Cracked China Cup Nail Decals

Since I stopped biting my nails  months ago, I have been  doing too much. I mean I have been biting my nails all my life and to now have nails to do something with! Mate, let me live innit lol

So I recently purchase some nail decals from one of my favourite blogs - Crackedchinacup.com. Its by Leomie Anderson  a model signed to Premier in London. When she announced that she would be doing a collaboration with DIY Nails I was excited because I had seen her nail tutorials (she does some pretty dope nail art)

I purchased them a week before Christmas and got them yesterday, great delivery time considering it was the holiday season. I got the  Dollar Billz,Fishnet and Mini Newspaper Print. They cost £6 /$11AUD each  and delivery was only £7/$12AUD and it was first class! :)

Fishnet 

Mini Newspaper Print 

Dollar Billz

On the back of the pack there are detailed instrction on how to use them and its very simple.
All you do is cut the nail decal to cover the nail, soak in water, peel the nail decal and lay it onto the nail and voila!

They don't look as neat as I would like them but hey practice makes perfect so I will get the dollar bills decals again and do them properly.

Have you tried these nails decals? What did you think? 

P.S follow leomie on Twitter she's hilarious! 

Best Deodorant Ever! -Lady Speed Stick

Since moving to OZ the struggle to control ones sweat has been real! All these other brands failed me terribly. My struggle is over though, please meet my saviour Lady Speed Stick. My aunt introduced me to this after hearing my never ending complaints of trying to keep fresh and dry armpits in this heat. If I had any doubts about God's love for me, it's all gone after he sent Lady Speed Stick to me.

I only put it on in the morning and I promise you I stay fresh all day, no funky-pits at all! You can get this in Chemist Warehouse and Coles in Australia for $4.59. Not sure about where you can get it in the UK but will let you all know as soon as I do

FOTD: Indigo Bay

This was my look of the day. I wasn't sure what to do with my face then I saw this Mary Kay lipstick that I hadn't worn in a while and thought I should do something purple, I've been liking purple lately actually, I don't always wear colour, my makeup is usually one big ol palette of neutral colours.

The products I used where:

Mary Kay (bronze 5 + bronze 8)
Coastal Scents Concealer Palette
The Body Shop Super Volume Mascara
No7 Va Va Voom Eyeshadow Palette (Limited Edition)
Sleek Contour Kit (Dark)
Jouer Highlighter ( shall be reviewing this soon)
Mary Kay True Dimensions Lipstick (Mystic Plum)
Mary Kay Lip Liner (Plum)
Mary Kay Translucent Powder
Rimmel Blush (Pink Rose 20)
Revlon Eyebrow Pencil  (Brown)
The Body Shop Blush (Ginger)

Check out my little photo shoot below with a world renowned photographer from California, Iphone 5s Camera.

Adele Says No To Lorea'l Deal Worth £12 million!

Getty Images - Adele at the Brit Awards 2012

According to Peoples Magazine Adele was offered £12 million to replace Cheryl Cole as the brand ambassador for Lorea'l UK. Lorea'l has had some pretty impressive ambassador such as Beyonce, Eva Longoria and Jennifer Lopez, I would have thought Adele would be more than happy to join this list but hey who needs £12 million anyway?

She probably turned it down because she's a new mum and just wants to focus on the love in her life. If Lorea'l are still looking for a brand ambassador I am available, they would have to add few more millions  because, well, I'm kind of a big deal you see :p

Review: The Body Shop Warming Mineral Mask

This has been one of those products I've been meaning to review for a little while but kept forgetting to (covers eyes) During my time working at The Body Shop,I was introduced to the Warming Mineral Mask. At the time I was working in the city and I wanted a deep cleansing face mask to add to my skin care regimen so I thought I would try it. 

The Warming Mineral Mask comes in a plastic tube (as you can see in the pictures) and you get 100ml of the product.The main ingredient in  it is kaolin clay which  helps restore the skins natural balance and with the help of zeolite which causes the mask to warm up as it comes onto contact with the skin and draw out impurities. Unlike other clay masks that crack as they dry on the skin, this stays moist on the skin.

I applied a generous amount of the mask to my face for 5 minutes and washed it off using a warm flannel. My skin felt very fresh and soft, however I had a slight greyish look left on my skin as if I had put on some sunscreen.

If you are have skin that is prone to breakouts this might just be for you, its suitable for all skin types.

You can purchase the Warming Mineral Mask from The Body Shop UK for £10 & Australia for $28.95

Will you be trying this? Leave a comment below.

NOTD: Revlon 'Emerald City'

Girl your nails be growing!

