EOTD: ModelCo Island Fever trio palette

I've been playing it safe with eye looks lately so I haven't done anything post-worthy for a while but finally(!) I've broken out of my neutral rut.  I got an interesting eyeshadow trio from Australian beauty brand ModelCo in a promotional show bag I bought at the Royal Melbourne Show last year and now I've decided to break it out of its box and play with some serious colour on my eyes!

As this look is based almost entirely on the ModelCo Eyeshadow Trio palette in Island Fever I've taken the opportunity to do a mini review of this palette before getting into the details of my EOTD look.

 Island Fever

The Island Fever palette is made up of a colourful combination of two shimmers and a darker matte shade. From left these are:  Costa Rica (a neutral beige shimmer which is something I personally can't be without in my makeup collection), Positano (a vivid turquoise shimmer which was the shade I was the most intrigued by and I guess nervous about) and Tahiti (described as matte midnight navy, perfect for use as a liner or to create a deep blue smokey eye).  You can see how the interesting mix of shades offers the choice of playing it safe and neutral with a just a hint of colour accent or going all out with a deep, yet vivid smokey eye.

When doing the initial swatching I was impressed with the smooth application of these shadows, the lack of fallout and the depth of pigment, particularly that of matte Tahiti.  These swatches are two swipes on bare skin.

Swatched from top:

Costa Rica, Positano, Tahiti

My play it safe instincts would have me immediately going for a neutral beige eye using the dark matte shade as a coloured liner but I opted to make Positano the focus of my look, and applied it all over my lids while incorporating the other two shades for highlight and definition.  It's not something I'd automatically choose to wear but I did like the way the turquoise Positano seemed to brighten my eyes:

What I applied and where:

• Bloom Eye Base blended all over lid and crease
• Positano brushed all over lid and blended in crease. I also used it as a coloured liner on the inner third of the lower lash line
• Costa Rica on inner corner of lids and brushed lightly over browbones
• Tahiti on outer corners of lids and outer lower lash line
• Mirenesse Tight Liner Hydra Gel Eye Liner (Caviar Black) drawn all along the upper lash line for definition, with Tahiti applied over it with a pencil brush to soften the line
• Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Curl Mascara (Black) on upper lashes and outer lower lashes

Have you tried ModelCo products?

Face of Australia: Castle on a Cloud

It feels like I'm showcasing the many moods of nail polish at the moment.  I've gone from fierce and edgy, to cute and fun, and now to subdued.

Castle on a Cloud is one of the last shades I have to show you from Face of Australia's Summer 2012 Pastel collection (I think I have one more somewhere???).  Anyway I was fully expecting to be bored by this shade - and honestly that's why I hadn't worn it until recently - but I ended up quite liking it because it isn't a straight grey as it first appears but it has a rather feminine lavender undertone, and it has the slightest hint of shimmer.  Who knew that grey could actually be pretty? No - Don't answer that! I know, I know...

This is the usual two coats with top coat and again this FOA polish gave wonderful opaque coverage for a pastel.

 Shade

Partial sun

Full sun

Do you like edgy, cute or subdued manicures or do you like to mix it up like me?

w7: Lava Flow

I'm now finally venturing into the milky-glitter polish experience!

A little while ago I bought a small bundle of w7 polishes because:  they were cute;  I'd never tried w7 before;  and they were very cheap at $2.99AUD a bottle.  w7 is a UK budget beauty brand and I'm keeping within my comfort zone of trying their nail polish range first.   Lava Flow is from w7's Sprinkle range and is a milky white polish sprinkled (obviously) with a smattering of red and dark blue glitter.  I applied two easy coats and then fell in love with this fun manicure.  My last posted mani was described as "fierce" - well this one is just plain fun!

Indoors

Sun

Until next time!

April's farewelled products (2013 edition)

My empties posts are getting later and later each month.  Here's hoping I post my May empties before the end of June!  I'll try not to ramble too much this month because I have quite a few products that bit the dust as you'll see...

Skin care

30) Australis 3 in 1 wipes make-up remover (25 wipes) - So these are soap, alcohol and fragrance free and infused with aloe vera and chamomile but...they were dry! Someone tell me I bought a dud package (please!) because otherwise I'll tell you these are uselessly dry - except for the last 2 or 3 wipes at the bottom of the pack.  I resorted to wetting them to get some use out of them.  Repurchase? A resounding NO.

31) Maybelline Express Care Eye & Lip Makeup Remover (90ml) - Inexpensive, gentle and reliable at removing my makeup but this was the last bottle I'll use in this particular formula.  Maybelline have recently released a new reformulated and repackaged version which I'm using now.

