Collective Haul: Lush, Markets, Big W, IHERB

Collective haul post as mentioned in my previous posts! :P I'm super sorry for the late postings lately.. I've been spending my time playing Candy Crush Saga after I wake up so I've been lagging everything else! >_< So badass, I know!

Anyways, my first shop stop is Big W. In my previous sales post, I've mentioned that Big W is having their once-in-a-while $3 off Face Of Australia and Australis sale again. This time is better as Maybelline is also having a $4 off sale in which I wouldn't really care for usually, but....

• Maybelline's Total Clean Express Eye & Lip Make-up Remover dropped down to only $2.72 from $6.72! Bargain! 
• Also picked up a pack of Face Of Australia wipes for $1.94 methinks.
• Totally forgot about Australis' Nail Polish Remover so I headed to another Big W the next day to grab the remaining two! These are the BEST nail polish remover and they were less than $2 each!

I've also collected a few items from the markets that's been lying around so I thought I'd include them too since there's not too much to seperate them in a different post! 

• Bath & Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom Body Lotion (not the full size) -- I have the full-size of this at home and it smells DIVINE. The scent is unbelievably sexy.. I'm not even kidding. 
• OPI "Fuji Weejee Fawn" -- Can't remember how much I got this for, but since it was so cheap.. why not?!
• ORLY mini-sized "Grape Glitz" -- For blogging purposes again! I got this, a pair of booties wedges and some other miscellaneous stuff for $5.. So I pretty much got it for free since the seller usually sells his shoes for $5 per pair!
• Paper Scissors Rings -- Picked this up for $4 at Parramatta when I was prancin' around as I was shopping for gifts for a friend.
• Real  Technique Brushes from Iherb.com -- Can't remember how much these were, but my sister asked me to grab her a set of brushes, so I thought I'd pick some for myself too :P Carted the Powder Brush and their VERY well loved Blush brush that I've heard much from the blogosphere. 

Whilst I was at Parramatta, I also stopped by Lush!

• Ended up getting him the "I Love Juicy" shampoo for a friend which was $12.95 for the smallest size.
• Two steam tablets for the face for dry skin. I'm not sure how keen I am on these to be honest.. $2.50 per tablet. Has anyone tried them?
• The lovely Lush girl gave me a free soap sample! Yay!

I've also been shopping for shoes! I didn't think I'd include these shoes in this post, but since it's a 'collective' haul post, I thought I'd share!

Grabbed these two pairs from the markets for less than $5 each. If you live in Sydney, then you must hit up Paddy's markets in Flemington on Saturday morning for cheap stuff uleh!

As for this lovely pair of black and blue heels.. these were from Big W for a marked price of $20, but I scanned these for $15! Yay! I love the colour combo and the fact that it's not too tall. I can't wear high heels, I don't think so! Meep!

That's all for my collective haul! I'm off to play Candy Crush Saga now.............. Been stuck on level 147 for one whole day! I've never been stuck this long!!!! :(


Thanks for reading everybuddy, I'll speak to you guys soon! I'm heading off to Benefit's cosmetics event tomorrow so make sure to follow me on Instagram (@the_beautifool) for updates!

4 Xmas Nail Polishes & Manicures to inspire YOU!

I wish I was a creative peanut to whip up some creative Christmas-inspired manicures to share with you guys, but sadly.. I just lack creativity. I actually thought up of a few ideal Christmas manicures, but it seems like everytime I do get to it.. it just never turns out right!

Does anyone have the same problem?!

So instead, I thought I'd share with you some of my 'Christmas' nail polish picks! These colours are cheerful and festive, perfect to wear alone or you can even incorporate them into manicures!!

First up is one of my favourites of ALL time..

ORLY's Sweet Peacock has always stood out to me as the perfect 'Silent Night' blue! It has an amazing sparkly, foily finish which are my abso-fave finishes of all! It's one of the only fewer 'eye-catchin' nail polishes which can keep me staring at my nails all day... take my words for it... all day baby!

It's consistency is thin and somewhat 'runny' BUT.. but but.. it applies to be opaque in two coats! However, with most foily nail lacquers, its sparkles does rub off into silver shimmers after a day of wear. Nevertheless, it's still one of my top favourites ever. Like.. Ever. 

But in Sydney of Australia, you see, we don't have silent nights with the oh so snowy... Instead, we have bright and hot summery days with mood-changing temperatures at night.. which is okay I guess. Better than the gloomy and rainy season!

Another nail lacquer to get you red-dy for Christmas is Rimmel's Lycra Nail Polish in Hot Rock. Red for all no matter where you're from. 

In the bottle, it's full of beautiful gold shimmers, but when applied, those gold shimmers are nowhere to be seen, how lol and sad. Nevertheless, it is a cheery red with subtle supposedly-to-be gold shimmers. Quite pigmented with a so so smooth application, but the brush is a bit flimsy. I can sure pull this off with one coat!

