Essie: Bikini So Teeny

I love periwinkle blue nail polish, boy do I ever love periwinkle blue nail polish (almost as much as my beloved purple!) so I can't help myself from collecting more and more.  A few years ago this was a problem because I couldn't find it anywhere but now it seems almost every brand carries their own version - this post features Essie's.

 

Bikini So Teeny is described on Essie's website as a "pretty yet provocative cornflower blue" although as usual I beg to differ. Cornflowers are a little deeper blue than this polish so I think my description of BST as periwinkle is a little more accurate - check out Wikipedia if you want to compare for yourself! Getting down to discussing application I found this to be on the temperamental side and I had to be very careful to avoid patchiness - in the end a third coat was necessary to get the even coverage I wanted. Ooh the colour is pretty though - this would look brilliant against darker skin too!

 

Sun

 

Outdoors shade

 

 

 

Indoors

 

 

Are you a periwinkle fan too?

 

 

Revlon: Ooh La La Lilac

My nails have been making all kinds of statements lately and I just felt like a change of pace.

 

Occasionally I crave a breather from brights and metallics and Revlon's Ooh La La Lilac is one of those gently subdued nail shades - just perfect for understated fingers.  It's an ethereal colour, a milky sheer lilac with a hint of pink shimmer. Ooh La La Lilac was released as a LE shade back in 2011 (I think?) but it can still be snapped up on eBay if this is your kind of manicure.  I needed three coats to build up the coverage for a not too sheer finish and I really liked the "breath of fresh air" prettiness of it.  It's suitable for everyday wear but it conjures up images of sheer floaty dresses, ballerinas and blah, blah, blah - I'd better stop before I get too carried away in my daydreams!

 

All pictures taken in natural daylight indoors 

Thanks for looking as always!

January's farewelled products (and beauty diet update)

 

I was determined to get this post done before it got too close to March!  As I always promise I'm going to try and keep it brief because there are enough products to make this a lengthy tome already...

 

Skin care

 

1) The Face Shop Green Tea Sheet Mask - I'm back with those sheet masks this year although I must admit I've not been pampering myself too much lately.  This hydrating mask was a little on the sticky side and my skin felt tacky afterwards.  Not a favourite - I won't repurchase - but not huge loss at 3AUD.

2) The Face Shop Pearl Essential Mask Sheet - "for smooth and light absorption and intensive efficacy of pearl".  My Googling tells me pearl powder is used in skincare to improve the appearance and rejuvenate the skin. Fractionally more expensive at 5AUD but a better feeling mask and I would repurchase. 

3) Nivea Pure & Natural Facial Cleansing Wipes (25 wipes) - These new Nivea wipes are freshly scented and free from parabens, silicones, colourants, mineral oils and alcohol.  They left my skin feeling clean and refreshed and not dry or tight in any way afterwards.  I found these a nice summer choice because they are so fresh! 

 

 

4) Pond's Flawless White Deep Whitening Facial Foam (100g) - I've learned not to expect miracles from whitening products but it doesn't stop me from trying the variations out there.  Needless to say the whitening properties of this cleanser were nothing to rave about but aside from that it was a nice foaming cleanser.  The teeniest bit squeezed into the palm of my hand lathered up really well and it was gentle and non-drying.  If you don't care about the "whitening" aspect and enjoy a rich foaming cleanser then this is just fine for the in-shower cleanse.

 

5) Face of Australia Gentle Make-Up Remover (125ml/4.23 fl.oz) - I tried this as another variation of my favourite dual-phase, shake up makeup removers.  I found it just as effective as any on the market, and it didn't sting or irritate my eyes so I've repurchased.  For those of you who are interested this is another oil free, and paraben free product.

 

6) Avon Anew Reversalist Night Renewal Cream (50g) - I'm trying to be more religious about my nightly skincare routine so night creams are making more of a regular appearance.  I really enjoyed this night cream - it felt rich enough to be moisturising but not too rich so not suffocating or greasy. It has a lovely "expensive" scent too and elegantly packaged in its heavy glass jar this is a bit of a luxury product. 



 

Hand and body care

 

7)  Natio Wellness Hand Wash (240ml/8.1fl.oz) - This gentle chamomile, pomegranate and wheatgerm enriched hand wash is one of my favourites.  It doesn't irritate my eczema afflicted hands and the scent is soft and fruity without being cloyingly sweet.  The one problem is the pump bottle which can leak product at the neck of the bottle and get a bit messy - funnily enough I didn't notice this problem until someone else brought it to my attention and then of course it started to annoy me... Still, I do love the product itself and I'd decant it into a different bottle if it really drove me crazy!

 

8) OPI Expert Touch Lacquer Remover (120ml/4 fl.oz) -  This is the strongest formula in the OPI remover line (suitable for gel removal) and I'm happy to continue using it this year.  At the moment I'm down to weekly manicures so it's not too drying and it removes my polish quickly.

 

9) Avon Foot Works Healthy Cracked Heel Relief Cream (100ml) - No I don't suffer from cracked heels but I believe regular use of this cream is the reason why.  I have a backup in use already.

 

Cosmetics

 

This is the most exciting part of the post for me because it's my beauty diet update and I'm out of the starting gate! Two makeup empties means I could go shopping if I wanted for my first luxe makeup item but I've got something specific in mind which doesn't release until March.

