Summer's finally here!

Summer has finally arrived, and I almost forgot. How awful. The weather wasn't all that summer-y which was incredibly disappointing but I refuse to be disheartened. It's nearly Christmas and nearly my holidays and there is nothing more I could ask for.

So, how can I kick off my summer posting? I was totally stuck for ideas so I decided to consult Mr Google and he was of no use. I then turned to magazines for inspiration and they were of no use either.

So, what I have come up with isn't as interesting and exciting as I had hoped, but unfortunately my brain is a little frazzled from my busy, no chaotic lifestyle of late.
Summer Beauty must-haves
SPF - I have foundation with SPF and lipbalm with SPF that I get out especially for summer because I consider it to be incredibly important.
UV triplegard sunscreen - Sorry, so boring but can you think of anything else for 'U'! This is a sunscreen that is a little greasy but the one I have is water resistant and has never let me get sunburned!
Maybelline baby lips - These lipbalms I'm sure you've heard me raving about but they are amazing. They also contain SPF and heal my chapped lips like nothing else.
More natural - Summer is time to embrace the natural look, I think, so neutral shadow and neutral lips are my favourite looks. A golden glow is also gorgeous.  
Exfoliation - I think it is essential to exfoliate in summer - it gets rid of my sunscreen filled pores and buffs away all the sea salt stuck to my skin. Ahhh, it feels good just talking about it!
Rexona deodorant in 'Delicious' - I love this scented deodorant for summer. I find it works so well and smells just as the name suggests - delicious!

So, that was the best I could come up with. Now I shall leave you with some wonderful summer photos!

I have taken all of these pictures and they are not to be used without my permission.



This is actually a pool - the sand is fake and the water is chlorine

 

Sunbathing



By the pool...

One of the best sunsets I have ever seen

So tropical

I am so proud of this picture!

I am also proud of this one!

Another gorgeous Summer sunset

The beach

Holiday to-do list

My Christmas holidays are coming up and I'm so excited! There are so many things that I have been putting off doing because I have been too busy, and soon I shall be able to catch up on them all as I will have so much time to relax and enjoy life!

I really want to try out marble nail art. I just saw this for the first time the other day on a blog, and I was amazed! I expected it to be something really complicated that would take hours and hours and lots of special, expensive products, but I watched a couple of youtube videos and you only need a cup of water and a stirring stick! How good is that! I hope that when I give it a go I'll find it easy...I think it looks so fun! I'd love to know if you have done it before and if you have any tips or tricks on how to do it!

I also want to try out some more eye makeup looks because I haven't done any of that on my blog (except, of course, when I tried the ladybird look, and what a disaster that was!) I've been inspired by everyone elses EOTD looks!

I also want to try out some new hairstyles as I am so bored with my current ones. I hope to post some pictures on them (that is, if I actually come up with something good!)

Last but definitely not least, I really want to go shopping! I'm hoping that after Christmas when they have all the sales that I might be able to get some beauty bargains! I have a huge wishlist about ten pages long (okay, maybe not that much but it's pretty close!) of all these wonderful beauty products. It include matte nail polish, loads of lipsticks and lush and body shop products!

What are you guys planning on doing over Christmas?

The Monthly Report - Girlfriend Magazine December issue - Beauty Section

Remember when I told you about my beauty heroes and rattled on about Sarah Tarca? If you have no idea what I am talking about, read it here and then come back!

Right, now we've got past that, we can continue with the story. I recently received my Girlfriend magazine for December 2011 in the letter box, and I thought I might do a review on the beauty section.

However, before I comment on that I must warn you that the cover is absolutely hideous. Sorry Girlfriend magazine team, but I honestly do not know what on earth you were thinking. I absolutely adored the cover of the November issue (dare I say that it may have been my favourite EVER!) but the December cover, my gosh. It was awful. Never mind, you can never judge a book by its cover, can you?!

Let's begin. Page 101 is where our beauty adventures begin featuring makeup titled "bright on baby! - It's loud. It's bright. It's neon. Forget subtle shades of liner, laquer and lippie, coz this month it's all about bright orange, neon blue, electric yellow and ultraviolet. Paint it on and rock it - we dare you!"

