Lunar New Year Inspired Nails

So I've been thinking about Lunar/Chinese New Year Inspired NOTDs for the past fewer days! Finally managed to whip up a quick and simple one, which I think, can be altered by colours to suit alot of events and occasions! 

Here it is.....

Quick, simple and easy! 

In case you're wondering, I've used gold nail art tapes that I've purchased from eBay yonks ago. You can easily search for them on eBay by "nail art tapes". They cost less than $2 for a pack of 5-8 colours. They're tiny though, so if you're looking to use these more often, I'd suggest to purchase at least 5 sets. Most sellers offer free shipping anyways!

As for the red, I've used Rimmel London's Double Decker Red from the Lasting Finish range.

I'd like to try and whip up more NOTDs for Chinese New Year since I'm flooded with ideas (not really), but I don't think I'll have enough time before CNY hits....

If you don't see me posting, I wish you, your family and loved ones, a happy Chinese New Year. May the Year of the Horse be a great year for you all, in terms of health, luck and fortune!! 

Keep safe xx

FOTD: Catch-up with Tezz & Amanda

Hi cuties. Long time, no FOTD!

Why?

Well.. most likely because your boring blogger doesn't really switch things up for her make-up routine. It's usually just eyeliner, eyebrows, lipstick and your average highlighting and bronzing routine. Hue.

BUT!

...but I've tried something different today!

For base, I've used (and have been using) Bourjois' Healthy Mix Foundation in #52. It's a beautiful foundation with a light-medium soft and natural coverage. I know, I'm pretty late to the game... 

Didn't powder that day, only bronzed (pretty much all over) my face with Australis' Jumbo Mineral Bronzing Powder. This bronzing powder has the slightest luminous finish, which I don't mind.... but, the shade is a bit grey-toned. I haven't found any problems with this yet.

After purchasing The Balm Mary Lou Manizer, I've neveeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrr ever skipped highlighting since! I love love love this powder so much. It's finish is very (very!) luminous. It may be too much for others, but I loveeeeeeeee the effect on my cheekbones and cupid's bow!

As for the barely-visible-blusher (meep), I've used Illamasqua's Powder Blush in Hussy, a matte pink blusher. No stand out feelings with this yet. 

Like I said, I've tried something different today.. and I'm liking it so far! I've used Rimmel London Scandaleyes Eyeshadow Stick in Bad Girl Bronze here... It's very subtle since I still don't feel fully comfortable with having it blended out too much. Will try harder next time so it'll be visible in photos, at the very least. 

For my lips, I went for a stained look, using MAC Lipstick in Impassioned for the center, along with a lipliner I've purchased from Vietnam as a base. It's named 'Pastel Pink' by a brand called Mira Line n' Design, but I couldn't find any online information about it AT ALL. Yeap, at all. Gasp. 

Besides these products, I've also used an eyeliner I've purchased from Vietnam by mik@vonk. My sister raves about this liquid eyeliner, but I've yet to find anything extraordinarily good about it.... Hmm.

Anyways! Yeah! These were pretty much all the products I've used ^-^

Before I let you go... let me just share you some delish snaps of the food I had. Yammy! 

Yes, we went to Grill'd. Munched down some fries and a Crispy Bacon & Cheese Beef Burger, alongside with a Tiramisu-flavoured Iced Latte from elsewhere (forgot! woops!). 

KKK. That's all for this blog's post. 

You are all dismissed... till next time! 

Beauty HAUL from Vietnam!

I haven't been on a plane flight for yonks, so flying an eight hours plan flight to and from Vietnam definitely tired me. And the thought of being restless (and lonely) on New Years Eve made me even more sad *sigh

But you know what else tires me?!

The make-up that I've hauled back from Vietnam!! Yes, never thought I'd give Vietnam make-up a go, especially when their Maybelline was still more expensive than that those I could get from the markets. But besides that, I found many other brands for dirt cheap price tags!

