Bellabox July 2013

Bellabox arrived nice and early this month and was a lovely surprise to come home too after spending two nights in the bush camping!!

This month's theme is LUXE Beauty Travel and I don't think they mean camping!

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The first bonus item I received was a Luxe City Guide ~ Paris.  I have been to Paris twice and certainly will enjoy reading this guide to bring back all the wonderful memories of my holidays.  It is a fantastic guide to all the best shopping, dining and sightseeing available and very handy if you are thinking of travelling to Paris.

YU-BE moisturising skin cream -  apparently this has been a cult product in Japan for over 50 years. While I am very excited to try this moisturiser which can be used on your face, lips and body I don't think the teeny tiny sample I received will convince me of how good this cream is.  RRP$34.95 70g  ~ 3g sample.  UPDATE:  This is a nice cream, smells like Camphor, not moisturising enough for me, I have very dry skin but have been using this as a lip balm and it works OK.

LA FRESH ECO BEAUTY WIPES - single use beauty wipes, I received make-up remover.  RRP$16.50 for 18 wipes.  A range of wipes for your face, skin and nails using all natural ingredients.

Egyptian Magic All-purpose skin cream - RRP$49.00, 3ml sample.  I already own the full-sized jar of this product, it is fantastic for your nails and hands.   Made from Olive oil, Beeswax, Honey, Royal Jelly and Propolis this is a gorgeous skin balm for all your dry skin needs.

Clear Scalp and Hair Beauty Therapy Total Nourishing Care Shampoo and Conditioner.  These are great travel-sized samples at 50mls.  RRP$5.99 - 200mls.

GATINEAU - Primrose Gel Makeup Remover RRP$28 - 200mls - 50ml sample.  Gentle face cleanser that you wash off.  Smells nice, I don't usually use washes on my face anymore ( I use face oils) as I find them too drying but I will give this a go.  UPDATE:  This is very gentle and doesn't leave my skin feeling too tight.

Libra Hotties Heat Patches.  RRP$4.99 - 2 per pack.  They sell something like this at the camping shop, when activated they keep you warm for up to 8 hours.  Just peel & stick on your skin where it hurts.  Good for cramps, neck or back pain and if you are feeling cold in your sleeping bag like me!

MODELCO Cheek + Lip tint ~ Rosy Red.  RRP$24 - 10ml.  5ml sample tube.  This is a very red liquid tint that you can apply to your cheeks or lips, rather like Benetint.  Too red for my cheeks but I'll see how I go on the lips.

Nice heavy full box again this month and I am very happy with the selection of products I received.  I can use every product I received this month and for me that is good value.

If you would like to try Bellabox for yourself at only $15 per month please go here for more information.

Jac x0x

Whimsical & Heavenly Revlon Nail Polishes

I wanted to show you all some swatches of a couple of my favourite Revlon Nail Polishes.  I know that these polishes have been around for quite a while overseas but they have only recently become available in Australia.  I have found them at Priceline, Kmart and David Jones.

WHIMSICAL

The definition of Whimsical is  'playfully quaint or fanciful'  and I think that description suits this polish perfectly.

With just a hint of robin's egg blue base and a multi-mix of blue, pink and micro holo glitter.  This polish looks good on it's own with 2-3 coats or as a top coat for a base shade.  What I like best about this polish is that even when you add multiple layers, it is sheer enough not to dull the glitter.  Long-lasting polish that doesn't chip and gives a subtle hint of colour and glitter for those of us that don't always like to sparkle.

Whimsical (l-r) One coat  ~  2 coats

There really isn't a difference between 1 or 2 coats of Whimsical as you can see above.  You do need to gently roll the polish between coats to mix the glitter thoroughly.

Whimsical (l-r) 3 coats  ~  4 coats
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After the third coat you can certainly see more of a hint of base colour showing through.  It tends to look more blue in natural light as opposed to camera light.  Again not a lot of difference between the third and fourth coat so if I was wearing this on it's own I would stop at 2-3 coats. 