Hmm, not my most favourite makeup look of all time, but there you go. It pictures two model shots - one with who I think is Abbey Lee Kershaw wearing fluorescent lippie, and one with two models wearing fluoro clothes and plain, neutral makeup. Wait, what?! Yes, I said it, their makeup couldn't be any more neutral at all.

Turn the page and you shall find a page of pretty things, and new items in the beauty land. Ahhhh, I drooled over this page for a while. I've decided I also want the Kit Lip-loving Kit containing a wild strawberry lip balm and a "super shiny pink lipgloss." Sounds exciting! Is it me or does adding 'wild' to the flavour strawberry make it so much more enticing? Anyway,Cassy age 14 asks, "What shade of eyeshadow should I use for school that's subtle but pretty? And how can I make my eyes look bigger?" Laurel Brown from Rimmel London responds with an answer something like "A subtle option would be a soft mushroom colour on your eyelid with a slightly darker shade either brown or grey on the lash line." Next we hear that Christmas is the season to wear pretty, shimmery gold makeup. We hear a little about Taylor Swifts new fragrance (a sample is included on one of the pages in the magazine) and we discover that a European makeup line has made its way into Target here in Australia - Essence cosmetics. Never heard of it, but Girlfriend recommends it for people who love brights! Turning the page once again we have a repeat of page 101 - it just showcases loud, crazy makeup.

On page 106 we have a beauty school page, helping us learn how to apply fake tan. I personally am not a big fan of the fake tan (hey, that rhymes!) so I just continued on...

Page 108 and 109 tells you how to deal with all your summer hair dilemmas - Split ends, frizz, oily hair, dry hair, dull hair and bleached hair is covered thoroughly. No more hair problems for you!

Then on page 110...*drum roll please*....The new Beauty guru has arrived!!! Her name is Lauren (or LC) and she introduces herself as "a hopeless romantic who tends to fall down stairs and flat surfaces a lot." She also likes bright lippies and thinks her job is amazing because she can paint her nails at her desk and her boss is totally cool with it. I think I will have to wait for a couple issues until I can make my mind up about the new beauty guru. She has big shoes to fill and I hope she can manage! Under her boss' guidance (Sarah Tarca) I'm sure she will be wonderful!

So, that pretty much sums up the beauty section for this month. Was it amazing? No. Was it good, mmmm, Girlfriend has done much better. Still, without a beauty editor, how were they supposed to have a million quality pages of beauty? I think that now that they have a new beauty buff, things will start picking up. I didn't really learn all that much or become that inspired with the beauty pages this month, but being the Girlfriend magazine fan that I am, I am SURE that it will only get better. I'm so looking forward to next month because it is the January issue, and I truly believe that every January issue of Girlfriend magazine is amazing. Usually the best for the whole year. True story!

Let me know what you thought of this post! What magazines do you turn to for your beauty?

BYS Nail Polish - Envy Me, Amethyst Metallic, Blue Bang

The colours I got in the BYS range were Envy me, Blue Bang and Amethyst Metallic. I was given these colours in a set of three from someone who had absolutely no idea of my taste in nail polish!

I am definitely not a fan of green nail polish on myself and I also dislike metallic nail polish (unless it is silver). This meant that I hated colours Envy me and Amethyst metallic. It's a shame because I normally like purple polish. This left me with Blue bang, which was unfortunate because I don't like blue nail polish on myself. Oh well, it could have been worse... well, maybe not.

Despite the fact that I hated the colours, I have decided to do a review anyway about the consistency, lasting power, chip factor etc.

Blue bang had a very thin consistency and needed lots and lots of layers. Envy me, when applied, was streaky and looked like a shocking, dodgy silver nail polish. After a few coats it was less streaky and you could see that it was green in colour. The purple polish was a little thicker than the other two and needed fewer coats.They all chipped pretty quickly.

All up I was not really all that impressed, yet I think I am still biased because I hated the colours!

Ignoring the colour factor, I would give these polishes 4 out of 10. It's a little disappointing because I have used BYS polishes in the past and I really, really liked them, but I think it just seemed that these three polishes just weren't for me!

