Topshop makeup (giveaway haul)

It was just over a month ago I was lucky enough to win a Topshop makeup giveaway from the lovely Rose of The Beauty of Red Roses.   Rose is another Australian beauty blogger who appreciates the pretty things so do check out her blog!

It's taken me a little while but I finally had the time to take some product pics and swatches...

Duo Eyeshadow - Thunder

I actually had a choice between Thunder and another 'safer' colour palette so I selected this one because it's outside my comfort zone.  The deep teal green and mauve/grey look a bit scary in the palette but they're actually quite sheer when applied dry to the skin.  I've yet to do a makeup look with this so I can't comment on the wear, creasing etc.   I've done a bit of Google hunting and this duo is a limited edition from the 2010 Heavy Duty collection.

Liners - Steely & Facet

These are the first gel eyeliners I've owned.  Steely is a very wearable matte grey/blue, while Facet is an interesting rose red.  My instinct is to use Facet as a lipliner but I'll try and dream something up that doesn't make me look like I've got an eye infection!  Again, I haven't subjected these to the wear test yet but they're supposed to be, "long-wearing, water-resistant precision..." products.  I think these are also limited edition but I can only guess from the identical packaging they're from the same Heavy Duty collection as the eyeshadow.  My initial swatching shows these liners aren't as sharply defined as I'd expect:

Dry swatched in daylight on the back of my hand.
  I didn't use primer so I could get a true indication of the pigment of these shades:

Well, hello, I then read on the back of the box the eyeshadow can also be applied wet.

Here's a quick reswatch and comparison.  Much more intense, sparkly, interesting (and

outside my comfort zone - yay!):

From my first impressions I'm a bit dubious about the gel liners but I'm excited about the eyeshadow and look forward to some experimenting.  

Topshop finally opens its first Australian store in Melbourne's Jam Factory on Thursday, 8th December (only a few days away)!

That's all for now.

Vita :)

Glitter tape mani: OPI - Extra-Va-Vaganza!

Here's my second attempt at a full tape mani.  I decided to do something a little festive and that's gotta involve glitter of course! 

I applied two coats of OPI's Extra-Va-Vaganza! over my base of Essence's orange creme Wake Up!  Extra-Va-Vaganza! is from OPI's 2010 Burlesque collection. It's a glittery riot of copper and silver and was the perfect partner for my base shade.  It was a little sheerer than I expected and a third coat would have been needed for full opacity however I actually like a bit of the orange base coming through.

Lamplight

Natural daylight

What do you think?  

Until next time.

Vita :)

Essence: Wake Up!

I've yet another Essence polish to share with you...

Wake Up! - What a great loud name for a great loud polish!  Essence's Wake Up! is an uber-bright red/orange or orange/red creme depending on how you see it.  I personally see it as the brightest shade of orange and I wore it last weekend for a lunch I was hosting for the in-laws. Something bright but not too scary.  I always find shades like this usually cross over to looking red on my nails but I was so glad this one didn't disappoint.  This takes the crown for the hottest orange polish in my collection.

All pictures were taken outdoors in natural cloudy daylight (where's the sun when I need it???)

Aussie girls may be glad to know that Essence stands are popping up in Target stores around Australia this month.  Best of all these little bottles of polish retail at a tiny $2.55AUD each so there's no guilt in collecting the whole rainbow!

Until next time.

Vita :)

EOTD: Sephora + Anna Sui

This post is to share a softly feminine daytime look I wore last weekend using Sephora's pink & sparkly gold Colorful Duo palette (04) as my inspiration.  Because the shades in the Sephora palette are so soft I applied Anna Sui's pink Eye Color Accent solo (302) to my outer lid area for some added colour and black eyeliner for definition:

To create this look I applied:

• Face of Australia primer (matte) blended over lids
• Soft pink shade from Sephora duo all over lid
• Sparkly gold shade from Sephora duo above crease
• Anna Sui (302) on outer V
• Revlon (Not Quite White) on browbone
• Avon Glimmersticks eye liner (blackest black) on upper lash line
• Rimmel Volume Flash x 10 mascara (black) on upper lashes only

Here are the colour swatches to give you an idea of the softness of these shades:

L - R:

Revlon (Not Quite White), Sephora Colorful Duo (04) - sparkly gold/soft pink

Anna Sui (pink 302)

Thanks for looking. Have a great week!

Vita :)

What my nails wore to work: Butter London - HRH

Considering how much I love purple I don't wear it nearly often enough.

