Sunday, February 27, 2011

WET & WILD COLOUR ICON PALETTES REVIEW & SWATCHES


Howdy! :P

Hope you guys are having a great weekend so far! I had a midweek pampering session using my Essentials Honey Hair Mask and Soap & Glory Flake Away exfoliater. I haz SUPER smooth hair and smell amazingly good now! LOL I had an awesome time tanning and catching up with Janice as well as dinner with the girls yesterday!!! Gotta indulge in the sun before autumn arrives. However, I think I should take a step back from tanning, especially after the weird but vivid dream I had last night about skin cancer! 



ANYHOOS,

today's post is a more detailed review on one of my current favourite products - WET & WILD COLOUR ICON PALETTES that I got from my swap with Gwen


I have been wanting to try these palettes for the LONGEST TIME EVER but as always, the land down under doesn't stock them and even if they do, it will probably costs as much as the departmental store products in the States. Yes, cosmetics prices is disgustingly inflated here. (We have been through this heaps. I shall save this for another post.) Hence, I was delighted when I received my package from Gwen. :)


Without further ado, let's move on to the swatches before the detailed review on these palettes. :)

GREED



VANITY



PRIDE



LUST




WHAT I THINK ABOUT THESE PALETTES?


Product [5/5] - As you can probably tell from the swatches above, the product is EXTREMELY pigmented and has great colour pay off. And I like how it comes with 3 matte and 3 shimmers colours, which allows you to mix and match according to your personal preference. Personally, I prefer shimmer colours as I think it brightens up my look a little. But I don't really want to look like an over-bling-ed christmas tree either, so it's always good to tone it down with a matte colour, which is usually the brow bone highlight for me. :) Also, the staying power of these shadows is awesome!!! With my faithful ELF Eyelid Primer, these eyeshadows last forever! Even after a strenuous gym session. For the price of this palette, there's nothing more you can ask from this product! 

Price [5/5] - I think it's sold for USD5 per palette, which is EXTREMELY cheap, especially for Australian standard.  B ut to my Australian readers, it will definitely costs more than USD5 due to shipping costs and if you're buying from a local online store, the price is heaps inflated. I was lucky enough to get mine during my swap with Gwen. It will probably cost up to approximately $10 - $12 including shipping if you get it from Non Parallel Boutique, which is still fairly reasonable. (Once again, I am comparing it to other Australian Drugstores products.)


Packaging [3/5] - If you REALLY have to pick a flaw from the Wet & Wild Colour Icon Palette will probably be the packaging of the palette. It's pretty plastic-ish but that doesn't really concern me, so no biggie. 



No prize for guessing that Vanity is my favourite out of the 4 of them as I love my neutrals and earthy colours. :) I love the shimmer-y peach colour from the Greed palette as well! I will be having a Wet & Wild FOTD/FOTW series coming up - which is basically a series of different looks created using these babies. So, stay tune for that, which is coming up very soon! :P


Alright beauties, it's time for me to hit the books now. :( I hope this review and swatches is helpful to those who are looking for an awesome but affordable palettes or for those who are looking to try Wet & Wild products. :)


Which is your favourite palette out of the 4 of them?


XOXO,

Monday, February 21, 2011

SWAP WITH GWEN FROM FASHION INTERVENTION & SWAP LIFTING


Happy Monday (not) everyone! 

Hope you had a great weekend and did not wake up with a cranky pants! Don't worry, there's nothing a good cuppa can't fix! Or at least, make your Monday more bearable. :P

In order to make up for the lack of post in the past couple of weeks, I decided to blog instead of turning to my CA textbooks. (when I really should be since my first focus session is tomorrow. =.=" 3 hours after work! GG me.) 


ANYWAYS, 

it's about time to FINALLY blog about my swap with Gwen from Fashion Intervention. :) 

Gwen contacted me on twitter, asking if I'd like to do a swap after she found out that I was going to Singapore & Malaysia for a short trip over Christmas. Although I was a little skeptical after I suspected my very first swap has gone into South China Sea (ie, swap lifted), I agreed to it since I have always wanted to try Wet & Wild products! 
I was SO GLAD when I received her package at work and this was my FIRST swap package that I actually received.  (More details about swap lifting after showcasing all the goodies Gwen got me!)

