Nail Art – My First Attempt

I purchased some Nailene Bedazzle (for fingers and toes) today to try my hand at Nail Art. I always love reading/viewing nail art blog posts and one of my favourites are from Cosmetic Cupcake – she does really super cute designs and also has beautiful long nails.

The Nailene Bedazzle pack contains four sheets of nail art stickers - not the best selection of patterns but they were the only ones in the store and would do fine for my nail art experimenting.

Easy to use, I applied each sticker to my nail using tweezers; they are quite sticky so make sure you carefully place them in the desired position as repositioning can cause your nail polish to peel. I chose this pattern as it reminds me of little tiaras on each of my nails.

I purchased Nailene Bedazzle from Big W however Nail Art stickers are widely available at Priceline, drug stores and nail supply stores – just to name a few.

Nail Polish is Eyeko Vintage Polish in Jade Green.

Vitamin Schtick

Following on from the success of the Coca Cola varieties, the creative team at Lip Smackers have now teamed up with 50 Cent and his peeps at Glaceau Vitamin Water to create Vitamin Schtick – a lip balm range bursting with the eight flavours of Vitamin Water.

Containing all the benefits of a lip balm including vitamin E and SPF 20 these little babies have a great assortment of scents and have super cute packaging that resembles a mini Vitamin Water bottle, too cute!!

Being my favourite Vitamin Water flavours, I would love to try the Triple X scent… pomegranate and acai berries – delicious!

I couldn't find an Aussie stockist (maybe they haven't arrived on our shores yet?) but they have been available in the US and UK for a while now.

US or UK readers... Have you tried Vitamin Schtick's? Are they any good or no better than the average lip balm?

Want to Enhance your Natural Eye Colour?

Certain eye shadows can be used to accentuate your natural eye colour making your eyes a stand out feature. Think of the basic colour wheel where the opposite colours are those that are complementing, like red and green, orange and blue or purple and yellow.

For blue eyes, choose earthy tones such as champagnes, taupe or charcoal greys as these colours are known to accentuate the blue making your pretty peepers stand out.

Brown eyes are luckily enough to get away with most colours however it is said that pinks or greens really make brown eyes pop.

Green/Hazel eyes sparkle with different shades of purple or warmer browns with a slight gold or orange undertone.

That being said makeup is a form of personal expression, wear what you think looks best and create make up looks that represents your own personal style….have fun xx

Almay have taken the guess work out of finding the right shadow for your eye colour and created the Intense I-Colour Smokey-I Kit which includes in its range four eye shadow palettes with carefully chosen colours to bring out in best in green, blue, hazel and brown eyed beauties.

Each palette includes a lid, crease and brow highlight colour which makes applying a breeze to create the perfect smokey eye look for your eye colour.

I’m yet to try this palette but would love to see the effect it has on drawing out my natural eye colour. Purchase Almay Intense I-Colour Smokey-I Kit from Priceline for $20.95(AUD).

Herve Leger at BCBG

****Summer sale -  now 40% off Herve Leger collection (click image above)**** 

Herve Leger's fall collection is now available at BCBG (pre-order). Dresses start at $975 up to about $3500 USD. These dresses are so sexy to me; they are drool worthy *hehe*. The only downside is that they aren't exactly affordable for most of us. Although i've considered investing in one of these sexy bandage dresses. hmm, who's with me? ^-^

Herve Leger Meriam Mesh And Bandage Dress - $3200 USD

Would you spend $3,500 on a dress? or even $975 usd?

Order to Apply Skin Care Products

Toner and moisturisers and serums OH MY! Ever feel overwhelmed with all the skin care products you own and when to apply them?

Well, this was me up until recently when I was given a few Chanel skin care samples to try. I couldn’t remember if the lady at the counter said to apply serums before or after moisturising and if this was done before or after eye creams?   

So I hit the net searching for (if there was any) a correct order to apply skin care products.

Here’s what I found…

Dermatologist Dr Schultz from DermTV provides a general rule of thumb when applying skin care products: Lighter skin care products such as gels and lotions or water based products are generally applied first and the heavier ones such as creams are applied second and the heaviest ones such as ointments are applied last. The science behind this rule is that as the heavier products are applied last they have the ability to be able to soak down though the lighter products penetrating into your skin and allowing your skin to receive the benefits of all the products and their active ingredients.

Having done my research this is my tweaked prep and prime skin care routine….

