little white truths

I had some trouble coming up with this list for two reasons: one, I've tried most of the brands that have been on my radar anyway (oops!); and two, if I haven't, it's generally because they're not easy to come by in Australia - so while I could put plenty of things on this list, it doesn't mean I have a hope in hell of getting them without paying through the teeth on eBay.

Also, while there are some brands that have received a lot of hype for certain products - eg the eyeshadow palettes from Coloured Raine and Juvia's Place - the reality is that I'm never going to use one of Juvia's Place's bright palettes (which appears to be almost all they do at the moment) and I'm also a bit concerned about the intensity of the metallics in the palettes I've seen from Coloured Raine.

Why? Because I'm 37 and have hooded, dry eyes. And you know what happens with metallics on dry eyelids? They emphasise texture something chronic (even texture I never knew I had), so I never wear them because they're so ageing.

So let's skip those two, but I will include the brands that aren't easy to get in Australia (yet) for the simple reason that Mecca or Sephora may have plans to send them our way soon. You never know.

* Image courtesy of instyle.com

Makeup Geek

I know: there must be something wrong with me. I've never tried anything from Makeup Geek. Shoot me.

The thing is, I've been wanting to try Makeup Geek eyeshadows for ages, but since I live in Australia and the best place I can get them is Beauty Bay (because they don't charge shipping), you need to understand how much MUG costs when I'm looking at paying $8.50 per shadow.

That's right, $8.50 AUD each. So if I want to buy eight of them and explore the range, all of a sudden I'm looking at $68 AUD for eight pans of eyeshadow that don't even come with packaging or a mirror. By comparison, the ABH Modern Renaissance retails for $75 AUD at full price ($60 if I wait for the next sale) and I get fourteen shades, so why would I do that?

Also, I would want to start with buying basic neutrals from MUG (shades I would use every day), but I don't need any of those at the moment because I have a tonne, so again, why would I do that?

MUG is on my list, however, and my aim this year is to buy a few shadows as a starting point and see how I go. And if I'm lucky, I'll manage to get them during Beauty Bay's next sale before they all sell out (because they always do). We'll see.

* Image courtesy of houseofbeauty.co.uk

Colourpop

Yes, (super)shock horror - I haven't tried anything from Colourpop either. Why? Well for a while there it was impossible to get the brand in Australia (unless you were prepared to pay through the teeth for both the products and the shipping), and while the Colourpop website now offers free shipping for global orders over $50, this still means that I would need to put a bundle of items in my cart to qualify for free shipping, and it's not worth ordering anything internationally unless you do.

I would like to try one of Colourpop's eyeshadow palettes and maybe one or two of its Supershock shadows, but that won't get me free shipping and I don't want to throw a bundle of stuff in my cart when I neither need nor want it - because I don't know whether I'll like it yet.

Perhaps late this year or early next year (once I've panned my collection right down), I may feel the urge to order a selection of Colourpop items and see if I like them. But for now? I don't need any more makeup and I'm a panner so I would rather use what I have first.  Call me crazy, but there it is.

* Image courtesy of katinalindaa.com

Zoeva

So far the only thing I've tried from Zoeva is a brush that I received in a subscription box, and while last year I was very close to pulling the trigger on Zoeva's Plaisir Box (the one that contained those three chocolate-related palettes), I decided not to because all I could see was three palettes that I might eventually have to pan. It was the right decision.

Nevertheless, I'm waiting for Zoeva to release an eyeshadow palette that has my name all over it, and while I've seen plenty from Zoeva that I like, I'm yet to see one that looks as though it's been made for me (you know what I mean there ; )).

If Zoeva releases a little sampler that contains four to six eyeshadows (have they done that yet?), then I have a feeling this might be my first entry into the brand because I have too much eyeshadow to be wanting a larger palette. We'll see.

* Image courtesy of ulta.com

Lorac

You've likely noticed a theme by now because all of the makeup brands that are on my list are those who are best-known for their eyeshadows. 

This is because I've tried plenty of blushes, highlighters and bronzers - all of which I can wear better than I can eyeshadow - but my eyeshadow stash is quite limited for the simple reason that I have 37yo, very hooded eyes so all I mostly do with my eye area is wear plain, neutral matte shades to retract the hood a little and then use whatever highlighter's on hand for my inner corner highlight.