Nicely wrapped Wet & Wild palettes and Wet & Wild Gel Eyeliner in Black & Eggplant from Gwen. 
As you can tell, most of the products are Wet & Wild and the lovely Gwen included a few goodies in the package too. :)

I did not take individual photos of the eyeliners but I gotta say those gel liners are as good as the reviews! I haven't been using my good ol' Maybeline Eyestudio Drama Lasting Eyeliner ever since I received these gel liners. Don't get me wrong, I have been using the Maybeline Eyestudio Drama Lasting Eyeliner for the past 1.5 years, so it's time for a change. :)

Here are the 4 Wet & Wild Colour Icon Palettes :

(For those of you who don't know, all Wet & Wild Colour Icon Palettes come with 3 matte and 3 shimmer colours - usually a lid, a outer corner and a highlight colour!)

GREED

VANITY - my ALL TIME FAVOURITE! <3 

PRIDE
I just did a "party" look recently using this palette. :P CLICK TO VIEW.

LUST

I couldn't stop reiterating how much I LOVE these palettes - affordable price, gorgeous colours, great pigmentation. What more can you ask for? 


Stay tune for swatches and review of these palettes soon! :)


Gwen also got me 3 Wet & Wild Colour Icon Pencil Liner in Black, Turquoise and Sky Blue. 

Sky Blue looks gorgeous but I am yet to try these out as I have been trying to stay within my comfort zone ( Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencils and Milani Liquif'eye Metallic Eyeliner Pencils) when it comes to waterline pencil liner due to summer! Can't wait to try them out when the weather gets cooler. 



The goodies included in the package (Thanks love! <3):

ELF Eyelid Primer - which I have been using daily now. :)

Lash Maximum Lash Enhancer - which I am yet to try out too! Will definitely do a review and let you guys know how I like this product once I have tried them out. :P

Gwen also included 2 other Sally Baked Eyeshadows in Pink and Turquoise for me but I have forgotten to snap photos of them and my camera ran out of battery! =.=" Fret not lovelies, I will try to post  up some FOTDs using those 2 gorgeous baked shadows. :)

I really had fun swapping with Gwen and we are in the process of having our second swap!!! But there's a slight delay on my side as I have been busy with work and the start of CA program! Will definitely try to get your stuff for you this week love! 

Don't forget to check out her lovely blog HERE. :P

:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:

Back to the swap-lifting I was on earlier........


So, prior to swapping with Gwen, I entered into a "swap agreement" with this blogger called Prettyholic (which I am sure many of you are familiar with her or have heard stories about her!) early December last year. And the agreement was for her to send me Skin 79 BB Cream and this 88 Tropical Colours Palette and in return, she gets to pick 45 bucks worth of stuff from Cherry Culture since stuff are a tad more expensive here in Australia (which is fair enough).
She received her Cherry Culture package 1.5 weeks after we both sent out our packages but I have yet to receive mine after 3 weeks. I have asked her a few times regarding that but she was giving me excuses like "Christmas is delaying the postage and yadadada...." After my Asia trip and it's the start of the new year but my package is still no where to be seen! And that's when I started to realise that I might be potentially swap - lifted. 

During the period while I was waiting for my package, I  have received msgs/emails regarding her being a scammer but I chose to ignore those msgs/ emails. Reason being, I have met really sweet people through the beauty blogging community and became really good friends so I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. But as time passed and no package is to be seen, and the excuses she gave are getting more and more contradicting, it suddenly seems pretty clear that I have been swap lifted. 

Mind you, this did not happen to me alone. Apparently there are few other bloggers out there who has been swap lifted and being scammed by her so-called-online-blogshop, including the lovely Grace! For those of you who knows Grace personally would of known what a lovely and nice girl she is. She bought some stuff out of good will to support Prettyholic's so-called "new blogshop" when she could of easily bought them in Singapore and she never received her stuff too!

It took me a while to finally blog about this issue as I didn't want to jump into conclusion and stir some shit (should my assumption wasn't true). But I reckon 2.5 months is MORE than enough to give someone the benefit of the doubt! And, such shameless behaviour should definitely be known to public!
Just because you needed money for your wedding, that doesn't give you the right to scam the innocents. I am sure everyone of us needs money for our own reason (be it a necessity or a "want"). That doesn't constitute a reason to swap lift or con your customers. It is just downright shameless!!! People like this is such a disgrace to the beauty blogging community!


