Mini Haul - BeautyJoint

I have read mixed reviews from BeautyJoint, and I was a bit skeptical about ordering from the website. However, I really wanted the Wet n Wild I Love Matte palette, and I couldn't find it anywhere for a reasonable price online (it was on Crush Cosmetics a couple of months ago, but when I went back to order it the week after it had disappeared). So I checked BeautyJoint, and there it was for $5.99. I also wanted to try one of the Milani Color Statement lipsticks, so I picked up one in Violet Volt, which was $5.69. The order took 10 days to arrive, I ordered it on the 10th and received it on the 20th of May which is fairly reasonable. The shipping cost $12.75.

Above are swatches from the palette. The shades are fairly pigmented, and I'm really happy with the second browbone shade. 

Here is a swatch of the Milani Color Statement Lipstick in Violet Volt. I'm very excited to use this. 

I will be ordering from BeautyJoint again - there are some Wet n Wild lipsticks I want to try, and some NYX and ELF products as well. 

NARS Laguna Bronzer - review and swatches

I'm pretty sure everyone and their mother has heard of NARS Laguna Bronzer. Next to NARS Orgasm, this is a cult NARS product. 

After using this on and off for the past month, I think I have a good opinion on this bronzer. Straight off, you can see the shimmer in the pan, and I have seen it on my face. I really don't like shimmer all too much, and I don't like bronzers with shimmer. I had read that this product had shimmer before I bought it, but in all the reviews I had watched or read about this product, everyone said you couldn't see the shimmer. I definitely can though, especially in the sun.

Above is a swatch without flash

Above is the swatch with flash, and the shimmer is very noticeable

Honestly, I could do without this bronzer. I'll probably get more use of this in the summer (or in July when I go to England), but it is nearing winter now. I'm happy to have tried this bronzer out though. If you love shimmery bronzers, I'd recommend this, but if you're not after a shimmery bronzer, look elsewhere. This doesn't work well as a contour shade with the shimmer, but as a bronzer this is a lovely product.

Essence Gel-Look Top Coat

I heard this mentioned in a video, and the next time I was in Priceline I decided to pick this up. From memory, it is around the $3.95 mark, and I was really excited to try this product out. It does sound like a promising product, but I was left really disappointed.

I attempted to use this product twice - last week when I first got it, and the other day. I applied two coats of OPI Steady As She Rose. My nails were completely dry before I attempted this top coat. It comes out really thick and it is hard to distribute the product because of the thickness - you just know you'll have to wait around forever for it to dry. I left my hands without touching a thing for over an hour, and this is what I was left with the next morning (just like the time before):

Every single nail had some sort of smudge or mark on it. It's really disappointing because I wanted this product to work. 

I think I'll attempt to use it one more time. Maybe a day where I have nothing to do and I can just wait around for the top coat to dry. Nonetheless, I was disappointed with this product. 

Sinful Colors Hottie - a dupe for OPI Last Friday Night

I was in Kmart yesterday and I saw a stand for Sinful Colors in the cosmetic sections - which I've never seen before in Australia (I went to Priceline after and they also had a stand for Sinful Colors, for $4.95 whereas Kmart is $4). I wasn't planning on purchasing anything, but I saw this one bottle and it looked like a dead on dupe to OPI Last Friday Night (which I love, have used about half of it and it is now a bit gloopy).

Above are the colours next to each other - OPI Last Friday Night, Sinful Colors Hottie

They do look very similar in the bottles

On the left is two coats of the OPI Last Friday Night, and on the right is two coats of Sinful Colors Hottie

The only differences I found between the two is the amount of glitter distributed. OPI has larger amounts of glitter with two coats. However, both bottles are relatively the same, and the Sinful Colors Hottie is a good dupe for OPI Last Friday Night, especially considering the price in Australia. The Sinful Colors cost me $4 at Kmart (or $4.95 at Priceline), whereas OPI retails for $19.95 in Australia. 

I can't wait to see if I can find another other good dupes from Sinful Colors. Have you found any good dupes?

MAC RiRi Woo vs MAC Ruby Woo

MAC recently came out with the limited edition "RiRi Woo", a "revamp" of the classic Ruby Woo  done with Rihanna. I was skeptical at first, because I thought the colours would be very similar, but red is my favourite lip colour and honestly, and I can never have enough red. So I took the plunge and ordered it online on Friday. It came on Tuesday, which was super quick. The website describes this colour as a cool red with a matte finish.

