Changes, Cameras and Sharing the love!

Well there's no time like the present to sit back and reflect. It's been a very long year for me so far in terms of my personal life, and it has shown in Bought by Birdette. I'm not updating as much as I'd like but I'm hoping to change that in the upcoming build to Christmas and the holidays, I just haven't had a day completely to myself in months.
But there are a few things I'd like to share with you, hopefully some changes of the good kind for the blog and something you will like! Of course, this is a great time to let me know what you're loving, and what you'd like to see more of, just leave me a comment.
I have recently bought a newfangled camera on eBay and I'm waiting for it patiently by my mailbox. I've been complimented often for my outfits for a long time so now I'm hoping to point this blog in a personal style direction as well! This will also mean much, much better photos for everything on Bought by Birdette too, as well as the potential for tutorials, swatches, and lots of graphics in general.

Lastly, I'm going to ask you all a favour. If you would be so kind, please follow, like and share Bought by Birdette where you can. Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon, Google Connect and my RSS Feed are all craving your love and attention and are great ways to keep in contact with what's new, and share the love for Birdette's unique flavour of advice and style!

Benefit Myer Centre have moved, and you get the goodies!

Today's minor Benefit Haul

I had a mild panic today. I walked into Myer in Brisbane CBD on a mission to fix my overgrown eyebrows, (you know that moment where you look in the mirror and decide "Enough is enough! It's professional time!") So I trundled to where I'm expecting The Benefit Brow Bar to be and discovered another Beauty label has taken up residence. "Hmmm," I thought, then walked around to where the normal Benefit counter lived, only to find it was gone too! I almost wailed out loud at this point, but luckily I had the sense to have a quick scan of the floor and spotted a brand new and gorgeous dedicated set up just across from the MAC area, Hurray!

After chatting with the lovely counter ladies they informed me of a fantastic deal they have going for their grand relocation opening week, (Just at this location, sorry ladies!) You will get a free Eyebrow Tint with every Brow Arch Wax! I had this service done for the first time today, my eyebrows are rather dark as it is and thought it wouldn't be worth a go, but it has subtlety added a bit more shape to my brow. I like it, it will lessen my need to fill in my brows and will last around three weeks.

This is not the only deal they have going this week though, When you buy two products from the Benefit range they will also throw in a Cabana Glama DesTANation makeup kit in too! Of course I couldn't pass this up and grabbed a few items I've had my eye on.

Cabana Glama 

The Perk Up Artist

Speed Brow

So go on, Go give the girls in pink wigs a visit this week and leave with some perfectly shaped eyebrows. No booking required! 

Nude by Nature Natural Tinted Mineral Moisturiser Review

Phew, what a mouthful that is to say! I found this little present in a 30 Days of Fashion and Beauty goodie bag, and it's been a great score. I haven't tried any Nude by Nature products previously,the gimmick they came out with originally just came over as far too 'Danoz Direct' for me. I find that sort of thing can really out me off buying things. However I'd have to say that they are one of the most recognised Mineral make-up companies in Australia, and you don't get that famous without doing something right!

So the product I received is the Natural Tinted Mineral Moisturiser in Nude Beige, Looking on their site however I can't find this shade available, sad because it's a very close match to my skin colour! (Ed- Scratch that, they have two shades listed, Beige and Tan, I'm guessing that just add the word 'nude' in front on the packaging?) The formula is nice and thick, but is very easy to smooth onto your face. I found that you had to pat any other products you would use over the top on, as it had the potential to slide about a bit when other products were added to the mix (Primers, Foundations etc.) Powders worked really well over the top though, to set the moisturiser and add a little more oil busting oomph.

Nude Beige Swatch

The scent is a really nice botanical smell which I really enjoyed, and coverage was light but effective, the redness in my skin was reduced, and it didn't look as though I was wearing any make-up. It's an incredibly natural finish which is something I look for in Summer. I even wore it on its own with just a little bit of concealer to work yesterday, by the end of the day I didn't have that 'built up' yuck feeling I can get with make-up on my oily skin. Instantly on application it sets to a matte finish, and helped to hide pores.
Overall I would recommend this for someone who wants to disguise their oily skin, redness and has issues with more irritating products.

Have you tried Nude by Nature products before?

Tip of the day: Mistake proof nail art

Perhaps I should start this post off by explaining that I had my first ever Shellac Manicure and Pedicure last weekend. I am impressed, I'm rough and tumble with my hands and often have chips within a day of my nails drying, but more then a week later, nope nada, not a chip in sight. Perfect nails!
Mistake proof nail art may be a slight exaggeration, but it's only a slight one. When I started out doing designs on my nails I made more of a mess of my nails then successes, and to clean any errors was so painstaking or I'd have to take the entire nail of polish off. This is a much easier method.

This is where the Shellac comes into play. To avoid having to take off your entire nail of art when you make a mistake, get a base of Shellac applied. This trick works because Shellac requires more then a bit of elbow grease to get off, (In fact they recommend you only have professionals remove it in salon) and you can change your art however often you like. I decided to get a dark purple colour on my nails, I did a gorgeous galaxy nail over the top, then removed that after a few days and applied some nail stamping with my MLS 301 plate.

Now you see it

Now you don't

Oh Hai ice-cream and lightning!

It's worth noting that glitter is even more of a pain to remove with this idea though, because you're still trying to remove it without damaging the Shellac underneath. 

Do you have any hints and tips for making nail at easier? Or perhaps an awesome mani you'd like to show me? Let me know in the comments!

Rosehip Oil really is the Beauty Bomb

A little while ago I told my readers that I was trying Rosehip Oil, to see if all the claims of its fabulous abilities to create awesome skin were true. Truth be told, I'm actually really impressed and a little surprised by the results.
I used it nightly for the last three months or so, just at night time as I found it didn't help my make-up stay on, quite the opposite in fact. I've been applying three or four drops in a light circular motion over my face and neck but avoiding the eye area for obvious reasons, following with a night cream and then going to bed for the night.

Trilogy Rosehip Oil, the product I tried.

What did I notice different? My skintone is now pretty incredible, to the point where I'm much less afraid to go without make-up, (Yes, it has actually improved that much.) I have had problems with acne, oil, and redness with my face since I went through puberty, and while the Rosehip Oil didn't clear up the oiliness, it didn't make it worse. It didn't give me more acne either which was one of my bigger fears. Where it has stood out and done something incredible is for my Rosacea. The flaky skin I get around my nose has been a blip on the radar while using this product instead of hanging around for weeks on end. The ruddy redness and uneven skintone on my face, especially around my nose has been reduced and I even think my pores are clearer too. My skin feels plumper and younger, more glowy and just yum.

To me the positives beyond outweigh the minor things I didn't like. I had a problem initially with the unavoidable fact it's an oil, and I myself already posess verrrry oily skin. When this is the case you can form a stigma against using products with oils, but that's a thought that is very quickly crashing down with the advent of amazing oils like rosehip and some glorious cleansing oils on the market too.
My only real gripe is that the smell isn't pleasant  I wouldn't actually mind a little fragrance so it didn't smell like salad dressing, I was hoping for a lovely rose scent when I first opened the bottle, but instead I smelt dinner. Luckily the smell doesn't stick around for long though but the gorgeous skin does!
Consider it added to my friends presents this Holiday season.

What are your thoughts on Rosehip oil? Have you thought about using it?