Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express for Brows and Eyes Review

I kept seeing youtube videos, reviews and images of Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow products and how insane people were about it. It wasn't until recently that I saw Anastasia Beverly Hills products being sold in New Zealand on Makeup.co.nz* that I decided to fork out $72.00 NZD (fast AND free shipping on orders over $50 NZD, amazing customer service and awesome range!) and grab the Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express for Brows and Eyes in Brunette (I have brunette hair, so.. yeah).

In this kit you will get the following items:
Anastasia Beverly Hills Angled Brush in #15
5 Brow Stencils, yes - Stencils. (Medium, Petite, Full, Slim High and High Arch)
Brow Wax
Brow Powder Duo (Taupe & Dark Brown)
Eyeshadow Duo

I am not new to brows. I love brows! When I use to work as a make-up artist my all time love was brows. Brows can make your make-up go from average to oh, hot damn! They will polish any make-up look and will frame your beautiful eyes and face.

Yes, I know it is scary. Yes, I know I've said brows a millions times already. Yes, it is totally different than not doing them. Yes, you will love it.

Anyway..
Back to the actual product

Let me start off by telling you how beautiful this kit is.
The outside of this kit is in a snake-skin textured black with the logo and description in a rose gold colour (soo pretty!). Magnetic to keep all your goods in place, mirrored inside with instructions on how to use the product including the Golden Ratio (Which is the placement of the beginning, arch and end of your brow measured to your nostril)

You apply the wax first, it isn't sticky, but almost velvety and not so glunky that you would get too much on your brush and glue your hairs together

All powders in this kit sticks surprisingly well to the wax and holds it in place. The colours match well and aren't too grey or warm. It's also easy to create an in between with the 2 shades.

The eye shadow, which can be used as a highlight, has amazing pigment (just look at the photo!) and wears well (one a nude matte, the other a cream shimmer)

Stencils are straight forward, though daunting at first and practice is all you need to perfect the application.

The brush is easy to use to create clean lines and would probably be a great eyeliner brush too!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express for Brows and Eyes is my new go to when it comes to my brows! I also love that this is cruelty free

*I am not affiliated with makeup.co.nz, I just really enjoy shopping with them :)

Smashbox Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder Review

I have used Smashbox's Halo Hydrating Perfecting Power (what a mouth full!) on and off for the last 7 years and I always go back to it. I use to sell Smashbox and this was one of the top 5 products that was always repurchased. This pressed mineral powder comes in a large black-matte compact (and mirror) with a built in shaver that you twist to shave off the top layer of the powder. Simply swish your brush around and apply.

Smashbox's Halo is oil-free, paraben-free and talc-fee, there are 48 minerals and 11 amino acids in Halo which helps with anti-aging benefits. In fact Smashbox claim that after 10 minutes there is a 33% decrease in wrinkles around the eyes and after 6 weeks there is a 67% decrease on fine lines and wrinkles overall! Pretty big claim, but unfortunately I cannot test that theory myself because... I have no wrinkles (I thank my asian background)

The Halo powder itself is very, very fine and applied to the skin feels like velvet and gives a glowing warmth to the skin. The coverage is light and will even out skin tone while giving a warm, luminous glow. If you would like better coverage you can use this on top of your liquid or creme foundation to set it. 
There is only one thing I don't like about this product.. the clasp that keeps the compact close regularly fails in a couple months with each Halo I have ever bought.

Smashbox also doesn't test on animals! Yay! :) They also don't sell their products in countries that requires cosmetic products/ingredients to be tested on animals to demonstrate safety

Swatch of Halo in Light

OPI Heart Throb Review

Today is a review on another OPI polish, but this time in Heart Throb.
OPI's Hear Throb is super sheer, which is not my cup of tea.. The first coat looks to me like a first time make-up users lip stain/gloss and to get a more opaque look I obviously had to add more layers.

This was four super thin layers (it is always better to do a thin layer, let it dry then apply again) in total to get the look in the photo. I would rather not have to add so many layers, but the more I added the better I felt about the colour. This would be a good polish to layer on warmer nudes to obtain a different shade in your polish kit and may even be alright for a french manicure.

The end result is more of a pop/cotton candy pink and just reminds me of sugary goodness!

Have a great day ya'll!