Don't they know who I am?

NARS Pro-Prime multiprotect primer - a dilemma

2012-02-12T00:16:00.000+08:00

No one ever just names their product "primer" or "oil free moisturiser" anymore, do they? They are always double barrelled and involving a degree of alliteration and always hard to remember.

This is my little sisters doing. She came back from New York having gone ballistic in Sephora and bagged this gem, which she promptly became very sad over, since it hadn't appeared in Australia yet and would most assuredly be prohibitively expensive when it got here. At which point I went- "Hang on, lets go see if it's on Kiss and Make Up NY!" Which it was. For the same cost as the Sephora ticket price. Bless you, internet.

So based on the one tube she'd brought back with her, both me, my sister and mother bought a tube for ourselves. See we're all oily (me by far the most) and therefore sunscreen is a huge issue for all. We were brought up on Clinique's City Block, but the formula change a few years back left all of us stranded and ever since we've been flailing around looking for something light enough to put on our face which has an SPF rating.

It mattifies as soon as you smooth it out, which is a small miracle in itself. Also consider that I've got pretty much a full face-worth on my hand and it still isn't making me shiny. It performs very similarly to my recently mentioned Becca primer, besides a bit of an odd smell and having a slightly shorter grace period before oil appears. Which seems like a reasonable trade off for an SPF 30+, yes?

The only bit I'm leery of - and I'm blaming Sarah for this - is that there is no zinc oxide in this product. None, zilch. Which is sadly almost certainly the reason it works so well for me. So as I understand it - that makes it a chemical sunscreen, not a physical one (how'm I doing, Sarah?) so there's no physical barrier between your skin and the sun, i.e. how zinc oxide works. Instead, the active ingredients for this one are Ensulizole 3%, Octinoxate 7.3%, Octocrylene 3%, and Oxybenzone 3%. Which is another way of saying a-bunch-of-sciencey-unfamilar-things.

So obviously it still has a viable SPF 30+ rating - they're very leery of giving that rating out to just anyone - but as I understand it, it is not as effective a sunscreen as a zinc oxide based one would be.

So ultimately - this is what I'll be wearing until the perfect sunscreen presents itself, because it's the closest I've come to finding one. I'm using it instead of moisturiser and it's going great guns, but the chemical sunscreen is a factor for those who know their sunscreens.

Australis limited editions - count out six months and put it in your diary

2012-02-10T21:32:00.000+08:00

I love limited editions! Though it's always a bittersweet love, especially when it's something you absolutely adore and you know it's going to be gone soonish. At least Australis tend to keep their limited editions around for a reasonable time, namely six months, because I get the feeling this little bundle are going to be rather sought after once people get wind of them.

I had leanings toward the red (Vampy) immediately, based on it's beautiful mottled raspberry-jam effect in the bottle. I thought it was a bright shimmering red, but it's actually closer to a mulberry, and I could have probably gotten away with one coat. It's intended as a matte with shimmer (it's not a contradiction - you'll see) but I don't particularly like the look of polish unless it's ultra glossy, so out came the Sally Hansen Diamond Shine topcoat to seal it all in. The blue (Flip Flops) I thought was a more American flag blue, but in person is pretty electric. Can I also say that whenever I photo nail polish bottles they tend to be a bit misleading? A far better image is these:

I do have a bit of an issue with the nailpolish lid - it's just too fat to be able to manipulate easily and be able to see what I'm doing. Maybe a false, smaller lid inside the big lid like the Loreals and Chanels? I understand it might be cost prohibitive, but the fat lid does cause me some issues. I'm trembly handed as it is.

And whilst I adore the colors, it started chipping about 24 hours in, top coat and all. A true tragedy, since this is probably the closest to a perfect red nail that doesn't look mutton-dressed-as-lambish on me. I'm going to use it as a toenail color I think, since they rarely ever chip, and I suspect maybe I might have some better results if I play with someone of my other top coats.

I've talked/enthused about Colour Inject lipsticks on here before, so at risk of repeating myself, I'll just talk about the colour - we have a pale nude and a soft pinky nude-orange (I'm sure there's a better way of putting this), called Hustle and Hula respectively. I opened them up and that familiar, vanilla/soap smell hit me and I went to a happy place. Here they are on the lips:

So Hustle is probably not perfect for me, but considering every man and their dog is going nuts for nude lips right now it'll still have a market. Just maybe a less dead-fish-coloured market. Am very aware that the whole nude lip thingy is never going to work for me.

And I like Hula! I wasn't sure about it when I put it on my hand, but mixed with my natural lip color I think it's a bit lovely. Sort of latte-ish. My immediate urge is to pull out the Naked palette and see a smokey/neutral eye would do with it. I think I'm going to enjoy this lipstick, it's unlike any other color I have and it's making me thank hard about what it's paired with. This ones going to get some use, and it's actually the first Colour Inject I own that isn't a big crazy statement lip and is closer keyed to daywear. And damn I love that 90s-ish lipstick smell.

DISCLAIMER: Sent by PR for review. In Australis branded wrapping paper. SO impressed.

Project 25 Pan : A catalogue of abject failure

2012-02-04T23:20:00.000+08:00

So I decided back in mid-August to conduct a Project 25 pan. It took six - count them, six - products before I caved and started buying things again. So I instead decided to keep on saving my empties in an attempt to get a sense of what products I really burn through and what I really shouldn't buy more of. Observe:

Good grief. Oh man. This is six months of accumulated stuff, excluding things like toothpaste, deodorant, medicines and so on. And also excluding samples and makeup removing apparatus.
Also - I just counted all above and panicked, then realised that I have not included my Australis Finishing Spritz, which was finished and promptly refilled with water and is sitting on my desk. So no, that ain't pictured.
What have I learnt from this collection? Firstly - I have license to buy as much scrub as humanly possible, because it will get used. Same goes with my wonderful multi-purpose Acne.Org cleanser. Here's roughly how things tally up:

5x body scrub
3x face moisturisers
2x body wash
2x shampoo
2x body treatments
1x face treatment
1x face mask
1x foot mask
1x eye cream
1x body lotion
1x powder
1x mascara
1x mousse foundation

Lets have a closer look at how much of this is make up.

Oh dear. Yep, I am rightly justified in buying no make up at all. This is truly shameful. In six months this is all I finished. Someone take away my make up licence.

On a more optimistic note, I also kept track of how much makeup remover I got through in this period:

Am I really only in the midst of my third bottle of Dove foaming makeup remover? I feel like Iv'e grown up with it. Such an amazing product, and I will continue foisting this onto everyone who comes into my radius. I couldn't tell you how many Loreal Revitalift makeup wipes I've gone through, I've been using them for years, although WotNot has impressed me by being very similar in performance - the only other wipe, beyond the Loreal, that doesn't burn or redden and irritate me. Sadly it's not quite as easy to get, but I'll definitely be grabbing them when I see them. Ultra gentle and ultra effective. I have no opinion on the Nivea, I was using it between Dove bottles and it can't stand up to such mightiness.

And what else did I keep aside? My samples:

Flourish perfume oil (ginger tea), two Sarawen samples (Fugitive and Queen of the Seas), four Silk Naturals skincare bits and pieces, a Clinique face wash and a vial of Orofluido. Which I am totally going to buy, only haircare product that Luke ever noticed a difference with. And that's big.

So coming out of this, this is a list of what I will rebuy (excluding makeup removers) , in approximate priority order:

1. Ella Bache Intensive Balancing Lotion - SO good, cannot do without.
2. Haus of Gloi scrubs - all of thems
3. Ella Bache Baume Purifiant - beautiful lightweight lotion, great for summer. Sadly spensive :(
4. Clinique Liquid Facial Soap - my fullsized is getting low.
5. Orofluido elixir - Moroccanoil alternative that smells like heaven and looks great.
6. Acne.Org Cleanser - truly can be used for everything. Also hyperpowered for bacne. Cmon, we all have it.
7. Dermalogica daily microexfoliant - didn't think much of it when I was using it, but now I'm not...
8. Silk Naturals - Vit C Peptide Serum - Already bought the oil control one.
9. Nutraplus Urea Cream - have been putting it on my keratosis, and while results there have been slow, my skin is beautifully silky!

There's plenty of other products that I like, they just aren't on the shopping list. May well be later. that Sportsgirl scrub, for example, is mighty fine and come in a huge tub. It'll be my in-between-gloi-shipments scrub. Also there's stuff I've already repurchased - like Flourish's Ginger Tea.

So yes. That was my *ahem* Project 25 Pan. Hope yours was more faithful than mine.

Kosmea Travel Collection pack - and Giveaway!

2012-01-31T11:22:00.000+08:00

Oh, Kosmea, what on earth happened? I'd never heard of you four months ago and suddenly everyone babbling about you like it's an illness. You're so sparkling and new there isn't even a wikipedia page. So for those scrounging around for info, this is the basic rundown: Australian line that has sprung up around the fact that when they launched, no one in Australia was selling Rosehip oil. Marie Jenkins - the creator - also managed to have two children who run the UK and Australia/NZ/Asian branches, and all in all things have taken off and people all about the place are losing their minds over Kosmea. Bless em.

They have a very small and compact range - which is nice, I get a bit overwhelmed when you get up to the product numbers that something like Clinique has - all of which centre around Rosehip oil with the occasional extra herb and vitamin to liven things up. Oh, and rosewater. I do like rosewater. There are worse things than smelling like Turkish Delight.

The divine Sabine at Echolife Australia offered to send me one of these wonderful packs to try - and since I'd tried two of the four products before, I was a.) greedily glad to get my hands on more of the ones I'd tried and b.) very eager to learn how the other two fared.

It's amazing how much Rosehip Oil I've tried, considering the absolute first one I ever used (Natio...) made my VISION SWIM. I still don't understand what happened there, but it SHOULD have scared me off. Regardless I ended up trying the Kosmea rosehip oil a little later and was cautiously optimistic. Since then, with more trial and error, I've concluded the the absolute best way to use this as a facemask. I load it on, leave it for maybe an hour and wash it off, which seems to work best for me. During winter I was pairing it with my night moisturiser and just washing off the excess moisture in the morning, but when it's as hot as it's been - this isn't an option.
I do need to point out though that this is how to juggle rosehip oil if you are insanely oily - I've met hormonal teenagers with less facial oil than I - and most people seem to be able to do regular, sweep-it-on-and-add-moisturiser application. Just not me. Because that would be too simple.

The Clarifying Facial Wash is lovely and foamy, which is surprising considering it has no foaming agents to speak of.There isn't any real smell and no residue, and the lotion itself is thick and foamy enough to really feel like it's doing something. I used this to remove my makeup to see how it fared, and whilst I don't think it can be used in place of a makeup remover + cleanser, it certainly got everything off with no tightening, warming, eyestingage or any of the things I experience with over-active or overly strong cleansers. It also gave me silky smooth cheeks, which is sort of my cleanser-gauge. I really dont know the science behind why exactly my skin texture changes with a good cleanser, but it does, and this stuff makes it happen.
(You can also read a more in depth review of this product here: Jen is a Kosmea fangirl)

Now when something's called a Replenishing Moisture Cream I'm going to immediately assume it's going to be over-moisturizing for my skin. And this very nearly is - I'd have to apply it a fair while before going out, or else before bed (which is what I've been doing). I'd be interested to see how this goes in cooler months when I'm slathering more of everything on my face. As an overnight treatment it's very soothing and gentle, and I wake up looking a good deal less haggard than I would otherwise. A really balanced and pleasant moisturiser, and very kind to sensitive skins.

I've had the Hydrating Rosewater Mist before from a previous sample box - and very much liked it! The scent is VERY rose (as you could imagine) and in these filthily hot days we've been having facial mists have been saving me. And because I've been sweating out ALL the moisture on my face, mists have been the only way I can hydrate my skin.And oddly enough, it's really been working for me. One 42 degree day, after burning through EVERY facemist in the house, I awoke the next morning to plumped out, even, unwrinkled skin. I gauge my level of hydration by my affectionately-named Gordon Ramsay lines - three lines across my forehead - that only appear when my skin is ailing. I awoke to no Gordon Ramsay. This tells me I should be overdosing on face mists in summer.

So onto the important bit - Echolife are gifting a reader with one of these thrilling packs, which I can now confirm are actually authentically PERFECT for carry on luggage. Facial mists, repairing moisturisers, rosehip oils after long and dehydrating plane trips? Yes. My lord yes. The kit contained the four products above (the rosehip oil is full sized - the other three a large samples) Plus a sweet little carrybag and a whole lot of rose-scented love.

So to enter, you must meet the following criteria:

1.) You must be a public follower on GFC
2.) You must be 18+ and located in Australia (sorry!)
3.) You must be okay with me giving your address to Sabine. It's okay, she'll look after it.
ALSO
4.) Optional, but being a twitter follower (give me your twitter name!) gets you an extra point.

So you must comment below, with your email, GFC name (and twitter handle if you have one), and this, all important piece of information: the worst thing that has happened to you on a plane. Regale me with stories, kids, I know there's some amazing ones out there.

Competition takes off RIGHT now, and goes until the 14th of February, 10.00pm (GMT +8.00). You have two weeks. That's enough time to get on a plane, cause some shenanigans, and get back on the internet to add your story. Which is obvs what I'm going to go do now.

Get entering, my pretties!

January's Glossybox

2012-01-29T02:22:00.001+08:00

This is the first Glossybox I've had interactions with! To be honest in the sudden onslaught of sample subscriptions this one got lost a bit in the crowd. I was contacted and asked to review this one, and I was mighty curious to know how it faired against my currently running Bellabox subscription and my recently cancelled I Love This Box subscription.

And they win points for presentation, I'll give em that. The box is really slickly presented and packaged, with ribbons and stickers and tissue paper and all manner of nice things. It's also substantially wider and taller than the Bellabox, and I think just a little taller than the I Love This Box.

And this is the absolute first thing you see, which is a bit of a confusing choice for me. This is their one accession to Australia Day - fake tattoos, and while I may be wrong, I don't feel like the kind of lady who has an interest in beauty subscriptions is the kind of lady who'd use these. I'm sure there's exceptions, and I'll happily admit I'll try anything ironically, but it's - a bit of a stretch. It really would have been acceptable to wrap the bundle in green and gold paper or include all Australian products and leave it at that - it would have been a cohesive bundle and not something that feels like a bit of an afterthought.

I'm not sure if Glossybox is considering this a sample in it's own right or just something extra thrown in, because it most certainly does not count as a sample. I'm leery of vouchers in these kinds of outlets, since it's a.) not a sample b.) has no value unless you choose to spend money and c.) a bit cheeky. People don't sign up for sample subscriptions for vouchers, and I'm very sure Glossybox are aware of that. If I'd seen a few more Glossyboxes I might be able to gauge more whether it was an honest to god freebie or something taking the slot of what might have been another sample product.

And here's the products themselves. I'm pretty satisfied with this little bundle, and I do like that it runs the absolute full gamut of product - from cheap as chips drugstore to high end skincare (facial serums, no less). And even beyond that - there's a dry skin product, an oily skinned product, an aging skin product, a nail product, a lip product. It's a really full, nicely thought out bundle of things.
I've had a play with the Sally Hansen Insta-Dry, and I'm rather startled and pleased! It's got a completely different shaped brush - sort of like a paddle - that makes application really pleasant and the name is definitely correct - it dries almost instantaneously. It does, however, remain soft for a while, so some care is still needed. Sadly this is the absolute last colour I would wear - sample subscriptions are doing amazing things for my collection of nude/pale/coral nailpolishes - but I'm going to have a look at their stand when I'm next in Priceline and suss out the colour range. I'm definitely intrigued.
I've applied a little of the Sheer Cover moisturiser - SPF 15+, Oil-free, all things I like - and the jury's still out. It soaks in and is matte almost immediately, which is great, but it leaves a sunscreen-tacky sensation on my skin that my normal daily make-up application might take care of. I'll have to day-test it over a longer period, but it's certainly interesting, and potentially awesome.
And the Sheer Cover lipgloss - it's a pale pink which can be built opon to be made more opaque, and it very soft in the pan (warning). I tend not to use lipglosses that aren't in a tube or roll up, but this is a very pretty shade, and as a full sized product very useful.
The Nivea samples a little disappointing, since it's something so easily and cheaply attained on it's own, plus I don't know a single person who's made it to adulthood without using a Nivea body lotion at some point, so it's not really an unknown factor. But it's a handy little thing, and for those who use hand cream or have any very dry bits it'd be very useful. Sadly I don't have either, so this may turn into a foot lotion. Time will tell.
The Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair is probably the biggest intrigue for me - I know it's considered usually used for older skins, but it doesn't feel overly moisturising (as most anti-aging products are) and having worn it through the night a few times, I think this one might be a gem. The colour tone on my face seems to have evened out a little, and I'm less blotchy when I get up in the morning. I'm going to burn through this little sample, I think. Sigh, time to start looking at full sized prices.

So all in all - I think in terms of the companies that Glossybox has, they're onto a good thing. A quick look at their brand page reveals some truly exciting names - Shu Uemura, Clinique, Bobbi Brown and a whole host of others - and having a look at the listings for the last few boxes there's been some really great stuff.
I'm a little perplexed looking at the listing for the January 2012 listing (i.e. this box...) since the website lists it as including a Kosmea exfoliant and a Mirenesse gel eyeliner, which would have tipped the contents of the box from decent into generous. Not sure what happened there - I'll read a few other blog reviews and see if they appear in other peoples.
EDIT: Did not read correctly. Each box has seven items listed, but you receive five. I wonder what governs who gets what?

Would I subscribe to this? To be honest, I'm tempted. There's some great brands affiliated and the packaging is slick and great fun. They don't have the more experimental and obscure edge that I like from Bellabox, but they do have a great cross section of high end to drugstore grade skincare and cosmetics, and I'm impressed with the choices they made putting together the samples.

Now if only they can avoid the tattoos for the Valentines Day box...

DISCLAIMER: As mentioned above- sent for review!

MAC Pigment in Copper Sparkle - good gravy

2012-01-22T22:27:00.000+08:00

I'm leery of MAC eyeshadow, probably because I know it'll be a whirling vortex that will suck me up and spit me out penniless. I tell myself it's because my pet eyeshadow brands - Inglot, Fyrinnae - are just SO good that there's no point even looking at MAC because there's no way they could possibly be better, but mostly it's all just me clamping my hands over my ears and singing loudly. Or, you know, an approximation of that.

So when Sarah (Dempeaux) and I caught up and ended up in the MAC section in David Jones I idly swatched some things, fully expecting to be either unmoved or barely impressed. Big mistake. I left there with two eyeshadows on my OMG MUST HAVE list. And yes, I have one right here, and another on the way. Buy retail? Pssht. Ebay and Rock the Catwalk were my enablers this time around.

So I thought initially when I opened it up that this copper had shimmer and glitter in it in equal parts, but it turns out it's about 75% glitter, 25% shimmer, and I can't say I've ever encountered such a GLITTERY BURST OF GLITTERBALL. It's insane. When it's swatched or applied it flattens straight into a burst of metallic glitter/shimmer so insanely potent it looks like those highly fume-y metallic paint markers we used in primary school art. My lord. Where exactly could I wear this? It feels almost too full on for anything.

Oh my god there appears to be an evil smiling face in my MAC lid.

And applying was a debacle. I did it sitting near a window - no big breezes or anything, a relatively still night outside, and the minute the pot opened I watched happy little sparkles floating away in a near constant fairy exodus. My desk, my carpet, my face, my dress is covered, and whilst I was sort of handling it like a Chernobyl safety officer I really didn't expect it to be so floaty. I had to wipe down the surrounds of my eye a fair few times because of the fallout.

But despite the difficulty, the crazy glitter factor, the very loose and disaster-waiting-to-happen nature of the packaging - I would completely have more of these. The colour intensity is off the charts and I love it. Oh god, it begins.

Becca Resurfacing Primer - Eureka!

2012-01-21T15:51:00.000+08:00

I don't know if "resurfacing" is a great term. It's something you do to a road, isn't it? With drills and steamrollers?

That aside, this is the first Becca product I've tried. Like many long standing grudges of mine, this has nothing to do with the product and all to do with the staff. During my years at Myer the lady who ran the Becca station was an infamous bitch who all the staff avoided, and sadly it's contributed to my very late start on the Becca front.

I received this product in my gigantic groaning gift bags from POBM, and not being a huge primer-wearer, I was a bit reluctant to start using it. As previously mentioned (and bitterly complained about) I'm not great in summer, and my skin sweats like anything, and thus the more layers I put on my face - moisturizer, primer, foundation, powder - the worse it gets. When I wash my face in the morning, I usually have a period of amnesty for about an hour where I'm not oily or that sweaty, and that has to be the time when I apply makeup. It's also my absolute driest time, so unless I wear moisturiser - which I'm doing less and less during the day in summer - makeup does not cling well to me.
So it's an endless cycle - apply moisturiser and two hours later be a sweaty beast, or don't apply moisturiser and have my makeup sit unevenly and dully on my face? Aargh.
It's embarrassing how long it took me to try applying primer without moisturiser, and it happened by accident when late at night I decided I needed to take a powdered face photo and was far too hot and bothered to pile on the liquid foundation or something liquid-y underneath to provide grip. With the flaky logic of anything-wet-will-do, I slopped on some FOA Primer and applied mineral powder foundation on top of that. And lo and behold? It looked good, and it stayed put very comfortably without much sweating or discomfort. Hooray!

