NOTD: Glitter

Yes another nail related post!

I seriously love painting my nails at the moment, I have been doing it about 5 times a week!

Sorry for the bad piccies my camera is still missing. Anyway here is what I'm currently wearing

As you can see I did a 'Lorraine' and painted one finger with glitter polish.

I used Maybelline Mini Colorama in bubblegum as the main colour. I have used this colour before & wasn't so keen on the quality and sheerness but this time for some reason it worked for me!

I used this super cheap Ulta3 glitter polish in Confetti. It's pretty rubbish and I ended up doing another coat after I took the snaps. I quite like the colours in it but I had to put so many layers on to get a decent amount of glitter, lucky it only cost $2. 

I have since purchased a few more glitter polishes. I completely blame LorraineStanick for this new obsession. I used to not be a fan of glitter polish and I have to say it took me a while to come around  but now i kind of like it, especially when it's only on one finger.

Have you done a 'Lorraine'?

:)

NOTD - Essie Mint Candy Apple

I'm currently sporting Essie's Mint Candy Apple. It's the start of Spring and as the weather is starting to warm up so I thought it was a perfect colour. 

It's a great greeny blue and i am really impressed with the formula. It was so easy to apply unlike some other Essie polishes i have experienced. A++

What are you currently wearing on your finger tips?

Battle of the Corals

While reorganising my makeup the other day I discovered I have a growing collection of coral blushes. Coral toned blushes are definitely my favourite (obviously!) I just love the flushed natural glow they give.  

So without further ado here are my favs; 

Here are descriptions they give on their websites; 

Mac Stereo Rose - Coral with golden/bronze shimmering nuances

Benefit Coralista - A warm coral cheek powder for a 'tropical flush'

Mac Dainty - Light yellow pink with gold pearl 

Nars Orgasm - Peachy pink with shimmer

 Without Flash: Left to right - Mac Stereo Rose, Benefit Coralista, Mac Dainty, Nars Orgasm

 With flash left to right - Mac Stereo Rose, Mac Dainty, Benefit Coralista, Nars Orgasm  

Ok onto my thoughts;  

♥ Stereo Rose is the bronziest of the 4, I only did a post recently raving about it. It has a bit of  rosey tone to it (hence the name!) and is probably the least corally out of the four. It makes me look really fresh and like lots of the good Mac mineralize skinfinishes gives a beautiful sheen to the skin. 

♥ Coralista is a beautiful peachy coral. It's quite sheer but can be built up to add a bright pop to the cheek. It's great for my NW20ish skin and it smells really good too! I think this will be my summer stable blush.

 ♥ Dainty is the pinkest of the 4 and has a noticeable shimmer in it which you can sort of see in the photo with the flash, but it's not an over the top shimmer. It is quite a pigmented blush too so I have to be careful not to overdo it on my NW20ish skin.

♥ And lucky last is the famous Nars orgasm. You all know about it. It's a great shimmery coral peach blush which looks great on most skin tones. It has a gold shimmer in it which some days I love and other days I'm no so keen on - depends on the day. I'm sure you've heard it all before but I have to agree that it is a great coral pinky blush.

Left to right - Mac Stereo Rose, Benefit Coralista, Mac Dainty, Nars Orgasm 

And the winner is... 

Ugh please don't make me choose between may choose, it's too hard!

They are all gorgeous good quality blushes and as you can see from the swatch above they are all super similar. If I could only have one of these I think I would go with Coralista. It's a tough choice though.

You might think I would have satisfied my coral blush love but I still do have my eye on a few other corally colours. You can never have enough right!?

What is your fav coral blush?

 

NOTD: Polka Dots!

Here is my nail of the day featuring my new Sally Hansen nail art pen as promised. It's nothing outrageous, i don't know if I'm that talented at nail art! I think I will need a bit of practice to progress from polka dots.

 

I used Revlon Lilac Pastelle as the base - which is a great colour. I have been in the hunt for a nice pinky purple and i think i have found it. It applied really nicely too. I don't have much experience with Revlon nail polishes so I will be interested to try Peach Petal to see if it is as great.

I used my new Sally Hansen nail art pen in black for the dots. I'm liking this pen, it's super easy to use and the possibilities are endless. I think i'll have to get one in white too. 

Hope you're having a fantastic weekend :)

Nail Art

Hey lovelies,

I picked this Nail Art pen up the other day and wanted to share it. It's the Sally Hansen nail art pen in black. I know you can achieve pretty much the same with a gel pen but I saw it and thought why not. 

