The Makeup Case

As you know I have been fairly good this year, I even kept my New Years promise and went on a diet that lasted a whole week! I know, I know, it has not been all good but, for the most part I would say I have been an angel. And because of this, I don’t know, I thought I might be able to get some kind of little reward? What do you say? I promise I will love you forever if you put this under my Christmas tree this year.

So you want to know what it is? Okay, I will tell you…it’s the Michael Kors for Estee Lauder set in Pewter! I have included a picture for you just in case you need some help in finding it for me….

What do you think? Pretty rad huh. So can I pretty pretty please have this, I promise I will be good all year. If you need some help finding this amazing gift pack for me  you can point your little elves over to any Myers or David Jones store and they can pick it up for the reasonable price of $125.00, not bad for all the amazing things you get in it.

Not only do you get the gorgeous pewter coloured Michael Kors clutch, you also get a lipstick, lip gloss, eyeliner, powder brush and eye and cheek lip palette. I can not wait to try these products out and they are all made by Estee Lauder so you just know they will be good. How great would all these colours be for that amazing New Years Eve party and the endless summer party season ahead..

*Image courtesy of beautydirectory.com

Cracked, dry lips, is there really anything worse? At this point in time I have to scream with a big fat NO! This weather is literally driving my lips crazy! Sweltering hot, cold, raining, humid, every day seems like a different season and my lips are feeling the confusion. One minute they are all nice and mosturized, with no signs of dryness and the next they are the complete opposite. I needed a good remedy and pronto, enter Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Swivel Stick. My saviour, my night and shining armour if you will.

Palmers Swivel stick is the ultimate double whammy product, a  great lip balm for your dry lips (holla) and also a fantastic moisturizer for other dry areas like your face and arms. It is great for an on-the-spot moisterizer for dry skin and is so compact you can fit it into the most tinniest of handbags. It is so jam packed with Vitamin E that you can notice an istant difference in your lips, they suddenly feel all hydrated and smooth.

I have had my beautiful Swivel Stick for about a year now and I still have so much left, I hope it never runs out! I love to apply the lip balm after I exfoliate my lips with Lush Lip Scrub.

RRP: Around the $4.00 mark for 14g. Available from Priceline and all good pharmacies nationwide.

Just a quick reminder about our fabulous Uberkate giveaway. There is still plenty of time to enter and is there a better gift you could spoil yourself with this Christmas? Click the link below and leave a comment to enter, so simple!

Uberkate Love Lines Giveaway

On a recent shopping trip to Coles (I know, exciting stuff) I picked up the latest Coles magazine, full of delicious recipes for the festive season. I wanted to go home and bake everything! It all looked so delicious, I got hungry from flipping through the pages. Now, I know this is not the usual type of post you will read here on The Makeup Case but, I just could not help but share this scrumptious treat with you all. Vodka Cherries anyone? I think yes!

Ingredients:

750g Cherries

1 cup Caster Sugar

1 Vanilla Bean

1 Cinnamon Quill

1 Cup of delicious Vodka

Now for the exciting bits;

1. Wash and dry the cherries, removing the stems and the seeds (okay this part is really not that exciting, very tedious stuff, however I promise the results are worth it).

2. Combine the sugar and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat without boling, until sugar has all dissolved, then bring to the boil. Add the cherries, vanilla bean and cinnamon quill and return to a simmer. Cook for 5 min. Stir in Vodka!

3. Spoon cherries into jars, and cover with the liquid. Seal the lid tightly and store in the fridge (or, you could just start eating them straight away, I highly recommend this).

And the best bit, you can use the yummy syrup to add to your champagne to create a yummy cocktail. Add the cherries to your ice cream, drinks, anything you like.

RRP: Vodka Cherries $8.55 per serve. Coles Christmas Magazine 2011 FREE from coles.

Have you ever tried Lanolips products before? If not, you do not know what you are missing out on! Lanolips have some of the best lip balms on the planet, and not to mention an amazing hand and nail range. And Hip Hip Hoorah what a funny coincidence I just so happen to be reviewing Lanolips Rose Balm Intense for Very Dry Hands and Nails in this very post, and another Hip Hip Hoorah because this very product celebrated its birthday not so many months ago.

