My Glitter Polish Wardrobe

As I mentioned in this post, I never was interested in glitter polish. Unlike many other girls with an innate glitter, sparkle and sequin radar, it just didn't take my fancy. Then suddenly something changed and before I knew it a significant number of glitter polishes had accumulated, none of which I ever wore.

I decided to make this post in an effort to remind myself to actually wear these polishes and also because I thought some of you nail polish loving ladies might appreciate it. I've linked some NOTDs I've featured on this blog to the names of each of the polishes.

I would also love some suggestions of colour pairings, because for some reason I really struggle to think of complimentary base coats that would look good with the glittery polishes...often I try things that look horrendous!

Face of Australia Glitterati Polish in Studio 54

I chased this polish all over the country, I wanted it so badly. It's a stunning rose gold polish, all the glitter one shade and hexagon shaped. It's quite a dense glitter which I like because it means you don't have to apply twenty layers.







Face of Australia Glitterati Polish in Dancing Queen

I've not really seen another glitter combination like it, but the gold and black really works in my opinion, although I've been having a hard time deciding what a nice base coat would be. Theoretically any shade should work but I'm not so sure...








Face of Australia Glitterati Polish in Looking for some Hot Stuff

This polish is actually gorgeous. It's a combination of stunning red and purple hexagon glitter with a couple of silver bar glitters dispersed throughout. I don't particularly like the NOTD I showed it in, but I think it would look so girly and romantic on a red base coat.








Face of Australia Glitterati Polish in Heart of Glass

This is the most gorgeous, sweet and girly pink polish. It has a pink base and contains a variety of square glitter in purples, reds and pinks, silver bar glitter and the occasional red heart shaped glitter. It can be a little hard to work with at times because the hearts are so large, but it is so worth the effort.

Face of Australia Glitterati Polish in Funky Town

It's actually a small miracle that I even liked this polish because I very rarely actually like blue polishes. It has a blue base leaning towards the purple side, with blue, black and silver glitter scattered about. It definitely does not need a base coat which is convenient, but unlike the clear glitters it doesn't allow for much variation or polish combinations.

Ulta3 Nail Polish in Confetti

Of all the glitter polishes I own this is my least favourite. It's not because there is anything wrong with it, not at all, rather it's just a funny kind of colour combination that I'm not used to. It contains purple, light blue and grass green tiny glitter which to me is a bit of a weird trio of colours. Once again, I don't know what kind of base colour to put under it, especially because I just don't wear blue or green polishes which is what I probably would tend to gravitate towards for this polish.

Maybelline Colour Show Sequins in Rose Bling

This was such an impulse buy that I grabbed solely because it was so cheap. Thankfully, I really loved the pink glitter and immediately made a glitter gradient NOTD that I was thrilled to bits with. It's lovely and dense and dries quite quickly, features that I like from a glitter polish.

Australis Top Coat in Specktacular 

This is a gorgeous polish when layered over black, but that's kind of the issue. I find black to be really quite intense and don't often wear it, which means this polish rarely gets to see the time of day. In the bottle it looks so drab and unappealing but it's quite incredible the transformation that occurs when it is layered over black.

Essence Snow White Special Effect topper in Evil Queen

This had the potential to be so beautiful however it kind of fell short. This contains gorgeous, quite large hexagon glitters in a clear base but it's not very dense and requires a lot of fiddling around to actually get it on the nail in an even, appealing manner. On a creamy purple base I think this could look incredible.

BYS Nail Enamel in Silver Moon

I've worn this once, over a shimmery silver polish, and in my opinion it looked quite lovely, like little water droplets on my nails. Admittedly the formulation of this polish is rather poor but it is tolerable. If I was to wear it again I think it would probably end up over the top of a light pink.



These are the ten glitter polishes that I own and now that I've made a post about them all, I realise that I seriously do need to make use of them more often because it is such a waste to have them sitting in the darkness of my drawer!

Are you a glitter nail polish fan or do you, like me, stick with the plain old kind of polishes.

Giveaway Winner!

So my giveaway has come to a close and that means it's time to announce the winner.

Thank you to everyone who entered and has been a long time supporter of my blog, and welcome to those of you who are new to YouReview!

The winner of the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Lovesick is...Laura from Polish and Patterns. Congratulations!

I've sent you an email regarding all the details.

Thanks again to everyone for entering!

BYS Blush Trio in Endless Summer

I find BYS products really hard to come by. I usually have the most luck in Cheap as Chips, of all places, however even then I often fail to reveal more than the odd lipstick and yellowing old polish. When everyone was blogging about the BYS blush trios a little while back, I was oh-so jealous and knew I wanted one. The trouble was I just couldn't find them anywhere.

