The Topshop Concealer Palette

I ordered the Topshop Concealer Palette on a whim, as a way of avoiding the ridiculous shipping costs on the website... I was glad I made this decision, because I have been quite impressed with it!

I hadn't really tried any Topshop cosmetics until this palette, but I've heard so many good things, and I was not disappointed.

The palette comes in compact, silver mirror-like packaging, which looks pretty to begin with... But does get fingerprints and scratches on it easily.  However the product inside the packaging is really good. There are four sections in the palette, (which come with handy instructions of how to use them).

The first section is a colour correcting concealer, which you layer under the other two concealers, depending on what tones you wish to conceal. As a colour correcter it works really well, however it's not as creamy as I would like.

The second section is an under eye concealer. It's slightly lighter than the other highlighter, to allow for highlighting.  It's quite creamy, and conceals under the eye quite well without the colour correcter. I found that if I layered the colour correcter and the concealer, things got a bit cakey, and creased very easily, but that could just be my sleep-deprived skin. It works to conceal and correct colour just by itself; it does crease a bit, but again, I think I have more bags/creases under my eye than the normal person.

The third section is a blemish concealer.  It's slightly darker than the under eye concealer, but just as creamy.  It covers blemishes really well, and if your foundation rubs off during the day, it doesn't look too bad blended out to fix patchy bits either!

The fourth section is a setting powder, which is a handy addition to have when you're on the go.

The sponge applicator that comes with the palette I found wasn't useful for application of any of the products in the compact. I found it much easier to apply and blend the concealers with my finger and use a small fluffy brush to apply the setting powder.

Overall, a really good concealer palette, that is perfect and compact to take on the go. At about $22 Australian, it's fairly reasonably priced, so definitely worth a look!

Have you tried and Topshop make-up? What should I try next?

Beth. x

Great coat, I love that hat... #1: The Piano Dress.

It's not often that I pull on the heels and head out for a night out, but my lovely friends convinced me that I needed to attend their university ball, (which happened about a month ago).  I obviously needed a new dress for the occasion, so I headed straight to Modcloth online, and found this gorgeous piano dress. 

The dress itself is lovely.  It has pockets (+1000000 practicality points), it fits well, and you don't have to worry about it being to short or too low cut.  It sits just above the knees, so you can dance the night away and not have to worry if you're showing your underwear.

I wore my red London Underground heels which I bought from Polly Shoes about five years ago; I know they're comfy, and will go with pretty much anything. 

On my lips I wore my favourite lip product of all time, the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella.  This product is matte, and so lasts a looooooong time. I didn't need to reapply at all. 

Dress: Me, Myself and Ivories Dress - Modcloth

Shoes: Red heels - Polly Shoes (kind of similar ones here.)

Necklace: Red statement necklace - Diva (similar here, here and here).

Bracelet: Antique fork cuff - Daylesford Artist (similar here).

Watch: Black Swatch watch - Swatch

Ring: Antique teaspoon ring - Port Campbell market (similar here).

Lipstick: Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella - Mecca Cosmetica.

With my gorgeous friends on the night.

An outfit post... A bit strange in these parts, but I hope you like it! 

Beth. x

Soap & Glory-ous.

Living in Australia, sometimes some of the best products are pretty hard to access... Soap&Glory is one of those brands, that is, until I discovered Mecca Cosmetica's stash of Soap&Glory goodies!

I've heard so much about Soap&Glory from various bloggers and vloggers, so when I was in London I had a peruse of the products in the aisles of Boots... But there's only so much you can fit in your suitcase! Enter Mecca Cosmetica (and also Kit Cosmetics), they provide a taste of the Soap&Glory range, (although they don't stock all the products unfortunately).

So what did I pick up?

