31 January 2015

Sat-Swatches: 50 Shades Of Grey

WHO is going to watch 50 Shades Of Grey? 

Not me.. But if you ask WHO has 50 Shades Of Grey, then the answer is... 

Me!!!~

Yeah, 50 Shades Of Grey nail polishes. And I don't mean I own 50 different shades of grey nail polishes, but the latest collection by OPI that goes hand in hand with the coming-soon movie!

Does anyone else think Ana's shoulder look weird here??

It features 6 shades ($19.95), and also comes in a mini-collection ($29.95) as per usual [OPI collection].

I was provided 3 to try, because I just can't afford them! (⌒_⌒;) However, out of the six, the one that intrigues me most is My Silk Tie. I've seen swatches of it, and it looks amazingly foily! Such a beaut!

Anyways, the ones I have to show are...

Embrace The Gray, Romantically Involved, Dark Side Of The Mood


EMBRACE THE GRAY
A medium-toned grey. The pigmentation isn't bad at all! Two coats would do me fine, but for the fullest opacity, I went with three. The shade is not really for me though. I like, and don't mind greys, but this is just a tad too dark~ :P



ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED
I haven't worn red nails in SUCH a long time, that I forgot how much they compliment my skintone. This one is a medium creme red, giving off sexy and sultry vibes. Maybe also blame the name for those vibes, haha.



DARK SIDE OF THE MOOD
Ooooooh~ A charcoal-grey creme, with slight blue tones. Surprisingly, this was less opaque than Embrace The Gray. You'd think it'll be much more pigmented and that two coats would hit the spot for it is a darker colour, but nay. I needed three coats for the opacity!



That's it~ My top pick out of the three would have to be Romantically Involved. There's just something about it!


What's YOUR pick?


Sorry for the bombard of nail posts lately!! I had to get this up before tomorrow's launches~

Tomorrow's launches will be extremely long, and exciting! Thirty products and counting, so please stay tuna'd!



Disclaimer: Products mentioned in this post were provided for review consideration only. 

27 January 2015

Priceline 40% OFF: Recommendations, Wishlist, Misses

Hi peepos~ If you follow me on Insta, or Priceline and/or other bloggers, you would've seen these cute pink ads poppin' up everywhere...


What a wonderful sale to follow Australia Day, right? XD

I wanted to quickly whip up a post sharing with you my top fewer picks, what's on my wishlist AND recommendations!! I may not be the best skincare-guru (not that I am a guru of any sort), but I have been through a quite a few drugstore skincare products (the budget-range, that is) ~ XD


RECOMMENDATIONS


St Ives Naturally Clear Blemish Fighting Apricot Scrub ($9.99 - $6.00 after sale)
I know, I know... the scrubby bits in this product may not be the best for the environment, but when it comes down to picking the best exfoliator... this may just be it for me! Extremely scrubby!



Clean & Clear Morning Burst Cleansers* ($10.99 - $6.60 after sale)
I've used these, reviewed one here. The scent of all 3 are amazing (they are supposed to wake you up in the morning). My pick would have to be between the yellow and orange, but formula-wise, I don't think there are too much differences between the three.



Sukin Purely Ageless Botanical Hydration Booster ($23.95 - $14.35 after sale)
Perfect for the upcoming colder seasons, especially if you're a dry skin babe. Substitutes in as a night cream, and you only need 2 drops maximum!

Sukin Foaming Facial Cleanser* ($9.95 - $6.00 after sale)
I don't usually do "foaming" cleansers, but this is a gentle one that doesn't strip the moisture of the skin. Also removes leftover make-up. Highly recommended! P.S. You may need time to adjust to scents of Sukin's products~


EcoTools Intensive Hand Cream* (???)
Ah!! I tried to find details about this product, but there's barely any~ I'm not too sure if it's discontinued, but if you happen to find this, then do peek at it. It's a really good hand cream. The scent may be odd at first, but I just love moisturising formula and non-sticky, non-slippery feel altogether!



Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Lotion with Vitamin E* ($9.29 - $5.60 after sale)
The scent of this is amaaaaaaaaaaaaazing. It's one of my top favourites! The formula is a tad heavy, so only suitable for those with very dry skin, or night-use. For day use, I find it waaay too heavy, but the scent is really... amazing.



Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash* ($9.95 - $6.00 after sale)
If you're looking for a body wash that'll make a difference -- this is it! Body washes all feels the same for me, besides this one. It actually leaves the skin feeling moisturised! My top pick for body washes.


WISHLIST
St. Ives Triple Butters Creamy Vanilla Body Wash ($5.49 - $3.20 after sale)
Haven't tried this, but its name (and packaging!) is pretty catchy! I love vanilla-scented products, and the price of this is fairly cheap!


PRODUCTS TO SKIP



St. Ives Timeless Skin Apricot Scrub ($9.99 - $6.00 after sale)
I held onto this product for looong time, and I still think it's sitting around in my bathroom. It's just not scrubby enough for my liking. It's more creamy and gentle, so would work much better as a cleanser. Absolutely a miss for me.