Logically I'll do these updates as part of my monthly empties to save boring you - more immediate updates are on Instagram if you want to know exactly when I'm finishing up things. Along for the ride are Anissa and Norlin so check out their blogs too to see how they're progressing! I know Anissa has a massive makeup destash underway and I'm impressed with her fearlessness!

 

10) Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Curl Mascara - I've raved about this mascara and I do love just how creamy and smooth it feels when I apply it - This mascara just glides on.  No clumps, just thick and soft lashes with this one. 

 

11) MAC Lip Glass (Zazoom) - I don't really know why I persisted with this gloss because it was the least practical, chunky-glitter filled concoction.  Never fear cos this was an old LE so it can't terrify any of you any more! It's DONE now and that's my two makeup empties for this month.

 

Until next time!

 

 

Neon camouflage manicure (BYS and Ulta3)

Another looooong gap between posts - whoops!

 

When I was housebound during the peak of our January 40+ Celsius heatwave I actually had the time to experiment and do some nail art. I knew I wanted to do something interesting with hot neons (influenced by the hot weather maybe?) and it was a case of "pinspiration" as I was inspired by a colourful Pinterest post. Lots of splashes of neon colour looked like a good idea and here's my interpretation.  Deliberately messy and lots of fun!

 

I applied overlapping splotches of neon yellow (Ulta3 - neon yellow mini), pink (Ulta3 - neon pink mini) and orange (BYS - Clowning Around) over my Sally Hansen White On base:

 

 

 

 

To give you an idea of the work in progress this is how I started out, applying the alternating neon colours initially from the base of the nail.  I almost stopped at this point - What do you think?

 

 

Until next time - I'm off to get started on last month's empties before March rolls around!



Sally Hansen: White On

Hello?!...Don't I know you from somewhere? Weren't you somebody that I used to know??...

 

Seriously, I think things are settling down on the home and back to school front so I'm hoping to be popping up here on a more regular basis this month.  Now let me think - I have 6 sets of mani pictures to post, 3 other general beauty posts, plus 1 tag up my sleeve - there's no lack of content for me to get through in the near future so let's get on with this one shall we?

 

White nail polish isn't something I'd normally go for and in all honesty I used this polish as the base for a subsequent nail art experiment, but it's worth letting you know about a good solidly opaque white nail polish so here it is. I know some people may be on the hunt for that perfect "white out" white right?  White On is exactly that - an opaque white cream polish and 2 coats gave me that white paper background I was looking for.  One possible drawback is that although the finish is perfectly opaque it wasn't perfectly smooth and even and you may be able to see that here.  A topcoat would take care of that although I decided to forgo it because I was using White On as a base for other, slightly crazier things...

 

All pictures taken in indirect daylight

 

 

 

I do find white polish a bit unforgiving as every little uneven edge will show up glaringly like on my pinky nail here - but on the plus side it does make for instantly tanned hands!

 

Do you ever do white nails?



VIDEO POST: The Beauty Diet update (AKA pan hitting extravaganza!)

 

 

Hi again!

 

Long time no video, I know.  Ling and I did attempt a filming session during the Christmas season but it was aborted due a non-cooperative video camera which left us snarling all over the place!  Of course things got all busy and chaotic and we haven't had any opportunities lately to get together for an on camera chat since then.  In the meantime I decided to trial my DSLR camera for videos and then figured why not make one to upload? Hmm, well.

 

So it's just me this time giving an update on the Beauty Diet I've resolved to do with Anissa until my overseas trip in September/October.  See my resolution post here to read the "rules" then watch the video if you're interested in lots of pan porn - and me awkwardly talking to myself... 

 

 

Products mentioned:
MAC Lipglass - Viva Glam VI
MAC Lipglass - Sizzlepeach
MAC Lipglass - Zazoom

MAC Slimshine - Gentle Simmer
Models Prefer Ultra Lip Gloss Pencil - Perfectly Polished
MAC mono eyeshadows - Vex and Shale
Maybelline - Age Rewind Concealer
L'Oreal Bare Naturale Blush
MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil - Bordeauxline
Bloom - Eyeshadow Base
Estee Lauder - Crystal Cherry Lipstick
Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick - Temptation
Tom Ford Lip Color - True Coral
Wet n Wild Eyeshadow trio - Walking on Eggshells
Bourjois - Volume Glamour Ultra Curl Mascara
Lancôme - Hypnose Doll Eyes Waterproof Mascara

 

Until next time!

OPI: Haven't The Foggiest

Hello! Yes I'm still here! 

 

Am I the only one who finds it a little hard getting out of the starting gate in January?  To have a little introductory ramble:   this month has been a bit all over the place with the weather (just too freaking hot!), me getting back to work after a month long break at home with my boy, and getting my (no longer) little boy organised for his first year of high school - to give international readers some context in Australia high school starts in 7th grade.  It's not a giant leap but it's a milestone nonetheless.  Ramble over.

 

Now the reason I'm here - another nail polish post.  This time I'm posting one of the very few colours I bought from OPI's San Francisco collection released in 2013.  Haven't The Foggiest is a pretty amazing polish actually so I'm particularly glad I bought it.  I thought it was going to be a standard silver foil but it's much more of a pewter and that makes it infinitely more interesting to me.  It's got a darker edge to it and I can almost see a duochrome happening too - a winner for sure! I applied two coats and omitted the topcoat this time.

 

All pictures taken indoors:

 

 

 

All things going well I have a video update on my beauty diet planned for my next post :)

 

Until next time!