A month since I stopped biting, chewing, eating, destroying my nails  they sure as hell are growing :) I change my nail polish every other I day *covers face*. I have been biting my nails for as long as I can remember- let me live yo! Today I had on the Revlon 'Emerald City' in matte suede. It's  a beautiful rich colour, and it dries so quick too. I got this nail polish a while back from Target for $4.95


P.S I'm trying to get back to being social so follow me on Twitter & Instagram

Does Makeup With SPF Protect You From The Sun?

Stock Photo

Brands theses days are looking at ways of making their products multifunctional because they know the consumer is very busy and just want to simplify their already hectic lives. If you go to any drugstore there are  plenty of sunscreens on the market and next to them there will be a heap of  makeup products with SPF in it.

I ran out of my regular sunscreen earlier this week, so I went to my local drugstore to replace it. Once I got there I saw makeup that had SPF. I was about to get it and then I asked myself does makeup with SPF protect you as much as a sunscreen. So I left Priceline  to do my research (Thank you Baby Jesus for Google)

After my research on the internet, I had a regular appointment at the doctors. So I thought I would bombard him with my queries about SPF in makeup. I had already found out some substantial information on-line from reliable sources ( No, not Wikipedia) so I just needed my doctor to give me his two cents. So here is the deal with makeup with SPF:

Makeup with SPF  does actually protect you from the sun IF whatever that makeup product is, you apply it to your skin first after you have washed your face. Which raises a problem for me because if I purchase a foundation with SPF, there's a few products that I  apply to my skin before I  get to the foundation such as moisturiser, serum, primer, etc. 

So ye,s to actually get SPF from a foundation that has SPF you would need to apply it to your skin first after washing it and then slap on the moisturiser, serum, primer - say what now? 

I  think will stick to my regular sunscreen, thank you misleading makeup  brands!

Hello Port Macquarie!

So I wrote this post a good 5 months ago and never got round to actually posting it!  *covers eyes*

This past weekend  I went on a trip to Port Macquarie with my cousins. It is B-E-A-UTIFUL! We were only there for four days but we had a great time. 

Port Macquarie is about 4 hours away from Sydney on the north coast of New South Wales. I can't wait to go back there again. Check out the pictures below:

 

Revlon 'Minted' Nail Polish

If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen me wearing this nail polish for the last few weeks. I LOVE the colour. Its Revlon  'Minted', a soft pastel mint green colour. Its part of their Classic Nail Enamel collection. I applied three coats and I'm pretty happy with it.

   


      


     


   

You can purchase this polish from your local Priceline for $13.95 in Australia or Superdrug for £6.49 in the UK

Benifex Paw Paw Ointment Review

If you suffer from extremely dry hands like myself, Benifex Paw Paw Ointment has come to save you!

I'm one of those people that just can never moisturise enough, my skin absorbs any lotion, cream, oil like a sponge. So the battle to keep my skin looking moisturised and not ashy is like no other. There are many hand creams out on the market but only a few work wonders for us dry skin beauts. 

One of those is Beneifex Paw Paw Ointment, I actually heard about this ointment from my mum. She works in a hospital so she's constantly washing her hands which means they get very dry, and she ends up buying these useless hand creams that don't keep your hands moisturised (which can be very pricey might I add).

The Paw Paw Ointment is described to have a lot more benefits other than helping against the dryness of the skin such giving temporary relief of the symptoms of skin conditions such as eczema and dermatitis. As well as being used as a topical application for cuts, burns, bruises, splinters etc.  I can't tell you that this ointment does all it says it does but I can definitely say it will keep your hands moisturised and you only need to use a drop, because a little goes such a long way!

 

    

You can purchase this ointment from Coles for $3.99! Pretty good considering how brilliant it is.

Do you suffer from dry hands? If yes will you give this miracle in a tube a try?

Makeup Artist Wayne Goss Launches Brush Collection

If you are one of the millions of people familiar with the Youtube beauty world, you might have come across one of y favourite Youtube Beauty Vloggers Wayne Goss. Wayne Goss, a Cardiff based Makeup Artist has been making Youtube videos since 2008. He isn't your average youtube 'guru' who fills his channel with hauls and tags. He breaks down makeup techniques into the simplest form, he also does product reviews aswell as makeup tutorials.

A few weeks back he announce that he would releasing his own brush collection, It makes sense that he would have his own brush collection because he always says when you have the best brushes the makeup application is a lot easier.

The brush collection consists of 8 brushes ranging between £13/£22 - £30/$50. The brushes where hand crafted in Japan using cruelty free hair. 

The brush collection is now available on www.beautylish.com in the US and www.love-makeup.co.uk for the UK and the rest of the world. 