1. Remove traces of make-up by using your favourite make up remover, my faves are Clinique Take the Day off Makeup Remover and the Yes to Carrots Eye and Makeup Remover.
2. Clean your face with your favourite facial cleanser, I prefer the wash off kind – I currently love the Clinique Mild Liquid Facial Soap.
3. Smooth a toner over your skin; again I use the Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2.
4. Then apply an eye cream, I’m alternating between Clinique‘s All About Eyes Serum Roll on and Channel’s Beaute Initiale Eye which are both gel like consistency.
5. Next on goes a serum (optional), I have a sample of Chanel’s Hydra Beauty Serum which feels very light, is ultra moisturising and smells amazing. I apply this to my face avoiding my under eye area where I applied the eye cream.
6. After waiting a few minutes for the products to soak in, apply moisturiser…guess what I use? Yup! Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion.
7. Finally goes on any extra (heavier) products you may be using such as pore minimising creams, make up primers or Illuminators.

How do you apply your skin care? What order works for you?

Lanolips Lemonaid Lip Aid

Lanolips is described as “An ultra rich and creamy whipped lanolin lip treatment with organic lemon oil to naturally exfoliate, leaving lips fresh, soft and moist” and I couldn’t agree more.

Lanolips, as the name suggest contains Lanolin (over 70% medical grade to be in fact). Lanolin is an all natural moisturiser derived from the greasy coating on sheep wool – sounds very appealing huh? Putting the source of the lanolin aside, lanolips describes it as “nature’s wonder moisturiser”.

When I first applied Lanolips my initial reaction was “wow, this is really moisturising”.  This rich and creamy balm melts onto lips creating an instant smooth and moisturising effect without being sticky. To a apply use a clean finger or lip brush to smooth onto lips and any left over product can rubbed into your cuticles for an added cuticle treatment (it contains natural lanolin, so why not?). 

In the tube, Lanolips is a light creamy colour with slight glitters which applies clear while the glitters sparkle in the light. The scent is of sugary lemon, a scent in which I adore but if your not into lemon maybe give this one a miss.

Lanolips comes in a 12.5g (0.42 oz.) tube and its lettering and cap is finished in gold, quite a fancy touch for a tube of gloss.  

I purchased my Lanolips from Myer for $15.95(AUD) where they had a buy one get one free Lanolips with colour in Apples. A juicy red colour that is equally as creamy and moisturising but gives a subtle red shine to lips – delicious!

Nail It – Berlin

I really love darker nail colours for the cooler months and I just purchased another to add to my ever growing nail polish collection.

Introducing…..

Sportsgirl’s Nail It in Berlin – a wickedly deep emerald green colour with slight silver glitters.

The formula applies smoothly and is quite pigmented however two coats is required to achieve the desired colour as per the bottle.

Nail It polishes retail for $7.95(AUD) and are available at Sportsgirl, get in quick as Berlin is currently on sale for $4.95(AUD).

Battle of the Eye Primers – Urban Decay vs. E.L.F

To the left we have E.L.F Mineral Eyeshadow Primer and on the right is Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Sin.

E.L.F is a sheer ivory colour and is quite thin in consistency however it is creamy to apply and feels almost silky as you work it over your eye lid and dries to a matte power finish.

Urban Decay is quite thicker in consistency (similar to a cream eyeshadow or blush), and applies as a gorgeous shimmery pink colour (just a touch pinker than MAC’s Naked Lunch). It dries and stays put whilst still holding its beautiful shimmer.

L-R: Urban Decay and E.L.F

So to put these primers to the test I applied a base to each eye before my eyeshadow and will

re-assess at the end of the day and see which primer does my shadow justice.

Before…

Urban Decay Primer Potion

E.L.F Mineral Eyeshadow Primer

The above pictures are taken just after I applied my eyeshadow for the day, both with the same shadows and same amount of colour. As you can see on the Urban Decay primed eye, because of the shimmer in the primer itself, eyeshadow colours appear so much brighter than the E.L.F primed eye.

So my day begun… a day full of clothes washing, watching my nephew play pre-school soccer (or stacks on the soccer ball), went for lunch and a long walk/jog…

Nine hours later…..





E.L.F Mineral Eyeshadow Primer

Urban Decay Primer Potion

The verdict: As you can see there is not much difference as the eye shadows stayed put on both eyes throughout the day with no creasing however the eye with the Urban Decay Primer Potion still maintained its more vibrant colours.  