It was a lovely surprise when I found them during a little trip to the shops in a small country town along the coast- and yes, I found it in Cheap as Chips. Am I totally late to have jumped on this bandwagon? Absolutely, but hey, what's new? I've never proven myself ahead of the trends but rather the kind of blogger who gets excited about a product 6 months after everyone else has declared their undying love for it. Whatever.

For $5 (down from RRP of $6.95) I grabbed one of the shades there, Endless Summer, already somewhat disappointed by the similarities between the three shades included within the palette. Seriously, if you're going to have a blush trio, at least include three significantly different shades.

Nevertheless, I still had high hopes for the actual blushes because although BYS is hardly known for its quality, it does make a damn good blush at practically no cost.

I wasn't disappointed. As has been reported by practically everyone who got their hands on these, the three blushes included within this trio are of the topmost quality. These are highly pigmented blushes that apply with ease and remain on the skin for quite a long amount of time. These easily last the duration of the day for me, unless I've been exercising or it's a particularly hot and sweaty kind of day.

BYS has never had the most remarkable packaging, and this is no different. Though I appreciate the clear top so that you can see which shades are included within the palette at first glance, it does look cheap. Similarly the overall 'feel' of the packaging, whilst it's sturdy and serves its purpose well, is simply just cheap and nasty. I don't really mind though because cheap packaging means that I can pay less for a good quality product, and who would complain about that?

Having said that, it is very sleek and compact with no unnecessary chunkiness to it. I think that the sizes of each of the blushes are really good, because there is nothing worse than a blush pan that is too small to fit your brush into!

Despite my initial disappointment that the shades were so similar, when swatched heavily it appeared as though they were in fact quite a bit different from one another. This doesn't translate as intensely on the cheeks, but there are differences between the three shades. The first shade is a hot pink with no shimmer, the middle shade a peachier tone with shimmer, and the third a deep pink, almost red with no shimmer.

I love that for such an affordable price BYS provides pigmented blushes that aren't too chalky in shades that are wearable and suitable for a range of skin tones. I really regret not picking up the coral trio when I had the chance because I don't feel as though I will be able to find them anywhere else. Though BYS is not known for consistent quality across all its products, every blush I have tried from them has been excellent.

I really recommend this lovely palette, and I'll certainly be keeping my eyes out for the shade Coral me in. I give this 8 out of 10.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here.

Face of Australia Glitterati Polish in Studio 54

I've never hunted down a polish with such desperation before. Yep, to someone who isn't a beauty blogger, I agree, it must look absolutely pathetic, but if you are familiar with the feeling of setting your heart on an unreachable product, you know what lengths you will go to, to ensure that it ends up in your clutches.

When Face of Australia came out with their Glitterati polish collection, it was Studio 54 that I was interested in, and Studio 54 alone. Somehow (it was Kmart's fault for having crazy sales) I ended up with basically every polish from the range except Studio 54, and still it wasn't enough. I had to have it.

At first I saw the golden glitter polish everywhere, but when you've been purchasing polishes for 75c due to '$4 off' sales, you kind of expect that you will never pay full price for anything ever again. By the time I realised that maybe I would have to fork out $5 if I truly wanted Studio 54 (which is actually a very reasonable price compared to brands like OPI and Essie) I couldn't find it anywhere. Certainly everywhere I went it was always the only one that had completely sold out. It seemed like every resident in Adelaide owned my polish except me! Next thing you know, Face of Australia has moved on with another limited edition range and I am left simply begging the makeup Gods to just gift to me my one polish with my promise that if such a small wish were to be fulfilled I would forever be content (until I fell in love with a new, un-purchasable polish, of course).

I didn't give up though. This crazy beauty obsessed girl perfectly reasonable blogger wouldn't be deterred by obvious facts like that Studio 54 was gone forever and would never be painted across my prepped nails. Nope, I continued to search high and low willing to do just about anything.

Christmas came and went, boxing day arrived and I found myself wandering the aisles of Priceline in a little country town where I was holidaying. Who could resist a good post-Christmas sale, right?

And there it was. Rammed behind the spotlight-stealing Carnivale polishes was my one and only, Studio 54. Could it really be true? Absolutely, and it was picked up and paid for before you could say 'Eureka,' safe in the confines of my bottomless bag. Sure, I may have paid $7 for it (more than the original retail price) and it may have been opened and used by someone too inconsiderate to use the dedicated tester, but does it really matter when I can finally sleep without waking in the night haunted by dreams of lacklustre nails begging for a coat of sparkly gold glitter? It's totally worth it. Totally.

