Review: Bioderma Sebium H20

This micellar water is a breakthrough single-step cleansing water that allows you to easily remove makeup and skin impurities without sacrificing your skin's natural hydration. There's actually no need to rinse Sebium H2O from your skin after use. One swipe and you've refreshed, cleansed and purified your skin and excess sebum is also reduced and fluidified. Once professional make-up artists caught wind of this wonderful product, they took advantage of its ability to remove makeup without reddening the face of their models or damaging their other products. Try it today and transform your cleansing routine into one simple and effective step.

-BellaBox

Travellers Dilemma: Inglot Freedom System Situation

Hello All! As you most likely know by now, in under 10 days, I'll be leaving to go study in the US for a year, so I'm nearly ready to start sorting through everything and figure out what I want to take with me. For a while now, I've had two Inglot 5 pan freedom system palettes, but they haven't been full - I have seven shades, as little-by-little I've been adding shades.

I have two different sets of colours, that eventually, would have led to a grey, smokey palette, along with a neutral brown/taupe palette. However, as I only have 7 eyeshadows, and am not willing to go out and buy more right before I head out to the Land of Cheap Makeup, I had a dilemma - what shades should I choose to make up a palette that would work?

New 'Travel and Beauty' Series!

Hey guys!

In less than 2 weeks, I'll be on a plane to the beauty world homeland, the United States! I'm going on a study exchange with my university for 6-12 months, so i'll be packing a significant amount of my belongs, including my cosmetics. I can already envision the stress I will have of trying to choose pieces to take with me - I know there is a whole new world of makeup for us little old (and ridiculously) overcharged Aussies waiting, but I'm still attached to quite a lot of my pieces. This is where the series comes into play.

I have plans to create a beauty related travel series - with dilemmas, what I'm packing, tips and anything else I come up with related to beauty and travelling.

This is going to be a crazy hectic, nerve racking and (hopefully) exciting time, and I can't wait to share it all with you!

Happy Holidays!

I might start blogging again...?

Hey guys..

Ive had a rough year. I went though some stuff that really affected me at the time, and I cut off from most things - including this blog. But, I've began to start my life up again and now that everything is on track again, I thought a possibility would be to begin blogging again on Makeup and Me.

I thought I'd just start fresh, give it a new look, and begin again now that everything is different and I'm heading off to the US next year (makes for some exciting new makeup).

What do you guys think? Is it possible to start again? Would you guys be interested after so much has changed?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Love Gianna
Xx

Review and Swatches: Maybelline Color Tattoo's

The first thing I have to say before anything else is: THESE ARE NOT YET AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA! Unfortunately for all us Aussie's, unless you have a super nice penpal or are willing to order off eBay, like myself, you don't have access to these little tubs of wonder just yet. But believe me when I say,  you want to try source them as soon as you can!

Help! I need to find some Fashion (and Health) Blogs!

Hello my lovelies! I need some help. I have never been one to keep up with fashion trends, or try anything out of my comfort zone, but that has to change. Now. Especially since I'm in my second year at uni, and that everyone there seems to be walking down a high fashion runway, I need to start expanding my wardrobe  and trying new things, and I think there is the best way to start.

I need help from my beautiful cyber beauty community, because if you're good at makeup, I have automatically come to the conclusion you're good with fashion. So If you have any great fashion blogs, particulary with ones suited to a smaller budget, could you please send them to me? 

Also, this is the time where I have to start getting healthy. I'm definitely not the healthiest person around - I try to eat healthy, unfortunately do not drink enough water, and don't really exercise too much. But I'm putting my foot down because I want to change that too. So, if you have any good 'inspirational' health and exercise blogs, especially for beginners, once again, hit me up!

And one last thing - WOW! Ever since I posted my 100 follower giveaway I have gotten nearly 60 followers! I didn't think the giveaway was that good, but hey, no complaints I guess! Thanks to all my old faithful followers, and greetings to my new followers! Hope you enjoy my blog!

What do you think? Do you have any recommendations for me?

March Favorites

So I know I'm a little late, but I've had such a hectic week... I guess it's better late then never! I try not to skip out on favorites post, simply because I know how much I love reading other people's favorites, basically because that's usually where I find new products to add to my wish list!