/rant finish


So my fellow beauties out there, be cautious of who you are going to swap with. Again, don't get me wrong, there are heaps of genuinely nice people out there who genuinely wants to swap with you! 

Just a quick photo before I sign off, just so I don't have an angry ending to this post. :)

Simple beach FOTD - waterproof mascara, fill in my brows, bronzer & blusher. 
( I think I look like a kid without make up =.=")


Hope you guys have a great week!!!! :P


XOXO

Sunday, February 20, 2011

FOTD - GREEN PRIDE ft Wet & Wild Colour Icon Palette

Goodday! :)


How's everyone weekend so far?

I had a relaxing Saturday catching up with my bestie before she flew off to Singapore (I miss her already!) and sun baking at Bondi Beach all day. Not to mention, stuffing my face with so much food with the little one, it's not funny! I really need to stop throwing all my Monday-Thursday-gym-effort down the drain over the weekend - drinks and late night KFC on Friday and overly food indulgence on Saturday/Sunday. I always feel fat on Mondays. True story. =.="

I am so glad that I got most of my tan back yesterday :) I have mixed feelings about summer coming to an end (how did 3 months fly pass without me even noticing?) and autumn coming up soon. Whilst the scorching hot weather drives me up the walls sometimes, I love my tan and I don't want to go back to pasty white Adeline. Cool, chilly weather on the other hand, makes sleeping at night much easier though!. 


ANYHOOS, digression aside
( I realised I tend to explain too much at the start of every post. =.=")


For those who follow my blog/ twitter would of probably known that I usually go out on Fridays after work and barely go out on Saturdays anymore. I am too old for continuous partying throughout the weekend. =.=" That explains the lack of interesting and non-neutrals FOTD as of late. Because really, I don't think it's that appropriate to wear OTT eye make up to work, especially in a corporate environment. However, I do put on my circle lenses and natural falsies on Friday though. :) 


The bestie, C was back from Singapore for a week and of course, reviving those good ol' days together was definitely on the books! Despite being tired as from a sporadic but hectic night before and the shitty weather (think: raining and wet), that doesn't stop me from dolling up for the girls dinner and some catch up drinks after. 

It has been a LONG time since I last created an "special night out" look. Speaking about being boring... =.="

Greenish - Blue look using the Wet & Wild Colour Icon Palette in Pride I got from my swap with Gwen (which I know, I am yet to blog about. =.=") and 2 different Model21 falsies to create a more dramatic effect! 

ON MY EYES

ELF Eyeshadow Primer
Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Solstice
Matte Green from Wet & Wild Colour Icon Palette in Pride (all over the lid colour)
Shimmer Blue from Wet & Wild Colour Palette in Pride (Outer Crease)
Shimmer Green from Wet & Wild Colour Palette in Pride (Inner Crease)
Shimmer Black from Wet & Wild Colour Palette in Greed (Outer V)
Matte White from Wet & Wild Colour Palette in Pride (Browbone)
Wet & Wild Gel Eyeliner in Black
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencil in Zero (Tightline my lower lash line)
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencil in Flipside (Lower lash line)
Maybelline Volume Express Hello Kitty Mascara

I am wearing Super Nude Lenses in Violet sponsored by MUKUCHU.


MUKUCHU is currently having some promotions. Be sure to check them out if you're shopping for coloured lenses!  

All 15mm Xtra lenses from GEO are $22 until all 15mm stocks go!
All GEO and EOS lenses for $26 AUD/ $24 USD a pair.
 

PLUS 
 
Receive freebies on your next purchase!

Purchase 3 pairs: receive a free pretty lens case
Purchase 4 pairs: receive a $5 coupon
Purchase 5 pairs or more: receive a free pair of lenses


On my FACE

Etude House Magic BB Cream
Revlon Photoready Foundation in Natural Beige
MAC MSF in Medium
Milani Sunset Duo in Sunset City
MAC MSF Blush in Stereo Rose
MAC MSF Blush in Candlelight

On my LIPS
I had nothing on my lips while taking these photos but I was wearing this look with MAC Lipstick in Jazzed that night. :)

Looking hot in the straw hat LOL

You don't need an arsenal of expensive make up to create this look. Most of the products I used are drugstore products and are fairly affordable. For the higher end ones, you can always find a dup or substitute it with something similar.

