Models Own Sale Haul

A while ago I posted about the 50% off sale Models Own was having for their Facebook fans. I obviously couldn't pass on that offer and placed an order a couple hours after the sale went live. I know from reading the comments on their facebook wall that a lot of people had problems with their orders. Mine went through after trying a couple times so I'm not complaining. I also noticed that they replied to comments and questions very quickly, especially considering how busy it was. So I think their customus service is excellent!

My Models Own goodies arrived last friday, a week after I placed my order (I live in Belgium). Everything arrived in one piece so I'm a very happy customer :)

I always find it difficult to get a good idea of what the colour of a certain product looks like in person from the pictures you see online. So before I ordered I searched for nail polish swatches. I chose colours that I didn't already have and hadn't seen in drugstores here in Belgium. Also added a white and a black cause the ones I have need like a million coats to get them opaque.

So here are the things I got:

Polishes from left to right (5 cremes and 5 glitters):
- Snow White
- Peach Sherbet 
- Nude Beige 
- Purple Grey
- Black Magic 
- Mixed Up
- Disco Mix
- Purple Haze
- Magenta Divine
- Silver Spangle

- Black + Purple Sparkle Powder Eyeshadow
- Natural Curl Lash

Close up picture of the eye shadow:

Blurred to show purple sparkle

Close up of the lashes:

They are called Natural Lash and when I saw the picture on the website they did look the most natural of the ones they had, thats why I got them. But they are very very long, which is actually a good thing cause I have a couple pair of false lashes that look similar but they aren't this long. They'll look great with dramatic eye makeup.



I swatched the nail polishes and tried to get the colours as accurate as possible. All swatches are 3 coats, but only Snow White and Peach Sherbert (looks more yellow on the pictures, more peach in person) really needed 3. Really happy with the glitter polishes too. Bought them to put on top of other polishes and the glitter looks really nice with one coat.
Polishes in same order as above:

Blurred so you can see the glitter better. So sparkly!

Natural light

I can't wait to try each one on my nails and use the glitters over different polishes. I'll be posting more swatches of each polish on my nails and different combinations with the glitter polishes.

I'm going to Wales for a couple days on thursday and I'll definitely check out Models Own's other products and I look forward to seeing their full range of polishes in person and possibly pick up a couple more of them.

Definitely check out there website here and thanks again to Models Own for this amazing sale!



x
Tanja

Eyeko Chi Chi Polish and Punk Polish Swatches!

Eyeko has launched two new shades, Chi Chi Polish and Punk Polish. One's a glitter and one's a neon, but they're both pink! Punk Polish is a hot neon pink creme, while Chi Chi is a rose pink glitter in a clear base.



You know I'm a huge fan of swatching, but unfortunately, it so happens that I happen to already have done my nails, complete with nail stickers and bling, and it would have been difficult to remove all that to swatch two polishes. (What, you mean you haven't seen my nail bling yet? See my nail bling here. And follow me on Twitter so you don't miss my future exploits!:P ) So I swatched them on some false nails I had lying around instead. I hope you guys don't mind, I promise that real nail swatches will be up soon!

Here is Chi Chi Polish for Girly Nails:



This is a not-too-dense glitter in clear base, and this was 3 coats. You'll probably need 3-4 coats for full opacity. This would probably work well for layering, because the glitter won't obscure the colour below it. As a standalone colour it's pretty, but you'll need to put more coats on. I personally love this colour, it's sweet and girly but it still packs a punch due to the glitter. It's not too boring.

Here's Punk Polish, for Neon Nails:



This is a hot pink neon shade. It's not retina-searing neon, but it's still a pretty bright hot pink nevertheless. This is a creme and it is nicely opaque in two coats. Otherwise, there's not much I can say - the pictures do all the talking, really :)

Application-wise, both of these were the usual Eyeko quality - that is to say, the texture is a bit thicker than some of the other polishes out there, but they apply quite well. And they're pretty good value for the price, too, so these are worth checking out if you like any of the colours.

