NOTD Spring fling

After being so impressed with my freebie Ulta3 polish i picked up three more Spring fling being one of them

 

Spring fling is a beautiful pastel peach and i am loving it. I have been looking for a great peach and i think i might have found it for only $2!

The application was a bit tricky and it took a while to dry but overall i'm really pleased

I noticed 2 other colours by Ulta3 which came out in this spring range which look really pretty; spring blossom a pastel yellow and natural spring a cute light pink. As they are last season i hope i can pick them up somewhere.

Would love to know what you're currently wearing on your nails :)

The home of procrastination

Not really makeup related but as I am bogged down with uni work I find myself discovering and spending way too much time on weird and wonderful websites which help me procrastinate. This one is very amusing, if you have not already checked it out then I think you should and we can all sit here in laughing in disbelief together.

http://ugliesttattoos.com

This one is a personal fave

Let me know how it goes!

Colour crafted dupe?

I missed out on MAC colour crafted lipstick as i was on holidays in Samoa at the time (no lipstick in sight!) and ever since i have wanted to get my hands on one. I came across this on Laura's (lollipop26) blog in my search for a dupe. She said that NYX Acapulco was pretty much a dupe for colour crafted, so i ordered one!

The lipstick is okay but i haven't been overly impressed. It's from the black label range so it comes in a cute little black container with a lace pattern printed on it. It also has a clear section in the bottom to see the colour which is handy when trying to find the item in your makeup bag. It smells exactly like grape hubba bubba bubble gum which i love but is a bit of a weird smell for a lippy - it's like being 8 again!

The colour is great, it's a sweet sort of girly pink. It has great pigmentation for a cheapy lipstick and can be worn sheerly or packed on for a brighter colour.

Acapulco applies easily and smoothly but my one major gripe is that it does not last. The texture is so creamy that it will not stay put! This means it is not drying which is great as i suffer from really dry lips but that's useless if it doesn't last.

I will not be repurchasing this lipstick and will probably not use it that often as I can be really lazy at touching up :)

So the search continues for the perfect pink! Anyone have any suggestions?

x

Finally the storm is here

Check this out!

This arrived in my mail box the other day and if you couldn't tell already i am super excited! Yes it is the much hyped Sleek storm palette. This might not be that exciting to some but as i live in Australia this baby was hard to get my hands on.

With Flash

I know there are heaps of reviews out there on the palette so I am going to keep it short and sweet. 

It contains 12 great colours which i know i will get a lot of use out of. I have only recently gotten really into eyeshadow (lets just say I am still in the process of perfecting the art) which is why this palette is great for me as i can experiment with lots of different colours without having to buy them individually. It only cost me $18.95 from crushcosmetics,what a steal!

Without flash

Without flash

With flash

I have only played with it a few times as i have not really had the need to wear eyeshadow anywhere of late because i have been stuck at my computer swamped down with uni work but from what i can tell the colours seem smooth and highly pigmented. All the colours in this palette are so pretty there are none that i don't really like. One problem i have noticed is with some there is quite a bit of fall out but I can't really complain for the price!! Another great thing about it is its size. It is really small and slim which is handy if i want to chuck it in my bag. Judging from this one I'm thinking i will have to expand my sleek palette collection.

I will keep you updated on how i go with it

x

Good work nivea!

 

 Haha ... can anyone tell me what's slightly wrong with this bottle???

The Body Shop Facial Buffer

I am such a sucker. As soon as I saw the review for The Body Shop Facial Buffer Holly did over at The Yummy Mummy's Beauty Blog I knew I had to get in on the action. So I went to The Body Shop and bought my own. For $3.95 there was nothing to lose.

So here it is

Holly said that since using the buffer her skin has been transformed and people have been commented on how clean and clear her skin looks. Sounds great to me.

The website says it is a gentle exfoliating sponge that polishes your skin, whilst cleansing it to leave it looking refreshed and radiant. It removes dead skin cells and unclogs the pores leaving the skin soft and smooth.

 Up close and personal so you can see the texture

I have only used the facial buffer once but so far it seems good. After using it my skin felt softer and smoother and I can see a slight difference in the texture of my skin. The nylon which it is made out of is quite textured and i barely needed to use any pressure. Despite the website saying it could be used daily I don't think I would want to. I think if i were to overdo it my skin would become red and irritated.

If my first use is anything to go by this product gets the tick of approval and I don't have to think about repurchasing for a long time, brilliant!

Awards :)

I am thrilled that i have been nominated for two blog awards :)

 

I was nominated for an award by the lovely Marie at http://allthingsmarie.blogspot.com/. You should go check out her blog! Thankyou Marie!

I was also tagged by the lovely Kate at http://www.kateex.blogspot.com/. Her posts are lovely, check her out too! Thanks Kate!

