NOTD: Mecca Cosmetica - Diana

Today was the last day of summer and it rained :(

My NOTD is Diana, a lilac creme polish from Mecca Cosmetica's own nail polish line.  I bought this as a pre-Christmas treat for myself just over a year ago for $22AUD - just a little bit more than I would usually spend on a locally branded nail polish (OPI retails at just under $20AUD in stores here), but it was a special treat!!

Mecca Cosmetica is a bit like an Australian version of Sephora, stocking a wide range of upmarket and exclusive make-up & skin care lines such as Nars, By Terry, Ren and several others not readily available to Australian customers.  Mecca has 25 stores across Australia and New Zealand, plus their online store.

Onto today's mani.  This is a gorgeous glossy lilac creme with a patent-smooth finish.  Two coats provided a fantastic, even coverage and I really should expect nothing less for the price.  Sorry for the lack of sunlit pictures:

Outdoors

Flash

This is a super-feminine colour!

For more information on Mecca's online store check out the link here.

That's all for now.

Vita :)

Purple eyeshadow: My collection & EOTD

I'm on a bit of a roll with my purple theme so I thought I'd share my current purple eyeshadow collection with you.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, purple is a staple shade for me as it goes well with my colouring.  I actually look at it as my alternative neutral to browns and taupes and I regularly wear lilac & purple eyeshadow to the office.

Here's my modest little stash up close:

MAC
Clockwise from top: Shale, Satellite Dreams & Crystal

Sephora
Colorful duo No. 9

Revlon
Eyeglitz Powder - Foiled Twilight

Revlon & Maybelline
On left: Revlon Creme Shadow - Wild Orchids (showing heavy use!)
On right:  Maybelline Eyestudio - Legendary Lilac



Here's a quick EOTD using all of the colours in the Maybelline palette.  I was actually pretty impressed with the wear of this palette.  For an inexpensive drugstore product it lasted most of the day with no fading and only slight creasing. 

Additional products I used:  MAC Powerpoint pencil (Bordeauxline) on outer upper lid & Lancome Definicils mascara (Black) on upper lashes only:

Until next time.

Vita :)

NOTD: China Glaze Grape Juice

So, I finally got around to wearing Grape Juice to continue my purple theme. 

Grape Juice is from China Glaze's 2009 Summer Days collection.  This is the same collection that spawned the famous Strawberry Fields and Watermelon Rind shades (both of which I'm now lemming!).  Grape Juice has a semi-translucent cool purple base with predominantly silver glass flecks throughout.  I also noticed some pink and blue flecks in the mix, giving this a crazy dazzle finish in the sun. 

I applied my usual two coats of colour simply because I was impatient, but would recommend three to give a fully opaque and even finish.  This was a little tricky to apply and I noticed some sheer patches on my nails which are apparent in some of the pictures.  Even so, I really like this colour and had fun photographing it under every available type of lighting.  After enjoying both this and For Audrey (here) I think I'm on my way to becoming a China Glaze fan.

Now, here's lots of pictures!

Shade

Sun

Lamplight



Flash

That's all for now.

Vita :)

Revlon: Purple Potion

Here's another beautiful purple nail polish that I got as part of a 3 for $10 deal at a discount cosmetics store about three or four years ago.  It was another vacation purchase -  when I've got the time to shop around and get the best deals.

Revlon's Purple Potion is an amazingly deep, almost gothic shade of purple, with an underlying shimmery pink flash.  It's one of those velvety 'lit from within' shades that looks absolutely STUNNING in the light.  Unfortunately it's not part of Revlon's regular line in Australia and I haven't been able to track down when or in what collection it was released.

Onto the gorgeousness.  This was two coats with top coat:

Indoors - Flash

Even outdoors on a gloomy day it looks gorgeous:

This is definitely one of my favourite purples.

That's all for now.

Vita :)

OPI: Lourve Me Lourve Me Not

Hi!

