Outfit of the Day ft. my new Prada!

I have something new and exciting to share with you ladies today, I got a new pair of sunglasses! Okay so it was a little while ago now that I got them so now I can share a little outfit of the day and review :)

Top: Supre (a few years back)

Skirt: Circle Skirt via Boohoo

Handbag: Modalu Pippa Grab

Shoes: Ecote Woven Skimmers

Sunglasses: Prada Baroque

I remember seeing a pair of the Prada Baroque Sunglasses back in 2010 and thinking wow, they are absolutely stunning. Sadly it wasn't going to work between us, as they were round frames, which do not mix well with my round face! However when I saw these ones with the squarer frames, I could finally have a pair of my very own :)

I am in love with the frames!

Overall they are very well made and sturdy. I dropped them once (it hurts just to write that) and they didn't scratch thank goodness! They come in a gorgeous case too. The thing I like most about them is they make a big statement with any outfit, and don't require much effort to pull off. Maybe it's cheesy to say, but these glasses make me feel fabulous!

I got mine from Sunglass Hut when they were on sale, but you can pick them up from Saks here at US retail prices.

Which is your favourite pair of sunglasses? I'd love to know!

Mishelle

Apocalips

When the Rimmel Apocalips got released, they were immediately on everyone's radar. After seeing many a rave review, I knew I had to try them out. So when they popped up on ASOS I went ahead and grabbed a couple, but to be honest with you, they were not what I was expecting!

I read a couple of other bloggers reviews that stated that these were quite long lasting, so I was expecting them to be lip lacquers  These are not lip lacquers, they are just very pigmented lip glosses. They are very very pigmented, and feel moisturising when intially applied, but over time they kinda made my lips feel dryer. The formula goes on very wet and kinda of dries down a little after a while, but your lips still feel moist overall.

My main issue with these is how they wear.  My biggest pet peeve is having lip products that fade in the centre of your lips, and these unfortunately do that. This means that the darker shade, Stella, left kind of a dark pink ring around the outside of my mouth.

Stella

Nova

I think that Nova is fabulous but if you are going to wear one of the darker shades you may want to wear a lip liner all over your lips underneath, or be in a position where you can touch up easily! I would definitely get a couple more of the light shades but I think I'll be avoiding the darker ones.

I would love to know what your experience was like with these, because I am not as wowed by these as a lot of other people have been. In my opinion they weren't worth the hype!

You can buy the Rimmel Apocalips off ASOS for $9.55.

Mishelle

Dragon Girl (aka My Holy Grail Red Lip)

I love red lipstick, but up until recently I never had a holy grail red lip. Enter Nars Dragon Girl. I don't know if I am going to be able to put into words how amazing this lip pencil is. All I can say is wow wow wow wow wow wow wow.

Nars Dragon Girl is a Velvet Matte Lip Pencil, which claims to be the application of a lipstick in a jumbo pencil format. It is a beautiful blue based red, that works amazingly with my pale skin tone. The colour is completely opaque too, the photos don't do it justice at all! The texture is very very matte, this is the most matte lip product I have ever owned. However the finish is so so so beautiful. I feel like I have never appreciated how beautiful a true velvet like matte texture can look until I got this lip pencil.

Now, being a matte, this lip pencil is quite drying. I would highly recommend using a moisturising lip balm before applying. Although it feels drying, it didn't emphasize any imperfections on my lips, however I feel that this is due to the nature of the colour. Lighter colours in the range may do so, however I haven't tried any of those (yet!) This shade wore for 6+ hours on me with no eating on drinking.

I would highly recommend trying out this shade if you love matte lipsticks. I would love to try more from the range in the future as I am highly impressed!

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils retail for $39 from Mecca Cosmetica, $26 from HqHair and $25 from Sephora. I prefer Hqhair as they have free international shipping :)

Do you like matte lipsticks? What formulas/colours would you recommend?

