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Friday, May 27, 2011

Beauty Review :: Garnier Pure 3 in 1 Face Wash

My mum and I recently moved house, as you may know, and I now have my own bathroom.

I use to always use St Ive's Apricot face scrub/exfoliater because that's what mum uses. I found best results by using it 3 or so times a week. I definitely recommend that product.

But now I have to purchase my own stuff like that for my own bathroom. It costs nearly $13, so I decided to try something new. I found Garnier Pure 3 in 1 on special for $9.50 and decided to give it a go.

It is supposed to be a wash, scrub and face mask. (You apply it differently for each one).

This product (no matter how you use it) is supposed to clear imperfections and blemishes.

I have been using it for 2 weeks now, and it is definitely a great wash. My skin feels really clean after using it (directions are to use morning and night, but I have found better results once a day).

However, it has not cleared any imperfections or blemishes.

So, if you want a good face wash, this product is great for that. Will I purchase it again? No.

Keep in mind, that different skin types have different outcomes with different products. I have oily to normal/acne prone skin. My acne is caused by genetics, and most 'acne helping' products don't work for me. Can anyone recommend any good products for that kind of thing?

By the way...my new phone arrived yesterday (one day shipping!). I am in love with it already. Review coming next week.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Beauty Review :: Lime Crime Coquette Lipstick

On the 19th of May I received an email that my second Lime Crime order was being shipped to me. Exactly 6 days later I received my order all the way in New Zealand. That is some fast shipping! I was once again wowed by Lime Crime's excellent service. As soon as I walked in the door I opened it up to find my Coquette Lipstick!

I bought Coquette after it became 'Limited Edition' because I love nude lipsticks more than any other lipstick, and I did not want to miss out.

Personally, I don't think it's necessary to have quite that much green paper. Love the box it comes in though, very cute.



"It was a typical city morning. Citizens grappled for their first cups of coffee, buses sighed and hissed from stop to stop, and pigeons discussed the latest street fashions. Even against this familiar murmur, Becky knew something was different. She opened her eyes, then her window, and from the height of her 8th floor apartment she saw towering mountains of heart-shaped candy boxes piled past her window. “Oh no,” Becky thought, “I guess I shouldn’t have blown so many kisses yesterday!” But that thought quickly faded as she stroked more lipstick over her lips. Soon she was back at her old game, blowing kisses out the window as the ever-increasing piles of candy threatened to topple. Becky wasn’t just flirting with all the boys; she was flirting with danger."

On the Lime Crime website 'Coquette' is described as a 'Pale, blushed nude'. I will admit, it is a lot darker/orange than I was expecting. On the website it looks almost pink. I also noticed this time I got a 'business card'.


Lime Crime's 'Coquette' Lipstick is Vegan. As I notice a lot of makeup brands are becoming these days, which is great! Above is Coquette (bottom) and MAC's Creme d'Nude (top) swatched. As you can see, Coquette is  alot more pigmented and with orange tones, while Creme d'Nude is more shimmery and has pink tones.

Top: Coquette applied freshly to lips without flash. Middle: Coquette with BYS 'Candy Lipgloss' applied overtop. Bottom: Coquette applied freshly to lips with flash.

Colour: I am a big fan of nude lipsticks, and prefer them more than reds. Coquette applies smoothly and only a couple of strokes are necessary for a fully opaque colour. It is a bit more warm-toned than I wanted, but I will still get regular use out of this!
Packaging: Cute packaging, quite artistic and fits well with the brands theme. I noticed that the lipstick 'tube' felt a bit smoother than my Great Pink Planet one...? Not sure if I'm just imagining things or not.

Quality/Value: This lipstick is $16 USD on the Lime Crime website, which equals to about $20 NZ. But, I had to pay $10 US shipping (for the one item), so in the end the lipstick ended up costing me $34 NZD, a bit more than I would normally pay...but this was a must have! The lipstick itself seems good quality, unlike my recent MAC lipstick purchase, which fell off the base the day I got it! It feels moisturising too.