Looking at the stash tires me though, I have no idea where to fit these new blushers, lipsticks and lip liners, but... Not gonna lie, I'm so damn excited!

• Vacosi Blushers -- I actually bought one shade to trial first. Impressively pigmented at its price (80,000VND) so I went back and purchased the remaining 2 shades! It's labelled as "Made in Korean", but marketed in Vietnam, I think!
• VOV (a drugstore Korean brand, I believe) Rose Lady Cover Foundation -- My sister and I bought two of these since it's quite handy for highlighting, concealing and sculpting the face.
• mik@vonk Deep Black Liquid Eyeliner -- We bought about three of these for its deep and dark pigmentation. Can't remember the price, but it was fairly cheap. 
• Shiseido Refining Makeup Primer Base -- Pretty much our first Shiseido product ever! My sister chose this after spotting it. A tad more expensive than others, if I could remember correctly. Would've convert to about $7~$8 in AUD. 
• Vacosi Eye Lash Curler -- Cheap!! 28,000VND which is approximately $2 here in AUD. 
• Maybelline Hyper Glossy Liquid Eyeliner -- I have this at home already, see that it's about half price in Vietnam... I don't see why not! Hue.

dem lipsticks *-*

Yes!! You guys know I'm still not ready for eyeshadows, so all I really purchased were ALOT of lip products. Here are the lipsticks I bought by a Korean drugstore brands and MAC. 

I tried my best to distinguish between fake and genuine MAC with my limited MAC knowledge... (never used MAC lipsticks before). I'm 70% sure they are same in terms of packaging, and 99% sure they are all genuine in terms of formula. I've used these and they are exactly what MAC lipsticks are described to be -- pigmented, damn long lasting with a yummy scent. They were expensive though... 400,000VND per lipstick *-*

Oh oh! And the top gloss sticks are by a Korean brand, called "3 Concept Eyes". I've used one of the shades, and I'd have to say they are pretty good! Looking forward to trying out the other shades too ^-^ 

Then, there were lip liners! 

I actually still don't have too many lip liners in my stash, so I decided to pick some up! These were cheapies, cheaper than a banh bao (pork bun). The pink colour by INTER-COLOR has been my faveeeee. It's a cute summery pink with a spice of coral. Loveeeee! 

That's ALL for my haul *so far* from one of the two stores I visited in Vietnam. In case anyone is interested, I'll list the store details here: 

Shop Ha`
664/19-21 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, P.3, Q.3, TP.HCM (Cho Ban Co)
Tel: (08) 3839 0336 - 2241 3341
Fax: (08) 3830 3227

It's a must-visit store for every beauty junkies out there! They cater from higher end brands to lower end brands, and Korean brands too. From hair to make-up and nails... They also had Bath & Body there, along with some Victoria Secret sprays, YSL, Estee Lauder, Dior and more! 

I've still got one more haul from another beauty store I visited, so please stay tuna'd! ;)

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Nail Polish in Razzleberry

Another nail post!

Since I've returned from Vietnam, I've been sleeping til 4pm every single day, so I haven't been able to trial alot of the make-up that I've bought (sadly). I've only been using nail polishes, so expect more nail posts!

Also, not to mention that I've also purchased alooooooot of nail polishes from Vietnam! A haul post will be up soon.. ^-^ However! I guess the amount of nail polishes purchased from Vietnam is just not enough... for my sister. About two days after returning from Vietnam, my sister dropped down to Priceline and decided to purchase [about] 5 shades of Sally Hansen's Sugar Coat range, a range of sandy-textured lacquers.

Or, maybe she's just became a hoarder like me! You can say that she have learnt from the best (or maybe the "worst", in this case), I guess...

This one here, Razzleberry, is a medium-toned blue. The bottle instructs "Apply 2 thin coats", but I still prefer 3 coats, so that the "sugar" or sandy bits can be even all over the nail.

