Want clean & soft brushes?

I cannot begin to tell you how desperately my brushes were in need of a good deep clean. So I finally got around to it today after procrastinating for ages and had forgotten how nice clean makeup brushes were :P

I had run out of my old baby shampoo so ducked down to the shops and bought this Johnson's baby conditioning shampoo and I'm impressed.

I dampened each brush under warm water, put a pea sized amount of the shampoo in the palm of my hand, lathered it up and rinsed a repeated a few times until the brushes were non foamy and the water ran clear.

This shampoo has made my brushes feel amazingly soft and clean. It is the best brush cleaner I have used so far. It got rid of all the colour and marks really easily and made them feel really lovely.

It's been ages since my brushes have looked and felt so nice, new and clean. I just want to keep touching them. The thought of dirtying them is just too much!

Will be sticking to this brush cleaner for a while. 

What do you use to clean your brushes?

Blush Crush

k.
I am a blush addict so I thought I would share my latest blush crush: Mac's Well Dressed.

I think Well dressed in an amazing colour. For some reason I often overlook it but have been loving it the last few weeks. On my light skinned complexion it's perfect. It's a light baby pink with a slight hint of shimmer. After one application it's really light which is nice and subtle for the daytime but it can be built up to add a nice pop of pink.

Well dressed is amazing for those fair skinned ladies so if you’re pale go ahead and try it!

:)

7 Random Facts

Hey everyone,

I was awarded a versatile blogger award by the gorgeous Mary from fashionfrommary (go check her out!). Thanks Mary!

So here are my 7 random facts; 

1. I have an obsession with leopard print. Despite how tacky it is I love it!

2. I am a serial hair dyer. I am never content my hair colour and am already planning my next colour a few days after dying it. In a short space of time I have been red, black (yuck), dark brown, light bright ombre and now blondish. Hoping to go even lighter when I save up some more pennies :)

3. In a month I'm moving to Melbourne which is about 9 hours from where I currently am. I'm scared & excited all at once! 

4. I like to make my own jewellery. I don't claim it's any good but it's fun and I like the satisfaction.

5. One of my favourite foods ever is vegemite. I eat it most days & can't get enough. I guess it figures as I am Australian.

6. As of 2 months ago I am the proud owner of a communications degree with a double major in Advertising/Marekting & Film Studies!

7. I LOVE baking. Anything from cakes, slices, muffins and patty cakes. I find it really fun & relaxing. Here is my latest creation. They were simply made with mini oreos and mini M&M's, yum.

 

I tag whoever wants to do it. So here are the rules;
1. Thank the person who awarded you the award and link them in the post!
2. Tell everyone seven random facts about yourself.
3. Pass the award to seven other lovely bloggers.  :)
4. Contact each blogger and let them know you have passed this award onto them.

 Let me know of you do, it's fun and I love seeing the random facts that everyone comes up with.

x

Glow glow glow

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Hi,

I'm back with a long overdue product review/rave. I bought this for myself about 4 months ago in my last ever week at university. I really shouldn't have lashed out but had lusting after it for so long I decided to treat myself and it was worth every penny. It's the much raved about Dior Amber Diamond shimmer powder and it is amazing!

  

I love this product! I have tried a range of different highlighters and this is one of my all time favs. It gives the most gorgeous natural glowing sheen and makes me look so radiant. It is the priciest of all highlighters I have tried but it is totally worth it and it comes in a super cute velvet case.

The powder has a soft texture with no weird glitter and it  blends into the skin with ease and lasts really well. I use it to highlight my cheekbones, cupids bow and occasionally my tear ducts. Amber Diamond gives the the "glow" in all right places.

Honestly I could keep raving about this product but I'm sure you get the idea. Outstanding! If you have been wanting it I would cave and get it, it's beautiful (and will last your forever) 

x

NOTD: Leopard Print Love

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Hello beautiful ladies.

I bought these leopard print nail stickers from Diva a while back and have been itching to wear them since. I was going out on the weekend for birthday drinks & realised that my outfit was mainly black so it was the perfect opportunity to pull them out and put them on.

They are really thin stickers which you just pull off the sheet and apply the right sized one to each nail. I have used different brands of nail stickers before and in comparison these were rubbish. They were tricky to not rip, cracked when I applied them and didn't stick well BUT they looked cute!

Leopard print and studs - I'm happy!