Whimsical really looks gorgeous as a top coat, imparting a delicate spray of glitter over a pastel base.  I have used 4 different bases.  The first two are;

Revlon Blue Lagoon  a beautiful baby blue with micro silver shimmer &  Sinful Colors Cinderella another baby blue with micro red shimmer.  You may be able to make out the silver and red shimmer below.  Baby blue is my favourite combination with Whimsical, I adore this shade of blue, when my twins were babies this was the colour on the walls in their room.

Revlon Blue Lagoon  &  Sinful Colors Cinderella
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With the Whimsical top coat it helps to bring out the red shimmer in Cinderella below on the right here.

Revlon Blue Lagoon  &  Sinful Colors Cinderella
2 coats Revlon Whimsical
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The next two shades are MODE Ooh Baby and MODE VIP just to show you how well Whimsical works as a top coat on pastel shades, I find it a very feminine and understated look for those days when you don't want to be too flashy.

MODE Ooh Baby  &  MODE VIP
2 coats Revlon Whimsical
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HEAVENLY

Revlon Heavenly
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This is a gorgeous multi-coloured opalescent glitter polish which is so jam packed full of glitter you only need to apply one coat and it looks gorgeous on it's own but absolutely fantastic over a dark base.  Most of these polishes are available at David Jones or Priceline in Australia.

Revlon Heavenly one coat and one coat over black polish
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I will do another review of Heavenly with a variety of coloured swatches soon.

I hope you like my swatches, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think of Revlon Glitter Polishes.

Jac x0x

Sally Hansen FUZZY COAT Textured Nail Colour ~ All Yarned Up

All Yarned Up - Fuzzy Fantasy - Fuzz Sea - Peach Fuzz - Tight Knit - Tweedy - Wool Knot - Wool Lite

While I was in Priceline yesterday I noticed this limited edition collection of textured nail polish by Sally Hansen.

They are like little jumpers for your nails and they have the cutest woolly names.

I only picked up one polish All Yarned Up just to show you guys and do a little review with some swatches.

All Yarned Up is a mix of blue, orange and yellow bars in a clear base.  They look like sprinkles you put on top of cupcakes.

1 coat - 2 coats - 3 coats
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Applies easily and drying time between coats isn't too long.  3-4 coats will give you full coverage and they really do look like knitted nails.  I recommend applying at least two layers of top coat to seal otherwise the fibres catch on everything!

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The bars lay nice and flat so there are no worries about little bits sticking up,  it wasn't too messy to apply and there wasn't much to tidy up around my nails when I finished.  I only used two coats on my own nails with no base and after seeing these photos I could probably have gone another coat.   From a distance my nails look great and they are warm and fuzzy!!

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I used All Yarned Up as a top coat on the following swatches.  I used Mode Cosmetics Nail Enamels and you can find out more about them here.

High Fashion

High Fashion + 1 coat  ~  2 coats
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CHILLAX

CHILLAX + 1 coat
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Midas Touch

Midas Touch + 1 coat
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VIP

VIP + 1 coat
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Ooh Baby

Ooh Baby + 1 coat
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My favourite combinations would have to be the VIP which is a beautiful dove grey and Ooh Baby which is a cupcake pink.  I used one coat of All Yarned Up but I did keep going over the swatches until there was even coverage all over the nail.

I really do like this nail polish and I wish I had picked up Fuzz Sea and Wool Lite too.  They aren't available online through Priceline yet but hopefully I will be able to pick them up soon.

Have you tried any of the Fuzzy Coats yet and which are your favourites?

Jac x0x

Face of Australia glitterati review ~ Boogie Wonderland

(l-r)
Boogie Wonderland - Heart of Glass - Funky Town
Dancing Queen - Studio54 - Saturday Night Fever - Lookin for Some Hot Stuff - Disco Inferno

You can find out more about these Limited Edition Polishes at the Face of Australia Website here.

Heart of Glass

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In my comments for the review of  FOA's Heart of Glass, the lovely Madeleine Lee of Madeleine in Wonderland commented that she would really like to try Boogie Wonderland, so I thought  I would do a little review and show some swatches for you all.

