FACE OF AUSTRALIA AUTUMN ROMANCE: Kiss Me At Twilight

If you're from Sydney or any NSW region that has been flooding for the past two days, I hope that  you, your fam, pets and home are safe!

We've been struck with some extremely heavy rain for the past two days, the map of Australia suddenly looked like this overnight:

It's so strange that all the streets located only five to ten minutes away from me are all flooded, with some cars lookin' like they're sinking into the earth... lol. But either way, stay safe my beautifools!

On another note, Monday's my break day, so that's blogging day hey!

Thank Buddha the weather has cleared up today. There's some sun, meaning there's some light, which also means that I could capture the beauty of today's polish feature!

This shade, Kiss Me At Twilight ($4.95), is the only metallic-like shade out of the collection of six, I think! So far, I've swatched Snuggle Me, but its finish was nothing like this!

This particular shade photographs SOOOOOOOOOO well. It looks freakin' perfect on my nails -- glossy and all. I THINK it's the slight metallic finish it has. Adds such an oomph to the colour!

Of course, in saying so, it also looks great on the nails! Try it! No regretsssss.

Wish I could wear it out, but I work too often to be wearing any nail polishes. My cuticles are also starting to wear. Fingers (lol, pun) crossed that they won't get any worse, so I can still swatch many nail lacquers to share with y'all..

ヽ(￣д￣;)ノ


Disclaimer: Product was provided for review consideration only. 

MANI-MONDAY: Settle Petal

Currently still putting together my top 15 products of 2015, so thought I'd feed ya this short Mani-Monday post!

I've received this nail polish from AUSTRALIS, some time ago, along with their Fierce Eyes Mascara (thanks Australis!) and another nail lacquer in Peek-a-boo. I've blogged about that shade here >

Settle Petal ($4.95) is a light beige colour. Leans pink, clearly visible against my skintone, haha. 

It's quite nice on my nails -- makes it look well-polished, clean and neat. However, I would still rather a little more colour. A few years back, I was totally into these beiges and all but, today, I'd probably call pass. 

As expected from the tone of the shade, it was hard to smooth everything out despite the lovely consistency and opacity it offered. But that's fine, a top coat finished it off and smoothed everything out.  (*´∀`*)

Just a short post, hope ya liked it! 

Hopefully I'll get that TOP 15 post up sooon! Still lacking a few products since I was so out of it last year. Eeep. 

Disclaimer: Product featured in this post was provided for review consideration only. 

MANI-MONDAY: Fall In Line

Since my last encounter with an irregular green by Revlon, Spanish Moss ($16.95), I've been gaining more interest in irregular greens, especially the ones with dusty-grey tones.

Last Sunday, as I was prancing around at the markets, I happened to cross a lovely lady who was selling sooooo many essie nail polishes. And so, I hauled home essie Fall In Line, a dusty-green with military vibes.

Fall In Line ($16.95) was featured in this year's fall collection, in June/July. Not sure if you could get your hands on em anymore... limited edition, aha.  (⌒_⌒;)

Took me two coats to hit opacity, which is the norm, really.

It's nice, but I can't imagine myself wearing it again.. especially since us Aussies have stepped into Spring! Time to rock them cute yellows, and warming corals! Kekeke. （*/∇＼*）

What do you think? 

So many assessments to do, I'm sooooooooooooo stressed! Hopefully I'll get pass them soon. I've many ideas for posts, but I just don't have time to photograph... ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ

MANI-MONDAY: Parrot of a kind

Happy Monday everyone! 

(kinda... when are Mondays ever happy unless you are at home sleeping in, haha)

I feel like I call every lighter green nail polish "one of a kind", but it is quite hard to spot a light green colour within nail ranges.

They'd have 9 tones of red, 7 tones of blue and 1 tone of green -- that is, mint. Hahaha. The last time I've came across a true light green, was probably four years ago, from Australis' limited edition range. (｡･･｡)

Well, if you've been prancing around, looking for a true light-green.. This is Parrot ($14.95) by Sally Hansen! 

As with most Sally Hansen nail polishes -- no complaints on the formula! (〃▽〃) 

Hahaha, as lovely as it looks in photos.. I actually don't quite like how it looks on my nails and most of all, against my skintone. It's just too light for me, this tone of green. 