32) Avene Cleanance Gel Soapless Cleanser (200ml/6.76 fl.oz) - This cleansing gel is targeted at cleansing oily, blemish-prone skin but I found it very gentle at cleansing my combination/occasionally dry skin during my morning shower.  As far as cleansing gels go this rinsed off very quickly and easily too.  Loved it. 

 

Hand and body care

33) Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater Hand Therapy (25g/0.9 oz) - This hand cream smells literally of rose petals and feels richly moisturising without being greasy.  A gorgeously soothing product for winter-parched hands with my favourite magic ingredient included:  Shea butter! 

34) China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat (14ml/.5 fl.oz) - Dries my nails in a few minutes without dissolving the colour beneath.  One gripe? You can tell when it's getting too thick and old because it can wrinkle your manicure.

35) OPI Original Polish Remover (120ml - 4 fl.oz) - I've been mixing it up a bit of late but this is my nail polish remover of choice.

36) Vaseline Total Moisture Aloe Fresh Daily Light Lotion SPF 15 (200ml) - Great concept with the built-in SPF but terrible formula! The thick white lotion took an eternity to rub in to my skin and I don't have the time or patience for spending minutes on body moisturising in the morning.  I have SPF 30 products which absorb in less than half the time so I won't be buying this any time soon.

37) The Body Shop Chocomania Body Scrub (200ml/7.75 oz) - This indulged my chocolate-loving senses in the shower! I love how it exfoliates and moisturises the skin at the same time and I have bought another tub already.  Be warned - you might have to clean the shower afterwards - but it will smell delicious!

 

Hair care

38) L'Oreal Volume Expand Volumising Root Lift Spray (125ml/4.2 fl. oz) - The only product I use for my fine hair is a root lift spray for volume without any crunch.  I use 4 quick sprays on my damp hair before I dry it, then blow-dry and - Voila!  I look like I have more hair!  I used this bottle daily and it lasted months and months.  Yes, I have bought another bottle.  

 

Cosmetics

39) theBalm Sexy Mama anti-shine, translucent powder (7.08g/0.25 oz) - I did a full review of this powder when I bought it last year (here). I was a little on the fence about it at that time but I love how natural and lightweight this powder was on my skin and considering I used it daily it lasted a very long time.  A good value mattifying powder and after finishing it I can now say I would buy it again.

40) MAC Powerpoint Eyeliner Pencil (Duck) - This was the perfect brown-grey hybrid pencil.  If I didn't have such a glut of eyeliner pencils I would definitely repurchase.

That's it for the latest empties!  

 

Nail It! - Purple Haze

Hello :)

I love purple AND I love glitter so I was head over heels when I spotted Sportsgirl's purple glitter polish shade Purple Haze in their Nail It! line late last year. Typically this polish was another 'blink and you'll miss it' LE polish so I apologize for posting it so very late. 

Purple Haze is a mix of predominantly purple hex glitter, with blue and red hex glitter and some larger silver diamond shaped glitter thrown in. I wore two coats over a dark blue base (Maybelline Sapphire Siren) and topped it with two generous layers of top coat to even it out a little. 

All pictures were taken in cloudy conditions:

What do you think of this combination?

Essence: Circus Circus nail swatches

Oops! This is going to be another (unacceptably) late post of a limited edition collection.  I bought all 3 shades in the Circus Circus polish selection from Essence when it launched 2 months ago and only recently got around to wearing them. Yes, I'm beating myself up about it right now!

The Circus Circus collection had me written all over it with its pre-selected nail colour and glitter combinations. From top to bottom the shades are: 

Applause, Applause

Cotton Candy

My Sparkling Acrobat

By way of apology for my tardiness - and sporadic posting of late - I've done nail swatches of all of the shades in this post. Let's just get right into it, shall we?

Applause, Applause

(red creme polish/red micro-glitter and square glitter)

This was probably my least favourite from the collection - only because I expected the most from it!? I was looking forward to the full Dorothy/Wizard of Oz ruby slippers effect on my fingers and it didn't quite deliver in my opinion.

Cotton Candy

(blue-toned pink creme polish/matching micro-glitter)

The most traditionally pretty combination of the trio.  I love the pink cream shade worn alone almost as much as when it's adorned with the glitter coating. Pretty, pretty!

My Sparkling Acrobat

(black creme polish/gold micro-glitter and square glitter)

The rockstar of this little circus in my opinion! The black and gold contrast is effective and a classic combination.

The Circus Circus collection can still be found in Priceline stores - if you hurry!!!

Until next time

Budget beauty: a BYS makeup look

Have you ever tried a one-brand face?  I usually use a combination of brands when doing my makeup but when I realized I had a full face's worth of BYS products to try - by a combination of my own purchases and products received for review - I thought I'd go all out and try a single-brand makeup look.  I'm already a fan of BYS nail colours and matte lippies (see my full matte lipstick review here) so I was curious to try out and do a mini review of some more of their range.  