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BOOGIE WONDERLAND

Boogie Wonderland ~ The best way I can describe this polish is An Exploding Lavender Pinata Bomb!  There is so much glitter in there it just explodes on your nails and you can't help but get a thick helping of glitter on every nail.  Has the same tinted milky gel base as Heart of Glass but I found my base was slightly thicker than HoG and I had trouble applying thin coats to my nails. Where'is with  Heart of Glass  I felt I needed 3 coats for good coverage I was happy with 2 coats of  Boogie Wonderland.

Boogie Wonderland has a wonderful mix of glitter, the ones I could pick out were, Green, Blue and White Bars.  Small Orange, Blue, Pink, Purple and Red Hexes and larger White Hexes.  I did find I needed to roll the bottle between application or the heavier glitters tended to sink to the bottom, I had no trouble getting an even coat of glitter all over the nail because there is SO much glitter!

1 coat  ~  2 coats  ~  3 coats
Boogie Wonderland
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I experienced curling with the bar glitter and you need a few layers of top coat to seal them.  This was a bit tedious for me as I don't have time to sit there applying layer after layer of top coat and waiting for it all to dry.  This is not a nail polish I would wear if I was in a hurry.

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I had applied 4 layers of topcoat for this photo and STILL had not managed to seal the curly bars sticking up.  Anymore coats and the whole lot is just going to peel off, I think FOA should have left the bars out of this one, what do you think?

Now for some swatches.  I chose four base coats picking out the shades to match the glitter in the bottle.  I chose strong shades because the milky base makes everything turn pastel except for the last one Revlon Lily which is such a gorgeous creamy pastel I thought it would look good with a layer of glitter.

Let's Talk   ~  Sapphire Dream  ~  A Roll in the Hague  ~  Lily
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SINFUL COLORS ~ LET'S TALK ~ liked this one better with only one coat of Boogie.

MINERAL FUSION ~ SAPPHIRE DREAM ~ This is a new polish I picked up from iherb, you can find out more about the range here.

OPI ~ A ROLL IN THE HAGUE ~ I did not like this combination, too milky and ruined the gorgeous vibrancy of Hague.

REVLON ~ LILY ~ This would probably be my favourite combination.

Let's Talk  ~  Sapphire Dream  ~  A Roll in the Hague  ~  Lily
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All of the swatches above are with two coats of Boogie Wonderland, personally I didn't feel that two coats of Boogie looked too good on a different shade base except for Sapphire Dream.

In the photo below I did like Boogie as a one layer topcoat on Let's Talk (middle) it's not too busy and Lily (R) but I prefer two coats on Sapphire dream (see above) but I don't think Boogie did anything at all for OPI A Roll in the Hague (see above).

Sapphire Dream  ~  Let's Talk  ~  Lily
One coat Boogie Wonderland
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My final verdict:  I don't like this polish as much as Heart of Glass, what ruins it for me is the curly bars of glitter.  I think they detract from an otherwise gorgeous glitter and look like loose strands of eye lash or broken bits from the brush.  I felt two coats of Boogie on my nails without a base colour looked the best but I am not in love with this polish.

I picked up the complete set for $4.95 per bottle online at Makeup Express and they are also available at Fashion Addict and Priceline.  Love to know what you think,  please leave a comment below I would love to hear from you.

Jac x0x

Face of Australia glitterati review ~ Heart of Glass

(l-r)
Boogie Wonderland - Heart of Glass - Funky Town
Dancing Queen - Studio54 - Saturday Night Fever - Lookin for Some Hot Stuff - Disco Inferno

You can find out more about these Limited Edition Polishes at the Face of Australia Website here.

I haven't reviewed a nail polish in an age and I have had the entire new Limited Edition Face of Australia glitterati range for a while now so I thought I would share with you my thoughts on the nail polish I am wearing this week.

Heart of Glass

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Heart of Glass is part of FOA's disco themed glitter polishes and I have to admit I remember when this was a  Number 1 hit for Blondie back in 1979.  I didn't really like that song but I loved Hanging on the Telephone and Sunday Girl.

Heart of Glass is a milky pale pink polish with Red, Purple, Pink, Hot Pink, Holo Bars, White Glitter and Pink Hearts in varying glitter sizes.