(This product was sent to me for review. I am not affiliated with or compensated by the company. This review is my honest and complete opinion.)

DIY Lip-scrub

Hi all =)

I will be showing you how to make your very own simple lip-scrub using just three items you could easily find at home. I use this lip-scrub once ever few weeks, this scrub literally takes less than 5 minutes to make!

You will need: Vaseline, Cotton bud and sugar.

You don't have to specifically use vaseline, you could use an old chapstick, or any lipbalms lying around.

Take the cotton bud, snip off the tip of the cotton bud so you are left with only the plastic stick.

Use the stick to scoop out some vaseline

Then you can use a teaspoon and pour some sugar over the vaseline (till it's covered), the sugar will naturally stick on to the vaseline. 

Apply the scrub on to your lips; gently massage it on your lips for about 10seconds and wipe it off with a tissue. The tissue will help remove the scrub along with all the dead skin.

The final results: smooth, soft and kissable lips. Mwah!

I wish you all beautiful lips =) 

Lots of love <3

Zoya Spooning: Weirdest Ad Ever

Update: Apparently the "Spoons" idea is a LOT more boring than any of us thought. It's basically swatches of a nail polish on a fake nail that you can order. Yes, really. It's supposed to help you never order the wrong colour ever again, because you can hold the fake nail up to your real nail and see it against your skin. And this fake nail swatch is all yours for 50 cents. Is that lame or what? There are bloggers aplenty who swatch with awesome colour accuracy, and anyone can paint polish on a fake nail and sell it for less than 50 cents. They can even buy up new collections and swatch them all and sell them for less than a buck! Sorry Zoya, I'm not excited by this at all.


(Picture from MUA)

If you haven't already heard, Zoya plans to introduce this product called "spooning" on 1st September. Apparently they thought mystery was the best publicity, so they put out a rather cryptic ad on Youtube, with an overenthusiastic girl gushing about how "spooning is amazing" - without telling us what spooning is, of course. They're keeping us in suspense til the official launch date.

Personally, I don't like the ad. I know the whole suspense thing can be a valuable asset in a marketing campaign, but I don't think the Spooning ad got it quite right. After I watched the video, I was left frowning and scratching my head, instead of feeling intrigued and curious. And the acting kind of annoyed me a little, and it didn't add to the sense of mystery, either. I mean, if you want to be mysterious, why have an overly perky girl shilling your product? They don't quite go together, somehow.

That said, I suppose that me blogging about it means that as far as this blog is concerned, Zoya has probably done it's job (i.e. gotten people like me to talk about it). But seriously, this has gotta be the weirdest ad ever for a nail polish product. And not in a good way.



Of course, as you might imagine, what spooning exactly is has been speculated about, to some extent. Guesses I've heard are the option to franken your own polish, by mixing "spoons" of Zoya's current polishes together, or maybe a sample system by which you can order "spoons" or trial sizes of polishes before getting the full sized ones. These both sound reasonable to me. I really like the frankening idea, though! I'm hoping it will mean that we can mix our own polishes from Zoya's current stock online, and then order it just like any other colour.

What do you think of the ad? Sufficiently intriguing, or just confusing? Any guesses as to what "spooning" is?

GOSH Eyeshadow Quartet Swatches: Vanity Pastels and Modest Liberty

While passing by Superdrug (I swear I wasn't getting makeup! :P ) I noticed that GOSH had put out two new eyeshadow palettes, called Eyeshadow Quartets. They aren't the Eyeshadow Quattros in round packaging. These ones had four small round eyeshadow pans in a square casing, and they actually looked similar to the Stila Montmartre and Marrakesh quads that were put out awhile back.

