I want to talk about bags. No not Gucci or Mimco. I’m talking about ones that seem to be permanently stored under your eyes.

Now I’m just going to get a little soap boxy here for a minute. For a small proportion of the population, under eye bags are a real and annoying thing. A constant puffiness that never seems to go away. Then there are the people with hyper pigmentation which is a fancy way of saying they have extra dark patches of skin. In both these cases the cause is mostly genetic and there really isn’t a whole lot you can do to produce lasting change. A cold compress or even haemorrhoid cream can temporarily ease puffiness in some people but the jury is still out if cucumber actually really does anything at all. Frustratingly not a great deal can be done for hyper pigmentation aside from cosmetic bleaching products and intense abrasive facials. But as soon as your skin sees just a tiny bit of sunlight it will start to come back again. Not great news I know. Just telling it like it is.
For everyone else here is your number one, true, tried and tested, absolutely guaranteed way to make those dark shadows under your eyes disappear…. Ready?

Move away from overhead lighting!! Shocking isn’t it?

Heres an anatomy lesson… it’s your eye socket. It’s round and curved and naturally creates a shadow any time the light source is not staring you down the nose. We can thank ring beauty lights and photoshop for perpetuating this crazy goal of not having any darkness under the eye. But it’s just not realistic. Where there is depth there is shadow. Also the skin under your eye is really quite thin so all the veins (blue/purple) and capillaries (red) show through and add to the appearance of those dreaded dark circles.
While there doesn’t appear to be much that can ‘cure’ us of this horrible affliction, the old standards of drinking more water, drinking less caffeine and alcohol and getting more sleep can go along way for a lot of people. And if that isn’t working there is always makeup.
Shadows and bags can be minimised with a concealer containing a little light reflection. I actually mix my concealer with my BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl or Opal which adds just the right amount of refection without looking glittery.
If dark circles are your bane then ‘Colour Correcting’ is the ‘new’ thing, except it’s not new. In fact it’s old. Really old! But while it is true that some colours do cancel other colours out, like blue and orange, it can be tricky to do right. Put yellow over purple veins and you get a cold grey colour which makes you look less sexy-bright-eyed-goddess and more, well, dead. And orange over blue veins on anyone not very dark, just looks odd. However for darker skin or hyper pigmentation, the red/orange concealers can really work really well. Everyone else, just look for something peachy. That said, I honestly believe that colour correcting is overkill for most people! A great skin tone matching concealer and an illuminator will often do the trick in less time and with far less hassle.
So I just got my hands on the Under Eye Brightening Corrector from BECCA and I’m just a little bit in love! It’s literally like you are walking around with a beauty light attached to your nose! It’s not a concealer though. It is a skin brightener that is designed to go under or over your concealer. Under your concealer, it’s light refection and soft peachy tone help to get rid of the dark shadows and conceal some of those purple/blue tones. Over your concealer it reflects light away from fine lines and circles which creates a soft diffusing effect. It is super creamy and I worried it would move but I dusted just a tiny smidge of powder over the top which set it before applying concealer over that. Best applied with your fingers or a damp sponge but make sure you do the old ‘press and roll’ rather than a ‘patting’ technique which will give you a smoother look.
If you want to get your hands on this or any BECCA products, go see my friend Kerrie at Gloss & Bone.

Disclaimer: I only review products I love and use. I am not paid in any way for my endorsement of either the product or the business mentioned in this post.

I’ve never really been into the whole Kim.K extreme contour thing. Its all just a little too much for me… but then isn’t that the great thing about makeup? That we can all choose to wear as much or as little (or even none!!) as we want? It’s only makeup and frankly I’m really tired of all the makeup bashing going around. If it makes YOU feel good then that really is all that matters!

I love products that make your skin look better without looking like its even there! That make the skin glow without completely erasing life’s little reminders of the distance we have travelled. 

BECCA Shimmering Skin PERFECTOR!!

They say ‘Water-light and sheer, it absorbs, reflects and refracts creating a prismatic effect that allows it to adjust in any light so your refined glow is never lost’.

I say… It just makes your skin look bloody AWESOME!! Pop it on under foundation on top of the cheekbones and along the collarbone, because who doesn’t love a sexy collarbone! Make your lips extra pouty with a dab on your cupids bow or elongate your nose with a narrow (no seriously…NARROW people!) line down the bridge. You can even mix it into your body moisturiser for a little extra body glow.

Its not as iridescent as MAC’s Strobe Cream or glittery as NARS Highlighter Sticks, but that’s what I love about it. It gives you all the highlight without the extra bling!! There are 5 colours in the range and my favourite is the OPAL which is dynamite under the eyes.  If you have a little darkness mix a small amount into your concealer and you’ve got something that’s a little bit like YSL’s Touche Eclat but with coverage.

And then there is this… ​

BECCA does not endorse or conduct animal testing on any of our products or ingredients, nor do we have any other parties, such as manufacturers and suppliers, conduct animal testing on our behalf. All collaborating parties are in compliance with the requirements and timelines of the European Union (EU) Cosmetics Regulation EC/1223/2009, banning the testing of cosmetics ingredients on animals within the EU.