It applies pretty easily and doesn't take too long to dry between coats.  I did have to fish for the Pink Hearts because they tend to sink and found the easiest thing to do what hold the bottle upside down between coats to bring the hearts to the top.  I found personally I needed three thin coats to reach desired opacity on it's own but only two thin coats as a top coat.

(l-r) 3 coats  ~  2 coats  ~  1 coat
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The above swatches give you a good idea of what glitter is in there and the difference between coats.  I found I was having to dab at some of the glitter to move it around.  You can also see the larger red squared and the pink hearts tend to curl but if you apply a good top coat they sit nicely.  The gel base builds up to a nice pale pink which doesn't show too well in my photo.

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This was a Limited Edition Pack I picked up from Priceline a few months ago and I thought I would use these as bases for the Heart of Glass polish.

Flirt  ~  Dreamer  ~  Elegant
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These three gorgeous shades from Revlon were the winners from a Revlon Inspires Competition where 5 Australian bloggers were invited to get inspired by their 3 favourite shades out of a collection of 24.  

Drop Dead Gorgeous Daily was the lucky winner and these were her three choices above.

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I applied two coats of Heart of Glass over the top of the three shades, I was quite happy with the results, I love pastel milky nail polish.  I haven't sealed these with a top coat but would do so on my nails to keep the glitter from curling.

When I took the photo below of my poor little nails I had been wearing this polish for two days.  In that time I had scrubbed and seasoned our campfire cast iron pots in preparation for our camping trip next week and I had just hand fed our cattle before coming in and taking this photo.  The point is, NO CHIPPING!  The nail polish has held up better than my poor skin.

Base coat - 2 coats Heart of Glass - Top coat
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I picked up the complete set for $4.95 per bottle online at Makeup Express and they are also available at Fashion Addict and Priceline.   I hope you like these swatches.  Have you picked up any of the Glitterati Range, what do you think?  Please let me know in the comments below.

Jac x0x

TAG: Would you rather: Makeup Edition...

I found this tag at the lovely Karla's blog A Beauty Obsessed Mind, please click on the link and go follow Karla.  I also found this tag at Beautiful Living, if you are not following either of these blogs please do so they are great bloggerettes!

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Karla this photo is for you, my beautiful marmalade cat Banjo, I adore her!  Anyone who has cosmetics, coffee and cats in their URL is OK by me!!

1.  Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks and lip glosses or lose all of your palettes and eyeshadows?

Definitely live without palettes and eyeshadows, I can't live without lip gloss and mascara.

2.  Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again.

After chopping my hair off a couple of times in my life and then regretting it and spending the next two years growing it back, I will NEVER cut my hair again, split ends be damned!!

3.  Would you rather have a Coral Cheek or Pink Cheek?

I would have said Pink Cheek automatically but I have discovered Coral and it looks good on me :o)

4.  If you had $1000 dollars to spend would your rather buy clothes or makeup?

I'd rather buy boots and hand bags because I have enough makeup to last me two lifetimes.  Makeup it is though because I am not really into fashion.  Only have the cows to impress and I only need to dress up as a bale of hay for them.

5.  Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner or eyeliner as lipstick?

Wow that's a hard one, that would mean either pink eyeliner or black lipstick, I'll go the black lips.

6.  Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?

Never owned a MAC product in my life but I would kill for a Sephora in Australia.

7.  Would you rather use one eyeshadow colour or one lip colour for the rest of your life?

Really I wouldn't mind using one eyeshadow and lip colour for the rest of my life.  Sure would make it a lot quicker getting ready in the morning!!  I'll go one lip colour, I am more adventurous with my eye makeup.

8.  Would you rather wear winter clothes in the summer or summer clothes in the winter?

I wear summer clothes in the winter anyway, I don't feel the cold.

9.  Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year round?

Aww I like pale nails but if I have to choose between dark and bright, I'll go bright but it better be glitter!!

10.  Would you rather give up your favourite lip product or your favourite eye product?

My favourite product would be lip balm, I would never give that up.

11.  Would you rather only be able to wear your hair in a pony tail or a messy bun?

I really like messy buns but usually wear my hair in a pony tail.