As you can see they looked alright from a distance but up close they are not too neat, no prizes for me. Overall I love the look, they are delightfully tacky! I would not buy this brand again but I will be hunting down some other leopard print nail stickers. They are a cute change from block colour and instantly add some fun to otherwise dull outfits.

Hope everyone had a fab weekend!

Something's Fishy

 

I keep seeing fish tail plaits popping up everywhere lately so here is my novice attempt. When I was a junior in High School I did them every so often but had not attempted one for years until today. Hair is not really my domain so I think I need lots more practice to perfect it, it just looks like I'm going for the "messy look" when in reality I am hopeless at doing my hair!

 I think a fish tail plait may come in very handy for bad hair days, which for me is often!

What do you think?

 

MAC Pink Nouveau dupe

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Good Morning :)

After wearing Mac Pink Nouveau lipstick the other night (you can check it out here) I realised that I owned another lippie which was really similar. That would be Revlon's matte lipstick in Stormy Pink. 

Both lipsticks are bright pinks with similar undertones. Stormy Pink is not as vivid in colour as Pink Nouveau and is definitely not as pigmented but you can build up the intensity.

Here is the swatch..

Left - Revlon Stormy Pink, Right - Mac Pink Nouveau 

Although they have slightly different finishes - Pink Nouveau is a satin finish and Stormy Pink is matte, they are not worlds apart as satin lipsticks have a semi-matte finish. Stormy Pink definitely deserves an A in duping, what do you think?

I prefer Pink Nouveau as it's a bit more intense and not as drying as the Revlon matte lipsticks but If you want a cheap alternative for Pink Nouveau or maybe are not sure as to whether or not Pink Nouveau is the colour for you I recommend you check out Stormy Pink.

 Much love,

Imogen

Imogen turns 22

Hi gorgeous girlies, 

It’s my birthday today! Gosh I’m feeling old, I’m turning 22 and although that sounds like I’m an adult I feel far from it! Lucky I have this blog where I can talk about whatever nonsense and all that jazz :P

It’s pretty uneventful today as it’s a Wednesday, which is a lousy day for a birthday if you ask me, but there will be plenty of celebrating over the next few days for sure. Apart from eating cupcakes I have done very little so here is a photo that pretty much sums up my day so far;

 And because I can here is a snap of some of my birthday loot so far. I am feeling very spoilt, smell lovely and will soon have beautiful gold nails (thankfully my sister understands my obsession with nail polish, thanks Beth!)

p.s I jumped on the formspring bandwagon. Ask me anything at www.formspring.com/imogenloves or find it over somewhere to the right ->

Much love, 

Imogen

Orly Mini Mania

 ..

Happy Monday everyone :)

I'm going through a massive mini nail polish phase. I am a fan of Orly polishes anyway but can't get enough of these mini bottles. I'm such a sucker the teeny cute bottles!

I think mini nail polishes are a great idea; they don't dry up, are super affordable, take up less space and I don't feel guilty about adding to my collection! I don't know about you but it's really rare that I actually finish a nail polish. I am always wanting to try new colours and have only ever really finished few bottles of my all time favourite colours.

Life's a peach, Orange Sorbet, Holla, Lola, Haute Red, Ruby & Chocolate Martini 

I picked these up at a few different shop over the past few weeks and they were ridiculously cheap. I have only worn Life's a peach so far and loved it. Think i will definitely be picking up more of these babies.

Do you like the idea of smaller bottles?

Step by step NOTD

Hello lovely readers, 

This post was completely inspired by the gorgeous Saskia the Style Fairy. She did a post the other day showing her nails she got done at WAH Nails and I fell in love. I can't get enough of WAH Nails so thought I would give it a go at trying to recreate her fantastic nails. 

It's just a black matte nail with glossy black dots. It's not a brilliant job but i had fun doing it! 

If you're interested in how I did my (somewhat shonky) version keep reading...

All i used was a black nail polish, a matte top coat and a black nail art pen

I started off by applying the plain black polish. 

After that dried I applied one coat of the Rimmel Matte finish top coat. This is a new purchase and the first time I used it. It's pretty cool. Easy to apply and dried really quickly. Going to have fun with this product, especially in winter!

I then used my black nail art pen to draw on small dots. Alternatively you could use a clear top coat or polish (which would probably be easier) but I didn't have a paint brush to paint on small enough even dots so I just used the pen. 

Wait for it to dry and that is it. Super easy and pretty nice if you ask me :)

xx

First FOTD eek

Here is my first FOTD feat. the gorgeous Mac Pink Nouveau lippie.

