OPI You're Such A Kabuki Queen

Hey. Long time no OPI?

It's been a while since I've mentioned anything OPI... I'm not really one for branded cosmetics or nail polishes, mainly because they have too much of a hefty of a price tag $$$$ for me.

Yesterday, I was actually looking for a bright feminine pink to use as a nail art base so I've steered towards OPI You're Such A Kabuki Queen. Sadly, when I finished painting ma' nails, I've realised that the colour itself isn't so bright, so it wasn't what I was looking for.. Eeek.

However, I thought I'd share this as a NOTD post and the nail art post will just have to wait (I really can't wait to get to it and then share with you guys!).

As much as I love blue nail polishes, medium rosey-pinks like OPI's You're Such A Kabuki Queen, are probably the easiest colours for me to pull off. It's just a colour that's impossible to go wrong with so it's probably flattering to many skin tones too.

The application of this was perfect, like I'd expect it to be... $20 a bottle man! I'm wearing two coats in these swatches which is pretty opaque as you can tell. Also very glossy, may I add!

Ah, love this colour on my nails. The colour is just so elegant and girly! I was considering to clear this from my nail polish collection, so I'm extremely glad that I didn't.

If you really like this nail colour, but don't want to fork out the moola for it.. I'm sure there are PLENTY of dupes or very similar colours around in the drugstores/lower end brands!

Could you recommend an affordable dupe to OPI You're Such A Kabuki Queen?

The closest nail polish I have to this is probably Models Prefer's Out Of The Office. However, I don't think they have a full-sized version of that included in their range... so that sucks! :(


OPI Nail Colour, $19.95, David Jones and leading salons.


Disclaimer: This product was purchased by me. 

Saturday's Swatches: Australis Go Long Longwear Lipsticks

Hi all. Sorry for the inconsistency in posts lately. I'm such a bad girl, but I'm so busy rushing onto last minute asessments and essays! If only I could write essays as passionately as I write up posts for this blog.. Oh man~

I'm so busy that I was considering not to post today, but 'Saturday's Swatches' is my favourite series to do! Simply because it's easy to whip up and I know it comes to be super helpful to you guys!

Last week's Saturday's Swatches, I've mentioned that I really wanted to post about Australis' Go Long Longwear Lipsticks, so here it is! ^_^

The newly released range contains 8 "semi-matte" shades which is described to be intensely pigmented whilst providing up to 10 hours wear of comfort on the lips.

Hmmmm.. what do you think?

When I received these.. my first thought was "WOW!!", but then again, who's not in for new Australis products? Not me! :P

But then I took a closer look at the shades and I'd have to say... the range has some pretty funky shades. As you can see, there's lots of browns and beiges with only 2 brights.

• Easy Chic: A puce-toned beige
• Ghetto and Glam: These two are REALLY similar when swatched. They confuse me (lol). However, in the tube, Ghetto is lighter and is more pink to vampy-purple, whereas Glam is deeper and is more red to vampy-purple. 
• Boho: Another brown, but it's more tan, more warm-toned (whereas Easy Chic is more cool-toned). 

• Uber Cool: A purple with pink tones. It's also quite dull. Doesn't look that bad on the lips actually!
• Preppy: Light warm-toned nude pink
• Trendy: A BRIGHT cool-toned barbie pink
• Diva: RED. Medium-toned red.

I've worn Uber Cool and Preppy already and so far, I do like it! Can't wait to try out Trendy and Diva. I probably won't touch the other shades though... However, if you're in for dark and deeper colours, then look no further! 

Which shades are YOU eye-ing?

If you have aready tried out the range, then let us know below in the comments!

Australis Pout Pastes

After a LOOOONG period of trialling.. Here's finally a review of Australis' Pout Pastes which hit the counters not too long ago! I'm sure you've seen them pop up everywhere on blogs, YouTube and other social platforms.

These Pout Pastes are described by Australis to be "high coverage pigment stains that provides an instant glossy pout"which also allows you to custom mix your own shade. Sounds similar to OCC Lip Tars, yes? That’s exactly what my initial thoughts were too – that these may be the Aussie versions of OCC Lip Tars!

But the truth is that they’re nothing like OCC Lip Tars. Well... Besides the similar idea of being able to custom mix the shades, they're worlds apart.

