What’s in my October beauty bag?

Nikki Parkinson Beauty 39 Comments

I’ve been in part-time mode for the last two weeks, taking time out to hang out with my kids and the Woogs.  Apart from working *less*, I have loved go-slow mornings and a slacker time-efficient approach to my beauty routine.

And by lazy, I mean one step up from non-existent.  Yes, call me vain (I do say it to myself quite frequently so, really, it’s ok) but I do like to have a little something on my face before heading out the door.

Which brings me to this month’s beauty bag. It’s filled with *little somethings* for all budgets that will enable you to get out the door as quickly as required with just the right amount of fuss.

Here’s what’s been floating my beauty boat this month:

What's holding my October beauty faves so I can easily see them? It's a large-sized Borne Naked handbag liner ($34.95). See below for a special deal for Styling You readers. (Click on this image to enlarge)

What’s holding my October beauty faves so I can easily see them? It’s a large-sized Borne Naked handbag liner ($34.95). See below for a special deal for Styling You readers. (Click on this image to enlarge)

1. Maybelline New York Masterliner $12.50:  If I’m getting a natural, quick face on it’s all about brown eyeliner and mascara for me. It looks defined but not too done. Really impressed by this supermarket buy which gives you the precision of a pencil but glides on like a cream.

2. Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream $13.95: I first spoke about BB Cream here and a bit like when you decide you’d like to buy a certain make of car, I now see BB everywhere. And that includes on my face every morning. Can I please slip an OMG in about this product? Seriously, all I’ve put on my face the last couple of weeks of the holidays has been this cream, a little bit of concealor and a swirl of bronzer. It takes my uneven-toned skin and makes it look luminescent, even when it’s far from looking that way.  It’s got an SPF 15 and I don’t even need to add in another moisturiser.  I use the light shade (there’s a medium as well). And yes, once again, it’s something you can throw in the supermarket trolley.

3. Jojoba Anti-Aging Day Cream SPF 15 $29.95: I’ve been impressed with everything I’ve tried from The Jojoba Company to date and this day cream arrived just in time for spring. It has the natural moisturising and anti-aging properties I would expect – with 96% of the formulations natural. It also includes natural forms of zinc and titanium dioxide for sun protection. You know where I’ve loved wearing it? On the tops of my hands. I keep it in my handbag so when I’m about to set off in the car, I keep them protected and hopefully turn back the time.

4. Napoleon Perdis Auto Pilot Pre-Foundation Skin Primer $55: Not surprisingly the first-ever primer I tried was this one. It was years ago and I’ve been a primer ever since. And so have plenty of you, apparently. One Auto Pilot is sold every four minutes somewhere around the world. There’s a reason why Napoleon set an industry bench mark with this product and now it’s getting a glam makeover (new packaging out October 10). This formular for keeping your makeup in place is not only skin smoothing, it is hydrating. And here’s a tip from the man himself, use it as a cream cleanser to remove foundation and boost your skin before reapplying foundation to go out after work. Which I would do. If I worked in an office. And went out.

5. Prada Candy Eau de Parfum 30ml $90: I can’t afford a pair of Prada shoes but I’ve been seduced by the latest fragrance to come out of this design house. It’s not only colour popping in its bottle design, it’s fragrance popping in scent thanks to a cocktail of musks, a resin (Benzoin) and caramel.  Yes, it smells good enough to eat.  I like it for its sophisticated, surprise factor, yet it’s light enough to wear for spring and beyond into summer. Available from Prada boutiques, Myer and David Jones from October 2.

6. Elizabeth Arden New Pure Finish Mineral Bronzing Powder in Bronze Glow $68: Attempting to look like a bronzed goddess at the end of winter is a challenge. This limited edition bronzer is one of my current weapons of choice. It’s from the Bronze in Bloom collection hitting counters on October 2. I love the “turn the dial” function that shaves off and grinds three “microlight” mineral shades into one glowing colour. There’s a mini kabuki brush included so perfect for travelling too. Oh, and it’s talc, oil and fragrance free. Love that.

