Fables in Fashion - Melbourne Beauty, Makeup, Reviews, Fashion, Cosplay, Photography Blog

How I Spot Clean My Makeup Brushes

2012-05-17T12:02:15Z

If you’re lazy like me, knowing how to spot clean your makeup brushes is pretty essential.

I know, I’ve read it all before, you’re suppose to spot clean your makeup brushes after every use, and deep clean them every week. Yeah, that’s like saying you should visit your dentist every 6 months and get your hair cut every 8 weeks. They aren’t rules I abide by personally. But when I do spot clean my brushes (once a week?), I do my best to get them as clean as possible.

Personally I prefer to use MAC Brush Cleanser because it’s readily available, not too expensive and easy to use (and once I get through 5 bottles, free lipstick!) I transfer the product into a mini spray bottle to make it easier to travel with and for ease of use. I used to pour the cleanser onto the paper towel in the past and realised I was flying through the cleanser within 2-3 months. Now that I use the spray bottle I get probably an extra 1-2 months out of it

The technique I use is by no means ground breaking, but maybe you will find it interesting to watch none of the less Hope you enjoy the video, and have a great weekend!

Going Diablo-ing

2012-05-15T23:14:46Z

Let’s be honest, we all knew this might happen. With the release of Diablo 3 last night I pretty much managed to blow away my entire evening on it, and somehow I don’t see that changing very soon!

The next few days should prove interesting, trying to already find a difficult balance with work, blogging, YouTube and now D3

If you are playing too, let me know which character! I’m a Wizard

Chanel Ombres Matelassees Eyeshadow Palette – 51, Montaigne Review, Swatches and Photos

2012-05-14T13:53:52Z

Palette + Chanel? How I could resist This caught my eye as I was browsing through Chanel.com, and then once again whilst I was walking through Myer. I decided to instead purchase this palette online via a mail forwarding service as (no surprise) it still worked out to be cheaper! But enough about acquisition, let’s talk about this palette.

This limited edition palette is called Ombres Matelassees, and was created to celebrate the opening of Chanel’s latest boutique in Paris. The shade is 51 Montaigne, also the address of said new boutique. The five shadows, besides the last all have a golden hue to them with a shimmery finish. The press of each shadow is reminiscent of Chanel’s signature quilted bags, a beautiful touch.

The shadows themselves range in pigmentation, with naturally the black being the strongest. I wouldn’t say the pigmentation is comparable to Inglot, but in comparison to some of the Chanel eye shadows I’ve tried before, this is rather impressive.

The last two darkest shades can also be used as liner, so the palette is relatively versatile, depending on how dark you dare to go. I’m not sure if this palette is still available at Myer (the only place in Australia I’ve seen it on sale). But it would be worth having a play before you put down any cash as generally speaking this is one heftily priced palette even in America, sitting at $80US.

Zoya Summer 2012 Beach Collection Review, Swatches and Photos

2012-05-13T10:24:54Z

In two more weeks Summer will have officially hit the northern hemisphere, in Australia? Winter! Though you’d be surprise at the sheer difference in climate between Sydney and Melbourne. I step off the plane in Sydney with t-shirt attire and am forced to rug up the minute I land back in Melbourne at the end of the week.

But enough about weather, we’re here to talk about Zoya’s latest Summer collection, which consists of two mini collections. One called Surf, and the second called Beach which is what today’s post is dedicated to. You’ll find that the majority of these polishes are crème, except for Tracie that has the slightest amount of shimmer.

As always all swatches are 2 coats with no top coat.

Arizona

A soft bright citrus orange crème, OPI’s Mummy Knows Best is a very similar shade, only the formula is a bit thinner and the opacity is far less.

Lara

A medium magenta-rose pink with subtle yellow undertone crème finish. Essie’s Tour de France is a pinker and darker version.

Reagan

A deep, cool fuchsia pink with subtle blue undertone and an opaque crème finish. Zoya’s Areej is a lighter dupe, and Ulta3′s Footloose Fuchsia is a plummier version.

Shelby

A soft but colourful cherry blossom pink with an opaque crème finish.