Fast forward to this product - Becca's, that is - which is a delicate little tube of cream with no SPFs or moisturising properties, which means it's (sadly - an SPF, though useful, would have rendered it too oily) at it's optimum for oily oily ladies. I've been applying it after cleansing and before the Nude by Nature mineral foundation, and it's something of a winning combo for oily sweatiness. It creates a bit of a slick which doesn't make a huge difference for powder makeup, but would be a lifesaver for liquid, and while it does make me shiny immediately after, it sinks in very fast and mattes out equally fast. And it locks in my foundation really impressively - the the N by N stuff is great to start with, so the pair together are a powerhouse. Plus it means that the only things sitting on my skin skin (so excluding lipsticks/eyeshadows/mascara) are the primer, some small spots of concealer, and the powder. And this is a winning formula i.e. as little as humanly possible.

My gripe is with the packaging - the opening in the tube is tiny. And you need to use a fair amount on your face since it's got no oil to spread it around with, so you will squeeze and squeeze and squeeze to get the amount you need. It's a pleasantly scented, pale yellow cream that smoothes on a bit white but loses the white cast once it starts to soften and sink in.

A quick scan of this page reveals not one, but five different primers! There's a hydrating one, an SPF one, a radiance one, a rejuvenating one - truly a primer for all seasons. I'd be interested in trying the SPF one, because if that works for me, then my final "face issue" - how on earth to wear sunscreen - would be solved.

Blended - a second or so later - no shine at all, and I rubbed in about 2/3rds of a faceworth on that hand. Golly.

This one retails for $55 - expensive, I think, but my ultimate perspective on that is going to depend on how long the product goes for and how indispensable I find it. Certainly right now it's a lifesaver. My local Ella Bache (love you, Ella Bache) is a Becca stockist, so I'll definitely be looking a bit closer and seeing which products might suit me. So far - very happy.

DISCLAIMER: Received in giftbag from POBM, under NO obligation to review! And believe me, there's no way I'm going to be able to review everything.

Agent Provocateur L'Agent - boozy perfume just got a whole lot sexier

2012-01-19T20:02:00.002+08:00

I've been wearing the original Agent Provocateur for a good while now, and have always enjoyed the edginess of it - the amazing boudoir-grenade design, the origin story (Agent Provocateur has always been a perfume first, lingerie line second for Australia, since that part was very slow to arrive here), the intense, almost overwhelming smoke and booze and sweetness of the scent. It's certainly a love-it-or-hate-it, which tends to be the bracket for all my perfumes.
I came by it as something of an accident - I was rather fond of the Maitresse Agent Provocateur, and asked my partner to get it for me for my birthday. He chose the wrong one. It was a happy accident, once the initial shock of the first sniff wore off.

L'Agent, interestingly, while being very definitely different form the original Agent Provocateur, is still clearly in the same family. My immediate first thought when that very strong initial note emerged was "bourbon", which surprised me to say the least. And to be honest, my immediate impression wasn't good. I found it too heavy, too boozy, and the spice too sharp. It actually seemed very masculine on first sniff, which was completely unexpected. I presented my freshly sprayed wrist to Luke, who told me he liked it (he is actually quite discerning - this wasn't him just telling me what I wanted to hear), and I carried my cloud of perfume away to muse on a little.

One's tied with ribbon, one with a strip of leather. This is no accident.

And lo and behold about ten minutes later - the bourbon had mellowed right down, the edge on the sweetness was gone and it was instead a heady, intense bouquet of flowers and spice instead of a shot of booze. I usually don't encounter this degree of transform unless it's an indie perfume. It's a brave move on AP's part, certainly, because I suspect the first sniff from the bottle would startle most people. But then I thought about Guerlian's Shalimar, and the cult built around that, and how straight from the bottle I find it almost nastily strong. And yet, I'm still determined to like it, based on the mythos of its origin. Luckily for me it's one that softens and becomes very pleasant, very much like L'Agent, and I think it has - and will develop - a similar style of following. You want Agent Provocateur. It's too sexy not to.

So its definitely one of the more adventurous and unusual among my high grade perfumes - which I think needs to be commended, because I don't feel like there's often many risks taken with fragrance in this category. It's a true heavy hitter and needs a very delicate touch - those curious I would strongly advise to apply sparingly, then let it mellow for at least twenty minutes before making a decision on it. Where it ends up is quite far from where it starts, which I think is it's one major difference from the original Agent Provocateur - which, like most high grade perfumes, smells exactly the same at first sniff as it does an hour later. This is a really dark, floral-spicy and complex scent, and needs to be experienced. There's nothing girlish or sweet or coquettish about it - it's bold and aggressively sensual and a bit filthy. All good things in a fragrance. I think this one has the makings of a very long term "scarlet-woman" classic, and it's in mighty fine company.

DISCLAIMER: L'Agent was sent for review - the original Agent Provocateur is my own.

Illamasqua 4 colour liquid metal palette - Llama for short

2012-01-18T00:49:00.000+08:00

My sister went to New York, so naturally, she also went over with a colossal Sephora wishlist. I managed to load it with limited editions (unknowingly) so she came back with one thing. But that one thing I am TOTALLY thrilled about.

It comes in a cardboard slipcase with the Art of Darkness set artwork on it, covering the classic and rather lovely traditional box. This is my SECOND PIECE OF ILLAMASQUA and since I've kept my Box lipstick in it's packaging I think I'll do the same. I'm convinced that acting like something's precious makes it so.

It's a quad in the traditional compact format, with a big, solid case and a really nice mirror. I've never noticed a "nice mirror" before. Perhaps it was especially big? Unsure. Anyhow it feel sturdy in my hand and like it'll kick around for a while.

I had an almighty complex about swatching these. Look at how flat and glossy and AMAZING they are. They're immediately soft, too, with none of that cutting up you sometimes need to do with gel or cream textures that had hardened a little. They're also very - greasy? slick? It doesn't sound overly flattering, but yes. There's a good deal of slide-around here.

Oh my. This is wonderful. The colours are so dense and rich! The pewter and gold in the middle seem to be more thickly pigmented than the bronze, which is thinnish, and the silver which seems to be designed more like a liquid shimmer than an opaque color. These also don't dry. I kept this swatch on my hand for about 45 mins, at which point I accidently smeared it and had to take it off. This is either a plus or a minus, depending on how you look at it. I had a haphazard attempt at putting this on my eyes:

Oh yes, I know that first shot is blurry, I'm sorry. You know it's hard to maintain this level of perfection. As you can see it's very, very molten, and by the time I'd piled all this on - very wet. They don't so much blend as take one another over, with certain creams being more dominant than others (I'm patenting the "paper rock scissors effect" fyi) and in this way they aren't incredibly easy to deal with. The effect is impressive, and it will get used, but if I was going for a quick and easy gold/silver/bronze eye I'd probably go for Inglot first, just because it plays happily with it's friends and these shadows I suspect would do best on their own.

But difficulty level aside, hot damn am I thrilled with this palette. I'm cradling it like a baby and trying to figure out how to fit it into my Make Up Box with the other spiffy things.

Australis Paparazzi Perfect tinted moisturiser - oh, so close

2012-01-17T09:00:00.019+08:00

As mentioned in an earlier post, I recently came into possession of a Chanel powder which I love the crap out of. And while it does relatively well on it's own, I really think it'll perform better with a liquid foundation underneath, or something approximating that.

Australis Paparazzi Perfect tinted moisturiser is very nearly made for this - it's a light, watery, soapy-scented pleasure to wear, and it glides on so beautifully. And it meshes with the powder really well - both elements do reasonably well on their own, but are not designed for full on coverage so when you slot them together they create a great balance between flawlessness and a natural finish. It has a perfectly shaped tube, and I find it a bit of a joy to having sitting around. So why doesn't it quite make it?

Paparazzi Perfect tinted moisturiser above, Paparazzi Perfect High Def Foundation below.

Because the Welsh Curse has struck me down yet again - the palest shade, of the two shades, is too dark for me. Which is a huge shame because I love the formulation and how light and sheer it is. And I know Australis can get my skin tone, the Nude shade in the High Definition foundation fits me fine. If they'd chosen to made three or four colour options, I think I would have been okay, but as a Light/Medium? Nooo. I even thought I could get away with it for a bit, and in some lights I can, but all it took for me to admit defeat was sitting with the boyfriend in a Java Juice, and him looking warily at me and going "Um - you look a bit jaundiced."
So while the promotional material proudly tells us that the colour balancing aspect will always suit all complexions - not this one, sadly.

There's also a bit of a logistical issue with this one - it's a moisturiser primarily, but it doesn't have an SPF of any kind. Which begs the question when you should be applying the sunscreen, with this product? Before the tinted moisturiser (sunscreen before moisturiser??) or after the moisturiser, which surely would screw with the finish/effect? It's a problem. A problem for you slightly darker-than-fair ladies to figure out. Let me know what you figure out, because it's a damn good product with a few problematic misjudgements.

DISCLAIMER: Sent for review, longer ago than I care to admit.

Nude by Nature Natural Mineral Cover in Light

2012-01-16T10:08:00.001+08:00

Before all else I need to apologise for my grievously erratic blogging pattern, and can only blame factors out of my control. It's been very warm in Perth. So what, you say - it's summer, isn't that a given? Well, yes, but the issue isn't really the heat - it's the humidity. Stepping into air-conditioning provides no relief. The sun going down does not help. And I - as an oily face sweater from way back - have been in a state of near lunacy for days. I hate hot weather. I HATE it. It reduces me to a lethargic, often weepy lump of useless, and it sucks incredibly that this burst of sticky heat has occurred over my 1.5 week off. I have done NOTHING. I have watched a lot of Work of Art and Project Runway, admittedly, but I'm not counting that as an achievement at this stage. And more notably, I have not been able to trial any of this gigantic pile of products because anything I put on my face right now just slides off me. And moisturisers, face masks, anything designed to sink into the skin is just being sweated off me before it can do it's thing. It's been a truly miserable season for skincare and makeup.

So in these conditions it's taken me a really, really bloody long time to get around to this product, and shame on me for that. I've been holding out and waiting for a cool change, because while it's worthwhile to trial a product in challenging circumstances, there is a point where "challenging" becomes "impossible" and it becomes not fair to the product at hand.

That said, Nude by Nature's Natural Mineral Cover has been one hell of a workhorse, and really quite impressive. I've been wearing it at work (i.e. turbo air conditioning but still a lot of moisture in the air), out shopping (drastic swings from cold to blastingly hot, with lots of moisture in the air) and at home (reasonable temperature but omfg so much moisture in the air), and I feel relatively confident in saying it is an extremely - extremely - solid performer in this range of conditions.

It's a very finely milled powder - closer to talcum powder in weight and feel - so there needs to be a certain degree of care taken that you don't send great clouds of it flying all over the place. Also spare a thought for your clothes. I tend to apply this bending forward at a serious angle.
Also worth keeping in mind is that it is buildable, almost to a ridiculous degree. I was applying some of this without a mirror at some stage while talking to Luke, and it must have been a scintillating conversation, because I just kept applying and applying and suddenly realised what I was doing and went to a mirror to discover the degree of makeup coverage usually seen at beauty pageants and ballroom dancing competitions. I had to wash it off and start again of course, but for a naturally derived, very light powder to build to the point of looking like MAC girl makeup? That's - pretty nuts. I have chosen to not share this image with you. Here's the powder in action:

This is light, daywear coverage, with lip gloss and mascara. Excuse the hair, as I said I've been living in crazy Hermitsville the last few days on account of the cruelty of mother nature.

And as far as the heat/humid factor? I suspect this is as good as it will get, for me anyhow. It doesn't need reapplication, and I seem to sweat through it instead of having it all slide off me. Also, for other face sweaters, may I strongly suggest avoiding the tissues and going straight for paper towels? Blot, not wipe. Very important, that bit.

And lets spare a moment for this brush, which you buy separately, but for a very reasonable (and VERY cheap for a powder brush) $14.95 I think it's a fine deal. It's little and chubby and the bristles are very synthetic and silky. I'm unsure what's used to make these, but it's most certainly not animal hair. It's ultra slippy and very tightly packed, as most mineral powder brushes need to be, and comes in this little plastic zip shut pouch so you can carry it around without the bristles getting mashed. I find a lot of powder brushes itch my skin, but whatever mystery substance these bristles are made from, it doesn't irritate me.

So Nude by Nature powder runs in three shades - I'm using the Light, no surprises there - and retails for $39.95 from Priceline and a few other places. And considering it costs very marginally more than a certain other mineral powder brand currently pimped by Kit Cosmetics and which I may yet blog about, I would consider this one infinitely superior. The texture is far finer, there's way more value for money in the size of the products and this brush is just omg.

So my only gripe would probably be the dispensing of product. It's just open holes once you've taken off the seal, and the powders so fine you end up with an absolute stack in the catchment area, especially if you've been carrying it around with you. I would have like to see one of those rotating closure fittings, similar to those you see on table salt so you could dispense into the lid to use and slide closed again. Would have been a great extra step.

So yes, when this GIGANTIC TUB runs outs I will re-buy. It's good stuff and my laziness responds very well to the skip-over-the-liquid-foundation thing.

DISCLAIMER - provided for review. And I should send them a fruit hamper or something.

UPDATE: Nude by Nature are having a colossal Facebook competition, and if you want a piece of that action (I know I do) then may I highly suggest you skedaddle over to this link? You need to at least check it out for the lol-tastic male model. Now that's someone I want to have a beer with.

Dr LeWinn's Revitanail - keeping me taloned and shiny since I was a wee one

2012-01-11T23:09:00.001+08:00

I was rather thrilled to receive Revitanail in my POBM gift bag - namely because my current Revitanail, pictured, has gotten rather old. While I use my Revitanail ALL the damn time, I've never managed to finish a bottle. Has never happened. With any of my nail products, actually, come to think of it. I wonder what I'm doing wrong.

My older sister is responsible for my Revitanail fetish, and it become something of a sisterly thing to sit around the lounge room table with some placemats out and paint our nails as a group. It made us feel classy and ladylike, without the fuss and hassle of legitimate nail polish which we couldn't wear at school anyhow. Yes, I have been applying and reapplying Revitanail since I was 14 or so. It's a strengthener, a glossifier, and it makes your nails grow faster and better.

The basic gist is to apply it every day for five days - nail polish remover - five more days - remove again - and then another five. And then leave your poor nails alone for two weeks while they recover from their steroid-like growth. I will say first up that I rarely adhere to this. I usually go about a week of treatment before I decide that I really want to paint my nails something silly, at which point it all comes off and the nail polish goes on. But even in that one week, my nails shoot out, they don't flake or split and I can open a bottle of beer with my thumbnail. Yes, I did this, and no, I don't think you should try it.

It's also worth saying that it is not a nail polish, or a top coat. The smell, the texture, it's all different. I did use this as a topcoat for a while, and while it did pretty good, it made nail polish removal very difficult, so I wouldn't recommend. It's also very important that you store your Revitanail somewhere cool and UPRIGHT. Witness what happens if this is not adhered to.

My precious Revitanail, leaked and hard and kind of terrifyingly sharp. It does not dry like normal spilt nail polish, it dries like the mid point between shattered toffee and broken glass. Please keep your Revitanail upright! I had my lid on very tight when the above occurred.

But that hassle aside, it's a truly magnificent product that has a permanent place on my computer desk, usually being applied while I read blogs or play Warcraft. Well, you know, there's all these loading screens...

Disclaimer - sort of: This was provided by Dr Lewinns for the POBM gift bags, though I am not required to review any of the products!

Perth Online Beauty Media Event - watch us creep out from behind our computers!

2012-01-10T17:29:00.001+08:00

If you had any idea how much I'd been looking forward to this event, you'd think me crazy. My diary had a firmly pre-POBM/post-POBM slant. I'm currently taking a 1.5 week break off work, and that didn't even occur to me until I was out the door and on my way home.

And whilst I love a day spa as much as the next person (in this case - Djurra Day Spa, in Fremantle, and good god its beautiful) and giftbags are wonderful things, the BIG thing for me was an opportunity to meet other bloggers in my area - sort of a massive internet blind-date, if you will. I'd already met Sarah (Dempeaux) a few times, and we've gotten along swimmingly, so I was hoping that boded well for everyone else.

This shindig had been put together by Annette from Wellness WA - who for some unbeknownst reason has let me write articles for her a few times in the past - and with that sites focus on health and natural beauty, the speakers, catering, choice of venue, everything was as healthy as could possibly be, and for me, as a devoted Subway cookies lover, this was a surprising and intriguing experience.

Food-wise, especially - it was catered by The Raw Kitchen and Emma & Toms, neither of which I'd had any real experience with. The raw macaroons tastes like chocolate crackles. I am SO nostalgic for chocolate crackles, you have no idea. I didn't partake of the pizza, to my shame (I'm not an olive, fetta or onion person, sadly) but the empty plates suggested that they were very appreciated. But that said, one juice and one of those macaroons and I was completely done. Raw food is so filling. I had no idea!

And consider I have such issues with eating enough fruit - I need to find an Emma & Toms stockist near me, since there's three pieces of fruit in each bottle and that's pretty perfect for me. Also they were so tasty. Nom.
And on an equally tasty front - Aveda make their own tea, which the ladies in Djurra serve for their patrons. It's a green tea with liquorice and peppermint and holy cow is it amazing! I had two little cups of this and I was so ready for more. Must return and buy a gigantic box.

(l-r) Anissa, Megan, Sarah, Hannah, some hobo

And it was so surreal meeting all these people who I feel like I know so well and yet have never met - people like Megan from Beauty in the Sky, Anissa from Beautifully Glossy, Hannah from Beauty Down Under. Was truly sad that Jessica from The Belle Lumiere could not make it - would have made it completely perfect. You'd better be at the next one, lady.

I want her dress.

We were visited by Adele Plumridge, a really lovely and vibrant naturopath who chatted with us for a while about some basic health, skin and dietary pitfalls. We all did the zinc test (i.e. a shot of zinc. How it tastes determines whether you are deficient or no) which felt oddly like doing dorm room teenage vodka shots, with far less vomiting. To no one's surprise, I am zinc deficient, though as far as I could tell, everyone (excluding Annette, clever thing) was as well. Golly! How does one keep up with all these vitamins? I've just start taking vitamin D and it feels like a hassle.

Anita, who runs Djurra Day Spa, spoke to us briefly about the choice involved in creating a purely natural salon alternative, and a little about the building itself (it's heritage listed - the mix of modern fitting and these beautiful, partially exposed walls is so gorgeous) and about Aveda, who I've never tried before but am intrigued by. The ladies were SO generous with their time, and beyond letting us take over their salon for an afternoon, they gave us foot scrubs (amazing. so amazing) and blue oil scented massages. I did catch myself, a few times, going - "All I do is be obnoxious on the internet. Why am I here? What have I done to deserve this?"

Haley from Peachy Clean being blue oiled.

So ultimately it was everything I was hoping it would be - a really beautiful, social, educational experience and a chance for us to drag our pasty selves out of the computer room and interact. It was SO wonderful to meet everyone, and before all else I am SO impressed with Annette, who organised the whole show, kept everything moving and organised the most decadent, ridiculous and flat out amazing giftbags I've ever seen.

I actually honestly tweaked a muscle getting this lot home.

There was also an informal beauty swap, and people brought the most wonderful things to exchange! I brought six things along - and whilst I didn't intend on taking six away with me, that's - sort of what happened.

There's some out of character choices here - the self tan, for one (it says "light"! and it's Rodial!) and the Fredrick Fekkai set. I'm not a big tan or hair person, but perhaps these might change that? And I have always loved NYX, and was a little devastated that no one was gunning for it. That's all right, pumpkin, you can come home with me.
I've never tried a creme blush, so that Australis is going to be rather interesting, and what I THOUGHT was a Nutrimetics lip gloss was actually a Mirenesse. All the better! I love me a bright red. Oh, and also a GIGANTIC STILA PALETTE, which I am so thrilled about! I've been about to buy this SO many times! A little amazed that anyone would want to do away with it, but - nevermind! I am smitten, and a review will be forthcoming.

I am so overwhelmed by all the things - all the products, all the new information and concepts and people and websites - that I'm still going to be decompressing and probably writing about POBM for a good while. If you're curious, the #POBM twitter tag is yielding some gold, and there's already been some wonderful POBM posts by other attendees - as of now: Sarah from Dempeaux, and Alexis for Amgoorie.

Phew. So what on earth am I going to try first??

POBM preview

2012-01-09T02:30:00.000+08:00

Ladies and gentlemen -

I have one hell of a lot of work cut out for me.

More soon!

Smashbox haul! Thrill of thrills! Photo-laden!

2012-01-07T23:34:00.000+08:00

Phew, you don't blog for a few days and suddenly it feels like you've completely lost the ability to. Do you have any idea how long I've sat staring at this screen? Ridiculous.

Anyhow most of you know the adoration I have for blog sales and also Smashbox, so when these two things collide I am a happy beast. Behold:

I knew when I was buying it that there was a fair bit of stuff, but my lord when I opened that package and started pulling things out they just kept coming. And now I have an unholy pile of barely used (and I swear, some of these are untouched) Smashbox things and more unnervingly the majority are things that I don't really know how to use.

The lipglosses and eyeshadow I've got down, that's fine. But the rest are a bit - unclear. And with names like Fusion Soft Lights and Soft Lights Quad and Baked Cheeks the general leaning is illuminating/blushing, but it's left a bit open. Multipurpose powders, then. And that tube of O-Bronze? No idea about that. I was resigned to not using it (this purchase was a combo deal, and may I say from Britain to Australia 26 pounds was a steal), but I'll see what happens. And that big black grinding powder appears to be either a blush or a bronzer. Please god don't be a bronzer.