Major Disappointment!

Nothing better then going to post your 100 follower giveaway, only to notice you've lost a follower!

I guess that means the giveaway is postponed for, well, until I get another follower :(

Look out for my March favorites tomorrow!

Holy Fail of the Week: Maybelline Lash Stiletto Eyeliner

Any of you who have read my blog with some regularity will know that I am a huge fan of Maybelline products - it is one of my favorite brands, and I love the quality and variety of the brand. It therefore pains me to say, that my fail of this week is the highly famed Maybelline Lash Stiletto Liquid Eyeliner.

Holy Grail of the Week: Inglot eyeshadow in Pearl 444

First of all, I am sooooooo sorry I haven't been active for, well, over a week now! Not only have I been crazy with work and uni, but I've had the flu, so I've been down for the count. But I'm going to try make much more of an effort starting this week.

Anyway, onto my new love: Inglot eyeshadows. The shade I'm loving is a Pearl shadow, in the color 444. It is a gorgeous purple-toned taupe. It is a shade of brown with the perfect mix of gray and purple undertones - an absolutely fabulous color!

Holy Grail of the Week (just passed): Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Nail color in Deep Purple

Everybody seems to love the Sally Hansen range of nail polishes, and over time, I've picked up a couple Xtreme Wear shades at those discount beauty stands, but I've never really worn them. It wasn't until Priceline were having a sale on Sally Hansen that I stopped by the stand and saw this color that I finally decided to take the plunge and try it out. Thankfully, I was not disappointed!

Holy Fail of the Week (just passed) : Clean and Clear Advantage Pimple Control Set

I am sooooooo sorry that these posts are so late! Like I said in my update post, I've been a little sick, as well as busy, so I wasn't able to get them up, but I guess it is better late then never! Anyway, on to the disappointment of the past few months week.

Quick update

Hi lovelies, I am super sorry for not having posted in about a week! It's just between starting uni again and work lately, plus the fact I've been a bit sick, I've had a lot on my plate. Hopefully this weekend will be the start of it all settling down, so I can get into regular posting again! Thanks for being so patient :) Oh, and on a quick note, when I hit 100 followers (5 left!!!!) I'll be holding a giveaway! Keep an eye out for that. Love Gianna Xx

Tag: The Colors of the Rainbow

Many of you know that I am a big fan of tags - I think they are so much fun! One of my favorite bloggers, Aly from Seven Things Beauty, has created a super fun fun tag - The Colors of the Rainbow Tag.

February Favorites

Sorry for the delay! I started uni this week, plus I've worked quite a bit, but I've finally got them up! This month I've actually got a few new products that I was excited to test out, I found I loved, and have become much loved parts of my collection. I finally have some favorites that are different (and don't involve my Naked Palette!), and I'm quite excited to share them with you.

Holy Fail of The Week: BYS Shimmer Shine Pencil's

I am a big advocate of Australian brands - Australis, BYS, Face of Australia. You name it, I'm willing to try it, simply because I'm hoping to find the Australian version of Wet'n'Wild or NYX. I refuse to believe that some of the cheapest American cosmetic brands can have amazing quality, whilst our cheapest brands like BYS or Savvy by DB most often have one star product, amongst a range of 'duds'. Now, I've been quite fortunate with the BYS I've tried, with the blushes being a cult favorite amongst Aussie beauty bloggers and the lipsticks being amazing quality for the price. Unfortunately, these Shimmer Sticks were an ultimate fail in my book.

Holy Grail of the Week: Intense ShadowBlast (Review Included)

There have been many hyped-up products in the Australian beauty blogging community - new products from Aussie brands, or products from American brands that are finally reaching our shores. One of the products to finally hit the shores of Australia is the CoverGirl Intense ShadowBlast's: a liquid primer and eyeshadow in one. These tubes are filled with a shimmery hit of intense colour with brilliant staying power, packed into an amazing, multipurpose liquid.

