Sleek Makeup MATTE ME Ultra smooth matte lip cream

I recently purchased four eye palettes from the Sleek i Divine range and I will be reviewing them later once I've played around with them a bit more.

Birthday suit & Petal
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What I want to talk about is the two matte me Ultra smooth matte lip creams that I purchased out of curiosity because I have never tried a matte lipstick before.  I played it safe and picked up two fairly neutral shades Birthday Suit and Petal.  

Sleek claim that; 

"The light as air texture provides you with comfortable wear for hours, that doesn't cake, flake or dry out, ensuring long lasting colour all day." 

Both are intense opaque colours which glide on effortlessy with a doe foot wand applicator and only need one coat for full coverage.

Birthday Suit
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They go on creamy and quickly dry to a matte finish.  They seem to darken a bit as they dry.

Petal
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I did find them a little drying on my lips and didn't like the feeling at all so I experimented and found that if I put a moisturising lip balm on my lips before applying matte me my lips didn't feel as dry and still produced a matte finish.

The claims Sleek make are right, I didn't experience any caking or flaking and once the cream dries it doesn't budge.  Leaves you with a gorgeous smooth matte lip which doesn't crack or wear.  I  found when I put lip gloss over the top the colour remained after the gloss wore off, so a bonus is that it has lip stain qualities and lasts longer than a regular lip gloss.

Petal    ~     Birthday Suit
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The photo above was taken half an hour after application on my arm,  I scratched at it, rubbed it and even added water and it didn't smudge one bit.  Once it's on it ain't going nowhere!!  Doesn't have quite the same staying power on your lips but it is longer lasting than normal lip products.

Unfortunately the Matte look isn't for me, I prefer a glossy look and ended up applying a clear coat of Elizabeth Arden Crystal Clear Lip Gloss over the top.  Sort of defeats the purpose of wearing a matte lip really!

I love the idea of a matte lip and would recommend them to you as they are good value and quality.  The colours are gorgeous and they do look great with a layer of gloss over the top.  So if you are like me and matte me really doesn't turn out to be your thing you will still be able to use them to great effect.

There are 6 shades available and they retail for US$6.99 each and you can find them at the Sleek website here.  Sleek do ship internationally.

Love to know if you have used any Sleek cosmetics and what your experience has been, please leave a comment below with your blog address so I can come visit you.

Jac x0x

OZ Coupons Affiliate Program for Bloggers

I was recently contacted by Oz Coupons and asked if I would be interested in trying a new Australian Coupon Code Widget for my blog.

I like to think that I am a savvy shopper and I am always on the lookout for discounts and bargains, makes the whole shopping experience just that much sweeter don't you think?  It makes me very happy then that I can share these wonderful discounts with my readers local and international in the hopes that you too can find some new aussie online stores and snag yourself a bargain in the process.

Oz Coupons have asked me to do a short blog inviting any of my fellow bloggers who might be interested in hosting the Oz Coupon widget on their blog too (see mine on the right the big pink one).  Before hosting this widget yourself you can find out everything you would like to know here at their

  Oz Coupon Affiliate Program 

I would really appreciate it if you do register that you let them know Jac referred you by adding my blog url in the appropriate field.

 http://www.matillysthisnthat.blogspot.com.au/

All their discounts are sourced from the following website please check them out.

  Oz-Coupons 

I am really happy to be able to share discount codes to some great aussie stores with my readers, I found one on there which calls to the beauty blogger in me.

   Fresh Fragrances & Cosmetics 

They are offering $5 off your first order plus an automatic 10% off if you join their Loyalty Program and a life time discount of 20% off + FREE Shipping Worldwide and FREE Gift Wrapping on EVERY order. They have a huge range of brands  to choose from and are worth checking out.

Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

NARS The Happening Eye & Cheek Palette

This is a limited edition palette from the NARS Spring Collection 2013 and I thought I would share it with you all today.

www.narscosmetics.com

This gorgeous purse sized palette contains the cult classics Orgasm blush & Laguna bronzer 4.3g each +  four eye shadows;  Night Star, Gstaad, Kuala Lumpur & Coconut Grove 1g each.

daylamp
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Coconut Grove ~ Kuala Lumpur ~ Gstaad ~ Night Star

I'm not all that happy with the swatches I have here, it was hard to photograph.  The highlight shade you can barely see at all.  I added a more intense swatch below on my finger tips to give you some idea of the colour build up you can achieve.

