My Beauty Book Haul..

I haven’t been spending much money on myself lately, it has been more fun buying things and clothes for our little boy. Things have settled and we have started going out, and even had a trip to the big shopping centre, Chadstone on our own, where he behaved really well.

But this last week and a bit I haven’t left the house. It’s been a horrible week to be honest...  

 

 

Last week we too our one of our beautiful Labradors to the vet as we found a lump on her foot. The vet was pretty sure that it was cancer, and the following day, Thursday, she went in for a biopsy, and then we had the long wait until Monday for the results. And with her front leg completely strapped in, I had to stay home to watch her to make sure that she didn’t attack the leg and undo the bandage and the stitches, which she had already done while she was waiting for us to pick her up at the vet, so they had to be re-done.

Monday we got the results, which confirmed that it was cancer, - stage two – so could have been a lot worse, but it could of course also have been a lot better. But at least it was good news as it meant that that they could remove the tumour, and didn’t have to amputate her leg. And the following day, Tuesday she went in for the surgery, we just wanted it done as soon as possible. She came home the same night, groggy and with the whole leg strapped in. But she has been so brave, and in spite of clearly being in pain, she has not once whined or whimpered.

Yesterday she has had all the bandages removed. We had hoped the stitches would go too, but unfortunately they are not being removed until next Sunday. So now with the leg and all the stitches exposed, we have to watch her like hawks to make sure she doesn’t start attacking or even licking the area on her leg too much. And she is such a clever dog, sometimes going up to the other end of the house where we can't see or hear her, just to lick at the leg, that clever little bugger!

But it also means that I best not leave the house for too long this week either, as I simply don’t trust her to leave her leg alone!!

Anyway, back to my haul…. Reading through the weekly junk mail I noticed that Aldi was selling Rae Morris and Napoleon Perdis beauty books last week. And at the bargain price of just $9.95 each! What a bargain… these books sell for least double that price on Amazon!

But what does a girl do when she has a newborn and is also forced to stay at home to care for her sick dog…..send hubby of course. So I asked him to get the two different Rae Morris books pictured in the catalogue – but knowing Aldi, and how quickly they sell out of these things – also because I knew hubby wouldn’t be able to make it to the store until the end of the day – I really didn’t expect to get any of the books at all!

But surprise, surprise – hubby came home from work that night, with not only the two different Rae Morries books, but also the one from Napoleon Perdis as he thought that I’d enjoy that one as well. What a sweetie!!

These are the books I got...

Napoleon Perdis - Forever Flawless

 

This book does promote the Napoleon Perdis products through some product photos, but regardless it is full of useful tips throughout, including how to do eye colour and contour, how to make thin lips appear larger, how to make large lips appear smaller, how to apply liquid liner,  how to apply foundation, blush and how to contour (see picture).

 

 

This is a great book, and I am happy that hubby got if for me as well. I will enjoy reading it. And really, at $9.95 it is not far from the same price as a monthly magazine such as Marie Claire or Vogue, and I will enjoy this book for much longer!!

Rae Morris - Makeup The Ultimate Guide

 

 

This book has some amazing pictures, and it shows among others step-by-step how to great a variety of looks from natural eyes, sultry eyes, smoky eyes, and Grecian Eyes (see picture), how to apply blush and contour.

And another thing I really like is that it shows the best makeup looks for the Over 40s…which is (sadly) also of huge relevance to me… So a fantastic book, that I will enjoy looking through again and again.

Rae Morris – Timeless Makeup

 

Like The Ultimate Guide, Timeless Makeup is full of beautiful pictures and it shows you how to create classic makeup looks though step-by-step guides. It also contains eye colour charts with the colours best suited to your eye colour (see picture), which I find very useful and fascinating.

 

 

 

And wearing glasses I really like the section on wearing glasses and make-up and which makeup you should wear and which glasses best suit the shape of your face. It also teaches how to apply eye makeup, contour, how to make your nose smaller or larger, and a range of makeup looks such as the Beach Babe Look (see picture). Another great book with a lot of useful tips.

 

 

What do you think of these books? Did you snap up any of them too? Or maybe you already have some of them? Do you have any other beauty books? Can you recommend any good beauty books worth buying??

 

L’Oreal Paris Beauty Workshop, LMFF 2013 - Part 2

Every year in connection with the L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF), L’Oreal and Marie Claire hosts a beauty workshop, where L’Oreal Paris Make-Up Director, Rae Morris shares her beauty tips and tricks.

The beauty workshop was held at Maia, on Central Pier, Docklands, Melbourne, and this year I was lucky to get an invite from L’Oreal. In part 1 of this post I shared all the tips and tricks that I managed to pick up from Rae Morris (you can see them here if you missed it).

The beauty workshop lasted for a good hour, and there was a stage where three models were being made up by makeup artists, while Rae Morris along with the beauty director of Marie Claire, Alex Noonan, not only shared their tips and tricks, spoke of the latest trends, as well as the newest L’Oréal Paris products to hit the shelves.

