haircare, makeup, wipes, everything...
I started to take group pictures to show you all, then I thought, 'Pfft I'm not listing allll this' so here is a shot of the lot.

I took this pic on my phone, its not bad, but it clearly shows you the task ahead... oh boy.  Some items are smaller than others, if that is the case I have grouped them to make one 'full size' item.

My Rules

• If I use the last of a product and have no close alternative such as eye makeup remover, I can repurchase, I'm not putting myself at risk by using a random product not designed for the purpose, just to finish stuff i.e. no soap in the eyes!
• Necessary items don't count- if I need tooth paste etc, I'm buying it.
• Items for my pro-kit don't count, I refuse to have a sub-standard professional kit just because in my personal life I'm on a Project Pan.
• Because of the timing of this, anything purchased at IMATS or during the weekend of IMATS doesn't count.
• Obviously anything I have ordered prior to P100P does not count.
• Prizes, giveaways and gifts DO NOT count.  There is a fairly significant chance that my birthday and possibly Christmas (seriously look at that pile) will fall during the PP and therfore I'm not turning my nose up at free goodies.
• Where possible I will post empties, I'm new to keeping my empties, prior to the new house I just didn't have space, so sometimes through habit I chuck stuff out.
• If something begins to give me a reaction, I will discontinue use, either palm it off on to give it to family members or friends, failing that I will consider it 'empty' I will not replace it in my 100 items. (it was hard enough to find 100)

In order to aid my task I have already unsubscribed from all e-mail shopping subscriptions, removed my credit card details from Paypal and announced to anyone who will listen and a few other who didn't, that I am doing this.......

I know there are a fair few of us currently doing P100P but I haven't linked them here because I can't remember who all is, and I didn't want to miss anyone out.  Please post links to your PP related posts in the comments.

Further to that, anyone got any advice? or simply think I can't do this...?

Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer

I saw a picture via Kat Von D's Twitter that showed her new concealers covering a strip on her arm, it was weird (incase you didn't know Kat Von D has a whole arm of tattoos, so a skin coloured strip through it is odd) but it showed their ability to cover tattoos.  That's where my research stopped, I didn't read any reviews, just stuck it on my 'Please get from Sephora' list for my mum while in the US.

Taa daaaaa

When I had them in my hot little hands I decided finally to search reviews...I stuck with a few bloggers I respect the opinions of, and they shared a common view that this 'would never cover tattoos' but was a great heavy duty concealer for under eyes or bad pigmentation etc...well, I believe a picture paints 1000 words, so here's my best 2002 to answer those claims...

Before:

After:

I didn't follow the instructions (to use the Tattoo Eraser- I don't have it) just followed the basic principles of concealing, as you would on your face, prime-cover-set. Oh and I'm simply not talented enough to PS these.

I did this really quickly because I wanted to see if it worked, well it clearly does, I mean, you're not going to use this to cover up a full sleeve, but if you want to cover up that Chinese symbol meaning friendship that you and your 5 BFFs got on your shoulders during Schoolies week- for your wedding, yeah, this will do it, and if this was the case, you would take more time to blend and get a great coverage.

I love my tattoos, I made sure my mother understood in buying this concealer, she better not get false hope that I was regretting ANY of them. (she randomly sends me 'Scoupon' links to tattoo removal, just in case)

What about you, ever wanted to cover a tattoo? What did you use? MUAs do you cover tattoos, what do you use?

US Makeup Haul Part 2- Brushes

I love makeup brushes, I mean LOVE them.  I keep them clean, I have lots to afford me this luxury and Sunday nights in my house are 'dance around the kitchen and wash the makeup brushes' night.

I wrote an article for Makeup Utopia on Dirty Brushes being gross.  Since then my mum as taken a very active interest in my makeup brushes, and so while she was in the US she bought me more brushes...

Eye brushes from MAC and Sephora, and a brush set from Sephora;

You might remember from this picture in US Haul Part 1, that I said I would address the silver case separately?

This is why...

They are an anti-bacterial set, I haven't researched their claims*, for the simple reason I don't want to disprove them.  I could, but in the mean time I'm enjoying my naive bliss.

It's actually got a good range of brushes in it, I often find that brush sets have maybe 3 brushes that I'll use and the rest are a bit shit.

If this wasn't enough, I also got this:

Not a bad haul of brushes from a lady who routinely states 'don't you have enough brushes' I say state because I see it as a rhetorical question, because clearly the answer is- no, NEVER!

How do you treat your brushes? do you wash them often? never? only when you drop them? 
Do you think there is such a thing as 'too many' makeup brushes (I'd prefer you didn't answer that)
Mmmmm makeup brushes!





