My wish list...

So this is what happens when you deny yourself - you want everything!!!

Here's my little wish list in no particular order because I want it all.  I'm starting to sound like that spoiled girl Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:

Christian Dior Garden Party Spring 2012 Collection

Garden Pastels Eyeshadow Palette

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I've seen this LE palette showcased on so many blogs already and it looks so gorgeous.  The colours are also just that little bit different from what I would normally wear.  Honestly, I don't know if I want it just so I can stare at it because it looks too sculpturally beautiful to disturb.

Benefit Watt's Up

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This highlighter was recommended to me by the lovely don't call me jessie when I recently asked her to nominate her favourite.  As a highlighter virgin I think this'll be the ideal goof-proof product for me!

Revlon Expressionist Collection

 

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I'm a Revlon girl from way back and quite frankly I'm going to be really greedy and say I want this entire collection because it's themed around my favourite colour purple!!!

Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compact

Rose Fairy

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I saw this blush palette in a little Asian cosmetics boutique recently and swooned over it.  I have a few of the gorgeous Jill Stuart products as souvenirs from my Japan trip a few years ago. I would love to add to my collection just because the packaging is so pretty!

 OPI Holland Collection

 

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Of course I had to include some nail polish!  Scrangie's done some amazing swatches of these (here) and my personal picks from this collection are:  Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI (purple shimmer), Pedal Faster Suzi (pale pink shimmer), I Don't Give a Rotterdam (shimmery blue) and Vampsterdam (dark raisin shimmer).  Do I detect a theme here with the shimmers?

So there you are, I want all things pretty and colourful - once I finish my make-up ban!

What's at the top of your wish list?

Vita :)

Nail It: Cherish

Here's one of my favourite polish looks from last week :)

I bought Cherish in one of my last hauls and it's a screamer of a colour for summer!  Cherish is another polish from Sportsgirl's Nail It line of nail polishes and is a neon coral/pink with a slight blue shimmer.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, these nail polishes are fantastic in their application.  They apply super smoothly and evenly and it shows. My only gripe is the seasonal colour collections change very quickly so if you love something you don't hesitate - you grab it!

I applied three coats for full opacity:

Full sun

Outdoors shade

What do you think?

Vita :)

Hot combo! OPI - Atomic Orange + Kleancolor VIP

Here's a summery polish combination using the polishes I won recently from Nails Made Simple.

It seems I've become a bit orange obsessed lately so I was really happy to win Atomic Orange!  Atomic Orange is from the OPI Brights Collection and is a hot red/orange creme.  Aussie girls will know what I mean when I say the colour reminds me of Jaffas with their deep orange hue.  To bling it up a bit I added Kleancolor VIP to my ring fingernails.  This is a glittery mix of holo and red glitter in a clear base, and as it's quite sheer I applied three coats. To finish I added a single coat of RapiDry.

This is the last fun mani before I head back to work and reality *sigh*.

Outdoors shade

Full sun

Until next time.

Vita :)

REVIEW: The Body Shop Wild Rose Hand Cream SPF 15

I'm a bit overdue with this review.  I took my photos over a month ago and I'm now about two-thirds of the way through the tube.  Fully expect my Wild Rose Hand Cream to be included in my empties post at the end of this month because I've been loving it!

As a sucker for pretty window dressing and packaging, when I saw the rose themed campaign in The Body Shop late last year I was immediately drawn in.  After sampling the lovely natural rose scent in-store I bought a 30ml tube, the perfect size for my handbag.

Wild Rose hand cream is pale pink with a medium creamy texture.  I find it absorbs quite quickly and doesn't leave any greasy residue on my hands so I'm not spending an excessive amount of time rubbing it in.  My skin immediately feels softer and the backs of my hands feel satiny with a visibly youthful glow to them (I'm not kidding) - I note the tube says this cream is for mature skin so it makes sense.  The rose scent is quite noticeable when first applied but fades away beautifully to a light and natural scent.  The added bonus is the SPF which helps the prevention of sunspots and other sun-related aging.

This hand cream is part of a three-step Wild Rose hand care regime which includes Wild Rose Caring Hand Wash, and Wild Rose Targeted Hand Oil.

The key ingredients are rosehip oil, Community Fair Trade Brazil nut oil and Community Fair Trade Shea Butter.  According to The Body Shop Australia website rosehip oil contains high levels of essential fatty acid and helps regenerate sun damaged skin cells and protect, while both Brazil nut oil and Shea butter are effective moisturising ingredients. 

Pros:

• Easily absorbed, non-greasy formula
• Naturally scented with Rosehip oil
• Suitable for mature skin and instantly gives hands a more youthful appearance
• Contains Community Fair Trade ingredients
• SPF 15 prevents sun-related aging
• Comes in two reasonably priced sizes - 30ml ($10.95AUD) and 100ml ($21.95AUD)
• Can be used as the last step in a targeted hand care regime
• Doesn't irritate my sensitive skin
• Packaged in a handy paint tube style so you can squeeze out every last bit

Cons

• This isn't for you if you dislike the smell of roses!

Would I buy this again?
Definitely - I'm a bit addicted to the scent, the way it improves my hands' appearance and the SPF.  I'm also tempted to try the hand wash and hand oil.

Are you a fan of roses?

Until next time.

Vita :)

Nicole by OPI: "Baby" Blue

This post features something borrowed and blue!