Staying Power/Wearbale: The feel of this compared to Great Pink Planet is a lot nicer in my opinion. It feels more moisturising, and since it's a nude shade it doesn't stain your lips. It has pretty good staying power too, since it is quite pigmented. Very wearbale, for all ocassions.
Overall: It's a great addition to your collection, whether you're a fan of nude lipsticks, or a fan of Lime Crime! Lime Crime is definitely one of my favourite makeup brands and a must have for a makeup junkie.
4/5


Don't forget to enter my giveaway here! Closes in just over a week.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Beauty Review :: Artiste Professional Blush Brush

A couple of weeks ago now my mum went to Sydney and bought me a few things while there.

One of those things was a retractable travel blush brush.

Artiste Professional (Manicare) Blush Brush 22


Previously I used a Bare Escentuals brush for blush. I thought it was great. Until I used this brush.

It's seriously great. It helps the colour show up so much better, and with less product. The bristles don't get squashed because of it being retractable and having a lid. I haven't needed to wash it yet, because the product goes on your face, and almost none stays on the brush!

The only problem I've had is everynow and then a bristle will be left on my cheek. This doesn't happen with every use, but ocassionally. It certainly doesn't put me off using it.

It's quite small, and easily fits in a small makeup bag. Meaning it really is easy for travel.
 
Packaging: Plain black packaging, nothing special. Small and easy to travel with.

Quality/Value: I believe mum paid about $20 AUD for this (not sure on the exact price). That's not a bad price, especially for a brush as good as this. As mentioned above, it leaves almost no product on the brush itself, and all on your skin!
I highly recommend this brush, and would like to try more brushes in this range.

Overall: 5/5

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Studio Fix Fluid - Help!

Hi girls,

Just a quick post. My friend and I recently bought Studio Fix Fluid, MAC foundation. But we have both noticed after a few days that it's making our skin dry, even using moisturiser/primer.

I have oily skin, and my friend has normal skin. Has anyone else had problems like this with Studio Fix Fluid? Do you have any tips?

Much appreciated!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Concert Review :: Katy Perry

My three friends and I caught a taxi to Vector Arena. It was 6:40pm and the doors were set to open at 7pm. We had seats, so we really had no need to be this early. 7pm came and a man got up on a platform outside the doors to say it was going to be another 15 minutes because it was the first night, they were having a couple of problems setting up the machines to scan our tickets.

The doors opened, we quickly made it through the doors and up the stairs. The doors into the actual arena were still shut, and we ended up waiting there for another 20 minutes. The opening act, Zowie, was supposed to come on at 7.30pm, but the lights didn't dim until 8pm.

We found our seats, which were in a pretty good spot, although I was much closer to the stage when I saw My Chemical Romance there 4 years ago. The crowd was filled with a lot of blue wigs! Mostly girls, but there were more guys there than I was expecting. It was a sold out crowd and I think vector holds about 13,000.

The stage was filled with pink and Zowie began. The sound was fantastic. Often the problem I have with sound (bare in mind, I did a year long live sound course!) is that the vocals are never loud or clear anough. But this was perfect. The sound was so clear, and there was no feedback whatsoever. Mind you, Vector Arena is supposed to be one of the best in the world!

I'm actually considering getting Zowie's album after such a good performance. Her singles sounded just like on the radio! She played for about 40 minutes, and it was a very fast changeover for DJ Skeet Skeet came out. He cut his set short because it was already far behind schedule!



The venue was packed by now and it wasn't long before the lights dimmed and everybody screamed. The curtains opened to reveal the bright stage with a big set including stairs on either side. The screens turned on and a man voiced over a story. After that Katy Perry appeared and began with 'Teenage Dream'.

There were two big screens either side of the stage, which were great.

I don't own either of Katy Perry's albums (though I would like to one day!), so I only know her released tracks. Altogether out of 16 (not including the 5 covers) songs I didn't know 7 of them. She slowed it down quite a bit in the middle for about 3 songs, none of which I knew. Of course it was still great to watch the stage (Katy Perry sitting on a swing lifted across the ground/great lighting/dancers etc) but I did find myself wanting her to switch it up a bit, and go back to the more up tempo songs.