The tips looks a bit thick but you can get a fine line. I'm excited thinking about all the possibilities, i just wish i had a steadier hand!

Here is an ad for the pens which I like. I'm not sure how'd I'd go trying to do those neat sqaures though!

[Source]

This one is black but they had 8 different colours to choose from so I can imagine my collection slowly growing. I have only mucked around with it so far and it seems really easy to use, I thought it might be harder actually.

The only thing drawback is the drying time before putting a top coat on, but I am quite impatient!

I'm just about to go experiment with it so keep an eye out for a NOTD putting this to use coming up very soon I promise :)

Has anyone tried these?

Love love love - Mac Stereo Rose

This bad boy arrived in the mail last week woo hoo!

I was the very lucky winner Pretty as Peaches 125 subscribers giveaway. I know there has been crazy amounts of hype around Stereo Rose and I have to say (reluctantly) I totally get it now. I say reluctantly because of the fact that it is limited edition.

I saw heaps of pictures of it in the past and thought it was pretty but I was not overly keen on running out and buying it mainly because I thought it would be a bit dark for my NW20ish complexion. However after seeing it in person this is really a stand out MSF.

It is absolutely gorgeous. It gives me a beautiful corally warm flush. I use it as a blush and it brightens up my face giving me a great glow. It's unlike any other blush I own with its unique shimmery, peachy, corally, bronzey, rose gold colour.

It has a great consistency - well pigmented, not too shimmery, no chunky glitter and is really finely milled.

As I said I was a tad scared as first seeing it and after seeing how pigmented it was when I swatched it on my hand. I was worried that there was no way I could get it to work for me but luckily I was completely wrong.

You can sort of see in the swatches just how pigmented it is but if i apply it lightly, like the bottom swatch, it looks great. As stupid as it sounds when I first put it on I kept glancing at my reflection to admire my cheeks!

I want to say a huge thank you to Lindsay for having such a great giveaway and making me very happy by giving me this little gem!

I see it is going on ebay for crazy amounts, one was US$119. So with that in mind is there any blush that you splurge on if it became hard to get?

Depotting Fun

Hi everyone,
Hope you're having a great Wednesday.

I finally got around to depotting some Mac eyeshadows which have been sitting around for a while. I was a bit scared of breaking them but i got the hang pretty easily, i think it was a lot easier than depotting blushes actually because they are quite a bit smaller.

Top row: Vellum & All that Glitters

Middle row: Woodwinked & Patina

Bottom row: Satin Taupe & Mulch

My palette is not full yet but I'm slowly getting there. As I have said before I am not a massive eyeshadow wearer so I find that I can make do with the ones I have. Although I do have my eye on quite a few.

Here is the aftermath of my depotting efforts - back to Mac here come! Unfortunately i don't live near a Mac so I'll have to stash them away for next time I'm near one. I found out the other day that you could return empty Mac wipe packets for the Back to Mac program. I never knew that, pretty sure i have thrown them away before! Did anyone else not know this or have i just been really clueless the whole time haha? Oh well it's super handy to know for next time.

Here are some swatches of the shadows I depotted. As you can see I'm obviously a neutrals girl! I don't mind bright eyeshadows just not on me so much, for some reason i feel like i can never really get away with it.

From top to bottom: Mulch, Satin Taupe, Patina, Woodwinked, All That Glitters and Vellum (which is barely showing up)

The reason for finally getting the motivation to depot was getting the four eyeshadow palette in the mail. It's nothing special but it means i don't have to lug around the big 15 palette when I go anywhere which is super handy. I'm going to home to visit my family this weekend so I will get to put it to use. 

My 15 palette is still has a few empty spots so what are you absolute favourite Mac eyeshadows that you recommend I should check out?

:)

DIY: Ombre Nails

Hey pretty ladies :)

I saw this video on the Seventeen magazine website for ombre nails and knew i had to give it a go. 

I can imagine it's a bit hit and miss for some people but I love the look, i think it's fun and I'm liking the ombre trend. So with that said here is my finished version..

This was my first attempt and I could definitely do with some practice! Overall I'm happy though and will probably try it again sometime. There is more variation between the nails than it appears in the photos but I think if i did it again I would probably try to make the nails a bit more different in terms of their shades as there isn't a lot of differences between some of my fingers especially my pinky and ring finger. Oh well lesson learnt.

It was a fairly simple process and here's what I used to get my purple shades.

Orly Bonder, OPI Lincoln Park After Dark, Ulta3 Lily White (which is just a plain white) and Orly Won't Chip. I also used a paper plate, a few toothpicks and a clean nail polish brush. 

