12 days of Christmas day 11: Christmas make up look

"On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me...eleven pipers piping"  It's Christmas eve guys! Hands up if you're excited!!! To celebrate I wanted to show you the makeup look I will be wearing for the big day. I'm planing on having a pretty chilled "friendmas" that will hopefully involve eating my body weight in rocky road and vegan cheese but I still wanted my makeup to be a little bit special.  Disclaimer: As far as I know everything used is vegan but if I'm wrong please let me know :) 

The skin: 

-dermalogica phyto-replenish oil

-elf maximum coverage concealer

-nyx concealer 

The cheeks:

-sleek contour palette (heavy on the highlight of course)

The eyes:

-elf shadow lock eyelid primer in gold

-elf beautiful browns palette

-elf black mascara

-elf black eye liner

The lips:

-elf lipstick in posh 

I hope you enjoyed today's post. Let me know if you recreate this look. Now get your stockings hung up ready for tomorrow and I will see you over on my youtube channel for a special Christmas day video! 

Twelve days of Christmas day 9: Festive nails

"On the ninth day of Christmas my true live gave to me....nine ladies dancing" I decided to have a go at some Christmassy nails for today's post. I know most people reach for the reds and golds at Christmas time but I decided to go for something a little bit different and have actually come up with some thing a little bit more Frozen inspired.  Disclaimer: As far as I know everything used is vegan but please let me know if I'm wrong.

How to:

-I used a clear polish from Topshop as a base coat

-I painted both hands with two thin coats of Topshop nails in a pale blue (the names rubbed off my bottle and I can't find the dame, sorry!) and left to dry

-I then used the pritti princess polish in Aladdin's diamonds to create a gradient from my cuticle to the tip of my nail. I found it easiest to place a blob by the cuticle, wipe the brush clean and then drag down lightly.

-Once this has dried, repeat.

-Apply a second coat of the clear polish all over the nail to even everything out and protect the polish. 

This is a really simple design that I think looks really effective. you could definitely try this with lots of different colour combinations too. Let me know if you try these out.

Oh deer it's Halloween

Although Australia has started to rapidly heat up and I have almost forgotten about one of my favourite holidays all together, Halloween is just around the corner. I have done a few spooky make up looks over the last couple of years and have always really enjoyed them but this year I struggled. Between switching my makeup to being completely cruelty free and the fact that the weather is any thing but spooky I was lacking a little bit of inspiration...so I took to pinterest!

This look is by no means original, it has been done time and time again by the vast majority of  beauty bloggers but I still think it's very cute and a little bit more fitting to the Spring weather I'm experiencing! And I already had everything I needed to create it aaaand it's cruelty free! Winner! 
The base: -Nyx full coverage concealer -Bare minerals original in golden medium -Sleek contour kit (I used the darker shade all over my cheeks and temples)
The Eyes: -Elf brown stone palette  -Nyx eye brow cake powder -elf black mascara -elf black liquid liner
The nose: -Nyx brow cake powder -elf black liquid liner
Lips:  -Nyx butter gloss in fortune cookies 
So there we go....this was super easy to create and I think it looks quite cute! I haven't heard many people mention Halloween over here but if I get any amazing last minute plans this is what I will be doing. I will hopefully have more posts up for you soon as we're getting ready to move on soon so keep your eyes peeled. 

Current Cruelty Free Favourites

If you're a regular reader of TheRobynChristina then you may know that I recently made the decision to go cruelty free.  This means that I've had an excuse to try out some new products recently and thought I would share some of my new finds.  Yippee!

Original Source shower gels

I've loved these shower gels for ages and since discovering that they are vegan and don't test on animals I'm just working my way through the collection. The Pineapple and coconut one is definitely in the running to be my number one as it the perfect holiday smell but I know my boyfriend loves the mint one! They're really affordable and are really easy to find in the shops. 

Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze body lotion

I've used bits and bobs from Palmers before but since discovering that they're a cruelty free brand I've been trying a few more of there products. One that I have really been enjoying is the natural bronze body lotion which is basically a gradual tan. The scent is the classic cocoa butter which my boyfriend is definitely not a fan of, I quite like it and it stops the nasty fake tan smell so I'm happy. It leaves my skin feeling super soft and gives a nice natural tan than builds up quickly over a few days. This is definitely up there with my favourite gradual tans. 