What do you think of my polish of all time?

*When writing this post I may have gotten a little carried away with the hyperboles but the general premise of the story was absolutely true - I wanted this polish a heck of a lot. Don't worry, I'm not really as crazy as I sound, and the absence of this polish my life most definitely did not interfere with my sleep!*

HUGE Collective Haul: Fashion, Makeup, Jewellery, Books & More!

I have accumulated so much over the past three months through Christmas presents, op-shops, post Christmas sales, New year sales, giveaway winnings and birthday presents. This is an enormous haul, I know, and I have spent a lot of money, but what can I say? It's the festive season, I'm a saver by nature and I don't splurge often so it was definitely a treat. Keep in mind it was also over three months!

Makeup

- Revlon cosmetic bag and manicure set - Christmas present

- Girlz Only Dry Spray Conditioner - $2

- Maybelline Colour Show Sequins Polish in Rose Bling - $2.97 reduced from $5.95

- Face of Australia Glitterati Polish in Studio 54- $6.95

- Face of Australia Glossy Lip Crayon in Peach Parfait - $5 reduced from $7.95

- BYS Blush Trio in Endless Summer - $5 reduced from $6.95

- Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla and Macadamia - $3.40 reduced from $5.69

- Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain Set in Adore - $19.97 reduced from $40

- Model's Prefer Sweet Kisses Eyeshadow tin - Won in Amanda from Thai Tales' Giveaway 

- MAC Lipstick in Creme Cup - Incredible birthday gift from a beautiful blogger

Source for photograph of formal dress

Fashion
- Rubi Shoes Flats - $5 reduced from $15
- Sunglasses - $3 from Op Shop
- Firmoo Glasses - $15 reduced from $54 (with their Get your first pair free program)
- Flowery dress - $4 from Op Shop
- Red dress - FREE from Op Shop
- Photosynthesis Shirt - Christmas present ($20 from Think Geek website)
- My Formal Dress! - $120 from Swish Clothing, reduced from $300

Jewellery
- Colette Black and Gold Necklace - $6 reduced from $12.95
- Colette Black and Gold Square ring - $4 reduced from $7.95
- Lovisa Blue stone ring - $3 reduced from $9.99
- Lovisa Turqoise ring - $3 reduced from $7.99

Miscellanious
- Typo Notebook - $2 reduced from $9.95
- Green Tea Kimmidoll Candle - $6 reduced from $12
- Strawberry Champagne Our Eutopia Candle - $5 reduced from $15
- Lana Del Ray Born to Die The Paradise Edition CD - Christmas present
- Unwind trilogy by Neil Schusterman - Christmas present
- Giant Mug - $4 reduced from $15
- Decorative glass jars with gumballs inside - $2 each reduced from $6 each
- Washi Tape - $1 per tape reduced from $3 per tape
- Perfume by Patrick Suskind - Christmas present
- Wonder by R.J Palacio - Christmas present
- How I live now by Meg Rosoff - Christmas present
- Three printed and framed photographs - Birthday present

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here.

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Natural

I've been promising to post this for a while now, and finally I've managed to assemble a review on the NYX Cream blush in Natural. First of all, I still get excited about the fact that we can finally buy NYX products in Australia. Back when I very first developed my interest in makeup it was NYX that I was most interested in, mainly due to the youtube videos I watched where American girls would talk about the Jumbo pencils and lipsticks. Years later I finally have my hands on some of their products!

As soon as I found out that I could get NYX from Target, I immediately knew that I would be coming home with one of their cream blushes. I've heard so many good things about them, and I myself really enjoyed using cream blushes in 2013. The shade I chose was natural, a gorgeous medium toned pink that I personally feel would be wearable and flattering on a large range of skin tones.

Beginning with the packaging, being a lower budget kind of brand it is hardly top of the range, but it is not laughable either. It has a simple and effective design, is sturdy and practical and serves it purpose well.

The blush itself is worthy of many praises. The texture of the blush is smooth and silky. Unlike other cream blushes I've tried the product isn't hard and does not require warming up before use. My application of choice is with the use of a stippling brush as I find this to be the quickest, easiest and most natural looking way however it is also easily applied using the fingers. I find that this blends relatively easily which is highly important for a blush as you don't want it to be uneven on the skin. It almost soaks into the skin to leave a seamless looking glow to the cheeks.