Will be passing this onto a friend, or someone else who'd bring it into better use. Can't see myself wearing this again~ (⌒_⌒;)

On another note, whilst I'm typing up this note, I can't help but fidget with these new make-up products I bought at the markets for $20 altogether! 

Can't wait to post about them! ^_^

MANI-MONDAY: No-one on the corner have Swagger Like Us

Waaaay overdued post.

This lacquer was kindly sent to me by Australis over a month ago, before I went overseas, haha. Only slowly getting to it now. 

Swagger Like Us* ($6.95) was a feature of their Autumn collection, which I'm pretty sure, can still be found at their stockists. 

It's a light gold, with a pearl finish -- almost contrasting against my skin tone. *has tanned skin* 

Despite leaving it sitting around for over a month, the application was still so incredibly smooth. Most Australis nail polishes are like so, smooth to apply and pigmented, so this one was no exception!

Two layers for full opacity! 

On a more non-beauty related noteeeeee, I've started posting about other brands' launches on my Instagram (@the_beautifool). And will be doing so from now (hopefully) for brands which I don't think appeal to my audience ^_^

We all know I'm a bit more of a budget-beauty blogger, so for higher-end products, I've decided to pop them onto my IG instead (with self-made banners, yay!). 

Disclaimer: Products marked with (*) were provided for review consideration only. 

MANI-MONDAY: Spanish Moss

Spanish Moss by Revlon ($16.95) is probably one of the most unappealing greens when you look at it in the bottle, I must admit.

I can't remember where and when I've purchased this. I think it was at the markets, for a few bucks (cheap, as with most other things I thrift). I don't even know if whether it was myself who purchased this, or my sister, or my mum. I didn't even know about its existence in my nail stash!!

I didn't really expect to like it as much I do now. Despite how unappealing it may look in the bottle, it's a really lovely khaki green, which gives off Autumn-y vibes!

I should add that it's so photogenic tooooooooo.

The formula is extremely smooth and pigmented. I've used two coats in all these swatches, and topped off with Revlon Diamond Top Coat ($16.95). I'd recommend to top it off with a top coat as it doesn't have the glossiest formula.

Spanish Moss will definitely be staying in my collection. Initially, I thought I wouldn't like it that much, but this is definitely a keeper.

A bit weary as a shade, but still very unique and lovely to wear, don't you think?!


On another note, I've been procrastinating uni-work (and pretty much everything else) soooooo bad. Adding to that, the weather in Sydney has been really crap!


Please stay safe, stay warm and stay dry everyone!

Mani-Monday: Scuba Diving in the Sea-quins!

This is probably the most blingy combo I've ever whipped up.

I felt blue a few days ago, but I didn't feel like Serenity, nor did I feel like the regular candy blues. I was looking for something extremely blingy, so as I scanned through my nail collection, there was Sea-quins by Maybelline ($5.95), which I've never used before.

I whipped on two coats of that, but because it's so chunky, it didn't cover every space of my nails. I would've needed quite a few coats for it to be 100% opaque.

So the second time I tried it, I reached for Let's Go Scuba Diving by Face Of Australia (discontinued, $4.95) to use as a base. Very similar teal colour to Sea-quins, so I figured it'd be perfect!

And it IS!

It's one of the prettiest blue blings I've ever had on ma nails!

With Let's Go Scuba Diving as a coat, I only needed two thin coats of Sea-quins for the blingy effect, without having to worry about any gaps~

So glad to have Sea-quins in my collection, although I don't ever remember purchasing it. Eep. I was never sent any Maybelline products though, so it must be my sister who purchased it!

I think this may be the only polish I have from Maybelline's SEQUINS range, so... you know what that means...

Need to look for more! Heheh..



Disclosure: Products were purchased by me.

Mani-Monday: Miss Personality

Another first-timer on the blog today. Or, at least I think so.

Don't think I've ever reviewed Chi Chi nail polishes! I've had Miss Personality ($5.00) in my collection for a while now. I've purchased it from the markets a long time ago, for dirt cheap. For swatching purposes.

Not sure why I haven't posted about it yet. I've actually swatched it a few times. Probably because back in the yonks, my camera couldn't capture the true colour AND shimmers of this polish!

Really glossy without a top coat. Thin consistency, required three coats for a full, opaque coverage.