Don't mind the black linings, it's from the previous nail polish I swatched.. hehe.

I snagged this at the markets for $1, but I haven't ever seen these Lycra nail lacquers in store in Aussie. Perhaps you could check online or if you're from America then you may be able to find it locally!

Another red nail lacquer, but this one's more of a darker metallic crimson red, which screams "holidays!"... say hi to Face Of Australia's Flaming Lava!

Reminds ya much of the red of mistletoes.. yes? I've just received this one in my mail and it's SO pigmented and smooth! I could also go with one coat of this!

I'm very impressed with this one and hopefully other shades from this 'Colour Pro Triple Action' range remains to be consistent with its high quality! Can't wait to try other shades yayay!

Another one by Face Of Australia from an older collection ( I'm sure you've seen me posted about before here) is Calypso-Gold from their Barbados collection. This collection is now discontinued in store, but you can still find them on Fashion Addict.

Calypso-Gold is a pearly warm-toned champagne with subtle gold shimmers! It's elegant and beautiful. One of the fewer light shades that I find to look okay on my darker-toned hands hehe.

To me, the shade itself is quite festive! Sure, it doesn't remind me of anything 'Christmas-y' but it's just something about it... hmm.. do you feel me?

So that's that!

-- On to 4 simple, yet beautiful Xmas-inspired manicures that I'd love to share with you (with proper credits to their authors)!

Cute little Santas on your nails by Michelle @ LabMuffin

Creative Abstract Christmas Tree design @ Nail Side

Simple glitter manicure from Pinterest (let me know if this is yours!)

Michelle @ Lab Muffin again! Just recently discovered her blog so don't mind me! :P

Link to this nail art from her site is here >

At times like this.. I wish I owned a Konad stamping kit to make up for my disastrous nail art skills. Meep.

What's on YOUR nails this Christmas? Which is your go-to Xmas shade?

Share with my any other of your fave Xmas-inspired manicures!

I'm doing nothing for Christmas, but if you don't hear from me before Christmas.. I'm wishing YOU and your loved ones a safe and wonderful Christmas!!


Disclaimer: ORLY and Face Of Australia nail lacquers mentioned in this post were provided for review considerations only. I am not obligated to review, mention or post about these products. All opinions within this post belongs to me and remains 100% truthful and unbiased.

Favourite Nail Polishes Photos & Swatches

I've been loving to apply nail polishes lately! I never used to until I realise how ugly nails look without nail polishes!

Today, I thought I'd share with you my most loved colours, most I've included in my 2011 Favourites post and a few that I've recently tried and added to ma fave stash.

Long time favourite 'Limited Edition 2' by Australis (which obviously has been discontinued) is a gorgeous lime green. This shade really is the most unique within lower-end brands here in Aussie. You can skip the formula though, review here.

Then I had an addiction to frosty nail polishes (still do!) after testin' this Collection 2000's polish at the market in Bronze.

You can totally tell why this is a fave polish!! Soooo pretty!

Ulta3's Lolly Pop Lilac is also another pretty pale purple..... with lotsa frost!! It is super cheap and the formula is very decent! One of the best 2 bucks spent in moi life. I love it!

Then after ABBW 2011, I had an opportunity to try ORLY's Sweet Peacock which although applied gloopy and uneven, it is one of the most beautiful frosty polish shade you will ever see! Loses its frost after a day or two though. Despite that, I wore this polish for weeks and couldn't stop starin' at ma nails. I'm not even exaggerating!

All ABBWers knows I'm talking about!

But back to cremes, I was able to score some polishes from B Collection for dirt cheap at the markets. My favourite out of three I've tried is Vancouver. I love this shade for pedicure as it doesn't stand out and is really pretty when you probably don't see anything special... boo-ya! The formula is streaky for the heads up!

Another creme polish which is a fave is Jordana's Chiffon. I'm sure I had this for long now, but never laid an eye on it. Who knows it'd end up being one of my top favourite shades! It's a lovely light grey-toned mocha colour. Applies well, but from what I remember.. it doesn't last very long!

Before all these polishes came to the scene, OPI's You're Such A Kabuki Queen was what I wore all the time during highschool, I must confess that I haven't touched this polish in a long long time and I do apologise! I used to wear crimsons all the time back then but began to opt for reds with pink or coral tones instead. This is a sweet, sweet pinky-red creme polish which is a must have for moi!

To conclude the post, a fifth frosty I've loved is Sinful Colors' Secret Admirer which I must admit... I love because of the sparkles! It's just an almost-black with silver frosts which I already plan to rock out in the upcoming Fall!

Frost, frost, frost, frost. I love frost. The end.

What are your favourite nail polishes?!

Link me or share in the comment below!

Disclaimer: Products are purchased by me, except the ORLY's Sweet Peacock (which was from ABBW 2011 goodie bags).