Gerard Cosmetics - Hydra Matte Liquid Lipstick Swatches

Hey there my clan of beautiful Ladies!! 

Or Men, I welcome you both with open arms! 

Today's post is so exciting for me because I finally get to talk to you about something I have been absolutely loving for a couple of months now and that is the Hydra Matte Liquid Lipsticks from Gerard Cosmetics! I am in love with them! I initially bought my first lipstick around christmas time last year and it arrived early January and since then I had been wanted more. So about a month ago I invested in another four which I do not regret at all.  The only thing I do regret is not buying more while they were on sale! These beauties retail for $20USD each, yes each! But I PROMISE, they are so worth it! These liquid lipstick wear so well, I wore one of mine the other day for an eight hour shift at work and it didn't budge.  They are not too drying and I haven't had any flake or become clumpy like some matte lipsticks do.  You will also be super excited to know that these are cruelty free which makes me so stoked! 

So the first two colours you see me wearing in the pictures above are 1995 (left) and Invasion (right) and if I'm totally honest I can't pick a favourite at all so please don't make me.  1995 was originally one of their lipstick shades but because it was loved so much they launched it as a liquid lipstick and I honestly think it is the best thing they could have done.  This shade is said to be inspired by the neutral hues of the 90's and I am loving it.  It is such a deep nude with an almost brown undertone and it suits basically every makeup look.  I can be worn for and everyday look or paired with a real bold eye for a night out! As apposed to Invasion which is a beautiful grey toned lip colour which I find so gorgeous.  When I saw this colour I knew I just had to have it.  It's so completely different to anything that I have in my collection and I'm so glad I bought it.  It has a slight purple tone to it that is so wonderfully bold without being over the top at all. This lippy is said to have a velvety finish and I completely agree, it is so super comfortable to wear.  

Next we have Iced Mocha which is the first ever shade I bought and I don't regret it at all.  This shade is a beautiful light brown colour which compliments most eye looks and works well as a bold lip colour with a plain eye look.  It is super pigmented and does not take much at all to get a lovely coat of colour.  This lippy also has such a gorgeous smell as it smells basically of an Iced Mocha and when you love Iced coffee as much as I do it's a sure fire sign that I'll love the lipstick! I absolutely love this shade!

Lastly we have Immortal (left) and Ruby Slipper (right).  Again, I am in love with these two shades! None of these lippies have been a let down at all, each of them are perfect for different reasons and that includes these two.  Immortal is a gorgeous blood red shade and is actually a little darker, more blue toned than it shows in the picture.  This is the perfect shade to wear on a night out for a beautiful bold red lip.  Like I said previously, even though these lipsticks are matte, each of them has a moisturising factor to them, they aren't creamy but they don't feel drying at all.  As for Ruby Slipper, this is the only shade that I own that has a hint of something different and that is sparkling glitter.  Yes, you heard me right, sparkling glitter.  This is a deep gorgeous dark red shade with the most beautiful hint of glitter you have ever seen.  The only problem I have with this shade is that it is a little difficult to get it truly opaque as it is so dark but if you work with it, it is absolutely gorgeous and compliments so many different makeup looks.  I would wear this on a daily basis and definitely on a night out, it is greatly diverse and that's one thing I love about all of these colours! 

The range of Liquid Lipsticks come in these gorgeous little opaque packaging with beautiful gold lids, could they look any cuter?

I hope you enjoyed this post! If there is any more details that you would like to know please, feel free to ask! Let me know in the comments if you have tried these before and your thoughts on them. I am also highly considering starting a YouTube channel and was wondering if any of you would watch it? It would be wonderful to hear some feedback on that, the content would be roughly the same as my blog you would just get to see my face a whole lot more! I can't thank you all enough tuning in and reading! I hope you are all having a wonderful week and I'll talk to you all in my next post!! 

Until Next Time

BrittanieDe-Ann xoxo

LustHaveIt/BellaBox Unboxing May

Hello there you wonderful souls! 

How are you all today? I have been super lazy lately and have spent the last few days binge watching Pretty Little Liars, who am I kidding? I've been binge watching it for a few weeks now and that's why I now have five blogs to write. I also had my computer delete a few of my saved drafts so that was very frustrating, I took a bit of a break after that because I was so angry and disappointed but I'm back today and hopefully I'll have a few uploaded by the end of the night! Fingers crossed. Anywho, today I'm super late with this unboxing but I still wanted to share it with you because the products in these two boxes have me super excited! I loved these boxes so much and can't wait to try them out! So here is my May Unboxing of my BellaBox and LustHaveIt box! 