If I had to choose between to two, I would probably sway towards the Urban Decay Primer Potion even though E.L.F put up a good fight. I really love the pink shimmery colour of Urban Decay and would be satisfied in using this as a base colour on its own, I also love that it really brings out the colours of the eyeshadows and keeps that vibrancy all day (even after exercise).

E.L.F Mineral Eyeshadow Primer retails for $11.95(AUD) from Crush Cosmetics or $3.00(USD) from Eyes, Lips, Face and the full size Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin retails for $19.00(USD) from Urban Decay.

DO…..TRY….BUY….

I came across this great little advertorial in the July 2011 Cosmopolitan magazine and thought I would adopt this idea as an ongoing segment within Beauty Soiree.

DO…..

Mix it up a little - experiment with your make up, hairstyle or outfit.. as they say “a change can be as good as a holiday”.

As I’m a neutral eye kinda gal I have been slowly introducing colours in my EOTD looks. One of my current favourites is a neutral base with a pop of colour to the top lash line. Subtle…I know but it does give a pretty effect especially in the sunlight.

TRY…..

Smart Skin Cleansing Wipes, I picked up these wipes from my local Woolworths for a mere $1.50! The wipes are quite soft, are a decent size and as they are very moist they are fantastic for removing make-up or cleansing the skin and don’t leave you feeling like you have left over residue after using them.

I found I liked Smart Skin over Simple as they are moister easier to remove make up and over Face of Australia as the wipes are larger and a little thicker.

BUY…..  

Moroccan Oil (if you haven’t already done so). I have been using this every time I blow dry my hair (and in between washes) since Dec 2010. It makes my hair noticeably softer, shiner, less frizzy and more manageable after every use.

I use the Original Moroccan Oil Treatment suitable for all hair types however I have also discovered the Moroccan Oil Light Treatment for blondes to prevent that brassy look.   

The 100ml bottles retail for approx. $49.50(AUD) and last forever (as less is more) and can be purchased online at Adore Beauty or find your closest salon stockist at Moroccan Oil.

So whats on your do, try, buy list?

Make Love not War

Photo by: Rich Lam a freelance photographer for the Vancouver Sun

Isn’t this the most amazing photograph? Captured by a journalist during public riots in Vancouver, Canada following the loss of a Hockey game, this shows a couple embracing in a passionate kiss amongst all the chaos of the riot.   

My Beauty Diary – Aloe Sheet Masks

I was first introduced to My Beauty Diary Sheet Masks by YouTube’s Missglamorazzi. Being someone who rarely has spare time to indulge in regular face masks or treatments, sheet masks really appealed to me for their no fuss no mess application.

The Taiwanese Skincare brand My Beauty Diary describes their Aloe Sheet Masks as moisturising, repairing, revitalising and nourishing for the skin and are perfect for use on normal skin and recommended for those with dry and damaged skin.

Each of the masks are packaged in individual sachets (with cute little aloe plants printed on them) and the masks themselves are extremely moist with product.

The mask is rounded with cut outs for your eyes, nose and mouth as well as four slits to allow the mask to fit perfectly onto your face. As you can imagine from the picture below you do end up looking like a scary dead person while wearing the mask so best to do this alone or be prepared to receive weird looks from your husband/boyfriend or family.  

To use, simply tear open a sachet and peel the sheet mask away from the plastic backing paper and smooth onto face. Leave for 10-15 minutes and peel mask off leaving any of the left over product to absorb into your skin.

After wearing the mask for 10-15 minutes my skin always feels so hydrated and soft and My Beauty Diary Aloe Sheet Masks are now included in my weekly skincare routine.

I purchased this box of ten My Beauty Diary Aloe Masks from sasa.com for $12(AUD) which is great value for something that is going to last me at least ten weeks.

My Beauty Diary has a vast range of Sheet Masks for different uses and skin types and I will definitely trying out more from this brand once this box is completed.  

30 Day Blog Challenge: My Favourite Nail Polish

Like many of you, I have a rather large nail polish collection… well large for someone that should be saving money and not spending it on more nail polishes.. But I’m sure many of you can sympathise when I say “sometimes I just can’t help it”.

Although I love O.P.I polishes for the obvious reasons (pro wide brush, quality, range of colours and cute tongue-in-cheek names) my current favourite polish colour is White Gold by Sportsgirl Nail It.

This colour is a creamy white with a light gold shine and is one of those colours that can add glamour to an outfit while at the same time be fittingly neutral to wear during the day or to work.

