Missha: Lucid Nail Polish SV02

It's a late Thursday night post so I'll see if I can kick my brain into gear...

I've been sporting Missha's SV02 as my work mani since Monday and apart from a bit of even tip-wear this polish is still going strong.  As I've previously described in my Missha haul post (here) in the bottle SV02 is a gunmetal grey with a subtle silver sparkle.  On the nail it's a little more subdued and the sparkle isn't there as much as I would have liked.  Gimme more sparkle! *shakes fist* This looks like the graphite in a pencil to me.

Both pictures are taken in - yup! - cloudy daylight conditions:

That's it for tonight

Vita :)

EOTD: Gold with a violet lining...

Cripes, I really can't think of any punchy imaginative titles for these posts! Forgive me - I know why I'll never succeed in advertising.

Anyway, this was a ridiculously easy, slightly glam gilt-eyed look I wore not so long ago.  No tricky blending here.  It was a wash of sparkly coppery gold over the lid, a brow highlight, some colourful contrasting liner and I was good to go!  I don't know what was happening with my eyebrows - I have straight hair but my brows have a mind of their own here...

 

 What I used:

• Face of Australia primer (matte) blended over the lids
• L'Oreal Sepia Sparkle brushed all over lid up to crease
• MAC Shroom on browbone
• Urban Decay 24/7 liner (Ransom) on upper and lower lash lines (I can't get enough of this violet liner!)
• Napoleon - Whole Lotta Lash mascara (black) on upper lashes only

Too easy!

Vita :)

Missha: Crystal Nail Polish GVL01

More cloudy day swatches *sigh*.

I've finally got around to wearing a few of my new Missha polishes.  My first choice was always going to be GVL01 because of the purple microglitter combo - made for me really!  Looking at it more closely this polish is actually a mix of silver and magenta microglitter in a grape purple base polish.  It satisfies my desire for sparkliness without being too out there.  The polish itself was reasonably good, albeit little on the thick side and a little tricky to apply at first because of the brush.  I had trouble with the odd stumpy brush and overloaded it, flooding my cuticles initially but once I mastered it I kind of liked the idea of covering the entire nail in two strokes.  On the plus side I'd say this is a super opaque one-coater and only needs one layer of top coat to smooth out the gritty finish.

Now for the cloudy day pics - I wanted Sun! Sun! Sun! to bring out this polish in all its glory but no...

Outdoors

Indoors

 

...a sunny day reswatch may be called for with this polish!

That's it for now.

Vita :)

BYS: Reign Supreme

The cold weather's starting to bite here in Melbourne and there's still three weeks until we officially hit winter!

My manicure choices have really been in line with the cold, grey weather and I've been sticking to dark purples and steel greys over the past week.  My first wintery mani is courtesy of budget Australian cosmetic brand BYS.   Reign Supreme is a perfectly named regal blurple polish.  This deep vampy creme is a rich indigo - something I don't have enough of in my collection because it's a pretty amazing, assertive shade.  It leans heavily to blue in my pictures but is more indigo/purple IRL.  Coverage was perfect in two coats.

All pictures were taken in cloudy conditions - again!

Australian readers can buy BYS nail polish from Kmart stores, The Reject Shop and selected discount stores nationally or online at Fashion Addict. 

Until next time.

Vita :)

The wishlist haul! (MAC, Jill Stuart & a little something extra)

Only a few days ago I was reviewing my empties, now here I am with a new haul post!  It's been a long time between drinks seeing that my last cosmetics haul was back at the beginning of January because of that little interlude brought about by P10P.   I've harped on about P10P long enough so now it's time to shelve it and not go there again (at least for the rest of the year!) You know, I'll probably keep whining about the pain involved in my lip product ban but I'm making headway there too so it shouldn't be too much longer if I keep focusing on using a limited selection of colours! 

This post-pan haul was always going to be a bit of a splurge - I had a little kitty of money put away as I pocketed $5 for each week I went without  to put towards a luxury item (I ended up with $75) and I wanted to honour my wishlist.  Now $75 doesn't go very far on luxe products here in Australia so I well and truly blew my budget but in most cases it was worth it.  

"Alright, Mr DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up..." 

MAC Extra Dimension Eye Shadow

 (Grand Galaxy)

I nearly missed out on these as they were already sold out at David Jones.  Luckily enough Myer next door had almost the full complement of colours to choose from.  These eye shadows have a liquid-powder formula so they apply like silk.   I purchased Grand Galaxy because I loved how luminously the cool grey-toned purple swatched against my skin.  I can see this one as an amazing shimmery smokey eye on its own or paired with Phloof! as an inner corner highlight.

MAC Powder Blush

(Immortal Flower)

MAC's Tres Cheek collection was bit easier to find, thank goodness because I HAD to have this blush shade.  Immortal Flower was rather more peachy IRL than I was expecting but after the MAC artist applied it on my cheeks I knew it was right for me.  It's a satin finish, so shimmer-free and very natural.  I can get a bit heavy-handed with blush so goof-proof shades like this are best for me.

The MAC swatches:

Immortal Flower & Grand Galaxy

Jill Stuart Mix-Blush Compact

(01 Baby Blush)

 

I took a huge, very expensive gamble buying this blush because there were no testers to try and you know *gulp* I'm still not sure because this looked so very, VERY sheer when I finally swatched it on the inside of my arm.  I'll admit a big part of the reason I bought it was because I have a silly girly desire to own all things Jill Stuart and well - look at the cute packaging right!?! 

Now for the invisible swatch - Trust me it's there, somewhere on my arm. I think you can just make out the pale pink swatch lines??? I hope this shows up better on primed cheeks!  Damn, the colours looked way more vibrant in the palette...