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Coconut Grove ~ Kuala Lumpur ~ Gstaad ~ Night Star

They are all creamy highly pigmented shades, Coconut Grove is a dense dark chocolate matte and the other three shimmer with gold glitter.  Gstaad is a gorgeous gold taupe that is limited to this palette only.  There is some fallout mainly from the glitter but this can easily be buffed away, the colours are more intense when applied wet.

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Orgasm  ~  Laguna

The blush and bronzer are a good match for my fair skin and I can build up the colour to suit my look.  They both have a nice sheen to them and the blush is a gorgeous peachy pink with gold shimmer.

www.hqhair.com

I originally was going to purchase the Nars Laguna and Orgasm Blush Duo but I saw The Happening and thought it might be nice to try some of the eyeshadows too.  I purchased mine here at HQHair when they had a recent discount on NARS products.

This palette really appeals to me when I travel and I don't want to carry enormous amounts of cosmetics. Contains everything I need for a day/night look, highlighter (night star), blush and bronzer.  All I need to pack is foundation, mascara. eyeliner. finishing powder, lipstick and it all fits neatly into a small cosmetics bag.

I purchased this overseas but I am hoping it will arrive on our shores with Spring.

What do you think of this compact, do you own any NARS cosmetics?  I would love to hear what you think.

Jac x0x

Colours of the Rainbow Tag

I have been seeing the  ~   Colours of the Rainbow Tag  ~  popping up everywhere and I have really enjoyed reading everyone's replies and seeing a few of their favourites.  I have just read the beautiful Abigail from Shrinking Wallet's tag and thought YES I am going to do this!!

The rules are easy;  basically you just pick some of your favourite products that match the colours of the rainbow and talk about them.

This rainbow was photographed in our backyard on the weekend, we all stood on the verandah oohing and aahing, it lit up the darkened sky and turned everything brilliant!

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RED

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Face of Australia  ~  Macaron  ~  Sheer Gloss lip crayon.  I don't wear a lot of red so this was a really hard one to come up with but I love this gloss on my lips.  It's the first red that looks good on me, stays put a long time and doesn't dry my lips out.

ORANGE

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This is elf's  ~   Coral   ~   a peachy orange mineral blush.  I usually wear pink but have discovered a coral tone suits me well,  I have really enjoyed this blush and reach for it quite a bit.  Comes in a sifter jar, you just tap a bit in the lid and swirl your blush brush through to apply.

YELLOW

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Mmmm yellow was a hard one but I finally found napoleon PERDIS ~ Gleamer.  I use it all the time to highlight around my eyes and face.  Has a lovely sheen to it with no glitter.

GREEN

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My favourite green would have to be this Guess bag, I get compliments on it whenever I use it.  Green on one side and Blue on the other.

BLUE

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My favourite blue would have to be  ~  Chocolate Frog  ~  from Indie Polish Maker Alanna Renee.  This is from her Magical World Collection and is inspired by the colours on the Harry Potter Chocolate Frog packaging.  You can find out more about Alanna's gorgeous polishes here.

INDIGO

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Indigo is a cross between violet & blue so I thought I would show you one of my favourite Urban Decay Palettes  ~  beauty with an edge  ~  this palette contains two gorgeous metallic shades

Gravity (violet)  ~  Evidence (blue)

PURPLE

STELLA ~  Captures the scent of a Rose in full bloom with a sensual base of Amber.   I once read that this first fragrance released by Stella McCartney was inspired by her mother's love of roses.   If I ask my boys to go choose a perfume for me to wear they invariably come back with this one, it's their favourite.  Smell plays such an important part in our memories, just the sniff of a sweet shop transports me back to my childhood, if there was ever a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for me, it would have been a sweet shop.  That heady lush aroma of sugar, big ole glass counters filled with colourful rows of bullseyes, liquorice, jubes and choc caramel cobbers and my favourites all day suckers (the ones that changed colours).  Just as the smell of Blue Grass by Elizabeth Arden will always remind me of my Nan, I think my boys will remember me too .  

PINK

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Pink isn't in the rainbow but it should be!!  It is my favourite colour and I thought it would be the easiest to choose but it's NOT because I have tons of Pink favourites.  Instead I thought I would show you the cute pink bunny makeup bag I like to keep in my handbag.

MULTICOLOURED

Top ~ normal light         Bottom ~  Day Lamp
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There is nothing more multi-coloured than a Palette and so I thought I would show you one of my favourites the  ~   pixi Early Bird  ~  this is a fantastic palette that contains just about everything you need to do your eyes and face  ~  blush, bronzer, highlighter and eye shadows.  It is really handy to take travelling because it folds up and packs flat, so no rattling around and no broken pans!