Left: Performing E.T Right: Kitty Purry on stage with Katy


Throughout her set she got quite a few people up on stage dancing etc, as well as one guy who took his shirt off for her. The curtain pulled at one stage, for a little acoustic segment. She talked to the crowd quite a lot, and told us how she related to NZ not wanting to be grouped in with Australia. She was quite funny, and made a few little jokes. She then said it was time to play a little game called 'Name that Tune'. She sang 4 covers acoustically (including Rihanna and Rebecca Black and Willow Smith) and whoever got them all right got to jump off the Auckland Harbour Bridge with her the next day. I'm not sure if the person who won did, but Katy Perry jumped off the bridge on Sunday!


The curtain lifted again and Katy Perry sang 'Hot 'N Cold' with her famous blue wig. I'm sure she had at least 10 costume changes just while singing this song. It was really clever!

She sang Whitney Houston's 'I wanna dance with somebody' and then her own track, Fireworks (with a lot of fireworks going off on stage). She left the stage, but the house lights didn't come on, and she still hadn't sung one of her most famous tracks.

Everyone screamed again when the stage lights came back on and Katy Perry came out, closing the show with 'California Dreams'. The song ended with explosions of pink glitter and she said goodbye.

It was a great show, I really loved it! I would go and see her again if I was living where she was playing (but somehow I don't think anyone will play Christchurch for a while yet!)

Here's a little snippet of Katy Perry singing Teenage Dream (I wanted to upload more but I only get 1gb of broadband a month!)


Saturday, May 14, 2011

Beauty Review :: Lush H'Suan Wen Hua Hair Mask

While in Auckland I made a visit to Lush for the first time ever (I may have been in there once before, but only very briefly and never bought anything). I knew I wanted a hair mask, and since I have never used Lush products before I went with the cheapest, H'Suan Wen Hua. It was $20 NZD ($15.74 USD)


I tried it last night. The woman at the shop told me I would need only about 2 teaspoons for my hair, but I ended up using a little more. I imagine I would still get about 6+ more uses out of it, and it's only supposed to be used every 1-2 weeks.


I applied it to dry hair, as per the instructions, and massaged it in, letting it sit for 20 minutes. It has a very strong smell, like a chai latte, so I liked the smell! It looked a bit weird on dry hair, and it was a little hard to make sure everywhere was covered. You're probably supposed to comb it through, so I will do that next time (if I can!) When I was washing it out in the shower I could already tell the difference. It felt very smooth. It was easy to wash out and I shampoo and conditioned afterwards.

Brushing it out after my shower (yes, I know this is bad) has never been so easy! I let it air dry and there is a definite difference. It feels a lot softer, the ends look healthier, and my hair is overall more shiny. I don't think it's very long-lasting, but it will be nice to do every now and again to make my hair feel and look better. It's been 12 hours and there is no lingering smell of chai latte! :)

Apparently it's best to store it in the fridge after the first use because of the fresh ingredients. (see below)

Ingredients: Fresh Bay Leaf Infusion, Fresh Watercress Infusion, Fresh Free Range Eggs, Cetearyl Alcohol & Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Fresh Organic Bananas, Fresh Organic Avocado, Balsamic Vinegar, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Lanolin, Rosemary Oil, Cinnamon Leaf Oil, Soya Lecithin, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Cinnamal, Eugenol, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Linalool, Perfume, Propylparaben

Packaging: The standard 'Lush' packaging. I think it's quite nice.

Quality/Value: It has 225g of product, and you don't have to use a lot so I think value for money is great.

Results:  It definitely does it's job as a hair mask. My hair feels so much better because of it. I'm looking forward to doing it again soon! I haven't used many actual hair masks before, so I can't compare it to much.

