A care package from the USA (OPI + Kleancolor)...

This quick post is to say thank you to the gorgeous Maria from Nails Made Simple for the lovely giveaway I won last month.  Maria ran a surprise giveaway so I didn't know exactly what I'd won until the package arrived - I love a bit of suspense! - and the timing was fantastic cos I was starting to feel a little pang of make-up shopping withdrawal.

I was excited to receive these goodies in my prize parcel:

  OPI Start to Finish 3 in 1 base coat, strengthener & top coat,

2 little holiday scented Avojuices,  2 bottles of polish (Yay!) and a nail file...

Here's the obligatory close-up of the colours - from left:  OPI Atomic Orange and the glittery Kleancolor VIP (Maria added the Kleancolor as a special little extra).  These two shades look like they're made to be worn together!  I'm crazy about all things orange at the moment so I'll be posting a mani of these soon.

Thanks again Maria!

Until next time.

Vita :)

L'Oreal - Resist & Shine 187

Well, I'm back again from my little break up in northern NSW and it feels like the rain's been following me everywhere for the past week!!  Never mind, a change of scenery is always refreshing and the company was fun.

Now onto the nails - I've been wearing lots of summery brights over the past week.  L'Oreal's 187 is a very fruity orange creme and the truest shade of orange in my collection.  Orange is having a moment in our southern summer fashion scene so I was really looking forward to rocking this polish but it was a bit of a disaster as it decided to bubble as soon as I applied my OPI RapiDry topcoat!!! I had to apply three coats of topcoat to try and rescue it for the sake of the pictures.  It's a fabulous colour but frustrating:

Full sun

Shade

I'll wear this again with a different top coat to see if it makes a difference to the bubbling issue.

That's all for now.

Vita :)

My lipstick graveyard

  

**Scheduled Post**

Well, here's a weird beauty confession for you:   Until recently I hoarded all of my lipstick stubs.  Yes, right now I'm cringing because all those little soldiers lined up in these pictures were - and I say were, because I've finally decided to toss them - mine.

Here they are all lined up on my dining table for their farewell appearance (lids are in a pile in the background)

Now that I'm not buying any make-up for a little while I've also decided to de-clutter and do a purge of the stuff I'm never going to use.  I came across these stubs and reminded myself why I'd started this "collection" in the first place all those years ago.  The reason was actually quite sane as I was going to depot my old lipstick stubs into a palette to get maximum use of my favourite colours.  Well, obviously I didn't get around to it yet blithely continued to toss the worn down lippies into a plastic bag, stored safely away in a box at the bottom of the wardrobe.  I kept accumulating and accumulating for years until...

Finally I had the revelation the palette's just not going to happen (Duh!) and the idea of depotting prehistoric lipstick just doesn't seem appealing or sanitary really!  So I've made the sane and sensible decision to toss them - but not before counting them first:

I can't believe I've used 75 lipsticks (minus the back to MAC's)!!!

I can't believe I kept them - Aargh!!!

Oh wow, I feel so much lighter now, hehe!

Do you have any beauty confessions?

  Any secret stashes you want to 'fess up to?

Until next time.

Vita :)

Essence - Let's Get Lost + China Glaze - White Cap

**Scheduled Post**

While I loved wearing Let's Get Lost alone and unadorned I wanted to see how it would look topped with some golden shimmer.  I added a single coat of China Glaze White Cap and the result was an ethereal shimmery aqua blue.  The crystal-dipped look was instant love for me.  White Cap is probably my favourite layering polish and it never disappoints...

Full sun

Outdoors shade

 

Do you have a favourite layering polish?

That's all  for now.

Vita :)

Essence - Let's Get Lost

 **Scheduled Post**

While you're reading this hopefully I'll be lazing on the beach at Crescent Head on the northern NSW coast!  I'm away for a week with the family and some friends but I've managed to schedule a few posts for you.   Normal posting will resume on the 29th.  Among other things I have a swag of blog awards and a giveaway I won that I need to acknowledge!