These quartets come in two shades - one consists of pastels, called Vanity Pastels, and the other one (which I actually like a lot) is called Modesthttp://www.blogger.com/home?pli=1 Liberty, and is a set of neutrals - one of which is a TAUPE! And if you are a taupe lover like me, this will make you happy. *Does a taupe dance*

Here is Modest Liberty. I'm starting of with this because THERE IS A TAUPE. I've even thoughtfully swatched a similar GOSH Single Eyeshadow, 14 Grey Brown, next to it, because I know you'll be wondering if it's a dupe for the single eyeshadow:



L - R: 14 Grey Brown, Modest Liberty

I really love this one, it's something I'll absolutely wear. It consists of a taupe (hellooo taupe!), a light pink, a light yellow, and a gunmetal grey. All the shadows are shimmery, but not overly so, and I think the shimmer is pretty much wearable. Pigmentation on this one started off a tad sheer but was easily buildable, as evidenced by the swatches.

And unfortunately, Grey Brown isn't a dupe for the taupe in Modest Liberty. It's more purple and brown based, whereas the taupe in Modest Liberty is more grey. Also, the taupe in Modest Liberty is a shade lighter, and doesn't have any of the sparkle of Grey Brown. Personally, I prefer Grey Brown, but I think the Modest Liberty quad is really pretty too.

Here's Vanity Pastels:



This one has a pastel blue-green, a pastel lilac purple, a pastel pink, and a pastel off-white vanilla colour.

As you can tell from my lack of enthusiam, this one I found a little more meh. Not because I hate pastels, but because compared to Modest Liberty, Vanity Pastels is weaker in pigmentation. I mean, it's not terrible, but it's not as great as the other quad. And it doesn't have a taupe.

Quality-wise, these are different from the usual GOSH Single Eyeshadows, which are domed and slightly harder in texture. This one is more like the GOSH Trios and Quattros, with a similar soft texture and medium but buildable pigmentation. If you liked those, these quartets would worth trying as well. The only thing is that compared to the relatively large size of the Quattros, these are a little tinier in size.

Award: You're going places baby!

I was given this award a while ago by the lovely Dizzy, Please do check out her blog, she does loads of great reviews!

So the rules are;
1) Get the award icon
2) Share with us where you see yourself in 10 years 
3) Pass on the award


This can go two ways, the first is how I fantasise myself in 10 years time, or the second how i realistically see myself in 10 years time.


In fantasy land, i would love to see myself in 10 years time with no wrinkles, great skin, still the same weight and body shape, people giving me money for free out of the kindness of their hearts, living on a secret island and maybe design jewellery for Dior or Chanel.


Realistically though... I see myself working, probably in the legal sector  and maybe married with a huge diamond ring (hint hint) and slowly building my own little family. 
Whatever happens in 10 years time, I hope i'm happy and healthy, and surrounded by those i love.


The rules hadn't stated how many people i can pass the award on to, so i'm going to be cheeky and award ALL my followers =) 


So where do you see yourself in 10years time?
Lots of love xX <3

Beauty Blog Link Love

Rae reviews a gorgeously packaged mascara that smells like blueberries (no, we're not kidding!) over at theNotice.

Tammerly from Pink Diva's Beauty Spot was GHD's guest at Little Joe Woman fashion luncheon which was also sponsored by Lancome.

IHeartCosmetics reviews the famous Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish .

The Pink Sith tries to put as many non sequitur references that she can into her review of Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Blush. See if she has finally gone too far.

Madame B Fatale swatches some Australian Mineral Shadows by Kylies Professional.

Jellyminx creates an affordable autumn inspired eye look perfect for the dreary weather the UK has had recently!!

Urban Decay announce The Black Palette and Lipglossiping has the photos! This one's for the rock chick inside each of us!

Cindy from Prime Beauty is finally leading the semi-"charmed" life she thinks she deserves by wearing the newest Three Custom Color Specialist lipstick. Find out how you can get yours as a GWP!

What's in the vanity drawers at The Gloss Menagerie? Come have a look at Alyson's makeup organization.

Beautywoome takes you through the no-chip manicure paces.