Mishelle

Glam Nails in a Flash

I was recently sent a couple of polishes from the Orly Flash Glam Winter Collection to review. I am one of those people who loves bright nail polish, no matter what the time of year. However, when you are all decked out in black, freezing your butt off in the rain waiting for a bus, I think that neon pink nails cane be a little bit out of place. That's when I turn to a little bit of glitter ;)

Okay let me start of by reviewing the black creme, called Liquid Vinyl. This is a one coater, something I am always so pleased to find! A fantastic staple colour with a brilliant formula.

Secondly, the glitters are fab! The colours are quite unique too, Atomic Splash is a gunmetal grey glitter and Watch it Glitter is bronze. If you want a sheer layer of glitter like in the first photo, don't shake the bottle and just apply one coat. If you want an opaque glitter look like in the picture of the bronze glitter, shake the bottle up well and apply two coats. They have a medium drying time, a bit longer than your average creme polish but they are definitely not the slowest drying glitters that I have tried.

Black Vinyl, Atomic Splah, Watch it Glitter

Overall I love these polishes and would highly recommend them. I will be getting plenty of use out of them this winter season.

I was sent these polishes to review. You can find them at http://orlybeauty.com.au/

Mishelle

Project 30 Pan!

Hey guys! I am officially setting sail on project pan as of today, 20/4/2013!

The Rules of the Project 30 Pan are:

1. My upcoming empties post (April Empties) doesn't count as they were empty before I started this project!
2. If I don't have a backup it doesn't count! ie. nail polish remover, toothpaste, cotton pads, etc don't count, as they are products I frequently use up! I am only counting makeup, skincare, hair products, all of the things I have multiple backups of!
3. If I completely run out of something I can repurchase it. It will be a one in one out policy.
4. 10 samples = 1 full size product. 2 minis = one full size.
5. If I slip up and buy something new I have to add two more items to my total.

The main goal of this is to get around to using all of the products I have before they expire / saving money for other things!

I honestly think this is going to take me like a year to complete guys. But fuck it, I'm up for a challenge!

Any purchases will have to be for a good reason ie. posted on here first for a couple of weeks so I can consider if I really need the item.

I hope you guys are excited about this. This was partially inspired by the lovely Jasmine from Sweetaholic Beauty, if you would like to read her final thoughts on her 100 day spending ban you can check it out here.

Wish me luck!

Mishelle

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April Wishlist

Whenever I get a bit stressed out from Uni, I always tend to browse online stores. When I spoke about kicking an addiction to retail therapy I didn't speak about how browsing online shopping is such a stress reliever for me haha. Writing these wishlist posts is a good way to categorise my crazy wishlist and makes me think about what I actually need from them...

1. Marc by Marc Jacobs Petal to the Metal Natasha Bag in Nude - I have been searching for a nice cross body leather bag for a while now. I really wanted a Balenciaga City Bag but to be completely honest with you, it's a bit out of my price range. So I moped around for a bit and debated blowing my tax on one until I saw this bag. Ahh it's so lovely! And at $450, it's a bit more within my price range. I may order this bag when I get paid :)

2. Alexander McQueen Skull Scarf - I never thought too much of these scarves until I saw one in person a couple of weeks ago. They are absolutely gorgeous! Do any of you guys have one of these scarves? Do you think they are worth the money? Please let me know :)

3. Nars Single Eye Shadow in Coconut Grove - I love deep brown eye shadows, I often use them to line my lash line or to deepen my crease. This one was so pigmented and lovely when I swatched it, definitely on my wish list now :)

4. Nars Eye Shadow Duo in Underworld - I feel like this duo would create the perfect navy blue/grey smokey eye, a look I absolutely adore. I love how cool toned this duo is also.

5. Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation - This foundation needs to hurry up and be released in Australia. It's described as a natural looking foundation that lets your natural skin show through, which you all know I love!

6. Maybelline Color Tattoo in Seashore Frosts - I love the look of this gorgeous duochrome. Now if only someone would list it on ebay so that I can get it, because I know they won't sell it in Australia!

7. Too Faced Boudior Eyes Palette - I have a couple of Too Faced Eye Shadows that I have been using again recently and I am in love with the texture and colour payoff. I don't have any of their palettes so this may be a good one for me to try!

