Nails of the Day!

Hey there Beauties!

If you've seen my mini haul blog, you will recognise the two Sally Hansen Hard as Nail Xtreme wear nail colours in 'Invisible' (100) and 'Crushed' (290) shown below.

Crushed is a beautiful blood orange / copper colour that has a slight shimmer to it. Over the top I have just added a Chi Chi gold glitter nail polish (just on the bottom parts of my nails). I actually bought this polish ages ago but never really used it - however it looks amazing over the top of bright colours. I'm not too sure what the colour is called because I got it in a pack with some others and so it doesn't have the individual name on it, but its basically just clear nail polish with relatively big bits of gold glitter. I really like this colour combination but the pictures below don't do the colour any justice. It is a lot more of a copper colour than orange (like in the bottom picture). 

I managed to pick up the Sally Hansen colours up for $3.50 each on sale which I was really impressed with (I think they were half price). The gold glitter came in a pack of 8 Chi Chi nail colours and cost me around $20.00.

Under bright lights

Indoors

Natural Light

xoxoxo

Em

Mini Beauty and Skincare Haul

One of my favourite places to buy makeup and skincare products recently had a sale on, so I bought a few things and thought I would share them with all of you! So here they are:

1. Scandaleyes Mascara
I usually buy the same mascara every time I need a new one which is my favourite L'Oreal Paris Million Lashes, but I saw this particular one for $10.00 and I thought I would give it a go. I originally went to buy the Scandaleyes Lycra Flex Mascara (the bright green one) but for some reason changed my mind and went for the Scandaleyes show off mascara (bright purple). I'm not entirely sure why I changed my mine, I think the bright purple colour had something to do with it. I've only used it once so far, but it seems to be a really great product. It lengthened my lashes, didn't clump up - evenly spaced my lashes and didn't smudge all day. I'll have to use it a few more times to decide if it's my new favourite but I'll keep you all updated.

2. St Ives face scrub
I have needed a new scrub for a while now and I get a little overwhelmed when I see them all lined up in the shop. So I decided to do some research before going in and decide which brand and what type I wanted. I ended up finding a brand called St Ives. On the back of the bottle it says that it is Australia's number 1 scrub brand, however this wasn't the reason I chose it. I chose it because it's not tested on animals, which is something that means a lot to me. It smells really good as well, like apricots! I haven't used it yet, but I will write a review up once i have tested it out.

3. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear nail colour in Invisible (100) and Crushed (290)
I needed a new top coat because I used up all of my Natio top and base coat. So I ended up buying a Sally Hansen clear coat - it doesn't actually say that it's a top coat but it is invisible so that's what I'm using it for. I also bought 'Crushed' which is a beautiful orangey-copper colour that has a slight sheen to it. Unfortunately it's one of those nail polishes where you can see the brush strokes after its dried - this is quite noticeable in natural sunlight, but indoors you can't see it. It's one of those nail polishes that I had to buy as soon as I saw it and I wasn't disappointed - the colour looks exactly the same in the bottle as when applied to the nail. Look out for a Nails of the Day blog coming out soon using these polishes.

4. Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Colour in Princess Cut (310)
This was one of those impulse buys that I kind of regret. It just looks so pretty in the bottle that I had to get it! But the actual product doesn't look that great. I haven't used it yet, but it looks like it is a pink glitter in a very see through pink colour. I think it can only be used over the top of a pink polish, but i'll give it a try and let you all know how it goes.

5. Nivea Lip Butter (Vanilla & Macadamia)
This smells good enough to eat. I seriously want to eat the whole tin of it but that would probably taste really bad. When applied the balm feels like its working which is always a plus. I don't think its the best balm i've ever used, but its definitely the best i've ever smelled. I think i'll buy the caramel one as well just so I can have it in my bag and smell it :P This one cost me $5.69 which I thought was pretty reasonable. I really like that its a wide but flat tin. Others I've used in the past have been smaller and deeper, so when you stick your finger in the balm gets all up in your nails which I find really gross. This Nivea one if great because it has the same amount of product but its very shallow. Definitely recommend this product.

xoxoxo

Em

Real Techniques Stippling Brush

Hi everyone, I just thought I would write a short one today on something I bought last week.

Makeup brushes have never held much interest to me. Personally, if it does the job then I thought it was a good brush. That was until I bought the Real Techniques Stippling Brush. This brush is amazing! It's one of the softest brushes I have ever used and it can be used for multiple things. I personally use it to apply liquid foundation and it works a dream.

I had wanted a new brush to apply foundation for a while and did a bit of research before buying. I think the thing that won me over was that Samantha Chapman (founder of the Real Techniques brush line) had created multiple videos to show you how to use each brush. Along with the multiple youtube videos, It is easy to see why so many people love these brushes! My makeup goes on smoothly and it is very simple to blend in with this brush giving a flawless finish.

Not only is it a fantastic brush, it also looks great! Compared to my other brushes, it stands out and makes me want to buy the whole set of them (which I'm seriously considering). The only flaw is that they are a lot more expensive in Australia than everywhere else! This stippling brush cost me $22.95 AUD and in USA they are about $10.00 (or so i've been told). So I might have to hold out till I know someone going over there!

Overall I highly recommend this brush and will definitely be buying a few more in the future. What are your favourite brands of brushes to use? Let me know in the comment section below. Have a great day!

xoxoxo
Em

USA - (Go have a look for yourself: http://realtechniques.com/)
AUS - (http://www.realtechniques.com.au/) They are also available at priceline!