It wasn't easy, but Glitter Geek actually listed her top 10 products for Summer 2010. See any of your own favourites?

Jeweled Thumb reviews a face paint by Models Own as a blush and discovers it works!

Want to learn how to self-apply individual false eyelashes at home? Mz. More of The Glamorous Gleam has a video tutorial!

Hot Beauty Health shares how to get short, curly hairstyles like celebs!

The Lip Print makes a change and crosses over to the light side .

Retrodiva explores eight autumn beauty trends sure to be popular this year.

Want Chanel Paradoxal but don't like it's price? Musicalhouses shows you Paradoxal's (much) cheaper little sister!

FORGET ABOUT LIQUID FOUNDATIONS-TRY SOMETHING NEW......

Hey ladies,

Sorry for late posting, I was too busy this week and believe me I didn't get even 1 hour to switch on to blogging. We were doing some shifting and construction work was going on and bla bla bla........

Anyways, thank God that it's all over now.So here I am with a very interesting product. Two days before I went to the market with an intention to do turn up home with some new makeup products. My liquid foundation had almost finished so I went to buy a new one. I asked the sales girl for something new and this is what she gave me.As you all can see that this thing is in the shape of a stick and that is what it is.It's the new Chambor Refreshing Stick Foundation 01 cool maple.

• It is oil free and with  SPF 8.
• It is for all skin types. 
• Contains Orange Extract, rich Vitamin C and essential oils, with hydrating and anti-oxidant benefits.

• It glides on effortlessly providing versatile coverage and a long lasting natural finish.

I've just used it twice and found it to be great.I found it to be better than Loreal Roll On True Match because the latter  can only be applied very nicely with skilled hands whereas this stick is very easy to use and apply (in my opinion).

• Just dab on.
• Blend with your fingers and then close well.

It is so safely packed with another plastic lid over it. 

It does not contain any shine and one will not even need a compact powder over it. It smudges into the skin and the finishing is amazing. 

It feels weightless on my skin as if I'm totally without make-up.

You can use it for three years.Of course I'm not gonna use it for so long as it'll surely finish before that or I'll be bored with it. Ha Ha...

COST: Rs 825 for 7g.

This thing is really fabulous and every time I'm gonna buy it (until and unless a new product  comes). So ladies try it yourself and tell me about your experience with new Chambor Refreshing Stick foundation....

Illamasqua Jo'mina and China Glaze Sci Fi KOTD: Purple and Silver

Illamasqua released Jo'mina (is it Jomina or Jo'mina?) some months ago, with the Body Electrics collection, and out of all the three nail polishes in the collection, Jo'mina was the hot favourite. I snagged it for 50% off because it wasn't "in season" anymore (sigh, I guess you know autumn is coming when the Spring/Summer collections start going on sale). But you know me, and you know I don't give a hoot about what's trendy or not - I wear what I like, regardless of season. And a 50% discount is timeless :P

Here it is in sunlight. I think this was the most colour-accurate I could it to be, but it's still not quite there. The base for the konad was Jo'mina, while China Glaze Sci Fi was used as the design. The konad plate was M65. Man, my fingers look fat.



Jo'mina is a gorgeous beautiful bright lilac purple. I'm not sure quite how to describe it, and unfortunately, my photographs aren't that colour-accurate because it's also really hard to photograph! It keeps turning out a lot more blue than in photos. I took a gazillion photos, and they all turned out blue-purple. And I tried colour-editing it, but with my limited photo-editing skills, there was only so much I could do. I'm sorry I couldn't get a more accurate portrayal of this, so just try to imagine this as being a lot more red-based purple instead of a blue-based violet, okay?



I've read a lot about how Jo'mina was a total PITA to apply, so I was totally prepared to struggle with this one when applying it. To be fair, it isn't the best, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be either. I used two coats for all my photos. To be fair they were thick-ish coats, so if you used thinner coats you might need more. Still, I didn't get as much pulling, tugging, or unevenness as I expected. Weird right?