That's my Rainbow Tag, if you would like to do this consider yourself tagged!

Don't forget to leave a comment and a link so I can come read yours.

Jac x0x

Gloss 'n Sparkle Nail Polish Review ~ SpectraFlair

Today I thought I would introduce you to one of my favourite Top Coats by Gloss 'n Sparkle.

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This is SpectraFlair, a molten silver rainbow holographic top coat that you can use on its own or to brighten up any nail polish.  I especially love to use this over polishes that I would not normally wear, I just love the effect it has on brightening dull shades.

SpectraFlair 2 coats
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SpectraFlair is a course grade holographic in a clear base suspension base, so you won't have to shake every time you use it unlike heavier glitter polishes.  1-2 coats is enough, 2 coats really brings out the rainbow effect and I love wearing this on bare nails, the effect in sunlight is mesmerising.

Applies easily and drys smooth to the touch in no time.  Angela the creative lady who makes these lovely polishes suggests applying a top coat for longer wear.  Angela is based in Queensland and sells her polishes on Etsy you can visit her shop here, she also sells internationally through distributors and you can find out more about that on her website here.

Now for the fun bit, some swatches.  I found it interesting while I was going through my nail polish collection I chose mainly earthy flat tones to sample SpectraFlair with, I hope you like them.  All swatches were photographed using a day lamp.

Sapphire Dream  ~  Thanks a WindMillion  ~  Jayd  +  SpectraFlair  (1 coat)

Mineral Fusion   ~   Sapphire Dream
OPI   ~   Thanks a WindMillion
Coral Colours   ~   Jayd

Midnight Madness  ~  do you speak love?  ~  Coraliscious  +  SpectraFlair  (1 coat)
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ModelsPrefer   ~   Midnight Madness ~ gorgeous aubergine, purple first coat almost black 2 coats
essence color & go   ~   do you speak love?
Rimmel 60 Seconds   ~   Coraliscious

Jaded    ~    Muse    ~    wanna say hello
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Revlon Top Speed   ~   Jaded
Revlon   ~   Muse
essence color & go   ~   wanna say hello ~ dark brown

Botticelli Nude    ~    sweet berry    ~    dark room + SpectraFlair 1 coat
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Borghese   ~   Botticelli Nude
Savvy by DB   ~   sweet berry
MUD   ~   dark room ~ black


Well there you are, SpectraFlair certainly makes any polish special.

What are your favourite combinations?   Please leave a comment and let me know.

VIOLET BOX July 2013

Well I must say I am pretty excited with what I received in my VB this month.  It started off with the cute black box everything was packed in.  Magnetised closing lid with a purple bow.

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I was really happy with what I found inside too.

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ModelCo SHINE Ultra Lip Gloss ~ Striptease ~ RRP18.00, I have already received this in another subscription box (same shade) and to be honest I can't even remember what it was like or what I have done with it.  I don't think I am too impressed with this brand.

Aphelia Peony 9+5 Advance Beautifying Eye Creme ~ sample size ~ RRP$69 15ml.  Always excited to receive eye creams and I thought that this was a full-sized product until I opened it and there was only a tiny amount in the bottom of the jar.  I don't know if this is how much product we were suppose to receive, so if anyone else has opened theirs can you let me know?  I look forward to trying this but wish the sample had been bigger to get a better idea of what this is like and what it can do for my eye area.

Catalina Geo ~ Long and Deep Mascara (Plus Refill) ~ Black ~  RRP$31.50.  Wow I mean Wow, not only did I find a gorgeous looking mascara in the box but a refill as well!  This is the product I am most excited by, look forward to reviewing this for you all.

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Adorn Cosmetics ~  Eye Create Intensive Shadow Shade ~ Golden Quartz & Eye Create Matte Shadow ~ Coral Pearl ~ 2 samples ~ RRP$15 1.5g.  I really like the Coral Pearl, it is a pearlised pinky, peachy light golden shade with a little gold glitter, I don't know what the matte has to do with the description because it is anything but matte. The Golden Quartz is a gorgeous smokey brown shade with more glitter, it does tend to buff out though.  Both of these shades are from Adorn's normal eye shadow range, so I am a little disappointed I didn't receive what was on the card, I would have liked to have tried the matte shadow.

Coral Pearl
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Golden Quartz
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St Tropez Bronzing Mousse ~ sample 50ml ~  RRP$39.95 120ml ~ RRP$59.95 240ml.  I don't know much about bronzers for the skin as I am a

Proud to be Pale ~  Glow in the Dark ~  Casper Gal!! 

