It is no longer difficult to find eyeshadow palettes in the drugstore. However, it's definitely still challenging to find a great one. Spoiler alert, I found one and you probably haven't heard about it before. It's the Max Factor Masterpiece Nude Palette in 02 Golden Nudes*.

Months ago I saw this palette floating around my Bloglovin' feed and I think those posts were from a few girls overseas. Online swatches and reviews were fantastic so when I realised I could get my hands on it here in Australia, I knew it had to be mine.


What's so great about this palette? In my opinion, I think that Max Factor was really smart when they designed this palette. The matte shades are the shades that we all scream and beg to be mattes in a palette. We're given a great matte brow bone shade, crease shade and a deeper shade to darken up the look. The shimmers are all diverse and depending on what you're feeling for that day, you could createa goold, champagne, grey, or bronze eyeshadow look. Talk about variety, right!?

I know that in most of my reviews about drugstore eyeshadow palettes one thing I usually say is that they are great for beginners. Well, this one on the other hand I think has a place in your makeup collection. For the price, diverse shades and quality, I think you can't miss it.

The only one downside I can see to the palette is the fact that there isn't a mirror. I would still however say it is a good palette for travel, as long as you can bring a mirror or rely on one in your accomodation.

Have you tried any Max Factor eyeshadow palettes before?
What's your current favourite affordable eyeshadow palette?

*Products marked with an asterisk have been provided for editorial consideration. For more information, please read my disclaimer.



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Some brands just absolutely kill it when it comes to one particular product. For Max Factor, I think it's their lipsticks. I now have a happy little collection of 6 of their Colour Elixir Lipsticks*, so of course I wanted to do a swatch and review post. Left to right: 615 Star Dust Pink | 620 Pretty Flamingo | 660 Secret Cerise | 715 Ruby Tuesday | 735 Maroon Dust | 760 Mystic Mocha 
Max Factor Colour Elixirs contain various ingredients which are intended to help moisturise and condition the lips such as aloe, shea butter, avocado and vitamin E. The more you wear, the more smooth your lips should become.  As you can see, the lipsticks are definitely smooth and pigmented. The swatches required very little effort and there was absolutely no drag on my skin.  When it comes to longevity, some of the lipstick shades wear better than the others. For example Pretty Flamingo does not last on the lips as long as Ruby Tuesday. After eating, a slight touch up is needed but to be honest with you, I do this with every single lipstick anyway, so this is something I'm already used to.  I've found that these lipsticks do help with my lip texture overall and they don't flake off my lips. I'm especially noticing how moisturising they are during these cooler months. If you're looking for some really smooth, affordable lipsticks, I would definitely recommend these. They fly a little below the radar, but I think they deserve a lot more attention. What's your favourite Max Factor product? Have you tried the Colour Elixir lipsticks before?
*Products marked with an asterisk have been provided for editorial consideration. For more information, please read my disclaimer.
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2015 has been quite the year for beauty releases. I think my obsession with makeup definitely grew this year and my expanding makeup collection probably speaks for itself! 
Here is my Best of Beauty 2015 post. Not all of these products were released in 2015, but they're definitely my favourites for this year.


Whats a yearly favourites or best off post without an eyeshadow palette!? Earlier this year, I was in debate whether to pick up Urban Decay's Naked 3 because I already had Naked 2. After seeing so many tutorials and gorgeous eye looks by my friends, I decided it was time. Since having this palette, I've barely touched my Naked 2 or Lorac Pro. Something about this palette is just so damn gorgeous! Its buttery, pinky, warm, eyeshadow goodness. Definitely recommend it.
Becca Cosmetics Champagne Pop. Do I really need to say more? I'm a creature of habit with my highlighters so I've honestly been using the same one for the past year. But now, oh my gosh. If you own many highlights and you're debating over whether or not to get it, you honestly need to. I've never owned anything as pigmented as this highlighter. I suspect that I'll be using this highlighter for a very, very long time. 
Arbonne Cosmetics Smoothed Over Lipstick in Rose. Despite all the rubbish you hear and see online about their products and a small minority of Arbonne representatives, their products are really good. This lipstick has been my number one go to all of this year. It's a gorgeous purply-pinky colour that I think would look incredible on all skin tones. The texture is ridiculously smooth and as you can see from the swatch, super pigmented.
YSL Fusion Ink Foundation is still my favourite high end foundation. Recently, I attended a few events and I finished applying my makeup at 3pm. After the event, I then went to an outdoor cinema. Came home around midnight, and my makeup was still matte. Considering that I'm 100/10 oily, how incredible is that!? If you want to read more about this foundation and my opinion, read here.
Maxfactor Face Finity Primer is probably the number one product that I've been praising this year. No matter what skin type or who asks me, if anyone ever needs a primer, get this one. It's an amazing moisturising texture so your makeup goes on very smooth, but it sinks into your skin and isn't oily. It also has SPF20 which is always a plus.
Last up, two brushes. Sigma Tapered Highlighter F35 and Real Techniques Bold Metals Collection #30. I found that before these two brushes, all of them were just so-so on my skin. These two brushes pick up the exact right amount of highlighter and dispurse it so evenly and flawlessly. 
What products are in your best of beauty for 2015?
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Repetitive, creature of habit, hater of change. I guess that's what you can call me when it comes to the few staples I reach for day in, day out whenever I apply my makeup. If you follow me on instagram, you would have seen that I created the #mixupyomakeup challenge where I challenge you and myself to mix up the makeup we choose and find hidden gems. However, today is not about mixing up our makeup. It is about those holy grail products that end up on my face every single time makeup is in the picture. 