China Glaze Sci Fi is awesome to apply and opaque in just one coat, which makes it perfect for konading. Of course, that's evident from these pictures!



I really love this KOTD. I mean, I love purple, and I love chromes, so combining them makes me a very happy girl!

PAM Junior Makeup Artists Competition

I feel really bad about not having a "proper" post up (on a related note, I HANDED IN MY DISSERTATION TODAY! WOOHOO! Yeah so that's why I didn't post today), but I promise I'll have one tomorrow, if Blogger stops being so PMS-y. Anyway, today must be news day or something, because this is the second time I'm posting news!

Makeup-provisions.com is a UK-based seller of makeup supplies for professionals, and they have just opened their "Student" section of their site, HERE. In conjunction with the opening of the student section, they have launched a Junior Makeup Artist Competition, and the prize is £500 worth of makeup, affiliate prizes, and a chance to join the pros on a film set. Pretty cool, eh?

I thought I'd give you guys a heads-up in case anyone wants to take part. The full details can be accessed HERE. If you're taking part, good luck!

Pokemon, gotta catch em all!

Sometimes when I'm bored and don't know what I'll put on my nails next I just ask a friend, boy or girl, doesn't matter. So that's what I did the other day. I asked Chris (who insisted on mentioning his name lol) and he said Pokemon. First I was like meh, I'm not really a Pokemon fan... But I figured it would be fun so I went ahead and painted some Pokemon on my nails. And these are pretty much the only ones I know lol (cause my little brother used to watch it quite often).

So here they are:

I used a bunch of different colours but mostly Catrice polishes. The background is a polish I made with MAC's Blue Brown pigment. I originally wanted to have a white background, but I had just painted my nails and the only white nail polish I have needs like 4 or 5 coats to get it opaque so I couldnt be bothered to do that first.

I actually had fun doing these. And I thought Pikachu was gonna be the easiest, but actually turned out to be my least favorite. Anyone got any request or ideas for what I should paint on them next?

Hope you enjoyed!


x
Tanja

St Tropez Gift Set: On Sale for 7 Days Only!

(Picture from St Tropez website)

I usually tend to post more deals for my US girls than for my UK-based ones, but that's because we don't usually get the awesome sales (how dare they neglect us!). But St Tropez hasn't forgotten about our need to indulge for less!

Their Festival Gift Bronzing Set is on sale, and contains Everyday Perfect Legs (150ml), Bronzing Powder and a powder brush for the price of £35 – this means you save over £10! It's on sale for 7 (yes SEVEN) days only (it expires Tuesday 31st August 2010), so head on to check it out on the St Tropez Website if you want one, stat!

Urban Decay on Hautelook Now!

My US girls are always lucky - Urban Decay is going to be on sale at Hautelook today! The sale is up to 75% off, so if anyone is interested, check it out HERE.

Beauty is in the eye of the creator

Hope you like my latest little treasures as much as I do =)

Lots of love! <3

Orly + INM experiment: final results

I came home from my exam today and the first thing I did was take off this mess lol

As you can see, the polish had started chipping and peeling. And when I see the polish coming off on the sides, I have to peel it off. I just cant help myself.The polish on my right thumb nail came off in one bit, but that was actually because the patch I had underneath was coming off. 
I have to say though, the polish actually looked like the updated pictures untill yesterday morning. , so morning of day 7. Now, I'd normally never wear a certain polish for 8 days like I did for this experiment, so I'm really happy with the results. It looked fine for a good 6 days. And if I had applied another coat of the topcoat every other day, it might have even lasted longer. And perhaps a higher quality polish would have done better too. the Catrice polishes are pretty cheap but I do like them and think the quality is great for the price.

Conclusion: I personally really like how the Orly Bonder and the INM topcoat worked together. They weren't expensive and I'll definitely repurchase when I run out of them.