Lets look at the lips first - they're little, halfsized lipglosses that I suspect originally came in a set. There's a full color, a true color and a sheer color (I'll go with American spelling if it's on the packaging in question. Tolerance of other cultures and all that).

And they're quite lovely! They're Full, True and Sheer from top to bottom. The first two are very similar in taste, smell and application, but the Sheer, with the bucketload of glitter and the crazy lavalamp tube:

Has a completely different applicator! A synthetic brush, as opposed to the doefoot of the others. And it smells different. Like buttercream cake or lollies or something. It's delicious. No secret which one I keep reaching for. Regardless of tags like "full color", these are all stell very low key, subtle glosses. Nice though, and all colours that work for me.

So lets look at this sweet, sturdy little eye duo. This has "work make up"" all over it.

So this one I've actually been carrying to work for a while with me to get a sense of it, and while on first impressions I didn't find it that inspired (purely color choices, really) it's been very regularly reached for. I've swatched them pretty heavily here - the pearly peach can be applied right up to my eyebrows, it's pretty much my exact skin color with an additional shimmer, and the brown I just smudge into my crease. It stays put great without primer, and lasts my long, humid days without trouble. It's pretty rock solid. I'm going to have to look into more Smashbox shadows.

Now while I have the above image, let's look at the O-Bronze, because the anticipation/confusion is killing me. So firstly it's just a slightly odd smelling, slippy lotion:

And then when you start rubbing it into your skin...

It becomes apparent that it's full of soft grit. And also some odd brown bits. Where did they come from? So after further rubbing:

WHAA? And suddenly we have a bronzer! Seriously, what is the logic behind the development of a product like this, besides completely perplexing me? I used a fair bit on the hand swatch, so I'm not overly perturbed by the darkness. I'm a little wary of the orange-ness of the tan, however. Future playing will confirm my yay or nay suspicions.

Okay, don't think about it too hard, you'll give yourself a headache. Moving on!

So this is the Halo Glow Color Boosting Powder, which has only one shade option, and that shade appears to be - brown. Hm.

In an unrelated thought, I am now craving a Cadbury Flake. An especially crumbly one.
God I love grinding powders, they're so much fun! Messy, admittedly, and since there was tiny bit of powder on the mirror and nothing else on this one, I think the seal was removed by it was otherwise unused. You know about it once grinding has been had. Lets swatch:

And oddly enough, it's not brown. It's sort of a peachy tan, with a lot of glowy stuff in it. I swatched hard and I believe it's meant to be used very finely and lightly dispersed, and I'm a little intrigued at the possibilities of this. It's definitely a color I could blush with, if nothing else!

Now this is a blush I'm excited about - Baked Cheek Duo in "On the Town", more to the point. The texture is all velvety and amazing! I loves it! I was fairly confident this chapter would end happily.

It's not horribly dissimilar to that eye duo, now you mention it. The darker shade is closer to a mid warm brown than the other, but that pale shade is pretty similar. Regardless!

Swirled together, this has serious promise. It's very subtle and warm, and I really like it. My only worry is how it leans to brown instead of peach, and straight brown blushes are bad news for me. Experimentation will follow!

To be fair, this blush (Soft Lights Tint) looks pretty bloody ordinary in this shot. It's almost greyish. In person it leans far closer to a peachy tan, sort of like a cool version of Orgasm (hyuck).

It's even got that lovely chromey thing I haven't seen since Sleek's Rose Gold (though that had chrome on steroids, to be fair). It's a pale one, but it's going to make a lovely cheek highlight.

And now we're getting into what-on-earth-do-I-do-with-this territory. An illuminator is my first thought:

I feel a bit silly swatching the individual bits on a pan like this. If you're going in with a blush brush, there's no way you're going to be able to extract a pure version of one of these colors. It's swirled or nothing.

And the gold emerges strongest here, which makes me a little wary. I'm ultimately white and pink - these are my two settings - and while I've used gold eyeshadow plenty, I've never applied it to contour or blush with. We'll see. Most unsure about this one at this stage.

And finally - this pretty thing! Fusion Soft Lights in Matrix, apparently.

Very pigmented separates, incidentally, surprising for something that can really only be swirled together.

Sort of reminds me of a frostier, non-chrome version of the Soft Lights Tint (the one-color blush, above). Too light to be a blush, too pink for an illuminator? I think this one might be a trial and error process. But it's certainly pale and pink enough, and at this stage, that makes me verry happy.

Has anyone used any of this before? I feel like Smashbox is a brand everyone likes but few people seem to actively use. I'm developing a bit of a girlcrush. And I am still so giddy about this bundle. I don't even know where to begin!

Sarawen Perfumes - Indie geek fragrances!

2012-01-03T00:10:00.001+08:00

I love Etsy for homemade nerd-ness. Top of my list for ridiculous nerdcraft is this Skyrim plush hat, and these amazing Portal earrings, and this what-the-christ Labyrinth Bowie doll. I'm basically fond of just plugging in a favorite franchise and seeing what it turns up, and this is how I came across Sarawen Perfumes. I plugged in Dragon Age, and ended up with this seller! She's obviously as much of a Dragon Age creep as I, and made three fragrances to cover three of the companion options in DA2. Intrigued, I bought a sampler set of six and sat back to wait and see what her interpretations of these characters would be.

These arrived in a very reasonable three weeks (US to Australia), not to mention being over the Christmas period. They were gift wrapped and came with cards and a very sensible ziplocked bag. Each vial had managed to leak a tiny bit on it's label, so the package itself was good golly fragrant. It meant I had to work a bit hard to figure out which was which, but once applied to the skin and the vial moved a distance away, it was all good. I bought my stuff on Etsy, but the card itself states a preference for a Bigcartel site, and it's a good deal prettier, so that's where I'll refer you.

Fugitive

This is Fenris, a sulky, aggressive and insanely hot runaway slave elf. Goddamn I love this character.
Anyhoo this interpretation of Fenris' scent assumes that he rolls around in incense a fair bit, which I'm cool with. It's got a big whallop of amber and ylang ylang in it, and something called dragon's blood. Which sounds like fun, but I have no idea where it is in the mix. It's an odd scent, intended as unisex but venturing towards feminine, with a dry down which is almost sweet? And sort of berry-ish. Good lord, go to Su if you want really accurate perfume descriptions, I'm really just writing from my gut here.
It feels - fitting, for the most part, but perhaps lacking some of the leather and musk of a usual male perfume? It's a very fey masculine. Which is perhaps fair enough, but I never read Fenris as a very elfy elf. A nice perfume that I will wear, I think, though I suspect I might just hit the point where I suddenly realise I cannot stand it. It's one of those.

Arcane

Meet Anders, a runaway mage in a world that condemns and locks up their magic users. He's something of a magical Che Guevara, with a rather lovely vaguely English accent and a romance storyline that as almost suffocatingly adorable. Oh, Anders, mad as a cut snake but very sweet.
Firstly - this reminds me of parsley. I love parsley. The website talks about clove and vanilla and laudanum (I'm not sure what that smells like...) but they feel very distant for me. Primarily because I despise cloves, so I'm very sensitive to them and I can't find them anywhere. But it's a very herby, vegetable-ish scent, and the vanilla is barely there. It's not a scent I liked in the vial, but on the skin, after I've been tapping away at this keyboard for a while? Very nice. More masculine that Fugitive, but still wearable.
(Also - I am majorily sidetracking, but for those ladies who played and enjoyed Dragon Age 2 - you should totally read this gaming column regarding the homosexual options in the game, as seen by a straight male gamer. It's great fun, and Anders specific)

Queen of the Seas

Oh yes, Isabela. I'm going to lift this quote from Luke's blog, because it summarizes her very - very - well.

Isabela is a pirate wench who is stranded in the city after her ship sank. She's kind of a cross between a female Jack Sparrow and Demi Moore's gypsy Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She's shifty, foul-mouthed, promiscuous, is often drunk, is on the wrong side of the law, and is clearly lying to all of us about her motives and backgrounds. Needless to say, I am in love.

So it's a little odd for me this fragrance to be so pretty. It's clean, and feminine, with a bit of violet and geranium and something that reminds me of my Demeter Laundromat fragrance. The seller writes it up as a floral-aquatic, which I'd agree with, but it's also very soapy. Smells like very pleasant hand wash. A lovely scent, and very wearable, but it ain't an Isabela smell. Nowhere near enough booze and tobacco and salt.

And now - our non-Dragon Age perfumes. Which is not to say I enjoy them any less.

Isis
Aargh oh god. It's an almond scent. AN ALMOND SCENT. It smells exactly like those almond fingers you can buy in a bakery pack. There's honey and amber apparently, and surely the honey is adding that extra layer of WHOA SWEET but I dont know where the amber is. My senses are clouded by this unholy fog of almond. Naargh.
The subtext here is that if you like almond scents - go for it. If not - dear god, avoid.

Mina
So this is very similar to Fugitive, except with a pile of musk rose in it. It dries down and reveals a bit of myrrh, and the whole effect is very gothic, very feminine, very Bram Stoker, and really quite nice. It doesn't feel overly me, but on the days I wish to stay inside, drink chamomile tea and play with my tarot cards, this is totally what I'd be putting on. It's extremely dense and dramatic and teenage goth.

Cake or Death
Oh my. Oh - my. I chose this one on a whim, amused at the notion of a cakey perfume, and the synopsis is all over the notion of dark amber and buttercream cake, as a very literal cake-or-die situation. And that's - pretty much exactly it. I love buttercream, but this is a dark buttercream, a buttercream with booze and sex and incense. This is one of Sarawen's big fragrances, and I can see why! It's pretty awesome. I am tempted to indulge in a sugar scrub version of it. I think I'm a sucker for foody scents.

And this was my first experience with Sarawen perfumes! She certainly veers towards the dramatic/incensey scents, which is not a problem at all. I will further investigate Queen of the Seas, Fugitive and Cake or Death, I think! Also there appears to be fragrances inspired by Morrigan and Alister from Dragon Age Origins!! How did I not know that??

Back to our regular, non-nerd-freakout posts in just a few moments...

Anticipatory list of 2012!

2012-01-01T00:15:00.001+08:00

I like this part of the year. We're all still so loved up from Christmas and suddenly we're looking ahead, thinking about alcohol, friends, family (in that order) and what we can possibly do to better ourselves. It's a time of compulsive list writing, which I am completely down with. So what am I looking forward to in 2012, beauty and otherwise?

Priceline Physicians Formula revamp - and perhaps Wet n Wild??

Some of you may be unaware of this!! Basically I was harassing @PricelineAU on twitter (its a hobby) about the fact that I'd overheard a Priceline employee tell another that they were phasing out the Physicians Formula line. As you can well imagine, this deeply, deeply worried me. They then let me know that Physicians Formula was undergoing a "pull the stock, revamp, re-release with new stock", and they'd be back in a big way in mid-March. Happy Booster, you say? Glam liners, you say? Good god, the excitement.
And in response to another query, Priceline twittered that they were "in talks" with Wet n Wild. Guys, seriously. Wet n Wild. In Pricelines. I mean of course they'll be shockingly marked up, but STILL.

Maybelline's Color Tattoo Eyestudio range

(Image from Allurabeauty.com - click for linkage)

These have just started appearing on American beautybloggers sites, and the consensus is a bit thrilling. They're being compared to MAC Paint Pots and the colors I've seen are incredible. Now we just have to wait. Sigh.

Fyrinnae's pressed shadows

Image form Fyrinnae's blog - the link is the image, but they share nothing beyond this image. Teases.

I pretty much only put up with loose eyeshadows when they're indie, since I kinda think they haven't much choice. A pressed shadow is always going to be more practical, impressive and more frequently used. So when Fyrinnae revealed that they would be going pressed in 2012, I was SO EXCITED. Could this possibly sink them even more frequently into store downtimes? Oh, probably.

Burberry Beauty

Oh I know the east coast has them, but Perth is still wistfully eying them on eBay. The plaid cases. The metal. The imprint on the powders. Oh gosh, love. I want this stuff so bad.

The Dark Knight Rises

Is there really any chance of this going badly? Of course not. I love me some Hathaway, too, her casting was a happy surprise. Batman Begins did very little for me, The Dark Knight was AMAZING and I'm hoping this will blow me out of the water. The trailer is insane and you should watch it.

The Hobbit

I consider the Lord of the Rings trilogy my favorite movie (oh come on, it's one movie) so this is understandably thrilling for me. More McKellen. More Serkis. More WETA workshop, more promise of insane amazing DVD box sets. Peter Jackson, have my firstborn.

Diablo 3

(click for embiggening AMAZINGNESS)

I have been waiting for this game for very nearly ten years. TEN YEARS. I spent high school playing Diablo, my late high school/early university years playing Diablo 2, and since then I have WAITED oh how I have waited. If you're unfamilar, it's a fantasy third person hack and slash with lots of demons and angels and skeletons and abominations and amazing scenery and an apocalyptic, hell vs. heaven battle-to-end-all-worlds type storyline. Totally my kind of thing, and as far as I'm concerned Blizzard (Diablo, World of Warcraft, Starcraft) can do no wrong. A chosen few have experienced the beta and reported good things, and now all I can do is claw at my computer screen and make whimpering noises. Soon, my pretty, soon.

Hopefully endless Skyrim downloadable content

I have mentioned that Skyrim is devouring my life, yes? Well, having devoted a good 140+ hours to it, now I patiently wait for the inevitable downloadable content. Take my money, Bethesda, take it all.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria expansion

Oh Warcraft, even when you try to follow the epic tragedy of the Arthas Menethil story and the total chaos and devastation of the Deathwing story with something involving kung fu Pandas, I will still buy you, and still enjoy the crap out of you. Bless you for existing.

Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG

I'm not a Star Warser, really, but Luke is and through osmosis I've picked up a fair bit. I'm really going to be playing this game because of Bioware, who's last outing - Dragon Age 2 - has still completely floored me in terms of story and character. Also it was full of cute boys. That I still sometimes daydream about.
That aside, in the interests of actually being informative - this is Biowares answer to World of Warcraft. It's a massive, purely online subscription based game, and what I've seen has been - mixed (Luke's playing it), but I'm reserving judgement until giving it a shot. I'm a sucker for an open world game.

Game of Thrones: Season 2

My favorite TV show ever. Really. It is that good. Yes, there's boobs and gore and horrible people being horrible to each other, but it's so compelling and so flawlessly cast. HBO and fantasy at it's best. Fantasy is so difficult to get right, it really is, and when it's done right - magic. Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey and Sean Bean are especially riveting, but the whole cast is perfect. Even the kids, for gods sake, and I hate child actors.

The Obnernewtyn Chronicles - The Red Queen

Yet another thing I've waited my WHOLE DAMN LIFE FOR. I started reading the Obernewtyn Chronicles as an eleven year old, and here I am, at 27, waiting for the series to wrap up. Though not really because when it actually does it'll be like losing the tree you've been leaning on your whole life. This should be the last book, though that was the plan two books ago. I want this book bad. But I'm also terrified of it all being over. This is a good sixteen years worth of expectation, Carmody, don't screw it up.

The Rain Wilds Chronicles - City of Dragons

Oh my. Very recent addition, this. Last night I stayed awake THROUGH the night - no sleep at all, kids, I have not done that since I was twenty - in order to finish the second book of this series. I read it cover to cover in one day, which means I read the first two books - Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven - in two days. And these are huge books, by the by. Thick as housebricks and about has heavy. And those two books were near perfect, and for someone who reads as much as I do, and is as critical as I am? Yeah. Big deal. So now I'm fretting over the third book, due to be released in February. I will pre-order this SO fast. To the Depository!

Dubbed Harry Potter with english subtitles. There's no real reason this is here apart from reducing me to tears.

So yes - these are all the things that are making me bounce like a frog in a box. On a personal front, I suppose I'd like to just work on being content. Big and open ended, for sure, but my constant never-enough-ness is sort of in my genes so I feel like I need to fight it that fraction harder.
On a very shallow level - and something to expect as far as the blog goes, certainly - is quality over quantity. I have an insane amount of makeup. From here on in I want to buy carefully and go for the one lovely thing over the eight cheap but good enough things. And that'll reflect in the posts too, hopefully. Hoping to put more work into my posts, make them a bit more meaty and a bit less ROFLcopter.

So that's it from me - the fireworks are going off outside, it is now 2012, and I have a monstrous beer-dehydration headache. Nurofen, come to my arms.

It's Bean a Seany kind of Christmas

2011-12-31T19:22:00.000+08:00

I've been noticing a theme with my gifts. A theme I'm rather thrilled by.

Sean Bean, congratulations, you are one of only two men to have their own tag in my blogposts. I salute you. Many thanks to Jacinta who lent a certain rugged growliness to my gift haul this year.

Oh my.

This is also my interim post letting you know that I have NOT disappeared, though yes four days without posting is a surprise for me. My real computer is having an overheating issue that I won't be able to get addressed until a bit later, so I've borrowed my family dinosaur laptop which is barely limping along. Hoping to get one more post tonight, but we shall see. Blogging is a bit painful right now - this silly thing only has two USB ports, good lord, the conditions I have to put up with - but I feel obliged to do a proper New Year Eve post, so here I am. Time will tell as to whether it actually happens, I'm a bit tipsy right now.

But SEAN BEAN, YEAH? WOO!

Stage two in Pretty Ladifying - My first Chanel

2011-12-27T00:23:00.000+08:00

Guys - it has happened.

This is a big deal. I never thought I'd take this step. Chanel, in my mind, was the last stage in obscenely expensive make up for rich ladies and old women. I also grapple a little with my instinctive dislike of Coco Chanel the person. It's like Karl Lagerfield. I can't set aside how much I despise the man, so no, I cannot enjoy his collections or designs, because I hate him. Get off my case.

Luke's mother - bless her - sent me money for Christmas, and on my way through the Boxing Day crowd on my way to Kit Cosmetics to buy my usual three-or-four things, I spied the Chanel counter, and had a Moment. I don't use many high end cosmetics. It's something I have trouble pulling the trigger on of my own accord, but in a situation where I feel obliged to buy A Thing with gifted money - as in, not fritter it away, have a certain object I can present and go, "look! this was from you! Thank you!!" - suddenly Chanel makes sense. Sure, I probably would have been better off getting a dress or something, but it was the Boxing Day sales, and I wasn't feeling brave enough for actual clothes-trying-on.

So I timidly asked the very sleek Chanel lady if Chanel did a powder specifically for oily skin - and she pointed me in the direction of Chanel's Mat Lumiere compact. It's a full powder foundation, with a sponge, in a refillable plastic compact, though apparently the refills are not available in Australia. Ebay it is, then.

Can I just for a moment say that people treat retail workers obscenely in a sale situation? It's not even like anything in Chanel was on sale (that's just ridiculous), and in the space of the five minutes this girl spent with me, having a very clear conversation, she had five different women shove a perfume tester under her nose and tell her to get them a boxed version of it. Completely shouldering me out of the way, I might add. It was amazing. Have some dignity, you cantankerous hags.

So I must say firstly that on first impressions - I haven't used it yet, I'm too afraid - after handling and playing a bit, I'm a little concerned. It doesn't scream "I spent $100 on this" to me. The plastic is the same grade as a NYX palette, the foundation itself is a really quite small percentage of the compact and ultimately considering that it is refillable I was hoping for something more substantial. A metal case, maybe? And the Chanel branding/marketing/visuals has never done much for me. It all feels lazy and a touch snobbish.

Has anyone used this? I have it sitting next to me on the desk and I'm eyeing in nervously like it might bite me.

Top 11 for 2011

2011-12-26T23:54:00.001+08:00

So I've seen a few of these crop up about the place - and because I LOVE THEM SO MUCH I thought I'd contribute. It's also an intriguing one because I only started this blog in February (well, it existed before that - that was the point where I overhauled it and made it an actual beauty blog), and I feel like the amount of stuff I've used/owned/experienced is insane. Is there enough hours in the day? How did I amalgamate so much STUFF? And how did I learn so much, meet so many gorgeous people and learn how to apply blush, for gods sake? The mysteries of life.

Clinique Chubby Sticks
Ultimately tinted lip balms and not lipsticks, these are fun to apply and look fabulous. They have that heavier, glossy, "luxe" feel along with that distinctive Clinique smell, and I totally want more of these. Have been carrying at least one on me since I started getting them.

Dove foaming makeup remover
Oh my. It wasn't until I started using this that I realized that I had not been removing all my makeup and thus doing bad things to my face. My skin is better, it's a complete foaming fruity delight to use and just melts makeup away. Love love love.

Amolin
I've used this since I was thirteen, but it's always worth a mention. It's nappy rash cream, which can be found in the baby aisle, and I've never finished a tube - it gets a bit old and I throw it out. Tends to be good for about a year, and is an immediate, amazing fix for sore or dry lips. I put it on every night, and it bulletproofs my lips for the next day, regardless of how drying anything I apply later is. I decant a bit into a little tub and carry it. SO good.

Maybelline Stay Matte Powder
Very close call with Rimmels Matte powder, but the Maybelline has a far stronger case, which is necessary because a mattifying powder MUST accompany me everywhere, and if it's not handbag-proof, we will have Issues. Only needs one application and it sees me through the day, which is crazytown. Do any of the high-end companies do mattifying powders? This seems to be a drugstore thing only, as far as I can tell.Oily ladies are not classy ladies, apparently.

