Kit: Dive In

So, here's the polish I wore to work this week.

I previously used Kit Cosmetics Dive In for a skittle mani as featured in a review on Australian nail polish brands (see my post on Emma's blog here ) and I thought this colour deserved to be in the spotlight in its own right because it's such a lovely cornflower creme.  Cornflower and periwinkle are some of my favourite polish shades - I'm always drawn to them and I was actually a bit obsessed with snapping them up because they've been so hard to find in Australia until only recently.  Now I see Essence and Revlon also carrying similar shades and - yes - I've bought them all! Onto the pictures of Dive In...

Sun

Shade

That's all for now.

Vita :)

Preview post: BYS Magnetic & Graffitti polish!

 A super quick preview post from me this time!

Tonight I'm sharing some bottle spam to show you what I'm going to be experimenting with this weekend - some new and fun polishes from Australian budget beauty brand BYS.  Fun times ahead indeed...

First up these new magnetic polishes (I know I'm a bit slow sometimes but this is going to be my first experience with this trend!)

BYS Magnetic L-R:

Magnetic Comet, Magnetic Fuschia, Magnetic Jupiter, Magnetic Neptune

 ...and these have got me pretty excited too because this is a fresher trend - graffiti polishes!  You apply the colour first, then once it's dry you use the 'Graffiti Activator' fine tip brush to create designs which dry to a deeper more vibrant shade over the base. My mind is already running wild with the possibilities here.  I just hope my hands do what my mind tells them and the results are worthy...

BYS Graffiti Nail Enamel L - R from top:

Stick It To The Man

 Violet Vandal

Grab The Loot

 Banksy Blue

In any case I'm looking forward to sharing the results of my madness with you...

BYS polishes are available from discount stores nationally or may be purchased online from FashionAddict.

That's all for tonight.

Vita :)

 (These products have been provided for my consideration.  All comments and opinions are my own.)

Missha: Crystal Nail Polish GPK01

I know some of you requested a swatch of this Missha polish after I recently posted my Missha haul (here) so here's a quick dose of a sparkly pink confection to brighten up the middle of your week :)

I actually wore this hyper-feminine manicure to another beauty blogger lunch last Sunday just for fun as I knew the girls would appreciate it!  Crystal Nail Polish (GPK01) from Korean beauty brand Missha is simply a very dense mix of silver micro-glitter in a medium pink base.  Application was a rather easy two coats with the very wide flat brush and finished with two layers of top coat.  I can see this thirsty glitter could have done with another coat to smooth it over perfectly as the finish was a little bumpy but I like the sugary effect and it gave off some serious sparkle in the sun!

Full sun

Shade

Indoors

Enjoy the second half of your week!

Vita :)

Model lips for Spring! (Featuring Revlon, Napoleon Perdis & Rimmel)

You could never accuse me of ignoring a good model/celebrity beauty advertising campaign or makeup pictorial!  Case in point:  My latest lip colour purchases for Spring have all been directly under the influence of Kate Moss (Rimmel), Miranda Kerr (Napoleon Perdis) and Emma Stone (Revlon)...

L - R:

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter - Peach Parfait

Napoleon Perdis DeVine Goddess Lipstick - Calypso

Rimmel Lasting Finish By Kate Lipstick - 20

I first saw these lip colours gracing the lovely lips of Emma, Miranda and Kate respectively in my glossy mags and each instantly became lemmings for me!

Peach Parfait - I didn't care about all the other lip butters.  I just wanted this one because it looked so lovely and natural on Emma Stone, okay?  I know these have been reviewed to death and I'm not going to go there other than to say lip butters are just fine if you want semi-sheer, shiny colour.  Anyway, this was all about the colour for me and I was not disappointed - this golden rose lip colour is my new weekend fave.

Calypso - Miranda Kerr graced the cover of Australian department store David Jones' Spring beauty book wearing this colour and it looked so bright and fresh, I was hooked!  It's a perfect red-pink hybrid and sings of Spring.  It also happens to be my first Napoleon Perdis lipstick - Shall let you know how it goes but the colour's bloody gorgeous!  There I go swearing for effect again...