OGX shampoo and conditioner 

I'd seen this range around before and had never really looked in to it but after running out of shampoo one day and having to quickly stock up I found these and turned out they're cruelty free so that was me sold! They have a lot of different versions and I have only tried a couple so far but I really liked the macadamia oil one a lot. I've been trying to get my hair in really good condition lately and felt that these really helped nourish it. 

Dermalogica skin perfect primer 

You may or may not know that I am a beauty therapist and I have recently been doing some training with dermalogica. Training usually involves trying out lots of products and I always end up wanting to buy everything. Some times if you're very lucky you get given some samples to try and I ended up with a few of these beauties and I'm a little bit in love. This is a tinted primer that creates the perfect base for you're makeup. If I want a lighter look I sometimes just wear this with a little bit of concealer. It has anti-ageing properties and spf 30 so is just an all round gem. I will definitely be getting a full size when my minis have ran out 

.Sleek Matte Me liquid lipstick in birthday suit

I've recently been looking for a cruelty free version of some of my favourite nude lipsticks. Luckily for me Sleek is a great brand that also happens to be cruelty free and whilst browsing there shelves I found this little beauty. Birthday suit is a gorgeous dark nude and dries completely matte. It doesn't budge once it's on. Like most liquid lipsticks it does tend to get a bit dry but popping a little bit of lip balm on top helps with that. 

Being cruelty free is still new to me and I am definitely still learning. Please let me know any recommendations you have on any other products you think I should try. I will be keeping you posted on any other great finds very soon. 

Going Cruelty Free

I've been a vegetarian for a long time now and a few years ago I decided to stop wearing leather so I don't know why it's taken me so long to realise that it's equally bad ( or worse) to use cosmetics that aren't cruelty free. I'm honestly a bit embarrassed that I didn't realise sooner. Looking on the brighter side, I am 25 years young and have the rest of my life to be cruelty free.

Making this decision hasn't been too easy for me. There's a lot more to consider than you might think and I am still in the transitional period. I had products that were already opened when I made the decision and I decided it made sense to finish those before buying animal friendly replacements. It also wasn't until I noticed cruelty free cleaning products in my house that I realised I would have to consider those as well. It's definitely a learning curve but I'm starting to get the hang of it now and for me it's definitely worth it. 

If you've read all this and are feeling frustrated because I haven't actually explained what being cruelty free means, then I apologise for my poor blogging skills, sorry. To me, being cruelty free  simply means using products that do not test on animals and that don't use animal derived products. I've started to find some good brands that match this criteria and I'll definitely be sharing some of my faves once I've found them.  All in all I'm happy with my decision and I now have an excuse to try out some new goodies! Yippee! 

What I should have packed - Part one

When I was planning my big trip what to pack was quite a difficult decision. I had done some research but as it turns out it definitely wasn't enough as there are so many things that I wish I had brought with me. I think I assumed Australia was a constantly warm and laid back beach party....it isn't! I am a few months in to big city life in Melbourne and there are some things packed away in my English home that I really wish I'd thought to bring with me. In fact so many that I have decided to divide this post in two. These are all the beauty bits I wish I had brought......ps yes I'm hoping that my mum reads this and decides to send some of them over!
1. A tried and tested cleanser:  Hey Robyn, remember when you gave away all of your spare products and decided to buy and pack a brand new cleanser that you'd never even tried...not your best idea was it? Me and the Bliss fabulous foaming face wash didn't get on..to be honest I don't know what made me think we would. It irritated my skin and didn't remove my makeup well leaving me looking like a red, pimply mess. Unfortunately by the time I realised this I wasn't in the position to buy a another cleanser until I accidentally (genuine accident) left this one in the showers whilst camping. I would have been much better bringing my Elemis balancing lime blossom cleanser which I knew I loved, I would however have been devastated if I'd left that in the showers.   
2. The Urban Decay naked palette.  Why I decided to leave this at home I'll never know, broadcasting the fact that I left it at home means that it's only a matter of time until my sister decided to "borrow" it. I even remember leaving this out after packing all my other makeup away and then still deciding to leave it at home. I used it every single day and somehow thought that I wouldn't use it whilst I was travelling. It's not ever big and would have been easy to take away with me. I am a fool and that's all there is to it!
3. Make up brushes. I fetched about 4, 2 face and 2 eyes. Face wise I'm happy but 2 wasn't enough eye brushes. I actually managed to leave some of the ones I used the most. This was probably because I only brought 2 cream shadow posts with me,  another mistake. 
4. Perfume. I fetched one half used sample sized perfume....it lasted about a week. I know a lot of perfumes can be bulky but I had a set of benefit minis which would have been really easy to take with me. I used them all the time at home and they would have been perfect for bringing away but no...again, fool!
5. Hair appliances. I didn't bring any of these. To be far they're big so it made sense not to bring any. Plus, I had a vision of returning with amazing, long and healthy hair...this wasn't happening, I was just a frizz bomb. I have since bought a hair dryer and a tiny pair of straighteners, I picked them both up for really cheap and now I can actually style my hair before nights out rather than going for the unintentional wet pony tail look. I would quite like some curlers but that will only happen if they're super cheap...Target has been home to every other cheap yet brilliant purchase so far so I'm hoping. 
So there we go. I realise I'm being a little bit dramatic and I am obviously managing just fine without my hair curlers but sometimes you just miss your home comforts. As I mentioned at the start, there will be a second part to this post which will be all about clothes I wish I'd brought....it's likely to be just as dramatic. 