7. L’Oreal Paris Nutri Balm by Colour Riche in Coral $12.95: Now, my “quickly out the door bronzed goddess makeup look” needs a slick of lip colour and this one sets off the natural bronzed look perfectly.  It’s a gorgeous velvety, jelly-like formulation with just a hint of colour. It’s also available in pink but my money is on the coral colour for beach babe look.  Oh, and your lips will love being treated to this throughout the day. So re-apply. Often.

8. NIVEA Invisible for Black & White Anti-Perspirant Deodorant $4.99: When I’m in a hurry to get dressed, I usually forget that I’ve just sprayed my underarms with deodorant, hastily pulling a top or dress over my head and successfully adding some lovely white stripes to my outfit. Epic. Fail. Not so with this deodrant. And I can say that it stands the test of time as well – not only will your clothes love you but people will actually want to be in your vicinity because you’ll smell lovely too.

9. Australis Killer Curves Mascara in black brown $12.95: I don’t know how they do it for the price. This is a winning mascara in my books. Love the black-brown shade for same reason I opted for the brown eyeliner above and love the “tubing” effect of this mascara. Basically this means each of your lashes is individually coated and it will only come off when you wash (no panda eyes!) them. The curved silicone brush makes application easy too … a perfect combo to get those killer curves … on your lashes.

Have you found a beauty product this month that you’d love to tell us about? Share below. We’re all ears … eyes and face.

*The above products were sent to me for editorial consideration in accordance with my disclosure policy.  I use Borne Naked handbag liners every day so I’m stoked that they came on board to sponsor this post.

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Borne Naked handbag linersEnter STYLING at the checkout to receive a $5 discount

Comments 39

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  3. thanks to you Nikki I discovered Burts bees lip balm and thank you every day for it. Now my newest wonder product courtesy of you is ….. you guessed it…the BB cream. And like you i am now seeing it everywhere. I had not heard or seen it until i read your blog about it. I just love what it does for my skin, although i am finding the medium might be just a little dark for me so I’m going to buy a tube of the light and make my own custom blend. Thanks for doing the “hard” work so we can pick the best from the rest without spending a cent.

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  4. After reading about the “Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream” here the other day, I picked up some as I was crusing around Target on Friday. OMG! this stuff is amazing- love how it makes my skin look 🙂
    Thankyou for the tip, xx Lauren

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  11. No.6 Elizabeth Arden Mineral Bronzer. For any Melbourne ladies, this product is AMAZING. We rarely get any sun most months (or at least it is starting to feel that way with all this sun) so nothing lifts a look more than a fresh bronzed face. It adds contours, makes you look healthy and lifts the ‘dullness’. This bronzer is very concentrated. It goes a long way.

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  13. Hi Nikki. I can’t believe the prices of some of those items. All very affordable and going by what you’re saying, all sound just what I need.

    I’m loving the Bloom Lip Duo I got in my pack that I won from you. It’s really great to have the lipstick and gloss in one and the colour is great (Yin and Yang).

    Thanks Nikki.

    Anne xx

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  16. I try to keep a smaller sized hand moisturiser in the centre console in the car and quickly rub some in when stopped at the traffic lights. Now I’m thinking I should replace it with sunscreen! Unfortunately I think it is too late to turn back time for me. (I keep a small size so that I use it before the heat wrecks it – a good place for all those samples.)

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    2. I make sure I have a little Vaseline dry skin travel-sized in the centre console in the car too! Makes moisturising my elbows and hands so much easier when I’m at a stoplight.

      Just picking up a Borne Naked liner trio pack now, and a smaller Baby bundle for a friend due soon. So glad I stumbled upon your blog! Thank goodness for twitter!

      I’m hoping to win one of #2 from various competitions on the interwebs but if I don’t, I’m going to pop in and grab some ASAP. Already use # 4 (just not the gold version as it hasn’t got to us regional folks yet) and love it! Hoping to sell Napoleon for a living soon 😉

      Going to keep an eye out for that delicious sounding #5… any ideas where I could get it online or maybe I need to ask a city-sider friend to send me a sample?

      Keen to read the rest of your posts now 🙂 off to catch up!

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  17. OK, I’m off tomorrow to buy and try some of the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB cream – sounds like just the thing for me (and bonus can pick it up when I’m grocery shopping!)

    Thanks for the tips Nikki.

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