Lancome Hynose Mascara
I pay attention to mascara, since I'm relatively lucky lash-wise and I do what I can to make them obscenely long and black. Hynose performs on these fronts. After swearing off high end mascara on account of it's tiny shelf life, Hynose pulled me back in, the slinky bastard.

Queen Helene Mint Julep face mask
The ultimate in oil-battling. Smells and feels like you're applying toothpaste to your face, and it might just make your eyes water, but it's a powerful anti-pore agent and will suck all that oil off like a sponge. I've taken to just applying it in my T zone every few days, and it's done wondrous things on the blackhead front.

MAC Margin blush
The easiest, most foolproof application ever. This nudges out NARS Orgasm ever so slightly because it's a bit more forgiving for blush novices. It's a touch more tan than peach, with some subtle shimmer, and I love it to bits. No matter how heavily I apply it, or how carelessly, it seems to fall right. This defies logic and common sense, but neither are MAC strong points. Love.

Inglot freedom palettes
This is nice and open ended. I love that it exists, I love my 10-pan to distraction, I am frothing at the mouth in preparation for my next ten pan. I'm thinking my birthday. I'll have to take my old ten pan with me to avoid nasty duplicating incidents.

Australis Showstopper gloss sticks / Models Prefer Gloss Sticks
YES it's two lines but these two are neck and neck for me. Not to mention being VERY similar products - in fact there's at least two from each line that are dupes of each other. Models Prefer wins in terms of options - there's 6, as opposed to Australis' 3 - and they are cheaper, but the Australis ones are packaged beautifully and that one color - Hulahoop - is just amazing. I am LOVING the pencil-shaped-cosmetics thing.

Acne.Org Body Wash
The slightly powered up version of Dermaveen, or else that's how I choose to use it. Except this ones keyed for body acne, and Dermaveen isn't. It's a clear gel that comes in a big heavy pump and will go forever. I use it to wash my face, remove makeup, as a body wash, to shave with - it's as hypoallergenic as water, has no scent, no foaming agents, no nothing. The ultimate in treading-carefully-with-your-skincare.Yes, you need to ship it from the US, but it posts surprisingly fast and while shipping is hefty (it IS a big bottle) it still makes the whole shebang very affordable. Especially if you partake of the very recommended AHA+ treatment lotion as well.

Clinique Three Step Program
Every time I get a bit too experimental with my skincare, this is what I go back to to get it back into shape. Yes, it's three products, but I re-discovered and fell in love simultaneously and they just don't seem as good when I use one or two. HAS to be the three. They're greater than the sum of their pieces. Like Voltron.

Also I really like that they're such obscenely different sizes which means you never run out of two parts at once. Almost certainly not intentional, but it works for me. A good showing by Clinique this year! Do they win some sort of prize? Ummm.... yeah, why not?

Hooray to Clinique for being my company of the year!!

Go team. And keep making those Chubby Sticks, those things are a.) hilarious and b.) awesome.

more top tens/elevens for the year? Anyone? Feel free to link, I SO want to get my grubby mitts on your lists.

Merry Christmas! I gots given things!

2011-12-25T18:11:00.001+08:00

Happy Christmas, everyone!! Hope you had a fatty, dozy, and cuddly Christmas. Luke and I went to my family's for Christmas lunch, and they didn't even open presents until I got there! Talk about restraint!
So after a massive turkey, ham, cranberry sauce, gravy, vegetables and my beloved Hasselback potatoes (amazing) we did the present handout, which is always wonderful fun, and shocking thing that I am, my immediate thought once we'd gotten home was "haul post! HAUL POST!" So here we go. It'll be fragmented, and there IS stuff missing, but meh.

Oh, it's glorious. My older sister is responsible for the awesome purple phone - you plug it into your iphone. For serious. And then you use the old timey handset instead. It's completely amusing. Now if only people CALLED me. Everyone I know contacts me on twitter. When my phone rings I assume I'm in trouble.
My very cool younger brother is responsible for my very cool Song of Ice and Fire boxset - also a wise move on his part, because I lent him the one first book I had, and now by default he can keep it. Well played, Dave, well played. Looking forward to this hugely.
The beautiful pen in the foreground is from my two sisters-in-law in Canberra - doesn't pick up well in the image, but it's barrel is this beautiful opalescent creamy blue-gold swirl. I have NO idea what that is, but it makes me feel extremely classy. And reminds me that I have millions of equally beautiful notebooks that I need to write in. Added impetus, now!
My parents are under-represented here - they gave me that matryoshka glasses case, but they really bought me a stack of clothes a few weeks back. Mum just likes to have something token under the tree anyhow. Though I wore one of the dresses on the day. No no, I'm not an outfit posts person. Maybe when I'm thinner.
My younger sister bought me a manicure (hurrah!) and a sweet little atomiser/pump thing (on top of the box set) to carry perfume in. This is going to be wonderful for my indie perfumes that are open topped - Haus of Gloi's Absinthe, I'm looking at you.
Luke's present is only half here - the Kit bundle is from him - The pomegranate and pink grapefruit body scrub (long time fave), the Archipelago Botanicals Soy lotion milk (the girl recommended it for the Keratosis on my arms...) and the Lipstick Queen Medieval. I finally got it!!

Those of you who read the Lust Lists would have seen this one. I actually asked my sister to get it for me for Christmas, but when she tried they were sold out everywhere, and it just so happened that when I was buying the other two things and sighing over the fact it was sold out everywhere, the salesgirl went "hang on - I think we might have just gotten some more of those!" and dug one out of an newly opened shipment box. Hooray!
I'll do a separate post on this one later, but suffice to say I am mighty pleased.

The OTHER half of Luke's gift is far too big and heavy to lug into his computer room to where the good lights are, so these photos will be shoddy. Regardless - observe!!

Yes, it's already full. Sorting out this lot was the most fun I've had in ages. Look look!

I think every Original Make Up Box ever has had a Naked palette on the top level. I got peer-pressured. I couldn't not. That coveted "display case" level is also housing my beloved Inglot 10-pan, my Hynose Mascara and two NP shadows. Not sure about those NPs, they might get shifted out later.

Here's my eyes level! White eyeliner - Kit and BYS - Sobe Botanicals eye primer, Physicians Formula eyeliner towers, NYX, Nars, MAC, Givenchy, Pout (RIP), Tokidoki and the pink pencil up the back is eyebrow wax, which if my most recent run of eye photos are any indication, I need to use much more of.

I LOVE this level. One hundred percent happy with how I've fitted everything. It IS making me realise I have a very narrow colour spectrum that I lean towards.

Blushes are that annoying size/shape that you just can't fit many in something this shape. So I had to choose my favorites to go in here. Three Sleeks, a Cargo, BYS, Physicians Formula, Bourjois, Etude House, Nars and two MACs. I wore Margin from MAC to Christmas dinner, and damn I love that color.

Bottom level - and it's a far deeper drawer, so you can't see everything. A strong showing form Face of Australia on that top level though, golly. The orange lid is actually SoBe Botanicals Oil Control Powder, decanted into an old Body Shop Vitamin C cream tub. I have a stack of illuminators, I'm realising. That what most of the non-obvious things are.

This is totally awesome. I could easily fill a second of these, but - I'm going to refrain. Plus god knows where I'd put a second one. I absolutely love it - It's SO sturdy, and sleek, and makes the rummage process so much more painless. I've discussed this gift before with other people, who inevitable go "oh! yeah, I think I saw one of those at Target!" NO YOU DID NOT IT IS NOT THE SAME. It really isn't. This is in a class of it's own.

So what does the season hold? Tomorrow finds us in the city for some warhammering (ahem) and maybe some boxing day salesing if I'm feeling brave. Catching up with friends on Tuesday, and from then on I'm going to be figuring out what I'm doing on New Years Day then start prepping for the Perth Beauty Blogger meetup. Exciiiited. I love this part of the year so much, even when Christmas itself is over - feels like everything starts again, like you're more likely to be able to change things if you start now.

Hope you had an amazing Christmas! What did Santa bring you? I want your haul posts! All of them!

One day I will be a pretty lady

2011-12-23T22:34:00.000+08:00

So in this festive season I've managed to rack up more gifts for myself than other people. And magically, they seem to mostly be appearing today! It's a Christmas Miracle!

The box it came in wasn't QUITE as messed up as you see above - it had been exhaustively bubblewrapped and the cardboard box packingtaped closed, so understandably all the cardboard tore up when I ripped into this baby. I have no patience for boxcutters.

What's this? WHAT'S THIS??

OOoooer. I ordered this about a month ago on a split second whim and promptly forgot about it. It was a steal at a bit less than $20, and the photos were a little blurry, so I was resigned to the possibility that this would be a misfire. I love it when I'm wrong.

It's only malfunction is that it doesn't snap closed, the mechanism long since gone to hell. But since I'd be assumedly carting this about in a velvet bag or something and there's no product inside, I can't imagine it being too much of an issue.

I do not know who Elgin American is. Americans? Any ideas?
The mirrors a little cloudier than I'd like, but it reinforces the idea that it seems to have ye old school silver backing in there. I hope that's what it means. Regardless, it legitimises it.

It has this swish little bump on the side here, and when you nudge it with your nail -

There's another level!! I'm not sure what you can do with this extra level, since it never had powder and the puff is too thick to be stored in there. Maybe they exchanged secret Speakeasy locations in there or something.

Here it is, fully transformered out! I'm a bit perplexed by that felt ring thing in the bottom tray. What was supposed to be in there? Hm.

So the top tray would have had the powder? I love the bronzey spiral thing.

It's yellowed with age, but it's never touched powder. In good condition. Not that I'd put it on my face or anything.

It's a bit scuffed on the back, but I like it. Black enamel? Something like that. Someone carried this baby around. Someone who's probably dead. It's okay, maam, I'll look after it.

So I am well pleased with this. It really worked out for me! Thrilled with this purchase. Fighting urge to develop a collection...

Silk Naturals - oh hai there, handsome

2011-12-23T20:54:00.001+08:00

I do love finding a new, decent indie company. It makes me all warm inside.

So firstly I need to introduce you to Dee, for those who don't know her, since she and her noodle-armed offspring are responsible for the Silk Naturals order I placed a few weeks ago. She gave them such a positive review that I had to give em a shot, and I basically copied her whole order.

The sites samples are in these wonderful little bottles that make it so easy to use the last drop and are that flexy bendy plastic that means you can squeeze them right out. I love these. Best skincare sample packaging ever, as far as I'm concerned.Mario Badescu's Buttermilk Moisturiser does an okay job of mimicking a super-funtimes-squeezy bottle.

Pore refining toner
You can't get samples for this one, but the fullsized is four dollars or something silly like that so its in no way a travesty. I have to be careful with this. If I apply it too soon after emerging from the shower, or when my skins extra sensitive, it makes me red and blotchy. I've taken to applying it on it's own, in the middle of the afternoon or something, far away from my skins delicate times. I feel like my gigantor nose pores have softened up a bit - still there, obviously, but settled and not as obvious.

AHA toner
This burned the absolute crap out of me. I applied it and instantly hustled to the bathroom to get it off again. I have heard good things, so lets just assume I'm far too sensitive. But yeah, no way I'm going to be able to use this.

Kiss Cleanser
I like this! In theory it should be a foamer, and you can buy a cheap foaming bottle to go with it, but I had it purely in it's liquidy/gel form and it felt like a really solid clean. No real scent, no residue, no tight face, all good. Buying a full sized as we speak! With the foaming bottle.

Apricot Cleanser
I used this once and it sort of wigged me out. It's a pure oil, and kind of had grit in it. Ew. I'll use up the container before giving up on it, but - ew.

Oil Control Serum
Unsure about this in terms of what it claims to do - it's a nice serum, and feels good on my face, but I can't say I've noticed any change in the amount of oil my face produces. I've gone full sized with this too, to see what it can do. I just don't think there's enough in the sample to properly gauge it.

Facelift Serum
Unsure here. My first application hurt like a proverbial mofo. Not AHA level, but close. I didn't have time to remove it, so I just loaded makeup over it, and hoped for the best. And oddly enough the redness went fast, and my face felt pretty damn good the rest of the day. So I'm nut sure if the discomfort is worth it, but if you're less sensitive, it'd be worth a look.

Vitamin C Peptide serum
So far so good, I think...? I'm using this most recently, and again I'm having to be careful not to apply it too close to cleansing lest I burn up like a crispy thing. There's a good deal of active stuff in there - I can feel it doing things - but I'm halfway through my sample and haven't seen anything i could isolate as being the affect of this particular product. Will keep using and hopefully come to a decision.

Bamboo crease brush
I wonder if Ecotools know that they're now highbrow enough to warrant dupes? I bet they'd be thrilled.
There isn't a huge amount of control with this brush because the bristles are quite long and springy, but if you're careful, it's a nicely made brush that you can do a fair bit with. I don't regret it, it was cheap, doesn't shed or prickle or itch. Would try more brushes from them - in fact eyeing off a powder brush.

Aloha eyecolor (sample)
Hooray for free stuff! An opalescent mid green with a subtle amount of shimmer. Not a knockout, but a pretty color, and not fallout-y or chalky or any of those things which usually signify crappy eyeshadow. Would investigate some more balls-out color options for sure.

So basically I've gone back and ordered full sizes of the oil control serum and the kiss cleanser - plus a sample of the microdermabrasion gel and the jojoba moisturiser, and two lipsticks. I've read some rave reviews about their makeup and there's an insane amount of it, so I'm dipping my toe in in preparation of a highly giddy and ridiculous third order. RIDICULOUS, I tell you!

Goddammit, Dee.

Bonus needy Franklin.

Christmassy Christmasness and Secret Santa!

2011-12-22T00:00:00.000+08:00

I love Christmas. Even if it's a stressful portion of the year and I inevitably hyperventilate at some point thinking I've forgotten a gift for someone - it's still great. Even if my family complain bitterly about it all the way up to the day. I STILL love it.

Yellow lights equal crappy lighting. Sooorry.

I've been playing a lot of Skyrim recently (120+ hours... cough) which gives me a great excuse to hang in the lounge room in the presence of our gargantuan tree - we landed a six footer for some inexplicable reason - and enjoy the fact that tis the season. I thought I'd show you some Christmas baubles and be a bit whimsical. If you can't at Christmas, then when can you be?

We decorate our tree with a combo of chinzy, traditional and odd things and a scattering of nerdy things. We have star wars logos and transformers and decepticons baubles, little plush sloths (sadly this photo didn't turn out) and little ragdoll angels. We also have this:

Gaze upon the allmighty wonder that is my Jessica Rabbit Christmas ornament. Never before have I seen jugs of such magnitude on a Christmas bauble. This thing is beyond awesome. I get a thrill every time I retrieve her to hang her on the tree.

We also string up our Christmas cards, and when we're ultra organised (not this year) I make a paper wreath. Inevitably when the tree goes up I have a sad moment where I remember that I intended to make a tree skirt. Maybe next year!

Hard to see, admittedly, but that's me. Luke transferred my image onto a double sided porcelain disk as an Advent gift a few years back. I feel a touch odd being on the Christmas tree, but it's too awesome not to.

Don't fret, there's more presents. Seems like some of our Christmas gifts will be coming at the absolute eleventh hour this year. I'm an enthusiast of Japanese paper tapes so almost all my presents have a bit of that happening.

So in other exciting and related news, a little while back I signed up at QuestJen to be part of a blogger Secret Santa (I hate the phrase Kris Kringle...), and I got my awesomo gift today!

Now I know I should stick it under the tree but LOOK AT IT. There is cute oozing off it in waves. Lets open this baby!

Eeeek Paul Frank lipsmackers! Tres Cute! And they appear to be cake flavored?!? How did she KNOW?

And this is already on my keyring. So adorable.

And GUYS ITS A GIANT MODELS PREFER PALETTE. Gasp! Swoon!

It's looks fantastic! I've smudged my grubby fingers in a few colors and played a bit and everything looks wonderful. Oh, Models Prefer, how on earth did you end up so good? That peachy tan blush in the bottom left is particularly fine. Good times ahead!

So all silliness aside, this has been an AWESOME experience that I'll totally do again. My gift was SO great and I'm thrilled to meet a new blogger who I hadn't previously encountered!

Her name is Gerry, and she's a million times cuter than I. With a phenomenal banner header.

So all in all this was the bomb. So a massive thanks to Gerry for my FANTASTIC Christmas present - and huge thanks to Jennifer from QuestJen for taking on the unenviable task of organising the whole thing. Would totally recommend.

So how goes the Christmas prep, kids? Is everything going to be done in time? Are you jaded and cynical or squeeing like a small child?

Burts Bees Echolife Giveaway - Winnar!

2011-12-19T10:43:00.001+08:00

Hey everyone! I hope you're feeling appropriately jolly!

Our Burts Bees giveaway has come to a close, and thusly I go straight to Random.org to find myself a winner. And therefore:

Congratulations Beauty In the Sky!!

You, Meg, have 48 hours and send me some sweet sweet mailing details so we can get your product out to you. Hooray!

Thanks so much everyone for participating - and because I'm feeling sentimental, I'm hoping you're all in the holiday spirit and getting a bit misty-eyed whenever Home Alone comes on.

Thanks so much to Echolife for sponsoring this giveaway! You guyz are the bees knees.

L'Oreal Color Infaillible in Golden Mahogany

2011-12-17T23:31:00.002+08:00

I love red eyeshadow. Coupled with blue eyes it can veer through the full spectrum from arresting to deeply unnerving. So having heard from what feels like every man and his dog about how incredibly amazing Loreal's Infalliable (who really knows how to spell this?) eyeshadows, I finally caved and bought the red one. Or Golden Mahogany, as they've chosen to label it.

It looks far closer to a warm brown in the image - in person its more red, and shimmery, and all-round more exciting.

I find the packaging/product itself a bit perplexing. It's got this loose little plastic plug thing to keep the product from rattling around and breaking up, and underneath that is a loose, damp pancake of shadow. that's the only way I can explain it. It's not anchored, it doesn't even go right up to the walls of the container. I find myself going why didn't they just put it in a clamshell/tray thing instead of making us faff around with a pot? Still a little perplexed by this. I find it a bit messy, design-wise.

However there's no debating the color. Pigmented to within an inch of it's life, and I made a little cooing noise when I swatched this. It's so rich. It's almost a cream shadow. So! How does it go eye-wise?

Now I've intentionally overdone these eyes because everytime I do a day-appropriate eye and I go to photo it it's like all the shadow just DISAPPEARS. Rest assured that in person right now I look like Elvira.

So these have the exact midpoint you want - very pigmented, but not so much that you slip your brush and suddenly stuff has gone everywhere. There's also no fallout. They blend easily, will happily get shifted around by your brushes, and having worn something approximating this eye yesterday, it stays put. I had no makeup at all on except shadow and mascara, and eight hours later I looked like I'd just applied it. It was truly amazing.

The kicker? At $19.99 per shadow it's a bit of a painful purchase, for drugstore beauty. I think they're incredibly good, but I highly doubt I'll be buying any unless they're on special. I'm gunning for the silver and the green next, I think! Damn good stuff. Worthy of the hype? Good golly yes.

December BellaBox - go team!

2011-12-16T22:40:00.002+08:00

Bellabox continue to impress me with their product choices, brand choices and overall swinging sense of style. December marks my third Bellabox - and it is one hell of a Bellabox.

Five products, and four of them are full sized! CRAZYTOWN.

Kosmea Hydrating Rosewater Mist - Oh, Kosmea, you have become a hipster classic in such a short time. People have all of a sudden gone nuts for you. I'd imagine the perfect situation for this wonderfully smelling thing would be on the plane - it's not an aerosol, it's wonderfully refreshing and light and they've managed to do that wonderful thing where they've obviously spent money on the nozzle and it dispenses perfectly. People forget about the nozzles. This one has a nozzle to write home about. It's like they distilled turkish delight for me to spray at my head.

Eylure Naturalites Intense false eyelashes - Do you know the last time I wore false eyelashes? I highly suspect it was the last time I wore spandex and/or danced onstage (I refuse to confirm whether or not this ever happened). This is pure genius - they aren't obscene lashes, just thick to natural and include adhesive, so it's a great entry point for those who have never given them a shot or did so a loooong time ago.

Ozotic nailpolish in Elytra - I'll admit to not being a huge nailpolish fan, but the color of this - or rather, the collection of colors - is mesmerizing. It's like an oil slick, sliding from red to copper to blue to purple. Itching to try this over some pale grey.

Savoir Faire Concealer duo in Medium - At least that's what I'm assuming the "M" on the box is, and I'll admit to being ~~devastated~~ let down when I realised this. The paler of the two liquid shades is still workable for me, if a touch too dark, and the oily-slide factor makes it very suitable for the undereyes. Goddammit, now I'm going to have to buy the Light one.
Have tentatively played with the powder underneath, and I'm tentatively optimistic. Though idiot that I am, I can't figure out if it's very pale or translucent. Help a brother out, kids?

Elemis Pro-Collagen Quartz Lift Mask - The one sample sample in the box, and what a cute little thing it is. And satisfyingly it looks like I can use up the whole lot in one go. Yes, this is a bonus, I'm trying to use up things as much as I can right now. Well, maybe you think it's a minus, mister glass half-empty.

So yes - Bellabox is very much a fixture for me. It's off probation. I love the crap out of it, and Savoir Faire are fast going from a never-heard-of-them to OMFG-yay status. Best of the sample boxes, for me! Frothing in anticipation for my any-day-now I Love This Box.

Scaredy Cat Cosmetics has just won at life.

2011-12-13T11:50:00.000+08:00

Everyone once and a while, an indie company does something so tremendously WTF that I need to showcase it: meet the Family Jewels palette.

