My Big Birthday Giveaway Winner!

I finally have the winners of My Birthday Giveaway!!! Thank you all so much for all your support for my blog and to those who entered my giveaway. I had such an overwhelming and positive response!! I'm glad you all liked the prizes =D I had 614 people enter(!) which is why it took me so long to count. Do you know how long it took to validate entries??!! I should have counted as I went but didn't as always lol. I had to bribe my sis into helping me count entries! Unfortunately I couldn't count a number of entries as they didn't follow the rules so just make sure you follow them next time for a chance to win ;) Onto the winners!

1st prize winner is:

Donna C!

2nd prize winner is:

Abby from Nothing Personail!

Congratulations ladies!!! I've just sent you both emails requesting your details. Please respond within 48hours! If I don't receive a response in that time period I will draw another winner.

A HUGE thank you and hugs to Christina for the beautiful handmade 2nd prize for my giveaway!!! You can purchase your very own piece of her gorgeous jewellery and deco items by checking out her Etsy store. Abby I am sure you will love the rings!

For those of you who didn't win this time - don't be disappointed! A new giveaway will be up in a few days!

Birthday card inspired manicure

I have for you today a manicure that’s inspired by the gorgeous birthday card lovely Aysh sent me in my surprise birthday package. I knew I would have to do a mani inspired by the card as soon as I saw it! It's so pretty and I loved the colours together. While planning this mani, I realised that my nail polish collection is getting rather large. I could think of 5 different slightly similar polishes in my collection that I could have used as the base colour xD It's a scary thought considering a year ago I was complaining that I didn't have enough polishes!! In the end I decided to go with a base of Art Deoo 280, some gold stamping and blue rhinestones to achieve the mani.


I received Art Deco 280 from my wonderful friend Christina as a birthday gift and I’ve been dying to try it out since. I haven't really felt like these sorts of colours lately though which is why I didn't try it sooner. 280 is a gorgeous dark magenta polish with fuchsia microglitter. In the bottle, it looks almost duochrome with some gold flashes but it doesn’t translate on the nail unfortunately. My swatches of it are a little lighter than it is in real life, the finished manicure pics show the colour of 280 more accurately.

It was very easy to apply and the brush was fantastic to use. Pictured is 2 coats with no cleanup required and it dried quickly and to a glossy finish! I'm very impressed with this awesome Greek German brand (thanks for the info Marox79!!) =D The microglitter adds that something extra to the polish and makes it sparkle.


Close-up:


I then stamped swirl and dot full nail design from Konad plate m64 using China Glaze Passion. I then applied some round light blue rhinestones (I don't have dark blue ones doh!) to my nails. Topped it all off with a coat of Color Club Vivid Color Intensifying topcoat!




Thank you to Aysh for providing me with the inspiration for this mani and to Christina for helping me achieve it!

What do you think of my mani? Does it look similar to the card? I love matching stuff!

Thanks for looking as always!! =)

Face of Australia Mineral Lip Shine and FOTD

Hi ladies! How have you all been? I've been so busy with work and stuff so hence the lack of posts. I've been on a real makeup kick lately so I haven't been doing very fancy NOTDs. Don't worry though, nail art will return shortly! I've also been having lots of fun playing with lots of new (to me) Face of Australia products which were kindly sent to me for review. One of these products is the gorgeous Mineral Lip Shine in Fairy Floss.


What they say:

"Face of Australia Mineral Lip Shine combines natural mineral pigments and hydrating ingredients for lasting moisture and colour. The silky formula contains no synthetic dyes and shades range from light sheers to thicker creams."


Fairy Floss is a very pretty pink lipstick that feels more like a balm. They describe it as "the perfect go-between natural lip colour - not sticky or shiny like a lip gloss and not as heavy as a lipstick." It's somewhat sheer giving a nice pinky sheen to your lips, fantastic for when you need a neutral/pinky lip colour. It's super moisturising and feels lovely on! The smell is OK - it's a little sweet but it's not too offending.


It's packaged very sleekly in silver and there's a plastic protective cap included which is something I haven't seen before. Is this to prevent the lippie from drying out or something? I'm more of a lipgloss girl so if anyone could enlighten me that would be great! The Mineral Lip Shines are infused with natural mineral pigments for shine and contain antioxidant vitamins to keep lips soft and hydrated. It also contains natural sun protection filters which is a must for us here in Australia!


A quick FOTD for you using some of the Face of Australia products I'm been trying out:


Products I used:

Face:
Face of Australia Face Base Primer - I'm really loving this! Helps my makeup stay put for the day.
Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Liquid Foundation in Beige
Face of Australia Translucent Loose Powder
Benefit The Pore Professional - review to come.
Benefit Bella Bamba - review to come.

