Sophisti-glitter

Oh hey there, I wasn't expecting you (just kidding, of course I was. Who else is going to bring me my nacho cheese Doritos? What, you forgot them?! Never darken my doorway again!)

This week I've been quite the little busy bee (whoops, nearly wrote busty bee - awkward) having trades people invade my house and doing exams and such, so I thought I may not have time to (gasp) give myself a bit of a maincure. But fear not oh gorgeous ones, I had a little trick up my sleeve (of wizard-esque proportions) which allowed me to squeeze one in without having to have a big slap-dash mess all over my digets. And what was that little tricky trick you may ask? It was GLITTER!

Now I'm not talking the kind of glitter polish that we all used to rock as 7 year olds (oh yeah, primary school chic) but rather a glittery concoction from OPI (by the name of Extra-va-vaganza ($19.95)) which incorporates amber, silver and greeny coloured glitter particles in quite a wonderful way like this:

And on some weird fingers I found out on the street:

The beauty of glitter isn't only in the fact that it's super fun (although that's probably like 94% of the beauty), it's also that its really easy to paint on (and build up) and if you do accidently paint into skin territory its really easy to just fleck off (yes, that's the technical term). And as someone who is quite familiar with the art of painting your nails so that someone might think that in fact a dog with a slight jitter painted them, glitter is a massively appealing option. Dancing like a maniac on the weekend here I come!

red, RED or rouge

It's Friday yo, and you know what that means - it's time for me to dust off the old wand and invisibility cloak and start up my weekly Harry Potter marathon once again. But before I lose myself in magical wonderment I thought I might just have a bit of a gab about one of my favourite things in the entire world (after raspberry licorice of course) - LIPSTICK!

Now because winter seems to have come around early this year - just like a nosey aunty who just knows (nose?) that you have left the vacuuming until the last minute before her visit - and as such I believe it is in fact minus a bazillion degrees today (celsius that is, it would be minus a squadrillion fahrenheit). Therefore what better time than turn your lips a delectable shade of rouge in order to heat things up a bit. Being a long time lover of a bright lip (perhaps because I am quite the lazy daisy when it comes to doing extravagant eye make up, or perhaps just because it is mega-fun!) I have quite a collection going on at the moment and I thought I might just share with you three of my favourite reds. Hoorah and here we go...

No.1 (the red): Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Soft Rose ($23.95)

Which looks a little something like this:

I know, I know, it isn't exactly red as in 'fire engine' but it is a lovely darker-than-pink but lighter-than-full-on-red colour which is excellent if you feel like doing a red that's not too-red (if that makes any sense at all). It's also a really low-maintenance lipstick which is lovely and smooth when it goes on and doesn't dry lips out at all - excellent all round I say. Now, rather embarrassingly, here it is on some lips which may or may not be mine (but most probably are):

No.2 (the RED): Maybelline New York Moisture Extreme Lip Colour in Royal Red ($14.95)

As seen here in my garden, where it often hangs out:

Now this is a red. And if I'm honest, I probably only wear this when I'm feeling particularly adventurous as it is a colour that kind of smacks you in the face a bit. When I do pluck up the confidence to swipe it on I make sure I go really light the eye make up, otherwise I feel I may stray into clown face territory, which wouldn't be ideal. Whilst not as creamy and smooth a texture as the Revlon lipstick, the price point is very reasonable and the lipstick comes in so many colours, it really is a bit of a champion. Oh yes, and here's me again, looking quite the fool as per usual:

No.3 (the rouge): Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte in #17 ($55.00)

Looking very sexy here:

Amazing. Enough said? No this really is a wonderful lipstick, to the untrained eye it looks very similar to the colour of the Maybelline specimen but it's just so creamy, smooth, rich, silky, other adjectives pertaining to wonderfulness, and it smells amazing - like berries or violets or something equally as delightful, it really is a dream. I bought this little beauty in Paris last year and so it's kind of become my 'very special occasion' lippie, it is a bit on the pricey side but it's so luxurious it's well worth the cashola. I'm sure you're quite sick of my ugly mug by now, but here I am once again and all YSL-ed up:

Have a good weekend!

A tad less excessive

Howdy partners,

I'm not sure if you recall but many millennia ago I posted a little ditty about the fact that whenever I am forced (by an armed guard with a very pointy bayonet, no less) to journey from my humble abode to a far off distant land (in a word, Adelaide), I feel the need to carry with me at least twice my weight in beauty products. A phenomenon which causes my long-suffering bf severe bewilderment, arm-strain and long bouts of uncontrollable swearing. I therefore resolved to cull my ever-expanding travelling beauty stash when I went a-travelling last week, resulting in this:

and from another angle, this:

 
and from a third, more birds-eye-esque angle, this:

(Don't worry, that is not someone sitting on the toilet next to the products in this last photo, it is simply the case of a very unfortunately positioned jacket)

So, as you can see, I have whittled everything down to the bare essentials:

·         shampoo and conditioner (Pantene Pro-V Extra Straight Shampoo & Extra Straight Conditioner ($7.99 each)) - I know Pantene is supposed to be really horrible and stripping (not in an erotic way) and damaging to your hair, but I've never found anything else that makes my hair as shiny and clean and, dare I say it, bouncy as this, I even kind of noticed the straightening effect on my normally terribly unruly locks;

·         cleanser and exfoliator (which I could not leave at home as my voyage fell on an exfoliation day - is everyone as anal about exfoliation as me? Not anal exfoliation obviously, although each to their own, but rather a bit finicky about facial exfoliation? Perhaps that's enough about this increasingly unsettling path I'm heading down), currently I am employing Neutrogena's Deep Clean Cream Cleanser ($13.99) - which I have been using for ages and have never found anything better than, it actually contains salicylic acid so I suppose it gives you a mini-exfoliation every time you use it - and Biore's Skin Preservation Even Smoother Microderm Exfoliator ($19.99) - which I'm really liking due to it's fine beads which aren't as rough as other exfoliants can be - to perform these tasks;

·         other products of note in the loot include Al'chemy's Ginkgo & Jojoba Intensive Moisture Vitamin Masque ($18.95) - which is excellent for making hair look (and feel) rather healthy; Formula 10.0.6.'s Deep Down Detox Ultra-Cleansing Mud Mask with orange and bergamot ($8.99) - a really good purifying mask, I usually use it after exfoliating just to make sure I get all the nasties out of those all-consuming pores; Garnier's Fructis Style XXL Volume Restructure Thermo-Active Texturising Spray ($7.95) and Schwarzkopf's Straight & Glossy Heat Defense Zero Frizz Spray ($8.99) - for volumisation (not a real word) and heat protection respectively; as well as Biotherm's White D-Tox [Bright Cell] Moisturiser ($94.00 - a bit pricey I know, but I got it in a pack with a White D-Tox Make-Up Base from Myer for about $100, so there are bargains out there to be had) and QV face's Revitalising Eye Cream ($15.99) too boot!

So I think I have gotten a little bit better, at least I shouldn't be getting back spasms from lugging that lot around anytime soon!