This week I wore HRH from Butter London.  HRH is a very rich shade of deep purple, with a subtle red shimmer.  This shade lives up to its regal title because it reminds me of royal purple velvet as it glimmers in the light and it looks very vampy in dim light.  This is the first time I've worn a polish from Butter London and I was quite happy with its performance.  The polish applied smoothly with an even opaque coverage in two coats.  It was quite durable too, and I got through the working week with minor tip wear.  Butter London polishes are 3 Free and don't contain Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP or Parabens in their formula.

Full sun

Outdoors shade

This shade has reminded me why I love purple!

Have a great weekend,

Vita :)

Glitter gradient: Essence - Make it Golden

Here's an OTT gold glitter gradient mani I did last weekend.  As you may know, Hubby was in Vegas last week so this was my Vegas-inspired flashy mani.  I just kept building on my already glittery mani with two coats of Essence's Make it Golden on the tips of my nails.  Make it Golden is a thick glitter polish composed surprisingly of silver hex glitter suspended in a shimmery gold base.  It's the rich colour of the base that makes the glitter appear yellow gold.  This glitter polish offers great opaque coverage and it dried quite quickly too because of the Colour & Go formula.

This gradient was more pass than fail so I thought it was worth sharing...

That's all for now.

Vita :)

Vintage glitter polish: Jordana - Gold Glitter 204

Well, now for documented proof that my glitter fixation has been raging for years!

I found a bottle of Jordana Gold Glitter polish lurking in my stash and I don't remember exactly when I bought it, I only know I've had it for a very loooong time.  It's a mix of very fine gold and copper glitter in a clear, rather watery base.  It's very sheer and subtle so it's best suited as a top coat.  Here I've applied two coats over yesterday's White Secret base and it makes for a soft glittery finish, although my son said my nails looked like little disco balls!  Suitable for good fairies :)

Shade

Lamplight

Do you have any Jordana nail polish in your stash?

Until next time.

Vita :)

Essence: White Secret

I was really nervous about wearing White Secret.  I didn't think I could carry off a white nail polish against my deathly skin and this looked really opaque in the bottle.  I needn't have worried because this is a milky translucent three-coater and not the white-out shade that I'd feared.

It's probably not the most exciting manicure look but it made a pleasant change and it's definitely suitable for an office environment.  My husband actually thought it looked pale pink.  See what you think:

The finish was a little patchy in the pictures although this wasn't as obvious IRL.  

Until next time.

Vita :)

Lipgloss love!

As the weather warms up I relax my makeup routine a little.  Precisely applied deep red lipstick feels a bit too heavy and formal for a mid-spring day so lately it's been all about lipgloss for me.  At the moment I can't get enough of the softer shades as I've been favouring a more natural look.  Particularly when I'm out and about on the weekend (and we're always on the run in our little family), I find it's so much easier and unfussy to slick on a gloss.

This post is devoted to the lipglosses I've been reaching for over the last few weeks.  These five glosses have been on high rotation because they make me feel like a fresher, springier version of me!

 

Left to Right:

• Heavy Rotation Enamel Gloss (03) - I bought this gloss in Japan a few years ago.  This is a warm caramel nude cream gloss with a coconut scent and a buttery texture.  It's quite well pigmented but this colour is so well matched to my colouring, it just disappears into my lips.  The packaging of this little tube is so clever too! You pop off the cap, twist the brush to the right to open the tube, squeeze the amount of gloss you want into the brush, apply, then twist the brush to the left to reseal it before replacing the cap.  No risk of goopy leaks in your pocket here!

• Essence Stay With Me Longlasting Lipgloss (02 My Favourite Milkshake)  - This soft creamy peach is a recent favourite of mine.  Click here for my original review.

• Bourjois Effet 3D Gloss (05 Rose hypothetic) - This is a glassy warm-toned soft pink with a crystal finish. The fine shimmer particles add extra depth and dimension to this gloss.  It's a very pretty shade without being too girly for me.  Despite the shimmer this feels very smooth on my lips.  

• Bloom Lip Gloss (Sweet Pea) - This opaque cream mauve is the perfect match for my natural lip colour.  This super shiny gloss has a yummy vanilla scent.  I've been wearing this one a LOT and have already decided this is a definite repurchase.

• Chanel Glossimer (83) - My luxe lipgloss.  This has great pigmentation, superior wear time and is opaque enough to be worn as a glossy lipstick.  83 is candy pink with a subtle gold shimmer and I just love it.  I just checked and at the date of posting it's rated 4.8 out of 5 on MakeupAlley too, so clearly I'm not the only fan of this shade!

 

Swatches in natural daylight (same order as above):

What's your favourite lipgloss shade?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Vita :)

My favourite shatter combo

Just a quick post tonight!