(Click for linkage)

This gigantic piece of what-on-earth is a compete triumph in terms of what can and cannot be done in terms of indie. It's amazing! How? Why?

My only personal reservation is that it's way to blue-slanted for me. Also it might be something of a gamble if you've never tried SCC - which I haven't. I felt compelled to blog about it because LOOK AT IT. I completely applaud this degree of effort. I'm going to be watching SCC verrry closely from now on.

Face of Australia - now with illuminators!

2011-12-10T00:23:00.001+08:00

Oh, Face of Australia, you have been good to me. You never forget to return my calls or shut the door when I turn up on your front verandah with an empty sugar cup. Bless your kind soul.

So Face of Australia are expanding out - in the most flattering way - with a selection of illuminators which at this point in time have either JUST hit the shelves or are about to. There's four in the lineup - a pearly white, a soft bronze, a bronzey-orgasm-reminiscent pink, and a darker richer bronze. I got the bronzey pink (Angel Flame) and the soft bronze (Angel Blush) from FOA to test out. Thanks doods!

Firstly I am beyond impressed with the size of these. For a retail price of $14.95 and by nature of them being a "supplementary" product (you know, blushes, bronzers, stuff that isn't CORE makeup) they could have gotten away with far smaller tubes. They're a whopping 50mls each, which is bigger than most foundations I own. These things will last me forever.

Secondly, after handswatching, it's evident these things are crazy luminescent. Shimmer central. This is the point where I became marginally nervous. As mentioned previously, I haven't had too much to do with illuminators, and I worry that I mightn't do products justice because I don't know what I'm doing. Well, only one way to test THAT theory.

Since Angel Flame tends more towards a blush, I applied that along my cheekbones and blended up a little towards my temples. The effect is actually very subtle! Which I am so fine with. Adds shimmer and picks up my cheekbones without highlighting my eye wrinkles, wouldn't interfere with my blush assuming I was adding some - so far so good!

Now I'm nervier about the bronzey one, since bronzey implies bronzer. And bronzer and I are not friends.

That said, having seen bronzer recently done well and simply by Dempeaux (blame her) I thought I'd go with the bronzing/contouring inverted 3 shape. So I blended it over my cheekbones, up onto my forehead and following the line of my jaw down a bit to blend out before it hit my neck. You can sort of see the point where I stopped blending on my forehead (dammit, it never shows up in the mirror!) and as you can see it's also very subtle. Which is awesome, because a straight bronzer might not have even tempted me to try. These two illuminators are pretty much both bronze and pinks, but one more bronzey and one more pinky, and I do like them.

Will probably pick up the white-ish one as well, because I quite like smearing this stuff on just under my eyebrows to accentuate my browbone, and I think a sheer pale would work best for that. I think these are awesome! And so kind to the new-to-illuminators crowd. Go team!

DISCLAIMER: Send for review by FOA, as mentioned!

The current foundation/powder combo: Revlon Colorstay Oily skin and Rimmel Stay Matte translucent powder

2011-12-06T22:19:00.000+08:00

Turned out my Maybelline Stay Matte powder and Face of Australia mousse foundation ran out at THE SAME TIME. So I was forced to go to my stash for a new foundation to carry with me and a new matte powder. Turns out I had to go buy a matte powder, since I had none. Also turns out there's not a huge amount of readily available mattifying pressed powder. Who knew? This Rimmel one is only the second I've encountered, so it's getting compared exclusively to the Maybelline one.

I've owned the Revlon for a shamelessly long time. And it's sat there, on my desk, separating and turning all kinds of strange colours and generally looking unappealing, until the point where I made myself go - "look, you spent thirty bucks on the damn thing, carry it around for a while and see how you go". And glad I did, because it's pretty damn great. It had packaging issues - it's a watery, drippy foundation, and coming from a glass bottle with a not very secure lid? I haven't been using it long and I've already got a crusty ledge of foundation forming around the mouth of the bottle. And I always manage to drip it on the counter. and I'm always wiping foundation off the exterior of the bottle. It's just a messy, silly packaging. Put it in a damn pump, guys, really.

But that aside? I pour a little into my hand and apply with a sponge, and it's very forgiving. I find it a bit yellow initially, but after a few moments and once powder and blush has gone on? All good. Oddly enough it took this foundation for me to realise that I have a pink face and a yellow body. The foundation makes my face match my neck and shoulders! Woot! Hurrah! And it's got a reasonable degree of mattifying on it's own - only if you've applied sparingly, of course - so if it's not burningly hot outside you could get away with no powder. I'm a sweaty pig, of course, so not for me. The staying power is phenomenal - It's currently 10pm, I put my make up on at 8.30am, and I still look dewy and made up. It comes down to preference, but it is worth knowing that this foundation I don't really consider a very natural finish. It very much looks like I'm wearing makeup, just - not much. Very happy with this. Still have a lot of foundation around the place to use up, but I will rebuy this fo sho.

And now the Rimmel Stay Matte powder in translucent. Firstly - CRAPPY PACKAGING. Good god, what are these people thinking? It's brittle, thin plastic, the lid isn't attached and comes falling off at a moments notice, and it's absolute bare bones - no mirror, no brush, no nothing, just the powder. I just know this powder is going to eventually meet the bin because the packaging failed, and not because of the product. Which is a shame, because I really like this powder. It's a bit of a showerer - watch yourself if you wear black - but beyond that - it's a really, really good translucent powder, and I love the crap out of it. Unsure if I like it more than Maybelline - it's hard to forget that the Maybelline is just a million times easier to carry around/use - but I would consider it in the same ball park. Interestingly, I think the Rimmel copes better on a sweaty face than the Maybelline does. I have had a lot of situations recently where I've been racing around like a loon and needed a powder to soften the dipped-in-oil look of my face, and I found the Maybelline a touch difficult to manouver around my face when it was going onto a damp surface. The Rimmel is more finely milled, I think, more of a talcum powder than a face powder. So yes, it will send clouds of powder flying, but it will also be good for your sweaty mug. Pluses and minuses, people, pluses and minuses.

See how you can barely see the powder? A-ha. Translucent powder is translucent. This one more than most.
So this combination is a winner if a.) you're oily b.) need mattifying or c.) are uneven skinned - this is a mighty combo for patchy skin. I'm loving the crap out of this combo right now. Wearing with Sportsgirl Peach Blush and Hello Kitty Mascara and Clinique's Super Strawberry Chubby Stick during the day - or else a clear lip gloss and some minimal eyeshadow instead. Fingers crossed this pair will get me through summer!

Any experiences with these two? I know how much love Revlon gets, but I don't think I've seen any Rimmel write ups for this one. Thoughts?

Burts Bees Targeted Spot Treatment (and giveaway!!)

2011-12-04T13:18:00.000+08:00

Spot treatments are a bit of a perpetual intrigue for me. Mostly because when I need them, I need them BAD. My skin, as a whole, is pretty good - I'm a bit blotchy and uneven, but I don't get pimples much. That said, when I do get them, god help me. They tread the line between a blemish and a cyst, are always big, hard and sore, and sadly usually end their life as a scar because I haven't been able to bear the inflammation and have just torn the top off it in an effort to get it straight to the healing stage. Ew.

So when I received Burts Bees Anti Blemish Solutions Targeted Spot Treatment (long name...) and I opened it up and smelt the crazily heady salicylic acid/willow bark/lemon and alcohol combo - I was pretty optimistic. I don't tread delicately with my pimples. I tend to get the best results when I blast them with something potent. The smell actually takes me back to my mid teens when I used to dab Clinique's Aromatics Elixir on my pimples to dry them up (FYI: it works, but I think I emerged unscathed only because teenage skin is a resilient beast).

My first application was awkward. The drip-dispenser inside the lid is a little fiddly, and I ended up pinning a finger over it, upending the bottle, and applying - you'd waste a tonne putting it on a cotton pad, or dripping it into your hand. And it's a spot treatment - I probably wouldnt' recommend swiping it on the rest of your face. I haven't tried that (I follow instructions, mostly) but I suspect it would dry you up mighty fast.
My first application stung, which I mostly expected - the pimple in question was huge, painfully sore to the touch, and very nearly ready to erupt - though subsequent applications didn't. I applied it twice a day, never at my skins volatile times (straight out of the shower or after the gym) and after two days, with some incredulous surprise, I realised the pain had gone. The lump was there, and it was pink, but all the pain had dissipated. Rather excited, I kept applying, and two days later - four days total - the whole thing had vanished. It never broke the skin, just appeared, caused me grief, then disappeared to nothing.

My pimple warzone is a one centimetre diameter around my lips, which is rather sensitive skin, and pimples that appear there tend to leave discolouration forever after. Which ultimately means pimples need to be dealt with before they break the skin, because for me, once they're burst forth - I'm doomed. This treatment, for unbroken pimples, is wondrous. I'd be hesitant to use it on broken skin - oh, it'd probably still work, but it would sting something chronic - but the real power of this stuff is it's ability to smooth it all away before it's had a chance to cause long lasting damage. Would I recommend it? Yes. Would I buy it again? Motherfucking yes, and at $19.95 for a 7.5ml bottle (this tiny bottle will last me a bazillion years) totally worth my pennies.

I got the opportunity to review this stuff through Echolife Australia, a bit of a new discovery for me and something I'll be paying closer attention to in the future - their focus is on organic and natural health, beauty and nutrition. I need more of that in my life, I'll happily admit. And thanks to them, you can get your grubby mits on your own bottle of Burts Bees spot treatment! Really - you need to try it. It's goes about pimple treatment like Robocop goes about policing.

As of RIGHT NOW you can enter the giveaway for one bottle of Burts Bees Anti Blemish Solutions Targeted Spot Treatment, courtesy of Echolife Australia. Here's the rules:

1.) 18+ only!
2.) Australia wide - sorry international ladies :(
3.) You MUST be a public GFC follower.

Leave a comment with your GFC name and email address - and you are in the running! If you're game for a second entry in this comp, twitter the link for this blogpost and attach @HogSandwich to the end (so I know you did so).

This giveaway commences RIGHT NOW. Entries close on the 18th of December, 8.00PM (+8.00PST), at which point I will random.org everyone and email one of you to get your details. These details WILL be forwarded to Echolife Australia so they can send you your prize, and they will not do anything nefarious with them. I promise.

That pimple starting to throb in anticipation of being blasted skyward? You'd better do something productive about that. Like DO AN ENTRY RIGHT NOW.

Australis Paparazzi Perfect Blush in Flash It

2011-11-30T11:05:00.000+08:00

I am very, very new to blush. Only started using it this year, in fact, after a few disastrously dark blush attempts in years past that we won't talk about ever again. Having realised that a.) the quality of blush makes a difference and b.) I am far too pale for "statement" blush, I managed to settle into a sort-of relationship where I cheated by using pale, mildly pigmented blushes to hide the fact I had no bloody idea what I was doing. My confidence was boosted hugely by the lovely Sashelle at Kit Cosmetics in Perth, who showed me how I should be applying (as opposed to how I was) and I've now come to embrace the Blush. I have something of a collection now, which is a bit surprising, including the astoundingly popular Nars Orgasm and the candy-sweet Peach Beam. So what can Australis' Paparazzi Perfect blush in Flash It do that hasn't been previously covered before? Beyond look rather impressively solid, big and wonderfully packaged, that is. It looks like a powder compact and not a blush, and I'm rather impressed with that.

Firstly it looks insane. I wasn't expecting this at all when I opened it. All speckled and pinky like a flamingo egg (disclaimer: I'm rather sure it doesn't, in fact, look like a flamingo egg) and very pretty. I had concerns about how pink it would turn out - that's a potentially very dark pink there - but hand swatches tells me that with some care I mightn't overload myself. Very pigmented. A light touch is very recommended.

On my hand, it's still rather dark. Lets very lightly apply to the face and see what happens.

This took three attempts. Because the blush is made of four different colors, depending on how exactly you apply the brush, you get a different color. And swirling through ALL the colours (thus the hand swatch) leaves you with waaay too much pigment on the brush. I settled for very lightly applying the brush to the pinky area and using that. And still I think I arguably picked up too much pigment in person, though I don't think the image caught that. I really like this affect - but pale pale girls might need to be advised that this colour needs a very light touch.

DISCLAIMER: Sent for review! I keep meaning to make a banner to put at the bottom of sent-for-review posts, damn my laziness.

One Hand Washes the Other Black Magic and Snake Oil

2011-11-25T23:23:00.000+08:00

Do you know how long it took me to get my hands on the fabled Black Magic liquid soap? A long bloody time, that's how long. It was all sold out on the Etsy store, then the Etsy store moved, but it didn't appear on the new website, and after coming across Miss Bekka of One Hand Washes the Other via the wonders of social media, I waited for what I thought was a polite space of time before haranguing her for some of this mythical stuff. See, I've got a Thing against bar soap. I've never been able to use it without half of it turning to slush and ruining whatever surface I've sat it on, so whilst the Black Magic soaps look amazing, I'm crippled in that regard and thus can't/won't use them. And how do people travel with them?? Seriously, how? You can see why I have all kinds of complexes whenever I go into Lush.

But anyhow she took pity on my epic struggle and offered to make up a custom order for me. And since I don't ever, ever buy just one thing in an order, I threw in the Snake Oil. Because that's how I roll.

And here they are! She threw in three solid perfume samples, which completely thrills me. Indie companies are amazing with samples. Thanks dood!

So Black Magic has been a rather intriguing experience for me, mostly because through the month or so I've been using it, it has interacted with my face differently a few different ways. Firstly it was a really sharply minty, deep clean that smarted a little around the corners of my nose, and that is still the default. But if I use it straight out of the shower or when I've just been walking or gymming - i.e. when heat has steamed my pores open - it hurts. Rather a lot.
Which is a colossal pity because it's really great stuff. Ashy, mint-ish, a bit citrusy (I'm going to imagine Bekka herself is snorting a hot beverage out of her nose at my attempts to clarifying what's in the damn thing), it packs a real punch and is wonderfully refreshing on hotter days and when you need your cleansing to wake you up a little. As I said, I have to use it carefully, but I have no qualms about doing so when the time is right. My skin has stayed stable while using it, beyond the smattering of initial spots that tends to let me know that apparently I've changed products. People lose their mind over this stuff, and I can see why - I would be a bit wary of developing a dependence since it's still very much an occasional product and not something I could rely on being able to get.
Moving along! Snake Oil, a light moisturising scented oil spray. I chose Oakmoss Sandalwood for my scent, and having smelt the sample perfumes she included, I sort of wish I'd chosen Serendipity or Latitude. Not that Oakmoss Sandalwood is bad, but those two are wondrous.
My little bottle is a 2oz one, and it's also available in 4oz. Wish I'd gotten the big one! Not because I love it (though it is very nice) but because it would make me more inclined to think of it as a full body treatment. This bottles so small that I'm wary of overusing. Also the nozzle isn't a particularly hardcore one, so the repeated pumping motion you'd need for - for example - distributing oil down a whole leg or something doesn't really work. I tend to apply it to my lower arms and stop, it being just a touch too difficult to do the whole arm. But that's ultimately the nozzle and nothing else. The oil? Very light and smooth, and doesn't sit on the skin very long before sinking in. Can I strongly suggest not petting an animal whilst slicked up? Yep, I did that, it sucked.

So this was my first OHWTO order - and I'm completely do it again. If nothing else I want proper bottles of Latitude and Serendipity - SO GOOD. And there's a frankincense and myrrh scent I really want to try. Winnar.

Bellabox versus I Love This Box! It's been a good mail day!

2011-11-21T14:00:00.001+08:00

This will be my second Bella Box and my first I Love This Box! Didn't blog about my first Bellabox since it came quite late and every man and his dog had already covered it. Also I had a minor incident where one of the sachets of exfoliant exploded and covered the whole lot in fine white powder. Marginally amazed that the Post let it go unnoticed. But accidents are accidents, and Bellabox were very speedy in mailing me two replacement sachets (even when I specified they only need send me one). Long story short, it was a great box, I liked everything, all is well.

So today the Mail Gods have smiled unto me, and I received both my second BellaBox and my first I Love this Box. The absolutely first thing that needs saying is that the Bellabox was so light it felt empty, and the I Love This Box was like a gigantic brick. I was startled, to say the least.

In term of physical volume, there isn't much here. But upon closer inspection - those are sizeable Gatineau and Lancome samples, as is the Orofluido (I don't know much about this. but it certainly looks luxe), and oh hey, what's that in the middle there?

OMG YOU GUYZ. I have my first OCC lip tar! This is a big deal! I know people who signed up for Bellabox purely on the strength of the OCC brand! And I've never gotten my hands on one, so I am thrilled. That said I just sloshed some onto my lips and managed to stain my hands, teeth, tongue, and pretty much everything around me. I will report back in when I learn to not be retarded.
Elsewhere there are also three Erborian samples - don't know much about this, but they're labelled as Korean skin therapy, and that is indeed something I can get behind. There's a Yuza Sorbet (intriguing), which appears to be a light moisturiser, a BB cream with Ginseng in it, and a Ginseng Elixir. This is really cool! I'm glad we're not just getting a bunch of previously knowing brands. I love Korean cosmetics/skincare like nothing else, so that this company are onboard is REALLY EXCITING.

Moving on -

I Love This Box! I didn't know much about this going into it - Chanel are onboard, and I think that's what made me go "mmm, okay, lets give this a shot". As I mentioned previously, it's amazingly hefty. What on earth could be making this this heavy? Lets check it out.

A fullsized shampoo and conditioner, that's what! Good golly. It's a Sunsilk offshoot, apparently, which I will be very intrigued to try. They smell amazing, and fragranced out the whole box. can I also draw attention to the fact that these bottles fit exactly into the box? How this happen? I wonder if this means that the box itself will fluctuate depending on what the contents are.

Moving right along - a teeny tiny Essie nailpolish in a color I refer to as a Kate Middleton color, which translates as very-classy-and-unlikely-to-be-worn-by-me. I've had bad experiences with Essie, but many people have loved them, so I'll at least try it and see how we go.
There's also a full sized (I think?) Pod gradual tanning face serum. It's very generous, and I'm a little sad that I'm the last person on earth to fake tan, let alone my face. Will attempt to foist it off onto one of my more bronzed sisters. There's also a universally friendly taupe eyeshadow by Nvey Eco, who I have not heard from and will be intrigued to play with, and a sweet little organza bag full of samples from Caudalie, who I classify as "French Skincare That Is Likely Very Posh", and wisely the three cover the full spectrum of dry skin, wrinkle treatment and all skin types. Nothing for us oily-oilies, though. Maybe next time.

So ultimately? I do think Bellabox has impressed me by being more experimental. Korean skincare? Lip Tar? Comparatively I Love This Box compounded this sensation with the nailpolish and eyeshadow, both the safest of safe choices. But the sheer volume of I Love This Box has to count for something - it was truly impressive - so ultimately all I can do is say that these two are neck and neck at this point. If I'd been a tanning type person, things may have been different. we shall never know.

Also - lets have a look at the size of these babies.

Golly, what a monster. What am I going to do with all these accumulated boxes?

Morning Tea at KoKoBlack - a cross blog event!

2011-11-21T08:18:00.000+08:00

I am in possession of talented friends, about 90% of which are photographers. I do not know why this is, but yes, it makes me feel the pressure to make sure things are in focus and lit properly. This doesn't always pan out.

Last week Sabrina, who maintains a food reviewing blog - supplemented by occasional thoroughly awesome people photoshoots - invited me to KoKoBlack in Claremont in order to review their "Spring Spoil" morning tea arrangement. It was fancy. There were photos.

Click on image to be taken to Sabatomic for the full review!

Thoroughly awesome website that you should check out. Mouthwatering food images incoming.

Hello Kitty Cosmetics - So KAWAII!! Volume Two - Eyes!

2011-11-15T21:58:00.000+08:00

So things have been rather quiet at Chez Suzanne, which I apologise for, and have no excuse for whatsoever. Lets not waste time with faffing around! I have some serious Hello Kitty cosmetics to get through!!

So what we've got here is two eyeshadows (one a duo), a black liquid eyeliner, a black mascara and a black eyeliner pencil. Lets swatch some eyeshadows.

So top to bottom is Desert Dore and La Dame A Camelia (which is a pair). The colors are lovely - that silvery lilac is really wonderful and I love me some metallics. They're a good deal crumblier than I'm used to, so I'm going to wet some brushes beforehand in a shot to combat that.

^_^ hehehehe!!
These are the eyeliners - pencil up top and liquid liner down the bottom. Now sadly I am crippled as far as liquid eyeliner goes, and I did try, but it was horrific, so I didn't post an image. I've played with plenty, though, and it's a truly black, inky liner. I'm confident that in the right hands, this would be a contender.

This is a long - long - mascara wand. Gigantic, in fact. But that aside it's a very thin, black formula, which agrees with me, but probably won't if you like very fat lashes. There's no scent and not crispy lashes, and it removes easily. A very painless, easy to use mascara. This is going in my handbag makeup purse.

So what does this do, all together?

Yes, the second eye is marginally sleepy, but I thought it caught the metallic purple better. An observant person might notice that the lilac silver and champagne aren't there. It is. I piled it on, and yet it would not read on me. It was frustrating, and I ended up just loading wet purple onto my lid instead. Which, incidentally, very nearly ruined the eyeshadow. Lesson learnt - it is not a wet/dry eyeshadow. Which is a damn shame, because I really like the eye above.

