Skittles: Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoats

Hi everyone,

Only one more day to go before we finish 2011!

This quickie post is to share some pics I took a few weeks ago when I was playing with my new Crackle Overcoats from Sally Hansen.

I created a little skittle manicure, alternating shades over a white base (Essence's White Secret).  Although I did a pretty shabby job here because I was just mucking around, I was impressed with the obvious cracking effect of this polish. It was a lot more effective than the OPI shatters (with the exception of Black Shatter) have been for me.  These crackle polishes dry uber-quickly so you have to have a quick and steady hand to apply them.  Two quick strokes and you're done!

Both pics taken in full sunlight:

L-R:

Vintage Violet, Fuschia Shock, Cherry Smash

My preferred shades are Fuschia Shock and the slightly shimmery Vintage Violet.

That's all for now.

Vita :)

Napoleon Luxe Lipgloss Collection (self-gifting!)

It's always nice when I get spending money as a present.  It means I can go ahead and indulge myself a little without any tinge of guilt.  Of course for me that usually means indulging in cosmetics!

I'd spied Napoleon Perdis' limited Luxe Lipgloss Collection in the days leading up to Christmas and after some quick swatching in-store (very bad move because they were all gorgeous, classy shades weren't they!!) I was very tempted by the idea of trying five full-sized glosses for $55AUD, less than half the actual product price of $125AUD if I was to buy five individual NP glosses.  Well, I was strong and held out until after Christmas but when I saw the collection selling at 50% off at the Boxing Day sales - and I had Christmas gift money from my dear Dad in my wallet - that baby was mine!

So this is my little gift to myself:

Here's a little closer look at the tubes all lined up in the package.  As you can see there isn't a single Barbie shade in there and they cover the spectrum from deep plum to creamy nude.  Unfortunately the shades aren't labelled so I don't know if these are from Napoleon's core line or are limited edition.

Swatched in daylight in the same order as above:

According to the Napoleon Perdis website these luxe lip glosses are, "...packed with lip-loving ingredients like Green Tea and Pomegranate, ...and are... deliciously flavored with Lychee Extract..."  From my first impression these lip glosses feel weightlessly moisturising on my lips and provide a sheer colour with a high gloss patent finish.  I also love the lychee flavour and scent.

The Luxe Lipgloss Collection is currently retailing for $27.50AUD and is available from Napoleon stockists and their online store here while stocks last.

Did you indulge in any self-gifting this Christmas? 
What did you treat yourself to?

That's all for now.

Vita :)

REVIEW: Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch highlighting concealer

Long time, no review.  Just another sign I've been busy I guess.

You may recall I did a comparison post on concealer pens here. While I decided at the time I'd found the best value for money product in L'Oreal's Touche Magique, I now have a new find to share, just a little more affordable, and perhaps the best of the bunch so far...

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch highlighting concealer

Although I liked the coverage and wear of L'Oreal's Touche Magique, by the time I'd finished it I decided not to buy another because of a little problem with the brush.  As the bristles were so stiff they ended up getting badly bent and misshapen from replacing the cap, making it difficult to apply the product precisely.  Looks pretty nasty, doesn't it:

While browsing the 'net for an alternative illuminating concealer to try,  I found the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch highlighting concealer recommended by Beautyheaven  as a budget product so it piqued my curiosity.

Now the packaging of these two products is suspiciously similar (see below) and they both work the same way, dispensing the concealer into the brush by twisting the end of the pen.  I haven't done my research into this, so does anyone know if there's a connection between L'Oreal and Maybelline?

Top to bottom:  Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch

 L'Oreal Touche Magique

The difference between these two is Maybelline's brush is noticeably softer on my skin and more pliable than  L'Oreal's.  After one month of use it's still in a tidy condition with only a few hairs out of place:

The product itself is a similar quality creamy opaque concealer/illuminator to L'Oreal and it effectively blends over my under-eye circles (read raccoon eyes) to conceal and reflect light, making me look refreshed.  It lasts all day on my skin, and doesn't creep into my lines, so I don't need to touch it up at all.  Best of all this product is only $17.95AUD, significantly cheaper than $27AUD for L'Oreal's almost identical product.