Now for a little background story, Lanolips was created in Australia on a humble farm in South Australia by the lovely Kirsten Carriol. Lanolin is a substance taken from freshly shorn sheep’s wool, natures own moisturizer. Kristen father was a DNA Professor, so add that up with Kristens love of this natural moisturizer ingredient, and Lanoplips was born. Firstly, in the form of high gloss moristurizing lip balms and now hand creams and moisturizers. Lanolips have sure come a long way from that family farm.

I don’t know about you but I seem to suffer from dry hands all year round, I blame it on air conditioners, constantly cooling and heating us up that my hands don’t know if they have pink polish on or red. I have tried so many hand creams in my time you would think that my hands would be super moisturized 24/7, unfortunately that is not the case, that is until I tried Lanolips Rose Balm Intense.

After using the balm several times a day for a week I can honestly say my hands have never felt better, it must be the ultra pure grade lanolin in this beauty that does it, see Kirsten Carriol was onto something glorious when she mixed this magical ingredient with Vitamin E and Rose Oil. So beautiful. I just love the scent of roses and the wonderful thing about this balm is that you can be smelling likes roses all day. It has such a wonderful fragrance that reminds me of playing in my front garden when I was younger, filled with my mums red roses.

When you are feeling like a little pick me up, rub some of the Rose Balm on your hands and you will feel that little bit better. A little of this balm goes a long way, and works by creating a protective barrier over your hands and continues to nourish for hours. When you rub the balm in you can actually feel it warming between your hands, I also like to work the balm around my cuticles to make them soft and easy to manicure. It does say that you can also use it on your feet! I have not tried this out yet, may be tonight.

RRP: $15.95 FOR 50ml. Available from David Jones, Myers, Priceline, Terry White Pharmacies or Online.

*This product was sent to The Makeup Case for editorial consideration – please see our disclosure policy.

It’s been a busy few weeks here at The Makeup Case. We have learn’t somethings we used to be scared of…Fishtail Braids. I am loving them now, and can do them so quicky, maybe even with my eyes closed! We also treated our skin to some beautiful products from Lush, our bathrooms love them as well beause it makes them smell delicious! I also made some sweet vodka soaked cherries, stay tuned for the recipe. I know it is not exactly beauty related but they look beautiful and taste amazing.

The Makeup Case is also running our very first giveaway, a beautiful pendent from Uberkate! Competition closes on December 2nd 2011 so still plenty of time to spread the word and get those entires in. We have some amazing comments on the giveaway post and we can not wait to let you guys know who the lucky winner will be.

And, just incase you are wondering what I am doing on this lovely summer day (and I just know that you want to) I am having fun crawling through mud and running from cows! No seriously, I am..check it out.

Hope you are all have a great weekend.

Love and Lollies,

Amy and Bec

xx

I am always on the hunt for something that is going to take away that annoying pigmentation from my face. It’s not that I obsess over the touch of redness that I have,  it can be covered just fine with foundation but, wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to. And it just so happens that I have found the perfect little product that will make my life  just that little bit easier and the best part..it’s organic, oh Miranda Kerr would be so proud!

The amazing bundle that I am raving on about is Aum Brightening Face Balm. A certified organic face balm that erases all those nasty signs of aging like, pigmentation, rough skin texture and dull skin tone. Wow, so many great pros in one product, talk about compact.

Aum Brightening Balm works by mixing together some wicked ingredients like Marine Complex, which is clinically proven to lighten and even out skin tone and improve skin texture. There is also an awesome dose of vitamin C in this beauty which helps promote skin renewal, slows down hyperactive pigment production and the best thing,  it enhances collagen synthesis for smooth and luscious skin. And last and certainly one of the best is Ginseng, which helps boost microcirculation. It does this by stimulating the blood vessels in the skin that supply those good ole nutrients, leaving your skin with a freash and healthy glow.

I have being using Brightening Balm morning and night for two weeks now and I am really starting to see a difference in my skin. Where I used to have pigmentation is slowly fading and the skin around my jaw and t-zone is really soft.

The balm itself is fast absorbing and you really don’t need to use a lot of product, such a massive plus. And the amazing thing about it, it smells delicious! It has that smell that all really good beautician products have, all the time I put it on I feel like I have treated myself to a spa visit.