My Valentines face

So Valentines day is just around the corner and whilst it isn't my favourite holiday I do love an excuse to take pretty pictures and rock a slightly more feminine look than normal. I loved my valentines look from last year. I seemed to be having a good hair day and the pictures turned out really well. I thought  I would give it a go again this year and see what I could come up with...bare in mind that I am no makeup artist, just a blogger who enjoys adult grown up face painting. 

My face:

-Precious mineral BB cream

-NYX dark circle concealer correcteur

My eyes:

-Maybelline colour tattoo in pink gold

-NYX eye shadow in coquette 

-Maybelline the falsies mascara

-Maybelline master precise liquid eyeliner 

My cheeks: 

-NYX powder blush in Mocha

My lips: 

-Sephora rouge lipstick in unfaithful

-NYX lip butter in angel food cake

So there we have it. I'm quite pleased with how the look turned out and yes I did eat all of those chocolate hearts. Me and Steven are usually real valentines scrooges but maybe Australia will bring out our romantic side.....who knows. Whatever you get up to have a wonderful day and I hope Cupid's good to you. 

Angel Food Cake lip gloss deliciousness

I think I may have found my favourite lip gloss and I am pleased to say it didn't break the bank. NYX is a brand I've been wanting to try for ages but unfortunately it isn't sold in the UK, it is however stocked in Australia! I'm starting to go cruelty free and NYX (please correct me if I'm wrong) is a cruelty free brand. 
I have tried a few things from NYX so far but the first one I wanted to share with you was the Angel Food Cake Butter Gloss. It is the perfect pink/nude shade so it's incredible wearable, I know this because I've pretty much worn it every day since buying it. The texture doesn't feel too sticky at all and it seems to last pretty well on the lips. I never know what else to say about lip glosses but basically, this one is goooood!

No Drought....because washing your hair is a bore

I don't know why but when I was packing all my beauty bits to come away with I didn't even think about dry shampoo. It's something I used to use a lot at home...that maybe says something about how often I wash my hair but it really is a god send. Now that I'm working again and spend a lot of my time wiping strands of my hair away with oily hands (If you didn't know I'm a massage/beauty therapist, not just sweaty) I have definitely felt a need for dry shampoo in my life and, like I do with most of my beauty needs now, I ventured to Lush to see what they had to offer.

The No Drought dry shampoo from Lush is the first I've tried that isn't in a spray bottle, I wasn't sure how I would like this but I find I actually use a lot less product. I puff this into the roots of my hair and  let it absorb any oil while I'm getting ready for the day. I then comb it through and style however I like, this gives it a chance to work for a bit before styling. 
The smell is very fresh and citrusy but not too over powering and it seems to do a great shop at mopping up any excess oil. Lush is really reasonably priced too and as I can't see this bottle running out any time it means a lot go bang for your buck...winner winner *nut roast dinner!

