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 :)

Perfect partners? MAC Impassioned + Revlon Coral Me Wild

When I ran last week's Revlon Coral Me Wild post (here) I received some comments from lovely fellow Australian bloggers Jerry (Silhouette Screams) and Lilit (Makeup and Macaroons) both suggesting CMW could be the nail polish dupe for MAC's superbly hot watermelon pink lipstick Impassioned.  Off the top of my head I thought so too, so I decided to do a quick comparison post to see.

 Side by side (daylight):

Not much to say here - when these guys are sidled up next to each other in the bullet and bottle they do look identical.  This looks promising, however we all know how things can translate quite differently when we actually wear them.  How many times have I been disappointed by colours that have suddenly watered down on my skin?  I digress...

Swatched (same lighting as above):

Now when I swatch them on the back of my hand suddenly there's a difference and Coral Me Wild looks significantly more red than Impassioned.  Impassioned almost looks a little washed out in comparison!  Still, the skin on the back of my hand isn't the same as the skin my lips and I wasn't entirely convinced these too could be quite that different so...

On my lips! (Same lighting):

This is only the second time I've posted my lips and it makes me self-conscious (cos they're not as plump as a 20 year-old's any more) but I did it for the sake of colour accuracy.  Impassioned appears more deeply pigmented on my lips and now the lip and nail shades are again looking very close.  I think this wear test shows these two are perfect partners and are pretty respectable dupes.

Do you like to match your lip and nail colours or do you like a good colour clash?

That's all for now.

Vita :)

Nail It: Wow!

Happy Wednesday!

In my last post I wrote how impressed I've been with Sportsgirl nail polish so far.  Wow! from Sportsgirl's Nail It! polish range is an example of the perfect polish - high impact colour and buttery smooth application.  Wow! is a bright purple creme which reminds me of grape bubblegum.  It actually dries down to a semi-matte vinyl finish which is interesting, but I added some Sally Hansen Megashine and the colour went Kapow!  This is the sort of polish that gets compliments from strangers and I mean that in the nicest possible way...

Full sun

Shade

This shade is currently selling for the reduced price of $2.45AUD on Sportsgirl's mobile shop here.

Until next time.

Vita :)

Haul post: My final 2011 haul...

...was a cheap and cheerful one! :)  In the days after Christmas I did a mini raid on Sportsgirl and Priceline for a few more summery goodies.  After all the shopping for everyone else leading up to Christmas it was nice spending just a few dollars on frivolous things for myself, knowing that I was going to embark on a 'no-buy' in the new year.  None of these items were on sale, they were just pretty, fairly inexpensive and calling to me...

Sportsgirl:

Lighten Up lip gloss (Doll Face)

Nail It! polish (Cherish)

I've never tried these particular Sportsgirl lip glosses before but I was attracted by the colour and texture of Doll Face when I swatched it in the store.  Doll Face is a coral pink with sparkly gold shimmer, and it's shiny without being too wet and slick.  I haven't road-tested it yet but the signs are hopeful that it won't slide off my lips in a hurry. Oh, by the way this has a mirror on the side of the tube and a dinky little light (..."and a whistle for attracting attention"...sorry just had to let that random silliness out.  I've clearly been on too many flights and paid too much attention to the safety demos!) so you can reapply wherever you are.  Obviously good for partying and clubbing. Sadly that's not me anymore...

I've had nothing but good experiences with the Nail It! range of nail polish so I didn't have to think too hard about buying the neon shimmery pink Cherish.  I also love how the polishes are always on trend with what's happening in local seasonal fashion. The range is forever changing so there's always a new find whenever I check it out. Cherish is definitely a summer colour ready to wear with all the hot pink and orange combos out there at the moment.

Models Prefer Ultra Lip Gloss Pencil (Drama Queen)

I bought Drama Queen from Priceline and it's my third Models Prefer Lip Gloss pencil.  To see how much I love these read my full review here.  Drama Queen is a party/evening shade for me with its shimmery, almost foil fuschia/red tone.  See the daylight swatches below. 

L-R:

Drama Queen, Doll Face, Cherish

Australis Face-A-Holic
Jumbo Sized Mirrored Compact

The Face-A-Holic compact was another Priceline buy.  I've photographed this jumbo sized compact next to my MAC Select Sheer pressed powder to give you some idea of the size - it's HUGE!  This is a three-in-one blush, pressed powder and bronzer and I figured it was pretty good value for around $16AUD.  I must admit I bought this for the novelty value though!  Luckily, the blush is a universally flattering peachy pink shade with an almost indetectable shimmer which I could easily wear and the pressed powder is a fair/medium shade which suits my MAC NC20 skin and actually is a close dupe to my MAC powder. The only thing I'm a bit wary of is the shimmery bronzer.   I'm not convinced I can carry that off, but I'll give it a try!

So here's how it looks in the pan...

...and swatched indoors in indirect daylight...

...and with me playing around.  This compact is literally the size of my face! Whoops, sorry about the fingerprints - didn't see those until I'd uploaded the picture.

Only one more haul post and I'm done with make-up hauls for the next three months. 

Until next time.

Vita :)