One coat, without flash

One coat, with flash

  

Avon - Colour trend Fruit shine

I own three different Avon colour trend lip balms/glosses because I bought one and was given two. If you read on you will realise why everyone else dumped them onto me. I don't know whether to call them balms or glosses, because they are solid yet a jelly like texture. They aren't anything like I have ever seen before. In fact, if you wind them out you will see that they are translucent. Weird...

Well, let me tell you about their smell.
Raspberry Craze - Smells like burnt plastic mixed with dirt after a spot of rain
Strawberry Sublime - Much better than Raspberry Craze, in fact, it actually kind of smells like strawberry! It does also smell a bit like burnt plastic.
Pineapple Pop - Smells like the toilet that has been covered up with a cheap air freshener (no joke!)
At first I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt - maybe it was my fault they smelled so bad. Maybe I left them somewhere stinking of toilets and dirt. No, I think that is just the way they are...

Well, I'm sure I have already put you off, but I still have more to complain about. Just to get this off my chest - I hate these names! Raspberry Craze? Pineapple Pop? Aren't they just the worst names you have ever heard? I think they might be....

As for the packaging...yuck. Not attractive at all.

I can't believe I actually put these awful smelling things on my lips, but I did it in the hope that they might actually be decent. I had no luck.

The texture is just disgusting. It's like coating candle wax across your lips - stinky, gross smelling candle wax. They do not moisturise, they stick your lips together, they feel horrible, however they do give a bit of shine to your lips. Personally, I would not ever, EVER wear them again, no matter how desperate I was for shine on my lips.

I can't believe Avon has actually made something so bad. I am disappointed! Very disappointed!

I gladly give this product 0 out of 10. (Is this my worst score yet?!)



I think it would take skill to actually make something so bad

Have you guys ever come across a product so bad? I would love to hear about it!

Natio Maximum Curl Waterproof Mascara

When I first bought this mascara I absolutely hated it. I wrote a huge long review about how bad it was and gave it a 2 out of 10. Thank goodness I didn't post it because I have changed my mind.

I was in Priceline (my second home!) and wanted a decent, waterproof mascara that was lengthening and didn't clump. I wanted it to look relatively natural too. The nice lady said that Natio Maximum curl waterproof mascara was exactly what I was looking for so I bought it without any questions. "No flake, no drip, natural, beautiful lashes!" is what the lady said.

Once I got home I early opened it and tried it out. I was so cross.

It is the driest mascara I have ever used. Most people complain about wet mascaras but this was unbelievable. How was it supposed to stick to my lashes if it was already dry? I also couldn't see any visible difference to my lashes. There seemed to be no product on the brush! I rubbed the brush across my hand and I'm not kidding, the faintest grey smudge appeared. I rubbed and rubbed and rubbed and still very little mascara was on my hand. "What rubbish!" I thought, and I chucked it to the back of my makeup draw. 15 dollars wasted there!

I then went online to see what other people thought. The first site I went on, it was rated 2.5 out of 5. "Waste of money," someone wrote. The next site it was rated 2 out of 5. One person claimed that despite its waterproof claims, as soon as she used a cloth and touched it on her eyelashes it all came off. I was annoyed, I was very annoyed.

I then went and bought a new, better mascara and didn't use it for ages. Only recently did I try and use it again. Once again I had the same result, but this time I persisted, applying it again and again, putting it back into the tube each time. Something actually happened, my lashes started looking longer and more defined. There were NO clumps whatsoever, not a single uneven little bit of mascara. All my lashes were completely separated and it looked rather nice.

I quite like the tube - it is this translucent plastic which sounds awful but I think it is quite nice. You can see the product inside, and the tube feels so nice. It's really difficult to explain. The brush is also curved as you can see in the picture below.  

So, my opinion has changed a lot, but it is still my least favourite mascara. All the hassle of applying it a million times for a result that isn't that amazing is just annoying. I give this product 5 out of 10, which is better than 2 out of 10 but isn't all that marvellous.

Has anyone else tried this and what did they think?