Here it is in the tube. A bit of the product has leaked down as you can see, and the Rihanna's signature has been printed on the actual product, as opposed to the tube (which my Viva Glam Nicki has).

And here are the two next to eachother - RiRi Woo on the left, and Ruby Woo on the right. Straight off the bat, I think it's easy to see that RiRi Woo is a bit more vibrant than Ruby Woo.

So, I'm going to say it - on my lips, I couldn't tell the two apart. On the left half of my lips is Ruby Woo, and on the right side is RiRi Woo. 

And here is a swatch on my hand. 

L to R: Essence Lip Liner in 01 Femme Fatale, MAC Ruby Woo, MAC RiRi Woo

There is a slight difference between the two products that I can see, but in all honesty if you already own Ruby Woo, you don't need this. On the lips I really couldn't tell them apart. I'm glad to have it in my collection, and if I ever run out of Ruby Woo I have a back up. 

Gift With Purchase - Clinique at David Jones

At the moment, if you spend $60 or more on Clinique in David Jones, you will be eligible for a nine-piece set of goodies for Mother's Day. This is the pamphlet I got in the mail.

So you get seven products all up, and two bags. I was really excited to try the Chubby Stick. I haven't tried any of the Revlon ones, and the Clinique was the original so I'm definitely excited to try it.

And this is the bag it all came in. I have quite a few Clinique makeup bags, and they're always good for travel.

And this is what's inside. 

From left to right:

Clinique Blushing Blush Powder Blush, and this one isn't in Bashful Blush (as it says on the card -which is my mum's favourite), but Bashful Plum - which I actually think is a really pretty blush colour!

Clinique Turnaround Overnight Radiance Moisturiser - a night cream, which I will no doubt use as I have dry skin and night creams are my best friend.

Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Radiance Renewer - I don't really understand what this is, but the pamphlet that came with this bag says it reduces the look of pores, lines and uneven skin tone, and to use it morning and night. I'll definitely give this one a go. 

Clinique Deep Comfort Hand and Cuticle Cream - dry skin, dry hands. I'll definitely keep this one in my bag. 

Clinique High Impact Mascara - I love Clinique mascaras. This isn't my favourite one, but it is a good one and I'll definitely use this up eventually. 

Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturising Lip Colour Balm in Woppin' Watermelon - I am very excited to try this out. 

Clinique Aromatics Elixer Spray - I'm not really crazy about this scent, but it's okay. I've gotten this in gift sets before but haven't really used it. 

And here's the swatch of the blush and chubby stick. 

Overall, I'm very excited to try this out gift-set out. I highly recommend spending some money at Clinique for Mother's Day and picking this up.

Sportsgirl Nail It! Polish in Rose Gold

Rose Gold nail polish. This is Rose Gold nail polish! I saw this polish in stores a couple of weeks ago and I got it last week, thanks to a lovely friend of mine.

It is a glitter polish, which might not be to everyone's preference. However, I love glitter so I was so excited to try this polish.

Just like the other Sportsgirl glitter I own, I knew I'd have to build up the glitter and one-two coats wouldn't do. I was a bit worried that the colour would come out a little orange, but on the nails I think it does look more rose gold than orange glitter.

I was already wearing OPI's Designer.. De Better!, so I just decided to put it on top. With four coats (yes, four coats) the glitter is pretty opaque. And as you can see above, the glitter really reflects light. I also put a top coat on.

I'm not looking forward to taking this off. I've been wearing it for three days now, although nail polish tends to last better on acrylics. I love this colour though, and I'm definitely happy with it. I need to keep an eye out on the Sportsgirl nail polishes, I do think the glitter ones are gorgeous.

ELF Cool Bronzer - review and swatches

A couple of weeks ago, Lipstick Republic was having a store wide sale, and I picked up this bronzer along with the Sleek Acid Palette - see review and swatches here. With the sale, the bronzer came to $4.79, which is pretty unbelievable for a bronzer in Australia. I picked this one over the warm bronzer, as I'm not the biggest fan of shimmery bronzers.

My initial thought of this product was "wow, it's too dark - how can I use this?". Personally, I wouldn't use this colour as a contour on my NC15 skin. However, as a bronzer, it works wonderfully when blended out. 

This product is pretty pigmented, and pretty dark. But it is so blendable. I easily blend it if I've put too much product on. Sometimes I like to use the lighter, left hand shades, but for the purposes of this post I've used the four shades mixed together. 