Tracie

A faded, yellow-toned pistachio green with delicate silvery shimmer for a frosted pearl finish. I found Ulta3′s Lagoon to be a more yellow toned version.

Wednesday

A faded dirty medium turquoise with green undertone and an opaque crème finish. Another shade I couldn’t find a dupe for, and likely my favourite from this collection Rather unique. From the photo it almost looks like Tiffany blue.

Book of Fables: Chapter 95 – Silver Glitterati

2012-05-12T14:36:45Z

Finally a brand new chapter! I told you these were going to be a little harder to film, but I’m determined My last couple of chapters haven’t been the most wearable of looks so I wanted to go back to doing something that people could actually wear out. Probably not to the office, but more likely to a club or an extravagant dinner out.

A smokey eye with silver glitter is a pretty universal look that can be worn by virtually all skin types So I hope you enjoy the look! My hair is some serious fail You can still some of my unevenly smeared gel I never said I was a hair expert

Either way I hope you enjoy the look

MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation – 51
Benefit Erase Paste – 1 Fair
MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural – Light
Urban Decay Primer Potion – Original
NYX Smokey Look Kit
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil – Cottage Cheese
Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Gel CreamLiner – Brown Eyes (Black)
Savvy by DB Luxury Liner – Shimmering Slate
Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes Mascara – Black
e.l.f Eyebrow Kit – Dark
NARS Powder Blush – Orgasm
Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder – Light
Canmake Highlighter – 01
Too Faced Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue
Red Earth Body Makeup Glitter – Silver
Revlon Colorburst Lipstick – Soft Nude
MAC Lipgloss – Oyster Girl

Lancome Rouge in Love in 163 Review, Swatches and Photos

2012-05-07T13:10:07Z

Recently I was lucky enough to attend a lovely event hosted by Lancôme to launch their new lipstick line Rouge in Love. I have to admit, living and working in Sydney CBD makes it much easier to attend events and meet the lovely Sydney beauty bloggers

Lancôme were kind enough to send me one of the lipsticks from the collection, a beautiful true red that leans on the pinker side in some photos.

The main thing I’ve noticed about this line of lipstick is pigmentation. To me that’s it’s signature trait. It’s pretty strong, amazing and long lasting. If you don’t properly remove the lipstick by the end of the day it can almost end up staining your lips, that’s how strong it is! When applied, the formula actually feels quite moisturising and has a very lovely sheen. However after a while the sheen disappears to an almost matte finish.

With a colour this strong I needed a lip brush to make sure I was completely within the lines, which is only really a pain upon initial application. Topping up shouldn’t be a problem, but it is something worth keeping in mind for those who prefer something a little less high maintenance. If you’re one of those, I’d recommend a more nude / pink shade.

These lipsticks are available for $45AU from either David Jones or Myer. Excuse the circle lenses, I’m running low on my clear daily lenses (which are quite expensive, $2-3 a DAY), but my circle lenses last a year are were only around $40AU, so I’ve taken to wearing them during the weekend / for photos to preserve my dailies for full days aka work.

Tell Me Your Fable ~ May 2012

2012-05-08T13:26:42Z

I’ve officially been doing the weekly fly ups to Sydney for the last 6 weeks now and a lot of things have changed for me I have lots of travel / airport related posts and videos I want to do! And with potentially months more travel ahead of me (and an overseas trip coming up) 2012 will officially be my most traveled year so far!

But for now I wanted to share with you some photos I’ve managed to snap up whilst in Sydney

On a good plane (not all Qantas planes have tv screens), my view every Monday morning and every Friday night :3 Bright side is I’ll likely be a Gold Frequent Flyer before the end of this assignment

Benefit of working in Sydney? KINOKUNIYA! I’ve been visiting the stationary section a shameful number of times -_-; These pens have a .25 tip! I LOVE fine tip pens, I can’t stand anything above 0.3 hehe

Another benefit of being in Sydney are the events, many more blogging events in Sydney So many it’s hard to keep up, but I’m having a total blast!