After trawling through my box of polishes trying to decide on my favourite colour for the sake of this post, I found that I own quite a few Sportsgirl Nail It polishes.

L-R: White Gold, Pink (Unknown name), Fruit Tingle, Lavender, Caribbean, Nude, Caramel

I love these polishes as they are affordable ($7.95AUD), come in seasonal colours to suite current fashion trends and they have pretty good staying power – my current mani has lasted four days now (with my O.P.I top coat) and they are looking good for another day.

As I mention above, the Nail It Polishes are seasonal so they come and go along with the fashion trends. I purchased the White Gold last year so unfortunately it’s not available online or in-store. However, always check out the Sportsgirl sale section to grab some last minute colours at bargain prices.  

This post wraps up my 30 Day Blog Challenge; click here to view my introduction.

REVIEW: RUE21 Pink Ice Perfume

I do not actually own this perfume but I went to Rue21 two days in a row earlier this month and smelt it both times I went there! The lady at the checkout told me that Pink Ice is their best selling perfume. Here are some facts and thoughts about it.

• The only bottle it comes in, which is a 1.7 oz bottle, retails for only $9.99!
• The initial smell of this is really fruity and "sparkly". A very bright, sort of pomegranate-y scent.
• The major problem with this perfume is that after it sets for about 5 minutes, it no joke smells like urine. I don't know if this is just how it reacts to my skin or if this happens to everyone, but there is no way I could wear this perfume.

So overall, I think you can obviously assume that I do not recommend this scent. If it didn't have an after smell of urine then it would be absolutely amazing because of its initial smell! It's a shame that this perfume is no good because the price is really good!

Let me know if you had a similar experience with this perfume or recommend any of Rue21's other scents!

Vacation ^-^ + VOTD

Just letting you guys know that i'm currently on vacation and for that reason, i wont be posting as often.... I'll be back next week and will resume my regular postings so don't worry girlies. I've got more reviews coming soon, as well as more makeup looks of the day. So stay tuned for that... But in the mean time, enjoy some videos and photos postings for now.

{VOTD} Rihanna - Man down

Evidently, there's been some controversy over this video being too violent, because she shot the guy who attacked her.

What do you think of the video? 

REVIEW: Sunkissed Glow Eau de Toilette by JLO

I found another amazing bargain today! I was shopping at Ross and spotted this perfume: Sunkissed Glos Eau de Toilette by JLo! Now this was wrapped up so that I couldn't even open it and smell it but I figured it would be a summer scent since it's called "Sunkissed Glow"! Since i have become a big fan of Jennifer Lopez from watching American Idol and listening to her new song "On the Floor", I just figured what the hay and bought it on a whim because it was a great price! I got the 1.0 FL OZ. size and it only costs $9.99! Amazing since it retailed for $35.00! That means I got a 72% discount! Cha Ching! Here is what I noticed about the perfume!

• First off, I love the packaging! It totally reminds me of summer! It has a seashell tied to a brown rope looking piece. The colors of the bottle also kind of remind me of strawberry kiwi and sunsets. lol I thought I was going to be getting a tiny bottle but this was actually a decent size and turned out to be a tall piece. It will look perfect on my vanity!
• I think this smells really good! It smells like a mix of fresh laundry with fruit! lol I smell a lot of strawberry and mango notes in it! Definitely a perfect summer scent!
• Here is what fragrance.net lists as the many notes in this perfume: Pineapple juice, red grapefruit, beach flower, hot sand, water lily, amber, skin musk, cashmere wood, passion flower, cassis sorbet, orange blossom.
• Fragrance.net also says that the recommended age group for this perfume is college, the scent is subtle, it is classified as citrus/ fruity, recommended for casual use, and has a lasting power of 1-5 hours.
• Since it is an eau de toilette, the scent doesn't last two long. It either wears away or I get use to it within an hour.

Overall, this perfume is great for summer, has gorgeous packaging, but doesn't last quite as long as I would like it too. For $9.99 I definitely think it was worth the buy and if you like fruity scents then I would say it is worth $35.00. I am going to wear this today when I meet up with my friends for lunch. :)

Let me know if you have tried this scent and what you thought! Also, tell me if you recommend JLo's other scents!