I am a BIG fan of the fine gold shimmers it contains. In my eyes, it resembles Bright Lights, Pink City from Face Of Australia's Barbados Collection, but lighter.. ^_^

Bright Lights, Pink City

I like Miss Personality~

Very pretty, but because I still own Bright Lights, Pink City, so Miss Personality will go into my donation-basket for Vietnam! ^_^

Have you used any other nail polishes similar to this?
With fine, gold shimmers?

Mani-Monday: LUST Lovin'!

I don't think I've ever came across a nail polish that has had such a mismatched name, than this one, Lust Lovin' by Mode Cosmetics ($2.45).

This nail polish was actually sent to me, maybe a year back! And I've only whipped it out today, with expectations of an overdue, downgraded formula~ But to my surprise, it's actually still very useable!

From the bottle, it looks watery and too thin, so all I expected was sheer and lots of layers. To my surprise, it was actually pigmented and incredibly smooth to apply. Still took me 3 layers doe.

Non-streaky as a neon, so I'm really happy with that!

The colour though, isn't one of those mega-neon shades. OK. Maybe on my hands, yes, because I'm tanned (haha). But it's actually not one of those highlighter-neons. It's bright, yes, a tad neon, but still very wearable, even for the shy ones~

Ah, for $2.45 a pop, they are probably the best after Ulta3. Just not as many shades.

You would be too, trust me on this one!


Disclaimer: Product was provided for review consideration, a year ago. eep.

Mani-Monday: Bold Sangria

Hola mi amigas~

Sorry for the MIA in the past week -- been extremely busy. And for the first time, it ain't a cover-up lie.. lol.

Who'd like a cuppa sangria though?

I've purchased this nail polish from the markets some time ago~ My mum is going to Vietnam soon, so I need to get my swatch on, to work out which nail polishes I should send back home for the [street] manicurist-Aunties who make a living off such a job. Adding to that, with barely any nice [and trendy] nail polish colours..

Anyways!

I haven't been wearing nail polishes (because of work, and I'm lazy), but whenever I see a dark shade sold at the markets, I always pick at it.

I've been into darker nails. Suddenly a bit sick of the usual muted pinks, corals and reds, so I guess hence the shift of interest~

Bold Sangria ($16.95) is such a nice colour though~ I don't think I'd let this one go. The formula is also quite smooth, glossy and pigmented. I really like it on my nails!

Reminds me a lot of Ursula by Face Of Australia, but side-by-side, this is more warm-toned! In my photos, the colour also looks almost-black, but in real life, you can definitely see the purple!

Pretty, huh?

Anyways, I shall get swatching so I can declutter my nail stash ASAP!


Have a happy Monday everyone!


Jokes. We all know "happy" and "Monday" don't really fit into a sentence together~ Hehe.

Mani-Monday: Swedish Grape Mafia

QUICK POST! QUICK POST! 

I'm a bit behind on scheduling and preparing posts, so it's 1AM right now. I have a job-trial tomorrow, so I'm super excited! However, that also means much rest, so just a quick snippet post so I can quickly head to beaut-sleep~

OH! That's right!

Happy Australia Day! AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OI OI OI!

Haha... #want

For today's Mani-Mon, we'll go with one of Australia's top budget-beauty brand, Australis. Yes. Also one of my top favez! :P

Swedish Grape Mafia ($4.95) is from Australis' METALLIC Edition (AC/ME). I've swatched one of the other shades of the same collection, Red Hot Chilli Pepper, if you're keen.

Unlike RHCP (that lovely, festive red!), Swedish Grape Mafia, as you could see, is a chocolate brown, infused with extremely fine shimmers.

It's extremely glossy and like many other Australis lacquers, its formula is really smooth!

However, the colour is not for me. For obvious reasons. A bit discriminating, but frankly, it's because it's brown! :P It reminds me a loooooooooot of my previous Revlon Parfumerie feature, Autumn Spice, but more toned down with the shimmers, and also lighter.

I only have a handful of browns in my nail collection, which I do deem to be a few too many. I mean, I'm not one for browns, so besides purchasing them for swatching and blogging purposes, there's really no other use for them. Meep.

So there they shall sit, to collect dust and rot away~ /sad

Are you one for browns? Is ANYONE one for browns???

Disclosure: Product was provided for review consideration only.