Sukin Cream Cleanser ($9.95 - $6.00 after sale)
Gentle cleansers are ideally what we'd like for our skin, right? But this cleanser is just..... too gentle. As a cream cleanser, it surely does pack back moisture into the skin, but cleansing-wise... not really. Way too gentle to cleanse off any make-up residue. Such a shame~


Beauty Essentials (also known as BE)
Priceline's own brand, I believe. I've purchased two products from this range, and I've only ever touched them once. I can't remember much about the make-up remover, but the scrub I bought was just watery and barely made my skin feel any better~ Skipping this whole range, forever.


That's all for my recommendations, wishlist and misses~



Feel free to share with us YOUR recs/wishlist/misses!




Disclosure: Products marked with (*) were provided for trialling purposes, and review consideration only.

26 January 2015

Mani-Monday: Swedish Grape Mafia

QUICK POST! QUICK POST! 

I'm a bit behind on scheduling and preparing posts, so it's 1AM right now. I have a job-trial tomorrow, so I'm super excited! However, that also means much rest, so just a quick snippet post so I can quickly head to beaut-sleep~

OH! That's right!

Happy Australia Day! AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OI OI OI!

Haha... #want




For today's Mani-Mon, we'll go with one of Australia's top budget-beauty brand, Australis. Yes. Also one of my top favez! :P


Swedish Grape Mafia ($4.95) is from Australis' METALLIC Edition (AC/ME). I've swatched one of the other shades of the same collection, Red Hot Chilli Pepper, if you're keen.

Unlike RHCP (that lovely, festive red!), Swedish Grape Mafia, as you could see, is a chocolate brown, infused with extremely fine shimmers.


It's extremely glossy and like many other Australis lacquers, its formula is really smooth!


However, the colour is not for me. For obvious reasons. A bit discriminating, but frankly, it's because it's brown! :P It reminds me a loooooooooot of my previous Revlon Parfumerie feature, Autumn Spice, but more toned down with the shimmers, and also lighter.


I only have a handful of browns in my nail collection, which I do deem to be a few too many. I mean, I'm not one for browns, so besides purchasing them for swatching and blogging purposes, there's really no other use for them. Meep.

So there they shall sit, to collect dust and rot away~ /sad


Are you one for browns? Is ANYONE one for browns???



Disclosure: Product was provided for review consideration only. 

24 January 2015

Sat-Swatches: Face Of Australia Lumi-Tints Illuminating Sticks

These Lumi-Tints ($12.95/4 shades) have been released for a while now, but I barely hear any oomph about em.. In fact, I don't think I've stumbled across one post featuring them!  

A bit clueless as to why. Perhaps they've got lost in the sea of new releases.. However, for those interested, don't you worry! Will be swatching them today! ^_^


Yes, they are illuminator sticks!!!

Creamy and pigmented illuminator sticks. I've only used them once, but I also feel like because they are of a thick, creamy consistency, they are much more intense than their precedents, the Mineral Therapy Liquid Illuminators ($14.95).


There are 4 shades to choose from! Tuscan Sun and Hydra Haven, both, can easily pass as cream blushers. They are quite pigmented when dabbed on, so make sure to blend! Shade-wise -- I feel like Tuscan Sun may just look a tad too burnt [on my skintone] as a blusher, but then way off as a blusher.

On another note, you wouldn't want to pile on too much of  When In Rome, because of its intense finish! My guess is that Santorini Skinny Dip would also be somewhat similar.

When In Rome, Tuscan Sun, Hydra Haven, Santorini Skinny Dip

When In Rome has a really reflective finish [in this swatch], so I made sure for close-ups!


Between the two light illuminators, When In Rome is much more of a straight-up champagne, so it should be the most universal.. Easily pairs with whatever blusher you desire, whereas Santorini Skinny Dip is obviously more pink/peach.


I'm still keen to do a full review on these, but right now, my face is still peeling from the sunburnt. Any make-up that sits on it just turns out looking like the worst product of the year! /sad

I will get down to eet when I get the chance though!



What do you think? Yay or nay?




Disclosure: Products were kindly provided by PR for review consideration only!

19 January 2015

Mani-Monday: Little Miss Sunshine ☀

When we're talkin about cheap nail polishes, essence is definitely up there with the many others. Their nail polishes are only $3.25 a pop -- as cheap as chips!

I think I own less than 5 essence polishes for the moment, which is a good amount since they do have an extensive range of shades.

Little Miss Sunshine has always been an awkward one.


Part of me thought, "I don't think I'd ever go with this mustard yellow... ever!", but after wearing it, I also thought, "It's actually quite nice...".


It is a mustard-y yellow. I don't think it looks too appealing since the colour is a tad dull and, is just not as..... appealing as the brighter yellows! It's a lot like a vintage-yellow.


