Beauty Favourites | February 2017

I struggled to look back over the products I've loved throughout February, it seems like a really month and at the same time I have no idea how we're through with the second month of 2017. There are a lot of products I've used and loved this month BUT I have only included the products that I have loved AND used consistently throughout the whole month.

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation 

Sometime last year this foundation was a favourite of mine. But as I love exploring new options, it eventually found itself un-used and shoved at the back of my drawer. I have started using this foundation again and really love it. The lasting powder is really good, especially when set with a power. It doesn't cling to any of my dry patches and

Sometime last year this foundation was a favourite of mine. But as I love exploring new products it eventually found itself shoved at the back of my drawer. I started using this foundation again and have remembered why I loved it so much! It lasts for a good amount of time, especially when set with a powder. It doesn't cling to my dry patches and gives my skin a nice texture and like the sticker on the bottle, it makes my skin look dewy + smooth.

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream 

I have always had rough and dry skin around my nails. I use hand cream but this cuticle cream from Burt's Bees has helped get rid off all that dry peeling skin. After using this nightly for around a week, my skin looked dramatically better. I highly recommend this cuticle cream!!!

Fanola Nutricare Shampoo* 

Full disclosure, I received this product for review purposes. However my opinion is 100% honest and unscripted. First up, this shampoo gets bonus brownie points for it's scent - it's a very calming warm scent that is described on the label as "milky". I also detect caramel/vanilla scents, I think? I'm dreadful at identifying scents but I do know Inlove this scent! The shampoo is quite liquid-y and lathers nicely into my hair. It doesn't strip my hair or make my hair feel too squeaky clean after use but does make my hair feel clean. I would definitely considering purchasing this shampoo with my own money (you can buy it from https://amr.com.au)

Mecca Cosmetica Happy Hands Hydrating Hand Cream (Limited Edition)

First of all, I am really sorry this was a limited edition product from Christmas. However I am hoping that this hand cream reappears again, or perhaps there is also already a hand cream in the Mecca Cosmetica line? This hand cream makes me so happy! :) It smells divine, it reminds of a fancy hotel room??? and it really moisturises your hands well without leaving behind any residue. I don't need to mention the gorgeous rose gold packaging, do I?!?!?!

O.P.I 'Ducle De Leche' Nail Polish 

I can't say no to a good pinky nude nail polish and in February 'Dulce De leech' from O.PI won my heart. I absolutely adore this shade and have re-applied it to my nails multiple times this month. I rarely reapply the same colour to my nails back-to-back however this polish is really perfect.

Milani Baked Blush 'Luminoso'

This blush gets so much hype and I do think it is deserves it. It gives your cheeks a healthy pinch of colour and a glow that is beautiful but not OTT. I also like this blush because it's easy to apply and you don't have to be too careful with it.

Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lipcolour in 'Desert'

This is a brand new lipstick that Revlon just launched in February and I LOVE IT!!! The colour 'Desert' is my favourite type of lip shade, a warm pinky peach nude. You get great pigmentation, hydration and lasting power with these new lipsticks. You can expect a review of these on the blog soon.

April Beauty Favourites

For me April was a nail polish month. I fell in love with so many gorgeous polishes. But before we talk about stunning shades lets talk about my new favourite base coat. A good base coat can be a game changer! The Complete Care 7 in 1 Nail Treatment from Sally Hansen is a fabulous base coat. It dries quickly and has been doing wonders for my neglected nails. It dries clear and shiny.

The shade 'Rose Glass' from Sally Hansen's Salon Manicure collection is now one of my all-time favourite polishes and that is saying a lot for somebody who has hundreds of nail polishes. It is a gorgeous warm-toned pale pink that is so very pretty. It isn't nude but is still appropriate for any occasion.

'Show Us Your Tips!' from OPI's new 'New Orleans' collection is like no other polish I own. It is an amazing periwinkle blue-toned mauve (does that make sense) with silver shimmer. The formula is quite thin so you definitely need more than two coats. However I am more than willing to overlook this because once you build this up to be 100% opaque it is 100% stunning. Go google some swatches, it might look meh in the bottle but on the nail it is stunning. Seriously.

Lanolips Intense Hand Balm is a balm that you warm up and then it sinks into your skin. This balm is great if you have very dry hands. I like to spot apply it onto my cuticles and fingers however I wouldn't recommend them applying it all over your hands until the end of the night because you can "feel" it on your hands. Or maybe I just apply way to much?! Either way I know this will be great for the coming winter months.