Apologies and upcoming posts

You know how I was having trouble getting my blog title onto my banner? Well, as you may have noticed, I managed to fix it! Wonderful, yes, but I learnt how to do it just as I had sent Aly from 7 things beauty an email asking her to create a blog banner for me.
You see, I saw a post on her blog about how she was making banners for people for free and since I was having so much trouble with mine, I thought I would flick her an email. Next thing I know, my friend who is an ICT expert has gotten back to me about how to fix a blog banner.

So, thankyou Aly and sorry I didn't end up using it! Check out Aly's beauty blog!

Now I'm done with the apologies, I'll mention a couple of upcoming posts. I've been thinking about possibly writing a list, every Monday, of posts that you can expect to see later on in the week. Would that be something you guys would like or do you prefer surprises? I think I personally like a bit of both.

Anyway, this week I will post a couple of reviews - hopefully one about Girlfriend magazine's December issue beauty section (there's a new beauty expert sitting in the makeup chair!) and one on Natio's mascara. I'm also hoping I can squeeze in a lip product review too, because I just love my lip products. Unfortunately I won't be posting as often as I have been as life is getting a little crazy, but I'm still going to make sure that I post at least 3-4 times a week. Nothing worse than a blogger who blogs only once a month!

Look out for my upcoming posts!

Little ladybird

I was out in the garden getting some lettuce for dinner, when I saw these lovely ladybirds on the lettuce leaves. I haven't seen ladybirds in so long, so I took a couple of pictures and then was inspired to try and do some sort of makeup look.

Well, it really didn't work at all. It was embarrassing. I didn't wear it out in public of course, but I saw what a mess I made of it! Anyway, I took it as a learning experience and I am going to be brave and post pictures. Oh dear. It didn't even remotely resemble the ladybirds and was such a terrible waste of time. So embarrassing!

Admittedly, the camera did make it look quite a bit worse than it actually was, but it still looked as though I had two horrible black eyes. Obviously I was not expecting red to be a wonderful shade - I was aware that it wasn't going to be the most appealing look, but I didn't think it was possible for me to make such a mess. I had black in the outer corners but when I tried to blend it a bit it mixed with the red and went purple and awful.

Not only did the eyeshadow get out of hand, but the mascara I tried to use on my lower lashes (Maybelline lash stiletto) made my eyes look disgusting. Definitely an upper lashes mascara only!

Probably the only thing that worked out okay with this was the eyeliner, which is a miracle for me. This whole experience has totally put me off trying out anything other than my usual earthy/natural eyeshadow looks and everyday makeup.



So here you can see that it is not
looking too promising...





Rocking the black-eye look





The only good thing about this?
My upper lashes look pretty thick


Now I bet you are thinking that I had a sulk, wiped it all off and vowed never to ever try anything like this ever again..well you would be right. It didn't last long because then, after much thought, I decided that I could do a much better job and that I wasn't going to let something like this stuff me up. I tried again. Oh gosh, I actually tried again.

I think it turned out to be better the second time (it wouldn't really be hard, would it?) I used orange/brown colours to match the ladybird and tried to keep it as simple as possible. 

I used eyeliner and mascara, and this time it turned out to be alright. I still wouldn't say that I actually like it, but it doesn't make me want to cry so that is a good sign.



My eye appears to have changed colour
compared to last photo!



This photo looks a bit creepy!



Not the best quality but oh well...

So, that is how it all worked out. Nevertheless, I am not going to try something like this again!


Have you guys ever done a makeup look that made you want to cry? Care to share your beauty blunder stories?

Summer's coming!

It feels like years since I have posted something, when in fact it has only been a couple of days.

Friday was brilliant as it was 37 degrees so it was amazingly lovely and warm. Being the hot weather lover that I am, I found it to be just beautiful. Unfortunately it didn't last too long.

Still, I am rather positive lately because I know that summer is on its way, and summer means gorgeous weather, birthdays, holidays, good food and drinks (ice-cream, watermelon and lemonade), the beach, books and magazines, and friends. How much more could you want?

So, I have decided to do a post on my summer makeup essentials. It's probably a little early for all you summer haters but I just cannot wait to do it, so I'm going to leap right in and prepare for my summer beauty routine!