So ultimately? I love the mascara, and found the eyepencil really easy and pleasant to use. I may, in time, graduate to the liquid eyeliner, and the eyeshadows didn't really work out for me.

DISCLAIMER: Sent for review!

Australis Paparazzi Perfect concealer and brightener

2011-11-09T20:52:00.000+08:00

Why am I putting these two together? Because they have almost identical packaging. I have to look at them closely to avoid accidentally making my pimples sparkly.

I was a bit nervous about the brightener, for two reasons - firstly it's not something I use much, which means I'm wary of my own inexperience colouring a review, and secondly this particular one is darker than my skin tone. Which is something of a first for me.

Doesn't look like much straight from the tube - I can only differentiate between them because the brightener is darker. No visible sparkle at all.
After a bit of consideration I applied some to along the tops of my cheekbones (and its runny. Tiny bit goes a long way) and on it's own, blended? It didn't do much for me. And as you can see, it dried a little quickly for me to properly blend it out. It's also a little unfortunate for my undereye wrinkles. Hm.

But I did feel like once I added some blush, sort of overlapping the edges of the applied area? It gave a really nice, 3D, glossy effect. As in, it looked like I'd made more effort than I actually had which is pretty much the aim of all makeup application.

So to me this is something I'd use as a supplemental makeup effect, for a special event, but not every day. The darkness of it is a bit of an odd fit for me, and I don't think I could wear it on it's own. Eep, looking at that photo makes me uncomfortable. I promise, I blended as much as I could!

Moving right along, to the concealer! Firstly I've recently come to the conclusion that my standard concealer, MAC's studio finish, is too waxy and heavy for my undereyes, so I'm in the market for a solid but more soluble, malleable concealer for my raging purple underyes. Here's the naked eye for comparison:

So basically I'm a little purpler and bluer in odd spots and I really just need something that evens out the ton. Of particular significance is that one patch under my eye where my skin is so translucent that the blue vein underneath is showing through. Ha, most be that throwback trace of jellyfish genes I have floating around in my system.

And here's the concealed shot:

So I can still see my blue patch, but it's been smoothed out and camouflaged a fair bit. And the pinkness under the majority of my eye has been softened. This is another one I have to blend quickly because it's such a thin formula (that's a good thing! thin is good where undereyes are concerned) but I do like the effect. It's the most subtle concealer I've ever seen. Further playing indicated that it doesn't work well for me as a pimple concealer - not strong enough - but for my undereyes? I'm happy with this, will carry it around in my make up bag for sure.

DISCLAIMER: provided for review!

QV hair control serum - Swishyyyy haaair

2011-11-06T16:12:00.000+08:00

Oh QV, you've come a long way from just being a body wash and lotion for sensitive skin types. It feels like in the last 12 months they've exploded - into shampoo and conditioners, purifying masks, eye creams, the soon to be released Rescue Gel (review on that forthcoming) and this - QV's hair control serum.

Firstly you need to know about my hair. It's not a problem hair type. It's straight, thick, oily at the roots and dry at the ends, scalp prone to flaking. It will hate me if I don't blowdry it. So ultimately in a hair treatment I need something that isn't heavy and acts like a protectant considering how often it gets blowdried.
My only real hurdle is how to use the product itself. The protectant I usually use has to be applied mere seconds before blowdrying, or else it will leave a slippery residue on my dry hair, so trying a new hair serum is a process of trial and error, trying to find the sweet spot. This one I ended up applying to tangled, towel dried hair, detangling to distribute product (but avoiding the roots) and blowdrying straight afterwards - so a few minutes between applying and blowdrying.

I'd strongly suggest only using one squirt of it - it's a watery oil and goes VERY far. You could easily over-apply and no one wants that. Following photos taken directly after blowdrying:

You'll notice I'm a bit fuzzy around the edges - this is partially hairdryer static, but also my natural frizz/splitendage.
Overall I'm really happy with this! It's easy to use, has no discernible scent and makes my hair all swishy-like. The only thing I wasn't able to properly test with this product was how it treats the scalp - it specifically points out how gentle it is on the scalp, but I'm far too oily up there to try it out. Dry scalped ladies need to take one for the team and get back to me.
It's also worth noting that it specifies itself for all hair types - which I'd agree with, but your hair type will govern how you use it. I use it very sparingly, on the lower 2/3rds of my hair, whilst a curly haired person would probably use a fair bit more over the full length. A dry scalped type would be able to massage it into their scalp.

So yes, I approve. Adding it to my small, select bundle of items actually light enough to use on my hair.

DISCLAIMER: Sent for review!

Hello Kitty Cosmetics - SO KAWAII!! ^_^

2011-11-04T23:32:00.000+08:00

I have a confession to make. Since I was teenage, I've wished, not so secretly, that I was in actual fact a Japanese lady. Petite. black haired so ALL HAIR COLOURS HAVE AWESOME REGROWTH. I would be asked for my ID when I was forty. And I would give birth to the most beautiful babies everrr. Sadly there is nothing in the world I can do to achieve this aim, but I welcome anything which makes me forget that I'm blonde, ungainly and a bit of a heffalump.

Hello Kitty Cosmetics crept up on me - this Priceline-carried brand doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Sephora range kicking around the US last year, and certainly doesn't have anything to do with the ye olde MAC Hello Kitty line. This is one franchise that gets around something chronic. It's also a line that spoils beauty bloggers in a borderline ridiculous way.

Good jesus. So I think the only feasible way to deal with this copious bounty is to go one genre at a time. So today? Lets swatch lip thingz.

THERE ARE SIX LIP THINGS. I may have bitten off more than I can chew.

There were some serious surprises here! Left to right:
Magnetic gloss in Fashionista - This is a doefoot applicating, sparkly glossy apricot. Which smells very strongly of candy. It's not sticky, and it's a very subtle effect.

Diamond Gloss in Pink Paradise - there is technically a tint to it, but it's so subtle that it's really just essentially a clear gloss with a more subtle shimmer. It does have a bit of a grit to it, which doesn't worry me, but it might some. Bit of an odd one for me - don't think there's enough shimmer to warrant the strangeness of the grit on your lips. Also it's been a long time since I applied a lip product via rollerball. I liked it!

Diamond Stars in Angel Rain - This is pure white/silver glitter. That is all. No lipgloss, no liquid, no nothing. It is the equivalent of applying a snowglobe to your mouth. How do I feel about this? A little bit thrilled. It will need a base gloss to work, I'm going to assume...

Shine and Kiss in Violetta - It looks like a solid mauve purple in the tube - thus my hesitation - but emerges a really nice berry shade. Swatches really smooth and lovely. I AM going to say - it doesn't overly worry me, but worth mentioning - these are Tiny Lipsticks. They're kind of bullet sized. I don't remember the last time I finished a lipstick so I'm not fussed, but I am going to throw that out there.

Mate and Kiss in Bollywood - Okay, I need to get this out of my system first. "Mate and Kiss"? Oooer.
The colors on the stickers and labels of the lipsticks are rather misleading. Judging by the stickers, Bollywood should be a darker colour than Violetta, but as evidenced, it's a paler, brighter pink. Whaaa? Well, regardless, it's a really nice pink, with enough blue in it for me to feel comfortable with it. Actually both lipsticks I saw in the tube and was unsure about them, but after swatching, found them rather remarkably different on the skin. Worth knowing!

Lip Balm in Kawaii Kiss - OMG cutest thing ever. Look at that tin!! I assumed it wouldn't be that pigmented, but again - wrong. a really flattering sheer pink that builds nicely and moisturises relatively well. It doesn't stay put like the lipsticks do, but that's really a given.

And now - an endless montage of my mouth.

Diamond Gloss

Pink Paradise

Angel Rain (with Pink Paradise)

Violetta

Bollywood

Kawaii Kiss

Now firstly I must say that Diamond Gloss and Pink Paradise (Hello Kitty name their cosmetics like a five year old me named my My Little Ponies) read very similar on the lips, and with that in mind I prefer the Diamond Gloss. I prefer a doefoot applicator, and it doesn't have the grit that Pink Paradise does. But as devil's advocate, I must point it that Pink Paradise is a glorious lavalamp of a tube. It looks fantastic. It just doesn't wear on me as comfortably as the Diamond Gloss.

Okay, I don't mind the snowglobe effect (Angel Rain). and that's one swipe of glitter. I did load more on after to see how it went, and it does hit a certain point where I feel like I'm in fifteen-year-old territory. But one swipe of it? It's actually wearable and I wouldn't rule it out. Also I have nothing approximating this product and I haven't heard of anything like it either. Options! I likes them!

Violetta! Bollywood! I LOVE these! They're moisturising, sheer and buildable, and smell like lovely candy. They're infinitely wearable and I am thrilled with them. The crowning triumph of this haul thus far.

Kawaii Kiss - the lip balm, is also a lovely color and lovely texture, but finger application loses points for me. If it had been a doefoot, I would be all over it, but I tend not to use stuff that leaves me with gooey fingers. But damn is that isn't a beautiful, beautiful tin.

Right, so that takes care of um, maybe a quarter of the stuff in this bag. Catch me soon for the eyeshadows!

Yeah, cos this isn't going to come back and haunt me AT ALL.

DISCLAIMER: If it wasn't completely obvious, I was sent this stuff to review. IN THE CUTEST BAG.

October favourites

2011-10-29T15:41:00.001+08:00

You know I had a draft for September favourites sitting there all the way up to October? What a lazy bastard.

Anyhow my mood has shifted and so I didn't double up at all. I'm trying to scatter my targets and use a bunch of different things. Doing the whole "shop my stash" thing, though I avoid the phrase because "stash" in my mind translates to "stache" as in mustache and then I start imagining people hiring out their mo's. Which is - weird.

Some of these have reviews forthcoming, so I'm going to be elusive about them. Rest assured, they're happening soon.

One Hand Washes the Other Black Magic liquid soap -Review fodder. Sit tight, it'll happen. Preview - it's black. And on my face. And sulfurous and minty.

Australis Paparazzi Perfect High Definition foundation - Also review fodder. Preview - weeeeeee!

(L-R) Michael Todd blush, Sportsgirl lipgloss, Lipstick Queen lipstick, Napoleon Perdis eyeshadow

Napoleon Perdis eyeshadow in 28 Ultra Pearl- My local pharmacy were selling a chunk of their shimmery eyeshadows for $14-$18 each, and I went for this coppery pearly thing out of curiosity. Been a long time since I bought a Napoleon eyeshadow. Good thing I did, because I love this. Been wearing it to work more often and not, and it does wonderful things for blue eyes, doesn't crease or move around, and the tiniest bit is required due to it's massive pigmentation (this is almost a minus, though. How am I supposed to be doing a Project 20 Pan when all my products are serious long-haul products??). The plastic feels a bit brittle though, and I daresay it wouldn't live through a surprise meeting with the bathroom tiles.

Lipstick Queen Saint Red lipstick - I think Lipstick Queen are going to be my new Thing. Which is deeply unfortunate for me, because I've never found a website selling them at US retail, so the only way to get them is instore at Kit, for about $35 a pop. Which, incidentally, is NOT where I got this. I bought this at the My Lips But Better blog sale, and am SO glad I did. It's a sheer pinky red, glides on beautifully and stays put like you wouldn't believe. Formula is above reproach, sturdy metal case is schmick and lovely, it is Very Good.

Sportsgirl Lighten Up in Dollface - THERE ARE LIGHTS IN THE HANDLE. AND A MIRROR ON THE TUBE. Seriously, Sportsgirl, where do you hang out? Can I come? Can we be best friends? It's a very fluorescent pink to swatch, but when mixed with my natural lip color it's a nice subtle sparkle that stays put a reasonable amount of time and isn't sticky. Very pretty and I totally want more.

Haus of Gloi Reverie Honeysuckle Lemon Curd pumpkin butter - Ooooooh. This is my new favorite Gloi smell. The new thing I want every single product in. Perfume! Pumpkin Butter! Bubbling Scrub! Bar soap! Everything!! I smell like a lemon meringue pie served up on a plate for Jesus.

Michael Todd blush in Timeless - It's an odd one. Swatches terribly, applies to the face wonderfully. It's quite a sheer blush, and thus forgiving if you accidentally pile it on. Got this from The Dark Side of Beauty's blog sale (are you noticing how I like blog sales?) and have been using it lots for work. It's also nice and little and fits in my work-makeup bag.

So that's what I'm playing with this month! I think everyone needs to do more favourites posts, I love them soooo much.

Pure Therapy Shampoo and Conditioner - because I have a reactive head

2011-10-28T15:07:00.000+08:00

It's not immediately obvious, but these babies belong to the Alchemy family. I didn't even realise until they were sent to me. I've never actually seen this line before. But that's entirely because I am the opposite of observant.

I was a bit reluctant to leave my MooGoo shampooing/conditioning to trial these, but I'm a trooper, and lucky I did, because it's a remarkably differing experience.

Firstly it does foam a little, which is a blessing. I love my MooGoo, but I have to use SO much to cover my whole head. Comparatively speaking, the amount I need of the Pure Therapy is tiny. The dry scalp-anti dandruff is a clear gel, and has almost no scent at all, which surprises me. I always assume anti-dandruff needs to have all kinds of craziness in it to work, which usually translates to an incredibly potent smelling brew.

I'm not that dandruffy -worth noting - but I do get an itchy scalp, and I react to things at the drop of a hat. I didn't have any kind of reaction to the shampoo, at all - it's a strong shampoo, touching my wet hair before conditioning was deeply unpleasant - but after conditioning balance is restored and you can gauge how clean your hair is. I also sort of feel like my hairs been stripped, in the good way. It was lighter, and finer (good for me, maybe not for some), and felt better to the touch.

I will say this, though - if you don't blow dry your hair, approach with caution. On me, this shampoo-conditioner combination works really well with blow drying, no other product needed. But the one time I air-dried my hair? Oh my. It dried kinky and odd and I had to re-wash it immediately. I learnt quick. That said I so rarely airdry that it's not too much of an issue.

So ultimately I find this a very comparable product with the MooGoo Shampoo and conditioner. There's a similar lack of nasty things that will inflame and cause me grief, which is the key thing. I find the MooGoo fragrance really nice, but it's hard to compare it with a complete lack of fragrance. They are similarly priced, so no real benefit either way there. I do appreciate the foaming in the Pure Therapy, but I really love the MooGoo packaging. Yes, I know, very difficult.

I'd suggest this pair would be worth a shot if you're itchy scalped and a bit dry-ended. And have a hairdryer. Their site advises me that they're available in Priceline! The more you know!

DISCLAIMER: Provided for review.

Lust List #02

2011-10-25T11:42:00.001+08:00

Been a while since I've done one of these! My last was back here, and you'll be glad to know that I managed to get pretty much everything on it, with some exceptions:
1.) Lost enthusiasm for the Twilight stuff. The compacts themselves are a bit tiny and flimsy in person.
2.) Have not secured the Guerlain eyeliner. Want to practise this technique with a NON-crazy expensive kajal product first.
3.) Still don't have a Sugarpill palette. No excuses. Obviously something wrong with me.
4.) Not sold on pure argan oil itself - I've tried a few variations and I think it'll be too heavy for me.
5.) Still don't own Lady Danger. Fer shame.
6.) And still no Benefit Dandelion! Okay, maybe I haven't done as well as I thought I had.

But time moves ever forward and now I have a whole new list of things I want bad.

Le Metier De Beaute Kaleidescope

Is it terrible that this is probably more about the packaging and the price than having any concept whether it's any good? Though I'm sure it is. I just think it's the most gorgeous thing. Also high end, exclusive, rare and full of novelty. Ultimately, however, it is really expensive. And if there's one thing I should not be buying, it's more eyeshadow. I don't think I've ever finished an eyeshadow in my LIFE.

Original Make Up Box

Nothing to do with the Kardashians, I promise. Various beauty bloggers have these and they look like the ultimate solution to all my makeup storage woes. And translucent and god I love translucent storage. Think I'll ask the parents for this one when my birthday comes around. And some matching brush holders too plz.

Besame Cosmetics

Again, packaging kills me. However this stuff has had some great reviews from Pink Sith and Red Lips, Black Hair so I'm not being completely shallow. I'd probably have to do a package-forwarding thing to get this stuff, however, which is horribly sad, since the only place that sells it online outside their home website sell it for about twice the RRP. Nothing increases my craving like logistically nightmarish products.

Lipstick Queen Medieval Lip Treatment

They've got this down at Kit Cosmetics for about $36, which isn't insane, but after online shopping it feels a bit rough. What I REALLY would have loved is the three pack of Saints Lipstick Queen colors they released in Sephora a while back, but I've not heard of them in a while and I think I missed the boat. Poor me.

Burberry Beauty

PACKAGING PACKAGING PACKAGING everything is made with metal and has the tartan on it oh my lord someone fan me.Apparently very nearly being released on the east cost, and probably prohibitively expensive, but at least we'll be able to see it in person.

Kokutan brushes

I blame Ars Aromatica for this one (this is her image, BTW), but also my unquestioning adoration for all things Japanese. It just all looks so lush and gorgeous and niche. I love a good niche. And I love makeup brushes, nevermind that I have about eleventy million.

Rouge Bunny Rouge

Again, gorgeous packaging and SO BLOODY HARD TO GET. It appears on Apothica every once and I while ( I think?) but I don't love their shipping costs. Where does this stuff even originate from? I need to know so I can befriend someone in their home country. Also it's vitally important that I own an eyeshadow called Abyssinian Catbird. Vitally.

SO YES. Anyone who owns any of these and has helpful advice in securing them? By all means. I'm still in buying-lockdown until after Christmas at LEAST but that doesn't stop me making big expensive plans.

Rexona Clinical Protection anti-perspirant deodorant

2011-10-23T17:31:00.000+08:00

I've always struggled a little with my underarms. Yes, it's an overshare, but a necessary one. As a teenager, due mostly to hormones, I used to sweat ridiculously, and whilst I wasn't overly smelly or anything, it's made me a bit paranoid ever since. As an adult I don't have much in the way of body odour, but I still sweat a lot. More than a standard deodorant can deal with. I've been using Dove scented ones for donkey's years on account of their lovely smell, but they don't seems to actually stop of the production of sweat. In years gone by I've used mens deoderants in an attempt to halt the sweating a little, but ended up discarding them because they smell SO STRONG. And I don't like smelling like a manly man.

Enter Rexona's Clinical Protection 48 hour anti-perspirant. Don't think I've ever met a 48 hour one before. Seems optimistic.

Firstly you'll notice that they're a.) bigger than a normal deodorant, and b.) they don't disperse product in the same way. I think I prefer this method - you can just wipe over the surface with an anti-bacterial wipe, which you can't with a normal rollerball. It also disperses as a cream, and not a liquid.

Does it stay put for 48 hours? Good lord, yes. Almost to it's detriment. I put some of this on absent-mindedly one morning then remembered I hadn't showered yet, and trying to wash it off me proved nigh on impossible. It stayed put through two gym sessions, two nights sleep, and two showers. It also dries faster, which is awesome because I'm horribly bad at waiting for deodorant to dry.

So what don't I like? Well - the smell is powerful. There's two here, as you can see, and the "Shower Fresh" one (red writing) is merely strongly soapy, which I'm okay with. The "Fragrance Collection" one (purple writing) has a very strong chemical-floral scent, similar to bathroom cleaner. And unlike most normal deodorant smells, it stays around at a similar strength. Granted, you'd have to stick your nose into your armpit to smell it, but the difference is there.
Secondly - pricewise it's about five times more expensive than supermarket deodorants. This doesn't bother me overmuch, though, considering it's doing a good deal more than a normal deodorant, but it's worth knowing.

Would I do it again? Yes. It's the most powerful deodorant I've tried, and you only need to apply it every second day. Sweaty ladies would do very well to try this out - it's one hell of a powerful product, and I'm rather relieved that after about TEN YEARS of sweating like a pig I've finally found something that works.

DISCLAIMER: Provided for review. Bless you Rexona.

INGLOT GIVEAWAY - WINNAR!!

2011-10-22T14:38:00.000+08:00

Okay guyz! We finally got here! Let's get to Random.Org and get some answers! While that's happening, here's the last thing that made me snort like an idiot.

Now that's done - a huge FIFTY ONE people entered, generating 162 entries. Here's the screencap:

HA Random Org is as filthy as I am. So who's in slot 69?

Our winner is Rachel Villanueva!

Congrats Rachel! I'm off to email you now, and you've got 48 hours to get back me so I can send you stuff!

Thanks so much to all of you for participating - you guys make this fun for me, and I wouldn't be doing it without you. I ruvs you.

NARS! Hooray! Orgasm and Shanghai Express

2011-10-20T22:15:00.000+08:00

Oh, I KNOW, it's only a baby haul, but considering how often I tend to spend a set amount of money on a million cheap things as opposed to one or two high end things, its significant for me.

I knew I badly wanted Orgasm (insert joke here), to the extent I was tempted to ask an American (male) friend to go to Sephora and find me one. I decided not to out of pity. Not going to make some poor beardy fellow ask a saleslady for an Orgasm. That's not fair.

Luckily Jess (Belle Lumiere) told me to quit whining and check out Kiss and Make Up NY, who have a formidable NARS collection at same as/marginally lower than the NARS website. And their shipping was very affordable, and the bundle appeared at my doorstep in about two weeks. Which is a bloody miracle for US shipping. The packaging is decidedly non-fancy if you care about such things, but I certainly don't.

My first NARS lipstick! It's so compact and schmick! I love it!
Shanghai Express is not the full on siren red I was imagining - it's actually a relatively subtle raisin red, I could wear this to work if I so desired (I don't. I get gawped at by the bored locals enough as it is) and it has no taste, no smell, and no resistance when it's applied. It's very nice.