I'll start with my BellaBox which I don't do very often but today I'll change it up a bit. I received my Bellabox around the last week in may and in it were five sample size products and one fullsize product. Now keep in mind this box only costs $17.95AUD so receiving sample size products is completely okay with me.  In the box came - a Thankyou Hand Cream (fullsize), a Palmers Multi Effect Perfecting Facial Oil (sample size), a Derma E Purifying 2-in-1 Charcoal Mask (sample size), an Aroma Magic Neem and Tea Tree Face Wash (sample size), a Karen Murrell Lipstick (sample size) and an Avon Nutra Effects Radiance Day Cream and Renewing Night Cream. 

Firstly, can I say how excited I am to have so many skin care products in this box? They are also so perfect for my skin type aswell as I have oily skin.  Lately I have been having a few problem areas on my face around my chin and I find that the only thing that can help is tea tree based products so I am so excited to try the Aroma Magic Face Wash! This product retails for $16.99AUD and is recommended highly for oily and acne prone skin. I'll definitely let you know how I go with this wash, I hope it exceeds my expectations! 

Next is the Derma E Purifying Charcoal Mask, which again, I am super excited by.  I have heard so many good things about charcoal masks, especially for oily skin.  The information for this products indicates that it helps to dry out any impurities and detoxifies the skin which is exactly what I need at this moment. The Derma E Mask retails for $34.95AUD which is a bit pricey but I'm sure it will be worth it! 

The brand Thankyou have also contributed to this box with a gorgeous smelling hand cream! I have been wanting to try this brand for a while now, I just haven't gotten the chance to buy the products so this was a lovely surprise! I love this product because not only is it vegan friendly, but by purchasing the product you also help provide access to hygiene and sanitation programs for someone in need, which I think is amazing it also is really cheap retailing for only $6.50AUD! 

The next product I want to chat to you about is the beautiful Karen Murrell Lipstick, which I received in the shade Rymba Rhythm.  It smells like cinnamon! No Joke! This is a super gorgeous shade of bright red and I think will suit my pale skin so well! This is also very highly priced, retailing at $30AUD. 

Following that I also received a sample size of the Palmers Multi Effect Perfecting Facial Oil which looks to be so good for your skin, I can't wait to try it out! This may be one I need to repurchase as it only costs $19.99AUD! 

Lastly from the BellaBox I received a bonus sample of both the Avon Nutra Effects Radiance Day Cream and Renewing Night Cream! I have high hopes for these two but unfortunately I only have a single use of them so we'll see how much I love them! 

Within my Lust Have It box I received a Teeez Cosmetics Spectrum of Stars EyeShadow in the shade Apricot Sheen (Fullsize), a PHR Recovery Leave in Hair Moisturiser (Sample Size), a Lollipops Baume Grenadine Lip Balm (Fullsize), a Starlooks Luxe Longwear Eye Liner Pen (Fullsize), an Urban Skincare co. Daily Body Cleanser (Sample Size) and a pair of Razzamatazz Perfectly Matte Opaque Leggings.

As you can see my Lust Have It box didn't have as many exciting skin care products but it did have some exciting makeup products that I can't wait to try out such as the Spectrum of Stars Eyeshadow! I was looking online and found so many more gorgeous colours in this range that I could see myself wearing but I'll definitely have to save up because they are a bit pricey at $29AUD a pop.  

The second makeup products I can't wait to try is the Starlooks Eye Liner Pen! I don't often use liner on my upper lid, winged liner defeats me but I could definitely see myself actually trying with this amazing little gem and she only costs $20AUD which I think is actually quite cheap.  

As for the hair moisturiser, I have never used one before so I am definitely looking forward to trying this one out! However my hair tends to be fairly oily so I don't know how it will go with more moisture but we'll see! This product retails for only $35.95AUD, which for a hair product doesn't seem too bad? Or am I wrong? 

Next is the Lollipops Lip Balm which I have already used and I don't mind it at all.  The smell of it kind of reminds me of cough medicine though so I probably won't be using it very often. This costs only $7.45AUD, so super affordable! 

Second last we have the Urban Skincare co. Body Cleanser which sounds so calming and lovely for your skin and I am definitely in the need of a good body cleanser! I can't wait to see if this does help protect and renew the skin like it says it will! This product retails for only $10AUD which is amazing! I definitely want to repurchase this!  

Lastly we have the Razzamatazz Leggings which I was definitely surprised to receive in my box but not upset about at all! I love these leggings and have used them many times before and definitely wouldn't hesitate to use them again and these cost $11.95AUD for one pair which is not too bad at all!

