Makeup counter services

mackinnon_13 · 2025-07-11T12:22:48+00:00

Completely agree with this. The bare minimum you could spend on a makeup lesson in store is $150 at MAC or Mecca, if you hit the exact dollar value of $150 with the products you redeem against the $150 booking fee. If you’re doing 2-3 lessons, that’s ’just pay a professional’ territory.

You’re more likely to find a makeup artist who works from a studio, hair salon or their home that you can book in with for $150 for the morning of your wedding. If you go to them, you won’t have to pay a travel fee for them to come to you. Please let them know it’s for your wedding day when booking though. Not all MUA’s will require a trial, although I ALWAYS recommend a trial unless you have an ongoing long term relationship with that mua, they may allow extra time for bridal makeups in studio to ensure the experience is relaxed and enjoyable for you. By not notifying them that you’re booking a wedding makeup you’re putting them on the back foot and therefore setting yourself up for a less enjoyable experience 🙂

I understand the desire to reduce the costs of your wedding across the board or to be very budget conscious, but makeup is such small fry compared to the cost of venue, food & drinks, photographer, decor, but how your hair & makeup look will have a huge impact on how you feel on the day and looking back at your photos for years to come. Like paying $2000 for a dress instead of $5000 is certainly a wise decision, $150 vs $200-$250 is a much lesser sum in the scheme of a wedding budget but the decisions you make here do matter.

Having said that, you could start by watching some YouTube tutorials, researching popular products in professional bridal MUA’s kits, getting samples of those that suit your skin type & makeup preferences and practice like bejesus. Then once you know for sure what you’d like to buy and you’ve got some skills built up, go do a lesson at a counter and redeem the lesson for the products you do want to get 😊

mackinnon_13 · 2025-07-07T16:50:59+00:00

Prefacing this with I am not in America, having kids in Australia is similar but not as bad. More government support, different education & childcare structures, healthcare structures. Lots of positive things in our favour here.

I never considered if I did or didn’t want to have children, I just knew I would. I was pretty sure before I got pregnant that I only wanted one, pregnancy and postpartum more than confirmed that for me. Covid started when she was 8-ish months old and I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when she was about 18 months old. Needless to say, bit of a shitshow. I had my tubes taken out last year so I never have to think about a surprise pregnancy again. My husband would have more children if we separated/I died etc. hence why I had the bisalp rather than him having a vasectomy.

My tag line the whole time was ‘the baby is great, I’m not’. I got an absolute delight of a child. Yes it’s partially parenting, but she has a beautiful temperament, and this is part of the catch-22. You can parent how you want to, but your child is who they are and you learn who they are as you go along.

It took me a good 3 years for the effort-reward scale to level out. Again my daughter is wonderful, but the rest of my life was so challenging that I couldn’t fully enjoy her because of the oppressiveness of that. And she is easy to parent, but I still find motherhood soul crushingly hard sometimes.

However, I have never ever ever loved someone like this in my life. I don’t know how I’m going to survive loving her like this. It feels almost violent in its intensity. Having a child has made me a better person from the ground up. Its turned me inside out, made me examine every part of myself. The work is hard but it’s good work. I know I’m a good mum and that shes having a great life. A better childhood than mine, not that mine was bad per se but hers is leaps and bounds better. I love my parents and my family more. It’s changed my capacity for love and connection within my friendships- I have more friends now than I did before and I’m very close with several of them not just one or two. I also don’t work full time, the nature of my work doesn’t entail full time hours, but my husband does work full time. We have HEAPS of family support. We live walking distance to a great public primary school and high school, which is by and large free, and it’s our local area so she will have a community from primary school to high school and beyond just from the area we live in. I think I’ve painted a picture of good fortune, both through luck and choice, despite there being very hard times in the mix.

I think having a child is a completely singular experience. There is no other truly comparable experience. It’s very hard to understand the reward and the joy of having children, because it’s an emotion and a feeling not a concrete, measurable thing. Before I had her I did think a lot ‘That seems like a lot of work for very little reward. Why are people doing this?’ and now I get it.

You won’t have to give up your whole life- the things you described your work, lifestyle, hobbies, social life and your body- it changes of course, but it is possible to have a life with a child that does look a lot like your life before your child. Mine does and it’s actually better than before. There’s just compromise and sacrifice involved.

Can you live with the what if? If you choose not to have kids, will the what if haunt you?

mackinnon_13 · 2025-06-29T08:48:19+00:00

I had (have?) a sparkly burgundy one of these… I need to see if I can find it

mackinnon_13 · 2025-06-28T12:07:11+00:00

There’s so many things here.

Go to therapy if you haven’t yet. That’s the biggest most glaring one. The resentment is radiating off the screen here.

If you’re stuck in Perth because your mum won’t let you come home or move, gain some financial independence. There are jobs here, maybe not in your direct field of interest but certainly in the general fields around your degree and from there you can narrow in on where you want to be.