And now: Orgasm. I must say I didn't think it looked like much in the pan.

But when it's cut up a little and swatched? Oooer.

It's pigmented, obviously, but to a manageable level - it's wonderful when you're a bit non-confident. Whilst I was a bit wary with the lipstick (my odd shapechanging lipline at work), I could whack that blush on without a mirror and feel relatively confident. Hypothetically, I mean. I had a mirror at my disposal for these.

This really is the perfect level of blush for me. Really subtle, a great match for my skintone, very non intrusive and pretty. There is a bit of shimmer, but it's barely there and very low key. LOVE. This is a fantastic, fantastic blush. Consider me converted.

And as you can see, Shanghai Express is a mellow red that I've taken rather a shine to. MOAR NARS PLS. So much love. I used to think of NARS as being pretty hugely overrated, but now - I really want in with their lipsticks. And blushes. And I'm newly liberated through finding a decent online source! Thrill of thrills!

Kosmea Eight Natural Wonder revitalising facial serum and certified organic Rose Hip Oil - big names, serious stuff

2011-10-19T21:13:00.000+08:00

I was a little wary when Kosmea sent me these two to look at - primarily because I've tried Rosehip Oil before, and, um, it didn't go well. I broke out, permanently stained some pillows and every time I applied it, five minutes later my vision would start swimming. Resigned to the fact it wasn't for me, I sent it to another blogger (who was already very happy with that brands rosehip oil, I wasn't offloading crap).

But ever the optimist, I hoped maybe a different brand might yield some different results. It's packaged with an eyedropper with a bent tip - it's s nice touch, but I'm not sure what difference it makes? Beyond impressing me. It's got that distinctively strong "tea" smell, which makes me crave a cooked breakfast. Mm. Sausages.

It's got a hell of a colour on it - it doesn't stay on the skin when you apply it in small amounts, but it does need to be massaged in a little. I definitely noticed my odd Katie-Price face when I over-applied and went orange.

Because I'd had my previous rosehip experience, I went in cautiously and applied very sparingly - and when you're as oily as I am, it's probably a good idea. I used this product as an occasional supplementary nighttime treatment - it went on about half an hour before I applied my usual oil free night cream. I do go to bed feeling very dewy, but when I get up in the morning and wash my face, I'm really happy with the results. It's like I spent a whole night with an oily facemask on. I'm a bit plumped up in the right places, and my overall colour is more even and there's less discolouration. I know some people who are able to wear this all day as a moisturiser or treatment, but I certainly wouldn't be able to. But as a sometimes night thing (and this bottle will last me forever. I can't even see the level (its still up in the lid) and I've used it at least seven times) this is a really nice treatment. And because it's oily it spreads very far. I've been applying this to my neck as well (it's dryer than my face) and it's pretty much perfect for that skin.

The serum also has rosehip oil in it! Happily for me it's not oily at all. Interestingly this serum specifies that it's to be applied in the morning, but it has no SPF to speak of - I mean, I agree with this assessment, but I wonder why they specified that.

I've been applying this after cleansing and before moisturiser. The moisturiser, I've discovered, is a vital step after the serum because if you apply makeup onto the serum - it will all kind of ball up and roll off. The serum is like a slick layer (theres no silicone! just an example) and it's not friends with foundation.

That said, this is a really great companion to day moisturiser. it makes both perform far better, and the result is ultra hydrated and very comfortable. I've been concentrating my application a bit closer to my cheekbones/eyes, and I do feel like my smile lines have softened up a bit.

It has a smell that I don't think I like - a bit hibiscus, a bit vegetable/plant-ish - but that's all I can really say in criticism.

So interestingly, both of these products work amazingly in tandem with another product (day and night moisturisers) but not each other. In my case, anyhow. I suspect dry ladies could do some wonderful things with these during the day.

DISCLAIMER: Provided for review! (Thanks guys!)

Sleek blushes - update!

2011-10-17T21:26:00.001+08:00

So what exactly happens when you stick Sleekblush on your eyelid? A lot of fallout, firstly, and a decent chance you'll be trying to remove it from your cheeks. And eyes. But apart from THAT -

Rose Gold

Pomegranate

Some damn awesome colours that I will totally wear on my eyes. After applying them with cotton pads under my lower lid.

UPDATE: As a sidenote, a few of you have asked where I bought my Sleek stuff from - I usually use Vanity Palace , and they're very reasonable and reliable. Recommended!

Sleek blushes - Life's a Peach, Rose Gold and Pomegranate

2011-10-16T19:29:00.000+08:00

I've been putting off reviewing these for ages, because doing faces for blush reviews is a pain in the arse. Especially when there's multiple blushes involved. You can't blend it properly unless there's foundation, foundation comes off when you try and get the blush off, meaning more foundation application - so on, so forth. And today is unseasonably hot, resulting in more reasons that I don't want to take photos of my head. Hand swatches it is!

Clockwise, top left - Life's a Peach, Rose Gold, Pomegranate

So as you can see, Life's a Peach is a flat tone while the other two have so much stuff going on in them it's insane. I have doubts about Pomegranate - it's dark, G - but I hear amazing things about Rose Gold, and Life's a Peach is reassuringly pale. Handswatch:

Now I did have to "cut up" the blushes a fair bit - Life's a Peach especially, which was reluctant to come off the tray and onto my skin. Once that was taken care of, they went on easily. Rose Gold and Pomegranate especially - insanely pigmented. I'm going to have trouble acheiving anything subtle with those. That said, they both show promise as eyeshadow. Blended out:

Realistically, Life's A Peach is probably the one I'll get the most use out of. It's not hugely pigmented, which is good for us clumsy, blush-novice girls, and it's a reasonable colour for my pasty face. It's a touch dusty to the touch, but I think that's got more to do with me apply it with my fingers than anything else.

Good jesus. Rose Gold has about four colours brewing away in there. I don't think the camera quite caught it in it's full glory - it's full on, opalescent and shifting in the light and all kinds of wonderful things. Think I'd be a bit leery about applying it to my cheeks - it's a very warm tone, and I'm a cold fish - but I am so impressed by this! I've never seen a blush like this ever.

AND Pomegranate is exponentially too dark for me. Good for girl who like their blush bright and visible (paging Jerry) but I think I'll be eyeshadowing this one. What I don't think the camera caught is the metallic quality of it, but for the life of me I can't figure out if it's a metallic gold or silver I'm seeing in there. Whatever it is, it's wonderful. I love it.

These are really fabulous - and for blush enthusiasts, an absolute must. Dense and heavily pigmented and so multifaceted they make mother of pearl cry in a corner, they're a real work of art. Totally recommended.

What I will say though is that Sleek Makeup itself has a whole internet-ful of issues in terms of it's customer service. So much so that many very awesome and cool high-profile Beauty Bloggers (Lipsticks and Lightsabers, Gothique) have sworn off them. Shipping isn't bad on their site, but in view of that I tend to buy them off eBay. There's a lot of good sellers around, and they aren't high profile enough to encourage fakes.

Ooookaaay, here's your Sportsgirl swatches

2011-10-15T21:14:00.000+08:00

I'd normally put a BIT of space between a haulage post and the subsequent swatches but a lot of you asked very nicely so I'm going to do this now. Lets look at what I got from Sportsgirl!

Now these eye crayon things present an issue. The Champagne-y one (no names) could just be applied straight to the lid, and pretty liberally, but you can't do that with the black. Here's just the Champagne on the eye:

It's pretty subtle. I could wear it to work. OR I could lay on some almighty eyeliner over the top of it. It goes on easily and is such a subtle color I can't really tell if it creases or not, so lets give it the benefit of the doubt.
The black I decided to try and smudge into the corner a little bit and see how it went:

Not bad. Also work wearable. I do like these, but they'll never be able to be applied with any kind of precision. You just can't use a brush and the nibs are thick. It is a nice formula though, and they are the most fun looking things. I'd still grab some if I saw more colors. They're going into my tub along with the NYX Jumbo Pencils, which they bear a pretty massively strong similarity to.

Now - the lipsticks. Firstly they were impossible to apply straight form the barrel. I looked like a clown within moments. Applying with the brush gave noticibly thinner results, however, and the dryness of the formula means they ended up pretty transparent and light on the pigment.

Which is a bit of a disappointment, because the handswatch impressed me. I don't think they're horrible, just - not great. And sadly that's my first real letdown from Sportsgirl! Fer shame.

Sportsgirl and Priceline Haulage - Someone slap me

2011-10-13T17:01:00.000+08:00

And YES, I am still technically doing Project 20 Pan. Think I just have to draw a line under today and start again. I'd only finished 6 products in about 2.5 months, it's not like I was going WELL.

My plan this fortnight is to be pretty frugal so with that in mind I bought a pile of stuff today. You know, to get me through the barren weeks. Think about it long enough and it makes sense. Ugh, someone take my wallet off me.

There's a LOT of bargains here, so don't think I'm spending as much as it LOOKS like a spent. For example:

Two dollars each. Seriously. I'd never even seen them before, so I pounced. Also there was a to die for bronze shade, but they only had the tester for it :( I went to go check with one of the Priceline girls before buying them, and she gave a deep sigh and confirmed that yes, they were two dollars each. Obviously every man and his dog had been doubletaking over that price. Good golly.

And this is the interior of the Smokey Eyes box, marked down from it's $19.99 pricepoint to $9.99. Couldn't not for that price. I actually also own a still-untouched Metallic Eyes box from this series - a friend in Melbourne sent it to me - so I should do both of them in a post soon. Bear in mind if you go looking for these boxes they tend to be housed well away from the Models Prefer section. Illogical, yes, but there you go.

Oh, remember how I thought there might be about four or five in this range? SIX. And there's peachy nudes and neutrals as well. Holy crap. Models Prefer really hit these out of the park.

Finally got a long fluffy crease brush, because I was starting to feel like the last person on earth who didn't have one. I'd always been a bit sceptical, since the length of the bristles seemed to suggest you wouldn't have a great deal of control while using it. Having poked and prodded at this a bit, however, I'm converted. This is going to be a staple for sure.

And then to Sportsgirl!! And to my absolute delight, they had both the lipsticks (which I didn't think had made it over here yet) and something completely new that I hadn't seen yet!

I would like ALL my makeup from now on to be shaped like crayons pls. They only had two shades that I could see, but I'm completely going to be keeping an eye out for these.

In a conscious effort to not just buy the red and pink of any lipstick line, I've got a darkish pink and a - apricot. Or a peach. Depending on how you look at it. However you look at it, it's a colour I don't own in any incarnation and using it will be - interesting.

AND - I'm an idiot. I thought the one I had at home was Rose. Turns out it was Peach, so I now have two. Sigh. Wonder if they'll let me swap them tomorrow. They did have the Rose, maybe I'll go with that.

SO YES. That's what I bought. Any preferences for swatching/reviewing, now's the time to tell me!!

Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara - Holy crap

2011-10-13T10:28:00.001+08:00

I never, ever, thought I'd buy a high end mascara. They live such a short time, there's SUCH good ones available cheaply, every tiny piece of common sense tells me not to do it.

And THEN, courtesy of last months Lust Have It box, I ended up with a sample of Lancome's Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara in 01 So Black. And holy crap.

It absolutely fricken incredible. Is this indicative of Lancome's whole line? If so I need to investigate. This is my first piece of Lancome full stop, so perhaps I should be dipping my toe in anyhow.

So on the strength of that sample I bought the full sized, seen above, and lord it's lovely. Elegant, beautifully designed, big enough to hit someone with. And the wand!!

It's amazing! Perfectly shaped for my lashes, and pointed enough at the business end for me to do some work on my lower lashes with. Observe:

Naked eye for comparisons sake. Sheesh, I need more sleep.

One coat later. I KNOW. I don't need anything in the way of curling or lengthening, so I couldn't really say how it goes on those fronts, but it's a damn good colour and separator, and smells wonderfully of potpurri. And I'm relatively sure I've never encountered a mascara that smelt like anything but chemicals.

So yes, meet my new HG mascara that I will wear until I'm a creaking old lady. It really is that good.

Tender Morsels - Margo Lanagan

2011-10-13T01:31:00.000+08:00

It’s surprising that Margo Lanagan is widely considered as falling into the young adult bracket. Every time I pick up one of her titles I’m taken aback by it. It’s not that its inappropriate, because I don’t think it is. But certainly Lanagan as an author assumes a higher level of maturity in her readership than most Young Adult writers do. I can’t stand authors who talk down to their audience, so I appreciate the hell out of this. It makes me a little sad that I didn’t start reading her work when I was a teenager and would have loved to discover something so convoluted, complex and unashamedly dark.

The book opens in a different world to our own, in a peasant middle-ages type society and focuses on the wretched and abused character of Liga. The story is told through her, and her oscillation between fear and traumatized apathy in the face of her alcoholic father is jarring and uncomfortable. She suffers through numerous beatings, rapes and a forced abortion before her father suddenly leaves the picture, and she is left to muddle through on her own, pregnant and bewildered.

If this is all sounding startlingly heavy, its because it’s out of context. Liga herself is uneducated, young and has a simple world view. Her recounting of these events is matter of fact and stripped of all melodrama. It’s a writing construct that really works; it doesn’t get descriptive and doesn’t dwell, since she herself doesn’t at all.

Additionally cushioning the potentially shocking story is the language of the characters themselves. Lanagan has constructed a manner of speech for her characters that is at moments as mindbending as A Clockwork Orange, and demands that it’s reader pays full attention in order to follow what’s going on.

Mercifully the language and the setting are constructed solidly before the complication of additional worlds come into play – and at this point I was reminded of Phillip Pullman’s The Subtle Knife. The potentially confusing transitions between the real world and the “dream world” are handled delicately without over-explanation or the intrusion of too much logic or magic-speak. As Liga’s daughters become teenagers and the focus shifts to them, it’s a huge relief to be treated to the relatively sweet and gentle life they lead in the other realm that Liga has managed to bring them into.

The majority of the conflict of the book is borne out of the transitions between the two realms. Things don’t pass from one to the other without being altered, so as one charlatan discovers that rocks and pebbles in one land become gold and jewels in another, a series of young men clothed in bearskins taking part in a peasant festival fall through the gap between realms and discover that it transforms them into bears. The interaction between the girls and the Bear (who is often different people) is fascinating. It’s such a potentially explosive situation – the Bear is very much a human male in thought and emotion, and not always a moral one – and we’ve already been exposed to Lanagan’s complete willingness to put her characters through hell. It really raises the stakes to know that the author is capable of such devastating and unexpected turns of events. I think whether it was a conscious decision or not, it explains the horribleness of the first few chapters. You really are reading with deep-seated dread, and none of the comfort of your usual childrens/young adult books.

All I can conclude is that a teenage protagonist lends itself to being filed as young adult, because there’s definitely nothing else that jumps out at me as YA. That said, an unsqueamish 16-17 year old with a love for meatier literature is absolutely made for this book. It’s beautifully constructed and fascinatingly raw and textured. I’d recommend it to any adult and most older teens.

So: Literary merit: 5 out of 5. Guilty Pleasure: 2 out of 5. You aren't compelled to read through fun, per se, but through the sheer awfulness that you know is just around the corner.

Uandi Natural - Brand spanking new and VERY intriguing!

2011-10-12T20:23:00.002+08:00

Uandi Natural are a new initiative - Australian made and Perth based (first Perth based skincare I've encountered, actually!), built around the mid-point between scientifically proven skincare and centuries-old Noongar wisdom (Noongar are the Indigenous population based in and around Perth). It's a truly unique angle for a skincare line, which excites me no end! And beyond that:

In an absolute sea of faux-laboratory stark packaging, I really like the design aesthetic. It's sleek, exotic, and whilst yes, it's obviously inspired heavily by Indigenous art, it also comes across a bit Egyptian too. Regardless of what the origin is - I really like it. Eyecatching and different.

The ingredient list for these products reads like an Australian botany school project. Wattle seed, Lilly Pilly, Kakadu Plum, a big host of ingredients I'd never have imagined going into skincare. Whilst I feel like a lot of skincare uses the same basic ingredients with marginal differences, this really does feel completely unique.

And I felt the difference as soon as I poured a little of the Lightly Foaming Cleanser into my hand - and promptly lost half of it down the drain. It's SO chock full of essential oils that the final product is very - very - slippery. Whilst it made me something of an idiot for not anticipating this and being more careful, it has some serious benefits, as I figured out while applying. Firstly I used an absolutely tiny amount on wet skin to wash my face, neck, and chest down to the boob level (I know décolletage is the word, but it feels silly being applied to me). It goes so far.
And also because it's so slippy, there's absolutely no drag on the skin at all. I've never used a cleanser with so little friction before. It's bewildering. And nice.
It smells lovely too - looking at the ingredients list I think it's the macadamia oil I'm picking up on - nutty and sweet, citrusy and a little bit spicy. If I didn't have access to the ingredients list, I might have asked vaguely if there was such a thing as "bush honey", because that's all I can think of smelling this.
This is a product that's going to work best on oily/sensitive types. It sucks a lot of oil off the face, with minimal irritation. This is a small godsend for oily/sensitive gals, who need gentle ingredients but something with enough fire power to address the oil.

The Walnut Husk Exfoliator looks to be built on a similar base to the cleanser - also extremely slippy. It's got walnut in it to exfoliate, and they're pretty sizeable chunks. Because the base is so slippy I could move everything around on my face without irritating anything, but I had to be a little careful. This is the first time I've encountered walnut husk in a face exfoliator - though I've seen it plenty in body exfoliators. Left my face squeaky clean and very silky. I like having silky cheeks.

And the body moisturiser, finally, is a very rich cream that sinks in fast and leaves a pleasant, herby, earthy scent on the skin. I had a little 10ml tube, so I didn't go mad with it, but wore it on my hands and arms and was very subtly aware of the scent through the day. It was like being near an open window facing onto a field. In a good way. Really pleasant to wear and use.

So the kicker is - where do you get this stuff? There's no bricks and mortar store for it at this stage - sales are through their site. What is really wonderful though is that you can buy little 10ml tube samples of the products, and they're two dollars each. And postage is free in Australia if you buy more than two items (this doesn't appear to exclude samples...) which is pretty wisely competitive in this online-shopping-driven market. I really like the Cleanser, specifically, and at $28.00 AUD for a full sized tube, think I'm going to have to do it. It's really lovely.

DISCLAIMER: Provided for review!

My very first MAC lipstick - Meet Ruby Woo!

2011-10-12T17:33:00.001+08:00

May I say I like how MAC name their stuff? I do. I very rarely have a WTF moment with it. Lots of "ummm, right." moments, no WTF moments. Unlike Urban Decay. And often NARS.

So I bought Ruby Woo off Ebay about two months ago, and shame on me, it took me a long time to get to. And I have no real explanation for that. It's my very first MAC lipstick, for gods sake, what's my problem? And swatching it only compounds my embarassment. Why exactly did this sit on my shelf untouched for two months? I need to have my lipstick license taken off me.

It's a very rich red, very slightly bluey-pink? This bodes very well for me. I NEED blue in my reds. Or else bad things happen.

And goddamn, I even pulled the lip brushes out for this one because I was so sure it'd need it. It's a surprisingly dry lipstick, and applying with a brush did not work at all. It went on all sheer and patchy. Finally I gave up and just slathered the stuff on straight from the barrel and holy moses, it works!

But the complete lack of moisture - and this isn't a huge problem for me, my nightly Amolin application keeps my lips not needing a huge amount of excess moisture - might be a problem for some. I was mighty surprised, truth be told. Aren't MAC lipsticks supposed to be the final word in lipstick? Ah well.

All that said - it's fine for me. And a colour I really like. And whilst I'm hesitant to post this because there's an unspoken rule where lipstick posts do not involve grinning like a loon, but I think it's worth drawing attention to Ruby Woo's hidden superpower. I've got kinda yellow teeth. They're straight and in good shape, BUT yellow. And it makes me wary of bright reds. But this red is very, very kind to the yellow toothed.

Holy smilelines, Batman!!

Next on the list are Lady Danger and Russian Red. I get a bit lost when I venture out of reds. Any recommendations from the more well-versed in MAC ladies?

Australis Show Stopper Gloss Sticks - Omigod guys more crayon lipsticks!!

2011-10-09T23:45:00.000+08:00

It was barely days ago that I was enthusing about the sudden emergence of this style of lipstick/gloss among cosmetic brands, and I'm still blaming Chubby Sticks. And interestingly, the Models Prefer came out WAY more a lipstick as opposed to a tinted balm i.e. Chubby Sticks. So where will Australis Show Stopper Gloss Sticks land in the scale?

When exactly did Australis become so cool? There's been some kind of huge image revamp when I wasn't looking, because they were a bit daggy in my high school years, and suddenly they're all black and hot pink and slick and awesome. What I've tried I've liked, from brushes to the Color Inject lipsticks to the Make Up Finishing Spritz and I'm trying to psyche myself up to get into the blushes. BAD Suzanne. I currently own about eleventy million blushes.

Swatched they're rather mild - more of a heavy tint than a straight lipstick. I'm rather selfishly glad with the color selection, it's a little difficult when you get sent a colour you could never possibly pull off (brown or bright coral, in my case...) although I have some confidence issues with the baby pink. These three are the full range, and I like them all, which pretty much never happens. Lets stick some stuff on my face!