I've included the Australian prices for local readers (Products marked * were received for review).

Base

Minerals Naturale Compact Foundation (Sand Beige) - $9.95

I prefer applying powder foundation over creams and liquids because it's foolproof and offers easily buildable coverage.  The Minerals Naturale foundation appears a little rough in the pan but I was surprised at how fine and almost creamy it feels when swatched with fingers so I was prepared to invest my $10 and try it.  This foundation is formulated with 100% minerals and when worn over bare skin it delivers very natural and quite sheer coverage so it would be great for younger girls on a budget who want a no-make up look.  I personally do need a little help to cover some localized redness and pigmentation so I prefer to apply this powder foundation over a little primer or add some concealer for greater coverage and a longer lasting finish.  What I do like is the ease and portability of this compact so it's now living in my makeup purse for a quick dusting during the day.

Blush Duo (03 Miss Pink) - $6.95

Oh man, this bright powder blush compact instantly appealed to the young girl somewhere inside me so I had to buy this as soon as I saw it!  These blush shades are 100% matte and provide surprisingly heavy colour pay-off.  So heavy that a quick tap of the blush brush, particularly into the darker pink shade, is enough to get the right amount of colour onto your cheeks.  Because of my fair colouring (and fear of red streaks on my cheeks) I prefer to either use the pale pink shade alone as I've done at the end of this post, or very gently blend the two shades together on the back of my hand before applying to my cheek apples.  I'm not quite up to dolly cheeks!

Eyes

Metallics 8-pan Eyeshadow Palette (Browns) - $4.95*

These eyeshadows aren't as finely milled as some of the high-end brand metallics out there but they do feel nice and creamy rather than powdery and crumbly between the fingers and the colours pack a highly-pigmented punch and metallic sheen on the lids.  I did experience some fallout when applying so a lighter touch is definitely recommended rather than my packing it on - I admit I can be a bit heavy-handed with eyeshadow when I'm not expecting a good colour payoff so I think this eyeshadow palette took me by surprise.  Using three shades (bottom right on the inner lid, bottom left on the outer crease, and top second-from-right for the outer lid and inner crease) I created an accented daytime eye without the need for any eyeliner.  The shades actually lasted all day on my lids too without fading or creasing - for the grand price of $4.95 that, quite frankly, is just ridiculous! The dead giveaway of course is the packaging but the product inside is surprisingly good. 

Lash Fibre & Lash Extend Mascara (black) - $9.95*

These sorts of products make me nervous. Very nervous. Scared actually. I've seen unfortunate bloggers modelling bloodshot, teary eyes after lash fibres floated into their eyes - yikes! Okay, I was understandably nervous trying this product then.  What did I do? I read the package instructions and followed them TO.THE.LETTER.  The Lash Extend mascara is the pre-coat as well as the finishing mascara. This means the pesky little lash fibres have something to stick to rather than flying off and into unsuspecting eyes! I applied a quick coat of Lash Extend, then quickly and carefully applied a coat of the Lash Fibre to my still wet lashes.  I removed any noticeable white clumps before adding a single, final coat of Lash Extend.  I like the fuller, non clumpy lash look and it's about as close as I get to false lashes in my everyday life.  I was still a little nervous of any fallout or flaking during the course of the day but the mascara stayed put.  I know I wouldn't bother doing a two-step lash every day but I really like the idea of wearing extra fluttery lashes for a special occasion or an evening eye without having to glue on falsies. 

Lips

Matte lipstick (Tango) - $3.95*
I have three shades from this line of matte lipsticks now and love them all because they are not drying at all and the colour payoff is intense. Tango is a vibrant blue-based red.

Diamond Shine Lip Gloss (05 Ruby Red) - $3.95*
I wasn't expecting much from this cheap little lip gloss but this really has a lot of saturated colour, with just a little bit of understated sparkle. Sparkly shades can feel a bit grainy on the lips too but this had no noticeable graininess. There was no stickiness either and I liked the subtle cherry scent.  I applied this over Tango and it added shine and and vibrancy to my lips for a more orange-red juicy lip. Did it bleed? No.

The swatches

Left to Right:
 Blush Duo -  (03 Miss Pink - soft pink shade)
Metallics Eyeshadow (Browns as worn on lid, inner crease, outer crease)
Matte Lipstick (Tango) 
Diamond Shine Lip Gloss (05 Ruby Red)
 

The face 

(For those of you who haven't seen me on Instagram - Hello!)

Total cost:  $39.70

All of these products are available online at Fashion Addict or in-store at the following Australian locations:  KMart, Gloss or Cosmetics Plus.

(Some of these products have been provided for my consideration.  All comments and opinions are my own.)