A Rogue At The Rave – Australis Neon Crush Collection Green Eyeshadow and Coral Blush!

Greetings from the darkest corner of an already darkened room, fellow rogues!

You know how some days, everything just goes wrong? It’s raining while you hike to the dungeon, the paladin whinges the whole way about his armor getting rusty, you arrive to find that some other adventuring party got there first, you step in some sort of eldritch mushroom patch and your foot switches backwards for three hours until the wizard can figure it out, etc, etc? Well I had one of those days recently.

I was just dragging myself home, however, limping a little, when I was dazzled by a new and electrically coloured display of makeup in a nearby apothecary! Intrigued, I sidled over. The  brand was Australis, and the collection was called ‘Neon Crush’… I was just about to take a look, when Susie the Rockbard trampled me down in her excitement to get to the loot (she likes brightly coloured things for the stage, you know). When the dust cleared, she presented me with an eyeshadow compact and a blush, saying ‘You need these. Also, did I mention that they’re only TEN GOLD EACH?!?’

 

When there are bright colours in the offing, you can bet Susie will be there. At the front of the queue. With suspiciously trampled looking people behind her…

 

The items are helpfully labelled with their purpose (convenient for blogging actually), and each has a…somewhat twee name that relates to the slang obviously used by young and hip people all the time, didn’t you know? The collection includes a blush compact, a bronzer compact, a few neon polishes, three or four bright lip pencils and four eyeshadow duos (green, blue, pink and purple). I know what you’re thinking – ‘Syl, what the – no blue or purple eyeshadow? What is wrong with you?!’ – but there is a simple explanation: the blue and green duos are incredibly pigmented and amazing, the purple and pink duos less so. The blue duo was a glorious sort of turquoise/teal blue theme…but I already have MANY eyeshadows in that shade range from Urban Decay. Thus: I opted for the unusual, and went green…

 

Back of the packaging: light on ingredient and mass info, heavy on leaping bunnies and rather naff shade names 😀

 

Right:

Australis Neon Crush Eyeshadow Duo in OMG (‘Oh My Gosh, Just Shut Up And Kiss Me’): I know, it’s OK. Although at least that is something a rogue might say to her wizard, when he’s busy expounding on some arcane theory of stuff, and she just wants a kiss. The shades are a shimmery spring leaf green, and a shimmery forest/pine green. They are pigmented as all getout – seriously, I have Urban Decay shades that don’t give this kind of payoff. The shimmer is there, but it’s not really frosty or metallic – it’s actually quite elegant and satiny. Blending is easy, and the colour stays put for as long as I ever need it to. Stand by for a look with this duo! I just…$10, you know? We DO NOT GET (usually) quality like this for that price here. Just doesn’t happen. Consider me impressed!

 

Australis Neon Crush Eyeshadow Duo in OMG. Note embossing….OMG! Like, wow. OMG. Sorry… 😛

 

Australis Neon Crush Eyeshadow Duo in OMG. Three different lights to show as many aspects of it as possible!

 

Australis Neon Crush Blush Duo in LYLAS (Love Ya Like A Sister Because I’m The Best Version of Me When I’m With You)  Ye Gods, what a name. Still I guess it’s true for me and Ooly, so there you go 😀 Anyway, there are two blushes here: one is a sparkly peachy pink (I suspect it’s supposed to be in that NARS Orgasm line, but I don’t own that blush, so your mileage on that comparison may vary!), and the other is a matte, deep plum pink.

Can I just take a moment here to make a comment on photography? Thanks 😀 So, I take all my photos in natural daylight (because I have zero decent lighting equipment in my rogue’s hideout), and this poses a few challenges. When I was photographing this one blush pan, I got about three different colour schemes in my photos:

 

I…the picture says it all, really. 😛

 

OK, so: remember how I said the matte side was a plum pink? Well, when it swatches out, it actually becomes a deep peachy rose! These blushes are soft and smooth, although the matte side has a texture I’d describe as closer to Tarte’s formula (sort of harder and waxier feeling, but you still get colour), and is a tiny bit patchier/harder to blend than its sparkly sister. On the (rogue’s favourite) subject of sparkle, the shimmery half of this duo is actually a lot less aggressive than you might think – on the skin, it comes out as a softly shimmering satin, with very, very tiny particles of soft gold sparkle. No chunkiness, or ostentation. I think this might be another one for Jaa’s adult shimmer category! And for $10 from Australis, that’s very impressive.

 

LYLAS Blush, on a pale rogue’s forearm. Note how soft and pretty the sparkle in the ‘Orgasm’ side is! (never thought I’d use that phrase…). Click to zoom in on this image a bit for more detail!

 

So, what do you think of these latest offerings from the temple of Australis? I definitely think they’re a winner, and with peach and green being such a lovely combo, y’all can stay tuned for a look with these new shinies! No, they might not precisely be *neon*, but the rest of the collection has some true electric shades in it (especially the polishes). Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to that dungeon rave…

 

The Verdict: Pigmented, beautifully coloured eyeshadow duos for $10? Enormous quantities of two pretty blushes for $10? A whole range of other stuff for just $10 apiece? Here in Middle Earth, this sort of thing just doesn’t usually happen, so if you’re interested, I highly suggest you drag the party down to your nearest Australis stand and get swatching! Just follow a bard. They’ll know the way.

The Practicalities: The Australis Neon Crush range items cost NZD $10 (AUD 8.99, I believe?) each for masses not actually specified onthe packaging, and are available from drugstores and pharmacies here in the antipodes (AUS, NZ) as well as Farmers in NZ.

 

Until next time, fellow rogues, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

 

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images on this blog are the property of Syl unless otherwise noted. They may not be reproduced without permission – if you do, I’ll send goblin hordes after you. Plague-ridden ones.