I was on a spending ban but I happened to be in a bad mood so I splurged... on a $48 lipstick.

If you follow me on Instagram or know me personally you would know that lipsticks are my obsession. I have an entire drawer dedicated to them as well as displaying many on my vanity. The only "high-end" lipsticks I owned were by MAC and ever since going cruelty free I thought it was time to pick up a CF option. Thankfully the lipstick I bought has an amazing formula is worth every penny I spent. The lipstick I chose was a NARS Audacious Lipstick and I decided to go with the shade Barbara (a tan rose).

Claims -

"an innovative lip colour that delivers bold pigment and a luxurious satin texture to the lips." 

 Swatch -

Direct sunlight

Indirect sunlight

Packaging -

Sleek black packaging with magnetic closure. It has NARS printed along the bottom of the rectangular tube and doesn't get as dirty as NARS' other packaging.

As for the lipstick bullet it has NARS indented on it and a very pointed tip which helps achieve a sharp line along your lips edges.

Opinion -
You may have noticed from the above swatches that my lips are very dry however this lipstick glides over any dry patches and does not enhance them at all. Where I have flaky skin (gross I know) you can  barely even notice it.

For a satin finish I am very impressed with how creamy the formula is and also how long-lasting (4-6 hours) it is. Obviously if you are wearing this lipstick during an oily meal it will start to fade like any lipstick or liquid lipstick so this isn't really a negative for me.

It provides an opaque colour in just one swipe as you can see in this half/half comparison and is a very wearable every day shade.


I would love to expand my collection but with its very costly price tag I think I will collect the new Urban Decay lipsticks instead. I will still purchase more of these because I was blown away by the lipstick, probably as a birthday or Christmas gift to myself. If you are looking to splurge you need this lipstick in your life!

Being a uni student that often has to go out to placement and part-time work means I need my makeup routine to be fast and reliable enough to endure long hours. After countless 6am wake-ups I have finally got a quick routine down pat.
Click on the 😍 to be redirected to purchase any of the products mentioned!

I have dry skin so I always use a hydrating primer, I alternate between Face of Australia Face Base Primer (😍), Australis Original Primer (😍) and Becca Backlight Priming Filter (😍) depending on my skin that day. If my skin is really dry and dull I always use the Becca primer as it adds the most luminosity to my skin.

Next I either reach for my Chi Chi Super CC Cream (😍) or a foundation - usually NARS Sheer Glow (😍). Again this depends on how my skin is looking. I always skip concealer so if I need extra coverage I just add more of the foundation or cc cream to the areas that need it.

Since my skin is on the dryer side I skip powdering all together and I only set my under eyes with any powder that is closest to me. Depending on the time I woke up and if I can be bothered I will use my Urban Decay Naked Flushed Palette (😍) since it is 3in1. I use it to bronze, highlight and add blush.

Last two steps are mascara and lips. On the daily I skip curling my lashes and straight away apply my mascara which currently is the Chi Chi 3D Magic Lash Mascara (😍). I am currently on the hunt for a new mascara so comment your favourites below!

Lips is another product that changes up daily. I will mention a few of my favourites at the moment:
😍 Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Chihuahua
😍 Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip in Midi
😍 Colourpop Lippie Stix in Lumiere
😍 Scout Cosmetics Mineral Lipstick in Awaken

Thank you for reading this weeks post and feel free to comment what your go-to makeup routine/products are!

Since I am transitioning my collection to one day being completely cruelty free I have been on the hunt for cruelty free dupes for my favourite products. Hopefully this post will help you if you're interested in using cruelty free alternatives too!

MAC Studio Fix Powder ➙ Australis Fresh and Flawless

Having dry/problematic skin makes it tough to find a powder that doesn't look too powdery but still offers a medium-full coverage. Luckily both these powders work virtually the same and the dupe is a lot more affordable! I do find that the MAC powder does give less of a "powdery" finish.

L'Oreal 24H-Matte ➙ Tarte Amazonian Clay

Tarte's Amazonian Clay foundation is a thicker and moussier consistency compared to L'Oreal however they're both matte and offer very full (buildable) coverage.

MAC Fix + ➙ Australis Makeup Finishing Spritz

Both set the powders on your face giving you more of a dewy finish. You can also use both to intensify any shadows.

Urban Decay Naked Palettes ➙ Chi Chi Palettes

Although Urban Decay are cruelty free their parents company is not. I am still on the fence whether I will continue purchasing their products however for a much more affordable and 100% cruelty free option Chi Chi have so many palette's so you will definitely find a match within their range!

Benefit Porefessional ➙ NYX Pore Filler

I have never owned Benefit's Porefessional however I have tried it out on my hand and compared it to my NYX primer. They had a similar feel and filled in the "pores" on my hand the exact same. There are also other blogposts online stating that these two are dupes. Cruelty free or not I highly recommend you try out the NYX primer first as it is much more affordable and works so well.

Stila Liquid Lipstick in Patina ➙ Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip in Clueless

I did an entire blogpost dedicated to comparing these two liquid lips so if you're interested in reading it click here. The two shades are very similar and wear for the same amount of time.

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Anna ➙ Colourpop Lippie Stix in Lumiere

NARS is another brand that is cruelty free however the parent company are not. Ever since the Audacious lipsticks were released I always wanted the shade Anna. One day when I went into Mecca I realised it was so similar to the shade I was wearing - Colourpop's Lumiere.

For a full list of brands that are cruelty free click here