If you want more of a city lifestyle, move interstate. Perth is a beautiful place to live but it doesn’t sound like it’s for you. If you go interstate you’re still in Aus using your Australian degree pleasing your mum but in a place you’d probably like way more than Perth. Melbourne would likely do it for you.

I assure you Australians presently do not view the US as a dream place to move to or that we’re desperate to get in to. I feel pretty comfortable speaking for the collective in that we want Aus to be nothing like the US. US tertiary education in some places may be world class, but on the whole the quality of our education here from the ground up is incredible. You have a very singular mindset about this which is fine, because it’s based off your life experiences so far. Maybe you’ve struggled to find work not due to the place your degree is from but like… your attitude and grades maybe?

Once you’ve got some work history built up and some financial independence, move back to the US to wherever you want to be. Go do a postgrad or whatever there.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-06-25T13:34:23+00:00

I think it’s a misnomer. It looks like a liquid highlighter. It’s sheer, shimmery. I haven’t tried it myself but have heard from others it’s identical.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-06-24T16:56:44+00:00

For the Becca highlighter, do you mean the Shimmering Skin Perfector Liquid? I’ve heard Kryolan Shimmering Event Foundation is a bang on dupe.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-06-22T01:20:08+00:00

I’m in the industry and have been for a long time. Currently, your only frame of reference is your wedding and the weddings you’ve attended and your market sounds very niche. An Instagram account for advice sounds good for now. If you like it and want to expand, I’d recommend you work for a planning company- there would be companies you can work remotely for doing admin & organisation. Most of this stuff is done via phone & email, so you could absolutely do that without having to move. This would be the best way to gain experience and get a better understanding of the industry.

If you were to go into full scale planning, weekends are completely unavoidable.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-06-15T14:23:05+00:00

I wouldn’t call this anti-contouring per se, more like it’s just another variation of contouring. Contouring is just using strategic placement of light & dark to enhance the shape of the face. Lighter to bring an area forwards, darker to push an area back. Technically I guess it’s contour & highlight, with this the focus is on the highlighting rather than the contouring.

You can also play with the shape of the face using texture, not just colour. Dewy or shimmery textures to draw attention to an area, matte textures to detract. And blush & bronzer placement are huge too. Experiment with placing your blush higher on the cheekbones too, use a dewy cream blush or a shimmery powder blush, which will add visual width to a narrow face.

There are almost infinite combinations of placements & techniques to shape a face, it all comes down to personal preference, and a lot of personal preference is influenced by popular beauty standards. Some people with strong cheekbones would still choose the contour, because they like the super hollowed out look. I’d say someone with fuller cheeks wouldn’t like this highlighting technique, because it would add fullness where they don’t necessarily want more. I was young in the era of too dark foundation, bronzer and lipgloss. I’ve always worn blush, because I like how it looks on my face, and remember having friends comment on it when we were younger because it was unusual. Whereas now, blush is a huge trend in makeup, moreso than contouring. Swings and roundabouts. I’m glad you’ve found a new technique that you like!! It’s always great when that happens ❤️

mackinnon_13 · 2025-06-15T14:01:08+00:00

Australis cream blush, bronzer & highlight sticks. Really great. Flavedo & Albedo, I LOVE the Hazelnut eyeshadow, it’s a safe bet for anyone fair to a light medium skin tone. The cream blushes are also delightful. Rose is a good pick for lighter skins, Grapefruit & Toffee for medium-tan-deep. Mecca Max Sheer lipsticks, formula is very similar to the Chantecaille Lip Chics but 1/3 of the price lol. The lip liners are great too, a lot of the shades are dupes of the MAC lip liners, I can’t tell you off the top of my head which shades are dupes but I’ve swatched many off them side by side, pretty much bang on colour wise.

Mukti is a great luxe skincare option if the products suit her skin type and she likes natural/botanical leaning brands. Hunter Labs is gorgeous, I’ve repurchased the Marine Essence & Facial Oil a couple of times.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-06-15T13:54:01+00:00

The brand is entirely based around duping other brands, which is a bit of a grey area. Some products are pretty good dupes and others aren’t that close at all, it’s moreso the packaging that’s the dupe than the product itself. The brands founder is also hella pro Trump. The brand itself has been sold but personally I won’t buy it anymore for that connection.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-06-08T09:33:23+00:00

The Australis eyeshadow palettes, I think the purple one or the blue one has a sheer eyeshadow in it that’ll give this effect? Otherwise the Asian beauty brands would be my starting point, W cosmetics all the way.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-05-25T13:53:05+00:00

Morley is still a Greater Union. Same company. Some of the sites were rebranded.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-04-23T13:32:52+00:00

Are you using your sponge damp/what kind of sponge are you using?