These Pout Pastes are much like your traditional lipglosses except that it packs a PUNCH of colour and gloss. Take my words for it. Its boldness and glossiness will second to none! Sounds great, but it’s also quite sticky. I personally find its stickiness to be bearable, but if you're one who cannot stand anything with a sticky finish, then sorry m8 -- these are definitely not for you!

It also has a thicker consistency so you can definitely feel it on the lips, and it CAN feel a tad heavy. It also doesn’t settle, so you’ll be able to move it around after a light snack instead of retouching. However, like Anita says, “I suggest using a straw when drinking and don't go downing on a burger or you'll possibly look like an extra from a Vampire movie” because YES, the product is very transferable so you’d have to be extremely cautious. I’ve tried using a lip liner as a base before, but it still smeared and bled all over… which made Mum asked if I’ve been eating red poop or what. Eeeeeep!

So when wearing this, I’d recommend that you apply it in such a way that won’t touch the outer lining of your lips. Apply it closer to the centre. And no, don’t wear it alone unless you are willing to check and touch up every often T_________T"

As for wear time, I’d say that this wears for as long as you don’t eat or drink. I’ve worn it for 5-6 hours before and it lasted well until I took a bite out of a burger, and that’s the moment when the product transferred onto my yummy burger and its wrapper -- touch ups are really necessary for these Pout Pastes!

OH.. Did I tell you that these come with a doe-foot applicator? I wouldn't know how to apply such a thick product without an applicator, so thank Lord!

As for the shades, you already know.. they come in three bright and bold shades! I'm really happy with the shade range and I know other bloggers/users are hoping Australis will add more shades to these Pout Pastes. How good would it be to see these Pout Pastes in bright corals or bold fuchsias?!


 SHADES BREAKDOWN (aka. camwhore time! Yay!)


Love Bites -- Ohhhhhh. The prettiest red! The brighest and boldest of the collection! The most pigmented! The most daring! The most... ok. That's enough mate. 

Love Bites is really not for those who are shy to rock reds, because.. it's REALLY bright and REALLY bold. It's such a lovely scarlet red though! If you're looking to rock a bold statement lip, Love Bites is the one to go to.

Pash Me Pink -- is like a warm-toned rosy pink. Eep. My first swatch makes it look like it has a neon spice here, but it doesn't. It's a really wearable pink!

Berry Nice Kiss -- I don't think this is a berry colour.. Do you? To me, it seems more of like a light grape-y colour. It's the least pigmented of the three, methinks. When applied, the colour just doesn't compare to what's in the tube so if you're looking for opacity with Berry Nice Kiss, layering is the way to go.

Ok. Nuff camwhoring!

What do you think of Australis' Pout Pastes?

Which is your favourtie shade?

Depending on what you're looking for... these may or may not be for you. Like I said, these are much more like lipglosses than lip stains, therefore they're definitely not for me! I'm seriously not one to touch-up or check on my lip product every often so with the bleeding and smearing of these.. I say "meh"!


Australis Pout Pastes, 3 shades, $12.95, Priceline, Big W and other Australis stockists.


Disclaimer: These products were provided for review consideration only. I was not obligated to review, mention or post about these products. All opinions stated within this post belongs to me and remains truthful and uninfluenced.

Saturday's Swatches: Chi Chi NUDES vs. Urban Decay NAKED

NEUTRALS, NEUTRALS, NEUTRALS! There are never too many neutral palettes for one, especially one that looks like it could possibly be a dupe to the famous Naked eyeshadow palette by Urban Decay (swatches here).

After seeing Chi Chi's NUDES Eyeshadow Palette featured by many other bloggers, I've been meaning to hoard it home just to swatch and see if it really does compare to Naked 1. But the problem is... I've figured that since I'm not an eyeshadow user, it'd be such a waste of moola to whip out $19.95 for a palette that I'll swatch once and won't ever look at again.

Well... GUESS WHAT?

I've got the palette anyways -- and it was at a flea market where a lovely lady was selling it for only $2! Brand NEW, still in box with everything else! Actually, there wasn't anything else really, besides the palette. Ha.

I've had it in the stash for a few weeks now and I've been meaning to put up this swatch post sooner, but some of the more exciting products kept coming so I've prioritized those first -- such as Australis' Pout Pastes. For this week's swatch post, I was actually tossing between this palette (again!) and Australis' Go Long Longwear Lipsticks. Eep! But I've figured that I better give my readers a "break" from features of Australis. Therefore, I will stop posting about Australis............................. until my next post. LOL. Mad break, yes?