EOTD - Light Smokey Eye

Primer - Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin
Lid - Benefit Creasless Cream Shadow/Liner in Busy Signal
Liner (Blended from the top and bottom lash line) - Darkest black from Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette
Liner (Water and tight lines) - Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on eye pencil in Zero
Highlight - Whitest white from Coast Scents 88 Warm Palette
Mascara - Clinique High Impact in Black
False Lashes - Eylure Naturalities in Super Full

30 Day Blog Challenge: Photo of Something that makes me go Awww

Awww - I love puppies :)

Image sourced from Google Images

This post is Day 29 of my 30 Day Blog Challenge; click here to view my introduction.

May Haul: May Showers Me With Lots of Products

Although I was away from the blogging world for a little bit (booo schoool) I wasn't at all away from beauty products. In fact, I stretched the phrase shop until you drop to the maximum. In addition to all the Naruko skincare products I purchased, I also purchased a lot of other additional goodies.

First stop, Sally's Beauty Supply store! They were having a sale on a lot of hair products from coloring systems, shampoos and conditioners to heated styling tools. I've wanted a professional grade straightening iron for awhile now but they are so expensively, retailing generally for a bout $100 USD. I didn't want to pay that much for a product. Sally's had a GVP or their generic version of a CHI straightening iron on sale for $50 USD. I also had a $5 off coupon for being a card member so I got the product for $45 USD before taxes. It came with a free mini hair straightener and most of all its pink and so pretty!

From Ulta, I picked up the Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque $3.99 USD before taxes because I was having some major pimple problems in the last month. I also picked up Bye Bye Blemish Drying Lotion for Acne retailing for $9.99 USD before taxes and its suppose to be a dupe of Mario Badescu's drying lotion. Lastly, I caved and picked up the NYX Grow Lash Serum retailing for $23.99 USD before taxes because I just wanted to jump on to the lash enhancing bandwagon.

The Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque is a mid-green color and clay-like texture. Smells very minty!

 The NYX Grow Lash Serum has a very skinny wand perfect for reaching the roots of the eyelash. Fingers crossed that it works!

Simply based on appearances this Bye Bye Blemish Drying Lotion does look exactly like the Mario Badescu drying lotion. Haven't tried it yet but hopefully it works well!

From The Face Shop, I picked up more of the Migamsu Brightening Rice Water Cleansing Oil $15 USD before taxes. I love this product and I ran out to I needed more! I also picked up Clean Face White Intensive Blemish Clear Patch $10 USD before taxes. Comes with a set of 50 in the small box and claims to blemish pimples overnight. Haven't used it yet either but hopefully it works. I got a Fresh Fruit Aloe mask for free, it usually retails for $2 USD and some skincare samples.

I was in Diamond Plaza in Rowland Heights, CA (a very Asian area in the San Gabriel Valley) just enjoying pho and boba when I came across this cute little beauty boutique. It carries a lot of various Japanese and Taiwanese beauty product brands such as My Beauty Diary, Shiseido, Koji, Dolly Wink, etc. I picked up some pink hair velcro, 2 pack for $3.99 USD before taxes. I also picked up the Koji Eye Talk Double Eyelid Glue (pink case), it was $10.99 USD before taxes. I LOVE the hair velcro and I'm liking the double eyelid glue so far but haven't gotten the best hang of it yet. 

Beauty Corner
1388 Fullerton Road Suite 107
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
Phone: (626) 581-3300

they accept credit cards, not sure about the return and exchange policy, should probably call to ask.

Lastly, from Target I picked up the Eco Tool Retractabe Kabuki Brush retails for $7.99 USD before taxes as well as the Loreal Revitalift Complete Anti-Wrinkle and Firming Eye Cream retails for $11.99 USD before taxes. I LOVE both these products, reviews will be coming soon!

also from Target, I got these Ardell Brow Trimmers a pack of three for $3.99 and they are seriously the worst products ever! They don't remove any hair and they scratch up your skin! Waste of money!

and I got two gratis products this month one from Origins and another from Shu Uemura.

I had placed an order with Origins last month and for some reason they decided to send me another free cleanser. I had gotten the checks and balances cleanser but now I have the perfect world cleanser as well. I'm not going to complain about free products because its awesome! Not sure how much these generally retail for though.

the Shu Uemura 24k Gold Lash Curler was a limited edition product from Sephora last year and I was never able to get my hands on it. My friend actually decided to gift me her backup because she loved it so much and she knew I couldn't get it anymore. I think this retails for $24 USD before taxes and I haven't tried it yet. I must say though, its so damn pretty!