The 9-5 cleanser

So when I left England I was all set with my Bliss cleanser....we didn't get on but that's a post for another day. Since then I had been using a cleanser from Soap and Glory which I do like but it has now come to an end and I thought the best idea was to get something that I know I love! I popped in to Lush to pick up my usual Ultra bland cleansing balm but then I spotted this. Now, I love Ultra bland a lot and this tends to have me being a little heavy handed and getting through it really quickly. When I spotted 9 to 5 I thought I would be getting more bang for my buck! 
I've only used this a handful of times so far but I really like it. It's designed to be quick and it really is. It's also very simple in terms of ingredients which is perfect. I want a cleanser to remove all the gunk off my face while leaving it feeling healthy and soft, them it gets washed down the sink, a lot of fancier cleansers can sometimes be a little it unnecessary. It has floral essential oils and and almond oil base which means it smells very fresh and leaves my skin hydrated, that's all I need. 
So there we go, a potential new favourite that will hopefully last me a long time. Lush to the rescue once again!

Sephora sleeping masks

If you're a regular reader of TheRobynChristina you will know that I love a face mask. Whatever problem I have with my skin there is usually a face mask to match and they give an instant boost to your skin. They can, however,  be a little bit time consuming so when I find one that you can slap on your face and go to sleep I am all over it! 
The Melbourne Sephora store opened a few days before I moved here, clearly fate. I have been in several times but as a traveller I am on a budget so most of the time I just look...I don't know why I put myself through it. While most of the products are out of my budget for now I have found the Sephora own brand is much more affordable and that is where I found the sleeping masks. There are around 5 types of masks that cater to different skins so you can literally pick and chose what you need each day. 
The masks are $5 which is a total bargain and although there is only enough product for one night, there is another to cover your whole face, neck and decollete so you definitely get your moneys worth. They're very easy to use as once you've slavered it on you just get your head down and then rinse it off in the morning to reveal beautiful, bright skin. Basically, I love them. 

Lush fresh face masks

If you follow me instagram you may have seen that my lovely boyfriend surprised me with a Christmas stocking full of all my favourite treats, he's a good'un. Inside the stocking were some Lush treats, I was thrilled especially as I know that the Lush stores normally give him a bit of a head ache. As amazing as they smell it can be a little bit over whelming. 
One of the products he'd chosen was the Catastrophe Cosmetic fresh face mask. They don't last too long as they're fresh so I didn't waste any time in getting it on my face and see what I thought. It claims to cleanse and soothe the skin which, after a Christmas spent having a few too many on the beach, is exactly what my skin needed. 
It looks a big grim in the tub but once applied it turns blue as it contains blueberries. You just leave it on the skin for around 10 minutes and then remove with a warm cloth. My skin felt very soft and smooth after, I want to use the rest up soon too and see if helps reduce the redness around my nose and cheeks. 
I'm sure Steven hadn't meant to get me hooked on another Lush product but I think that may be exactly what he's done.  

Festive Look

So Christmas is just around the corner and although the hot Australian weather has much stopped me from feeling remotely festive, I still thought I would try and get into the spirit with some sparkly festive make up. I tried to keep it very affordable as Christmas is expensive enough. 

I think I'll be spending my Christmas makeup free on a beach but I'll definitely be wearing something like this in the few days left running up to the big day. 

Face

-Precious Mineral Blooming Fit BB cream

-Revlon colour stay concealer

-YSL touche celait

-Bourjois Maxi bronzing powder

Eyes

-Elf beautiful browns palette

Australia Metalix guns and rose petals eye shadow 

-Maybelline the falsies mascara

-Maybeline master precise liquid eyeliner

--Maybeline brow satin in dark brown

Lips

-Maybeline colour drama in Light It Up

The perfect bargain Christmas palette

Elf was a brand that I used to love and would always place huge orders on there website. I loved how affordable the products where while still being really high quality. It recently seemed to disappear from the Uk, I think they had a problem with distributers or something which means that I haven't tried any of there products for a while. However, a couple of weeks ago now we popped into K-Mart for a bargain spree (travelling makes you poor) and I found an elf stand. I've never actually seen it in stores before so couldn't resist having a little browse.
I managed to find the beautiful browns palette which as well as filling the void my Naked palette has left (why I decided to leave that in England I'll never know) it also has all the perfect shades for a beautiful Christmas look. Now Christmas in Australia is definitely going to be different but that doesn't stop me paying tribute to an English Christmas with my makeup. I can't remember the exact price of this but I think it was around $4 mark. 
Despite the bargainous price range I've always found elf eye shadows to be very good quality, they're very highly pigmented and soft, similar to Urban Decay. I've used it most days (that I've decided to wear makeup) since buying it and I love it. If they haven't already I say bring back elf to the UK.