Antipodean Beauties: Costume Party

Who doesn't love a dress up party? Well, some people don't, it's true - I hear "It's too hard!" and "It's too expensive" - but truly, with a little bit of imagination and ingenuity anyone can totally ace a costume party.

I took my daughters to the Art Gallery earlier this week, and they had a fun activity, where you could make a wig/hat out of white paper. Of course we took to the task with relish and I made this rather ridiculous crown sort of thing - I think it's a bit Burtonesque!

Once I got my creation home I set about creating a fun costume makeup to go with it. I decided to go for a sort of generalised "fop/dandy" sort of look, a bit of an 18th century vibe.

To keep with the frugal theme I had going I used a cheap but awesome brand of makeup that I really love - NYX. Once upon a time it was really hard to get in Australia but I've recently been told it's about to hit the shelves of Target here so that's fantastic news!

Here's the products I used:

• NYX Stay Matte but Not Flat Powder Foundation

This is a great powder foundation, I often find it difficult to find one pale enough that's not yellow or even worse, orange - but this is a really good shade for me. 

• NYX Pore Filler

This product works as well as some very expensive primers I've tried in the past! It's got a lot of 'cones in it so if you don't like that avoid this one. but for my money it's a winner - this made the rest of my makeup go on like a dream and really smoothed out my skin. 

• NYX HD High Definition Eyeshadow Base 

This definately made my eyeshadow brighter and more long lasting - I usually use foundation or concealer as an eyeshadow base but using a specific product definitely makes a difference. 

• NYX Matte Lipstick in Nude (as blush) 

I put this high on the apples of my cheeks as a blush, the light coral colour of it makes this really versatile. The matte formulation is great too, as it also seems fairly moisturising. 

• NYX Love in Rio Eyeshadow Trio - Life is a Cha Cha

This cute bow adorned compact has three great purple shades in it - vibrant and wearable. They blended together nicely and are a really good quality for the price. 

• NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Dolly Pink 

If you want a super glossy bright Barbie pink lip gloss for a bargain price you're going to want to grab this - the colour is one I probably won't wear a huge amount unless I'm doing costume looks like this one but it's a really great bright shade if you're into pink.

NYX have been a brand on my radar for a while now, and very much on the "I wish this was readily available in Australia" list for a long time. I'm really delighted we're going to be able to get hold of it easily and cheaply.

So, did you like my costume look? If you have a look at the "wild looks" tag on my blog you'll see lots more of the costume makeups I've done over the years. Be sure to check out the rest of the Antipodean Beauties too!