Over time I might try other top and base coats just to see if theres anything I like better. I used to have the Seche Vite which I really liked, but since I didn't paint my nails as much then as I do now, It became all thick and goopy before I got the chance to finish the bottle. And at that time, I had actually never heard of nail polish thinners lol, so I threw it away. Might try it again after I'm done with the INM topcoat.


If you haven't tried any of these polishes before and you find them for a decent price, I'd say definitely give them a chance. I hope this experiment was somewhat useful lol.

So have you had better results with other top and base coats? What are you favorites?



Thanks for stopping by!

Giveaways!!

Alot of the blogs I follow seem to be having giveaways lately. And who wouldn't want to recieve a package full of great prizes?


So check out these awesome blogs!!

Nailstah

Open internationally till September 7, 11:59pm PST

Enamel Girl

Open internationally till September 9th, 8pm US Central Time.

Hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do!
 
 
 
x
Tanja

Chanel Paradoxal's Cheaper Little Sister: Asos Paints by Ciate Sienna

Not all of us can afford to drop our hard-earned money on Chanel's new "must-have" shade, Paradoxal. While there aren't any dupes that I know of as of now, there are a couple of colours that are pretty close, especially in terms of base colour. If you're not exacting about finding a dupe, you can definitely find a similar colour at a lower price.

Today's "Get-The-Chanel-Paradoxal-Look-For-Cheap" shade is none other than Asos Paints by Ciate, in the shade Sienna. It's a creme, so it doesn't have any of that shimmer Paradoxal has, but the base shade is similar - it's one of those purply-grey taupey mushroomy colours that are so in fashion right now. These taupey mouse-y colours seem to be fast establishing themselves as the new neutral shades - I mean first there were greiges, then there was Chanel Particuliere and the like, and now there's this purply-grey shade. And that's all right by me, because I love them all.

But obviously you're not interested in my colour preferences. You wanted to see Sienna. So here it is under sunlight:



The ASOS Paints by Ciate range is sort of like the UK's version of Sephora by OPI. These polishes are exclusive to ASOS, have a different packaging from the usual Ciate polishes, and are sold jointly under the Ciate and Asos name.

As you can tell, Sienna is my favourite of the bunch. It's an awesome purply-grey-brown, that leans strongly on the purple and grey. I don't think there's much brown in this, if any at all. And it's a delicious creme. Photos cant seem to do it justice, because this one looks grey in some photos, and purple in others.

Here's another shot, this time indoors:



These shots were two coats, but the polish is very opaque and pigmented and really only needed one coat. I did two because the first coat was uneven. These have a similar consistency to Eyeko polishes - a bit on the thick side, but very opaque - so if you prefer a thinner texture, a couple of drops of thinner will do the trick.

So, obviously Sienna isn't a dupe for Paradoxal, although I'd say the base colour is definitely close enough. It's a good choice if you want to spend less money (it retails for 6GBP and can be found on sale occasionally), or if you want a version of Paradoxal without the shimmer, or if you are one of those people on whom Chanel polishes seem to chip easily, and you want something that will last longer. But even without the Paradoxal comparisons, I do think Sienna is a colour worth owning in it's own right.

Urban Decay Review & Swatches

Hi Ladies! Today I am doing a review on the new NAKED palette by Urban Decay! There is so much I want to fit into this blog about this palette! OMG I can't say that I have a palette that the colors are all so comprable to one another.

The color pay off is excellent! OMG the colors are so velvety and rich and just so full of pigmentation. I really just don't know how to put it all into words. It also comes with two eyeliner pencils and a minature primer potion. Alot of people may say that it's expensive. I beg to differ! For 12 eyeshadows, two eyeliner pencils and a minature primer I think your getting a lot of bang for your buck! Especially with the colors being so rich and velvety. It doesn't take alot of product to achieve an awesome look.