These tags do come with questions but i am on the fly today so don't have enough time to do them, sorry

Thanks again girls

I tag anyone who wants to do either of these tags, just check out the questions at either Marie's or Kate's blogs

Saturday Saturday!

Here is a peek at what my night will entail

Rather than doing anything exciting on a Saturday night this is what I plan to do and I am actually really looking forward to it!. I've had the Rae Morris book for ages but i have never really sat down and read it properly so tonight is the night, she is amazing. I also have to start thinking about applying for graduate jobs eeek. Might also paint my nails, dye my hair, play Super Mario Bros (geeky I know!) and fulfill my marshmallow craving. Should be fun.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Lips lips lips!

I have had this picture on my computer for ages and felt inspired tonight. This look was on the catwalk mid last year and I’ve been itching to try it ever since. The look for the Emanuel Engaro show and I think it’s cute.

This is my version of two toned lips. I highly doubt I would ever wear this look out in public but it was fun to try. The maintenance alone would be too much to handle if I went out, even when I was mucking around at home the colours kept mixing together which would be so frustrating to keep touching up!

So what does everyone think about two-toned lips. Do you even like them? Would you ever wear them out in public? I would love to hear your opinions!

NOTD

A few weeks ago I purchased a few things from crushcosmetics.com.au. When the package arrived they had included this nail polish as a free gift. This is the first time I used it & so far I am really impressed. It applied so easily & smoothly & dried really quickly so no smudges! 3 days on I am yet to get any chipping which is really good for me!

The colour is a light blue called Spring Shower & I quite like it. I was looking for a light blue polish before I got this one so they must have read my mind. In the picture I only have on one coat & didn’t need to apply a second.

I did a little research on the brand Ulta3 as had never heard of them before & was so impressed with this polish. They are an Australian brand & the nail polishes cost only $2 each. They seem to come in a wide variety of colours – fluoros, chromes, metallics, pastels, you name it. I will definitely be hunting down some more of these. For $2 a pop I can’t complain!
 

More Ulta3 nail polishes without a doubt coming soon :)

Current Five Favourite Blushes

These are my current five favourite blushes. They are likely to change soon as I have my eye on a few, but at the moment these are the ones I am loving!

Here they are; 

• MAC Pink Swoon: A favourite of many, the trusty Pink Swoon. A gorgeous light pink with no shimmer. It goes on smoothly, blends well & looks good with any makeup look. Pale or sunkissed (which is rare occurance for me!) this blush will suit my skin whichever.

• MAC Peaches: It took me so long to get my hands on this blush, it was sold out online in at four different MAC counters. I’m glad I finally tracked it down. I loved the idea of true peach, but wasn't sure if it would work on my complexion... I'm so glad it does! One coat gives my cheeks a soft glow, it is buildable so if I want it to show up more I can layer it. 

• MAC Tenderling: I originally bought this online for contouring but when it arrived I found it to be lighter than I thought. Luckily it has turned into one of my favourite blushes. In the pan it looks quite plain & boring (& the photo doesn’t help) but once applied it adds a nice colour to my face. It’s a great everyday blush & I find myself reaching for it when I’m in a hurry or can’t be bothered to find anything else. Being a sheertone formula it has no shimmer or glitter which I like for uni.

• NARS Orgasm: This is probably my most worn blush (along with ALOT of other people!) But it really is great. I’m sure you have all heard it before but it’s a beautiful pinky coral with shimmer that brightens my face. Often I don’t feel like wearing pinks & when that is the case corals are perfect. 

• Revlon Matte Powder Blush Perfectly Peach: This is a fairly new purchase. Being back at uni I am watching my pennies again & I managed to get this on special. The colour of the blush is really pretty. I love the peachy pink colour. It is quite a natural everyday blush that doesn’t have any shimmer (that probably went without saying considering the name!) which i like for uni. It is quite light so i don’t think it would be great for those who don't have lighter skin tones. 

Here is a swatch of all of them (in the same order) except Revlon perfectly peach, I ran out of fingers! If anyone would like a swatch of it just let me know.

What blushes are you currently loving?

x

No I am not sick!

I was a uni last week and a girl who i was sitting next too in class asked if i was sick and pointed to my nails. I realised she was referring to my yellow tinged nails which happened from wearing Barry M nail paint in mint green the week before haha. The nail paint had stained them a terrible yellow colour which i must admit was quite gross and i should have painted over. I guess that's what happens when I'm too lazy to apply a base coat.

I have never had a nail polish stain my nails before this Barry M one. I had a look around on some other blogs and read a few reviews that said they stain, I must have never noticed them before. Has this happened to anyone before?

I don't know if you can tell that well in this picture but this is what my nails look like.