20 - The iconic bad girl Kate was wearing this to launch the Spring line of her By Kate range for Rimmel.  I already know the heavily pigmented, creamy formula back to front so again it's all about the colour.  This is an uber bright, cool toned pink.  Another cool, hot pink if you know what I mean! I actually don't think I have the 'tude to carry this off in daylight but it's totally going to do it for me as an after dark pink.  Grrr...I know, humour me!

Swatched in same order as above:

 Sunlight indoors

Shade 

Who have you been under the influence of lately?

That's it for now.

Vita :)

NOTD: Going dotty for the first time (and then some)!

Happy Monday!

I finally plucked up the courage to try a dotticure last weekend.  I didn't have any specific dotting tools so this mani was created using toothpicks.  Following the advice of one of my expert nail art blogger friends (sorry I can't remember exactly who) I'd cut the toothpicks in half to create large dots.  This manicure isn't perfect but it's not half bad either - I dotted black and gold foil polish randomly over my beige Don't Pretzel My Buttons base for colour coordinated craziness...

Do you like it?  Well, then I went and added something more - a little layering with a single coat of Essie's As Gold As it Gets.  I can't decide if I like this look better or not...

Polish used L - R:

Revlon - Black Lingerie, Gold Coin

Essie Luxe Effects - As Gold As it Gets

Which look do you prefer?

Until next time

Vita :)

OPI: Don't Pretzel My Buttons

I saved the neutral creme Don't Pretzel My Buttons as the last swatch from OPI's Germany Collection.

There are three neutral creme shades in the collection and I guessed this warm caramel beige would be my best fit - Yep! This polish gives me the mannequin hands effect I've always been craving because it matches the yellow undertones in my skin.  I don't wear nude polishes very often because they always seem to look a little "off" against my skin (too pink, too grey...) so I'm completely happy with this particular nude.  OPI's description is very similar to mine as they call DPMY a "honey beige".  Coverage was excellent in two coats and this has been on my hands for the last 5 days with minimal chipping.  It's a great working week polish.

All pictures were taken in cloudy conditions:

Enjoy your weekend!

Vita :)

Missha M Shimmer Blending Ball Blusher - No.2 Peach Glow (Review & swatches)

Missha's M Shimmer Blending Ball Blusher captured the most interest of the Missha items I'd recently purchased so by request here are my first impressions - with lots of pictures of course...

This is such a beautifully packaged item and you know that's always going to be a big drawcard for me!  The pretty silver lidded blush pot caught my attention as soon as I saw it in the store.  As you can see in the picture below the lid flips open to reveal an inset mirror and a flat natural bristle brush neatly encased in the top compartment, with the baked blush balls sealed off in the clear plastic container beneath.  I actually feel happier about the container being plastic because there's no fear of the tub shattering on the bathroom floor!

Now let's take a closer look at these gorgeously shimmery blush balls. There's a mix of 5 variations of pink, peach, and gold baked mineral and pearl powder balls which, when swirled together merge into a glowing shade of peach.  Missha says these little balls of colour contain "...11 kinds of flower extracts...to protect skin from oxidation and relax the skin" and the blush is designed to give you an "...elegant and glowing look" as it "lightens up your face".

The five variations up close, nestled gently in my hand - some rolled off and onto the floor after I took the pic but all survived the fall -  disaster averted!

So, I put this to the test and first impressions are good!  Initial arm swatches showed up as a lovely pink-peach blush with a good level of pigmentation and just the barest hint of sparkle in full sun. The colour was easily built up in 2 to 3 swipes...

Swatched heavily on the inside of my arm indoors in shade and direct sunlight:

The ultimate test was in the wearing and this is where I've fallen in love.  I used a stipple brush to swirl the colour onto my cheeks and I was left with a flush of peach and a healthy glow - the multidimensional shimmer means there's no need for highlighter.  Also, the effect is shimmer, not sparkle so it appears as a natural glow.  The lasting time was excellent too - considering I didn't prep or prime, the colour stayed put on my cheeks all day.

And here it is swatched on my bare, unprepped cheeks to show you the glow.  Yes, now I've shown you my bare cheeks - what's next?

 

Yes, I am in love with this blush - it's a little bit of affordable 'luxury'!

Until next time.

Vita :)

In the pink with Zoya Whitney

I was back in the Spring frame of mind again last weekend as the sun was shining so I had to do pink.  And for some reason it had to be a HOT pink!