Overall the process was relatively easy. Here's what i did;
♥ I started by applying a base coat, i used Orly Bonder
♥ I then started with a coat of plain Lincoln Park After Dark and applied it to my pinky nail
♥ Next I added a drop of white to Lincoln Park After Dark and mixed it with a toothpick on a paper plate and painted my ring finger
♥ I kept adding a bit more white for every new nail until all my fingers were done
♥  I finished off my applying a clear top cop and you're done!

I think Lincoln Park After Dark worked out to be a really good colour to use as it's a dark colour but has a lot of purple in it - i didn't realise how purpley it was until this. Obviously you can you whatever dark shade you like, i think i dark maroon and blue would be great too.

What do you think lovely ladies, love it or leave it?

Thankyou Marie Claire!

This is just a really quick post for all the Australian readers out there. If you don't already know Marie Claire  are giving away an Estee Lauder Pure Color lipgloss with the September issue. I think it's part of their 15th birthday edition. I got mine a little while ago but the issue is still on the shelves so if you want one you better hurry before the October issue hits the shelves. 

 

The magazine is AUD$9.20and the gloss retails for AUD$42 - what a great freebie.

The lipgloss is Pure Colour in number 11 Passion Fruit Shimmer and it's really gorgeous. It's a great coral red shade with a nice fruity smell. I don't really have any other glosses in this shade so I'm very happy :)

 Excuse the other mark on my hand, it's a lipstain that will not come off!

So if you haven't already run out and grab one!

I hope you are all having a wonderful day 

x

Teeny Revlon Haul

Hey girls :)

After lusting after everyone's Revlon Spring/Summer 2010 goodies for months now hey have finally been released in Australia in time for the warmer months ahead. No doubt you have seen them before but I'm excited and wanted to share. 

As you can see I only ended up getting 3 things. I got 2 nail polishes in Lilac Pastelle and Peach Petal and I also picked up a lipgloss in Peach Petal. All the other nail polishes and lipglosses looked really pretty so I'm thinking I might eventually pick some other things up. Maybe the lipgloss in Coral Reef and the nail polish in Gray Suede but we'll see. I haven't tested out the polishes yet but I love the look of the colours.

I haven't really used the lipgloss much yet but from what I can tell so far it seems really nice. As you can see it's a peachy nude that looks nice by itself or over other colours. I love the consistency it's not too sticky but it feels like it won't rub off in 2 minutes. This one retails at AUD$22 (I think) but for all the Aussies girls out there I got mine from Gloss for around AUD$9 so if your after one definitely check Gloss out for a bargain.

Have you tried any of these products? And more importantly do you recommend any of the other products?

Hope you're all having a great day!

:)

Hot Celebs!

Now that uni is back I find myself spending the majority of the time procrastinating on the internet. I thought I'd share this this website which i stumbled across a while ago... 

Hot Celebs Home

Before you wonder why I'm suggesting you check it out, it actually has lots of piccies of celebs in amazing high quality which means you can zoom right in (glad it's them & not me!) and get a really clear look at their makeup! The site does have a lot of pictures that aren't so great for makeup but there are heaps of pics and people to search through.

To show you what I mean here are some pictures I have pinched from the site, click on them to see the fabulous quality. 

So for all those beauty obsessed it's a fantastic site for looking at gorgeous makeup, getting inspiration  and wasting lots of time

:)

Nails of the Day

Essie in Tart Deco (love the name)

Gorgeous orangey coral shade!

The formula was a pain to apply but it's such a lovely shade for the warmer weather which is just around the corner and i wish would hurry up

Have a wonderful day everyone :)

♥

The Second Story

Benefit's Crescent Row second story trio that is. They are the 3 very cute new additions to Benefit's perfume range. The fragrances came out last week and I was lucky enough to get my hands on one at the blogger event a few weeks ago and have been using it ever since.

The 3 new additions are; 
  

Garden of Good & Eva

Lookin' to Rock Rita

So Hooked on Carmella

In usual benefit style they come in very cute packaging each with their own quirky little box. They had the perfumes set up at the blogger event in a cute little stand which was very charming as you can see below.

Photo from Maxted Thomas PR

Blogging about perfume is a funny sort of thing which is actually really hard and I am hopeless at describing scents but will do the best I can! Its top notes are rhubarb, lemon and grapefruit with cyclamen, peony and tiare flower middle notes and vanilla, sandalwood and amber bottom notes. So it's a florally vanillery smell which is sweet but balanced out nicely so it's not over the top. 