Eyes:
Eyeko Grafitti eyeliner pen in Purple - I did an Eyeko haul this month and I am absolutely LOVING these liquid eyeliners!!! They are freaking AWESOME. Haul post soon!
GOSH Velvet Touch eyeliner in Purple Stain
Australis TLC Lash mascara

Lips:
Face of Australia Mineral Lip Shine in Fairy Floss

I am loving the combination of Face of Australia Mineral Therapy Liquid Foundation and Translucent Loose Powder and I've been using it over the last week. It makes my skin look and feel fantastic even though it's far from great. Full review coming up soon! I have so many polishes and products to review but so little time x( I kinda regret taking up that 2nd job.. but the experience will be good for me I think.

Would I repurchase?: I love pink lippies so it's a definite yes! The colour is fantastic and I love that it feels great and is so moisturising.

Face of Australia Mineral Lip Shine can be purchased from Priceline, Kmart, Big W and selected pharmacies Australia wide for $12.95. It is available in 7 different shades.

A big thank you to Face of Australia for sending me the above product to sample! I was sent the above product for my consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion.

Thanks for looking!

A surprise birthday package!

I got home today tired and hungry and found a package waiting for me from the UK. This instantly perked me up as I didn't order anything from the UK, so who was sending me stuff? I didn't ponder the mystery for very long and tore into the package! I almost cried as it was a sweet and totally unexpected birthday package from beautiful Aysh!!!!


Look at all those chocolates!! Plus 2 beautiful polishes and a lovely card omgish!


Aysh sent me another bottle of Barry M Mint Green (you might remember it unfortunately didn't make it in the last awesome package she sent me) and also Essie Neo Whimsical both now crossed off my wishlist!


The birthday card is so pretty!!! It's given me nail inspiration actually. The yummy chocolates she sent me are now half gone xD


Aysh you are soooooo naughty for spoiling me!! Thank you so very very much for this wonderful surprise lovely <3 You made my week and I am so appreciative of your generosity =) I am always amazed and overwhelmed at the generosity of my fellow bloggers, you ladies are so awesome!

Thanks for looking!

Face of Australia Molten Metallics collection Part 2

Today I have for you the last 4 lacquers that make up the stunning Face of Australia Molten Metallics nail polish collection. I know you don’t want to hear me blabber so let’s get right onto the pictures! You can check out Part 1 here.



Flaming Lava - The absolute stand out of the entire collection and the hands down must have polish! A glimmering dark red shimmer polish. The formula is fantastic and it’s extremely pigmented, only 1 coat was needed for opacity! I’m going to have to try using this for stamping as I'm looking for an opaque red. It applied very smoothly and evenly and the brush was fine to use. It dried to a very glossy finish too. 1 coat pictured.




Gold - A very blingy and shimmery warm gold foil. A must have for every polish collection in my opinion along with a silver foil! Again, a very pigmented polish only needing 1 coat for opacity. 1 coat pictured.




Bronze - a bronzey/brown foil with orange and silver microglitter. I'm not a huge fan of bronze polishes but I really liked this on me! It's a very pretty bronze and I love the shimmer through it and the way it looks when it catches the light. Another very pigmented polish which was easy to apply. 2 coats pictured.




Verdigris - a beautiful olive green shimmer with blue and gold microglitter. It leans quite yellow and is a unique polish to my collection! Again, it's very pigmented but it's a little brushstrokey for my liking. 2 coats pictured.




Overall: I absolutely love the colours and finishes in the collection and I am so impressed and glad to add these polishes to my stash. I loved the variety of finishes and the colours work very well together to fit the metallic theme. All polishes were very fast drying and pigmented which is fantastic. At most you’ll need 2 coats for each colour and if you’re very careful with application you could get away with only 1. Except for White Gold, the formula of these was good and they applied easily and smoothly. The price point is also very very reasonable - $4.95 is a steal and on par with other Aussie brands. I love it when a fantastic lacquer costs me less than a bacon and egg roll ;)

The only disappointment with the collection for me was the inconsistency of the brushes. I had real difficulties using some while others were fine. Oh and the fact that they only released 8 colours for the collection!! I would have loved to see a blue in the mix even though I’m not sure how it would fit into the molten theme though haha. I love all the colours but my must haves would be Flaming Lava, Amethyst, Iron Ore and Titanium. I think these are perfect hues for the cooler months and I highly recommend purchasing them!

The Molten Metallics collection will be available from May – August 2011 and whilst stocks last. They will be available for purchase from Priceline, Kmart, Big W and selected pharmacies Australia wide for $4.95.

A HUGE thank you to Face of Australia for providing me with the collection to sample!! I'm so stoked to have been given the opportunity to try the entire collection. I was sent the above product for my consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion.

Thanks for looking as always!

Face of Australia Molten Metallics collection Part 1

I am super excited today to bring you the soon to be released Limited Edition Face of Australia Molten Metallics nail polish collection. I showed you a sneak peek last week and I tried my very best to get them up as soon as I could! I hadn’t tried Face of Australia nail polishes before (I don’t know why!) so I was very interested to try them as I love to support local brands.