I bought Whitney as part of Zoya's Gossip collection about 2 or 3 years ago.  The Gossip collection was released for the 2008 Summer and features 6 gorgeously bright creme shades.  Whitney is a cool toned, hot pink (now that's gotta be an oxymoron!), very bright, and bordering on fuschia.  It's attention seeking but not too Barbie so I didn't feel too old to be wearing it.  The application of this polish was a total dream - it flowed on and was the perfect, easily controlled consistency.  I wish all polishes were so easy to apply *sigh*.   For reference I've applied the usual two coats, finished with a single layer of top coat.  

Sun

Shade

 

 Zoya polishes are 5 Free as they don't contain formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, DBP or camphor.

That's it for tonight.

Vita :)

Coming clean about my cleansing routine...

Beauty confession:  I used to be pretty lazy laid back about cleansing which is a big beauty no-no but I'm now proudly reformed!   I take just as much interest in the different cleansers to meet my moody skin's needs nowadays as I do in my serums and moisturisers.  So - why not do a mini review of the cleansers on current rotation? You'll see I've got all the possibilities covered with my small collection...

Avene Eau Thermale

Extremely Gentle Cleanser

I bought this a few months ago when I was in a state of desperation over my sensitive and irritated skin, caused funnily enough by another (too harsh) cleanser which you'll read about a little later.  My skin felt raw and burning so I was after the most gentle cleanser without having to pay an exorbitant price.

The Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser is formulated specifically for sensitive and irritated skin and is ideally applied with a cotton pad, then tissued off.  Now, I like to finish my morning cleanse with a rinse off in the shower so I've never actually done this and haven't suffered for it.  You can see the cleanser is a cloudy, watery gel like formula and I've read somewhere it was described as being quite similar to a certain male bodily secretion (if you know what I mean! I'll let you figure that one out...).  It's unscented and feels quite soothing when first applied and rinses off (and probably tissues off) quite easily.  

Oh yes, it DID soothe my irritated skin and it returned to normal after using this cleanser for a few days.  Since my skin's settled down I no longer need to use it daily but continue to rotate it with my other cleansers.

Nivea Soothing Cleansing Mousse
For Dry & Sensitive Skin

This gentle foaming cleanser is one of the newest additions to my cleanser collection and is a newly released Nivea product!  For once I've happened across a beauty product ahead of the pack - now that's a first *cue applause*!  

I've always loved foaming cleansers and Nivea's Soothing Cleansing Mousse has an added fun element as it's self-foaming.  It reminds me of shaving foam as the clear fluid transforms to a creamy mousse via the pump dispenser. I apply it to my dry face then I lather it up more as I massage it over my skin.  It's got a delicate but familiar Nivea scent, and feels cloud like on my face.  This Almond oil enriched mousse rinses off quickly and leaves my skin feeling soft.   I'm not over the novelty of this one yet and I'm just loving it!

Olay Regenerist
Thermal Skin Polisher

I bought this to exfoliate my skin and took the blurb on the front of the tube "Your daily mini-peel treatment.." perhaps a little too literally, initially using it as my daily cleanser.  Big mistake - after four days my cheeks were feeling raw and irritated and had me running to the Avene to rescue my skin.

Okay, so daily use is too much for me and my sensitive skin, BUT if I use this on my skin 1 - 2 times a week I don't have a problem and it actually is a good exfoliating treatment. The thick, lilac tinged, micro-crystal infused skin polish is massaged onto wet skin, and heats on contact as it reacts with the water - it feels quite freaky really. I rinse it off thoroughly in the shower and my skin feels baby smooth from the combined exfoliating actions of the micro-crystals and glycolic acid. 

Lesson learnt:  This exfoliating cleanser is best used as an occasional treatment if you have delicate skin!

Simple Regeneration

Age Resisting Cleansing Wipes

If you've been reading my monthly empties posts you'll know I'm a fan of cleansing wipes because they take care of the cleansing business when I'm feeling lazy, i.e. most nights! I've been working my way through the different wipes on the market and currently I'm using these Simple Age Resisting cleansing wipes.

At the moment, I'm loving these wipes.  As far as wipes go, these are very lightly and freshly scented, alcohol and oil free and wet enough to do a thorough job of cleansing at the end of the day.  Very rarely do I need to use 2 wipes and my skin feels clean, refreshed and comfortable enough to go without any added moisture if I'm feeling really tired and lazy - and you know that happens more often than not...