Onto the polish...Oh I do love a good peacocky blue creme polish and this one really kicked goals for me!  Let's Get Lost is yet another shade from Essence's Colour & Go line of polishes.   I was jumping for joy when Essence launched nationally in Target stores last November because they increased their colour selection and that meant more shades to add to my collection!  

Let's Get Lost does appear more peacock or teal blue IRL but as a lover of teal shades that's just fine with me.  The only negative with this colour is it stained my nails (and cuticles) terribly when I removed it.  Still, I forgive this because I adore the vibrant colour and the glossy finish.   I applied two coats of colour for fully opaque coverage.

Full sun

Outdoors shade

Have you tried Essence polishes yet?  What are your favourite shades?

Until next time.

Vita :)

EOTD - silver & pink

Happy Friday everyone!  The weekend's almost here so that means I'm packing for a week away by the beach - can't wait!

This quick post is to share a shimmery look I created using silver and pink as my feature colours.  I find pink can be a bit tricky to wear so the silver counteracts it just enough to stop me looking like I've got an allergy!  I probably could have been a bit more zealous with the blending but this look is just for a bit of weekend fun....

L -R colours used:
Revlon Diamond Lust (Platinum Plaything - discontinued)
Anna Sui (302)
MAC (Satellite Dreams & Phloof!)

For this look I applied:

• Face of Australia primer (matte) blended over the lids
• Revlon - Platinum Plaything on lids
• MAC - Satellite Dreams on outer crease
• Anna Sui - 302 blended in socket
• MAC - Phloof! lightly dabbed in inner corner of lid to highlight
• MAC - Bordeauxline Powerpoint eye pencil on outer upper lash line
• Napoleon Perdis Whole Lotta Lash mascara (black) on upper lashes

I've taken pictures for another cool-toned EOTD to post soon.  It's been all about icy colours for me this month!

That's all for now

Vita :)

Sorry - it's Silver Shatter again!!

Hello :)

I know, you're probably tired of these crackle/shatter posts so I'm apologizing in advance!  I like adding shatter polishes not just to give standard manicures a twist but also extend their wear time.  I loved this icy mani so much I wore it for 3 days and had to share it. This is OPI's good ol' Silver Shatter worn over L'Oreal's steely Blue Laguna.

All pictures were taken outdoors in indirect daylight:

Thanks for looking!

Vita :)

Haul post: Bargain hunting!

I wanted to spoil myself with one final haul before I started my make-up ban so I wouldn't feel immediately deprived by my resolution - kind of like a last supper for beauty addicts!  For me a lot of pleasure comes from the act of buying as much as owning nice things so I spent a leisurely morning sampling and sniffing things as I shopped.  And although it wasn't intentional, I ended up scoring quite a few bargains!  All of these purchases were from Cosmetics Fragrance Direct and Priceline.

L-R:

Revlon (Peach Smoothie, Galaxy, Pink Again)
L'Oreal (187)

My first stop was Cosmetics Fragrance Direct.  I've just discovered a new outlet which has opened near my home - dangerous!  I dove into the Revlon polish bin and grabbed three beauties.

Peach Smoothie is one of the scented Revlons so it's supposed to dry down to a peach scent.  The scent was an afterthought for me because I was attracted to the creamy colour with ever so subtle crystelline sparkles.  To be honest I didn't really notice the scent when I was swatching either although I guess wearing it for a total of 5 minutes probably wasn't long enough for the peach scent to develop!

Galaxy grabbed me immediately because it's a glitter! Galaxy has a slightly edgy look to it as it contains fine black specks in the glitter mix.  It was quite sheer when I swatched it so it's definitely a layering polish.  I can't wait to wear this one over darker shades of blue, purple and black.