What they say:

"Adorn your nails with breathtaking silver, gold and bronzing shades in stunning metallic finish. A total of 8 rich, dazzling hues to make your nails the ultimate fashion statement this winter."
My 1st impression when I saw these was "WOW". The collection contains 8 beautiful polishes in different finishes that are perfect for the upcoming Autumn/Winter season here in Australia. They are Big3 free and contain 13mls of polish for the princely sum of only $4.95! Today I have for you the first half of the collection. I have a tonne of swatches and I don’t want to bombard you with them all in one post! For reference, all polishes are swatched with no base or topcoat.

I'm going to reserve my overall experience with the polishes for tomorrow when I show you part 2 of the collection. So, on to the pictures!


Titanium - A very blingy and very shiny silver foil. It applied very smoothly and evenly and is extremely pigmented - only 1 coat is needed for opacity! You can’t have too many silver foils in your collection I say ;) The brush was easy to use and minimal cleanup was needed. This was one of my favourites from the collection. 1 coat pictured.




White Gold: A very pigmented white gold, somewhat champagne metallic. Unfortunately this polish was the problem child of the collection. The formula was somewhat thinner than the others and the brush was very floppy making application extremely difficult. It was also quite brushstrokey so 2 coats was needed to even things out. Excuse the bad clean up job with this polish, I got somewhat fed up with it haha. 2 coats pictured.




Iron Ore – a gorgeous black with silver and blue shimmer. This comes into it's own when it hits light and you can see all the lovely shimmer! It kind of reminds me of space. The formula is very pigmented and 1 coat is enough for opacity however the brush was difficult to use so another was needed to even out my mistakes. Another favourite of mine, black with added oomph! 2 coats pictured.




Amethyst: I wouldn't really call this colour amethyst as it's a lot darker, it's more of a Tyrian purple with silver shimmer. Another one of my favourites of this collection, plus I am just partial to purples hehe. It is absolutely stunning and perfect for a night out!! The brush was OK to use and it dried to a glossy finish. 2 coats pictured.




What do you think of the collection so far? Which colours take your fancy?

I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of my swatches! Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow =) Thanks for looking!

*These polishes were sent to me for my consideration.

Illamasqua Wink NOTD

Hi ladies! How has your weekend been? Mine was far too short as usual and I'm dreading going back to work tomorrow. I didn't get much time to do my nails but I managed to squeeze in a quick NOTD using the gorgeous Illamasqua Wink which I hauled in January.

Illamasqua Wink is a beautiful pale lavender creme and just the type of pastel colour I adore! These bottles are so sexy and square and how I long to own more as they would look fantastic all lined up in my helmer =p


It applied smoothly and was opaque in just 2 coats which is fantastic. For pastels I find I need at least 3 coats for opacity and to even out the streakiness so I'm very happy. I'm used to using polishes with round caps that it took me a little while to get used to the square cap!


I felt like some glitter but I didn't want to cover up the gorgeous colour so I attempted a glitter gradient with Rescue Beauty Lounge Frugalista. I really should have sponged it but oh well!


I'm currently still tallying up entries for my giveaway and the winner will be announced as soon I can. I'll be catching up with comments too shortly! I've just been so busy lately running around trying to get everything done. I really need more than 1 day off in a week but alas it's self inflicted!

I hope you're all having a great weekend! Do you have any Illamasqua polishes? What's your favourite colour from their range?

Thanks for looking as always!

Face of Australia Divine Shine Lip Plumper

I love trying new lipglosses so I was very excited to try the Divine Shine Lip Plumper from Aussie brand Face of Australia which they kindly sent me in an awesome care package last week. I have so many lipglosses in my makeup stash yet I still always buy them x)


What they say:

"The ultra shiny, moisturising Lip Plumper utilises the incredible properties of ginger, cinnamon and menthol to deliver an amazing plumping effect."

It comes in 2 shades - a cute red/pink called Sterling Blossom and a warm bronze called Lavish Instinct which I have for you today.


Product:

The lipgloss comes with a sponge applicator and is very moisturising. The formula isn't sticky at all (something I really hate) and Lavish Instinct gives me lovely warm rosy lips. I didn't notice a huge plumping effect but I did find it smoothed my lips and gave them a slightly fuller effect. When you first apply it you get a lovely tingling and cooling sensation due to the menthol it contains. The smell takes some getting use to as it contains cinnamon and ginger but it's quite pleasant.


I used it for a very natural Face of the Day (FOTD) a few days ago:


Products I used:
Make Up For Ever HD Microperfecting Primer in green
Skin79 Super Plus BB cream
Benefit Ooh La Lift
Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder in 18
Becca Beach Tint in Watermelon
Eyeko Graffiti eyeliner pen black
Australis Lash TLC mascara in Blackest Black
Face of Australia Divine Shine Lip Plumper in Lavish Instincts

Would I repurchase?: I really enjoy using Divine Shine Lip Plumper however I very rarely repurchase lipgloss colours as I always want to try new ranges and colours! I would repurchase this in Sterling Blossom however as I love pinks and the formula is wonderful.

Face of Australia Divine Shine Lip Plumper can be purchased from Priceline, Kmart, Big W and selected pharmacies Australia wide for $10.95.

A big thank you to Face of Australia for sending me the above product to sample! I was sent the above product for my consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion.

Thanks for looking!