Prada's 'Candy' Perfume has been my go-to perfume. I have been looking for a perfume that can replace my beloved 'So Hooked on Carmella' from Benefit which is discontinued. This one isn't identical but it is still a gorgeous perfume. I'm rubbish at describing scents so I googled it and apparently it is caramel, sweet, warm spicy, musky and balsamic. I say just go and have a sniff next time you are near the perfume department :)

Not technically a "beauty" favourite but it is beautiful so I'm going to quickly mention the Medium Supernatural Pouch from Mimco, isn't the print divine?!!!!!!!!

At the end of March Priceline had their famous 40% off all make-up and I brought enough foundations to cover the surface of Earth...well maybe not quite but nearly! Anyway there is not a single foundation I want to talk about. Some of them are promising but none of they instantly gained holy grail status. The search for the perfect foundation continues...let me know if you have any recommendations.

Want to check out what I loved in April last year? Here is the link to last years April Favourites: http://theblogforbeautifulliving.blogspot.com.au/2015/05/april-beauty-favourites.html 

Have a wonderful May :)

4 Spring-like Beauty Products

Spring is here, the sun is starting to shine and you can now brave the outdoors without wearing a zillion layers. Well at least some of the time... To celebrate I wanted to write a blog post about some products that are perfect for this time of year. It's still too cold to break out the summer dresses but we can get into the spring mood with our make-up at least! Step one, think pink. Step two, step outside and soak up the sunshine.

Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in 'Magnolia'

This is a peachy pink that I think is perfect for any occasion. It's a good alternative for a nude or 'my lips but better shade'. I have been reaching for the lipstick a lot lately: it's a fun colour,  isn't as boring as a nude and looks great all the time. The pigmentation is pretty good, the formula is lightweight and super creamy and the lasting power is the typical 1-2 hours. It is really comfortable and feels moisturising. It also smells really nice and sweet.

Maybelline 'Pink Me Up' Lipstick

'Pink Me Up' is a deep warm-toned pink that sits on the line between a 'bold lip' and a 'not so bold' lip - which I love because I don't like wearing bold lips. They look great on other people...just not me! This a gorgeous pink shade that I fell in love with the first time I wore it. It would be great for an evening out or with a natural smokey eye. Maybelline's lipstick formula is becoming one of my favourites and is definitely worth checking out.


Revlon Ultra HD Lip Lacquer in 'Petalite'

A new addition to Revlon's product line are these 'Ultra HD Lip Lacquers'. Expect a full review on my blog soon but meanwhile I will focus on this pretty shade called 'Petalite'. 'Petalite' is a pretty pale pink with gold shimmer. It's a pretty standard gloss - doesn't stick around for ages and isn't super pigmented BUT it is one of those glosses that you can just whack on and you're ready to go. A good shade to reach for when you want a natural looking pink lip.

OPI Nailpolish in 'Hands Off My Kielbasa'

I know this whole post has been brainwashing you to "think pink" but this nail polish leans more towards the orange-y coral side of things. But because it screams "spring" to me it had to be included. This is a super pretty peachy polish with shimmer. I feel like the polish is glowing from within - does that make sense? Gorgeous!!! It's currently on my nails and it's soooooooo pretty and really shimmery! Did I use the word 'pretty' too much whilst describing this polish?

31 day challenge - day 27 - inspired by you

Hi guys!!! Today the prompt for the 31 day challenge was "inspired by you". Now I don't particularly like skittle mani's and crackle polish isn't my favourite type of polish but this manicure which is suppose to represent me includes both! Weird huh? 

Anyway who am I? I am a student studying to be a clinical neuropsychologist, I love nail polish, handbags, shoes, books, interior decorating and I am a TV junkie. I consider myself to be a bit quirky, a bit unique, very  conscientiousness, fun ....and a bit random! And perhaps most importantly, I don't care what people think, I am who I am :) I don't believe in following trends and having to think what everybody else thinks!

 Oh and did I mention I was indecisive? I couldn't even decide what type of mani I wanted to do today!!!! I ended up doing a skittle with the following colours (and then adding OPI's 'silver shatter' ontop): Unamed polish by Solace, Timbleberry by Sinful Colors, Endless Blue by Sinful Colors and Be Happy by Sinful Colors.

These photographs are of my rarely seen right hand so apologies for the weird photos. I find it so difficult to hold the camera in my left hand!

I am really in love with how this crackle turned out. Crackle, I find, can be quite unpredictable but this crackle turned out quite awesome I think. 

Thanks for reading, take care :)

P.S --> sorry for the wonky formatting on this post. My computer just won't behave! GAH!!!!