Pink Again is a bit of a throwback to the sorts of softer shades I wore when I was a teenager.  It looks like pink satin in the bottle and like candy-floss when swatched.

L'Oreal's 187 was actually a freebie tossed in with a Glam Shine gloss I bought at Priceline.  I chose this shade because it's a true orange creme and perfect for wearing this summer.

Swatched in same order as above:

MOR Orange Blossom Hand Cream

I'm not exactly running out of hand cream at the moment but I loved the sweet orange blossom scent when I tried this in-store and the tube design looks just a little special.  MOR is an Australian brand known for its exquisitely packaged soaps, fragrances and body products. It has a reputation as a luxe brand which sells gorgeous products perfect for special gifts.  This discontinued hand cream was retailing at the heavily reduced price of $8AUD so I considered it a gift to myself! 

L-R (and swatched in same order):
Revlon Colorburst Lipstick (Fuschia)
Revlon Matte Lipstick (Pink About It)
L'Oreal Glam Shine Fresh Lip Gloss (Aqua Lychee)

 

Why do Revlon discontinue these wonderful colours?  Both of the Revlon lippies I bought were discontinued shades but perfect summer colours so I snapped them up.

Colorburst Fuschia was a discount bin find at Priceline and I got it for $7AUD.  These lipsticks usually retail at $23.95AUD so this was a bargain.  I've got quite a collection of Colorburst lipsticks now because I love the lightweight feel on my lips and the colour payoff is good.  I've always had a 'thing' for fuschia and this lipstick looked like the perfect blue-toned fuschia to me.

Pink About It was another $7AUD purchase.  In the tube this is the perfect shade of watermelon pink and it swatched nicely on my hand.  I know matte lippies are still having a moment but I'm a little unsure how this will wear on me so we'll see...

Aqua Lychee is a super sheer, wet gloss and I'll be honest, I bought this to get the free nail polish!  It does have a yummy fruity scent and doesn't feel sticky on the lips so, yes, I'll wear it.  I'll use this gloss for layering (over the matte Pink About It maybe?) or throw it in my purse for a no-fuss summery shine on my nude lips.

Australis Lip Tricks lipstick palette

This palette was the only item I had to pay full price for, although it only cost $9.95AUD!   This palette contains 8 shades of Australis' Colour Inject Mineral Lipstick which is about half the entire colour range.   I've heard good things about Colour Inject lipsticks from the local beauty blogging community and the palette is a great way to try these out.  I couldn't bring myself to swatch this beautiful pristine palette just yet and I think it probably deserves a review of its own so watch out for one over the coming weeks.

There's nothing like a bundle of new lipsticks and nail polish colours to make a girl/beauty fanatic feel good!

Until next time.

Vita :)

L'Oreal - Blue Laguna

Today's polish is a discount find from last year.

Blue Laguna was apparently a limited edition from 2008 although I don't know if these particular polishes were ever launched here in Australia.   Ah well, I was lucky enough to find this medium blue shimmer polish lurking in the bargain bin of my local Chemist Warehouse.  Over the past year I've been on a hunt for periwinkle blue polish to "complete" my collection and this almost makes it, although I'd be more accurate describing it as a steely blue.  I don't own it to compare but from pictures I've seen Blue Laguna also reminds me a little of Essie's recently released Smooth Sailing.

This is two coats of colour with top coat:

Outdoors shade

 

Full sun

Until my next post.

Vita :)

Diagonal crackle mani with Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat

I love doing diagonal tape mani's because they're so simple and striking to wear so when I saw a fabulous diagonal crackle mani on Nailside's blog (here) I just had to try it!

This is one fine coat of Sally Hansen's Vintage Violet applied over SugarBaby's lilac creme Time Out.  I experimented by applying a thicker coat of crackle on my other hand to see the difference but it turned out unevenly and didn't work at all, so it's a thin coat of crackle to achieve the best result as shown here:

I think this is a great fun idea to get more use out of shatter or crackle polishes and I was pretty happy with my first attempt.  What do you think?

