There's something about the beauty products that are hard to find but worth the effort. Naturally living in Sephora and Boots-less New Zealand this can be the case a lot of the time but it definitely does make the find all the more satisfying.

Here's a few of the harder to find gems that I've added to the stash recently..

Benefit World Famous Neutrals Palette in Most Easiest Nudes Ever *Someone bought this back for me from Australia. Firstly this palette wins for its gorgeous design and packaging. It is compact, lightweight and resembles a vintage book. Each of these kits contain six eyeshadows, two creaseless creams and four longwear powder shadows. In Most Easiest Nudes Ever you'll find the cream shadows; rsvp and no pressure. These are both super creamy in formulation. When applied with a flat shadow blush they glide on like silk. The other four shades in this palette are; call my buff (pale gold with shimmer), thanks a latte (golden brown with shimmer), pinky swear (soft matte pink) and quick, look busy (matte espresso).  I love the colours in the palette in particular the creaseless cream shadows as they are such gorgeous colours by themselves and they last really well. This would be a great palette for eyeshadow beginners or anyone on the go who wants to create simple but effective eye looks.

Well April, you have been awesome and awfully fast! Maybe it was the never ending stream of deadlines this month but I swear it feels like it was just last week I was making Creme Egg hot chocolates.

Here's a little look at what my Instagram (@nanawintour) captured this month. Apologies for the collaged pictures. Emailing them from my phone was easier this way than sending them all one by one.

1. Rainy nights indoors watching movies, drinking hot chocolate and reading blog posts equal my perfect Wednesday night this week.

2. This article about The Circus of Fashion makes for some interesting reading. Street Style photography at local fashion weeks is nowhere near what it is like overseas so it was interesting to learn about the spectacle that is. It also raises some interesting questions about the evolution of bloggers and our increasing accessibility as outsiders to fashion week.

3. Listening to songs from the Singstar games with friends and still knowing all the words. We're quite good at memorising lyrics, just don't ask about our Call of Duty skills.

4. Product of the week #1: YSL Rouge Volupte Shine lipsticks. Anything matte just seems to not mesh well with my lips and these are about as far from matte as a lipstick formula can get. The colours are sheerer than opaque lipsticks-perfect for everyday, they're creamy and last pretty well. I've had one of these in my bag at all times this week.

When word of a new Mac collection reaches my ears, usually thanks to my friend M, I drop everything and start searching for all the buzz, and sometimes make a mental note to keep an eye out for bits and pieces as they land in store. Well the lovely folk at Mac have some new collections hitting counters soon and they are rather gorgeous if I do say so myself.

First up we have the Baking Beauties collection inspired by cupcakes and other sweet treats. Face powders that look delicious enough to eat, soft and tempting lip colours and the highly sought after Lustre-Drops all make an appearance. The powders are stunning as are the pigments and the pastel hued lipsticks. With names like Raspberry Swirl and Cheery Cherry the people who go weak at the knees for all things sweet and beauty-ful (pardon, the bad pun) are bound to be tempted.