However, in saying so, I think it is one worthy to have in the collection. I usually prefer the pale/bright yellows, but a mustard-like yellow [like this] will come handy sometime.

Would look much cuter if I threw some polkadots over.. (≧▼≦;)

On another note.. I'm getting a dental implant today! Ah! An implant! For years, I thought my first procedure (labelled as an "implant") will be a breast implant, haha. A dental implant... Yikes.

If I make it back in time, I'll make sure to show you swollen-snap!


How many essence nail polishes do YOU own?



Previous essence feature: Date In The Moonlight >

15 January 2015

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

Since my previous round up post of micellar waters received much likes, I thought I'd share with you my thoughts on Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water ($11.99/400mL) in this post!


I know Bioderma was the trend-setter for micellar waters, but unfortunately, its price tag is way out of my budget range... Reason why I have settled for Garnier's version.

Neat n' nifty dispensing hole

$11.99 for a bottle of 400mL is really not a bad buy! Even if you're a bit of a heavy-handed user, just go ahead, and use it like water (pun alert)! Sometimes, you'd even catch these on a 20%~30% off sale at Priceline, so it runs to be even cheaper.

When micellar waters first hit the market, I was like... NOOOOOOOO WAY. How can something of a water-like consistency remove make-up so well?

Well, it does remove make-up! And it removes it pretty well! Trialed and tested by yours truly.


The first time I used it, I actually couldn't understand what the hype was about. But then it slowly grew on me. Before this, I was using a foaming make-up remover, or an oil-based one..? I forgot which, but either way, those two -- one [sometimes] left my skin a tad dry, and the other always left my skin oily. This is perfect.

Cleanses thoroughly and leaves my skin feeling balanced and refreshed. There'd still be little make-up residue left, but it doesn't bother me too much as I always cleanse after. With the water-like consistency, I also [really] like that it doesn't drag my skin!

As for eye make-up, although it doesn't sting/irritate, it doesn't seem to remove my mascara that well (I use Benefit They're Real & Australis Lash Length Extensions). I also prefer oil-based make-up removers (with a Q-tip) for the eye area, much more gentle.

LASTLY, because it's a water-like consistency, it can also be super travel-friendly if you transfer some into a small bottle. Easy and mess-free. Put it in a bottle with a spritz, then you'll have a SPRAY-ON MAKE-UP REMOVER. WOOHOOOOOO.


Definitely a repurchase for me, this one. Give it a go if you haven't tried it yet!


12 January 2015

Mani-Monday: Beach Bum Blu

Ta-daa! My most recent purchase, essie Beach Bum Blue ($16.95) from the markets..


To be honest, I'm picky when it comes down to blue nail polishes, and ESPECIALLY if it's of a metallic finish! I've said this before, and will say it again: the only acceptable metallics are gold, bronze, silver and some pearls. Metallic finishes for any other colours seems to never look right in my eyes!


So! Beach Bum Blu, cute name, but unfortunately not an exception from my list of "awkward metallics". It's described as a "medium sea side blue", although pretty, is one that I'd probably only reach for when I'm doing nail art.


..And as I was typing up this post, I actually got down to nail-arting with Beach Bum Blu!! Hopefully I'll be able to show you in my next post!

2.30AM now! Chop chop, and off to sleep I go!


Hope you're all having a fresh and lovely Monday!


X

09 January 2015

2014 Round Up: Micellar Waters

Let's face it -- 2012 was the year of BB creams, 2013 was the year of BB-everything (and CC creams!) and 2014, was the year of micellar waters! Micellar waters poppin' up here and there after Bioderma's.

I'm sure you've heard all about it -- make-up removers with a water-like formula that's non-greasy and non-sticky!

In 2012, I did a round up of Aussie BB creams here, including both drugstore and high-end brands, so I've figured.. Why not for micellar waters?!

So here's the list..


① BIODERMA SENSIBIO H20 ($19.95/100mL)



② GARNIER SKIN NATURALS MICELLAR CLEANSING WATER ($11.95/400mL)



③ BIOTHERM BIOSOURCE TOTAL & INSTANT MICELLAR WATER (~$40/200mL)



④ SWISSE MICELLAR MAKE-UP REMOVER ($10.95/300mL)



⑤ GATINEAU PARIS GENTLE MICELLAR WATER ($38/200mL)



⑥ AVENE MICELLAIRE LOTION ($30.95/200mL)



⑦ LANCOME EAU MICELLAIRE DOUCEUR ($69/200mL)



That's a total of 7 low to high-end branded micellar waters. Obviously...

BEST BUDGET: Garnier Skin Naturals Micellar Cleansing Water @ $11.95/400mL
MOST LUX: Lancome Eau Micellaire Doucer @ $69/200mL



If I have missed any micellar waters on the list, feel free to add by commenting below!



Let me know if you've tried any of these too. I've only tried Garnier's one, and that's due for a review (soon!).
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