Shu Uemura Nail Color

(ciel blue)

 

Not on the wishlist but what a beautiful blue!  I saw this lovely shade discounted at the Shu counter and thought why not?  My first Shu Uemura polish and it cost me less than a bottle of OPI.

I've done a very ordinary tape swatch but I can't wait to wear this colour because I love how it looks against my skin.  It's making me crave spring already:

Sorry about the little gap between posts.  I haven't lost my mojo, I've just been super busy and a power outage the other night didn't exactly help either!

Until next time.

Vita :)

OPI: Rainbow Connection

Just a quick midweek glitter post to share some unseasonal cheer.

Rainbow Connection is one of the few glitter polishes I bought from OPI's Muppets collection and I figured it would be fun to add to my green Ulta 3 Lagoon base.  This polish is a riotous mix of hex and and round glitter - primarily silver with the "rainbow" made up of orange, fuschia, green, blue and gold...  Coverage was medium so I used two coats for a denser glitter topping.  Some of the larger hex glitters curve on the nail so I'd recommend a few layers of topcoat to smooth out the finish. 

All pictures were taken outdoors:

 

What do you think of this combo?

Until next time

Vita :)

REVIEW: April's farewelled products

I was so focused on finishing Project 10 Pan I didn't really notice the rest of the empties piling up last month - it kind of happened while I wasn't looking.  Here are the 12 latest empties to add to the year's tally with my thoughts on them as usual!

Skin care

33) Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Daily Face Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30+ (30ml)

My favourite facial sunscreen and they went and discontinued it - well not exactly, as Neutrogena's launched Healthy Defence Daily Moisturiser in its place.  The oil-free formula is light on the skin and it sits well on top of my usual moisturiser.  I've purchased the new version and I'm currently working on a review I'll post soon.  Just letting you know in advance - I like it too!

34) L'Oreal Revitalift Rejuvenating Cleansing Wipes (25 wipes)

I'm so late to the cleansing wipe party.  These are the first cleansing wipes I've ever used!  One of my beauty resolutions at the start of the year was to be diligent with my nightly cleansing routine.  Knowing I'm lazy I've made good use of wipes now and I'm going to be trying out every different brand I can get my hands on until I've found the HG of wipes.  Right - well I loved these ones didn't I!!  They're targeted at middle-aged miss/ms/mrs' like me and are enriched with a creamy cleanser containing Vitamin C and an exfoliant.  One wipe cleansed my skin thoroughly and left it feeling moisturised enough to leave bare before bed.  And the scent!  Slightly perfumey but utterly lovely to my nose.  I liked the resealable flip top lid too.  At this point in time I'd say this has set the bar for wipes - definite repurchase.

35) Yes to Cucumbers Soothing Daily Gentle Cleanser (3.38oz/95g)

I wanted to like this gel cleanser but it just wasn't for me.  It felt like slippery goo on my face and took a lot of rinsing to remove.  I used this in the shower in the mornings because rinsing this in the basin in the evening was going to be waayyy too much effort for me.  I won't be buying this cleanser again and have switched to Yes to Blueberries which I prefer hands-down.

 

Hand and body care

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

My fourth bottle this year. Umm...

37) Manicare Nail Polish Remover (60ml travel size)

This little bottle of remover was hanging around from my last trip in January so I finished it to reduce some of my bathroom clutter.  The formula includes acetone with tea tree oil and vitamin E.   Probably a teeny bit less effective than my OPI remover but still a good substitute and a fraction of the cost.  I think this cost me less than $4AUD and I've since bought a full size bottle.

38) OPI RapiDry Top Coat (15ml)

One of my favourite top coats because of the quick dry time.  I use thinner drops to use this all the way down to the bottom and it continues to be as effective.  Another repurchase item.

39) Avojuice Skin Quenchers Berry Juicie (30ml/1 fl.oz travel size)

I'm working my way through my collection of these.  This berry fragrance funnily enough smells like like grape bubblegum to me!  One of these days I'll buy a full size bottle but I like these minis for the fun factor.

 

40) Natio Wellness Hand Cream SPF 15 (100ml/3.3fl oz)

One of my favourite hand creams and I think I've worked my way through at least 3 tubes over the last few years because I keep coming back to it.  Anything with SPF gets my love, and this cream penetrates quickly leaving my hands feeling soft and lightly scented with natural pomegranate extract.  If there's one criticism it's that I seem to go through this particular hand cream quite quickly!  A definite repurchase.

 

Cosmetics

41) MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder (NC20)
I've been using this powder for years because it finishes my skin without giving me a made up look.  Click here for my original review.


42) MAC Cremesheen lipstick (Party Line)
Finishing this plum berry shade has left a gap in my lipstick wardrobe because it's the perfect autumn shade.   I'll counter this with the lipstick itself - for some reason MAC Cremesheens always break in the tube for me!  It's put me off buying these again - but I love the colour dammit so I'm feeling very conflicted!!!  Click here for a swatch of this and L'Oreal's Lasting Coral gloss.  Two lippies down, three to go to finish my lipstick ban...

43) L'Oreal Glam Shine 6hr Lip Gloss (Lasting Coral)
I'm so glad to see this one go.  Great colour, but a HORRIBLE formula. I couldn't possibly forget this was on my lips because of the sticky formula and it used to leave little lumps of colour on the inside of my lips. I don't know how I finished this really but I determinedly kept going as this was part of my gloss ban.  Only one more to go and my lipgloss ban's done!


44) Napoleon Perdis Whole Lotta Lash Mascara (Black)
I think this was a promotional release because I can't find it on the Napoleon website.  Shame, because I really liked this one and used it for way too long (read more than 6 months).  Great flexible brush and non clumping glossy formula.  I think I'll take this with me when I stalk the Napoleon Perdis counter!


That's it for another month of empties.

Vita :)