Holy Grail of the Week: Intense ShadowBlast (Review Included)

There have been many hyped-up products in the Australian beauty blogging community - new products from Aussie brands, or products from American brands that are finally reaching our shores. One of the products to finally hit the shores of Australia is the CoverGirl Intense ShadowBlast's: a liquid primer and eyeshadow in one. These tubes are filled with a shimmery hit of intense colour with brilliant staying power, packed into an amazing, multipurpose liquid.

Follow Makeup And Me On BlogLovin

So I don't exactly know what the deal is with Google Friend Connect (GFC) at the moment, but people have said things about Google changing up the way things are run, and I have noticed them making BlogLovin accounts, so I figured I'd make one too. If you would care to, I have a link on the right side of my blog so just click there and follow Makeup and Me on BlogLovin

Review and Swatches: Face Of Australia Limited Edition Mineral Therapy Illuminator in Angel Flame

A few months ago, the revamped Australis brand and their products were all the rage in the Australian beauty blogging community, and they still keep getting great reviews. However, at the moment, Face Of Australia is getting all the hype and praise. Mind you, this is well deserved. FOA have come out with some great products lately that I'm sure you've noticed, one of them being the Lip Quencher in Lychee Crush (review coming soon). Another amazing product, which I'm sure you've heard of, is the Mineral Therapy Illuminator, a range of liquid highlighters available in four shades to create a glowing complexion.

Favorite Looks from the 2012 Oscars

 

Every year, the celebrity and fashion world goes gaga over award shows occurring in America, with the Oscars being one of the most popular. Now I didn't watch it myself, but I've looked over the winners, as well as looked over some pictures, and I've chosen some of my favorite looks and outfits worn by the stars to the award show and after parties.

Holy Grail of The Week: Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Illuminating Concealer (Mini Review)

So this may be a little cliche, as this baby has been making away around the beauty blogging community for a while, but one of my recent, new loves has been the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Illuminating Concealer. 

Holy Fail of the Week: OPI's Black Cherry Chutney

So this week, after having a bit of rough time, I decided I needed some therapy - so of course I decided to do my nails! I had a bit of a look through my collection, and finally settled on a colour my mum had given me. A colour that looked super pretty in the bottle and I was excited to put on, OPI's Black Cherry Chutney.

What's In My Manicure Kit

So first of all, I greatly apologize for my lack of posting this week! I've been working heaps this week so  so I haven't been able to post as much as I want, which is suuuuuuuuuuuper frustrating. But I've tried.
Anyway, onto this post. I was trying to think about a simple post (reviews take ages, and I'm sorry I haven't done one in a while) whilst I was doing my nails, and ahead of my lay the tools that I often could not live without, so I thought I'd share it all with you.

Holy Grail of The Week: Lush Fresh Face Mask in Cupcake

So keeping with the skincare theme, my Holy Grail product for this week has to be the Lush Fresh Face Mask in Cupcake. I've spoken about this mask before, and it is definitely (as mentioned in my Seven Sins of Beauty tag) one of my most delicious, and most favorite, beauty products.

Holy Fail of The Week: Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Cleanser

So here it is: The first post in my new weekly series of Holy Grail's and Fail's of the week(s). Considering how you probably haven't seen my opinion of these products before, these posts. will not only have my opinion but a mini review.

Now, onto the first failed product - the Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Cleanser.

New Beauty Series on Makeup and Me

So a little while ago, I asked you all what you wanted from a beauty blog, and I was really grateful to all the people who responded! Many of the people who responded said they liked seeing beauty product reviews and fails, so it got me thinking of a new series that I could do every week, to showcase what products I am loving and what I am hating. I am calling it The Holy Grail/Holy Fail of the Week.


It's pretty self explanitory, but each week I will be doing two specific posts: One product I have been loving that week, and one that I have been disappointed with. That way, I'm going to be a bit more regular with blogging and you all get to see some of my collection and experiences.

If you've seen anything on my blog you'd like me to review,  just let me know!

Love Gianna

xx

Tag: 7 Deadly Sins of Beauty

So a tag that I've been seeing floating around lately is the 7 Deadly Sins of Beauty, and it looked like a bit of fun, so I figured I'd give it a go.