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Nail Polishes

Recently I have been trying out different styles and techniques with my nail polishes and I thought I would share some of them with you. Today's look is a vibrant blue nail polish with glitter! I actually found the two polishes used for this look at the bottom of my nail polish collection - I think I might have used them both once before then forgot about them. 

I remember the first time I used Sally Hansens' Xtreme 'Blue Me Away' (130) nail polish it looked amazing but it stained my nails really badly. So I thought I would give it another try but this time with a base coat.

Usually I would just use some sort of clear polish - this time I opted for Sally Hansens' Xtreme Wear 'White on' polish just for a bit of a change. It actually made the blue stand out a lot more in my opinion which is great!

As you may or may not know, I love sparkles, always have and always will. Which is why the Sally Hansen's 'Disco Ball' (180) nail polish is amazing. A bottle full of sparkles, what more could you ask for? The formula is clear with small bits of multi coloured glitter. As you can see in the pictures I have added this shade over the top of 'Blue Me Away' (130) and it looks fabulous. It kind of reminds me of the Sally Hansen Gem Crush in 'Bling-tastic' (03) so maybe try that if you just want the one layer of polish. 

Overall these polishes are really good quality. They go on really easily, last a long time in the bottle without going super thick (I must have had Blue Me Away for over a year and its texture still feels brand new). I find that if you don't give them a good shake before use they can be difficult to apply (thicker, stickier) so make sure you shake them up before use. I've only been wearing this since last night, so I'm not sure if they chip easily or not but I'll keep you updated on their success/failure via twitter!

This is one of those creations where I just keep looking at my nails and loving them more and more. Let me know what your favourite colour combination is at the moment. What is your favourite brand of polish to use? 

Hope you all have an amazing day!

xoxoxo

Em

Rimmel London Match Perfection Foundation

In the past I've been one of those girls that tends to stick with higher end foundations. I'm not really sure why, I guess in my mind higher cost = better product. Recently I've found this statement to be completely untrue. I decided that these high end foundations were way too expensive and as a uni student, found that this money could be used elsewhere on more important things. So I decided to purchase a drugstore foundation and after a lot of research narrowed it down to two; Rimmel London Match Perfection and Rimmel London Wake Me Up foundation. As far as I could tell the only major difference between these 2 is that Wake Me Up has a slight shimmer in it and when I saw it in the store, the shimmer was quite noticeable. So inevitably, I purchased the Match Perfection Foundation.

This is an amazing foundation - I would even go as far as to say it's the best i've ever used. I use the colour Light Porcelain and its matches my skin perfectly (as the name suggests). In Australia we get a variety of 12 different colours, so there is one to match the majority of skin tones. The formulation is great - it goes on dewy (so maybe not so great for people with oily skin) but with a pressed powder over the top it looks fantastic. I would say it gives a medium coverage which I love; it's enough to cover my freckles, but doesn't look like I've got a tonne of makeup on. It also contain SPF 18 which is something I always look for in foundations, especially because I have such fair skin - it means I don't have to sunscreen underneath. The product has a slightly fruity smell which didn't really matter to me (i thought it smelt quite nice) but I know other people like no scent at all so keep this in mind when purchasing.

It lasted about 6 hours on my skin, but this can be different for other skin types. The packaging is nice, not too over the top but still good looking. I love that it comes in a pump pack - other foundations I've used don't have a pump and it's a pain in the ..... you know what to get out. In terms of price, I bought it for about $14.00 AUD but that was on sale (it was 40% off all cosmetics so I went a little crazy :P). The high end foundation I was using before this cost me about $60.00 AUD so in comparison I am VERY happy. I would definitely recommend this product and will be buying the Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation in the future so look out for that review! 

Personal Review:

Colour Range: 9 / 10

Packaging: 7 / 10

Product: 8 / 10

Cost: $17.95 AUD

Have you tried either of these foundations? Let me know in the comments below on which one you've tried or which one you like better!

xoxoxoxo

Maybelline New York Fit Me Concealer

This was the first concealer I ever used and I was extremely impressed from the get go. I never really has a need for concealer until I went back to uni a couple of months ago and started getting circles under my eyes from all the late night studying! It's able to cover the dark circles under my eyes and make me look more awake and ready for the day instead of looking half asleep. Admittedly I haven't tested it on redness because I don't tend to get redness, but it is able to cover up blemishes quite well. I can first handedly say that it is able to cover up freckles and make my skin look flawless. 

The colour I am using at the moment is Fair Clair and it fits my skin to perfection (I have very fair skin) and it comes in 5 other colours: light, sand, medium, cafe and deep. The formula is very dewy, but looks fantastic when a pressed powder is put over the top to set it and it lasts all day without falling into creases or turning cakey (is that actually a word? haha). 

It's not too pricey compared to other brands such as Revlon, Max Factor and Almay, however there are cheaper one's out there. The design of the packaging is very simple but I don't hate it - it looks kind of stylish in a way. 

Overall I think this is a great product - the formula is amazing and the cost is not too bad. I would recommend this for anyone with dryer skin as it is quite dewy. Anyone with oily skin might be able to get away with it, but would definitely have to put a powder over the top. Let me know in the comment section what your favourite concealer is!  

Personal Review

Colour Range: 7 / 10

Packaging: 7 / 10

Product: 8 / 10

Cost: $14.95 AUD

xoxoxoxo

Welcome to the World of Blogging!

My first ever post! One day I'll look back at this and think wow, look how far I've come (Hopefully :P).  This blog is mainly going to be about beauty products I love to use and reviews of how each compares. Each week will be a new product (sometimes twice in one week) and will contain an in-depth focus on the pros and cons of it. Keep looking at this space for what is sure to be greatness :) xoxo