There are five other products in the new Aum Anti Age collection, which look amazing. I cant wait to try all of them!

RRP: $24.95 for 50ml. Available from Myer or through Aum Online.

 *This product was sent to The Makeup Case for editorial consideration – please see our disclosure policy

Do you know someone who is getting married?

Or looking for a great Christmas present perhaps?

Well, look no further, The Makeup Case has joined the coupon craze.  If you head on over to Boutique Brides from today until Friday you can see (or buy, come on!) our amazing deal. 50% the price of a makeup trial, that’s a saving of $75.00, not only that if you decide that you love us (and we know that you will hehe) you can save 10% off the total price if you re-book The Makeup Case for your special day. You can buy as many coupons as you like for yourself or friends, it is such a great gift idea.

On another exciting note, our Uberkate competition is still up and running. Big thanks to everyone who have already entered, all your ideas for your necklaces sound amazing. We cant wait to find out who the winner will be.  The competition is open until Friday 2 December, still enough time to spread the word and get all those fantastic entries in.

If you have any questions about our Boutique Brides coupon or our Uberkate competition, shoot us an email.

Love, chocolate and marshmallows,

Amy and Bec

xx

THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED

Our first competition! And we couldn’t think of anything we would like to giveaway more than an Uberkate. You may remember my previous love story with this unique, personalised jewellery and now you can have one of your very own! And just in time for Christmas!

So here is the deal……Uberkate is excited to launch its latest collection, Love Lines, the perfect summer accessory for both men and women. Love Lines is a range of organic drop pendants that are rectangular in shape and are available in three different sized lengths. Each piece of the Love Lines Range has been designed and handcrafted by Uberkate owner and designer Kate Sutton. These sterling silver pendants can be hand embossed with the wearer’s unique story and are available with either a silver chain or coloured leather bracelet.

The Prize: The Makeup Case is excited to announce that we have one of these beautiful pendants to give away to a loyal reader. The winner will get to choose the size they want (small, medium or large) and have it embossed with their unique story.

To Enter: We have made it pretty easy, just one simple step and even a chance for additional entries!

1. Leave a comment on this post telling us what you would get embossed on your Love Lines pendant and why? (you can be creative, and you wont be locked into it if you win.) Make sure you leave your email address so we can contact you if you win.

Additional Entries:

• Tweet about this giveaway (1 additional entry)
• Subscribe to our emailing list (1 additional entry)
• “Like” The Makeup Case page on Facebook. and share the post(1 additional entry)

One more thing, we can’t really give you an extra entry for this but why not like the Uberkate Facebook page. (then you’ll be kept up to date with all their awesome stuff)

Competition opens Monday 14th November 2011 at 6.30am and closes on Friday 2nd December 2011 at 5.oopm. The winner will be drawn Saturday 3rd December 2011.

There can only be one winner but if you would like to increase your chance, you can also head to Woogs World or Styling You who are both sharing in the Uberkate Love Lines spirit for Christmas.

If you’re not the lucky winner you can purchase these gorgeous pendants online or through selected retailers from a RRP of $195.

*Fine Print: Giveaway open to Australian residents only. The prize is for 1 (one) Love Lines pendant, size of the winners choice. Winner will be drawn by Random.Org on 3rd December 2011. Winner will be contacted by email.

A few posts ago I confessed to you all my love of braids. Not much has changed since I wrote that post, I still love braids more than ever. I know, it’s a sickness but, at least it’s a good kind of sickness, right?

So last night when I was racing about all over You Tube searching beauty videos (there are some really good ones out there, mixed amongst the outrageous number of bad ones), I found a great instructional video on how to do a great Fishtail Braid. And it was made by the very fashionable Lauren Conrad!

I have never been great with Fishtail Braids, shying away from them at Makeup School was a great pass time of mine. I always thought they looked to complicated and something I could never get right. So plucking up the courage I thought I would give it ago, the video made it all look so simple,  with easy step by step instructions. And guess what?  I loved the result, it wasnt that hard at all, I don’t know what I was so worried about all this time.

And just incase you want to watch the great video in question, here you go…

Isn’t it great? It is so easy to follow and makes the Fishtail Braid seem so uncomplicated.

Do you guys watch beauty videos on You Tube? We would love to know what ones you think are the best.

*video coutesy of youtube.com