October Favourites

I really hope you guys have started just getting automatically prepared the first week into the month for my monthly favourites, because you and me both know that's been the pattern as of late (oops!) This month has absolutely flown by and included my last classes of my first year of uni and some final planning for my trip to Thailand and Laos in December! Still haven't decided what I'm going to do about the blog and my Instagram in that time, but that's an issue for another post.

Here are my favourites for the month:

• Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 15 Fair
• Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipstick in Grunge
• Australis Ready Set Go Finishing Powder
• TheBalm Frat Boy Blush
• Real Techniques Setting Brush

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 15 Fair

I picked this concealer up one day when I was just wasting time at Priceline before the Sydney Noodle Markets (did anyone else go? They were amazing!) because I hear it compared so often to my precious NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer but I hate using it because it's so expensive, which is silly but I go pretty heavy on concealer so I wanted one I could use a bit more liberally without worrying about price.

I chose 15 over 10 because it seemed to be lighter and a whole lot less yellow. I actually saw a Fit Me ad in a magazine the other day that confirmed this - apparently the numbers that end in a 5 are for pink undertones and the 0s for yellow undertones. Annoying they don't actually tell anyone that though! It was in tiny little writing in the ad. Frustrating. 

It comes in packaging very similar to the NARS, with a thin clear tube with a black lid and doe foot applicator. I only realised when I got home but I think I got one that had already been opened :( which is AWFUL for someone to do (it wasn't a tester) but I just wiped off the edges and tried not to be too concerned because it would have been more effort than its worth to take it back, and I was kind of annoyed that I didn't notice it myself first.

Left: Fit Me in 15. Right: NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Vanilla.

 Anyway. Enough rambling about my troubles at Priceline. I really do love this product, it's nice and creamy and fairly long-lasting. It leaves a bit of a dewy finish and looks really natural on the skin. Today I wore it on its own without any foundation or anything and a couple of hours later I was like "holy hell my skin looks great" then realised I had concealer on but it had seriously just melted so nicely into my skin. As you can see in the above swatch, the Maybelline (on the left) is darker and pinker than my NARS (in Vanilla), but otherwise they have a similar consistency - the NARS is slightly thicker and creamier but it's not a huge difference.

Boy this could practically be its own review. This concealer holds its own very well, and is the best drugstore concealer I've tried thus far. It goes for $14.95 at Priceline.

Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipstick in Grunge

I'm pretty sure I've already spoken about my love for this formula. Australis have killed it with these Colour Inject lipsticks. The formula is consistent - all of the ones I own are creamy, thick, super-pigmented and long-lasting. This is the first one I've picked up in the new packaging, and I'm not the biggest fan of it, although I do like that the top isn't slanted anymore so they're easier to store.

Grunge is a deep, red-purple vampy colour. It goes on really evenly and I have 0 troubles with patchiness like I do with nearly every other dark purple colour I own. It's really easy to apply and very comfortable on the lips, and there's not much more to say other than I really wish I'd picked it up earlier and not tried to deal with the purple Velourlips or NYX's Transylvania or Ulta3's Plum Velvet... because this is better than all of the above.

From Insty.

Australis Ready Set Go Finishing Powder

Another product I spent way too long wanting but not buying. I was holding out for the Face of Australia loose setting powder, but it was always sold out at my local and I got annoyed with waiting, so decided to go for this instead. I'm really happy with the purchase! It makes your skin feel nice and smooth and makes your foundation last longer. It doesn't give a matte finish, which I was happy about, since I have my Stay Matte that does a good job of that. For super staying power, I wouldn't rely on just this though - it is, technically, a 'finishing' powder, not a setting powder, so you could dust it over your setting powder if you were looking for your foundation to really not budge all day. But for regular days, this is just fine for me.

For some reason it's one of those nails-on-chalkboard feelings for me twisting open the lid (you know the ones that don't really make a sound but make your teeth hurt? no? just me? ok) but that's probably just me being overly sensitive rather than a fault with the packaging. It does have way too much powder coming through the sifter for regular use, but I normally just tip it upside down before opening and then use whatever is in the lid - my brush never goes inside the actual packaging.

If you've been looking for a nice, cheap, translucent powder to set your makeup without mattifying your face, this would definitely be my first recommendation!

TheBalm Frat Boy Blush

Man I love TheBalm's packaging. So gorgeous and just so fun. This is my first TheBalm product, and definitely won't be my last. I absolutely love this blush, It's the perfect corally pink colour, it's nice and matte, decently pigmented (I get scared of blushes that are way too pigmented and just take over your face) and blends easily.

It's technically a shadow as well, but I'm not a huge fan of pink eyeshadow and really can't see myself using this more than maybe once as an eyeshadow. But that's fine, because it works perfectly as a blush I don't need to think of another use for it.

Another addition people might like is it has a little mirror under the lid. As much as I don't travel, I love knowing that things WOULD be good for travelling if I needed to. If you have been reading since way back when, you'd know I went to NZ in July and forgot to bring a mirror, and the little Face of Australia LE Contour Kit I brought was an absolute saviour for having a decent mirror inside. I like to think these little surprises make you love products just that little bit more.

Real Techniques Setting Brush

I think this is the first brush I've ever included in a favourites! This is the Real Techniques Setting Brush that I got as part of the Sam's Picks set, which I bought off iHerb for about $35 about a month ago. I mostly wanted it for the buffing brush, but this was an unexpected favourite that I got out of it!

Comparison of sizes. L to R: Buffing Brush, Setting Brush, Base Shadow Brush.

This brush is like a jumbo version of the base shadow brush (another love of mine) and is so good for setting under the eyes, and any other little spots on your face. Seriously, I don't know what I did before I had this brush. How did I get those little spots on the inner corners of my eyes? And around my nostrils? And between my eyebrows? Who knows. All I know is that this brush exceeds in its purpose, and what more can you ask? It's soft, fluffy, and cheap! I highly recommend grabbing it in your next iHerb order.

And that's all for October! Thanks for reading and let me know if we shared any favourites this month :)