Each of the models were made up, recreating Megan Gale’s LMFF looks; the first one with the Opulent Glamour Look, the second model with the Navy Chic Look, and the third model with the Autumn Siren Look.

These are the three looks, and the products used to create them;

Opulent Glamour

 

To recreate the Opulent Glamour the following L’Oreal Paris products were used:

 

• L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Eyeshadow Quad, in Disco Smoking
• L’Oreal Paris Lash Architect 4D Mascara in Black Lacquer
• L’Oreal Paris Super Gel Eye Liner in Black
• L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Le Smoky Pencil Eyeliner & Smudger in Stormey Sea
• L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Le Sourcil, Eyebrow Pencil in Golden Brown
• L’Oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Cream
• L’Oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Blush in Universal Rosy Blush
• L’Oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Powder
• L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Lipstick in 378 Velvet Rose

 

Navy Chic Look

 

To recreate the Navy Chic look the following L’Oreal Paris products were used:

 

• L’Oreal Paris Lumi Magique Pure Light Primer
• L’Oreal Paris Mega Volume Collagene 24 Hour Mascara in Extreme Black
• L’Oreal Paris Infallible Eyeshadow in 02 Hourglass Beige
• L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Le Smoky Pencil Eyeliner & Smudger in Stormey Sea
• L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Le Sourcil, Eyebrow Pencil in Golden Brown
• L’Oreal Paris Lumi Magique Tough of Light Highlighter
• L’Oreal Paris True Match Foundation
• L’Oreal Paris Glam Bronze Bronzer

 

Autumn Siren

 

To recreate the Autumn Siren look the following L’Oreal Paris products were used:

 

• L’Oreal Paris Lumi Magique Pure Light Primer
• L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Le Sourcil, Eyebrow Pencil in Deep Brown
• L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Eyeshadow Quad, in Timeless Beige
• L’Oreal Paris False Lash Telescopic Mascara in Magnetic Black
• L’Oreal Paris Lumi Magique Tough of Light Highlighter
• L’Oreal Paris True Match Foundation
• L’Oreal Paris True Match Blush in 120 Sandlewood Pink
• L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Lipstick in 374 Intense Plum

To attend the Beauty Workshop cost $39, which I personally thought was a reasonable price, and especially seeing it also included a L’Oreal Paris gift bag, valued at more than $70.

This is what was included in the gift bag:

 

Personally I was pretty impressed with the gift bag, and along with attending the Beauty Workshop, it was definitely worth the $39 price tag.

 
The L’Oreal Paris Powder Room

Prior to the attending the Beauty Workshop, I was lucky to just have time to get into the L’Oreal Paris Powder Room.

Over the last many years, the L’Oréal Paris Powder Room has become a popular of big events held in Melbourne, such as the Melbourne Cup Carnival and the L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival. The L’Oreal Powder room allows the general public to be pampered in the L’Oréal Paris Powder Room – for free – by the team of L’Oreal Paris specialists are on hand providing professional beauty advice.

As it was busy, I was given the choice between getting skincare advice, getting my nails painted with my choice of nail polish, or getting my lips done, again, with my choice of lipstick.

As I had just done my nails, and as I was in a bit of a hurry, I decided to get my lips done – but again, unfortunately I was in such a hurry that I completely forgot to get a photo taken.

But here’s a few pictures of the actual powder room:

The L'Oreal Paris Powder Room

 

The Lipstick area

 

The Nail and Skincare area

 

As you were leaving, all visitors were handed a gift bag, which in my case included:

 

Pretty impressive gift bag for a freebie don’t you think?!

So there you go, that concludes my posts from the L’Oréal Beauty Workshops.

What did you think of the three beauty looks, which one do you prefer? Keen on trying any of them?

Have you tried any of the products used? And did you attend any of the events held during the fashion festival?

 

L’Oreal Paris Beauty Workshop, with Beauty Tips from Rae Morris, LMFF 2013 - Part 1

Every year in connection with the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF), L’Oreal and Marie Claire hosts a beauty workshop, where L’Oreal Paris Make-Up Director, Rae Morris shares her beauty tips and tricks.

The beauty workshop was held at Maia, on Central Pier, Docklands, Melbourne, and this year I was lucky to get an invite from L’Oreal. But even at the ticket price of $39 it was reasonably priced, and even more so as it also included a L’Oreal Paris gift bag, valued at more than $70, but more about that later in part two..

The beauty workshop lasted for a good hour, and there was a stage where three models were being made up by makeup artists, while Rae Morris along with the beauty director of Marie Claire, Alex Noonan, not only shared their tips and tricks, spoke of the latest trends, as well as the newest L’Oreal Paris products to hit the shelves. So it was therefore not a ‘back-to-basics’ workshop, where you get to play with the makeup yourself, but more about picking up some tips and tricks to improve on your existing skills.

