Essence Haul! 3 Items for under $10!

This is just a small haul, being on a budget sucks! I however can still shop occasionally when I have brands like Essence at my disposal and can get 3 items for under 10 buckeroos!

The goodies I picked up were the Essence Kajal Pencil in All I Want (RRP $1.95AUD...not even kidding!), Essence Lipstick in Sparkling Miracle (RRP $3.95AUD) and Essence Nail Polish in Alice Had A Vision Again, from the Twilight Breaking Dawn Part II collection (RRP $3.95AUD)

Let's start with the Kajal Pencil...firstly need to shoutout to my homegirl Angela for talking about this on a YouTube video and making me wanna buy it! It's basically a skin toned liner which is perfect for putting on your water line for that "more awake" look. It works well and for the price i'd buy it over and over again!

Essence Lipstick in Sparkling Miracle is a berry with a bit of shimmer. I don't know who i'm turning into but i'm kinda loving purpley shaded lipsticks. I don't think they flatter me all that much but a girl can dream right? I actually quite like the texture of the Essence lipsticks they are smooth, creamy and pigmented. The one thing I don't like? The flimsy packaging... but for $3.95 a pop who can complain really?

The last item I purchased was on a whim, my friend Michelle had been after a particular nail polish from the Twilight Breaking Dawn 2 collection, so when I saw my local store had the full range I asked which she was after and it was Alice Has A Vision Again, so I grabbed it for her and saw how pretty it was so got one myself!

The colour is basically a dark purple with purple shimmer but then you go into the light and you see other colours shimmering away, it's a really beautiful shade. The other thing I love is the brush used on the Essence polishes, it's thick similar to OPI Pro Wide brushes.

You can still find some of the Twilight Breaking Dawn collection hanging around some stores but they are mostly empty to make way for the new Snow White collection (which i've already gotten my paws on!...post coming soon!)

Essence is found at Priceline & Target, but I find Target has the new collections more frequently (especially the commercial collections). You can also check out the Essence Australia facebook page for further deets on upcoming collections and what they sell!

Product Disclosure - All products were purchased by me with my own $10 note :)

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Darling & Sweetheart

FINALLY! They have arrived! You can find them at Priceline for RRP $17.95AUD a pop and i'm sure they'll start popping up around all the other usual Revlon outlets shortly.

I'm talking about the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains. I stood, swatched, looked at swatches on blogs until I finally decided on 2 colours; Darling & Sweetheart.

This product is not to be confused with the Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain & Balm...that product is a texta like lipstain with a balm on the other end, I reviewed one on my old blog if you'd like to have a squizz here. Way to confuse everyone Revlon.

This is what Revlon has to say about the Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain - It’s a pampering balm fused with a lightweight lipstain in an adorable chubby crayon. Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain gives softer, smoother lips with a perfect flush of color that lasts hour after hour.

In short, it's Revlons take on Clinique's popular Chubby Sticks... I don't own any but the packaging etc is very very similar and i've heard reports the formula is even the same.

So how do these wear? I've only tried them out each for a short time as I only got them yesterday but Sweetheart certainly worked as a stain, there were even remnants of it on my lips this morning after I put it on for my swatches yesterday afternoon. Darling is a little sheerer and won't stain as much but it's quite long lasting.

They smell of peppermint when you first apply them and they feel nice and moisturizing. So far I think they are pretty rad!

Update! I wrote this post the day after I purchased these, now i've worn these babies for almost a whole week I can give a better update...sometimes it's good to draft and update :) Darling wears nicely and through 1 cup of coffee but will be gone by lunch time. Sweetheart is an absolute trooper! Still going strong after lunch with a slight pink stain to the lip. If your lips are dry, keep a good lip balm on hand to keep it from looking cracking and crappy.

Darling is a lilac pink and unlike anything I currently own, I can imagine it looking amazing with a smokey eye!

Sweetheart was a no brainer for me, a bright pink it's actually quite different to the other pinks I own. I thought it would be a dupe for Sweet Tart from the Lip Butter range but this is a little darker and brighter. I love this colour! You'll see below how it just brightens my face up. Loves it!

Have you tried these out yet? What's your favourite colour?

I can see myself picking up more of these in the future!

P.S. Because I love you guys, if you head into Priceline they currently have BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free) on all lip and nail prodz, so grab 2 of these for $17.95...BARGAINOUS! (Valid to 3rd December 2012...soz if you're reading this a little late) 

Product Disclosure: Bought with my own moola, plus I had a Priceline voucher because i'm a bit of a Priceline Ho!

I love Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters!

This post is a long time coming, i've had these for months! In fact I bought them on Ebay even before they were released in Australia. They've been out for a few months now and I thought i'd still post this because they really are amazing and one of my favourite releases this year.

Revlon Lip Butters are in the same vain as the sheer/moisturising/glossy lip colours that the higher end brands were all bringing out.. think Chanel Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks with a fraction of the cost (well if you buy outside of Australia ;) ).

Let's talk packaging and how much I love it. I was already a fan of the packaging of the regular Colorburst Lipsticks but these are quite cute with a sheer matte case in the corresponding colour to the lipstick. This makes it easy to find the colour your after in the morning unlike other nondescript lipstick packaging (Looking at you MAC).

The formula is lovely, it's smooth and gives a little shine to the lip. One thing I will mention though is that these are VERY soft so be careful. Maybe chuck them in the fridge on hot days if they seem to be melting at all.

As mentioned before I bought mine as a set on Ebay entitled brights included Cherry Tart, Candy Apple, Tutti Frutti, Sweet Tart & Lollipop (I love the names of these shades too!) these were all the colours I wanted to try anyway so it worked out well and I think I paid around $50 including shipping. FYI These retail for $21.95AUD in Australia. 

Out of all the colours I have, Sweet Tart is my most used and most loved! 

Revlon are absolutely kicking it out of the park with their recent lip released, and I heard on the grapevine (twitter...) that the new Just Bitten Lip Stain Balms are rolling out in Priceline stores. I can't wait to get my mitts on those and I'll be sure to let you know what I think.

You can find the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters in the usual department stores and pharmacies that stock Revlon products and of course Priceline.

These items were purchased by me.