Review: Maybelline DreamMatte Powder

For ultra fine, natural, matte perfection

So I caved - I bought the Maybelline Dream Matte Powder. This is a cult favorite on youtube, with many of my favorite bloggers claiming to love this as a setting powder. Unfortunately, in Australia, we only have two shades available, but I picked one up which seemed to be a close match, and dove in from there.

Haul: Thai Tales Giveaway

I have never won anything in my life - I've always been one of those people who came in second best or overlooked, which as you can imagine, would be slightly frustrating. Since I've started blogging however, I've won two giveaways from two amazing Aussie bloggers, each for their 100 follower giveaway!

Last week, I got an email from one of my favorite Aussie bloggers, Amanda, saying that I had won third place in her giveaway, which was a Sportsgirl bronzer, but little did I know she would be so much more generous!

Review: Maybelline Limited Edition Baby Lips in Protecting Berry

I've never used a BabyLips before, but these little Maybelline lip balms have quite a bit of support within the beauty community. I've been tossing up whether or not to get one, and when I noticed this eye-catching packaging, I thought it was time to finally take the plunge.

What do you beauty readers want from a blog?

Hello my lovelies, I have a problem - I'm stuck.

I have a beauty blog that I absolutely love, and I have products to review which I'm sure you've read numerous posts on, so I'm putting out a question to you all:

What do YOU all want to read?

Are there products you've seen on my blog you want reviews on, tags you want me to do, or anything else you'd like to read, such as guess blog posts or collaborations?

I'm really just interested in making my blog more enjoyable to you all, so any feedback would be highly appreciated!

Oh, and when I get to 100 followers, I'll be having a blog giveaway, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Thanks for all the support my dears! I love you all.
love Gianna
Xx

Review: The Speck-Tacular Australis Crystal Colour Top Coat

The Australis Special Nail Effects Crystal Colour Top Coat is a holographic light reflecting foil top coat that adds a new glitter dimension when applied on top of a base nail colour. 

It is a nail transformer bringing out the bery best in ever nail colour! Works best over a black nail colour.

2 Makeup Brushes I Can't Believe I Ever Lived Without..

Towards the end of last year, the US went crazy over something called 'Black Friday' - a day, much resembling Boxing Day, is full of immense and intense sales. Sigma, an amazing makeup brush company, had an incentive of free world wide shipping, and considering how cheap the prices of such famed brushes,  the only thing that had been stopping me was the shipping cost, so this was the day I decided to buy a few brushes. I ended up picking up 3, and when you spend over $30, you get a free gift.

To the Aussie's out there who buy from the USA

Hello my lovelies! How are you all today? Lately, I've been reading some Aussie blogs where people have done bulk buys from overseas - American companies and websites that do not ship to Australia. And I wS just wondering how you do it.

There are so many products I'd love to try out that are either not available in Australia, or just have been ridiculously marked up in price, and then I see bloggers paying much cheaper from the American counterparts. I know there are websites that do ship to Australia, such as Cherry Culture, All Cosmetics Wholesale or Benefit, but they have ridiculous shipping costs if you don't spend over a certain amount. There are also sites like Tanty Cosmetics and Crush Cosmetics, but I've heard reviews that they still have quite marked up prices.

Do you have any websites, recommendations or suggestions on how you do it?
Love Gianna
xx

Review and Swatches: Essence Haul Items

So a couple of days ago, I did a haul of some recent purchases of mine, and amongst them were a few Essence products I picked up in target. These products are really good quality as well as reasonably priced, so I will definitely be buying more!

Anyway, onto the reviews of these products.

The Versatile Blogger Award

Wow. Blogging since October, 74 followers, and two blog awards in one week. I am just.. ridiculously blessed! Thank you all so much for your support, reading and follows! It means so much to me.


I was given this award by K from A Thing of Beauty, and I was surprised, simply because she is another one of those blogs I love to read. You know how it is, getting recognition from a favorite blog.. makes you feel all giddy inside! Thanks love :)

Cute Blog Award

So I received the cute blog award from Aly from Seven Things Beauty last week, and can I just say, I was totally stoked! She really is one of my favorite blogs to read, so I thank Aly majorly for it!