If you think you would like to get your hands on some of this genie in a bottle then head over to Gloss and Bone where you also find some pretty cool tutorials. 

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And no this is not a paid endorsement/affiliate type of thing. I happen to genuinely LOVE this product and also know that the owner over at Gloss and Bone is one awesome chick 🙂

Anything that will make my clients eye makeup last through tears is a winner in my book and Iridis Cosmetics Eye Primer is most definitely a winner!

I’ve been loyal to Urban Decays Eye Primer Potion for years. You can read my review on that here. Seriously what’s not to love? So when I mentioned that to Peta-Gai the bright and sparkling-like-a-unicorn founder of Australian Brand Iridis Cosmetic, she decided to send me her primer to try out. And I have to say sorry PG, I was skeptical.

I was wrong! This is a totally fab product. crease-proof, water proof and fool proof… well nearly. Like all eye primers I have tried, you only need to use this sparingly. If you use too much it will look cakey. A little goes a really long way! I found it easiest to get a little on my ring finger and pat gently along the lash line until blended in. I also add a little just under the eye using a brush or cotton bud to push the product into the lash line. This will work wonders if your eyeliner tends to wander but again use sparingly. By their very nature, eye primers like this are dry and will highlight those under eye lines. Ain’t no one interested in that!

Again like all primers, including my long time loved Urban Decay, this colour is fab for most skin tones. It will brighten the eye area and neutralise that pinky/purple tint in the lids which makes us look tired. But for my clients with much darker skin tones,
Sri Lankan or Indian for example, with hyper pigmentation on the lids, it can look grey. Using a colour corrector underneath like BECCAs Backlight Targeted Correctors in Peach or Papaya may be a good fix but I would love to put in a request for a deeper tone.

This really is a super product that does exactly what it says it will and for $35 its not expensive. The packaging is mostly glass so easily recycled plus Iridis have a Loyalty Recycling Program. Return 6 containers and get a freebie of your choice up to $40! Hello! Awesome!! They are cruelty free, including sourcing their ingredients from cruelty free suppliers and mostly vegan with the exception of a little beeswax in lip products. PLUS they are Australian owned and made and run by two kick arse chicks right here in Melbourne! Winning!

I’ve decided that once my Urban Decay eye primer is finished in my kit I will replace it with a new Iridis Cosmetics one. But for now the kit will have to wait because this one is mine 🙂
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I know what you’re thinking. It’s bloody freezing so why am I doing a sunscreen product review??

Well beside the fact that sun protection isn’t just a summer thing, the real reason is that hubby, the kid & I have tried to escape the Melbourne chill and headed to the Gold Coast to warm the bones. Sadly winter has decided it wants to play in Queensland as well and I’m sitting in my apartment watching a huge freezing storm cell make it’s way along the coast. Not a whole lot of sun going on! Ahh Queensland… Perfect one day, Stormy the next!

But just 2 days ago the sunshine was glorious and I was super quick to slather on my favourite facial sunscreen. Not all sunscreens are the same and I’m fussy about what I put on my face. This has more to do with the texture and feel of the product than being an ingredient snob. I hate how most sunscreens, even the ones that are designed to go on your face, feel thick and sticky. I look forward to scrubbing it off at the end of the day. But I don’t get that feeling with this product. It’s super light and fluid and feels more like a moisturiser than a sunscreen. It doesn’t get sticky if you get sweaty and it doesn’t even smell like a sunscreen! With an SPF of 50+ I love this product so much I put it into my kit to use on my clients.

Most people try to get away mid year and whether you are escaping to somewhere warmer or just hanging out on the ski slopes, you need a really great broad spectrum sunscreen to protect your face from sun damage and premature ageing and this is my pick. Cruelty free and Australian. Enjoy 🙂

If you are doing bridal work or just want your own makeup to last more than 5 minutes then you definitely consider using a primer. Every company seems to have one on the market but, from my own experience, they don’t all do what they should do, improve the texture of the skin and help makeup last longer.

One of my makeup crushes is for Urban Decay. I do a lot (A LOT!) of weddings and am always looking for products that will stay on longer than the dress does.

TaDaa… Eyeshadow Primer Potion!!!

Firstly wow! And secondly… WOW!

I have tried 2 of the 4 shades. Original and Eden. Both are pretty awesome but I do love Eden as it tones down the pinky/purple tones in the eyelids and negates the need to use any concealer there as well. It goes on quite wet but then dries down to form a crease proof, budge proof, cry proof, sweat proof, you name it proof, base that makes your shadow last and last and last!! Brilliant for bridal work but it is also perfect for those of us with oily lids that are sick of our liner running away from our eyes. You can use your fingers to apply it but I get a better result using either the Beauty Blender or a small (clean) fluffy eyeshadow brush. Just make sure you blend out any creases because once this stuff sets you can’t move it anymore. If you’re putting shadow or liner on the lower lash line then definitely put a little potion there too. And before you head to bed, it all melts off easily with a gentle eye makeup remover.

I do love this product and it has become a staple in both my kit and bathroom. I love it even more that Urban Decay are a cruelty free company. “We don’t test on animals, how could anyone?” And thankfully Mecca Maxima recently bought this much in demand company back to Australia instead of us having to order from the UK! Yay! Thanks Mecca xx