The above shot is the four shades swatched how they appear in the pan (without flash)

Above is the four shades swatched how they appear in the pan (with flash) 

Here I am wearing the bronzer all over, with flash

And here I am wearing the bronzer, without flash

I was a bit skeptical when I first saw this in the pan when I got it. I thought it was too dark, but after writing this review I think I'll definitely try to get a bit more use out of it. It is a good bronzer, and for the price you really can't go wrong. I'm happy with this purchase, and I recommend it if you're looking for a matte bronzer. 

Perfect Nail Polish Colours for Autumn

I need to start off this post by confessing that my love for makeup started with an enormous collection of nail polish - as can be seen below, particularly OPI. I love OPI, and I always get excited when new collections come out. I'm not as crazy now with purchasing new polish on a regular basis, but if it's a colour I think I need (because we all need nail polish!) I will buy it. So here are my picks for perfect nail polish colours in autumn. 

OPI Mermaid's Tears
My beloved first bottle of OPI ever. This is the polish that started it all. I've used about half of this bottle, and I can feel the formula getting a bit gloopy. There is a nail supply store near me that stocks  OPI bottles, and usually bottles from older collections, and I may replace this sometime soon. This was from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection - honestly, if you can still find any of those polishes, I'd recommend getting them. If I can't find this one in store, I saw a very similar colour in Priceline yesterday from Sally Hansen. Anyway, this is a creamy, some-what muted mint green, just a bit darker. I don't know how to explain this colour, but I will always love it.

OPI Designer.. De Better!
This is a shimmery silver with red specks in it. I absolutely love this polish when it's on the nails, and I think it is perfect for autumn.

Sportsgirl Nail It! All That Glitters
From memory, I bought this polish at the beginning of last year and Sportsgirl probably doesn't sell it anymore. I actually need to go in store and pick up Rose Gold, which is another glitter similar to this. I don't care what anyone says, I love glitter. This is a gold polish, with glitter hexagonal shapes and smaller specks of glitter. I love adding an accent nail, and chucking this glitter on top of my ring fingers. This is my go-to-glitter for that.

Butter London Yummy Mummy
This is a perfect neutral for those colder months. I love the way it looks on my nails (especially when I have acrylics). The colour has a bit of sheen to it, which makes it a lovely polish to look at.

Butter London Artful Dodger
I love this blue polish, and sadly don't reach for it as much anymore. However, it is a lovely colour for autumn and winter, as it isn't a vibrant, in-your-face blue.

OPI Suzi & the 7 Dusseldorfs
The day I saw this colour, I knew it had to be mine. It is more of a bolder colour, but the dark purple is a lovely colour to throw on during the colder months. I'd wear this any time during the year, though.

OPI The Spy Who Loved Me 
My holy grail nail polish. I'm not the biggest shimmer fan, but this polish is perfect. I love it so much. I use it on my toes almost every time I paint them, and I would use this colour every season to be honest. I just love this polish, and I had to mention it in this post. It is a red polish with goldy-orange shimmer.

OPI Steady As She Rose
This isn't really a rosy colour, but a very light, neutrally purple. This was also from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection (and I shamefully own every colour in that collection). I love this colour, but I don't reach for it as much. Maybe I'll branch out a little more in the coming months and get some use out of this colour.

OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh? 
This is a perfect neutral colour for the nails. When I'm not feeling colour, this is my go-to polish (all year round, really) but it is perfect for autumn. To jazz it up, you can always add an accent nail.

L to R: OPI Mermaid's Tears, OPI Designer.. De Better!, Butter London Yummy Mummy, Butter London Artful Dodger, OPI Suzi & the 7 Dusseldorfs 

L to R: OPI The Spy Who Loved Me, OPI Steady As She Rose, OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh? with Sportsgirl Nail It! All That Glitters, OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh? (sorry about the quality of this one, it just wouldn't focus)

But below is how I've worn my nails for the last week, and you can see the Sportsgirl polish in action a lot better than above along with another gold glitter of mine, OPI When Monkey's Fly! 

I have OPI Mermaid's Tears on all my nails, and an accent featuring Sportsgirl Nail It! All That Glitters with OPI When Monkey's Fly!

I hope you enjoyed this post, and now that I have my beloved acrylics back I will be featuring more nail polish posts on this blog. I hope you're having a lovely day!