The photo has washed the colour out a bit but in real life the lips are much bolder. A perfect way to add some colour to my black and white outfit. Ignore my brows they are in a world of their own!

 

Face

Revlon Photoready foundation

Bobbi Brown creamy concealer

Laura Mercier Loose setting powder on my t-zone

Cheeks 

Nars Laguana Bronzer

Mac blush in Dollymix and Pink swoon on the apples

Mac Pearl cream colour base along the cheekbone

Eyes

Mac Painterly Paint Pot

Mac naked lunch all over the lid

Mac all that glitters in the outer corner and along the lower lashline

Mac Nylon in the inner corner

Mac liner in Coffee

Covergirl Lashblast volume mascara

Benefit Speed brow

Lips

Mac lipstick in Pink Nouveau

Here is a better pic of what pink nouveau really looks like

and finally the aftermath!

xx

Current LOVES

This could almost be a February favourites but I'm too impatient so here are my current favs :)

Laura Mercier Mineral Powder; 

I purchased this stuff before I went to Thailand as I knew I wouldn't want to be packing on the liquid foundation but would want some coverage at times. I also bought it because it has SPF15+ and I ADORE it! It has pretty much become my staple foundation since I got back and I don't know how I lived without it. As it's been summer I haven't really been bothered with putting on much makeup so this stuff is brilliant to quickly apply for a bit of coverage. It applies easily, is not cakey and provides a nice natural finish. Will definitely repurchase this when mine runs out!

Batiste dry shampoo in Blush; 

Total life-saver. I have been so lazy with washing my hair lately so this stuff has been majorly helpful in streeeeeching my washes out. I recently lightened my hair and I feel I can get away with using it a bit more now as it doesn't make my hair look to dull like it can with darker hair colours.

Revlon Photoready Foundation;

I finally jumped in the photoready bandwagon and I'm liking it. I like that it's not to dewy but it's not too matte. Full review to come..

Maxfactor false lash effect mascara;

Bought this stuff a while ago after seeing Pixi2woo talk about. Great mascara! It doesn't clump and gives great volume, nice curl and a bit of length, not sure about the false lase effect though :) I thought i lost it and was so disappointed but found it and have been using it everyday since. I did find when I first used the mascara it was quite wet so i would have to wait ages for it to dry so it didn't smudge but now i've had it a little while I find it's a much better consistency.

Benefit Speed brow;
My eyebrows are pretty bad at the moment and I haven't got around to getting them done again so this stuff is great at keeping them tame until I make it back to the Benefit brow bar for them to work their magic. It doesn't add much colour at all but as I dyed my hair blonde recently it works really well for me at the moment.

Becca Beach tint in Peach;
This is my new best friend. I absolutely love Becca products and finally got around to buying this.  You only need a pinsized amount and it provides a gorgeous healthy glow. I'm a sucker for anything peachy or corally so this is totally up my alley. The finish is great too; not too dewy and seems to stay put most of the day. It is ridiculously overpriced for a teeny tube but i do like it and it's especially perfect for this time of year.

What have you been loving lately?

Fresh start

This is my afternoon - a polish change and a trashy magazine yay! I just bought the Rimmel matte topcoat and am itching to try it so expect a matte NOTD v. soon! Has anyone tried it yet?

xx

Stoned Love

I spent a lazy hour on Etsy looking for new rings and handmade jewels until I laid my eyes on these little numbers (or should i say big numbers!). I think they are gorgeous.

This seller has beautiful jewellery items and I definitely recommend you check her out here if you're interested. Think one might be headed my way in the near future.

Hope everyone is having a brilliant Tuesday

x

NOTD: Midnight Affair

Hi everyone!

Here is a quick NOTD. It's Revlon's Midnight Affair. After being impressed with a few Revlon polishes, particularly lilac pastelle and tropical temptation, i thought I would expand my Revlon collection this being one of the latest. 

It's a nice dark blue shade which I like but don't love. In most light I find it appears basically  black. However when it is in the right light it does look like a really gorgeous shiny dark blue. It is a nice dark polish and a welcome change from black.

It's not shimmery like it appear in the bottle which is good as i didn't really want any shimmer to show up. I definitely needed two coats to get a fully opaque nail but found it applied really easily and smoothly which deserves a big thumbs up as I am hopeless at applying dark colour polishes!

Let me know if you like Revlon polishes and what your fav is, I would love to know

x