 

 

Some of Rae Morris’s tips that I managed to pick up during the workshop:

Foundation:

• When selecting a foundation shade for yourself always try the foundation on your chest area rather than on your face as this is the best indicator of your true colouring. And if you are wearing a strappy/strapless top, make sure to also cover your chest and shoulder area to make sure your face matches your body.

• And if you use a self-tanner on your body, again, make sure that your foundation matches the shade on your body, even if it means a darker foundation. There is nothing worse than a tanned body and a white face.

• If you use only one product, make it a foundation or a BB cream as having an even skin instantly makes you look younger.

Concealer:

• Concealer should be applied after the foundation, as the concealer will move as you apply your foundation, as well as the foundation will cover most imperfections, and consequently less concealer would be required.

• When you are concealing under your eyes, always use a shade that is one shade lighter than your foundation, And don’t use the same colour concealer to blemishes as it will highlight them. To conceal blemishes, always use a concealer shade that is the same as your foundation.

Eyes:

• If you have droopy eyes, forget the old saying that you should just line your lower lash line 1/3 of the way - because as this line stops at the lowest point of your eyes it will only emphasise the droopiness.

• Wear the colours that complement your eyes below your eyes (i.e through eyeliner) to make your eyes pop, and you can then wear whatever colour you like on your eyelids.

• When trying to make the perfect winged eyeliner look, use a piece of sticky tape put on an angle by the outer corner of your eye (Tip: take most of the stickiness of the tape out by putting it on your hand and take it of again a few times before putting it near your eye area.)

 

 

Eyebrows:

• Messy eyebrows can ruin your whole look, so to ensure your eyebrows stay in place, spray a mascara spoolie with a little hairspray and comb through the brows to fix in place.

• Define your brows with a pencil or a little powder for a more defined and groomed look.

• Rae Morris also talked about how to shape your eyebrows for the most optimum effect. If the gap between your eyebrows point is too far apart, it can exaggerate the width of your nose (or draw attention to a wide nose). If the gap between the eyebrows is narrower, it will also make width of your nose appear much narrower.

Lipstick

• The perfect nude lip colour depends on skin tone – your perfect nude colour is between the colour of your skin tone and your lip tone.

• Enhance your cupids bow with a little gold highlighter to visually plump your pout.

• On the debate on how much or how little water to drink. It’s not always a matter of drinking 8 glasses a day, sometimes you need more, and sometimes you need less. If you drink sufficient, your lips will not need lip balm, so your lips are hence an indication that you are sufficiently hydrated

• When swatching lipsticks, never do this on the back of your hand, as it will not give you a true indication of the colour on your lips. Rather do it on the tip of a finger for a more realistic representation of the colour.

• When applying lipsticks, one coat should be enough, as too many coats can result in the lipstick bleeding and smudging. And don’t apply lipstick on top of a lipbalm, as it will also make it bleed, and ruin the staying power as it stops the lipstick from adhering to the lips. Instead, put lipbalm on your lips before you start applying your make up, and then wipe it off before applying your lipstick.

So there you have it, those were the great tips I managed to pick up from Rae Morris. And all in all, it was a great workshop, that I really enjoyed attending it.  

 

What do you think of these tips? Any that you are keen to try out?

 

Industry News: L'Oreal Paris Beauty Workshop

With record heat wave in Melbourne, which is set to continue with temperatures above 30 degrees for at least the next week as well, it is hard to believe that it is in fact autumn. I do love it when the trees change their colours to red and oranges, but after that, it quickly goes downhill, which I don’t particularly enjoy. I much prefer spring and summer!!

But one good thing about autumn, is that it is L’Oreal Fashion Festival takes over Melbourne. And that I love.

 

 

And each year, our amazing L’Oreal Paris Make-Up Director, Rae Morris, puts on the much anticipated beauty workshops with the help of Marie Claire magazine.

You can come behind-the-scenes and acquire essential tips and tricks to create runway-ready make-up from the best in the industry – it is simply an opportunity to hear from Australia’s top make-up artist, learn her tips and tricks and hear about the latest beauty trends.

 

 

The guided workshop will give you everything you need to master the season’s latest looks and trends at home.

And following the workshop, you are able to visit the L’Oreal Paris Powder Room and trial your favourite looks and meet with the experts.

 

 

At $39 per person, I feel that the tickets are reasonably priced, and on top, you will also receive a L’Oreal Paris gift bag, valued at more than $70, and which includes the latest Marie Claire magazine.

The event is held on Saturday the 23^rd March 2013 at Maia, on Central Pier, Docklands, Melbourne.

There are two workshops:

Workshop 1:

Doors Open from 11.00am
Workshop 11.30am – 12.30pm

Workshop 2 (repeat)

Doors Open from 1.30pm
Workshop 2.00pm – 3.00pm

Tickets are selling fast but for more event details visit the LMFF website:


I am going to the second workshop in the afternoon, and I can’t wait to hopefully learn some new tricks!!

Anyone else from Melbourne planning on attending this workshop?

If you happen to be going to the afternoon session, do let me know, I’d love to say hi!!