The lasting power of this is, unfortunately, less than that of powder blushes but this is simply due to the fact that it is a cream blush and they, by nature, wear off more quickly. I would not rely on this if I wanted super long lasting wear, but for the average day it is satisfactory.

I've not tried wearing this on my lips as I don't know for sure if this product is designed for that kind of use, however it is likely that it would be as many cream blush products are multi-use.

These blushes cost $11.95 which is on par with other brands, but expensive for NYX compared to what it costs overseas. This is to be expected as (frustratingly) everything in Australia is always significantly more expensive. I think this is a reasonable price for the quality of the product - I am certainly satisfied with my purchase.

I've included comparative swatches to all the other cream blushes I own so that you can get an idea of how the shade compares.

I am thrilled with this gorgeous blush. It quickly became a favourite of mine, and I pull it out when I want a natural but healthy and pretty flush to the cheeks. I give this 8/10.

L-R: Australis Flirtatious Pink, Australis Dusky Rose,
NYX Natural, Essence Sending you kisses, Essence Ice bomb

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here.

Health How To: Drink more water everyday

This blog has always been a beauty blog through and through, but just lately I have felt the need for a wider variety of posts, namely some health and lifestyle related ones. Having blogged for a couple of years now I have realised that, the purpose of a blog is to post what you enjoy, so I shall do that! I hope you enjoy these lifestyle based posts too.

Drinking more water was a New Years Resolution of mine, and in order to actually achieve it as opposed to saying it and never following through, I came up with some strategies that would help get that water in me! I know this is a common goal for others to improve too, so maybe it might help you!

Boredom is a blessing
Funnily enough, I have found that the times when I am most bored (like when I am studying for a test, sitting in a maths class or attending a boring lunch time school meeting) are the times where I drink the most. This is because I am literally so bored that I have nothing else to do and play around with my water bottle to pass the time. If you carry a bottle around with you, when boredom strikes you will drink a whole heap and you won't even be aware that you are doing it.

Play with flavour
I never really thought about adding flavours to your water, but there are so many blog posts out there discussing healthy additions that you can make to your water to make them taste a little more exciting. From cucumber and mint to berries and lemons, there are so many cool things you can use to change an otherwise boring drink into something more exciting.

Take advantage of strange novelty bottles and cups
I'm not going to lie, it's a bit sad that this is actually an effective technique that makes me drink more water, but if I'm drinking out of an interesting and usually shaped water bottle or a pretty cup then I am more likely to drink more water. This is mainly because I want to use that cool container and the only way to do so is to, well, actually use it. My favourite is this ridiculous cup and curly straw that my Grandparents brought back from a cruise they went on. Whenever I use it I drink so much more because it is just so fun!

Drink with every meal
This is probably the easiest way to drink water, and that is by simply having a drink with every one of your meals. It is an easy and natural kind of habit to establish that really increases your water intake.

Set goals
This sounds a little strange, but at the start of the day I set goals about how much I want to drink by allocated times. This gets me thinking about drinking water and makes me remember to actually drink. At school I'll often aim to drink 750ml (the entire bottle) every two lessons because this gives me an opportunity to go to the toilet during the breaks as opposed to in class time.

So there are my water drinking tips. I actually find these really effective, and so far I've managed not to fail my New Years Resolution just yet, a definite improvement compared to what happens in other years! I hope you find them helpful too!

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway here.

Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla and Macadamia

I don't understand how I manage to acquire so many lip products. Honestly, it's getting ridiculous. My makeup drawers are literally overflowing with lipsticks and lip balms and lip crayons, and now lip butters. I can't help it, of all the types of makeup it is the lip products that draw me in the most, and when something is on sale there is no hope for me.

Priceline was getting rid of the widely spoken about Nivea Lip Butters for $3.40 instead of the usual price of $5.69 when I popped in the other day and so I couldn't pass on the opportunity to try them out. Blaming it on the need for a new product to review on my blog (which I totally don't, I have so many products I could review) I was happy to grab the Vanilla and Macadamia flavour, having read in reviews that it was more appealing than its Caramel cousin. I still don't know what the caramel flavour is like, but Vanilla and Macadamia is the most gorgeous balance of rich vanilla and nutty scent. I seriously just want to eat it.

Though it comes in the most inconvenient, unhygienic and impractical packaging it possibly could, who could ignore the adorable little tin? I hate the fact that every time I want to apply it I'm going to have to shove my grubby little fingers into a pot housing an ever growing bacteria culture, but despite this I still purchased it because it is just so darn cute.