The Battle Nail Polish - Pink Vs. Purple Manicure Part Three

Okay so this is the final instalment of the pink vs. purple battle of the battle nail challenge. Same as the previous purple manicure I showed you a few days ago, this one was also done on my awesome friends' nails because mine are still growing! Haven't painted them for two weeks and they are already looking more healthy, yay!!!! Hopefully I can start wearing polish again!!!!!

Anyway, this is Revlon's Bold Sangria with OPI's silver shatter layered over the top. Seriously - I think this is the best shatter I think I have ever seen!!!!! It looks amazing :) I guess that is the bad thing with shatter polishes, they are always unique and sometimes you get good cracks and sometimes, not so good! Please ignore the lack of clean-up, ran out of nail polish remover :(

Amazing? I think so!

Thanks for reading and please check out the other great bloggers doing this challenge:

Participants

Nail Polish Anon

http://nailpolishanon.blogspot.com.au/

Mateja Mateja

http://mateji.blogspot.com.au/

Simran Sekhon

http://lacqueredtips.blogspot.com

Love My Nails

http://anindiesgirlspassion.blogspot.com.au/

Zoe x

http://wondrous-marvellous-obsession.blogspot.co.uk/
Natalsie
http://cats-n-nails.blogspot.com.au/
Jibber Jabber
http://www.gypsysbugalug.com
Gosia
http://www.colorfulcrack.com/
Annie Suzie
http://pinterest.com/anniesuzie/the-battle-nail-polish-challenge/
Natalia
http://polished-polyglot.blogspot.ch/

Shattered Emerald Star

Yesterday I was wearing Australis's 'Emerald Star', a beautiful teal coloured shimmer. To jazz it up a bit I thought I would try my OPI silver shatter over it. 

I know that shatter isn't a new trend and a lot of nail bloggers are totally over it! But I don't mind a bit of shatter now and then and occasionally whack it over a tired manicure as it is a brilliant quick fix :) 

My issue with shatter is that it is unpredictable. Sometimes you get an awesome 'shatter' and can't keep starting at your marvellous nails but sometimes I'm less than impressed with the shatter effect. Today is one of those days. Although I must say I do like the colour combo of this one!

Cheers, 

Safe nail polishes

I have been wearing nail polishes for years however it has only been in the past two or three months that I discovered that nail polish contains many toxic chemicals that have been proven to cause defects in children and cancer. However do not fear, by becoming a savy consumer, and by reading the ingredients list before buying you can have polishes nails AND help you avoid health issues. 

I do not claim to have a great deal of knowledge on this topic but I have done some research on the internet as this blog is growing and so is my stash. The idea that wearing nail polish could give me cancer or increase my chances or affect the health of any children I may have in the future FREAKS me out heaps and heaps heaps. Hence I have been looking everywhere for nail polish that does not contain the bad chemicals. 

There are different types of 'safe' polishes: 3-free, 4-free 5-free and water based. 3-free do not contain formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and Toulene. 4-free do not contain: formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and Toulene and Formaldehyde Resin. 5-free do not contain: formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and Toulene and formaldehyde resin and camphor. Furthermore there is also water-based polishes that are safe for children and pregnant women. 

If you want more information there are a lot of website that talk about this topic. One of my favourites is http://www.inspirationail.com/5-free-varnish/. 

I am yet to find any water-based polish. I have sourced some and there is a little shop literally around the corner from me. I was planning on going there today but never got there. Ended up spending my day in the city instead and spent way too much money on polish :( 

Brands have taken notice and some do state on their bottles that they do not contain blah blah and blah blah. It is always wise to read the ingredients list before buying polish since there are heaps of polishes out there that don't contain nasty things. 

After discovering the fact that nail polish can contain nasty things I noticed at my local Priceline that some brands, on their displays, actually advertise the fact that they don't contain certain chemicals. 

I have found that Revlon does not contain Formaldehyde and Toulene. There are also other brands that do not contain nasty chemicals or do not contain all of them, such as Face of Australia, Models Prefer, but again please do not take my word for it and read the ingredients before buying something. It is entirely possible that I missed something or that different ranges of polish contain different ingredients (geez they write the ingredients in tiny fronts!!!) I have also found a brand called OmShe at Priceline that does not contain DBP, toluene and formaldehyde. Oh and also OPI do not contain all of the nasty chemicals too. I believe essence is 5-free however I have not confirmed this yet! If this is true it is amazing considering they are the cheapest nail polishes on the market. 

A side note, whilst shopping today there was a stand of make-up for $2 (can't remember the name of the brand) and all 5 of the bad nasty chemicals were listed in the ingredients!!! WOW!!! It was a shame too because there were some gorgeous colours. 

Hope this weekend has been great for you!