Shrinking Wallet: Recommend 10 Blog Swap with Jenny

After watching a youtube video on "Recommend 10", I tweeted asking if anyone would want to do one with me. I was so happy when Jenny from The Shopping Queen volunteered because we've done a couple of swaps before and they have been so successful (and she's also incredibly generous).

In this post, Jenny will actually be guest blogging, explaining the reasons why she sent me the following 10 items.

Jenny writes,

1. Face of Australia Glitterati nail polishes: Abby made me fall in love with nail polish (she's sent me some before in our previous swaps) and I really liked this range. Unfortunately, when I purchased these, my local Priceline hadn't started stocking them yet so I had to get what I could from Kmart. These 2 were the prettiest ones left and the one that's kind of like rose gold is really unique :)

L-R: Face Of Australia Glitterati Nail Enamel in Studio 54 and Funky Town

2. NYX lip gloss in beige: I've never actually tried this one but it's raved about SO much! I was so tempted to get one for myself but I don't wear lip gloss enough to justify it. The colour is a really neutral pink and it's non-sticky which is something that I know Abby likes :)

3. Maybelline Vivid's lipstick in Vibrant Mandarin: I wasn't 100% sure about sending Abby this lipstick as I know that she's not a fan of bright colours BUT it's one of my favourite lipsticks and I couldn't resist giving her one. I know that it's SUPER bright but if you just dab it on and sheer it out, it's a gorgeous pinkish colour colour. It's still bright but not an "in your face bright"... it just brightens up your face :) I won't be offended if you regift this one :P

T-B: NYX Lip Gloss in Beige; Maybelline ColorSensational 914 Vibrant Mandarin

4. NARS blush in Deep Throat: This is probably my favourite blush ever! It's sooooo amazing and it's not too glittery. I really love this for an every day look and I just had to get Abby one. Whenever I clean out my makeup bag, this ALWAYS stays as it's so versatile. The only bad thing about it is that like all other NARS packaging, it gets kinda grubby.

5. MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Lingering: This is a taupe eyebrow pencil and it's one that I use every single day. I even have a back up of it with me at all times as I don't think that I could ever use anything else again! This pencil actually got me into colouring in my eyebrows everyday as it's really easy to use. The MAC makeup artist recommended it to me and the tip for using this is to use light feathery strokes and it looks really natural! I find it really hard to overdo it (which is good!). My only criticism of it is that my eyebrows can look a bit lighter in photos than in person but it's not necessarily a bad thing :)

T-B: NARS Blush in Deep Throat; MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Lingering

6. Make Up For Ever HD Powder: I've also never used this before but I've heard some amazing things about it. I was actually really tempted to keep it for myself but I bought this for Abby as she has oily skin and I thought that this setting powder could help her out :)

7. Orly Bonder Rubberized Base Coat: This is my absolute favourite base coat and I didn't realise that Abby actually already uses this! The reason why I love it so much is that it's my secret weapon against glitter nail polishes :P Everyone knows that it's really hard to remove glitter nail polish and what I've found is that after I've had a manicure for 3-4 days, I tend to get bored and want to change it and that's when this base coat comes in handy! If you use it under your manicures, when you have hot shower, it makes it really easy for you to just peel the polish off your nails! It comes off in one go and you don't have to sit there scrubbing your nails. I'm not sure if peeling the polish off affects your nail health or not but I've found that nail polish remover really dries out my nails but my nails are always fine after I peel the polish off (there's no tugging or ripping of the nail if the water is hot enough).

8. The Body Shop Lily Cole blush: I know that Abby never carries makeup with her in her bag BUT I really like this blush as it's pretty sheer (i.e. hard to go overboard if you have a heavy hand) and if I have no clean brushes, I can just unscrew the cap and apply it directly to my cheek (when the lid is off, the blush is a dome shape and completely exposed) and blend it with my finger! I wanted this for AGES but couldn't justify the cost but they went on sale last month so I picked one up for myself and one for Abby :)

L-R: Make Up For Ever High Definition Powder; Orly Bonder; The Body Shop Lily Cole Lip & Cheek Dome in Pink Me Pink

9. Revlon Colorstay foundation: I was in Chemist Warehouse during the 50% off sale and I was actually going to buy the new Colorstay foundations so that I could test them out but I came across a whole stack of the old colorstay foundations for like 75% off ($8 each!) so I ended up getting the old formula as I've read a lot of reviews that have said that the old formula is better than the new one. I actually started hunting for the old ones when the new ones came out but I could never find them in this condition (most of the ones that I found looked like they'd been in a battle with the testers). I got Abby the old ones as she can always get the new formula if she wants to but I really really like the old one :)

10. Tweezerman Starlight Foundation mini tweezers: I wasn't sure what tweezers that Abby already uses but it's hard to go past Tweezerman ones :) I like how compact they are so they fit right in your bag without taking up too much room and even if you don't pluck usually your eyebrows, it's nice to have tweezers incase you have that odd stray eyebrow hair that just needs to be plucked. These also support the starlight foundation (a small donation is made with every purchase) so it was a win-win :P

L-R: Revlon Colorstay for Normal/Dry Skin in 180 Sand Beige; Revlon Colorstay for Combination/Oily Skin in 180 Ssand Beige; Tweezerman Starlight Foundation Mini Slant Tweezer

I hope you loved everything that I got you :)

Jenny

Jenny also gave me a ginormous glasshouse vanilla caramel scented candle as an engagement present!