Speaking of packaging, I think Nivea chose a really clean and effective design. I like that if you own multiple shades it is easy to identify which flavour it is from the packaging which has a different photograph according to the flavour. The tin is compact and sleek, suitable for carrying around. I expect when I go back to school this will live in my pencil case.

When it comes down to the product itself...well, it's a little disappointing. To be honest, after having read so many raving reviews about it I had very high hopes and it really wasn't as life changing as I'd imagined. Don't get me wrong, it is exactly as silky smooth as I'd read about and has the incredibly soft formula that I had hoped for it's just I don't find it to be as comfortable to wear as I'd imagined.

It's the same with its moisturising properties. I had it ingrained in my head that it was the most moisturising balm in the world that would give the most smooth and supple lips ever, and instead it's just okay. I feel that it leaves a slight film over the lips rather than soaking in completely. This is honestly not an issue as it is common with most products and it is still an effective lip balm, it's just that as I mentioned, I thought this was going to be magical.

This does leave a slight white cast on the lips, but nothing too noticeable. It gives quite a glossy finish and I imagine it would be the ideal product to use if you wish to sheer down an intense lipstick.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad product by any means. It's good, it is, it's just not fabulous. I'll take it to school, keep it in my pencil case and fend off the grubby hands of several girls desperate for a lip balm because they've forgotten to bring their own. It smells great and looks cute, two positive properties, it's just nothing incredible.

I give this 7 out of 10.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here!

Fake glasses - I'm not trying to insult you

So recently I purchased a pair of glasses. Contrary to, uh, logical reasoning, I don't have vision problems. These glasses contain no fancy lens but rather do nothing to enhance my already adequate eyesight in any way. They're not the oversized, thick-framed hipster glasses commonly viewed in a negative light, but rather petite little square shaped frames that don't even try to make a statement. So why on Earth did I hand over the cash (which actually wasn't very much I might add) for an essentially useless item? The same reason that I own more than one T-shirt and shoes in more than three different colours. Because I like how it looks.

You may be thinking that I am painfully vain. Maybe that is so, but at the end of the day we all have to wear clothes and I would assume that at least 50% of the female population (a statistic based on no reliable evidence whatsoever, just the inner workings of my estimation making brain) in the Western world enjoy a bit of unnecessary accessorising with jewellery, scarves, bags etc,etc. To wear a pair of glasses when I in fact do not rely on them in any way is to me, simply another way of completing an outfit. Why should the vision impaired ladies get to have all the fun?

Well apparently not everyone agrees. After having made the spontaneous purchase I started to doubt my actions. A little web surfing scientific research produced a whole other side to the argument whereby those who actually needed glasses for medical reasons were a little extremely irate, finding it to be a huge insult. It seems that when it comes to the fake glasses trend, you can't sit on the fence about it - you either love it and embrace it with all your heart or you hate it with a deep loathing from the bottom of your soul. Why so extreme?

I do appreciate the haters' point of view to a small extent. It must be frustrating seeing someone frolicking about with a pair of glasses they don't need when they themselves have no choice but to wear the frames they were assigned to upon discovering that they couldn't actually see anything.

Maybe short ladies feel the same way when they see a tall lady wearing sky scraper heels. I mean, tall ladies shouldn't be allowed to wear heels because they've been blessed with the long leg gene. It's simply preposterous that they indulge in a bit of shoe shopping in the heels section of the store when short ladies aren't even given a choice whether they want to wear flats! Similarly those with blonde hair should not be allowed to dye it brown, nor should straight haired ladies curl their hair because....because...I find it insulting.

See how ridiculous it is?! Of course tall ladies can wear heels, and in the same way those blessed with 20/20 vision should be allowed to play around with 'useless' (but oh-so pretty) glasses. It's not meant to be an insult, and we really do sympathise with those who don't have a choice, but when it comes down to it we're not really doing all that much harm are we? We always want what we don't have when it comes to the superfluous world of fashion, and in this case we feel like we are missing out.

Take it as a compliment. So many people are opting for 'fake' glasses these days that surely you're getting the message...glasses are attractive. You heard me, your glasses look great and to be honest they look so great I'm jealous and have decided to buy my own. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, isn't that right?

Basically, I've bought my fake glasses and I like how they look. I will admit, I do feel a bit silly wearing them around people who know my vision is fine, but around the house or around people I don't know, I love to wear them. I'm not wearing them to offend you, I'm not wearing them to impress you, I'm wearing them because I like them and there's nothing more to it.

I would love to know how you feel about the fake glasses trend, even if you are extremely against my opinion!

Also, if you've not entered my giveaway yet be sure to check it out here.