This palette is excellent for profesionals and non-professionals all the same. I also think that this would be perfect for achieving that back to school look for high schoolers and college student's as well. Also an excellent palette for the office professional woman looking for a nice office look. The colors can be mixed and matched so well that everyday the professional woman on the go can create a look that will take her from the office to the happy hour! Like I said I could go on and on! This pallete could also be turned from office, school look to club look! If your looking for a universal palette, a palette that allows you to be suttle but yet sexy all at the same time with great color pay off! This is definitely the palette for you! I've reviewed other palettes and none can compare! Atleast not now! Whoever created this pallete is a freaking GENIUS! So need I say more!? GO GET YOURS TODAY! XOXO

Fall 2010 Makeup Trends: Chanel's "Paint Print" Eye: Hate it or Love it?

One of the awesome things about being a blogger, as opposed to a beauty magazine, is that I don't have to wax lyrical over every beauty or fashion trend that comes out. If I think it's ugly, I can say it, and there's nothing you can do about it! Neener neener!

As you might know, I don't follow fashion trends, whether it's clothes, makeup, or nail polish - I'm a "I'll-wear-what-I-like-dammit" kind of girl. Besides, most Autumn/Winter 2010 makeup trends seen on the runway have been nothing out of the ordinary so far (dark lips, check, smokey eyes, check). But this one surprised me, so I just had to show it to all of you.

Apparently Chanel decided to reproduce the print on their new bags on their models' eyes. Hence making for some really strange-looking eye makeup.

(Image from Style.com)

Of course, the fashion press calls it visionary and inspiring, and I guess it is visionary - the concept of taking a print from a bag or an article of clothing and attempting to reproduce it as makeup is not a common one. So I guess Chanel scores points for originality. (If you want to, you can read more about it HERE.)

But I just can't feel the look on this one. I don't know about you, but to me it just looks like messily-applied eyeshadow. All the way up to the temples and eyebrows. It looks like a five-year-old attempted to apply mascara on the model. (It isn't, of course. It's eyeliner and pigment, carefully applied with brushstrokes.) While I kind of think the concept of transferring prints is cool, and while I like the print on the bag (white bags with a black bottom? Very practical!), I don't really like how it looks as makeup on a person's face. I mean, I know beauty on the runway is usually about putting on a show and creating some drama, and thus highly exaggerated, and us mere mortals are supposed to use it as "inspiration" and reinterpret it for everyday wear, but I'll be darned if I know how to be "inspired" by this one. I don't really think the fashion powers that be meant for us to do our makeup that way, in any case. I think they meant for us to look at the eyes, and then buy the bags, since the print eye was a mimic of the print on the bag. But as a makeup junkie, you know I like to look at everything in the context of makeup. And in the context of makeup, it just looks weird.

Maybe it just means that if I accidentally get mascara on my eyelid, I'll just claim that I'm on the cutting edge of beauty! Thanks Chanel, for saving me the 2mins I would otherwise spend wiping mascara off my eyelid.

I guess I kind of love it as an artistic endeavour, but hate it as an actual makeup look. What about the rest of you? Hate it or love it?

PONDS- RE-BRIGHTENING NIGHT TREATMENT

I never preferred to use night cream because I believed that during night our skin should be free of creams and we should let it breathe freely. However, last winter I found my skin to be dry every morning and I somehow had to get rid of this dryness. 

First I used Himalaya Night cream for a try but it didn't work as per my needs. I was quite disappointed. Then my friend suggested me to buy Ponds Re-Brightening Night Treatment. I used it that night and the following morning found my skin to have a soft and flawless look.

I was highly impressed by the fact that I only needed a touch of moisture after washing my face. Isn't it awesome?

This is the forth bottle that i am using(I use it almost every night).

WHAT THE COMPANY CLAIMS- Extra nourishing, with new VAO-B3 complex, this revitalizing night cream helps repair daily damage and actively lightens while you sleep.