All in all I am super stoked with these two boxes and truly can't wait to try out all the products! If there are any that you want me to try out first let me know in the comments! Have you received this box? What did you get in yours? I'd love to have a chat and see what products you liked! I'm sorry this post has been so long and is so late but if you are still reading, you are beautiful and I hope you have a super fantastic day! I'll talk to you next time!!

Until Next Time'

BrittanieDe-Ann xoxo 

May Favourites

Hey There guys! 

How are you all on this wonderful day? I hope you are all having a great time where ever you are! I'm back today with another Favourites post and I'm so excited because last month I had so many favourite things that I have been saving up to tell you all about so, sit down, grab a cup of your favourite beverage and lets get straight into it! 

https://www.facebook.com/Tanzoir/?fref=ts

I'm starting off a little differently this month with a friend as one of my favourites. I know I'm a little biased but trust me, once you have seen her work you will love her too! The adorable lady I'm talking about is none other than Tanzoir herself.  Tanzoir and I became friends around the end of last year and I'm so glad we have, not only is she a beautiful person she is an amazingly skilled and dedicated Cosplayer and has reignited the want to cosplay within me.  Through the month of May, Tanzoir took a trip to Australia for personal reasons and I was lucky enough to get to spend a few days with her and I'm so glad we did, the chats we had about makeup and cosplay really got me out of the rut I have been in and seeing her progress in all her multiple cosplay adventures makes me want to attempt my own.  I highly, highly recommend you checkout her Facebook and Instagram pages as she is truly a Cosplay Queen! I want to give a side mention to Katrix Media Site who is not only a friend of Tanzoir's but also the talented lady who photographs and edits Tanzoir's photos, they are a tremendous team!! 

Next onto makeup and skincare.  I don't have a wide range of products in this category this month, but what I do have I have absolutely been obsessed with! Firstly I'll talk about the skin care and the first product I want to mention is the Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion from The Body Shop, which I can't actually find on their page so they may have discontinued it but I did find the Tea Tree Lotion which looks to do a similar thing.  However, the Night Lotion is said to help improve the appearance of blemish prone skin, which in my opinion it does amazingly. I've been using this along with the Tea Tree Blemish Gel, a lot of you might think that's too much for my skin but I was having a lot of issues with breakouts caused from stress around my jawline and chin and this combination has been incredible.  I barely have any breakouts lately and I couldn't be more happy! Definitely recommend these if you have oily/blemish prone skin.  

Next is the NSJ Natural SkinCare Pink Clay Mask, I won this from their page on facebook and honestly, I love it! I want to do a separate review of this so I'll keep this sweet but this mask has been a god send lately, again it really helps with stressed and sensitive skin, thank you lord and it's local and not far from where I live! Bonus! Lastly in the skin care range is the Olay revitalising eye serum which I have been using lately because, you can never combat aging too early. haha In all seriousness though, I find this cream actually helps add moisture around my eyes and leaves them feeling very supple! 

Now onto Makeup and the first product I have for you is the Too Faced Shadow Insurance which works 100% better than I thought it would.  I've never really had high hopes for eye shadow primers but to be honest this primer blew me away! It's incredible! No creasing, even after a full day at work in a hot kitchen and I had no creasing, it's amazing!  Could not recommend it highly enough! 

Next we have the MannaKadar Beauty powder in the shade Fantasy, I am obsessed... This triples as an eye shadow, a highlight and a blush.. How insane! Personally I like to use it as an eye shadow, I think it's super pretty for a lid colour or an inner corner highlight! It's just beautiful and I can't stop using it! Last but not least we have the Gerard Cosmetics Hydra Matte Liquid Lipstick in the shade Immortal, oh my goodness, I need more of the products! I have five already - don't worry, I have a swatch post coming very soon - but I need more! I am absolutely loving these lipsticks but Immortal is definitely my favourite so far! It's such a beautiful shade of red and works perfectly with my pale skin haha. I highly recommend trying the Hydra Mattes from Gerard Cosmetics if you like a good Matte lip! You can't go wrong! 

Lastly, I want to finish this off my favourite way and that is with a favourite YouTuber and a favourite TV show, these were not hard to pick this week as I have been loving them both! I'll start with the wonderful YouTuber, and that it the beautiful Meg from MegSays, she is absolutely gorgeous, I have spoken to her a few times and she really is as lovely to talk to as she is in her videos.  She has been on the top of my list lately and I have spent hours binge watching some of her old videos they are that good! I highly recommend checking her out if you're into makeup and beauty as she is just a sweetheart! Totally hooked me on her videos, hope to have videos as wonderful as hers one day. 