Don't get me wrooong! The formula applies really smooth, but with sandy-finished lacquers, I always like to make sure the whole nail covered in even texture :P

I do have a good impression of the blue shade, but I absolutely hate how hard it is to remove these sandy-textured lacquers, despite using PVA glue as a peel off base. I'd still find myself running around the house looking for nail polish remover to remove this completely. Grrr. I guess it's all up to you to decide whetehr it's worth it or not.

I really liked sandy-textured lacquers the first time I had them, but I think I'm just getting over this trend >_<

Overall, pretty colour, and not a bad range! I still have a few more shades to go through, including a white one, which is preeeeeetty exciting! I can imagine pairing that white one with some cute pastel colours for nail art. *-*

But if I could remember correctly, I always imagine only, since things just never work out -.-" We'll just have to see how my nail art skills go, I think! :P

Have you tried other shades of this Sugar Coat range?

What do you think?

I've still yet to see what other shades there are, but I'm hoping my sister picked out some nice shades (since she has a pretty bad taste, but please don't tell her that... *rolls eye* hehe).


Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Textured Nail Lacquers, $9.95, 7 shades, available at Priceline, K-Mart, Big W, Target and other S.H. stockists.

Face Of Australia Glossy Lip Crayons

Hi u. 

If you follow me on Instagram, you would've known that, after returning from Vietnam, I was greeted by a care parcel from Face Of Australia that included their latest range of Glossy Lip Crayons! 

Unfortunately, most of the products melted into the cap! Probably sat out in the sun for yonks, before my sister's boyfriend came to pick them up from my home. Must confess that I broke down a tad inside when I saw how terribly melted the products were! The wax separated from the actual product, so sad to say, but I will not be reviewing these as the formula has probably changed alot from how it's suppose to be. 

Putting that aside, the range features 7 lovely shades, ranging from neutral browns to the wearable pinks and bolds. 

Apple Crumble, Peach Parfait, Raspberry Coulis, Jam Fancy, Berry Brulee, Pie La Mode, Pecan Pie

Okay, lets get down each shade individually! 

Apple Crumble, the only red within the collection! Not sure which tone this one sides with, but the shade glided on to be fairly opaque. Love how this one contained no shimmers as opposed to some of the other ones.. 

Peach Parfait! Sounds familiar huh? Yeap. Similar to Revlon's Peach Parfait, this one also contains alot of shimmers! My lip swatch of this shade is horrrrible (but I can't help it). As you can see, there's a flake fest on ma lips with a bit of patchiness. Doesn't look too bad from afar, but you will probably never see me with this shade again! I dislike shimmery lip products so much, and the shimmers in this will never look forgivable unless my lips are in perfect condition! Huhuhu..

Forgot to mention that it's also sheerer than the other shades, so if you have pigmented lips... I'd suggest you consider this carefully!

Jam Fancy is another that you'd like to consider carefully if you have pigmented lips and/or you can't stand pearly lip products and/or your lips are flaky 99% of the time. This one is more pearly than Peach Parfait, and at the same time, is much sheerer too. Which actually means that the more you pack, the more colour you get, but at the same time... the more pearly it is. *-* 

Looks forgivable in this full face photo, but honestly not my cuppa tea! 

Raspberry Coulis reminds me alot of Revlon's Sweet Tart in terms of the coverage it offers and its glossiness, but I'm pretty sure Raspberry Coulis is just abit more warm-toned and a tad brighter. These pinks are easy to wear for me, so I will be makin' good use of this one!

Berry Brulee is probably the only shade of the collection that strucks me! You'd think it's pretty strange as I've never liked nor have I wanted to explore the world of purple lip colours. It's just too bold and daring for me.. But this shade is soooo gorgeous. It also applies wonderfully well for me. Non-patchy and opaque, with no shimmers.