Overall: 

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

NOTD :: Disco Nights

Here is a quick picture of my nails painted in 'Disco Nights'. It was only $5 so I wasn't expecting a lot. I used a base and top coat, but only needed one coat of Disco Nights. I love the colour, it's silver but has a slight hint of a champagne colour in there.



It has lasted pretty well, 24 hours later and a couple of nails are slightly chipped, but nothing major! I'm looking forward to trying 'Purple Haze' by the same brand 'Ruby Shoes'.

Haul :: Auckland Holiday

We went shopping most days while in Auckland, and I bought a few things.

As mentioned in this morning's post, I got Studio Fix Fluid (NC15) and the OPI Katy Perry black shatter polish.


I bought two nail polishs from Cotton On - Purple Haze and Disco Nights. I haven't tried them out yet, so NOTD's are to come. They were only $5 each.

I bought this dress (far right) from Valley Girl, it's quite different to my normal style but I really like it! I also got a baggy t-shirt (my fave style) (Middle). Altogether these tops were $62 (NZD).



I nearly didn't buy this top from Dotti (Left and below), as it was $60, and I had to buy a singlet to wear underneath it. But in the end I decided to. It's very comfy, I wore it to work today.



I also got a top for work from Cotton On (the first time I've ever bought something from there!) There were lots of colours to choose from, and it was only $20, but I went with black. I bought it to wear to work, and black seemed like the best option. I couldn't take a photo of it, as the purchase below leaked through my suit case a little bit (nothing too major).
I made my first ever Lush purchase - a hair mask. I can't wait to try this out! I have a friend who has bought something from Lush every payday! It was $20.



Amazingly I didn't buy any makeup other than the Studio Fix Fluid and nail polish! I really want to buy the Coquette Lipstick from Lime Crime, as it is now listed as a Limited time product. But I can't justify buying it right now! Although I did get module 8 back from my tutor...and I got an A+...you know what they say about celebrating your achievements!

Here's a quick photo off my phone of the stage (curtains closed!) at Katy Perry. My review will be coming later this week!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

New Zealand Prices (Make up)

I was excited to go to MAC in the weekend. I knew I was going to buy Studio Fix Fluid. It was $60 NZD ($48 USD), which isn't too bad, and what I was expecting.

I'm not going to do a review of Studio Fix Fluid, as I know a lot of you use it. But I will say that I absolutely love it. It lasts for ages, and I don't look greasy at all! I am an NC15 and I use a translucent powder over top. I will definitely repurchase this when it runs out. So glad it works for me! My friend bought it too.

Here is where the problem starts. I was going to buy one or two MAC lipsticks....I asked the girl at the shop how much they cost. $40 NZD!!! That's ridiculous! I couldn't believe it. ($31 USD). Considering you can buy them for $16 USD in America, I think that's pretty unreasonable to charge us $40. So, as you may have guessed, I didn't buy any. I'll wait until I can go on holiday to the US!



I also got the OPI Katy Perry Black Shatter Polish. $27 NZD is a bit much in my opinion, but I really wanted to try it out. It's pretty cool, I need to play around with some different base colours though. I've tried a teal colour and an electric blue so far.

I just wanted to do a quick post on that, a proper 'haul' post will be coming in the next day or two. I didn't actually buy too much, as I want to save for going to Melbourne next month.

Here's a look at what I wore to the Katy Perry concert though:


My friend on the left made that dress herself!

What do you think of the New Zealand prices for MAC makeup?

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Beauty Mini Review :: Innoxa Baby Doll Lipstick

As posted on Tuesday night, my mum bought me back a few bits and pieces from Sydney.

I mentioned that the lipstick she bought me back was broken at the base, and stuck the lid. It is still usable, just a bit messy.


Below is the lipstick swatched next to Great Pink Planet. As you can see Baby Doll is a lot thicker, almost having a 'crayon' texture. Great Pink Planet looks a lot smoother. There is a lot more orange in the swatches than in real life. The photo gives you a good comparison on texture though.

