Avon: Violetta Sparkle

 Another week and yet another layering post -

I was originally planning to layer Violetta Sparkle over a black base but decided it would work just as well over the deliciously vibrant purple Spring Break from my last NOTD post.  In my original haul swatches (here) I'd got the impression this polish was quite sheer but the coverage surprised me when I layered it over  Spring Break.  Violetta Sparkle turned the volume down quite a bit so I was left with a darker, more subdued finish than what I was expecting and to be honest the base was completely disguised.  This looks like aubergine!  Still loving the gold sparkle though.

All pictures were snapped outdoors in partial sun...

That's all for tonight!

Vita :)

An accidental L'Oreal favourite: True Match Blush 125 (Nude Pink)

This was a by chance purchase and I wanted to share it with other pale skinned girls because I love it! 

My local pharmacy was selling out all of their L'Oreal stock at 50% off so I dove into the discount bin and bought a True Match blush for around $13AUD (instead of the usual $25.95)!  I like bright and pretty pink and peachy blush shades but it's also great to have something a bit more nude-toned to wear as a natural, low key tone for every day and Nude Pink looked like it would fit that bill for me.

As you can see in the open pan Nude Pink is the perfect description for this blush as it's a neutral toned nude pink making it perfectly suited for fair to medium skin-toned girls, or *ahem* women, like me.  The packaging of pan itself is a great little design for a drugstore/pharmacy product as it has two compartments:  the blush in the top, and a wide, curved brush sits in the bottom compartment which also houses a mirror, making this a great blush for carrying in my makeup purse.  I do find the brush is a bit stiff for effective blending but I always carry a blush brush in my makeup bag ready to use for touch ups anyway.

It's all about the product!  What I love most about this blush is that it doesn't just give me ultra natural colour on my cheeks, it also gives my cheeks a subtle glow - now we're not talking glitter or shimmer, we're definitely talking glow here.  My research assures me I'm not going mad either as according to the L'Oreal website the formulation "...features light-reflecting, ultra-fine pearlescent particles that melt delicately onto the skin producing a transparent kiss of colour..." 

In terms of wear, the colour does last most of the day and I'll get through my working day without the need for a touch up. 

Swatched indoors

I love my little bargain - I'd never have discovered this blush if not for the discount bin!

What makeup item have you bought on a whim that you love?

That's all for now

Vita :)

Ulta3: Spring Break

This manicure isn't about me wishfully thinking of spring - it's just another excuse to wear purple really.

I don't have much to say about this inexpensive li'l Aussie polish so I'll just get straight to the point. This is $2.25AUD of perfectly purple creme.  Not a blurple, this one's a definite PURPLE!!!  Two coats dried down to a semi-matte finish but I've applied top coat to give it a high gloss.  Spring is most definitely NOT in the air down here so all pics are taken in cloudy daylight (again).

Daylight indoors

Outdoors

Until next time.

Vita :)

Milani: Brown-a-Licious

I feel nostalgic every time I wear a deep brown polish like this!

I used to favour darker brown and purple shimmers during the 1990's and Milani's Brown-a-Licious takes me back there to my youth, ahh...*sigh*  It's a gorgeous deep reddened brown shimmer and has such a depth that it looks like mahogany on my nails.  Brown-a-Licious is the one and only Milani polish in my collection and I was quite impressed with the even glassy finish and depth of coverage in two coats.  Apart from minor tipwear which showed up after about a day this polish wore well with no chipping for the entire working week. 

No sunlit pictures but this polish still glows in the gloom...

Outdoors daylight

That's it for this evening!

Vita :)

Haul post: L'Oreal L'Or Electric collection

Those of you following me on Twitter may have read I was on a mission to find L'Oreal's limited L'Or Electric collection last week.  The collection had caught my eye with its bright polishes and Infaillible eye shadows and I wasn't going to let this one pass me by.  I even went as far as tweeting to L'Oreal Australia to find out when and where the range was being launched - and that's a bit of a big deal for pedestrian me!  They weren't great with specifics and only heightened my sense of urgency about the LE range suggesting I'd "...best get in quick!" so I did and after two days haunting L'Oreal stands eventually found THE stand at my city Priceline store.

I know L'Oreal have got some awesomely bright lipstick shades as part of L'Or Electric collection but I went straight past those without even as much as a single swatch, lest I break my ban at the 11th hour! I focused on the nail and eye colours.  I loved all of the three nail polish shades and at $6.95AUD a pop didn't agonize over preferences and got the lot!  I was a bit more selective with the eye shadow and chose the most wearable of the three new shades available.  Let's get on with the obligatory close ups and swatches, shall we?

Color Riche nail colors L-R:

807 - Majestic Green, 811 - Magic Croisette, 809 - Mystic Blue

I'm sure you fellow polish lovers can understand why I had to to have them all - right?  Majestic Green in particular is a very unique yellow-toned green so I wasn't going to pass that up, and I'm a lover of blue and blurple polishes so the other two were guaranteed to come home with me too.