8. Nails Inc Special Effects Nail Polishes - How gorgeous are these?! I have never paid any attention to Nails Inc before but these are so awesome! The feather glitter ones look really unique, I do love bar glitter!

So the only thing I really need from this wishlist is a new bag. The reason for that is because my current every day bag is very battered and old, and it only cost me $4 from a thrift shop in the first place. I may also get the Nearly Naked Foundation, but only once I have finished up a current one. What's on your current wishlist?

Mishelle

Going Natural

Today I have a little story and a face of the day for you. I bought a hairdryer last week and after not having one for about 2 years it made me feel kind of fabulous with my natural curly hair. I couldn't believe how shiny my hair looked in after blow drying in comparison to when I air dry it. Anyways, all that I did to style it was add some Loreal Mythic Oil to calm down the overall puffyness and yeah. I am thinking I need to spend some more time embracing my natural hair, and learning how to style and control the curls, rather than just tying in back in a bun or straightening it most days....

Inspired by my natural hair I decided to also go quite natural in my makeup today. This could almost be a "no makeup" makeup look if I had've used a more natural looking mascara.

1. I applied Covergirl's Trublend Foundation. This foundation is like a tinted moisturiser in my opinion, but what I like about it is that it is a very pale shade. A lot of light coverage products that I have tried tend to be too dark for me in even the lightest shade. This product is very weightless too which I love.

2. I used Australis Fresh and Flawless Powder very lightly on my forehead, nose and chin, just too stop them from looking too shiny.

3. I filled in my eyebrows using the wax from the Face of Australia Brow Kit. I love this shade for me, it's almost half a shade too dark, which I love. It results in a stronger brow look.

4. I applied Nyx's Taupe blush super lightly as a countour. Cause a lady's got to have cheekbones.

5. I used Bourjois's Beauty Full Volume Mascara. The lady at Priceline randomly gave this to me for free when I bought my hairdryer. It clumps my lashes something chronic so I had to use a metal separating comb. It does add a lot of length though.

6. I applied Australis' Colour Inject Mineral Lipgloss in Contemporary. I don't think I have ever spoken about this lipgloss on here before but it is the best nude lipgloss ever. If I could only own one lipgloss this would probably be the one.

Anyways this post was mainly to say that I'm in love with my new hairdryer, as it has helped me to love my natural hair again!

I'd love to know what your hair type is and how you style it! If you have curly hair, I'd love to know any good tips and tricks you have :)

Mishelle

Creme a la Bronze

Soliel Tan De Chanel was my first Chanel product, and I got my hands on it back in November of last year. For all of the excitement I had built up for finally trying Chanel, until recently I had used it maybe 3 or 4 times. The reason for this is just after I received it, the west Australian summer decided to knock on my door which pretty much cancels the use of cream or liquid products in my makeup routine, due to them melting off my face shortly after application. Now that it's finally cooled off I am finally getting my brush stuck into this beautiful, beautiful product.

For those of you who aren't familiar, Soliel Tan de Chanel is marketed as a "bronzing makeup base" but I use it as a cream bronzer. The only reason I can think of that you might like to apply it all over your face is if you have fake tanned your body and want to darken up your face to match. It has a beautiful smooth texture and it blends like an absolute dream. I use the real techniques expert face brush, which definitely helps to get this result. Although the colour is quite dark on my fair skintone, the amazing blend-ability of this product means that it works really well on my skintone. 

The colour is also quite warm toned, which can either be good or bad, depending on your personal preferences. This bronzer isn't going to look like a natural shadow, like grey toned products such as NYX's Taupe. It is going to give your face a warm, bronzed, healthy look to it. I feel like if you applied too much of this or if you had a cooler skintone, this product could end up looking orange on you. However, as I said, the amazing blend-ability of this product has prevented this from ever happening to me.

This product is very unique in my collection. If I ever feel like I am looking a bit pale or sick, this completely perks up my complexion. It lasts a full day on me, but if you push it past the initial 8 hours, I feel that some of the colour starts to get lost. Would I recommend this? Yes, if you want a bronzer to warm up your complexion, and add some definition to your face. I would also like to point out that this product is a huge pot at 30g, so it will last you forever, especially if you are pale like me and apply very little to your brush.