*Usually 'Anti-bacterial' brushes are coated with an agent which, 1, will wash off eventually and 2. Is only tested for certain types of bacteria, nasty and reasonably rare ones, and I doubt that in tests they 'dose' the brushes to ensure they do in fact work to kill 'germs' as much as they test for the presence. 
Usually the 2 commons ones are Escherichia.coli (or E.coli as it is usually known) which we all know is nasty and makes you very sick, and Staphylococcus aureus (or Staph.a an organism commonly found on the skin, bat can cause serious issues if an over abundance occurs) anyway, although serious, these are not the only form of bacteria you might find on your brushes, further to that, many organisms, such as yeasts or moulds AND viruses will not necessarily respond to an anti-BACTERIAL agent, because they are not bacterias in the true form of the word.  BUT they might still cause reactions, breakouts and are gross.
ANY WAY enough science, this is why I won't test them and I'll still wash them like usual!

Urban Decay Smoked Palette -Swatches and Thoughts

When UD started sending emails out about the new palette, I got excited, "Biggest thing since Naked" they said, well, I was sucked in and I read the reviews from the US bloggers and I liked what I saw, so as soon as Beauty Bay sent out their email to say they had it, I jumped on it immediately.

OOOO the box...

What's in the box?!

You get the palette, a mini Primer Potion and a 'look book'

This is a great addition to the palette, I can do a smokey eye with my eyes closed (ba doom tish) but not everyone can, and varying the classic to one with colour, can be tricky, so having a 'look book' is a great feature.

The other thing I love about this palette versus Naked or Naked 2 is the packaging, its in a reasonably sturdy feeling zip up case.  Rather than a travel unfriendly tin.

Clever design, I like it.

On the inside you have a mirror (huzzah!) 10 shadows- 5 of which are exclusive to this palette, and a full size 24/7 Glide On eye pencil in Perversion- matte black.

The shadows:

Kinky – Light natural peach with a matte finish.

Freestyle – Medium tan with a matte finish.

Mushroom – Warm grey shimmer with taupe undertones.

Backdoor – Matte dark brown.

Blackout – Matte blackest black.

Barlust – Metallic deep golden brown.

Rockstar – Deep purple shimmer.

Evidence – Navy blue shimmer.

Loaded – Deep metallic emerald green.

Asphalt – Shimmering gunmetal grey.

As you can see, for my skin tone, those palest colours are going to rock for blending into the brow bone. The shadows themselves and soft velvety and smooth.

The only thing this palette misses that were present in both Naked palettes is the brush, but I don't mind because I prefer to use my own.  Having said that, this is a perfect palette for travel as it has the liner and the mirror, so the brush would have been a great addition to make this a great set.


I bought this for AU$56.80, although it is US$49.00 on the UD website, I weighed up the pros and cons of how I'd get it, if my mum could get in while in the US and decided the difference really want too bad.  I've heard a lot of negative things about The Beauty Bay, but personally have never had any issues.

Thoughts on the "Biggest thing since Naked"? Do you think smokey eye is enough of a 'look' to require a whole palette, value for money or not?

US Haul- Part1 The Eyes Have it.

As I showed you here my mum was rather awesome in her collection of goodies of the makeup variety while in the US...here is part one, eye products.
You will have to forgive any packaging missing, I had to open some of them because my mum was hurt that I wasn't more excited and ripping stuff open. I didn't want to explain the delayed gratification that blogging requires, so I opened things and kept as much packaging as I could! :S

LOOK AT THEM ALL....(actually that's not all of them, I accidentally left out a paint pot, there were 3)
The Lancome Captivating Eyes set.

Includes a Colour Design Palette, Définicils Mascara, Le Crayon Khôl Eyeliner Pencil,  travel-sizes of Cils Booster XL Mascara Base, Aquatique EyeColour Base and Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover AND 3 (technically 2 because 1 is double ended) brushes!

MAC Paint Pots

Various small eye shadows

 Wet n Wild Petal Pusher- I actually already own this because I got it in a makeup swap, but i adore it so I'm pleased to have one I can put in my kit.

 Toki Doki Sandy in the City- adorable packaging, great colours, and a blush too!

 Toki Doki Chromatico Eyeshadow, look at it, its so cute, LOOK AT IT! I want all shadows to come in such cute packaging! and again a great colour.

Eyelash curler and brow brush:

Makeup Forever Aqua E liners- my first MUF products, woo!

Assortment of brushes- Sephora and MAC

I will actually cover the above set in a separate post because 1, its not all eye brushes but 2. Its a wee bit spesh.

Pretty good really, again, big thanks to my Mum. 

If you want any more info about anything, please let me know!

TAG! 10 items I would repurchase 1st

The lovely Sophie at Born to Buy tagged me in a '10 items you would repurchase if you lost everything' type post... So without further ado, I present "The first 10 items I would purchase once I've survived the Zombie Apocalypse'

Obviously, in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse, I would be using all my makeup powers to look more like this:

Or this:

And less like this:

Also I wouldn't be washing, the more I look and smell dead, the more likely I am to survive... right? After all of that I would do some seriously shopping...