My summer makeup is significantly different to my winter makeup. In winter I think you can get away with heavier makeup whereas in summer I like to keep it as light and natural as possible. Beachy waves, glowing skin and neutral shades are my absolute favourites. I like everything to be simple and easy...

Hair
I'll be rambling on about hairstyles rather than hair products for the moment, so tune out if you're not interested...I won't talk for too long!
As much as I love the natural, beachy, long wavy hair, I find it so irritating (especially as my hair is soooo long!) to wear all the time. My best friend in summer is a loose bun which works really well with wavy hair. It's perfect after I've been swimming at the beach, and it's a bit grotty and salty and has wave to it. Another style I love is simply plaiting it. It gets it out the way and looks gorgeous. There are so many things you can do with plaits too, you can try something different everyday! A good shampoo and conditioner is also really essential in summer because if you are like me, it's salty and knotty all the time. I have personally found the Herbal Essences range to be absolutely brilliant!

Face
I know, I know, you are bored of hearing it but sunscreen is the most important thing to have. I like to kill two birds with one stone and have tinted sunscreen - avoiding foundation all together yet still having relatively good coverage. I find that wearing foundation feels gross on my skin and often slides off because of the heat and my sweating.
I don't really wear blush as much during summer. I kind of go for the bronzed, glowing look rather than the sweet, girly pink look during summer. I wear bronzer quite a bit to give me the glow.
Eyes
Waterproof mascara is a life saver! I don't know what I would do without it! I wear it all year round anyway, but it is even more important during summer because you sweat everywhere and often go swimming! Sometimes I will also wear neutral coloured eyeshadow, or if I'm feeling really brave I'll whack on some gold! I like to keep it simple.
I have been considering incorporating a little more colour with my eyes, but I'm much too afraid to! I know lots of people use light blue eyeliner to get the colour but that sounds so outrageous to me (even though everyone manages to pull it off!).

LipsIn summer I avoid the gloss and go for tinted balms. Not sure why, but it just happens! I'll wear lipstick but I got for the nude colours. I know that quite a few people think that summer is the time for bright lippies, however I think the opposite. Winter is the time for brights because the weather is so miserable!

Nails
Summer means oranges, bright pinks and reds! Ahh, I love the bright nails for summer. I want to try out some mint greens and aqua/turquoise polishes too because I really never ever try them out. I'll have to go out and buy some because I don't own any! I also want to try out patterns and nail art, because I have never really gotten into it...

As you can probably tell, I am incredibly excited about the change in season and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!

The Body Shop Born Lippy - Strawberry

Can you believe it? I finally got the lipbalm I have been drooling over for what feels like years. Every time I go to the shops I have to walk into the body shop and lather on all their body butters and smell all their lipbalms. But now I won't have to smell the lipbalms, because my gorgeous friend bought one for me. Yes, I am the proud owner of the Body Shop Born Lippy lipbalm in Strawberry.

I have been smelling it all day, except for the times that my friends were smelling it. It's so good. The smell is also rather long lasting on your lips, quite unlike a lot of other lipbalms that you can't even smell once it is applied. It's actually the most gorgeous colour in the pot too, not that that's got anything to do with anything...

I probably wouldn't call this a lipbalm, more of a gloss, but everyone I know refers to it as a lip balm. It has a super slight tint to it that enhances any colouring you naturally have in your lips, but doesn't change change your colouring otherwise.

It isn't sticky but gives you this lovely glossy finish to your lips. It smells amazing (have I already mentioned that!) but doesn't taste like anything. I love the consistency, it's like jelly. It could be considered to be a little greasy, but if you apply it lightly it is just perfect. I wouldn't carry this around in my handbag because when the heat increases it gets a little runny.

It isn't moisturising in the slightest (but it doesn't actually dry out your lips) which I why I think it is a gloss, but so many people I know use it as a balm. The only problem I have with this is that it is in the pot. It means you have to get your fingers in it. The consistency is too thick for a tube but too thin for a stick. The price here in Australia isn't all that wonderful either...

I really like this product and I shall continue to rave on about it to all who wants to listen. As sad as this sounds, I would buy it just for the smell, the fact that I can use it on my lips is a bonus!

I give this product 9 out of 10.