Haul: Maybelline, Essence, Revlon and Palmers

So over the past few weeks, I've tried to limit myself to how many cosmetics I've purchased, because for my circumstances, I'm unfortunately bordering on a little too much. However, such cases have risen that have made me feel like it was a good time to purchase new products.

Review: Australis Concealer

First of all, I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I've been really caught up with work and summer, and I haven't had as much time to post lately.

Now, on to the review. If you've been keeping up with my blog, you'll know how much I love the new/redone range of Australis products, so it was an obvious thought that when I began to run of of my beloved HG concealer (Maybelline Superstay) that I should try one of their concealers.

Review and Swatches: Australis Paparazzi Perfect High Definition Eye Shadow in 'Totally Busted'

A while ago, I filled out a survey for Australis regarding ideas for new cosmetics, and as 'compensation' I recieved a Paparazzi Perfect High Definition Eyeshadow in Totally Busted. The new, or should I say, more recent Australis collection, the Paparazzi Perfect range in total, is actually pretty impressive, with a great variety of high quality products.

NOTD: Contrasting Pastels

Melbourne has been graced with some fine weather today, and it put me in the mood for some bright polish! I know pastels are more spring toned, but I think coral is a colour that is perfect for summer!

The $100 FOTD Challenge

I saw Lilit from Makeup and Macaroons do this challenge and it got me thinking: Can I do a complete look that I would actually wear, all from under $100AU? Many of you from other countries, particularly the US would be able to have a complete makeup collection for this amount, but when a single good 'drugstore' mascara can cost at least $18, it does add up quite quickly. I didn't realize how much I'd truly spent on makeup until I had to look through my collection and all products quickly added up to more that $100.

What's in my Travel Makeup Bag: The Beach

So, last week, Melbourne was graced with some gorgeous weather - sunny, warm and perfect beach weather. My family and I packed up and went to the beach, so I prepared I slightly over packed (beauty wise) for 4 days of what I assumed would be perfect beach 'going out' weather. Little did I know, the week I was up there was the week Melbourne would be hit by chilling gale-forced winds and rain storms. Oh well, onto the beauty cases..

Beach Time!

Hello lovelies,

Finally in Melbourne we're getting some decent weather, so I'll be away for about a week :(

If you have any questions about previous posts, want product reviews, or have ideas for new posts, leave it below :)

Love Gianna
xx

Review and Swatches: Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Gel CreamLiner

Three custom shades provide a glamorous look to define and enhance your eye color. Unique gel c cream formula glindes-on effortlessly and smoothly while providing the definition of a liquid eyeliner..

A week or so ago Priceline were having a sale on all Physician's Formula products - 50% off to be exact. I heard this was because they're redoing the look of all the product, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to snatch up one of the gel eyeliners stacks everyone in the beauty community raves about.

Top 11 of 2011

2011 is was the year that I stopped with my basic makeup routine and finally branched out, taking more pride and courage in my makeup looks. I also started experimenting with new looks and products, and I'm sure I've mentioned many of these before, but that is because they've made their way into my daily routine.

NOTD: Pretty Purples

So I'm sure I've done a NOTD with these, or highly similar polishes, but I love this combination so much that I thought I'd paint them again! Purple is one of my favorite colours, and therefore it is no surprise that this colour is a fallback colour.

My First Blog Award - Liebster Blog Award

So the other day, Michelle from My Little Space, dropped by my blog and awarded me with the Liebster Blog award, and I was so touched! Thank you so much Michelle! I really appreciate it :)

Review: Models Prefer Brush Cleaner

An anti-bacterial cleaner designed to keep brushes hygienically clean. Use between makeup applications to remove traces of makeup. Suitable for synthetic & natural bristle powder, foundation, blush, eye and lip brushes.

Mini Polish Haul

I was in a local department store, Big W, just recently looking at the amazing book sale, when I passed the checkout and saw a bucket of NYC nail polish. This bucket full of colours would attract anyone, but what drew me in was the price tag of $2 each! With summer coming up, I thought a few bright colours would be welcome into my collection.