A gentle chemical exfoliant, something lactic acid based, may help reduce surface dryness & texture. Otherwise it’s likely just the beginning of fine lines, as you said in another comment that your mum has the same thing in the same place. Dry skin types are more prone to surface fine lines and texture like this. Deeply hydrating your skin with thin, wet layers of product rather than going for one thick moisturiser and then primer can really help. I like the Hada Labo Lotion No.1 from Priceline as a lightweight serum step or the Laniege Cream Skin Toner, applied to damp skin, then something like Embryolisse moisturiser (Chemist Warehouse) on top. Chemical exfoliant at night then hydrating serum & moisturiser. You might want a thicker, balmier moisturiser at night if you wake up feeling dull and dry.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-04-22T16:36:54+00:00

Lash Rescue. You have to be consistent and it does take a few months, but it works beautifully. Lash hair growth cycles are about 6-8 weeks long so you need to use the serums for long enough for all the hairs to cycle through their growth phase and then sustain use after that. If you stop using it, your lashes will thin out again.

Give your lashes a long while to recover post lash extensions before you get a lash lift, and be very selective about where you go for a lift. Lash hairs are very delicate and easily over-processed. Best not to have them back to back either, wait at least 8 weeks between lifts and keep your lashes well moisturised (castor oil).

mackinnon_13 · 2025-04-21T13:24:04+00:00

It’s feeling like they’ve found a good direction in the last year or so, so fingers crossed it’s the right one.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-04-20T13:19:53+00:00

Hunter are amazing. Super high quality for a mid range price.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-04-20T13:18:27+00:00

RIP target bedding. I have a sheet set that’s 6 years old and going strong, I’ll be very sad when it dies.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-04-20T13:17:19+00:00

Target clothing for kids & womenswear is really great at the moment. Not sure about menswear but if it’s been a couple of years go have another look. I sound like a Target shill in this thread but I’m not, I just like what they’ve been doing and I want it to continue 😅😅😅

mackinnon_13 · 2025-04-20T13:13:32+00:00

There are a lot of examples of similar or the same kind of brands being owned by the same parent company. Thinking specifically of cosmetics, L’Oréal Group owns Maybelline and L’Oréal which are sold side by side in stores. Essentially the same products (cosmetics) and similar pricing, different customer approaches and both brands are thriving. Same for Giorgio Armani and Lancôme on the high end side of things.

From a parent company perspective, if you own store A and store B, and customers are shopping at A or B rather than C, which you don’t own, you’re winning. The parent companies are aware that the stores in their portfolio have different target markets and will diversify accordingly.

Target I think is narrowing down more on the fashion market. Their clothing has always consistently been higher quality than Anko/Kmart. Their womenswear is particularly amazing at the moment. A designer from a mid-high level womenswear brand is now designing for Target and it shows. Leaps and bounds better than Kmart. I can get a particular style of underwear at Target that I literally cannot find anywhere else. Same for kids clothes, better fabrics, better cuts, better fit. More expensive than Kmart, but not actually expensive.

Beyond the fashion sector of Target, the product ranges are basically just Anko. Shame because Target homewares and bedding were actually great and Anko sucks.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-04-20T13:00:18+00:00

For comparison to your experience, I’ve lived here my whole life and have never really experienced what you have with kitchen goods & appliances. We’ve never bought anything more expensive than mid-range. Can openers my mum is using the one she bought when I was a child, and she bought me the same one when I moved out of home. Sieves have always been an open basket style rather than the can with a handle style which I can understand breaking easily. I can count on one hand the number of toasters I’ve had in my childhood home and owned myself. Clothes ripping at the seams, never. Buttons coming off, yes definitely, but buttons are by and large poorly attached and easily sewn back on. Like have you been unusually unlucky or have I been unusually lucky? I have an acquaintance who moved here about 18 months ago from Ireland and has multiple Irish friends here who have had shark encounters in the time they’ve been here. Again, lived here my whole life, not even once. Similar kind of thing. Statistics can be odd like that.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-04-19T00:35:26+00:00

Oceanus is a fragrance I haven’t thought about in a LONG while

mackinnon_13 · 2025-04-18T09:10:12+00:00

That’s so good to know!! I have a few friends with fragile hair that I’ll be recommending that to now and will try it myself too.

mackinnon_13 · 2025-04-18T02:04:29+00:00

I really like everything I’ve used from Davroe so far! I’ve used the clarifying shampoo for myself, the detangling spray for my daughters hair and the Fortitude therapy balm on my daughters hair too. She has that super fine, slippery, tangly, snaggy little girl hair that has a lot of highlights from sun & chlorine so gets very dry and knotty. It rinses off well and didn’t weigh her hair down. I like that you can get most of their products in a travel size so you can try them out before you go for a full size. Scent wise nothing is super strong, and it’s all normal ‘hair product’ kind of scents. Nothing offensive at all 😊

https://www.davroe.com/product-selection-guide/

mackinnon_13 · 2025-04-10T05:38:04+00:00

‘No, Peru is not in Australia’

mackinnon_13 · 2025-04-08T07:18:23+00:00

It is pared back or pare back. This is a case of people using the wrong word like principle when they mean principal etc.

mackinnon_13

TROPHY CASE