Lastly and definitely not least is my favourite TV Show and that has been Sherlock, not just the show but Benedict CumberPatch himself, he is a tremendous actor and after binge watching the three seasons of Sherlock I can't wait to watch Dr Strange! Sherlock is the most fantastic, well thought out TV Show that I have seen in a while, the concept that Sherlock is capable of the things he does is outlandish but believable because they always keep you in the loop and that's what I love about it so much! The humor is also amazing and I love the relationship between Sherlock and Watson it's lovely to watch! I find that each episode - which each go for one and a half hours mind you - always easily keep me intrigued to see what happens next! They better hurry up and make a fourth season soon! 

Anyway guys, I didn't realise how long this was going to turn out but I hope you enjoyed my favourites from May, let me know in the comments any favourites you had or have, I'd love to hear about new things.  Let me know if you've seen Sherlock, I'd love to chat about it! Thanks for reading and I'll see you all in my next post! 

Until Next Time

BrittanieDe-Ann xoxo 

'What's For Dessert?' - Creme Caramel

Hey There Everybody!!

I decided I wanted try something different this month and attempt a dessert instead of dinner.  So I figured I would change this segment from 'What's for Dinner' to 'What's For ... ' where then, I will change from Dinner to Dessert or even Appetizers depending on what I want to cook or any requests I get.  This post however will be a dessert and it just so happens to be my partners favourites dessert so the pressure was on! I chose to attempt to make Creme Caramels for this weeks post as we have been buying them lately for treats every now and then and I wanted to see just how hard they were to make. To be completely honest, they weren't as hard as I was worried they would be but they definitely aren't easy that's for sure.  Lets just jump straight into is shall we? 

To begin, you will need:

6 Eggs

300ml Thickened Cream

1tsp Vanilla extract

1 1/2 Cups Milk

1 1/4 Cups Caster Sugar

As for creating this master piece you will first need to preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1 cup cold water in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved.  Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. Boil, without stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes or until golden. I boiled mine for over 10 minutes and it was still a light yellowish colour so I would recommend waiting fully until it is truly golden because my caramel didn't turn out how I wanted it to. Remove from the heat and set aside for 2 minutes to allow bubbles to subside. Pour the sugar mixture into the ovenproof dishes of your choice and set aside to set.  

Combine the cream, milk and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 6 to 8 minutes or until small bubbles start to form at edge of pan. Remove the pan from heat.  Next, whisk the eggs and the remaining sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Slowly add the cream mixture, whisking constantly. Strain this mixture into a jug and divide between the dishes. 

Lastly place the dishes in a large baking dish, pour boiling water into said baking dish until halfway up the sides of the smaller dishes. Bake for 30 minutes or until just set. Remove the baking dish from the oven and remove the dishes from water. Set these aside to cool and refrigerate overnight. When serving the Creme Caramels, run a thin knife around edge of each dish and turn out onto 1cm-deep plates. Now enjoy your treat!

These are the most gorgeous little treats and you could put just about anything with them, fruit, ice-cream or just have it alone like I did. Honestly they are very sweet so I think fruit would be a wonderful choice.  In all honesty, I don't see myself making these regularly when I can just dash to the store and buy two perfectly made desserts, but if I wanted something a little more special for an anniversary or birthday and wanted a personal touch I would definitely give these a go again. Like I said earlier though, my caramel didn't turn out how it should so if I were to attempt these again I would definitely leave the sugar and water to boil for longer to allow the caramel to really for as mine turned out with clumpy sugar water on top which was still delicious but not the same as caramel.  As for the price of ingredients, this is a fairly cheap dessert to go for, I think I paid roughly $10AUD for everything I needed, in saying that I always have eggs in the fridge so I didn't have to buy them (my parents have chooks). This recipe is a little tricky to navigate so if you are just beginning I would recommend that you try it out but don't be too hard on yourself! 

All in all I had a blast making these and doing something other than dinner! Although I think this month is going to be a dinner post because I found a whole bunch of delicious looking vegetarian recipes on Pinterest that I'm dying to try out! I'm sorry this is so late, I had this almost finished and I had to restart my computer and in doing that it deleted everything I had, even though I saved it.. I hate technology haha

I hope you are all having a fantastic day and I'll see you in my next post! 

Until Next Time

BrittanieDe-Ann xoxo