By far the best primer that I have ever used is Max Factor's Face Finity All Day Primer. This stuff just keeps my makeup on, all day long. It doesn't produce a ghostly white look even at nighttime with flash and SPF20. The consistency is amazing and although I have oily skin, I have heard from many of my pals that this works on their skin incredibly too. In other words, I think this will work no matter what skin type you have! I haven't really heard of anyone who hasn't liked it so far. If you'd like to know more about this primer that I can't get enough of, check out this post I did on some primers that I own here.
When it comes to brows, two products I use day in day out are the Anastasia Brow Powder Duo in Ebony and Benefit Gimmie Brow in Medium / Deep. Anastasia Brow Powder Duo fills in my brows so nicely and is a 100% colour match for me. It blends easily so if you make it too harsh, no worries! It does stay in place, but just to be sure and to add a bit of extra pigmentation, that's when I use Benefit Gimmie Brow. This is probably the product that makes the biggest difference to my face. Before and after Gimmie Brow, it's like wow a whole other person! Just sets my brows so beautifully and makes them look really nice and clean because it helps move the hairs to exactly where you'd like them.
This blush has been a favourite of mine ever since I got it. The Essence Blush in 80 Autumn Peach* is the best blush that I could recommend for anyone who is tanned or olive. It's so gorgeous! Looks lovely and natural or you can really build it up. Essence cosmetics is such an underrated brand. Considering how cheap everything is from them, honestly what do you have to lose!? Trust me, you'll love this!
What are some products you always reach for no matter what?
*Products marked with an asterisk have been provided for editorial consideration. For more information, please read my disclaimer.



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Welcome back to another installment of Time To Throw Dem Beauty Products Out aka beauty products empty in the language of Katina. Boy oh boy am I excited to be emptying my empties drawer (ha).

Makeup  This little collection looks so boring, sorry guys and girls. But these are true holy grails of mine and I go through them like crazy. 
Max Factor Face Finity All Day Primer is a product that I'm sure you're sick of me hearing blab on about, but it's honestly just so great! My friend Rosa from Lipstick'N'Linguine actually said that she loves this one more than her Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer which you can read about here. I personally haven't tried that primer, but compared to all other primers that I've ever used, this one just wins hands down. I have a more complete post and break down of why I love this product here. 
Covergirl Tru Blend Foundation in M6 is another thing that I am truly obsessed with. I'm oily, I have an uncommon skintone and this stuff just works. It stays on, covers what it needs to, doesn't feel sticky and I love it. 
L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Waterproof Mascara till this day is one of the only mascaras that lasts on my stubborn, oily eyelashes. I cannot recommend it enough if you're also oily or stuck with stubborn eyelashes like me! It will change up your lash game forever. 

Skincare and Haircare
Wella Professionals Brilliance Conditioner For Coloured Hair SMELLS SO DELICIOUS. It's probably one of the best smelling and most moisturising conditioners I've ever used. I currently have way way too many hair shower products so I won't be repurchasing it yet, but it'll definitely be back in my shower in the future.

Schwarzkopf Extra Care Hair Repair With Liquid Keratin was okay. Nothing too special. Made my hair clean and smooth, but nothing about this product really jumped out at me.

This product was definitely a hair game changer for me. I've never used anything as soft and lathering as the Natural Secrets Goatsmilk Moisturising Shampoo. This entire product range is soooo incredible. I've loved all of the products in this range and if you have sensitive skin I think goatsmilk is definitely for you!