Milani Liquif'eye Metallic Eyeliner pencils are awesome dups for the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencils. :)
Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Crush is a pretty coral lipstick to replace MAC Lipstick in Jazzed too.

I really LOVE all the Wet & Wild Colour Icon Palettes I got! Extremely good quality for the price you pay! I will do a detailed review soon, and probably a Wet & Wild - FOTDs - series. :P


Have you guys tried any of Wet & Wild products?
 Are you a big fan of their products??


I hope you guys enjoyed this FOTD, something different from my usual fail proof neutrals FOTDs. :)
Yours truly is off to hit the books right now ( extremely sad I know, but what gotta be done needs to be done. BOO!)


XOXO,
A


Tuesday, February 15, 2011

OPI'S TEXAS COLLECTION!


If bright, bold polishes is your thing, OPI's new Texas Collection is definitely something you would love to check out! 

Inspired by the fashion trends on the runway; where white is the new black and brightly coloured botanical prints, relaxed trousers and jackets, fuller and longer skirts have become the new fashion genre.  OPI's new Texas Collection will feature neutral tones of white, ivory, cream and taupe with the focus being all about the texture, from glossy crèmes to sparkly flecks. 

Rural girls and city slickers will all be making fashion statement in these new whip cracking shades of rich green, teal, peach, berry, honey, tangerine to soft calming hues of lavender grey, violet and pale sky blue violet.

You can be effortlessly chic with just a polish away =)


Green lovers will eat this up this soft buttery, lean, mean, kick-grass forest green, 
Don’t Mess With OPI.

Everyone loves a cowboy and it seem Suzi Loves Cowboys too, a desirable campfire chocolate like creamy molten chocolate.  

Pour yourself into a ten gallon barrel of honey toffee with San Tan-tonio, a light shade of fawn almost nude.  

Every cowgirl will love this bodacious blue-green teal, Austin-Tatious Turquoise, an interesting blend.  

It’s Totally Fort-Worth It, when you wear that shimmery lavender grey, a delicate shade that offers a hint of silver that is beyond worthy.  

Dream your worries away in this delicate pale blue-grey shade designed for stylish wear, I Vant To Be A-Lone Star. 

You will feel like an American beauty queen in this racy shade of berry, 
Do You Think I’m Tex-y?


This galactic red-violet is ready to blast off, Houston We Have A Purple

A smoking red-hot pink-red guaranteed to give you a winning hand every time,
Too Hot Pink To Hold ‘Em.  

Last but not least, the vibrant tangerine / orange crème is eye-catching and screaming for attention from the Beverly Hillbillies, Y’all Come Back Ya Hear?

Whilst getting into the spirit of Texas in Big Hair…Big Nails, a rosy pageant peach.

Become hypnotized in this engaging coastal coral, Guy Meets Gal-veston.



The Texas Collection by OPI contains no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde, and each bottle includes OPI’s exclusive ProWide Brush for the ultimate in application.


The Texas Collection by OPI will be available February 1st  2011, at leading beauty salons, spas, and David Jones nationally, $19.95 RRP incl. GST. For your nearest OPI stockists contact 1800 358 999 or visit www.opi.net.au.


Personally, I reckon this is probably one of the best collections from OPI. I LOVE all the colours from this collection, although Don't Mess With OPI and Y'all Come Back Ya Hear does remind me of Jade is the New Black and Flit A Bit respectively.

Austin-Tatious Turquoise, Suzi Loves Cowboys, and San Tan-Tonio definitely top the Most Desired List at the moment! Its Totally Forth-Worth It and I Vant To Be A-Lone Star are pretty unique too in my opinion. I really like Guy Meets Gal-vaston as I love my corals but I reckon this colour isn't as unique as the 5 that I have just mentioned and I can probably look for a similar dupe to it.


I am not sure if OPI is releasing the miniature set for this collection. If they do, I will definitely be the first to purchase them!!! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to collect the entire collection but hey let's be realistic - firstly, it is impossible that I will be able to finish all 12 full-sized bottles; secondly, 12x $19.95 per bottle - need I say more? 
( I will let you guys know once I find out :D)


What are YOUR favourites from this collection that you did LOVEEEE to own?
Or have you OWN them already? :P



XOXO,
A

Monday, February 14, 2011

REVIEW: World Series in World Green & Lioele Oil Paper


Whats up lovelies???