Girls being girls, my good friend (who also happens to be a follower), her teenage daughter and I all brought bottles of nail polish to play with when we went to stay at the beach house last week.  The planned nail polish party never quite took off but we all did a bit of a swapsy and used each other's polish colours when we updated our mani's.  My friend's daughter brought a few Nicole polishes and I chose the blue creme, "Baby" Blue.  "Baby" Blue is from last year's Justin Bieber One Less Lonely Girl collection and is a bright sky blue shade which appealed to me but got the thumbs down from my husband.  He said it looked like I was wearing tinted white-out on my nails!  I'll agree to disagree with him on that.  The polish applied smoothly and evenly in two coats.

All pictures taken outdoors in cloudy conditions:

What do you think of this colour?

That's all for now.

Vita :)

REVIEW: January's farewelled products (& P10P progress)

 It's that time again to do a little show and tell of my empties for the month. I can't believe we're already one month into the new year and I'm back to work next week - Yikes! 

Hand and body care

1) Bloom French lavender scented paper soap (14 sheets)

This was in my sample stash and I think it's been discontinued so I won't ramble on.  Little leaves of soap are a cute idea for travel but in reality I found the sheets had stuck together so I had to try and peel them apart to use.  In summary, cute in theory but fiddly and not terribly practical in reality.  I'm not surprised this has been discontinued.

2) OPI Polish Remover (non-oily, moisturizing formula 120ml - 4fl.oz)

I used up 10 bottles of this remover last year!  I'll occasionally use other brands but always come back to this because it's effective and doesn't dry out my nails or cuticles.  My only gripes?  The price is around three times more than drugstore products and the wide necked bottle can result in spills.

3) Palmer's Skin Smoothing Lotion with Alpha/Beta Hydroxy & Shea butter (250ml - 8.5fl. oz)
This is my old faithful smoothing body lotion.  Its alpha/beta hydroxy formula keeps my keratosis (goose-flesh) under control and it has a very fresh scent.  I always have a bottle on hand and use this regularly on my upper arms, especially in summer to keep them looking smooth.  A definite repurchase!

4) Peter Thomas Roth Asian Sensation Buffing Beads (2fl. oz. - 57ml travel size)
Another treasure from my sample stash and I can't remember where it came from - possibly David Jones?? This exfoliating goo smelt deliciously zesty and had the texture of partially set grainy jello when I squeezed it out of the bottle.  I was dubious as to how effective it could be because I like to do a vigorous scrub in the shower but it was surprisingly effective at smoothing the skin on my upper arms (I also noted this can be used as a facial exfoliant but I only used it on my body) without being too rough.  The magic ingredients are:  "sebum emulsifying jojoba beads, whole leaf aloe vera and botanical nutrients".  Nice product that appealed to my senses.  Although it's a steep $44.95AUD for a 250ml bottle I'd still consider buying it as a luxe body product.

Fragrance

5) Narciso Rodriguez essence eau de musc EDT (1ml - 0.03fl. oz sample)
Let me say straight up that I have a full sized bottle of this soft musky floral fragrance which has top notes of iris and rose, middle notes of musk and a base note of amber. I used this tiny sample atomiser on my beach vacation last week.  It's soft enough for everyday wear and I love wearing it during the warmer months.

6) Estee Lauder White Linen EDP (5.3ml - 0.18fl. oz travel size)
This crisp floral scent isn't really my cup of tea but was part of a miniature Estee Lauder set gifted to me lasted year.  If I want a clean crisp summer scent I usually prefer more citrus-based fragrance, while according to the Estee Lauder this fragrance is a "lush floral" and has top notes of Bulgarian rose, jasmine and muguet, middle notes of violet and orris and base notes of vetiver, moss and amber.  Dare I say it?  It was something that my mother wore so it smells a bit too mature for me.

Cosmetics (Project 10 Pan)

I'm pleased to be out of the starting gate here with my first couple of products down, but at this rate it's gonna take me 5 months rather than the 3 I'd hoped for to complete my 10 Pan!

7) MAC Powerpoint eye pencil (Bordeauxline)
Ow, it really hurt finishing this because I have no back-up and I wore this purple eyeliner every other day as the colour really offset my green eyes.  Powerpoint pencils are my preferred liners because they don't run or smudge as other pencils have on me so I don't have to powder them in place. They're my go-to products for busy days when I'm working and I don't have the time to touch up.  I'll be running to the MAC counter once my make-up ban has lifted for a back-up!  In the meantime I've got my grey/brown Duck Powerpoint as a neutral alternative and I've been applying purple eyeshadow with a liner brush as a substitute (with varying degrees of success).

8) Essence Glossy Lipbalm (berry sorbet)
One lipgloss down, four more to go before I can buy any more this year!  I bought these in every "flavour" last year from the Essence stand but berry sorbet has been my absolute favourite, for its delicious lolly smell and the slightly shimmery raspberry shade.  I wore this on its own but also loved it topped over my matte Pink Gossip Rimmel Colour Show Off lipstick.  For a full review and swatches click here.

That's it for this month.

Vita :)

OPI - Shorts Story

I'm not really a pink polish lover these days - I'm much more of a purple gal - but I saw someone rocking the pink nails and of course I suddenly had the burning need to wear it!

Shorts Story is a medium-hot candy pink creme shade from OPI's 2009 Bright Pair collection.  It's a really fun, easy to wear hot pink and it applied smoothly in two coats.  After doing my mani I liked it so much I doubled up with a matching pedicure.  Silly me saying I don't love pink, I must still be a girly girl somewhere deep inside.  These were my beach vacation nails!

Both pictures were taken outdoors in indirect light:

Until next time.

Vita :)