So now you know all about my cleansing routine!

Do you rotate your cleansing products too?

That's all for now.

Vita :)

OPI: Every Month is Oktoberfest

I'm back on the OPI Germany collection track today with the second last of my selections.

When I bought Every Month Is Oktoberfest and sat it next to the red-brown German-icure by OPI I felt a mild sense of panic because these babies looked virtually identical in their bottles - If you check out my bottle spam post here you'll see what I mean.  I was very dubious about these polishes looking significantly different from each other on the nail but wow was I wrong! And I'm so glad I was wrong!  Oktoberfest has now been elevated to favourite vampy shade status in my eyes.  This is one mysteriously beautiful polish, with its inky indigo base sparkling with a subtle blood plum shimmer.  OPI describes it as "deep aubergine".  Application was a dream with a velvety smooth result in two coats.   This deserves extra large pictures so you can fully take in the shimmer...

Sun

 

Shade

Natural daylight indoors

Which do you prefer?

 Every Month is Oktoberfest or German-icure by OPI (swatched here)?

 

Until next time.

 

Vita :)

Haul post: More from Missha (and a bloggers' swap!)

Hi :)

My backlog of posts keeps building at the moment - this post is about some beauty shopping I did 3 weeks ago!  It doesn't help that life's been a bit hectic lately as well, both at work and home, blah, blah...  Besides product photos I would have liked to include swatches in this post as I'd normally do, but that would mean waiting another week before I'd have the time and the daylight to do it.  What I'm saying is this is going to be a fairly superficial 'show and tell' post so I hope you don't mind - I trust you'll let me know if you want to see swatches or reviews of anything in your comments - Please do!

So...after catching up with three other lovely Melbourne bloggers (Norlin, Ling and another Ling!) some THREE weeks ago for a dumpling lunch and a beauty product swap we headed to the Missha boutique for a bit of swatching and spending.  Here's the entire beauty booty I took away with me:  blush, lip products and of course a few more bottles of polish!

Right - let me quickly go through the inventory with a closer look at the individual items...

Nail polish L - R:

Crystal Nail Polish - GPK01

Lucid Nail Polish - PK04

Lip products:

Glam Fit Gloss - WN01

Soft Crayon Lip Rouge (with sharpener) - BE01

Hallelujah! I did swatches of these at least! The super soft and creamy lip crayon and lip gloss look like they'll complement one another beautifully.

 L - R:

Lip Rouge - BE01

Gloss - WN01

Shimmer Blending Ball Blusher - No.2 Peach Glow

 

 

 The Missha sales assistants were lovely, very patient with us and, as it turns out, also very generous!  Look at the ridiculous number of samples they threw in for me.  No, they didn't (and still don't) know I'm a beauty blogger - perhaps they can see I'm going to be a very good customer...

 Sample list clockwise from bottom left:

Super Aqua Marine Forest Revitalizing Emulsion

BB Boomer - BB Boosting Cream

Perfect Cover BB Cream (I already have and love this!)

Super Aqua Marine Forest Lifting Serum

Signature Radiance Pore Primer

Signature Real Complete BB Cream

Now, I did mention a product swap.  I'd brought a bag of stuff to swap and was hoping to come home with less than I'd given away but somehow I managed to score all of these lovely things - again I must say thank you to these wonderful girls because I really feel well and truly spoilt with all of this...

Swap goodies clockwise from left:

Trilogy Sensitive Skin Very Gentle Calming Fluid

Gaia Pink Grapefruit & Jasmine Foaming Cleanser

Darling Nail Polish - Discotheque (Glitter baby yeah!!!!)

Primark Nail Polish - Lilac (some weird long-winded code number actually...)

B Collection Nail Polish Crackle Top Coat - White

Face of Australia Lip Quench Moisturising Lipstick - Nude Satin

        "                    "                        "                         - Iced Almond

Nude By Nature Pure Pout Natural Mineral Lip Gloss - Pure Plum

           "                        "                        "                      - Naked Kiss

That's enough all for now!  Remember to let me know what you'd be interested in seeing swatched/reviewed in the comments.

Vita :)