The effect of this is that I have a small, well-considered eyeshadow collection (ok, it's not that small  - but it's definitely small for a beauty junkie) that doesn't cover as many brands as I would like.

Lorac is a brand that I would likely have bought something from by now if it were easy to come by in Australia. It's not, unless you're prepared to pay through the teeth on eBay - which I'm not (although I was prepared to do it for the ABH Master Palette by Mario, so there you go).

But I would like to finally try Lorac sometime soon, and I suspect I'd be going for one of its eight-pan unzipped palettes, rather than the larger palettes on offer. I would prefer to start small and work out how I feel about the formula, before potentially investing in something that's going to be in my collection for a long time. 

Who knows, maybe Sephora will bring Lorac to Australia soon. We'll see.

* Image courtesy of beautylish.com

Viseart

If I were going to pick two brands from this list that I'm most likely to buy something from this year, I'd say it would be Makeup Geek and/or Viseart.

Makeup Geek because I can buy a few pans of eyeshadow and get free shipping with a small order, and Viseart because they're more easy to come by in Australia (you can by them from both local and international retailers) and they also have those six-pan palettes now, which have my name all over them. I've been eyeing off the Amethyst and Minx palettes for ages.

If you're into beauty, you've no doubt heard about these guys and I'm desperate to try the formula, the matte formula especially because that's what they're known for. 

Still, I'll need to pan some eyeshadow out of my collection before I allow myself a purchase, although I've already panned two and as soon as I've panned six, I'm considering one of these fair game. It will just be a matter of whether or not they beat me purchasing two more Marc Jacobs palettes. We'll see.

* Image courtesy of crueltyfreekitty.com

IT Cosmetics

For a while now I've felt like IT Cosmetics is 'my brand' waiting to happen. I have tried its fabled CC cream (also received in a sub box) and while I absolutely loved it, I haven't yet bought it because I've been busy trying other things. 

I'll definitely go back to it, though, and eventually I'd like to try a bunch of other products from IT Cosmetics. Apparently the powder foundation is excellent for dry skin, I've heard good things about some of its primers and concealers, and its cheek products (blushes and bronzers) are meant to be great too.

So you may yet see some IT Cosmetics products show up on this blog in 2018: it will just be a matter of how many items I can finish in the coming months.

* Image courtesy of laroche-posay.ie

La Roche-Posay

Ok, so I've already tried quite a bit from La Roche-Posay so you may be wondering what the brand is doing on this list, but the thing is, everything I've tried from La Roche-Posay has come via subscription boxes (except for the Effeclar Duo, I did buy that and I love it), and I'm yet to try a product from the brand that hasn't worked for me. Indeed, one wonders why I haven't already explored more from the range!

Although I'm on a skincare no buy, La Roche-Posay is the brand I'd like to focus on later in the year - once I've lifted my no buy and once Priceline has its next big skincare sale. It'll be one of those situations where I put one of most things into my cart and see how I go, and the brand exploration is long-overdue because, based on my experience so far, it's an excellent brand and I suspect it's underrated.

* Image courtesy of thebeautycontext.com

Trilogy

Trilogy wasn't on my list until I first went into the Priceline sale to buy a bunch of Antipodes products, only to discover that most of them were sold out (I was happily able to buy them at the next sale instead). 

What happened was this: I asked the sales assistant whether she had any Antipodes products in stock, and she checked the locked drawer to discover that she didn't. She apologised and said: 'Antipodes and Trilogy are always the first brands to sell out.'

Are they really? I'd seen Trilogy on the shelves but I'd never heard it talked about much, but since I've tried Antipodes and love it (and it's always sold out), if Trilogy is also always sold out at the beginning of the sale period then I want to get my hands on it. Surely if it's that popular, it must be good.

So yes, both La Roche-Posay and Trilogy are on my list for Priceline's skincare sale towards the end of the year. Looking forward.

In sum

That's all from me! 

Hopefully you found some ideas for brands to try in 2018, and if you've already tried stuff from the brands mentioned above, do let me know in the comments which items you suggest I try before anything else.

Please note that I've also done a post on the eight brands I suggest you try in 2018 (see here), and the idea for both these posts came from Youtubers Samantha March (I think she was the first), Jen Luvs Reviews, Kaily Baute and Liveloveshermakeup.

Hope all's well with you, and speak soon x