Mishelle

PS: A quick shoutout to the lovely Shell that I met last Friday night. It was so nice to meet you, please go and follow her here if you're not already, she's awesome.

March Favourites

I hope you all had a nice Easter break. I certainly did! I have been pretty busy in the past few weeks with uni and the like but I still managed to accumulate a lot of products in my box of favourites :)

The Beauty Favourites

First up I have to mention Nars Eye Shadow Duos in Kalahari and Alhambra. These are fantastic! These were my first experience with Nars eye shadow formula, and I have to say that I am impressed. I would liken the formula to Mac shadows, they are pigmented and smooth but they are a dryer powder formula than something creamy feeling like Urban Decays' shadows. The only colour I have had problems with is the olive gold brown colour on the left of the Kalahari Duo, as the glitter it contained did fall out a little under my eyes. However I have never come across a shadow with glitter than didn't do this on me!

Nars Eye Shadow Duos in Kalahari and Alhambra

Secondly I have literally only been wearing these four lip colours this month. Three of them are Mac Lipsticks, in the colours Lustering, Party Parrot and Hue. Lustering is a warm berry pink in the lustre formula, so you can see your natural lips through the colour. Party Parrot is an amazing hot pink, the only annoying thing is that it's a matte finish, so it can be a little dry. Hue is a lovely nude that suits my skintone well, something I have been searching for for a long time. The last is the Loreal Shine Stain in the colour Romy. This is such a beautiful colour and the product lasts amazingly, as I mentioned in my full review here.

Mac Lustering, Mac Party Parrot, Mac Hue, Loreal Shine Stain in Romy

The next item is the fantastic blush that my lovely friend Cate got me for my birthday. Even though I only got this on the 22nd, I have been using it ever single day since. It's the Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush, and it is pure bliss! As I have mentioned in the past, I have always found blush application difficult. However this is another blush that makes blush easy! I can apply it with a heavy hand and it never looks overdone. It creates a beautiful flushed cheek with just a little bit of sheen, which is just how I like it! Just a warning, I don't think this would be fantastic for darker skintones, as it isn't super pigmented :( sorry!

Colours swatched together and then separately

Last of the beauty items, I have to give a mention to a couple of brushes from Furless. I purchased the Must Have Professional Makeup Brush Set about a month back now, and I will be posting up a full review of the set very soon. However as a bit of a sneak peak, these are my two favourite brushes from the set. The Pro4F brush is basically a flat top kabuki, but oh my goodness. What wizardry is this brush? It blends like a mofo, my foundation is done in like two seconds. I can't even. This brush has made me love Nars Sheer Glow 100% more, because I can apply it super quickly now. The second one is the Pro1F brush, which I have been using for blending out my concealer. I would traditionally use a smaller brush but this brush just gets the job done. This also works amazingly for foundation, and this is coming from someone who doesn't enjoy using traditional foundation brushes.

A couple of non beauty favourites, first up my Kindle. I love this thing! I have already read six books on it since I got it. If you are thinking about getting one, do it, you won't regret it. The books I read on there were the first two books in the Divergent series, which I loved, and cannot wait for the movie/third book! The other books that I read were the Three Doors Series which brings me onto my next favourite.

Did any of you read Deltora Quest as a kid? Oh my goodness, it was my favourite series ever. Well besides Harry Potter, but seriously, I was obsessed. So I found out this month that Emily Rodda (Jennifer Rowe) wrote a second series called the Three Doors so I decided to read them on my kindle and what I didn't realise that it was set in the same universe as Deltora Quest so that was really awesome and unexpected! Then I decided to pick up the anime of Deltora Quest and I am currently watching it. It's so nostalgic for me. Yes the books and the anime are meant for young teenagers, but I don't care because they're really fun!

I will now shut up and get back to catching up on all of your lovely posts I have missed in the last busy, busy week!

Mishelle