This is Fairy Floss! And for an opaque pink, it's really quite solid! I will say there's no real option for using it as a tint, it's pretty much all or nothing. The pencil warms up a bit and becomes easier to use, so you can either make three passes with it (as I did) or scrub it on your hand a bit to get the pigment moving. It goes on really smooth and I didn't see any crumbling or dryness - It's not a moisturising treatment, but it doesn't strip them either. Sits nicely in the middle. And it's a pastel pink!! Paging Lilit!

And this is Hoola Hoop! I love the names on these. It's a lovely lush berry/watermelon type colour, i.e. my most commonly used daily lip color. The colour band on the barrel makes it look like a scarlet, and it's really not. Don't be fooled!

And this is Fireworks, and good golly. What an awesome color. And FULL of sparkles. So many sparkles! In fact, it's remarkably similar to another lipstick pencil I have nearby....

Oh THAT'S right, The Models Prefer lip pencil in Drama Queen, which I bought about a week ago! Cripes! In fact, the Models Prefer one (swatched on the left, above) is damn near identical! Am I complaining? Good grief no. I now have two of my favourite lip colour ever. In fact there's no discernible difference between them, excusing the slight iron oxide scent in the Australis one versus the generic cosmeticky smell of the Models Prefer ones.

So yes - The Show Stoppers are really rather fabulous, and whilst it's natural to try and compare them to other very similar products, I'm not particularly phased about this. I think once you've tried one of these - you're going to want more, and there will most certainly be room in your heart for both Australis and Models Prefer. In fact it's something of a blessing that these are so similar, since both have a very tiny colour range (I can't find anything telling me how many Models Prefer put out, but it wouldn't be more than five) and you can sate yourself a little more with both ranges. As I fully intend to do, incidentally. They're $12.95 each, and currently in Pricelines near you! You might want to check them out before I buy them all.

DISCLAIMER: Sent for review, and bless them for it.

Narciso Rodriguez For Her In Color - Does it make me any classier? How could it POSSIBLY?

2011-10-08T22:12:00.000+08:00

Here I go again, applying my shaky vocabulary to high end perfume. This months victim is Narciso Rodriguez's For Her In Color, part of the For Her family and a recent release. That said I've had it for a few weeks now, since it took me a good while to clarify what exactly it reminded me of. I didn't want to write about it until I'd figured it out.

I usually try to look at how it's packaged and marketed, since that's a pretty huge part of the success of a perfume. A little old lady scent should not be packaged as a boozy rampaging nympho scent (on that note, can anyone recommend a boozy rampaging nympho scent?), I would consider that ultimately a failing. It doesn't matter how lovely the scent is, if that ideal little old lady isn't pulled in by the packaging, it won't be bought. I was working in a department store when Hilary Duff's With Love came out (remember her?) and was blown away by how many middle aged and older women walked away with it. the majority of whom had no idea who Hilary Duff was. But the packaging was timeless and elegant, Ms Duff looked quite chic and lovely, and the fragrance meshed wonderfully with the sense of old-school glamour that was summoned up by the whole image around it. It worked. And it wasn't like they needed to please the tweens, they bought it regardless. It was a very impressive piece of packaging/targeting.

In this respect, In Color confuses me a little. The box (above!) feels very matronly for me. The collage-art fashion image feels quite 80s, as does the color choices. But then you open the thing:

And this amazing, modernist, opalescent pink metallic thing emerges! It's like it's full of mercury or something. You can't see the liquid level, the inside chamber is the metallic bit and the effect is pretty damn cool. And has a Lego-reminiscent glossy black lid. The overall effect is something that most would happily have sitting on their dressing table. It's intriguing and simple with a bit of quirk to it, and the overall effect is luxurious and artistically above reproach. I approve. Eez good.

I've got the EDP 50ml here, and if ever there was a perfume where you could afford to go the usually less powerful EDT, this is it. It's an amazingly dense and heady scent, heavy with musk and alcohol, and whilst a lot of the buzz around it involves talk of roses and peach and amber, ALL I can smell is musk and alcohol. You know what other perfume I have that is ALL musk and alcohol? This one. And actually the similarities are pretty noticeable, though I find Agent Provocateur more headachey than this, and In Color seems to soften far faster - I can eventually find the fruit and roses in there, but it needs to settle on my skin for a fair while first. And over dousing myself does completely bury them and mark me an idiot.

It's a mature fragrance, I think - not in the older woman sense, in the "not grapefruit or vanilla" sense. It also feels quite Evening to me. Couldn't picture me doing my groceries in it, but I could go to a wedding or a musical in it. It's also quite cool, which in collaboration with the alcoholishness makes it feel like the olfactory equivalent of chilled wine. Interestingly my other Evening perfume is Alexander McQueen's Kingdom, which is another red glass and metal extravaganza. See? Packaging! Visual links!

It took me a few applications before I "got" this one. If you encounter a tester, I'd advise applying lightly, walking away, and seeing how you feel about an hour later. I really like it, but it took a fair bit of juggling to discover how much I could/should wear, since the boundary between "solid but pleasant" and "cloud of perfume" is quite narrow. But there's no debating the staying power of the formula, and the bottle looks damn awesome. And I'm a shallow thing, that's hugely important for me.

DISCLAIMER: Provided for review!

Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask - Like a dentist-cleaning for my face

2011-10-08T00:08:00.000+08:00

I've been so excited about this product! Even though it's nowhere to be found in my native Australia. I've heard wonderful things about it's ability to suck up oil and heaven knows I need that. A long way back when I was doing a blog swap with the lovely Nancy of The Dark Side of Beauty, I asked sheepishly if she could maybe find me one of these. She did so, it arrived on my doorstep, I am firstly thrilled and secondly amazed at how big the damn thing is. 8oz (226.8g) worth of mighty green fury.

It's also heavy and solid enough to club someone about the head with. It's a truly impressive product before you've even opened it. When I did open it, my first impressions weren't good. It smells very strongly of spearmint toothpaste. I kind of gagged a bit. I can't say I've ever had a Mint Julep, but if this is an accurate smell - no thanks. Let me stick with my Fire Engines and cheap wine.

It's a really dense cream, and a bit hard to squeeze out of the bottle, which makes it something of a surprise that it applies as such a sheer, even mask. It's closer to a face paint than a mask. They should be selling this stuff in bulk to the cast of Wicked.

I usually expect a bit of stingage with any mask, and I got a bit around the corners of my nostrils. Silly of me to apply it there, really, but it's one of my oily bits. But it did settle after about five minutes and wasn't a problem all the way through. And you know what was crazy, I could feel this stuff shifting around my face. Seriously. The skin was tightening and stretching and doing all kinds of wiggy things. I probably should have been alarmed. But no, I hung with it, out of idle curiosity regarding what it would do next.

Luckily the smell somehow dissipates as soon as you apply it, which is good, because I probably couldn't have done it if the smell had remained at that strength. It advised you to leave the mask for fifteen minutes, even though it dried completely about five minutes in. Crazy stuff.

YIKES, went to go wash it off, looked in the mirror and went running back for my camera. Look what's happening to my pores!!

I don't know if it's good or bad, but somethings going on there! Creepy. Anyhoo, back to wash it off.

And it actually did stuff to my pores! Instead of my nose being a mass of blackheads, it's more of a mass of mild grey-heads. The surface is smoother and there's less redness around my nose. Even though that was the burny bit. Win!

So in the future I think I'll use this as a treatment, just to slap on my nose and forehead when I'm looking especially haggard. I don't think my whole face needed it. I would recommend this to people, especially oily or blackhead-ridden souls. Don't think it'd be great for dry skin, the name of the game seems to be sucking out as much moisture as possible, but for those who want and need that - hells yes.

Problem being of course that it's an American product, and not available in Australia. Well - it's there. If you get a chance, consider enlisting a benevolent American.

The 250 Follower Giveaway, which is mysteriously happening at 239 followers

2011-10-07T21:53:00.000+08:00

Yes, I got impatient. And the longer I waiting the harder it is for me to GIVE THESE AWAY.

So I knew I wanted to do a 250 follower giveaway, and thought hard about what I wanted to use. What do I absolutely love, I thought, and everyone else also loves and would be excited about? Rather fortuitous that we're fresh off ABBW and everyones babbling about Inglot, because that's what I went with!!

YEAH I KNOW. I have here a foursquare freedom palette, and a threesquare freedom palette, and seven luscious and wonderful shadows to put in them!! Don't ask me why some are in boxes and some aren't, it's too much for my tiny brain to comprehend.

And I know you're thinking it - YES they're some strange colour choices. I appear to have discovered by accident that the colour swatches on the Inglot site are wildly inaccurate. STILL great colours, but not exactly meshing together in the way I'd imagined.

OKAY! LETS GET THIS HAPPENING!

Rules:

You must be over eighteen.
Open internationally!
You must be a follower on GFC publicly.

You must leave me a comment with your GFC name and email to be applicable to enter!

Additional points:

If you were one of the original 239 followers (please tell me in the comment!)
If you tweet about this giveaway! (include @HogSandwich) Please include tweet URL in your comment.
For ANOTHER entry - Tell me your all time favourite makeup product - and why? I want to expand my wishlist!

Open: RIGHT NOW. Closing: 21st of October, Friday night, 8pm (PST +8.00).

Fly, my pretties!! FLY!

NOTD: American Apparel NEON Nail lacquer in Neon Violet

2011-10-06T13:43:00.000+08:00

Short and sweet nail of the day - I got three American Apparel polishes in Melbourne recently and have been wearing the Neon Green on my toes for weeks. I WOULD review that one, but that would violate my sacred oath regarding never putting photos of my feet online. So sorry about that. I'll do a helpful MS paint if that helps.

Anyhoo I finally got around to trying the Neon Violet (the absent third polish was a gift for someone else - only the purple and green live with me) with a China Glaze Patent Leather topcoat, and am raaawther pleased.

I have no idea why it looks like such a cool purple in the first photo and turns into a warm magenta in the second, but it's definitely closer to life in the second. It's warm and glossy and lovely. And I adore the design of the bottles, I want them all. Any gals with an American Apparel nearby should suss these out - if memory serves, they were $12 AUS each and are verry nice.

Models Prefer Ultra Lipgloss Pencils - short story: they're the bomb diggity.

2011-10-05T20:10:00.000+08:00

Ever since my beloved Clinique Chubby Sticks came wobbling onto the scene, I have been conscious of the sudden emergence of lip pencils - not the lining kind, the coloring-in for your lips type - and I couldn't be happier. Australis are doing it, NYX are doing it, and in my hot little hand I current have one of the Models Prefer offerings - Ultra Lipgloss Pencils, this one being Drama Queen.

In the tube it's a dark bluey pink, which I love, and there is an absolute buttload of sparkle in it. It's amazing. I tried (with marginal success) to catch it on camera:

Look at the sparkle you see there and times that by ten. I've never seen or worn anything with this much sparkle. And in action:

Urgh, ignore how pokey my skin looks - this is what happens when you step in front of ultrabright studio lights. The color, under bright light (and in daylight, I can vouch for this) is a VERY dense, bright but dark pink. The first stroke of it is extremely pigmented (see smiley face) but very smooth and easy to use, and I'll admit to really enjoying applying these. I was crap at staying in the lines in primary school, and I don't think I've gotten any worse, but it's still a nostalgic experience.

I wore this all day today - started out almost garishly bright, and as the day wore on - lunch, dinner, snacks, cider and a coke later - it was fading, but fading evenly. Like at every hour there was a completely different but freshly applied colour on my lips. Even now, about five hours after first application, I have a really lush, even berry wash on my lips that doesn't even shift when I wipe at my lips. Its a lipstick that successfully turns into a stain! Huzzah! And it's worth clarifying that - these feel and look like lipstick. There is nothing balm-ish or mild about the color or application - it's lipstick. Just in an adorable sharpenable form.

My early response was to compare these to the Chubby Sticks, which I also love - but I just can't. They set out to do very different things. The Chubby Sticks are like a tinted balm, the Ultragloss Pencils are solid, vibrant, longlasting color. I love them both. I will use them both. I am going back to Priceline to get more SO FAST.

Would completely recommend. I'm blown out of the water. In the good way. And no - I bought this, no one sent it to me (so you know...).

Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturiser and Under Eye Illuminator

2011-10-04T22:00:00.001+08:00

Aveeno comes barrelling out of the gates once more with two products I famously have had all kinds of problems with (not these particular ones - products of this genre). A tinted moisturiser (with SPF 15) and an under eye illuminator.

Firstly, I am rather impressed that this moisturiser is actually a reasonable color match for me! If I apply too much it becomes too dark, but in the kind of amount I'd use, it's a good color! Unfortunately, that leads me into the primary, problematic dichotomy - it's not a particularly moisturising moisturiser. Now normally that would be GREAT news for me - a moisturiser I could slap on and not be concerned I'm overdoing it for my oily face? Wunderbar! But since the tint is a factor - if I apply enough to moisturise my face, then the tint becomes too dark/thick. If I apply little enough for the tint to look good on me - my face is still unmoisturised and the application is a fair bit draggy on my skin.

SOLUTION: Go into my drawers and grab Aveeno's daily moisturiser (reviewed that here) and slap on a layer of that before the tinted moisturiser. Very light tint, well moisturised, All is well! I've McGuyvered a tinted moisturising issue into something workable. And they're also both SPF 15, which I for some reason remember being sure was important. I'm SURE it is. Something about mixed grades cancelling each other out and whatnot.

And now lets look elsewhere - at the Eye Illuminator. First thing you're going to say/think is that that is one crazy looking container, and you'd be completely right.

It's sort of - elfy, like it's summoning up the shape of a leaf, which then reminds me of Physician's Formula Organicwear Mascara which does the same thing. But the slightly modernist take on this moves it away from Tolkien and into marginally-sex-toy-looking. Not a big proper one, just maybe a small handbag/travel sized one. For emergencies.

Also I have a really hard time getting the lid of this off without feeling like I'm going to wrench the bottle in half. It can also be a little difficult putting the amount of pressure on the lid you need to get it open and not squeeze on the body of it, which will result in overflow. Tricky.

I was a little uncertain as to how to use this product - I have really substantial undereye bags, and the name of the game for me is to not draw attention to them. And the purply/dehydrated skin there tends to be shiny in a non-illuminating way, so I'm not quite sure how this product would work with that in mind.
The first thing that needs saying is that I wouldn't consider it wise to put it too close to your eyes. I ended up settling for half on the undereye, half along the top of the cheekbone, and I found the closer to the eye I got, the more likely the skin there was to heat up uncomfortably. There's active ingredients - handle with care.

It goes on a milky liquid, drying initially very shiny, then settling into a primer-esque matte with some barely-there shimmers. I do feel like the skin is moisturised by this, but I'm just a little careful about how reactive my skin is with it. I applied some to the apples of my cheeks to see how it went as a traditional illuminator -yeah, not bad. The tiny brush applicator makes that a bit problematic though. I did try to take more photos for this product in action, by the way - do you know how hard catching a subtle shimmer on a camera is? Nightmarishly. You'll have to take my word for it.

So I'm a bit mixed! tinted moisturiser is great with the help of the straight moisturiser - I'll definitely use them again. The illuminator I think is probably a.) too much for my sensitive head and b.) clashes with how horribly bad my bags are. It's quite odd because Aveeno are always remembered by me as being the ultragentle option, I'd never expect my skin to react with anything of theirs, but this one sadly hit my buttons.

Worth thinking about the tinted moisturiser if you are pale, but not insanely so (moi). Illuminator I'd really like to see this reviewed by someone who isn't horribly sensitive, It'd be interesting to see it properly in action.

DISCLAIMER: Product provided by Aveeno for review.

Garnier BB Cream Giveaway! WINNARS!

2011-10-01T23:12:00.000+08:00

It's all over! It is the 1st of October, and I will now collect ten names with the help of random.org.

Thank you all so much for taking part! Love the crap out of all of you.

OUR WINNERS ARE:
1.) Saumya
2.) Z
3.) jacinta
4.) Priyanka
5.) Ashleigh
6.) Angie
7.) Sabrina
8.) Carmen
9.) Marianne
10.) Desiree

And that makes ten! Hold tight, ladees, I'll be shooting an email your way tomorrow morning! You WILL need to respond to me in 48 hours though so I can contact Garnier and get the good stuff coming your way.

Thanks so much everyone! Stay tuned - the 250 Follower giveaway is RIGHT around the corner and it's all kinds of beautiful/epic/extremely hard for me to give away!

Face of Australia Photo Finish compact foundation in Ivory - preeeetty

2011-09-28T19:46:00.000+08:00

I've got a fair bit of goodwill for Face of Australia - there's been a decent bunch of products in sequence that have done well by me. And when I saw these babies I got extremely excited because a.) limited edition and b.) PRETTY. Oddly enough my foundation experience thus far has been either powder or bottled liquid foundation, so excluding mousse stuff, this is my first solid cream foundation EVER.

Look at this beautiful thing. I love this pattern. The colour is different depending on which shade you've chosen, but luckily for me, Ivory (palest) is in green and I loves me some green.

It comes with a square sponge and the cradle it's sitting in is ventilated on the bottom. If that color looks pretty dark, that's not the camera - it does seem darker than you might expect in the compact.

It dries to a powder very quick - you can see it kind of powdering above - and it looks far paler on my hand than the odd tann-ish colour it first appears. Very reassured! Lets stick it on my melon.

So it doesn't need powder! Dries to a powder finish and my oily skin is grateful. I'm naturally a bit pink, and I think this is more for a yellow-toned pale - I do think having only four options for the colour probably works against them in that sense - but the formula is really lovely, and more solid than you might expect.

I applied mine with a MAC 187 stippling brush (I never use sponges - call it a weird OCD quirk of mine) which gave me a finish I'm very happy with. In fact I'd advise applying this with good lighting nearby because you could easily overdo it and become a bit heavily-caked. Certainly wasn't expecting it to be a heavier coverage! Surpriseees.

I like this! The yellower tone had the unexpected effect of cancelling out the pinky/purply colour under my eyes and in the purply translucent skin under my eyebrows though I DO think I've applied it a bit too heavily on my cheeks. I think they're worth a look - and do swatch, don't just eyeball it in the pan and pass judgement. Fairly big difference to how it looks freshly opened and how it looks on your skin.

DISCLAIMER: Sent by Face of Australia for review!

MooGoo Shampoo and Conditioner plus Scalp Cream!

2011-09-25T21:56:00.003+08:00

This does feel a little bit preaching to the converted, but I still need to spend some time on MooGoo. Lets cover the bits, firstly, that I think you already know: They are fragrance free, pH balanced, mineral oil free, and contain no essential oils because they tend to aggravate sensitive skin, and the whole line is made to be baby friendly as well as sensitive skin friendly. And there is highly charming cow branding all over them. I'm a sucker for an animal theme, as I believe Lanolips discovered a good while back.
I've been struggling with my scalp and hair the last few months - whenever I found a shampoo my hair liked, either my scalp would flake and itch or my hairline would break out. And whenever I found something that settled my touchy skin, it would render my hair limp and crappy. It's been a long and painful road. I thought I'd found something workable in QV Shampoo and Conditioner, and whilst it was (and still is) very good, it didn't keep my hairline breakouts at bay, so it was back to the drawing board.

MooGoo products tend to have a distinctive milky scent (but it's not milk. Which is good because that creeps me out), which in some products (the Udder Cream?) can be very strong, and in others be more workable. The shampoo scent is very soft and subtle, which is great since highly scented shampoos tend to interfere with my perfume choices. I feel like I need to use a lot to wash my hair - there's no sulfates or anything, and it doesn't foam, so I have trouble getting my whole head of hair clean. And I'm not even shoulder length. That aside, after using handfuls of it, my hair is very nearly squeaky clean and smelling great.
The Cream Conditioner I was a bit wary of since calling it a cream conditioner implies a bit of intensive moisture, which I most certainly don't need. I applied it sparingly initially and got a little more confident as I went - it's not a very traditional conditioner, you can safely smear it on from mid length down but it's not a big deal if it goes on higher up. Nothing bad will happen, and I personally tend to have bad experiences if I'm not careful with my conditioner application.

Interestingly when I wash my hair with these two my hair is happier if I don't put an additional blow dry treatment in. I don't know if the formula clashes or what, but the conditioner seems to do a pretty great job of protecting my hair from the dryer without the help of my tried and tested PPS The Ends cuticle sealer. And I end up with fluffy hair! That never happens! I'm usually so oily that even freshly clean hair deflates very fast. This stuff does a good job of keeping my oil at bay longer than most.

I don't know if I like how that cows eyeballing me.

I've also got this rather wonderful thing called Scalp Cream, though I certainly wouldn't be limited by the title. I've been applying it behind my ears, along my top lip (waxing irritation), along my hairline, on the various strange insect bites that appear on my torso sometimes (it isn't Frank, its a mystery for the ages) - basically anywhere inflamed that needs settling. Interestingly I also own the MooGoo Eczema and Psoriasis Balm, which I'd been using for this purpose previously, with generally good results. The issue with that one was ultimately it was too dense and rich to put on my face or to put clothes over the top of, so the Scalp Cream has been rather wonderful in that respect. It also sinks in fast, so you could feasibly carry this little bottle around with you and apply it through the day.

People love the hell out of this brand, it's its easy to see why. Especially for us extremely sensitive ladies. If you have reactive skin or recurring rashes/breakouts I'd definitely suggest giving it a go - it's very kind to that kind of skin and a huuge relief to me.

DISCLAIMER: I was sent the Shampoo, Conditioner and Scalp Cream to review - I bought the Udder Cream and the Eczema and Psoriasis Cream. I've got me quite a stable of cow juice happening here.