Color Infaillible Iridescent Finish eyeshadow

040 - Cosmic Black

I can't recall the names of the other two eyeshadow colours but the first was a very tempting silvery lilac (I have numerous lilacs and purples so I had to pass) and the other was an unusual coral duochrome - pretty but I wasn't sure about it for me.  I fell in love with Cosmic Black for its starry looking gold glitter blended in a warm black base.  It was surprisingly soft on first application but quite buildable - perfect for an evening eye.

I also scored a freebie with my eyeshadow purchase as L'Oreal are currently giving away a complimentary eyeshadow brush.  I've not tried it yet but the shape looks like a good all-rounder for packing colour onto the lids or blending into the crease. 

Enough of the frivolous hauling for now!  I have another one up my sleeve waiting to post and I can feel another no-buy coming on if I'm not careful...

Until next time.

Vita :)

Objet d'art inspired skittles

A quick and easy colourful post for the weekend!

Sometimes the funniest things can be inspiring and this skittle manicure happened to be inspired by a glass mosaic tea-light candle-holder.  I loved the purple tones in my little "objet d'art" and I did my best skittle interpretation of it with a mix of purples and shatter polish to pick up on the mosaic feel.  I may not be a nail artist but I still get excited by playing with colour!

I was quite happy with the end result:

Daylight

  

Lamplight

 Here's the object of my inspiration:

 

And here are the colours I used in order of index/pointer to pinky...

 L - R:

Manicare Glam Nails (miss independent)

Pret-a-Polish (purplelicious)

OPI (OPI Ink)

OPI (Black Shatter) worn over purplelicious

For those nail artists out there:  What inspires you?

Until next time

Vita :)

REVIEW & EOTD: Revlon Colorstay 16 Hour Eye Shadow (545 Attitude)

Revlon's newly released 16 Hour Eye Shadow quads were on my to-try list so I bought one as soon as I saw them on the stand at Priceline.  I chose the neutral pink/brown Attitude quad as a work appropriate palette reasoning that I'd use a long-lasting eye shadow during those seemingly never-ending weekdays, when my make up goes on just before 7am and doesn't come off until after 10pm *sigh*...

Here's the pristine, unopened palette. The packaging is average pharmacy/drugstore standard although perhaps a bit sleeker and chicer than some:

Let's have a closer look at the colours in this quad.  Clockwise from top left the shades are: a soft matte pink;  shimmery light taupe; matte blackened brown and a warm matte brown.  I like the idea of the different sized pans although the sizes don't reflect the way I would use the colours in this quad - I know I tend to use the lighter base and lid shades more heavily so I'd personally prefer more of the taupe, and less of the warm brown crease colour.  Can't please everyone, all of the time I guess...

Moving onto the swatches you can see the difference in pigmentation and texture.  I found the lighter shades to be very sheer, disappearing into my skin no matter how heavy I tried to make the swatch.  I also noticed the texture of these shadows were not as soft as some of the older Revlon shadows so they took a bit more effort to get out of the pan.

L - R (Swatched in daylight):

Matte pink, Shimmery taupe, Warm matte brown, Blackened matte brown

The ultimate test was the EOTD.   I applied the shades on my bare, unprimed lids exactly as directed by the diagram on the bottom of the quad.  Initially I tried using the sponge applicators in the quad resulting in harsh, unblended edges - Fail! - and resorted to my brushes to try and blend out and soften the edges.  This was the other issue:  the darker shades are very difficult to blend so you can still see a definite edge to the crease contouring even after blending in my EOTD below.  Not my best look so thank goodness the colours are neutrals!

Okay, so what about the 16 hour claim?  The day I tried this eyeshadow I actually wore it for around 14 hours but it definitely hung in there.  I have oily eyelids and there was no creasing and no noticeable fading so that is the upside.  There's obviously a bit of a trade-off here:  don't expect silky, easily blendable eyeshadow if you want it to last - at least not from Revlon Colorstay.

Pros:

• Long lasting without the need for primer - no fading or creasing
• good range of different colour combinations and finishes from neutrals to brights
• Reasonably priced at around $25.95 for 4 shades 

 

Cons:

• Inconsistent levels of pigmentation in the quad
• The configuration of different pan sizes may not suit your needs (I personally would have preferred more of the lid shade)
• Formula is difficult to blend on application

Would I repurchase this?
You can see from the fifty/fifty split of the pros and cons I'm a bit conflicted about this one.  Bottom line:  It does what it says - the colours stay looking fresh on my lids after several hours.  In all honesty I was a bit disappointed with the difficulties in the actual application of the shadows in my quad so for that reason I'm not tempted to repurchase. 

That's all for now.

Vita :)