I picked up the 'One Heck of a Blot' Super Translucent Mattifying Powder, (which Australian stores don't stock). This powder is brilliant!  I use a big powder brush (usually the RealTechniques Powder Brush) to apply this to either: set my foundation, or as a kind of powder primer.  It's completely translucent, so it doesn't affect the colour of your foundation, and it doesn't make your face look cakey.  And as a girl who is very lazy when it comes to touching up make-up throughout the day, this powder helps my make-up last and last!

Now to the Australian purchases... I've heard so much about the Soap&Glory body washes, so I had to give one a go!  I have super sensitive skin (see this post), and so it's often hard to find products that don't irritate it.  I bought the Clean on Me - Creamy Clarifying Shower Gel.  First of all, this shower gel smells glorious!  It has a sweet, yet citrusy scent, that lingers on the skin.  It's also perfect for those of you (like me), who can't be bothered using a body moisturiser, because it leaves your skin feeling soft and nourished.

I also picked up the ever-hyped Hand Food.  Not sure how well it goes in the repairing hand stakes, (it's Winter here, and my hands are suffering majorly), but it definitely smells lovely (a more floral scent), and I definitely can't stop using it! 

So far, I've enjoyed all the Soap&Glory products I've used, the quality is lovely, and the retro packaging and the product names are really cool.  I will definitely have to order more in the future!

Ordering online through Mecca  was an amazingly easy and worthwhile process.  Not only does your parcel arrive quickly, (and beautifully packaged I may add), but you get to choose two samples to try out! 

I chose the By Terry Baume De Rose sample... Which definitely lives up to all the hype! It's so nourishing, and it smells lovely. I'm going to have to save my pennies to get the full size!  Secondly, I chose the Nars Pro Primer for eyes, which I haven't used yet, but am definitely looking forward to!

Have you tried Soap&Glory?  What products should I try? 

Beth. x

Things I Just Don't Understand.

Now, I like to think I'm a fairly intelligent individual - I know how to spell definitely, I can differentiate a quadratic equation if the need arises, and I can change a tyre if I have to - but sometimes life just throws things at you and you're left thinking "What just happened?" and shaking your head in disbelief.  So here is a small list of things that utterly confuse/irk me, by no means is this list exhaustive... But it's a start.

Beth's list of things that leave her utterly confused/mildly frustrated #1:

1. When people post pictures with a caption such as "I'm ugly" or "#nomakeup."  Firstly, if you aren't happy with how you look in the picture, you don't have to click the upload button.  Simple as that.  With the whole "no make-up" thing... People have eyes, I'm pretty sure they would be able to tell if you're wearing make-up or not.  It just seems people who upload photos like this are fishing for compliments or reassurance - whether they know it or not - and it just confuses me that people are asking people they don't know that well (facebook friends, instagram followers etc.) for reassurance.  
2. When people won't commit to something because they're waiting for the "better offer."  I mean, if you get invited somewhere and you say yes, bailing at the last minute because you got a better offer IS NOT ok.  At least give the first person the decency of giving them at least some notice that you can't come... Hours before the event, is a definite no no.  This actually happened to a friend of mine quite recently.  They had planned a whole birthday night out with a group of friends, and at least a third of the group said they couldn't make it ON THE DAY... No explanation  no "I'm so sorry," no "I'll get so-and-so to bring your card," nothing.  I just don't understand...
3. When someone overtakes you when you're doing the speed limit. I mean I could understand if I was going slowly... Fair enough, but when I'm doing the speed limit... Well you're just impatient.  What confuses me even more is if I'm stuck behind someone who's going slowly and I'm being patient, waiting for the right moment to overtake, and someone who is behind me overtakes me and squishes themselves into the "safe gap" that I was leaving. Just, why?  You're not going to get there any quicker.  I just can't understand that.
4. And last but not least, when people just talk AT you.  You can be avoiding all eye contact, not responding at all, not looking even remotely interested and they still continue to force their stories/views onto you.  It happens to me all the time... I must look like I care about often racist/sexist/unpopular views?

So there's a few of the things that just leave me shaking my head in confusion... I'm probably just being petty, but these things just get to me.