New Contouring Pallettes & Vegan Brushes

Yay, yay, hooray! Jane Iredale just released some sparkling, beautiful new vegan brushes.

They have the usual beautiful wooden handles and a touch of rose gold!
Pro-quality, extra soft & vegan! Love love love these.

They also just released some new contouring kits. And they are the bomb. I am thrilled that they are actually usable and also contain a blush colour.
If you know me and my work at all that you know that I have a "natural" style and nothing makes me cringe more than OTT contour looks.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the skill that goes into Drag Queen Makeup a la Kardashian...it's just not my style.
These contour kids can actually be used and can create subtle wearable contouring.
As a pro-makeup artist, I also need tools like this for editorial & creative looks.

The kit consists of 3 pressed colours: Highlight, Contour and Blush. All are matte and have a very blendable! The contour brush that has been developed to be used with this is awesome!
It makes placement and blending very easy. I actually highly recommend getting one of these.
While I think that you can live without foundation brush and many others, this one is quite essential.
I used it for all 3 colours, starting with the highlight, then blush and then contour before cleaning it and it worked a treat.

The contour kit comes in colours "warm" and "cool" .
I used the "cool" set which is vegan. (yay!)
The cool has a more pinky blush in it, as opposed to the slightly more peachey one in the warm selection. The contour colour in the "cool" set is my favourite. I prefer a contour not to be too warm. The highlights are both subtle, so the cool tone is still pretty and not too frosty or icey at all.

(The "warm" set contains carmine pigment, which is insect-derived and not vegan.
The colour differences are very subtle, so I feel that most people can get away with using the cool kit.)

All up: I am beyond impressed with this palette! It's very usable, great quality and a dream to blend. The new contour brush is a must-have in any brush collection. All new vegan brushes are great quality and very pretty!
 

News From Ere Perez

I have recently featured Ere Perez quite regularly over here and there is a good reason.

Ere has reformulated, added, repackaged...and overall just improved their amazing selection of toxin-free beauty products. Where I was previously only a fan of the Mascara, I have now included various products in my pro-kit.

If you haven't already check them out.

SKINCARE BY ERE PEREZ

Ere has recently added a skin care line.
Including an oil, with a wonderful woodsy/unisex aroma and lovely ingredients. It works well under makeup or mixed with it, but it's also a favourite with the Mr. to keep his beard smooth and hydrated :)

My fave is the new Papaya SOS Marmalade. A real multitasking product and an amazing alternative to regular Paw Paw Balm. It's a real Mum&Bub product, so no wonder I am in love.
I have been putting it on all the little boo-boo's over here, as well as on my cuticles.
It will make a great addition to anyone's makeup bag/handbag or pro-kit!

There is a lightweight cranberry lip & eye butter, more like buttercream :), which I love for prepping lips. (if you need extra care try the Papaya SOS Marmelade)
Most lip balms will have to be wiped or blotted off before applying lipstick, but this one just sinks into the skin and fully absorbs. Genius. It's more designed as a cream to target the area around the mouth where little lines tend to show up with age. That's why it's a great eye treatment too.

There is a serum, that looks like my morning smoothie: Green! And no wonder it's packed with Spinach leaf and healthy plant goodness. It's an anti-oxidant serum for all skin-types, for day&night.

Last but not least there is a refreshing Herbal Face Tonic, great for setting makeup, refreshing on hot Summer days or as part of your skincare routine.
 

MAKEUP ADDITIONS & UPDATES

The new eye-pallettes are wonderful, see them in my video here.
More about the nail-polishes here.
The bronzer also got a new and much sturdier packaging and last but not least they reformulated their foundations.

I am most excited about this as I love the brand but the foundations haven't really impressed me previously. I little too dry and tricky to blend. While made from beautiful ingredients they have lacked the pro-quality.

NEW OATMILK FOUNDATION
Not any longer, the practical, simplistic & stunning packaging is a squeeze tube, easy to use and super lightweight to carry. Hooray! It's a dream come true for the most sensitive skins.
No fragrance or scent whatsoever and with soothing oat milk, known for it's calming properties and to heal eczema and troubled skin.
The formula is best suited for normal to oily skin, or during summer in my opinion.
It still creates a beautiful subtle glow and applies well with fingers or buffing brush.
It's a medium to full coverage that wears very well throughout the day.
I easily found a great match to my skin tone, and like the range of colours they chose.
It's a smaller range of 6 so the skin tones on the very lightest or darkest might not find the perfect match. However, there are 2 options for fair, 2 options for medium and 2 options for deeper skin, which is a great starting point.
Thumbs up!

ALL PRODUCTS ARE VEGAN & CRUELTY-FREE
 

We Have A Winner!