Will you be purchasing these? 

Burberry Spring/Summer 2014 Nail Polish Collection

 

Burberry revealed a new nail polish collection backstage at the Spring/Summer Show 2014. The will only be available for two weeks before being on hold until their official launch in January 2014. The polishes were created to match the handbags that models such as Cara Delevigne, Ava Smith and Edie Campbell rocked on the runway.

The collection will have six shades; Pale Yellow, Rose Pink, Mink, Sage Green, Dusky Mauve and Pale Grape

Burberry's first nail polishes launch this month as part of their permanent beauty collection, but if you would like to own the new six-pack of shades you might want to move fast because I think they will be selling out before the two window is up.

You can purchase the Burberry Spring/Summer 2014 collection for £90/$153 from Burberry.com until September 30th.

Will you be buying?

Review: Nars Sheer Glow Foundation

I have been meaning to do this review for a while now, I actually don't know why it took me so long?! but here it is!

Description from Nars

''A glowing, natural radiant finish foundation with sheer and build-able coverage that immaculately evens skin tone. Replete with skincare benefits and the NARS Complexion Brightening Formula, it leaves skin hydrated, more luminous, softer and smoother. Used daily, Sheer Glow Foundation improves the skin's brightness and texture. For normal, normal-to-dry and dry skin types. Hydrates for softer and smoother skin.Contains powerful anti-oxidants to protect against damaging free radicals and turmeric extract to improve skin's radiance and tone''

Packaging

The foundation comes in a a rectangular glass bottle with a black lid The lid can be pulled off to reveal a small twisty lid, this means in order to use the product you will need to pour it on the back of your hand or a palette - sigh. Now I'm sure many people who have used this product can agree with me when I say a pump would help because having to pour the product out can be wasteful.

Colour

I have used this foundation on myself and on clients of various shades, however to get the right complexion for some of my clients and myself I had to mix two of the foundation shades. Although, since I've moved to Australia I haven't needed to mix two shades, I have been okay with one shade which is the Trinidad shade. It also comes in 21 shades.

Application

I pour the product on the back of my hand and apply it using the Crownbrush Taklon Foundation Brush. However, François Nars actually recommends pouring the foundation in your palm and applying it with your hands. Its totally up to you, you do what you are comfortable with.

Formula

It is a water based foundation so give it a good shake before you use it. It does take a little while to set on the skin as its pretty liquidy. It also doesn't have SPF which works great for photography. 

Nars claims that the formula hydrates the skin, protects against damaging free radicals and improves skin radiance and tone. I have been using this foundation for a while and I haven't seen and benefits to my skin *shrugs*

Finish

It gives a nice satin-dewy finish. I have dry skin and oils need a little bit of help to look alive with makeup.

Coverage

It is a buildable product, so you can have sheer and full coverage. You have a lot of control with how much you can apply depending on your desire coverage.

Myself wearing Nars Sheer Glow in the shade Trinidad

Longevity 

I have used this foundation on myself on a hot day (see below) and it has stayed on all day without touch up. I also used this foundation in particular for a music video shoot for Rachel Kerr on a very, very hot day with filming lights all on her for hours and it did not melt! - I had to blot and powder a couple times but overall I was impressed

Makeup I did on Rachel Kerr for 'Hold my hand' music video, I used Nars Sheer Glow In trinidad

Price

It is $44AUSD/$26GBP  for 30ml of product from the Nars website. For that price they could have put a pump on the bottle! 

Rating: 8/10

Have you tried this foundation yet or will you be trying it? Let me know in the comments:)

Nail Polish That Changes With Your Temperature!

If you have never been amazed before, prepare to be!

Nail polish lovers the nail polish God's have blessed you once again, I introduce to you Shade Shifter from Orly. This is a a new colour changing top coat that changes your nail polish shade depending on your body temperature, the warmer you are the lighter the shade, the colder you are the darker the shade.I am so impressed.

Check out the demonstration video below from:

The Gel fx top coat is only available in salons only as it requires to be under UV light for the product to cure. 

Will you be giving it a try? let me know in the comments below :)

Illamasqua UV Nail Varnish

Illamasqua is known for its bold and daring makeup and nothing has changed with their new Paranormal Collection. Besides the gorgeous eyeshadows and lipsticks the collection  includes UV nail varnish. Yes you read that right UV nail vanish!

The colours available are  Omen (bright green) Seance (bright violet) and Ouija (bright pink), theres also a UV glow top coat (Geist)  to complete the look, pretty cool - no?

Retailing at $22.50 at MYER will you be trying these or the UV varnish a little bit too bold for you? Let me know in the comments below.