I have never used tanner but I am wondering if this can be used on your face to contour?  Might have to give it a go.  You can also use tanner to darken a 'too light' foundation.

There was also three discount cards one for Adorn Cosmetics, Aphelia Peony eye creme & Makeup AUSTRALIA.

Ok so that's what was in VB for this month.  I certainly think this is a much better selection than what I received last month and well worth the $22.95.  If you are thinking about subscribing please go here.

Did you receive Violet Box this month what did you think?

Lust Have It July 2013

When I rowed my canoe down to the mail box this afternoon *sarcasm* (torrential rain turned my driveway into a river), I was very surprised to find my LHI Box for July there, I wasn't expecting it till next week.

This month's theme is;

lustre VIBRANT BEAUTY

In the spirit of Australia's gorgeous weather all year around for July we celebrate

VIBRANT BEAUTY!

I had to chuckle gorgeous weather?  it is pouring with rain here, flooding, freezing cold and we're expecting snow this weekend!  

Something my Nan from the UK would never believe was that we get snow here because she thought Australia was all Desert and Kangaroos!!

We certainly live in a very diverse country!

This box is one of several variations but I do believe everyone will receive the nude by nature tinted moisturiser.

This is what I received this month;

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NUDE BY NATURE Natural Tinted Mineral Moisturiser with Sunscreen RRP$19.95 30ml ~ this is a full sized product and I have been wanting to try this, I wear lots of tinted sunscreen moisturisers (usually BB cream) during the summer for athletics coaching, look forward to trying this when the weather warms up.  Can be worn as a primer for foundation or on it's own.  I reallly like NBN products and they are always really generous with their samples, shows me that they believe in what they are selling.

KNOTTIES by CONDITION CULTURE Hair Ties RRP US6.25 ~ very cute little hair ties, claims to not snag or crease your hair, as I have long hair these are good to find in the box.  I received Gold and Blue ties.  UPDATE:  Loving these Knotties, they stay in your hair,  I wore it to bed and there was no slipping, no snagging and definitely no creasing, I wonder if they make a bigger one?   The only thing I can fault is I need a larger size for my thick hair, that last turn to put my hair up in a tail is tight!

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COLORSMASH by CONDITION CULTURE Hair Shadow 3g sample RRP US$15 when I first saw this I thought it was another broken eye shadow but it is actually 'hair shadow'.  I received the shade Gold Rush, the directions say; Smash it on.  Seal it with spray.  Wash it out.  Temporary hair colour.

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SCHWARZKOPF Extra Care Volume Powder RRP$8.99 10g this powder can be applied to the roots of your hair to add volume, I think it works like dry shampoo.

SWISSE Hand Cream with Vitamin F & Pomegranate 30ml sample RRP$29.95 500ml  ~ I have already received this before, good for travelling can double as a skin moisturiser, has a clean tarte aroma.

TRILOGY Active Enzyme Cleansing Cream  5ml sample RRP$39.95 150ml ~ I don't really use cleansing creams I prefer to wash my face and this sample is so small I don't think a teaspoonful is nearly enough to test how good this is suppose to be.  It would not convince me to spend nearly $40 on the full size product, these companies need to learn to be a bit more generous with their sample sizes.

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CALIFORNIA MANGO Mango and Jojoba Hand and Body Lotion RRP$3.49 62.5ml  I love the smell of mango and this has that sweet mango skin smell like when you sniff a mango at the supermarket.  Very strong aroma that permeated the box, this would be something you would wear on its own so it doesn't clash with your perfume.  I like it!  UPDATE:  I am addicted to the aroma of this lotion have been wearing it constantly since I received it.  Once it mellows with your skin it is gorgeous!!

BONUS!  HEALTH ESSENTIALS Macqui Berry Active 6g sample RRP$45 150g ~ 100% powdered Macqui Berry, maximum antioxidants, don't really get what this is suppose to do but it's very good for you apparently.  UPDATE:  I stirred this powder through a glass of lemonade, turned purple and tasted like berries!!  Yummy, I like it except for the little seedy bits but I can live with that.

That's it another month with LHI, can't say anything stands out for me as

VIBRANT! 

I do feel this month is a better effort than the boxes I have received in the last two months from LHI and I am pretty happy with the contents.  I have enjoyed playing with them all this weekend and that's what a good sample box is ALL about!

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  More COLOUR would have been nice, like the pink nail polish and makeup this model is wearing,  now that IS vibrant!

What did you receive this month?

You can read about what I received in my LHI Winter Eco Box here.