Purple is probably my favourite colour.  It's one of my staples so I have a lot of different shades of purple in my wardrobe, eye make-up and nail polish colours as I find it works really well with my fair complexion and green eyes.  I'm actually surprised it's taken me a whole month to get around to posting a deep purple polish.  As the Australian autumn/fall season is just days away I know it'll be back on my fingers in a big way to match my darker seasonal outfits as the weather cools down.

I've selected OPI's Lourve Me Lourve Me Not as today's purple.  This shade is from what I think is one of OPI's most chic collections 'La Collection De France', launched in 2008.  Lourve Me Lourve Me Not is a deep purple creme with a very subtle shimmer - so subtle it's almost indetectable unless viewed in very bright light. I took these pictures with flash to bring out the shimmer effect:

That's all for now.

Vita :)

Retail therapy: New costume jewellery

A quick post to share some pretty things I treated myself to last weekend... 

I love the purple and silver combination.

That's all for now.

Vita :)

The oldest OPI in my collection: Kalahari Khaki

This post is literally so last century!

I bought my first bottle of OPI way back in 1999!!  Why do I remember this?  Don't you always remember your first time?? ;)

Actually the reason I remember is because it was during my first wedding anniversary vacation in New Zealand which was pretty spectacular.  And I still have the bottle:

You can see I paid the princely sum of $17.95NZD:

Yes, the bottle looks pretty well used up and the polish appears somewhat separated.  However, give her a good shake and roll and the contents are still quite okay.  I haven't had to resort to adding lacquer thinning drops yet. 

Here are some pics I took indoors with the flash last winter when I was toying with starting my own blog:

Kalahari Khaki was released in the Painted Desert Summer 1998 collection and has since been discontinued.
I still think this colour looks beautiful with its bronze/taupe shimmer so I intend on using it to the last drop. 

Until next time.

Vita :)

From my travels: Shiseido MAQuillAGE

When I was in Singapore in April last year I spotted some gorgeous eyeshadow palettes at the Takashimaya department store.  I had to buy them as the Maquillage line is not available in Australian department stores, and I'm always on the lookout for different and interesting brands - they're my idea of souvenirs!

These are the Eyes Creator (3D) palettes in GY867 (grey) on the left and BR365 (brown).  They feature a cream base shade (bottom left-hand corner of each palette), three complimentary eyeshadow shades, and a cream eyeliner (bottom right-hand corner).  The palettes include a double-ended applicator and a mini blending and eyeliner brush.  The palette is also refillable as the individual colour pans can be popped out and replaced.

Here are the individual palettes with swatches shown in daylight and lamplight:

GY867

As you can see I've used the grey palette a few times.  The grey shade itself shows up as a steel-blue against my skin and looks quite dramatic on my eyes.  I've worn these shadows in steamy hot weather and they held up very well with minimal creasing. 

BR365

I've not actually used the brown palette until now and after swatching it I cannot understand why.  The browns are shimmery but subtle shades and I'm sure they'd be office-appropriate.  I'll have to wear these shades this week so I can give you a complete review. 

*EDIT* I  road-tested this palette today and while the colours were subtle, I was amused to find I had tiny sparkles on my cheeks by the middle of the day.  This would look gorgeous at a softly-lit romantic dinner but I don't think I'll wear it to tomorrow's office meeting :)

So what have I found out about Maquillage?  This particular Shiseido line retails in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan & Thailand.  According to their website here Maquillage believes "...in perfecting the inner beauty of every woman by helping them create the "ideal face"..."

This product is available online at strawberrynet.com for Australian and overseas readers.

That's all for now.

Vita :)

REVIEW: Lucas' Papaw Ointment

Now this is the little red tube that lives on my bedside table...

See what it claims on the back of the tube?

All true and then some...

This humble looking product is a good ol' Australian multi-tasker which often pops up on Aussie celebs' and models' must have beauty product lists.  I actually use it as a nightly lip balm or gloss when I'm on the go.  I've also used it to treat my son's grazes & scratches.  And lately, I've found another use for it.  As I'm on a 'no buy' while I'm doing Project 10 Pan, I've found this makes a good substitute for my cuticle oil.