Swatched & blended:

Pros:

 -opaque consistency that blends well

-effectively conceals undereye circles because of the illuminating properties

-covers minor blemishes

-does not crease or need touching up

-great value at $17.95AUD and is the same quality as higher priced alternative products

-convenient brush applicator

Cons: 

-may need extra help to cover major blemishes

-only 3 shades to choose from

Would I buy this again?

Yes I will - unless there's something else you want me to try!

Until next time.

Vita :)

Random post: My white Christmas

Hello again

I told you all about the unprecedented summer hail storm we experienced here in Melbourne in my last post. This quick post features the video footage my hubby recorded of the 'event'.  What a rude way to interrupt our Christmas afternoon:

A view from our front door - the poor cars!

 

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5339291298373143509

There's some pretty remarkable footage on Youtube but this is our little video.  I can look forward to a fine and hot New Years' Eve at least. 

Thanks for watching!

Vita :)

My Christmas Day mani: BYS - Tempt MeTangerine

Hello and Happy Holidays to everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful day :)

We celebrated Christmas Day with all the family having lunch at our home.  It was a massive feast as per usual:  My sis-in-law took care of the appetisers, bringing a load of homemade turkish dips and breads;  I did the full traditional main course with roast turkey, glazed baked ham, home baked bread, sauteed green beans & broccolini, maple glazed sweet potatoes, baby carrots and potato salad;  my other sis-in-law made two desserts:  white chocolate & strawberry cheesecake (I must get the recipe) and lemon tart.  My brother-in-law brought a fresh fruit platter.  Needless to say we all needed a nap after lunch!

It all got a bit exciting when a massive hailstorm hit late in the afternoon.  The wind was ferocious and it literally rained ice golf balls so we ended up having a white Christmas on a summer's day.  We suffered a neat little hole in the roof, courtesy of a loose roof tile falling from the second-floor roof down to the first in the midst of the storm.  My son thought it was great fun and ran outside barefoot once the storm had passed to check it all out and grab some of those hail stones- and ran back in freezing!  On a more serious note, all of our visitors' cars had been parked out in the elements and were hail damaged.  Not fun at all - It could have been much worse though.

Now onto some less than perfect pictures of my Christmas lunch mani.  In the end I settled on something to compliment my orange and red floral print summer maxi dress. I chose Tempt Me Tangerine from Australian budget brand BYS. This reminds me a lot of my favourite hot orange from Essence, Wake Up!.  It's a very bright red/orange creme and went perfectly with my outfit.  This manicure went through a lot of abuse, and these pictures were taken the day after. I'd done multiple loads of dishes, so the gloss has worn off and there's some tipwear.  You can still see the hotness of the colour though!

Both pics were taken in full sun:

What did you choose for your Christmas mani?

Until next time.

Vita :)

Festive fingertips: Kleancolor - Firework

I finished up at work yesterday for 7 weeks, and have completed my Christmas gift shopping today - Yay!

This post is to show you the OTT insanity my nails are sporting right now.  Kleancolor's Firework is a mash up of large blue, green/gold and red hex glitter, mixed in with green/gold microglitter.  I applied two coats over China Glaze's Ruby Pumps for an almost opaque coverage.  Now I like my glitter and bling but this nail polish is just a bit too much even for me I think.  It's very festive and makes my nails look like Christmas baubles but....I don't know?  I almost feel like hiding my hands!!!

See what you think:

Outdoors shade

Sun

Like or loathe?

Until next time.

Vita :)

Festive fingertips: China Glaze - Ruby Pumps

Shelley from Ageless Secrets this post is for you!

China Glaze's Ruby Pumps is technically not a holiday polish (it was from the Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection) but this spangly red sure hits the mark for the holiday season!  This is a warm red jelly base containing a generous dose of red glitter so it has that glitter suspended in space look and has depth of effect.  I bought this one from TransDesign a few months ago but have saved it until now and wore as my festive office mani this week.  For a non-Christmas polish this is the perfect Christmas tinsel red.

Full sun

Shade

Lamplight

I think this mani would also look great with a bit of green or gold embellishment - or both!

Until next time.

Vita :)