Other This is just something I always find funny when looking at my empties. How do I go through so much deodorant!? Well anyway, Nivea's Invisble Antiperspirant Spray is my fave. I do sweat quite a lot (tmi so sorry), but this keeps me feeling nice and fresh all day.
What are some products you've recently finished and are going to repurchase?  *Products marked with an asterisk have been provided for editorial consideration. For more information, please read my disclaimer.



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We all know and want a gorgeous primer to help our foundation smooth on effortlessly onto our skin and hopefully keep everything from slipping off into a puddle. However, living the oily skin life can be quite difficult, especially in terms of primer. Most primers can actually make our skin even oilier or make everything slip around, even straight from the moment of application. I've now put many primers to the test and these two of these three are holy grail status, while one of them, I'm not fond of so much (and this could be a real shocker). 

Maxfactor Face Finity All Day Primer* is surely my #1 go to primer. I've done a much larger post on this product so if you want to read about it you can here. But to sum it all up, this stuff is incredible. People with all different skin types that I know of have used this and it seems like we all love it. For me, it makes my skin so baby smooth as if I've just gone in with a fine powder. It makes my face appear a little matte, but it's definitely moisturising and helps my makeup not stick to any dry patches or melt off during the day. I honestly LOVE this stuff and I went through my first one so quickly because I just couldn't stop using it really, so I have already repurchased it and guess what? Still in love.
Now this one is a little bit different for me, especially because I am oily. But the Innoxa Skin Perfecting CC Primer* comes out purple, has a teeny bit of a funky smell and makes my skin look fairly dewy. You're probably wondering what the heck, are you sure you like this!? Okay well the purple disappears as soon as you rub it into your skin, the smell is super faint and also disappears but now were stuck with dewy + oily skin. You still might be scratching your head, but oh my gosh. To all of my oily readers who do get dry patches, especially during the winter time, this stuff can be your saviour. Especially when you opt for matte foundations because you don't want oil seeping through, this primer with your normal foundations will honestly just transform your makeup. Your base is so smooth and dewy, but your foundation is still matte so you don't get oily. It's so hard to explain but it basically just makes your skin look amazing.
Benefit Cosmetics Porefessional is what I'm sure most of us beauty lovers think of when it comes to the world of priming. I first tried this product, way way back in 2011. I thought it was quite good but I did notice over time once I started to opt for more liquid foundations and heavier coverage, that this primer actually had the opposite effect  of what I wanted. When I tried applying foundation over the top, it was as if my skin was rejecting the product. It really wouldn't sink in at all and if anything it just kept moving around. This primer is good for making my pores appear smaller but when I try to use it I just feel like it never works with my oily skin plus whatever I want to put on top.
Have you tried any of these primers before? In particular, have you had difficulties with Benefit's Porefessional? What's your current fave primer? 
*Products marked with an asterisk have been provided for editorial consideration. For more information, please read my disclaimer.



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Today I'm going to review Maxfactor's Excess Volume Mascara* & Face Finity All Day Primer*.  As someone who is personally quite picky about mascaras and primers, this should be quite interesting. 

Firstly we have The Excess Volume Mascara. As you can see, it has two sides which look very promising as both of the brushes appear clearly different from one another. 
When applying this mascara, what I noticed is that this formula is very wet and as with most dual sided mascaras I find it difficult to find the benefits to both sides. As in, I didn't notice a significant difference on my lashes before or after the second side. Straight away the wetness of the formula made the product move to other areas around my eyes - not cute. This formula is also a little too heavy for my short stubby lashes and as a result I don't get much lift.
Sadly, this mascara made my lashes fairly clumpy. Overall, this mascara isn't for me. But if you have long, strong lashes and not an oily skin type this product might be worth trying as I've heard many other positive reviews about this product.
On the other hand, I've discovered a holy grail in the Face Finity All Day Primer. It is INCREDIBLE. The primer goes on feeling slightly wet and it made me quite worried that it wouldn't sink in. But it actually did and very quickly. It wasn't dewy and felt very smooth. When I touch my face, it feels a if I just applied a really fine setting powder. This primer is an amazing base for both powder and liquid foundations. Usually primers are a waste of time for me, but honestly since using this product once, I haven't stopped! This primer has joined my everyday makeup routine and I have noticed a significant difference in how smooth and easily my makeup applies because of it. Also note (to my new readers), my skin is very oily and this primer actually adds longevity to my foundation, rather than making it look like an oily mess. Cannot recommend it enough.
Have you tried either of these Maxfactor products before? What is your current favourite mascara & primer? 
*Products marked with an asterisk have been provided for editorial consideration. For more information, please read my disclaimer.
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