Left: Innoxa - Baby Doll, Right: Great Pink Planet - Lime Crime


This is what Baby Doll looks like on my lips in natural lighting/no flash. It's much more pink, and even looks slightly purple (more so in the photos than real life). It isn't a very good consistency, and as you can see from the top picture looks very dry. It looks nice with a clear gloss over top however.

I wouldn't wear this lipstick on it's own, but it does the job with a clear gloss on top. It didn't last very long. Lime Crime - Great Pink Planet is a nicer colour and lasts a lot longer. The interesting thing was, when I swatched Baby Doll to the inside of my arm I could barely get it off.

Have you ever tried any Innoxa products?

This will be my last post until Tuesday. I'm off to see Katy Perry this weekend! Very excited to go away for a long weekend with three of my best friends! And don't forget I'm visiting the MAC shop....I may come back pretty broke!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

NOTD :: Purple Rain

I've always loved purple, it's definitely one of my favourite colours. Lately I've been into purple nail polish. A while ago I bought Plum Night by Revlon. It's okay, but not as bright as I wanted.

As I mentioned in my blog post this morning, my mum bought me a purple nail polish back from Sydney. It's called 'Purple Rain' by the brand 'Nail It!'

I applied it last night, sorry about the messiness...I'm going to have to sort that out! Mum said she saw something to fix that at the airport yesterday, but didn't buy. Might need to look into it, can you recommend any good products?



It looks darker in the pictures than it is in real life. I only used a top coat, not a base coat, and two coats of the actual polish. It's a nice consistency and quite shiny on it's own. I'm not sure if it's possible, but it looks much more purple and brighter today, than it did when I applied it last night. It didn't take too long to dry.

I prefer this one to Revlon's Plum Night, and it was half the price of Revlon! My only problem is that today it looks quite 'texture' (has scratches etc on the surface) which is a bit annoying.

I like this colour and think I will be using it quite a bit. But I still haven't found my 'perfect purple nail polish'! What is your favourite purple nail polish?

Gifts :: Mini Haul

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday. My mum got back from a couple of days in Sydney last night. Being the awesome mum she is, she bought me a few bits and pieces!


Marie Claire Magazine (May 2011): The magazine was free at the hotel room, but looks very interesting! I never buy magazines much, I think that's going to have to go on a future 101 list!

Nail It! - Purple Rain: A deep purple coloured Nail Polish that has more shimmer and a bit brighter than Revlon - Plum Night which I bought recently. NOTD to come.

Loreal Paris Colour Infaillable - 006 All Night Blue: A sparkly shimmery blue eyeshadow. A review to come on this, very similar to one of my products on Monday's wishlist!

Artiste Professional (Manicare) Blush Brush 22: I'm looking forward to trying this out! It's a retractable travel blush brush. I'm going to take it away with me this weekend to test it out.

Artiste Professional (Manicare) Primer Brush 14: Another product I will try out this weekend. To be honest, I didn't even know primer brushes exsisted! Any tips on using them?

Victoria's Secret 'Flirty Pinks' On-the-go Kit: A cute compact containing 3 x lip colours, 3 x eye colours and 2 x 'face' colours. I will also review this one. It has a compact mirror and two brushes.

Innoxa Summer Matte Collection - Baby Doll: A pink lipstick. Unfortunately, the lipstick was stuck to the lid, and broken at the base. I still should be able to use it, but it's a bit messy! Considering it cost $20, it's a bit disappointing! (It also doesn't look like the colour on the bottom of the tube, which mum was disappointed about too.)



Thanks Mum! I was very happy with these things. :)

The other night I had Hell Pizza for tea (my mum doesn't like it, and since she was away it was the perfect opportunity!) My order was really slow, and so even though I only spent $8.50 they gave me a $15.50 voucher for next time! Awesome.


Brimstone is my absolute all time favourite pizza. Avocado, cajun chicken, cheese, sour cream, capsicum. It's just amazing.

It's half way through the week already! Which means my holiday is very close! I have just become a Sigma Affiliate. I'm really looking forward to trying out some Sigma brushes. If you want to have a look, you can do so here, or by clicking on the banner to the left of my blog.