It's colourless, with a very subtle fruity scent - not surprising as it is made from papaws.  It retails for around $5AUD for a 25g tube and is also available in 75g or 200g jars.  I've personally never had to buy a jar as I've found that the tube lasts me several months.

Lucas' Papaw Ointment has been around for just over a century (since 1906) and it's listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods so its reputation is pretty solid. 

For those outside Australia you can order this online at http://www.goldenglow.com.au/

That's all for now

Vita :)

NOTD: Revlon Color Illusion Crimson Sparkle

Here's the third and last of my Revlon Color Illusions I have to show you. I picked this up at a Revlon sale in a department store a few years ago and I hadn't tried it until today!

Truthfully that's the story with most of my polishes.  I used to think it was sensible not to open all of the bottles and rotate through a reasonable number at a time.  The rationale behind this was:

 a) to prevent polish from thickening and drying out once it had been opened;
 b) to use some colors up in their entirety (I've actually succeeded sometimes); and
 c) to prevent me from buying more - you know, don't buy until you've finished something....but all those new colours are so pretty...

Yeah, well reason c) was a great big FAIL!!

So, back to my NOTD.  Crimson Sparkle was a bit of a challenge to apply and I had to be careful to avoid obvious streaks.  However, once successfully on the nail this colour revealed its full beauty. It's a warm burgundy red shimmer and has the richness and depth of colour which reminds me of velvet.  It's pretty darn gorgeous, and it's just something else when it's seen in direct sunlight and you can see the full shimmery effect!

Onto the pics:

That's all for now.

Vita :)

Flakie layering: Inglot 205

Happy Friday!

So this is how I saved my bubbling manicure - with a bit of flakie layering!

Inglot 205 is my first Inglot make-up product.  Inglot is a Polish cosmetics brand that's been around for 25 years.

Anyway, I wandered into their store last year at my local Westfield complex and was immediately taken by the glitter and flakie polishes.  This polish is amazing as it changes from orange-gold to green and has an emphatic duochrome effect on the nails.  This is my first flakie top coat and it was a 'wow' for me. It looked great layered over Revlon's Champagne Shimmer. I achieved this effect in two coats:

Have a great weekend!

Vita :)

Revlon Color Illusion: Champagne Shimmer

Hi again!

As I mentioned in an earlier post (see Pink Crystal here) I have three polishes from Revlon's old Color Illusion range.

Champagne shimmer is the second shade I'm going to show you.  As the title suggests this is a shimmery champagne shade.  It's a gorgeous duochrome/multichrome which morphs from champagne to pink to antique gold as the light hits it at different angles.

It was a challenge to capture the duochrome effect. It's best seen in the bottle shot here:

And here's the best I could do capturing the effect on the nails:

In flash and direct sun it's a shimmery champagne pink:

Although I really like the colour, unfortunately I had some issues with the polish bubbling on my nails.  I'm not sure whether to blame it on the polish itself or the thick old topcoat I'd applied.  Guess I'll just have to wear it again and see.

That's all for now.

Vita :)

Project 10 Pan: Progress Update

Oh man! 

Project 10 Pan is testing me at the moment.  I was tempted again the other day when I saw a whole range of discounted Lancome make-up.  Normally I wouldn't hesitate to find something new to take home.  Not this time :(

Well, the good news is my tally is now at six items and I'm more than half-way there.  The best news is there are quite a few contenders to take the last four places.

Nail products:

  OPI - Kiss the Bride & OPI - Nail Envy

Lip products:

  Benefit - Her Glossiness,  Loreal - Made for Me Naturals lipstick

Powder & Pencil:

MAC - Select Sheer Pressed Powder,  MAC - Powerpoint eye pencil

I'll have to get started on my shopping list soon.

Until next time.

Vita :)