My apologies for going on an unannounced hiatus once again. Thanks for those who have been checking back but ended up in disappointment. :( I have just been really tired after work and gym everyday and before I can have anything productive done, it's bed time again. And I have had quite a few unplanned awesome but draining Friday nights after work. At the age of 22, I should probably be better with time management but clearly, I failed in that department.

 I know I am SO BEHIND press releases and my blog posts =.=" so I will try to have at least 5 posts up this week to compensate for that! I have quite some photos edited for them already, so I will probably draft all of them tonight and have scheduled post. We shall see about it. :) 

Excuses and ramblings aside, let's move on to the more interesting beauty-related stuff. :) 

CircleLens has sent me a pair of their Coloured Lenses in Green along with a couple of Lioele products a while ago (by a while ago, I meant around Christmas period! That shows what a procrastinating queen I am aye) for review purposes.

CircleLens is an Australian based company which carries cosmetic lenses, false eyeslashes and Lioele products. :) Don't forget to check them out! 

I am not 100% sure which series did it come from as I thought it was from the Magic Series but from the look of it, I am pretty sure its from the World Series in World Green .

Lens without any make up on.

*close up*

Lens with my current favourite FOTW look using my new Etude House Taupe eyeshadow I got during my Singapore-Malaysia trip

What I wore to work today and will be wearing for the rest of the week. :) Will do a more detailed FOTD for this look! 


What I think about this product?

As this is not from one of the circle lenses series, it appears to be more natural and less animated. For those who are new to the whole cosmetic lenses world, circle lenses are lenses which enlarge your eyes and give you a bigger pupil. I look way more animated and way more Asian when I put on circle lenses as compared to these lenses. I have gotten quite a few compliments from my friends telling me how natural they look and they couldn't really tell at first glance. (That means, I can continue pulling the I-am-half-Jamaican-half-Korean-joke. Don't ask me why but this is one of the phrases I like to use when I am drunk. =.=")

In terms of comfort, these lenses are really comfortable unless I wear them for more than 12 hours. Then again, technically, you aren't even supposed to wear normal contact lenses for over 10 hours, let alone cosmetic lenses which are supposedly drier. 

The only downside is these lenses aren't toric lenses and the power of the lenses are a tad off from my prescription. So, it does give me headache if I read or use the computer wearing these lenses. Hence, I can't really wear them to work. :( What a shame.

For FOTD - Simple & Easy Summer Look using Illamasqua Powdered Metal in Ether ft the World Series Lens in World Green

Click HERE.

The other products that were sent to me are: 

LIOELE OIL PAPER 

(That's my Kiki-K Pink Diary as background :P)
As you can see, it comes in roll-form in a PINK casing. :) At the risk of sounding like an utter bimbo, anything that comes in pink scores extra brownie points from yours truly! Hands up (or in this case, leave a comment :D) if you agree with me! :):):)


What I think about this product?

For someone with dry skin, oil paper is the last thing on my shopping list when it comes to buying beauty products. However, this oil paper came in handy in the past month or so when weather was scorching hot here in Sydney and especially when Sydney reached it's historical January temperature last week. A 10 minutes fast walk to station is enough to make me sweat buckets. Gross, but true story. Instead of using tissues (which will probably remove half of my bronzer), this oil paper is good for absorbing my sweat (and maybe some oil?) when I get to the station. 

Do keep in mind though, that is the ONLY time I use these paper. It might not be for the right purpose but it works for me and I am happy with it. In fact, I have just finished the final and last sheet last Friday. :( Good news is, temperature has been staying at mid 20s since last week, so I don't really need these oil paper anymore.

LIOELE LEMON ESSENTIAL MASK

AND

LIOELE A.C. CONTROL TROUBLE PATCH


I have yet to try the face mask and the Trouble Patch so I can't really provide much comments about them. Nonetheless, I hope this review is helpful to those who are looking for cosmetic lenses. :) 


Have a great week, lovelies!


DISCLAIMER: These lenses are sent to me by CircleLensAu for review purposes. I am not paid nor am I affiliated with them. Everything is 100% my own honest opinion. 



xoxo,
A

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