METHOD-After cleansing your skin, apply and leave overnight. Apply it over your entire face and neck with your fingertips.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT-

• I use only a little amount every day and it smudges into the skin and makes it soft.
• It has got a lovely light fragrance.
• It is not sticky at all.
• Very very light weighted and it seems as if I haven't applied any of it. 
• I even love the container in which it comes.
• 

It's cost it Rs 450($9 or 10)- quite convenient. Isn't it?

So ladies try this one and tell me how you had your experience with this cream or any other night cream?????

An Introduction to UK Nail Polish Brands on Turtle Beauty!

So I'm guest-posting again. Cydonian Makeup is on hiatus this week, so she has asked me to write a guest post for her, focusing on UK-based nail polish brands. As you know, I'm really nice :P so I've agreed. The result is my post on UK Nail Polish 101! If you'd like to get a not-that-quick overview of some of the most popular UK nail polish brands, check out my post HERE.

NOTD: Maybelline Banana Puddin': Pretty, but a PITA

I have a complicated relationship with yellow nail polish. I like how it looks like on others, but I've been too scared to actually try it out on myself. So everytime I consider picking yellow as a mani colour, my brain goes through this thought process: Wear yellow - Don't wear yellow - Wear yellow - Don't wear yellow - etc ad infinitum. Yeah as you can tell, I'm a deep thinker. :P

I decided to finally suck up the courage to actually try out a yellow, because I figured if I hated it on me, I need never look back, and I can finally stop vacillating over whether I should wear yellow or not. So I picked out a pastel yellow that didn't have too many warm tones in it - I figure it would ease me into the yellow shock I might have. And after scouring around, I found Maybelline Banana Puddin'.

Here is Banana Puddin' on me, taken outdoors in natural light. I actually think it's as pretty as pastel yellow can get, although it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea (I'm still trying to decide if it's mine or not):



Banana Puddin' is a colour that has long been discontinued (thanks, Maybelline), and apparently it's a HTF (hard to find) colour, and a pretty coveted one at that. Apparently it's desirability stems from the fact that it's a wearable yellow for cooler skintones. Warmer yellows can often make cooler skintones appear very ruddy and red, giving a "lobster hands" effect, but unfortunately most yellows are warm, so a cool yellow is hard to find.

I do think Banana Puddin' is wearable enough for cooler skintones. Of course it's still not going to be a colour everyone will like, but if you are going to wear yellow, this is probably one of the more wearable ones around. It's also a soft pastel yellow, as opposed to neon highlighter yellow, so it doesn't draw too much attention to itself. It's a good start if you're going to be trying yellow for the first time.



Here it is in indoor lights. You can see it's more yellow indoors.

While it's a pretty yellow, it was a total PITA to apply. Yellows in general do tend to be hard to apply though, so it was no surprise to me. Still, it's a pain when you're doing your mani, because it was sheer and streaky. These pictures show 4 coats. Yes, FOUR FREAKING COATS. If you are skilled and apply thicker coats that are even, you might get away with three, but I suspect most people are going to use four. I dinged my mani so many times while waiting for it to dry, because four not-that-thin coats is obviously going to dry slowly.

Unfortunately, my attempt to finally decide whether I liked yellow or not wasn't very successful, as even after trying Banana Puddin', I still feel ambivalent about yellow. I don't know how I feel about it, and the lousy application isn't helping. What do you think? Would you wear yellow?

Orly + INM experiment: update

It's been 4 days since I painted my nails and started this little experiment. So here's a little update.
I took these pics a couple minutes ago.

As you can see, the polish has worn off a bit on the tips, which you can only really see from up close. Other than that it looks fine. I'm really happy with the results so far, cause usually my nail polish starts peeling or chipping after 2 or 3 days. So I guess the Orly Bonder is doing its job!

That's it for now. I'll be busy studying this weekend so I might not be able to post anything, but I'll defintely be back on tuesday evening with the final results of this experiment.

So have you ever tried one or both of these products? Did you like them? What's your favorite base coat and top coat?


Have a nice weekend!



x
Tanja