You know I only recommend the best of the best in natural beauty to you, don't you?
I have got proof:
MAX&ME Sweet Serenity Mask&Wash just won Best In Show at the Indie Beauty Expo USA.

I was showing you how to use it and reviewed it in my home facial video here and kept mentioning it in different posts. Now you know why!
It's a winner. Just saying!

Polished & Nude

I selected my favourite nail colours for you!
All of them are vegan, toxin-free (-ish) and made by local awesome brands.

I love toxin-free nail polish and Sienna Byron Bay's colour selection has been a long favourite.
My colour for this Summer has been "MUSE" it seems to really suit my skin and is so pretty on toes. I really love the longevity & quality of these and also wore them on my wedding day.

I am a sucker for a good nude, especially in my pro-kit it's what I mainly use and I love a nice nude nail for myself as well, it's low maintenance and just chic. The newest kids on the block are the nail polishes by Ere Perez.
Ere Perez "Ballet" & "Soul" are just perfect. They also strengthen the nail. They have promising bright colours too, which I haven't tried yet, but I am smitten with the nudes for now and they are the latest addition to my kit.

Another really great Australian brand with a really cool selection of colours is Kester Black.
I have owned really quirky & stunning shades in the past and have always been happy with them.

If you get your nails done at a salon, look for a toxin-free & cruelty-free one, or simply bring your own products with you.

Summer Skin Series: Sunburn & After Sun

Summer skin needs extra hydration & protection.
Soothing, cooling & replenishing natural products are where it's at!
Here are my faves:

Healing, Cooling & Soothing

For the face:
Soothe Me Balm
By Edible Beauty is in a cooling Aloe Vera & Cucumber base, more like a gel texture. It heals sunburn or stressed skin in record time. It also helps to prevent congestion & breakouts and keeps the skin hydrated and clear. ( I also use the baby version for Faye all the time on little scratches or rashes, highly recommended!!!) 
Soothe Me Balm is my Summer go-to face treatment.
Note: My skin gets a little oilier in Summer in the warm & humid weather.
Remember to use code "LIV15" at checkout for all Edible Beauty products. My readers are getting an exclusive 15% discount. (all vegan)


Antioxidant Hydrating Gel
One that husband Dave has been testing and really liked is USPA Antioxidant Hydrating Gel Aloe&Green Tea. Extra hydrating and lightweight, it's great for Summer skin and also really amazing on men. It's cooling and apparently really nice after shaving according to husband.
Vegan, cruelty-free and in cool unisex packaging this has been his favourite summer moisturiser.
It does contain phenoxyethanol as the preservative, which isn't my favourite, so it loses a point there, but otherwise a really great product.

For dry and troubled skin conditions:
Max&Me Sweet Serenity Rescue Balm
This one is another winner for summer, it can heal and treat almost all skin troubles, from bites, irritation to inflamed acne conditions, the little magical pot can cure them all.
It's designed to be used as a treatment only and should be used on its own and not in combination with any cosmetics. Best to be used daily until your skin is healed.
This product contains propolis and is therefore not vegan.

For the Body:
CV SKinlabs Rescue+Relief Spray
This is a miracle worker, which belongs into every bathroom cabinet. It's an advanced therapy for burned, wounded and irritated skin. Hypoallergenic, free of toxins it's the best treatment for truly inflamed skin conditions, even if they are too tender to touch. That's why it's so handy that it comes in a spray bottle. It's also recommended for cancer patients, radiation exposure, sunburn, laser treatments or burns caused by chemicals or household appliances.
Faye recently got a heat rash, as we had scorching temperatures here in Sydney and I used this also on her to soothe, cool and relieve the itch, it worked a treat.
It's also amazing to soothe skin after shaving.
It's a milk-like emulsion that instantly works and absorbs into the skin. It's fantastic as an after-sun treatment!  (vegan)

As usual, I use the gentle and hydrating Biologika Shower Gel, which prevents my skin from drying out!
If I feel fancy I use my Erin's Faces Monoii Body Wash & Lotion, which smells of Summer! It's also very hydrating and gentle. It's also nice to replace m pure coconut oil with Monoi Oil ever so often for the heavenly smell.
Isn't Monoi just the best smell ever? I have always loved it and it makes me feel like I am on a tropical island, just being a mermaid all day...you know what I mean?

THE super summer body hydrator has been P'ure Papayacare Papaya Renew Cream.
I was given one to review and completely underestimated this! The ingredients are great, it's vegan & cruelty-free but mostly it's SO lightweight, but so intensely hydrating & repairing.
It totally fixed my overly dry and cracked (sorry TMI) poor little summer feet.
They get terribly dry from sandal wearing, beach and the many very long walks I am doing but this really helped. And I tried a lot. It smells lovely and sinks in very quickly!

So there you have it my after-sun Summer skin remedies!