Vita :)

REVIEW: Maybelline Express Care Eye & Lip Makeup Remover

A few months ago I received a bottle of Maybelline's Express Care Eye & Lip Makeup Remover free with another $15AUD Maybelline purchase.  Lately I've been using this in place of my usual L'Oreal remover and I've found it to be an identical quality product.   But - there are a few little differences that have wrenched me away from my up 'til now Holy Grail makeup remover L'Oreal.

Here they are sitting nicely together.  They look pretty similar and both work on the same principle - you shake the product to create an emulsion, then squeeze out onto a makeup or cotton pad and wipe over your eyelids, lashes and lips to remove make-up.

L-R:

L'Oreal Gentle Make-Up Remover for Eyes & Lips

Maybelline Express Care Eye & Lip Makeup Remover

So what do I like about both of these?

• Both are 2 in 1 products combining makeup remover oil and cleansing water
• Both product formulas feel gentle on my eyes and don't sting
• Neither leaves any greasy residue on my lids or in my eyes
• Both effectively remove waterproof eye make-up and long wearing lip products
• Both are suitable for contact lens wearers

Why do I prefer Maybelline's Express Care Eye & Lip Makeup Remover?
For me it's all about the packaging:  Maybelline's bottle design is superior because it has a screw-top lid and does not leak!  This always drove me mad about L'Oreal's remover, as the flip-top lid has a tendency to leak and dribble everywhere and was a nightmare when travelling.  I had to place it in a ziplock bag and guaranteed it would have leaked in there!

Maybelline's remover also provides slightly more bang for your buck although this wasn't a real deal-breaker for me. Maybelline costs around $8.95AUD per 90ml, compared to L'Oreal which costs $12.99AUD per 125ml.  (For some silly reason known only to me I decided to calculate cost per ml, and Maybelline comes out slightly ahead at 9.9cents per ml, compared to L'Oreal's 10.4cents per ml).

It seems Maybelline has more than one product scarily similar than L'Oreal and that's not surprising.  It's been brought to my attention and I've confirmed it here that Maybelline NY is one of the brands administered by the L'Oreal group.

That's all for now.

Vita :)

NOTD: SugarBaby - Time Out

How about a sweet pastel colour to remind us down here in (currently cool) Melbourne that it's actually the middle of summer?

I was seduced by the pretty colour of SugarBaby's Time Out a couple of months ago.  Time Out is a lilac creme with the sheerest purple shimmer highlight which is unfortunately only visible in the bottle.  I love all shades of purple so this is no exception, even though I know this pastel probably doesn't suit me as well as brighter tones.  Coverage was opaque and even in two coats.

Full sun:

Outdoors shade:

SugarBaby is an Australian beauty brand and their range is available in Myer stores nationally, selected pharmacies around Australia and New Zealand or online internationally at www.hula.com.au.  The SugarBaby nail colours retail at $9.95AUD per 10.5ml bottle. 

Until next time.

Vita :)

An oldie but goodie: OPI - Movin' Out (Pic heavy)

 Hi again!

When I was digging through my stash for Christmas holiday polishes last month I found a lovely old multichrome polish from OPI.  Movin' Out is from OPI's 2003 Holiday on Broadway collection and is a sheer sparkly purple multichrome which leans towards gold, green and purple as it moves in the light.

I didn't get around to wearing Movin' Out in December but after wearing the purple creme Wow! for a few days I decided it would be the perfect base to try it out and I wasn't disappointed at all.  This is two coats. 

All pictures taken in natural daylight.  I've posted lots of pictures to capture the colour shift:

 It looks like an oil slick in the bottle:

 

And in direct sunlight it looks like a sparkly purple....

This polish deserves more love from me for sure - Shame on me for leaving it neglected in my Helmer!  Next time I'll wear it over black.

Until next time.

Vita :)