The thing that caught my attention (or should i say nose) about Carmella was the fact that it had rhubarb in it. I love rhubarb and love the idea. The scent is really quite unusual and unlike anything i have smelt before. A friend said it reminded her of creaming soda and I can totally see what she means. 
 

Photo from google images

I think this scent is unusual and quite different from other perfumes. I can imagine that it would not be for everyone. I'm not sure if I would buy this perfume again but I am liking it at the moment and will be checking out the others, particularly Lookin' to Rock Rita. I think Carmella needs a next door neighbour!

Obviously you're not going to race out and buy one based on my lousy description but I would recommend you go take a sniff, if nothing else you get to have a peek at the cute display and packaging! 

:) 

Beauty Blogger Event!

Hello hello, 

I was over the moon to be invited by Maxted Thomas PR to beauty bloggers event at Brad Ngata's hair salon in Surry Hills. I took my lovely friend Marianne and had a great day. I somehow managed to forget my camera so i have pinched some from MTPR for your viewing pleasure.

We arrived at the cute salon on Sunday afternoon and were greeted by the happy Maxted Thomas team, name tags, champagne and most importantly masses of makeup everywhere we looked. We were told to head on in and look around the various stations they had set up for each brand so away we went.

Orly - First stop was Orly to get our nails done by the wonderful Orly team. They did their thing - filed, buffed and polished and after much deliberation over what colour (talk about a tough choice - so many gorgeous colours to choose from) i settled on Prince Charming which was a lovely browny taupey colour which was very fitting for winter. Marianne on the other hand went with a bright bubblegum bluey greeney colour called gumdrop which was really cute. I actually don't have much experience with Orly and haven't really seen them around so it was great to have first hand experience with their products. My initial impressions are good - my nail polish wish list has just massively increased!

Getting our nails done :)

Benefit - Next stop was Benefit which was just fab. I love benefit and the benefit girls or benebabes were lovely and so much fun! They gave Marianne and I mini makeovers and did a great job. After the event we were taken to the Benefit Boutique and had our eyebrows waxed and tinted along with false lashes applied. My eyebrows now look amazing - thanks benefit! I think Benefit is a great brand which i really don't have enough of.

Marianne and I (Really should have put the glass out of the snap, oh well at least it was after 12 :P)

Jane Iredale - This is a brand which i was not at all familiar with. They had makeup artists set up doing mini makeovers and makeup demonstrations with lots of their  products on display. Having not heard of them it was nice to have a play with their products. The makeup artist was telling me that they only sell in salons and plastic surgeons offices which makes sense as to why i have not seen them. They are a mineral makeup brand and i love the concept of no harsh chemicals on the skin at the same time as doing a great job of covering roscaea and other skin problems.

Trilogy - I was so exited that trilogy was there. I jumped on the rosehip oil bandwagon about 2 months ago and have been using their rosehip oil religiously since. Seeing as i have been focussed on the rosehip oil i had overlooked their other products. They have a wide range of products from mens to anti aging to sensitive so no one misses out.

 

Nivea - We were welcomed by the nivea team and given a quiz to determine which product was best for us which was a bit of fun. We then listened to a talk by Nivea representatives who actyally gave a really interesting talk. There was a lot of focus on the Q-10 range and a new exciting product coming out soon which i will have to post about. Where would i be in winter without their moisturiser!

Getting the Nivea spiel

Brad Ngata - He was at the salon working his magic on lots of the girls. Can that guy use a GHD, talk about jealous, if only i could do that. One day when i'm not a poor uni student this is where i'm heading!

It was a fantastic day and i would like to thank everyone at MaxtedThomasPR for organising it. Everyone was so lovely and it's great that they have acknowledged the role of beauty bloggers :)

NOTD Red

Hello everyone, 

Here's a quick nail of the day. 

I'm back at uni and have been sick all week (hence the lack of blog posts) so i decided a pop of red would brighten my day.

  

This is Haute Red courtesy of Orly. I'm not normally a red nail polish fan but i really like this colour, it's not too dark and adds a bit of oomph to my amazingly drab winter wardrobe. The colour is a bit darker in real life than what it looks in the snap but you get the idea. I still can't find my camera so to make up for the poor quality photos I pinched this swatch from the Orly website.

This is my first Orly polish and i must say i am impressed. It applied like a dream and i only had to apply one coat which never happens with other brands! One of the things i love the most is the bottle and the lid. It has more grip than brands like OPI which means it's easier to open and nice to hold. 

Anyway my first experience with Orly gets a big thumbs up, i will have to hunt down some more. Exciting post on the Beauty blogger coming soon!

 

 :)