Anyways, enough talking about Australis in a post that's supposed to exclude Australis. Oops. I think I've just did it again :P

OK. Back to this Chi Chi NUDES Palette for real! As you can tell, today's post is just a comparative swatch post so there will only be fewer words and more photos!

Here are photos of the two palettes side by side with the Chi Chi NUDES palette on top and the UD NAKED palette on the bottom:

At first glance, the shades from both palettes surely do look similar, but at a closer look, you can definitely see the slight variations between the shades.

 Chi Chi NUDES swatches (slightly wet swatches)

(top-bottom) Chi Chi NUDES, Urban Decay NAKED (slightly wet swatches)

I've also got close-up swatches to share with you, but I'm super sorry because the lighting is quite inconsistent! I'll have to blame this on the sun for heading to snooze too quick..

NOTE: These swatches were swatched with a heavy hand AND slightly wet too. Chi Chi's swatches are on the left, Urban Decay swatches are on the right.

READY?!?!?!?!?! ^_^

1. Chi Chi #1 vs. Virgin -- Virgin is a bit more peachy/beige whereas Chi Chi is more of a "pure" white.

2. Chi Chi #2 vs. Sin -- Chi Chi's #2 is also a bit off here, but its finish is soooooooo pearly, just like Sin! It seems to have more shimmers than UD's Sin, actually.

3. Chi Chi #3 vs. Naked -- Chi Chi #3 is a bit more satin in terms of finish whereas Naked is matte. The colour is also a bit off, and its tone is also lighter!

4. Chi Chi #4 vs. Sidecar -- Chi Chi #4 is more gold-toned with a high pearl shine, UD's Sidecar is more bronze with shimmers.

5. Chi Chi #5 vs. Buck -- Very visible difference here! Chi Chi #5 is more puce-toned where as UD's Buck is more tanned with yellow undertones.

6. Chi Chi #6 vs. Half Baked -- #5 here, is more orange-toned.. looks bronzey whereas Half Baked is just gold.

7. Chi Chi #7 vs. Smog -- is the most identical of the bunch!

8. Chi Chi #8 vs. Darkhorse -- #8 looks a bit more paler and the pigmentation is nowhere comparable to Darkhorse.

9. Chi Chi #9 vs. Toasted -- Chi Chi's dupe for Toasted is almost identical, but at a closer look, it's more warm-toned than 'Toasted'.

10. Chi Chi #10 vs. Hustle -- Another dupe of the palette here. #10 is almost identical or may even be identical. I need a few more pair of eyes please.

11. Chi Chi #11 vs. Creep -- Creep is darker here with more visible shimmers. Chi Chi's *attempted* dupe is lighter in terms of colour and has a visible metallic sheen.

12. Chi Chi #8 vs. Gunmetal -- There's a noticeable different here too! Chi Chi's shade is more grey-toned, whereas Gunmetal is a slate-grey with a slight blue undertone.

That's it! I've used this palette once on my Mum and to be honest... even with a primer, the pigmentation of Chi Chi's NUDES doesn't compare to Urban Decay's NAKED -- this applies to the darker shades too. However, the eyeshadows still remains to be smooth and silky when swatched, so nevertheless, Chi Chi's NUDES is definitely an eyeshadow palette to look at if you're in the mood for a NAKED dupe. Most shades aren't spot on, but it's still a nice palette to add to the neutral collection.

What do YOU think of Chi Chi's version of the NAKED palette?

Will you be looking into this palette?

The only eyeshadows I use from the NAKED palette are: Virgin, Sin and Half Baked -- so I'm actually not looking for a NAKED dupe. I'm ony after dupes of those 3 eyeshadows and Chi Chi's dupes to those three are pretty well done in terms of finishes. The colours are a tad off, but not THAT noticeabe when applied :P


Chi Chi NUDES Palette, $19.95 @ Myer, Target, GLOSS stores.


Disclaimer: This product was purchased by me.

Recreated Manicure: Coral & Silver ft. Maybelline Color Show Nail Polishes

Hi! Easy goin' post today! I just wanted to show you this manicure that I've recreated from a photo that I've found around the web. I'm not too sure who owns it, but I think they did a greaaat job!

Does anyone know of any similar gold nail polishes to this?

I love it when cute manicures are not too hard to recreate and doesn't require a bunch of items or products or.... any skills. All I've used for today's manicure were the two nail polishes of my choice -- in which I've chose Maybelline's Color Show Nail Polishes in 'Coral Crush' and 'Pedal to the Metal'.