I applied a thick coat of OPI's Gold Shatter over one of my old classic fave's, the aubergine creme Lincolm Park After Dark.  I love the contrast of this mani and the dark base really shows through the cracks nicely.   This has an antique feel about it.

Lamplight

Outdoors daylight

What's your favourite shatter shade?

Vita :)

What my nails wore to work: Orly - Purple Crush

It wasn't planned but it seems to be pink week for my nails this week!

Still on a bright kick my work manicure of choice this week was Purple Crush.   Purple Crush is from Orly's 2010 Hot Stuff collection and is more fuschia pink than purple to my eye.  I was a little surprised when this creme formula dried to more of a satiny semi-matte finish on my nails.   I applied two coats of polish but this probably could have benefited from a third to give it a more even depth of colour.  From my limited experience I think Orly polishes are consistently three-coaters.

Without top coat:

With one coat of Sally Hansen Megashine:

I applied top coat to make this manicure more durable as well as adding shine.  What's your preference?

Until next time.

Vita :)

Orly + Essence = Candyfloss pink

Hello and happy Wednesday to you all!  Only a few more days until my boy and I pick up Hubby from the airport.  We're on the homestretch now, can't wait.  Alright, enough of that, I know.

While I got a kick out of wearing Orly's  Oh Cabana Boy  the other day, I wanted to soften it a little, just to turn down the visual volume if you know what I mean.  One coat of Make Me Holo topcoat from Essence turned it down just nicely from that hawt Barbie pink to something more like spun sugar.  This now looks something a Disney princess would wear.  Here's some soft, shimmery and sugary goodness on my fingertips. 

All pictures were taken outdoors in cloudy conditions:

 

Now, for something a little bit random here's a picture of one of  my hairy babies. Squeaky's a youthful looking 14 year old girl kitty.   She's normally very skittish around the camera but she decided to sit and pose the other day.

Until next time.

Vita :)

Haul post: Just a few little reasons I love my husband...

So, my husband's half a world away and 19 hours behind me in Las Vegas while I'm here at home in Melbourne.  My son and I are missing him like crazy but thanks to technology we can keep in touch via mobile phones and Facebook.   And look what he messaged to me!  Some little pressies...I guess this is a virtual haul post.

These Wet 'n' Wild eyeshadows can only be ordered online here in Australia and cost three times the price.  I'm really excited to have these coming my way!

Of course there's some nail polish too in the form of Sally Hansen Crackle overcoats:

I can't wait to play with all of these little goodies!  

That's all for now.

Vita :)

EOTD: Purple & pink

Hi!

I had a chance to play with my makeup last weekend so here's an EOTD based on my favourite colours - purple and pink because they contrast and bring out the green of my eyes.  This makeup look is a bit of a throwback to the evening looks I used to do in my twenties, when it was all about bright colours and highlighting the centre of the lid.  The great thing is these kinds of looks have made a comeback (with the exception of electric blue mascara!):

Here are swatches of the colour palette I used:

L - R (swatched in daylight):

Anna Sui (pink 302), Chanel Interferentiels palette (white/blue duochrome),

MAC Shale & Satellite Dreams

For this look I applied:

• Face of Australia primer (matte) blended over lids
• Anna Sui - (302) on the inner half of the lid and blended across the crease
• MAC - Shale on the outer half of the lid and blended in an outer V
• Chanel -  white/blue duochrome shade blended over the centre of the lid
• MAC -  Powerpoint eye pencil (Bordeauxline) on the upper lash line
• MAC  - Satellite Dreams blended along lower lashline
• Rimmel - Volume Flash x 10 mascara (black) on upper lashes only

Please let me know in the comments if you like these kinds of posts.  If you do, I'll try and post EOTD's more often.

Until next time.

Vita :)

NOTD: Orly - Oh Cabana Boy

After being demure all last week I reached for something a little more out there for my weekend manicure.  How about an absolutely kick a** pink?

Oh Cabana Boy is another of my little Orly minis.  Man, I'm really falling in love with these polishes.  The vibrant colours, the ease of application, the smooth finish - Orly has been ticking all the boxes for me so far.  Oh Cabana Boy is a luminously neon hot, hot, HOT pink with a subtle shimmer.  I'd argue this is also a retro shade, because it reminds me of taffeta dresses from the 1980's (showing my again...).  This colour screams for sure.  My friend's husband said I could use my nails as a means of workplace safety gear, you know,  like those vests the guys wear when they're doing roadwork?  Hmm, see what you think.

Outdoors shade

Indoors natural daylight

Full sun

I'm going to be rocking this one as a summer mani-pedi for sure!  I am woman, hear me roar!!

That's all for now.

Vita :)