My now traditional Thursday night aka late shopping night dinner :9

I drink my juice and water out of wine glasses in my hotel because I can! >=D It makes me feel all grown up and classy (FYI I don’t drink alcohol)

Toby came down (up!) for a visit over ANZAC day so we go Hot Chocolates

Then went to see the Three Sisters up in the Blue Mountains

Bought a bunch of new clothes from Target in Melbourne only to find that the SA had left the security tag on my new jacket Unfortunately I only found out as I got beeped AT the airport on Monday morning so I was stuck with the security tag in Sydney.

Lucky me I have awesome co-workers who with a little bit of elbow grease (and pliers) broke off the tag for me

Time for bed! Zzzzz

Maybelline Volum’ Express One by One Mascara Review, Swatches and Photos

2012-05-07T12:41:00Z

To help celebrate the recent Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2012, Maybelline released a special mascara available only during the month of May! Introducing Volum’ Express One by One Mascara in Satin Black provided kindly by Maybelline.

If I had to think of a Maybelline mascara that matched this, I would think the amazing Falsies, only with a more oval shaped wand, as well as having plastic bristles instead. It’s definitely in the volumising family, as you can see below one coat is enough. Usually I need to apply two coats of mascara to get that sort of impact. Two coats of this mascara can prove to be too clumpy.

It reminds me a little of Lancome’s Hypnose mascara, which as you may know is my HG mascara. The only downside I’ve experienced with this mascara is that it can leave a bit of smudging on my lower lash line. I didn’t experience it all the time however which is strange, usually just when I’m very tired which perhaps could be due to teary eyes.

So if you’re in the market for a new mascara, being limited edition at $19.25AU I’d be inclined to give it a go as I doubt most people would find this disappointing. The results are pretty awesome

Chanel Rose Ultimes de Chanel Nail Polish Collection Review, Swatches and Photos

2012-04-29T06:01:12Z

Chanel’s Rose Ultimes de Chanel collection appears to have been an interim release between Chanel’s Spring and Summer collection. It contained six beautiful pink based new glosses and as featured below four new polishes that followed in the same colour family. I will note that all the colours are highly wearable, then again nothing jumped out as a must have in my opinion.

All swatches are two coats with no top coat. The entire collection is currently available in Australia from your local Myer or David Jones at $39AU a pop.

Tentation

A deep magenta shade with micro shimmers, its lip gloss equivalence would likely be Jalouise. I found Essie’s Super Bossa Nova to be extremely similar, and China Glaze’s Ahoy! to contain more shimmer.

Frisson

A soft fairy floss pink with iridescent micro shimmers, the Chanel gloss in Amour is the closest match. Essie’s Like to be Bad is a non-shimmer version, OPI’s Suzi & the Lifeguard is a pinker version with a metallic finish.

Attraction

My least favourite from this collection, a pearl white metallic polish that is incredibly streaky. Even when careful it’s hard to avoid creating streaks in the finish, so unless that’s something you like I’d avoid. I think it’s a pure white version of OPI’s Birthday Babe, which appears more silvery.

Distraction

A watermelon / coral pink crème polish with Volupte to be the corresponding gloss. ORLY’s Coquette Cute is a slightly pinker version, very close dupe however. Essie’s Cute as a Button is a less opaque version and is slightly pinker. Mecca’s Katherina is also a crème with a more orange tone.

Shopbop Collection Preview

2012-05-01T11:28:36Z

As probably everyone and their mum from the beauty / fashion blogging world knows, last week was Fashion week in Sydney! To celebrate Shopbop held a preview session of some items from their latest collection The lovely Gemma escorted me around the room and I managed to grab a few photos to share

Beautiful white roses to greet us! My favourite kind of roses

How great is this? A basics check list! Totally using this next time I go on holiday

This clutch instantly caught my eye when I saw it, I searched the Shopbop website and discovered it is by House of Harlow and can be found here.

Loved this combo, tempted to try incorporating bolder colours in my own look. At least something like this isn’t BAM in your face, but still enough to be eye catching!

Beautiful shoes that should come home with me.

I thought the soles of these shoes were just adorable! A gorgeous design most people will never see!

Moar shoes! I’m really contemplating getting the pink ones at the end…

Much love and thanks to Gemma for kindly inviting me over to checkout the new collection It was so much fun! Now to go shopping~