Anyway, the top 10:

1. After all that running around and looking/smelling dead, I would buy a deep cleansing mask, great makeup starts with great skin, and great skin starts with great care and great care comes to you in the form of Soap and Glory's Fab Pore face mask.

2. My HG mascara ohhowilovethee; No7 Exceptional Definition mascara.

Its made and distributed from the UK, I get my friends to get it for me when they are in the UK or Thailand, comes from boots. Is magic, Is lovely, Is reviewed here  Would I purchase this before a foundation? YES! It's that good.

2.Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation
Another HG for me. Gives full coverage, feels like nothing.

3. Next I need brushes, and I wouldn't go past Real Techniques to start a new collection...

4. I need an eyeliner, and this baby has stood the test of time with me, its Rimmel Soft Kohl.

5. Colour, I love colour and now I have the basics, I'd get some Maybelline Colour Tattoos, I love them, can not get enough of them, own all 10 available in Aus and then a few extras in my kit.

6. More colour this time, Revlon lip butters are a fab mix between balm and lippie.

7. No doubt all that running from Zombies has me flushed, but at the end of the day I need colour in my cheeks, and I prefer it in the form of cream blush such as this from Top Shop I might even get Sob from Illamasqua.

8. More eye products, the Illamasqua Neutral Palette, Although I love my Naked palettes for the nude shades, I can not pass this one in terms of brilliance in for fitting in the makeup bag.

9. It's not in any way makeup, but this is my fave hand cream and I would have to replace it.

10. Last and by no means least I would repurchase some form for brush cleaner because I am just too much of a germaphobe not to!

Sticking to 10 is tricky.....but I managed it...

What about you? In the event of some horrid disaster that saw all your makeup sucked into the earth, what would you repurchase first?

Illamasqua Generatuion Q Haul and Swatches

Insert usual introduction about how much I love Illamasqua.  They've reduced prices, brought out a new collection and still rocking my socks.  Seriously Mum, this one is different, I've found the one, we're in love, we're going to get married.......

ANYHOO......
Generation Q is all about the celebration of makeup having no age boundaries, they put a call out for models of all and any ages and they have a collection to show off, and they did, seriously Google it...

I've managed to purchase most of the range, because its brilliant, I get a discount when I purchase from Illamasqua in the UK on line, but they've just reduced the prices here and I wanted to support that, I also knew it would be faster! So I split up my order.

The following is the items I bought from Myer.

Gleam in Aurora.  The original Gleam Cream was loved by many, but has been unavailable for a while, David Horne, Director of Product Development and the man behind the magic that is Skin Base, told us it would be back, better than ever...he was right...

Hand swatch:

Its a solid version of the original, if you have any of the Illamasqua cream blushes, this just a tad softer and its that texture, as far as I'm concerned its pretty much the perfect texture for a highlighter.  Allows perfect placement but with ease of blending.

I compared it to the original Gleam Cream. similar finishes although the Gleam Cream is more pink, and harder to be precise in application because it is a liquid. Left is Gleam, Right is Gleam Cream.

The closest think I have to the new Gleam is Benefit's What's Up, which is of course in stick form and firmer than Gleam. Its a little more golden. Gleam on the left, Gleam Cream in the middle and Watt's Up on the right.

Next up is the Precision Ink in Wisdom, I love Illamasqua Precision Inks, I think they're super easy to apply and stay where you put them.

Eye swatch, seriously, I think it brings out the green in my eyes which are in no way, shape or form green...

Its a beautiful antiqued gold kind of colour, with a hint of olive, anyway I love it even more than I thought I would.

Lips:
Magnetism is a beautifully glossy raspberry colour, unlike other Illamasqua lippies, this is a glossy finish and just like other Illamasqua lippies, its beautiful.

Hand Swatch:

Lip Swatch:

The Gloss- Boost is tipped as 'Underworld' in gloss form, I already own Underworld, and stupidly didn't think to include a swatch, but here's a arm (I was running out of hand and wrist space) swatch of 'Boost'.

Not very representative, so here's a lip swatch:

It still doesn't do it justice, I have NEVER been so excited about a lip gloss, but this colour is stunning! Serioulsy I text a picture to my best friend to let her know how much I loved it...

As soon as I saw it I thought it would look brilliant over Kontrol; (a dark blue based purple) and I was right, I like to call this Boost your Kontrol:

There we have it, a pretty in depth look at what I have ad think of the new Illamasqua collection- Generation Q.

Have you celebrated the reduced Aussie prices yet? What did you get? What are your thoughts on the Gen Q range, or makeup for all ages in general?