12.  Would you rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lip gloss?

I can't live without lip gloss, my lips would shrivel up and die like prunes.  I can live without polish.

13.  Would your rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all or Sharpie them in everyday?

I have been very fortunate to NEVER having to pluck/wax my eyebrows, I don't know about the Sharpie business though?

14.  Would your rather live without makeup or nail polish?

Live without nail polish definitely.  I need my BB cream and lip gloss.

OK anyone who would like to do this consider yourself tagged!  Please leave a comment below so I can come read your answers.

Jac x0x

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24HR Cream Gel Shadow ~ Revisited

maybelline.com

I know these little pots of colour have been around for a while now, I own seven of them in my favourite shades.  Maybelline in the US have since released two limited edition collections, duochrome and metal which I really really hope they will release in Oz but you could always purchase from overseas if like me, you can't wait or don't want to miss out.  I really wanted the duochrome shades they look gorgeous, I purchased the whole collection from Ebay.  I will be doing a more extensive review of these shadows once I play with them a bit longer.

DUOCHROME SUMMER COLLECTION

Blue Paradise-Cool Crush-Icy Mint-Lavish Lavender-Precious Pearl-SeaShore Frosts-Shady Shores-Waves of White
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METAL COLLECTION

www.maybelline.com

I was very reluctant to purchase the original shadows when they were released in Australia because I am not a fan of cream shadow.  I have NEVER come across any cream shadow that didn't crease after a few hours.  I saw these on special in Big W one day so thought I would pick up a couple and give them a go.  Within two days I had picked up 5 more that is how impressed I was with them.

My collection
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Color Tattoo Cream Gel Shadows are exactly that, a cream that sets like a gel for long wearing colour.  They are buildable, meaning you can wear them sheer or layer to full opacity.  What I like about this is you can use one shade on your eyelids and create layers to add depth and dimension.  What I also love about these shadows is their multi-purpose use meaning you can used them as a primer base for powder eyeshadow.  A base of a bright white or gold can be used to brighten an otherwise dull matte shade.  You can also use them as eyeliner or a highlighter.

Audacious Asphalt-Painted Purple-Pomegranate Punk-Tough as Taupe-Bad to the Bronze-Bold Gold-Too Cool
My collection swatches
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Below I have mixed Tough as Taupe and Too Cool together, it gives the normally matte Taupe a real dimensional glow and creates a whole different shade.  That is what I like most about these shadows, they are like paint you can mix your own colour combinations.  There are endless combinations you could play around with, all it takes is a bit of imagination.

Tough as Taupe  + Too Cool  =  Taupe Shimmer

I have read quite a few blogs with less than impressive reviews but I can honestly say I have never had a problem with these shadows.  I haven't tested the theory that they last 24 hours but I have used them for an 8 hour work day and then 5 hours after school training and they were still creaseless, no fading at all and looked exactly how I had applied the shadow in the morning, no touch ups necessary.

So they lasted from 7am until 10pm thats a good 15 hours, I think that's pretty impressive.

Some hints for long wear;

1.  Wear an eye primer.  I have actually used these without primer and had no problems but as a rule I wear eye primer as I work outside alot and I don't want my makeup to melt.

2.  Layer the shadow.   Maybelline claim these eye shadows are made using Ink Technology.  I dab a little on the tip of my eye brush and stipple it all over my lid very thinly, then I buff it out with a larger eye brush.

3.  When the buffed layer has dried I stipple more thin layers in the crease and wings until I have built up the dimension and  opacity I am looking for.  If you add it too thickly all at once it will crease, basically because you have too much cream shadow on your lids.

4.  With a liner brush use a little of the eye shadow to line above your lashes and below instead of eyeliner.

5.  Use Too Cool or Bold Gold just under your eyebrows and the corner of your eyes as a highlighter.

That's it really.  Just a little experimentation and you can get these shadows to work for you too.

I would love to know if anyone has tested the theory whether these shadows last 24hrs, I could never stay awake that long these days.

Please leave a comment below and tell me what your experience has been with Maybelline Color Tattoo shadows.

Jac x0x