Note to self: Next time apply a base coat!

Ins and Outs

Outs

• The current cold snap. Autumn has only just begun in Australia yet today is freezing. I'm not ready for winter yet :(

• Being back at uni. I really enjoy my course but looking at all the assessments I have due over the session is depressing. Goodbye social life.

• My skin. It has been so oily lately and I have no idea why. It’s super frustrating. So I have decided to start a whole new skincare regime, fingers crossed that I can banish the shine!

• My car sounding sick. I took it to the mechanic today so hopefully it’s nothing major. I don't want to fork out a small fortune on it when I have much better things to spend my money on (hello makeup!). 

On a more positive note the Ins

• Dark chocolate. I have been loving dark chocolate lately, maybe even a little too much. Hmmm perhaps I should start exercising.

• Winning trivia. Well we didn’t win overall but we won a challenge. Hoorah for a slab of beer and a meat tray. The question was how many stars in the Paramount logo. We guessed 18 and the other team guessed 17. The answer was 22 ohhh yeah.

• Finding a stockist of Barry M in Australia. This is not that exciting for those in the UK but living in Australia I am over the moon. I found out that Glover Pharmacy on Pitt St in Sydney is now selling Barry M. Finally i can join in on the Barry M action! I have not been there yet but am going to hit it when I have more money. I am so excited. I would love to hear suggestions as to what I should keep an eye out for..

Oh Lady Gaga

So I was sitting around tonight lamenting the fact that I missed out on Lady Gaga tickets and there is no way I am going to pay $500 for 2 on eBay. It’s not that I’m a crazy Gaga fan, I don’t even like her THAT much I just think it would fun.




Therefore with Lady Gaga on my mind I decided I would give the whole hair bow a shot. I watched this tutorial on youtube ages so i used it as a guide but mainly just did my own thing. If anyone is feeling particularly adventurous or just bored check it out here. I think if I did ever want to wear one outside the house (which I cannot imagine happening anytime soon) I would just buy one.


Anyway here is my shonky attempt. Unfortunately my hair is too short for it to be amazing oh that and the fact I am hopeless at doing hair but I amused myself nonetheless!


xx

NARS Albatross

This review was requested by cupcakes of silk, check her out here. I know there are heaps of reviews out there but here is my two cents worth!

Here is my Nars Albatross which as you can see has definitely seen better days. I have managed to drop this baby on the bathroom tiles not once but twice :( On the up side at least it didn't completely shatter.


Without flash


With flash

Albatross is a pale golden white. At first glance albatross looks quite white but when swatched it definitely appears more golden. The shimmer is superduper fine and not glittery or chunky. As it's so finely milled it goes on smoothly and doesn’t emphasise my pores, which is a winner!

I do really like albatross but think sometimes it appears a little too gold on my pale complexion. I vary between a NW15 to NW20 so I have to be sure to blend blend blend! Sometimes i wear albatross in the corner of my eyes but have to be careful as it has a tendency to settle in the fine lines under my eyes. Having said that I adore this product and the subtle effect it gives, it makes my skin look glowy and not greasy.



It is expensive but you get so much it will definitely last forever. If you've got the cash to spend I think it is worth the cost.

On the topic of highlighters I am currently on the hunt for a new liquid or cream highlighter. I'm tossing up between MAC cream colour base in Pearl, Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl, The Body Shop Radiant highlighter or Benefits High Beam. Ahhhh so many to choose from! Does anyone use any of these products or use others they think I should check out?

Fortune Cookie

This was inside my fortune cookie today, eeeeek!


xx

Products I am using right now

I found this on someones blog (can't remember whose it was sorry) and i thought it looked like fun

Shampoo & Conditioner: Herbal Essence long term relationship – the one in the red bottles

Shower Gel: Dove Body Wash

Deodorant: A lady stick in Orchard bloom. I bought it the other day because it was on special. Still not quite sure what to make of my armpits smelling likes apples!

Fake Tan: I have been using Johnson’s Holiday lotion but am starting to get sick of the smell

Skincare: Cetaphil cleanser and moisturiser and Lush tea tree toner but I am thinking I will mix up my skincare routine because my skin has been pretty horrible of late.

Foundation: MAC Face and Body

Foundation brush: My Sigma 109

Concealer: MAC Select Cover-up

Finish Powder: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural

Blusher: MAC Pink swoon

Bronzer: Nars Laguna

Highlighter: Nars Albatross

Eyeshadows: My brand spanking new Sleek Storm palette which I am sooo excited about :)

Eyeliner: A brown body shop one

Curler: A cheap Revlon one

Mascara: Rimmel sexy curves in black

Lipstick: MAC crème cup

Lipgloss: Barry M lipgloss in Toffee

Nail Colour: China Glaze V