Pie La Mode -- Okay, I can't really say the same for browns. I've yet to find any interest in them, but if you do, this one's quite nice. As you can see, it sits on the lips sooo nicely, is pigmented and yes, it also looks a tad matte here. The glossiness wore off because my mum was talking a tad too much to me when all I wanted was to focus on my lip swatches! Hmph!

Pecan Pie -- I know the photo is a bit warm-toned here, but hopefully you can still get the general idea! Finally found a wearable nude in gloss stick form which won't cake around the flakes of my lips too much! 

Well then, that's all 7 shades of the range! If you've noticed, yes, I've also cut my hair short. I've had long hair for the 20 years of my existence and enough is enough! No more long hair! 

But getting back on topic..

Which of these shades do you like most?

Will you be adding these Glossy Lip Crayons to your cart?

Oh, I forgot to mention that these are also vanilla-scented, so please keep that in mind before purchasing! 

Face Of Australia Glossy Lip Crayons, $4.95 (3.8g), available at Priceline, K-Mart, Big W, fashionaddict.com.au, and makeupexpress.com.au. 

*Disclaimer: These products were provided for review consideration. My opinions and comments within this post remains to be uninfluenced and unbiased.

Drugstore Cosmetics Launches for Australia - January 2014

Happy New Year everyone! Feliz Ano Novo! 

I hope you all had a safe and wonderful New Years! =) May 2014 be a great, new start for each and everyone of you. Shall we start the new year with these newly launched products? 

I think sooooo! 

Australis Neon Crush Collection

New year, new start, new collection! 

• Blush in LYLAS ($12.95/1 shade duo) -- Stands for "Love You Like A Sister", is a two-toned palette. Oddly, both shades of blush are described to be "matte", but is also described to have a soft shimmer finish. 
• Bronzer in YOLO ($12.95/1 shade) -- Stands for... I'm sure you already know! This bronzer promises to provide an "instant airbrushed warmth" to the complexion, whilst featuring silky shimmer... wot? *confused 

Left to right: LAFS (Love At First Sight), LOLZ (Laugh Out Loudz), OMG (Oh My God), XOXO

Let me just say.. the choice of colours for the packaging of these eyeshadows.... errr.. *shakeshead.

I just feel like they're not very "Australis". More of an "essence" kinda feel. A bit out there, I guess >_<"

#herecomesthesun, #learntolive, #noregrets

Gloss Sticks ($9.95/3 shades)

Ok, now THIS looks much more "Australis" to me! Love the vibe and simplicity. These are neon lip gloss pencils that has been "formulated with UV responsive technology, allowing lips to glove under a blacklight". Eek. Neon and glows in the dark.... lip products? *-*

Nail Colours ($7.95/5 shades)

If these don't define "neon", then I'm not sure what does! Available in 5 shades, these are "UV responsive colours" and also glows in the dark.

...and that wraps up Australis' Neon Crush Collection! =)

Maybelline Color Show Brocades ($5.95/5 shades)

These are a limited edition nail polish collection, so if you are a fan of these, grab them before they're gone! The collection features metallic glitter shades with a golden holographic base. Sounds so interesting! I'd like to see these in action. Will have to get googling later!

Last, but not least, there's Lush. Lush is definitely not a drugstore-ended brand, but as their products are reasonably affordable, I'd like to include them from now! 

Lush The Kiss Tinted Lip Balm ($9.95)

Featuring a whipped mixture of humectant butters, the [tasty] tinted lip balm is described to smooth into the lips leaving a high-shine look. The contained organic mandarin and almond essential oils are suppose to create an uplifting fragrance, whilst the guarana seed powder acts as a natural lip plumper. 

Okay, that's all for this month's launches! I also have a big Vietnam cosmetics haul post coming soon! Make sure to keep an eye out for that. Then fingers crossed that I will be able to start blogging again. The motivation..... I'm feeeeeeeling it! 

Let me know which products you're excited to see in store!

What do you think of Australis' NEW Neon Collection?!

Let me know your thoughts!