I've actually purchased these a while ago and I'm STILL lagging behind with the haul post. Therefore, don't be surprised if you see these two featured again in another post! I know, awkward order, hey? :P

Coral Crush is such a prettyyyyyyy coral colour! It has a creme finish. I can't wait to wear it on its own, and also put it up against my other coral nail polishes! I've been hoarding coral and blue nail colours home lately.. Eeek. How many coral and blue polishes do you need, Tram? *scratches head*

However, as for Pedal To The Metal, I don't feel as guilty. This is probably the second shimmery silver nail polish in my collection. Not bad, not bad. Let's just hope I stop hoarding from here! >_<"

I've yet to post a detailed post of these two, but both lacquers glides on really nice and smooth on the nails. Pedal to the Metal is actualy quite sheer so I've used 5 thinner coats in the following photos. It's not too much of a hassle though since it dries pretty quick. As for Coral Crush, two coats was good to go!

Such a simple and easy manicure to recreate. Seriously! I can't wait to experiment with more of these quick and easy nail designs!

My next stop will be water marble nails!!! Yeeeeeeeeeey!.

If you guys know of any similar gold nail colour to the first photo I've posted above, please leave me your suggestions in the comment section!

I actually don't have a gold nail polish of that finish yet, so I'm still looking around! I remember reading Rebecca's blog and she was also looking for a similar colour! We'd appreciate your suggestions SO much!

Thanks in advance!

Saturday/Sunday Steals: The Body Shop, Avon, Shoes & Clothes!

Hallelujah! Got more shoes, beauty products and clothes at the markets guys! READY? 

Ok. Leggo!

SHOES! I'm slowly building up on my shoe collection, but I'll have to admit that I'm not sure if I'd ever find chances to wear these pretty pair of booties. Eep!

Grabbed for myself two pair of booties -- one grey heeled booties and one black pair of booties. Eeep! For less than $5 each too! The other pair of flat boots is actually for my sister since she doesn't own any pair of ankle boots.

Onto a bunch of beauty products that I've gathered.............. :(

I got these Avon Mini Blush Sticks for $1 each! I actually purchased 8 sticks -- 1 for myself, 4 for Amanda, Tezza and Alice and the other 4 are for my TAFE buds who I'm hoping to catch up with soon!

Then I stumbled across this girl selling ALOT of products from The Body Shop including their foundations. I've grabbed these two for $5. The Radiant Highlighter was $4 and the Puree Body Lotion was $1.

She also had the CUTEST voice! She sounded like a lil mousey. Hahaahaah.. In a good way, of course!

Then I came across this girl's stall where she was selling some nail polishes........ for 20 cents each. YEAP. 20 cents! So I picked up 3 -- two by Sportsgirl and one by Face Of Australia from their older LUXE collection. Of course, being the generous person I am, I gave her $1 and told her to give me the change. LMAO. Just kidding. I told her to keep the change...

She was soooooo pretty too! She looked like she could be a model, no joke!

AND THEN AND THEN... I saw my FAVOURITE Savvy By DB eyeliners at the markets for only $2 each! The lady actually had these eyeliners for 2-3 weeks now and EVERYTIME I ask, she'll say $5. Well! Next thing you know, these babies wouldn't go so she finally lowered them down to $2 each! These eyeliners are incredibly creamy and pigmented, so I thought I'd purchase them for friends or host giveaways on Instagram since I already have quite a few at home! =)

These are the last fewer beauty products from the markets... SWEAR! I've got:

• Prestige Skin Loving Minerals Baked Blush ($1): Sealed, brand new! There can never be too many blushers.
• Nutrimetics Lipstick in Bejewelled ($1): Too cheap to let this pass! I'll probably ask friends if anyone wants it! Eep!
• Nutrimetics Hot Fudge Lipstick ($1): Not sure why I purchased such a DARK lipstick. Geesh! Wonder what I was thinking that day... 

And lastly, some other stuff I got for my sister!

The bag was for $4. I also got myself a bag, but totally forgot to take a photo of it! Meeep! And the shirt is actually a sleep-in shirt for my sister since it's totally her. LOL. Don't tell herrrrr okay?!

That's all for my market haul peeps! Sorry for the delayed posts and the skipping of posts lately! 

I was in bed all day yesterday.. being sick. Now I have assessments to do, so I'm off!

Have a lovely week beautifools,

Tram xx